Buys, Tries & Exercise : 2016

Fabfitfun Summer 2016 FULL Box Review

Friday, September 23, 2016

It's waaaay past that time again! The Summer Fatfibfun box arrived at my door back in June. Fabfitfun is a seasonal subscription box that boasts a box value of $225+ for the price of $49.99. This time around, I knew I had made this purchase- though I was considering cancelling my order (I'll go into more detail) but I am so very happy that I didn't! For the total price of $77.99 CAD (including taxes + S&H + the conversion rate from USD) this is what came in the box...

This box was a toss up for me, I loved some of the products in this box and the other half I was trying to find uses for.

Anyway, here are the products I loved in this box:

1. Passport to Beauty Gypset Luminous Lips (USD $18//CAD N/A)

I received this gloss in the shade 'Free Spirit' which is a nice shimmery berry color. This gloss feels so good on the lips probably due to the Vitamin E included in the product. It looks very flattering on my skin and although it tends to fade throughout the day, the application is easy and not too sticky. The only thing about this product is that it is not available in Canada. So I'll have to make it last for as long as I can!

4. Stemulation Daily Micro Derm Scrub (USD$34//CAD N/A)

This product makes my skin glow. First use on my face I found the exfoliator a little too rough on my face but perfect for my body though using it on my face turned out to have great results, The product has a nice citrus, fresh smell and the exfoliating properties left my skin feeling soft, smooth and healthy afterwards. Sadly, this product again is not available in Canada. In order to get this product you'll have to contact a Canadian beauty supplier which seems like a lot of hassle for one product.

5. Summer & Rose Yoga Towel (USD$36// CAD N/A)

This product came exactly at the right time that I needed it! I was doing a beginners Pilates program and using my yoga mat everday which made it worn as some of the mat started to slough off. This towel which is super long and tall is cute and soft- it even gets softer the more you wash! I can lie down completely on the towel which means it makes a great beach towel too! Again, this item is hard to get in Canada besides from Fabfitfun and Amazon.

7. OSEA Atmosphere Protection Cream (USD$48//CAD$146.32)

I love this product. It wad perfect for the summer weather. Super light, absorbed into the skin fast, leaves a matte finish and smells so good- citrusy with a light floral scent. I loved that it was a product basically meant for summer as it's a moisturizer that helps create a barrier for sun, wind, pollution. Sadly, this moisturizer does not include a sunscreen which I feel would be the ultimate atmosphere protectant so I've had to add another layer of face sunscreen on top.

The only OSEA cream that I found available in Canada was on Amazon and it was $146.32+ $5.54 shipping - @#^$% that is way too expensive for a moisturizer. So I will be milking my jar until it's finished.

Products I didn't love:

2. Betchsicles Ice Pop Molds (USD $19//CAD$25)

This seemed 'extra' to me in the fact that I could buy popsicle molds from Ikea or Walmart for a quarter of the price and the actual popsicle part was very small, maybe around 2 inches tall & half an inch wide which is a pretty small popsicle. Since I did not need these (I have some in my pantry) and they are cute I ended up gifting these to a friend who I hope will use them?

3. Trina Turk Canvas Tote (USD$55)

This beach tote was super huge and super cute! I got the navy blue bag that says 'Seas the Day.' Unfortunately, I already have my beach bag and I found I did not like one big tote bag without any pockets on the inside or a zipper/ or closure on the top. I like zippers on all my bags, otherwise I feel paranoid that someone will take whatever I have ninja style. This makes a very cute gift for someone that loves the beach though, just not a bag that I feel comfortable with.

6. FabFitFun Everyday Beach Waves Spray (USD$18//Available on Fabfitfun)

I was so excited for this product. You see all the ads and Youtube videos of women with perfect wavy beach hair so I thought this would help me achieve the look. I realized, that I do not like how my hair feels after beach, sticky, dry and, rough. I found that this spray made my hair feel rough and sticky, harder to style and manage. I am not a beach hair girl but that is okay. I was also able to gift this to a friend and she got good use out of it so maybe it's just me. This was made by Fabfitfun so their website is where you'll be able to buy this product if you love it!

