Oh, the Oddities!

So, I'm really excited right now because I was tagged by La Domna to do an Oddities list about myself! I've never been tagged before, so this is a first for me! So, let's begin, shall we?

1. My childhood home, where I lived when I was 2 to 17 years of age, was haunted. Some of the stuff that happened was innocent enough, but other times I was downright terrified. The most common thing that happened was I would hear typing in the computer room at night, but every time I peeked to see who was causing the typing, the room would always be dark and empty. Other things would happen such as the lights flickering on and off, electronics turning on or off by themselves, even objects moving by themselves with no logical explanation. The worst part was the point I starting seeing apparitions. I can think of a total of 3 different times I saw such things. One was a shadowy figure of a man in a tophat that walked past the computer room into my room. Another was a misty white, almost human-like figure that swayed down the hallway in my direction. It was terrible, and I ran to the refuge of my parents room immediately. The last was the worst- I saw a doppelgänger of my own mother that woke me up in the middle of the night. It looked and sounded just like my mom, but its eyes were otherworldly and almost malevolent. The weird part about that is my mom is still alive and well, so I don't know what was pretending to be her... But I didn't like it one bit. I've come across the knowledge in my recent years that the old owners were affiliated with the mob, and that the husband of the wife that had lived there had passed away. There's also the fact that the lady across the street ran a nursing home right in the house, so residents there were frequently passing on.

2. I love a wide variety of music. I'll listen from anything from Beethoven to Napalm Death! I also adore Marilyn Manson, and actually have two Marilyn Manson inspired tattoos. One is on my stomach and is a human heart draining into a spade (inspired by the song Spade, with the lyrics, "You drained my heart and made a spade/But there's still traces of me in your veins.") The other is in between my shoulder blades, and it's two angels praying by the shock symbol.

3. I have five tattoos altogether, but they're all pretty huge.

4. I've always been a solitary person, and I really still am. I've never had a huge amount of friends, just one or two that are my true friends.

5. I'm a Virgo, and a tiger in the Chinese zodiac.

6. Growing up, I used to write a lot of short stories. A lot of them were about animals, as I've always loved animals and aspired to be a veterinarian (before I realized how utterly awful I was at math and science). One time, the Disney channel had a story contest that I entered where the winner would get their story made into a cartoon. My submission was about a three-legged cheetah that faced trials and tribulations. I received a Tinkerbell pen in the mail with a letter that thanked me for submitting and kindly telling me I lost. I wasn't really that sad, but I did think my story had more thought than the one that won- which was about a Spanish-speaking spider. Ah well. To this day, it's my dream to write and publish a book. I've also wanted to have a room in one of my future homes with a huge library where I could get lost in a great book and a cup of tea whenever I wanted.

7. Along with my cat and betta fish, I have five hamsters (four winter white and one Syrian). I only intended to have one hamster. My boyfriend and I saw an adorable, tiny white hamster in the pet store that we ended up purchasing even though it had something wrong with its right eye. We embraced his little disability, named him Pi-right, and gave him lots of love! We eventually learned that the poor tiny creature had actually suffered a stroke, and he passed away two days later. I was heartbroken, but also practical. We exchanged it for the largest, healthiest hamster in the store and named it Hammy. We found out two days later that Hammy was large for a reason. She gave birth to seven tiny hamsters, and we had no idea what to do! We researched a crazy amount of baby hamster stuff. It turns out that the mom does all the work, though it was imperative to keep everyone fed and hydrated. They started foraging for food when they were only 9 days old. I had fun giving them all fruit, veggies, and hard boiled eggs. I even did mini video updates on them daily, which was so fun. They will turn one year old this March! Unfortunately, none of the girls survived; so I now own Hammy, her three sons (Christopher Columbus, Katooloo, and Squeakers), and a Syrian hamster we bought named Baby Bear.

Please note: All watermarked photos are my own, the rest are from the land of Tumblr.

And that's it! I'm really not too interesting, haha! I tag everyone reading this (if you want to do it, of course!). I'd love to learn more about you all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lathers and Lights

I think the general consensus is that the mornings and evenings are the *worst* when you're sick, and that has absolutely held true for me. If one were to be a spying fly on the wall, they'd probably think of me as a zombie; as I shuffle around the house, pale as a ghost, making weird sick noises like "ughggggggh" and "ahhhhghhhh" and "unnnnnnnngh".

So anyway, heh. Lathers and Lights! I am super de duper impressed with everything! Like most indie companies around the holiday season, Lathers and Lights took a fairly long (albeit well-deserved) break for the holidays. They re-opened around the 6th or 7th of this month, which is when I placed my order. Since I have never ordered from them before, I thought I was in for quite a wait since the company was closed for so long and the TAT was 15+ days. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a shipping notification less than a week later! I got my package 3 days ago, and I ordered on the 7th, so it was really impressive!

