PopSugar Must Have: Special Edition, Summer Fun 2013

Wow, that was a mouthful. Anyway, I got back into town today and this box had arrived along with my accumulated mail! Thanks, mail carrier! I was disciplined and waited until Jonathan and I went through all of the regular mail before ripping this thing apart and fawning over everything. Here it is!

1. Sachin + Babi Sarong 

2. S'Well (stainless steel, double-walled, insulated) Bottle

3. Henri Bendel Candle

4. Starbucks Refreshers (not shown in pamphlet, probably considered a bonus item)

5.Vitabath Sugar Scrub

6. Truffle Pouch

7. House of Harlow 1960 Sunglasses

A good haul. PopSugar has nailed it again, in my opinion. The bottle keeps beverages hot or cold. The sarong is very pretty in person. It's very delicate, and anyone with sizing concerns should be able to use it as a scarf. (That said, I'm a dress size 8 with gigantic obstacles up top, and I was able to wear it as a longer-than-knee-length halter dress, so it's not excessively teeny-tiny.) The clear pouch is for holding your essentials so you can switch from purse to purse quickly. I've been wanting to switch to that system for a while now, but have been too lazy to come up with an inner-purse pouch, so this worked out great.

Pure Madness!

Yum, yum, yum! BzzAgent recently sent me some Pure Madness truffles and a chocolate bar to try. This was such a hassle, because who wants to eat chocolate? It is a repugnant stain upon our world, as we all know. But I decided to take one for the team, and, though it pained me greatly, review some fancy confections.

First, the Smoky Almond chocolate bar... seriously? They put hickory-smoked almonds in milk chocolate. I mean, who are these people, and how are they this amazing? The chocolate was sweet and super-smooth, and the almonds tasted salty and intensely smoky. Before this turns into a graphic romance novel (and it is very much going there, because wow), let me just say that the combination was very appealing.

Of the nine varieties of truffle I tried, all were lovely and distinct. A few of the standouts, in my opinion, were the chili lime, raspberry, rum raisin, and espresso truffles. The chili lime tasted exciting, but not too spicy. For fans of key lime pie, this is a delicious next step to consider. The raspberry was jammy and wonderfully intense, with a fresh taste one doesn't often find in a fruity truffle. The rum raisin pleasantly surprised me, as I wasn't sure whether I would like it. The rum flavor was big and bold, but smooth and didn't have that unpleasant alcoholic note that these things sometimes do. The truffle was thoroughly chocolatey throughout, with the smallest hint of raisin.  The espresso truffle perfectly balanced sweetness and bitterness, which seems a rare feat in the realm of coffee-flavored goodies.

Bottom line: I was blown away by Pure Madness. This newbie's goodies pack enough quality, taste, and originality to handily contend with more established high-end chocolate brands.

Makeup Fun with New Neutrogena Goodies

I recently had a chance to try Neutrogena MoistureSmooth Color Sticks in Sweet Watermelon, Crease Proof Eye Shadow in Constant Copper and Lasting Taupe, and Healthy Lengths Mascara
through BzzAgent.

I was so excited to see the Color Stick, already being a huge fan of the equivalent product by Revlon.
Neutrogena's Color Stick has the same stay-put color (it won't come off on teeth, seriously!) and rich moisture, but has a pleasant fruity scent that sets it apart. I love that the color is buildable, so a shade like Sweet Watermelon that would look awful on someone with my skin tone in a lipstick adds a pretty translucent pink sheen to my lips, when used sparingly.

I'm happy I had the opportunity to try two shades of Crease Proof Eye Shadow. I have pale, cool-tone skin and blue eyes, and Constant Copper would not look right on me at all. Lasting Taupe looked good, though. The eye shadows provide very subtle, sheer color, which is good for daytime. If you're looking to create a dramatic eye, I wouldn't recommend this product, but if you're going for a very subdued, natural look, this is great. The shadow stayed absolutely put until I took it off with eye makeup remover at the end of a long day, and I didn't even use a primer!

I handed Constant Copper off to one of my friends (hi, Erin!) and her thoughts about the eyeshadow pretty much aligned with mine. She added that the color is smooth, and indeed crease-proof (as the name implies), but she was skeptical about the value of the crease-proof claim, as she doesn't normally notice creasing issues with her other shadows. An excellent point! I saw the shadow on Erin and it looked very nice, and subtle as the other shade. Pretty, but natural.

Last, but very much the opposite of least, Healthy Lengths Mascara is the one that's really going to be a new staple in my makeup bag. It adds natural-looking length and thickness while keeping lashes looking soft, not crunchy. This is perfect for everyday, no-drama looks.

All told, I was pretty satisfied with the quality of this loot, and would recommend any of these products for natural, easy daytime looks.

Indie Gift Box: March

Indie Gift Box is a surprise box dedicated to spreading the word about independent artists and small businesses. Each box is themed and available for a very limited time. No subscriptions to this one.  You have to jump on it each month when it becomes available.

My good friend Alison gave me March's Squeaky Clean Box for my birthday. It's pretty awesome! A breakdown of the items with purchasing info can be found here. It all smells heavenly. I can't wait to dig in. In case you're wondering, those pretty knit items are face scrubbies. Awesome box!

Out for Sandwiches at Earl of Sandwich

The Original 1762 and the All American, at Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney in Anaheim. Weird fact that should probably not be as surprising as it is: Earl of Sandwich is owned by the actual family of the Earl of Sandwich.

Out for Pastries at Village Bakery

Dramatic pastries! Here you see the donut muffin, the chocolate croissant, and the maple bacon scone, three of the very bestest pastries at The Village Bakery and Cafe in Atwater Village.

Out for Doner at Spitz

Okay, so the picture at the bottom of the actual doner (click for pronunciation) is not great, but imagine deliciousness! (It's the street cart doner in a lavash wrap.) I had no idea until I was trolling Eat24Hours for new places to eat, and found Spitz, that doner is a Turkish food consisting of meat cooked vertically on a spit served with various toppings. It's street food. It's like Turkish shawarma. Yum, nom, gobble! You can probably guess that this story ends with us both being super excited to try it, and then trying it, and then being happy we tried it. Also tasty were the sweet potato fries and fried pita strips. Highly recommend!