Extras

8. Burt's Bees BB Cream & Compeed Blister Cushions

In the picture off the Fabfitfun website, the box includes both Burt's Bees' BB Cream and Cleansing Oil samples. However, in my box I only received the BB Cream and a sample of Compeed Blister Cushions. I actually was looking forward to the cleansing oil since I've heard a lot of people starting to use oil instead of face wash. The blister cushion was a lifesaver breaking in new shoes, though the BB cream was not as much of a hit for me, had a funny smell to it & tended to dry up on my skin. However, they were the extras so I won't complain about samples!

I will say that I enjoyed that there were no gift cards or vouchers included in this box as I find it hard to use gift cards they include when the companies are American or when most of the items cost more than what the gift cards allot.

TL;DR Verdict Leave it I did not enjoy this box as much as previous ones. Only because I ended up giving away more of the items in the box and the items that I did like, it would be hard to really become a loyal fan of in the future once I run out of the lip gloss, moisturizer and scrub.

If you're interested in purchasing this box (although this post is very late, the summer box is still available!) or getting a subscription you can use this link here to get $10 off your first order!

dessert

Hallelujah! (A not so) Sweet Jesus Review

Sunday, April 17, 2016

These are my confessions...

My mouth had the pleasure of visiting Sweet Jesus over the weekend after pining all the posts on Instagram of the epic soft serve cones for months. Sweet Jesus is a tiny spot in Toronto by all the bars on John St. where they offer 'Pimped Out Cones' as well as hot beverages.

Sweet Jesus is a narrow hallway situated right beside La Carnitas, pretty much in the restaurant, just separated by a velvet rope which leaves you with a view to the washrooms of La Carnitas. This makes the place very crowded, very fast. The inner lazy girl in me desperately wished this place had somewhere to sit. A narrow, popular place can get claustrophobic which makes you want to leave as quickly as you can but then you realize, where can I eat my ice cream in peace? Trying to find another building to head into without having to buy more food is hard on John St so I ended up eating my ice cream inside the Scotiabank Cineplex which I'm pretty sure was prohibited since I wasn't watching a movie but anyway...

Now onto the foodporn!
Essentially, Sweet Jesus serves dressed up, instagram-worthy soft serve cones (which you can also get in a cup). Be warned, they are huge and almost sickly sweet depending on which flava you get.

'Krusty the Cone' $6.50+tax

The soft serve itself served its purpose but once you ate through the cotton candy on top and the hard topping, it was just plain ol' vanilla soft serve underneath and difficult to eat through after eating all that sugar in the cotton candy.

'The Matcha Libre' $6 +tax

I love matcha. So I knew I had to get this beverage - a white miso hot chocolate with condensed milk, and black sesame rim, matcha whipped cream, nori and rice crispies? YES PLEASE (it sounded perfect). The beverage was tasty but impractical to drink through. It was served without a lid since the matcha whipped creme was towered so high no lid could encompass it all and with no table to set it down and chip away at the creme I was left to walk with it outside trying not to spill any of it. Finally getting to the actual liquid, the rim is loaded with black sesame seeds. Usually, I like sesame seeds since they provide a nice crunch but when you're trying to drink a liquid with that many sesame seeds, I was trying not to choke on them. I don't like the feeling of swallowing all these seeds down so I wish they took they took that aspect out all together.

TL;DR They look so pretty don't they? Super cute, super pretty, totally 'instagrammable' but that is all it turned out to be. **Verdict for labit or leave it? I would leave it. I find it way overrated for what it;s actually worth. For the [$6.50+tax per cone and $6+tax for the drink] price you could get a tub or two of ice cream and enjoy it in the comfort of your own home. They definitely lived up to expectations in the look department, but its what's on the inside that counts, right?

Fabfitfun Spring 2016 FULL Box Review

Monday, April 11, 2016

Spring 2016 FULL Box Review

Fabfitfun is a seasonal subscription box that boasts a box value of $225+ for the price of $49.99. What I love about Fabfitfun is that it is a lifestyle box rather than one that includes only beauty products or food products. This was a complete Surprise Impulse Buy! I did not plan on buying this box. I saw spoilers and wanted to see how much the box would be so I went to the site, put the box in my shopping cart filled out everything to see how much shipping+handling would be, closed the webpage and forgot about it. Few days later I received an email to look at my shopping cart to finish the transaction and I did as was told and finished the transaction. Can't say I don't follow orders. There goes my goal of trying to save some $$$ but once in awhile one should treat themselves, right?

Spring 2016's Box Includes
(Scroll all the way to end of the post if you want the TL;DR version!)