Above: Olive & Honey Shampoo, Soft & Shine Conditioner, Flannel Pajamas perfume

I am also extremely satisfied with the products themselves. I ordered the olive and honey shampoo, soft and shine conditioner, and perfume spray. I got everything in the same scent, which I like to do sometimes when ordering hair products. That way, my perfume doesn't compete with my hair products :) Let's start with the scent I chose. It's called Flannel Pajamas, and is part of the Winter Wonder collection. Flannel Pajamas has the following adorable scent description:

I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I must have one of the largest flannel pj collections around...a rainbow of colors in plaid, stripes, paisley, and even snowmen...they are just so comfy, cozy and oddly inspiring! This unique scent reminds me of my favorite creativity-inspiring, candy-striped pair...fresh, clean cotton melds with sweet, sugary vanilla and cool, crisp air.

I really enjoy this scent! While I chose it knowing it is different and much lighter than my usual taste, I think it's a great scent for the hair products. I also used the perfume when I got out of the shower, and it's very lovely. It smells so fresh and clean- the perfect 'fresh' scent. It's more complex than a typical 'clean' or 'vanilla' fragrance, as it has the different layers of cotton, vanilla, and clean air. I get the freshness at first, with the vanilla taking a back seat; but the vanilla comes out rather quickly and unifies with the fresh notes in a very beautiful way. It really is like wearing a fresh pair of flannel pajamas- fresh, cozy, and comforting! I like it!

The shampoo and conditioner are very wonderful. They come with a pump, which I like a lot. The honey olive shampoo cleaned my hair very well. Since I have bangs, my hair gets oily where the bangs are if I don't wash it daily, so it's nice that this shampoo didn't seem harsh one bit. The conditioner also worked well. One way I 'judge' a conditioner is by the ease in which the comb goes through once the conditioner is applied. I know it sounds weird! The conditioner also seemed to make my hair soft and nice. While it's not a deep conditioner like my Soulmate treatment from Cocoa Pink, it works better than regular run of the mill conditioner and is absolutely perfect for daily use. Also, there are not any bad ingredients like SLS or parabens in these products, which I think is important :)

Additionally, I was kindly given a whole lot of samples with my order. I received a total of 8 samples, and each one was a different kind of lotion or body treatment with a different scent. Very awesome!

Above: Samples!

Before I go, I want to thank Amanda for telling me about Lathers and Lights. She is super sweet, and she has a wonderful blog! Thanks Amanda! 

Also, thank you guys so much for being here and reading my blog. All of your sweet comments seriously put a smile to my face and truly make my day. You are all awesome, and I've really enjoyed reading your blogs as well :)

This zombie's signing off for now. Have a good one!

DISCLAIMER: All items mentioned were purchased by me for my own personal usage. I am not affiliated with/compensated by any of the companies mentioned. As always, all opinions are my own and completely honest!

 

 

Sickness and Randomness

Well, my boyfriend and I seemed to have caught that crazy flu that's been going around. He was absolutely burning up this morning, poor thing. So we ended up not going to the family reunion because neither of us were feeling good and we didn't want to infect a bajillion people because that just wouldn't be cool. We both work with kids, so I'm 99 percent sure that's where the germ culprit lies. Ground zero, if you will.

I don't like to advertise reddit because it gives off a really douchy, hipster vibe that I'm not into, but I cannot deny that some of the subreddits are my guilty pleasure when I'm bored. Awhile ago, I found this story on reddit by the username 1000 vultures, and it was really good! I actually found it in the subreddit nosleep, a place where people write about scary stories and experiences. Some stories are true, others are not; but a lot of them are fun to read no matter what. The one I'm referring to is fiction, and it's really well written. It's so good that a lot of users urged the author (Dathan Auerbach) to publish it- and he did! He called it Penpal, and he added some length and fixed it up a bit in the published version. I bought it on iBooks, and I have no regrets. It's absolutely intoxicating. It's nice to have, too; as I lie here in bed being miserably sick ;(

Above- Penpal by Dathan Auerbach

This morning, I tried my new shampoo and conditioner I ordered from Lathers and Lights, and I'm really impressed. I really like the scent and both worked really well. I got a perfume with the same scent as the shampoo and conditioner, and I'm happy I did! I will make an official Lathers and Lights post soon.

I hope you all are having a more fortunate weekend than I am. Have a very wonderful day/afternoon/evening, and thanks for reading!