Herb Garden by MakersKit $35 US/ $45.47 CAD

Okay, I am so excited for this. I have always wanted to grow my own herbs in the kitchen since herbs cost so much in the grocery store and end up rotting in my fridge rather than actually ending up in my food. The kit includes everything you need to grow mint, thyme and basil minus the water. I am waiting for the sun to make more of a daily appearance but I will update once I plant these babies!

Contour Kit by ISH $32 US/$41.57 CAD

I am hoping this kit will help me to learn how to contour. This kit looks so pretty I almost don't want to touch it but the fact that ISH stands for I'm Smoking Hot has me thinking otherwise. I was going to give this away as a gift to one of my make-up guru friends but it's too nice for me not to attempt a contour-look hopefully with the help of some Youtube videos. Thankfully, ISH creator Joey Maalouf has a Daytime and a Nighttime video of how to get the most out of the kit! You can watch the day time tutorial here: ISH Contour Kit Light/Medium: Day Look

Bath Bomb Trinity by Jus D'Amour $28US/$36.37 CAD

This I am sadly not going to get to use only because I do not have a bathtub to use these cute, perfectly packaged special balls! They smell so good and each bath bomb is themed for a specific mood: romancing, calming and energizing. (I almost want to keep these for myself for when I travel)

Keratin Gloves & Socks by Bodipure Inc., $9.98US/$12.96CAD

Spa sesh alert! These little miracles moisturize smell so good and albeit are a little weird to have on- do not plan on doing anything while you have these on except for sitting in one spot...seriously. Your hands and feet will be so nice and soft after, there is some residue that you'll either have to rub in or wash off (rub it in cause the rest of your skin will be jealous of your hands and feet).

Tag Necklace by Jook & Nona $65US - say what? / $84.44 CAD - holy #$%@

This is an absolute steal, steal, steal. It is such a beautiful necklace and what pushed me into thinking about buying the box in the first place. Unfortunately, the chain was too short and ended up being right at the base of my neck which is unflattering for me but I know many ladies that will love this necklace!

Shaving Emulation Lotion by Hello Legs $19.95US/$25.92CAD

Since Spring is here, it only makes sense that we have something to help us start shaving our legs again. I usually do not use any shaving cream, relying on my Schick Intuition razor. The concept of putting something on before I shaved was foreign to me so giving this a try was interesting! On first sniff, it has a pleasant smell but it does have a after smell that's almost chemical. However, it is moisturizing and absorbs well into the skin for a smooth feel after shaving! I will use the whole bottle but probably won't purchase for myself.

Argan & Hemp Oil Therapy by Marrakesh $22.99US/$29.87CAD

This is the best thing in the box! I love this, I love this! I thought this would be like any other hair oil but this stuff smells good and a little of it goes a long well. It works exceptionally well to help my wet hair- which usually takes 3-4 hours to air dry- dry in under an hour! It helps keep my winter frizz down to a manageable do. I am trying not to use this everyday since on Amazon this product is $33.34+6.00 shipping but it' so hard not to!

Yoga Mat Strap by Merrithew $14.99US/$19.47CAD

I already have two yoga mats that came with their own straps/bags so this will go unused by me. It is nice that the strap also doubles as a resistance band but when you put it around your yoga mat it is rather bulky. I can't see myself actually using this product- mostly because I don't use resistance bands in my workout so this will have to go in the give/gift pile as well.

Not included in pictures:

$30 to Sterling Forever, an online easy-to-wear jewelry pieces. Thankfully, they also have a $50 and under section for us that want to get the full use of our gift cards!
$25 to Thirty One Bits, another jewelry company that features jewelry handmade by artisans in Uganda which allows them to make a living for themselves and rise out of poverty. The jewelry is so cute and there is so much choice in terms of accesories- statement pieces, simple pieces, everything! So we can all look fabulous for a great cause!

TL;DR: The box itself is $49.99, shipping to Canada costs another $8.00 for a grand total of $57.99 which is an amazing deal at all since the total value of the box was $282.91US/$367.51CAD! Oh my goodness! That is amazing value!

**Verdict for labit or leave it? Labit! TREAT YO'SELF. I did not end up liking or being able to use every single item in this box, the ones I did I loved. Even if you do not end up liking all of the products included in the box everything makes excellent gifts that most ladies will definitely use!