Smoky Mountain Mallow (AKA That Smoky Scent!) Review

I just got home from work with a lovely Solstice Scents package waiting for me in the mailbox. It was a delightful way to end a long week (even though I cheated and knew it was coming via USPS tracking). And I am very happy to say that it is a wonderful smoky/fireside smell that is likely to make your heart sing if smoky smells are up your alley!

Upon cold sniff, I smelled the marshmallow/sweet note with a teeny bit of the smokey fireplace smell in the background. Then upon initial application, it completely transformed. The marshmallow smell went away entirely, and I smelled full blown smoke- like that amazing smoke smell you get from a campfire. I grew up camping a lot, so that smell brings back tons of great memories like having sticky s'mores and listening to my dad tell ghost stories. He had a famous story that my friends and I begged for every time- Miramar Mama. My dad is an amazing story teller, so he told this a lot better than I'm about to; but I'll give you the gist. He said he was about 17 and driving with his friends in California. They were in an old VW van, low on gas, and hopelessly lost in the middle of nowhere. A perfect start to any horror story, right? Anyway, they came across this creepy little shack in the middle of nowhere. I use the term shack because it was so small and disheveled, the word 'house' wouldn't be right. At this point, my dad and his buddies were creeped out, because here was this run down little shack that had glowing light inside and the door was wide open. They were certainly apprehensive, but they were also in a bad situation; so they made their way to the weird shack. The first thing they noticed was that upon walking in, the room they stepped foot in was a makeshift dining room. They knew this because there was a table with a bunch of plates on it. But the plates were not empty. There were old, rotten chicken bones on top of the plates; and the smell was putrid. The light they had seen from the road was actually a candle, as if someone was in the house. Of course, they were unsure by then whether or not they actually wanted the help of a solitary person that had rotten food right in the living room, but there was something in the corner that made them all freeze in their steps. In the corner of that dining room, there was a corpse of an old woman who looked like she had recently passed away. Her eyes were shut, but the most out of place thing about the woman was that she was pointing north. Her delicate, bony, probably rigor-mortice induced hand literally pointed north with a single yellow fingernail. My dad as his friend were immediately out the door, but something else strange happened that night. They followed the woman's "directions" by heading north- and they found their way back to a familiar road and were finally safe.

Of course, I know now that there was no old lady pointing in a shack. But there was a creepy shack in that situation when my dad was that age, but he said they just kept driving. I still wonder why the lights were on and who lived there. Creepy stuff!

So let's go back to perfume, cause that's why you guys are here! :) On the dry down, Smoky Mountain Mallow still smells like delightful campfire smoke, but with a *hint* of marshmallow to make it less harsh. It's absolutely beautiful, and it gets even better. After 10-20 minutes, it starts smelling like that amazing chimney-smoke smell you get when you're outside and someone is having a fire in their fireplace. I wish I could give you guys a sample whiff through the screen, it's just so freaking awesome. My favorite thing about it is how it transforms from cold sniff to dry down, and every single scent stage is absolutely beautiful.

Above- my photo of Smoky Mountain Mallow :)

Above: Smokey Mountain Mallow

Image Source: Solstice Scents

Now I'm off to get ready for a birthday party! At least I'll smell amazing for it :) 

Also, quick note of things to come: Lathers and Lights haul/first impression; Bath and Body Works SAS haul, and Cocoa Pink haul

Thanks so very much for reading, and have a very wonderful weekend!

DISCLAIMER- All items mentioned were purchased by me for my own personal usage. I am not
affiliated with or compensated by any of the companies mentioned. All opinions are always my own and always honest!

Ermahgerd! Indie Perfume Collection!

Quick intro before I tackle this madness: I've been debating on posting my indie perfume collection for quite a while. One of the reasons I haven't done so is I didn't know the best way to organize it. Ultimately, I decided on posting about my perfume oils in this post, and I'll post about my solid scents another time. Oh, and perhaps someday I'll write about my sample vials too...They're a huge mess at the moment. It would be a fun mess to post about though! I wanted you guys to know that *you* are the inspiration behind this post. I got some awesome new readers out of nowhere, and a lot of you are pretty perfume ladies- so I thought this post would be fun for us all! :D I want to thank Dee from http://365daysofsmells.blogspot.com/?m=1 and http://yearofthetightarse.blogspot.com/?m=1 for inspiring me to finally get my butt in gear and do this collection post. She is so amazing, and I wish I would have found her blogs in the blogosphere sooner!

Also, before I get started, please note that from being clumsy (i.e. spilling perfume oil on said perfume oil label) and from bringing my little perfume oils along in my purse, some of them look a little worse for the wear. You'll notice that some of the labels have worn off, and that I have attempted to label some of them with a sharpie. So yeah, some of them look ghetto, and I apologize in advance ;)

*Solstice Scents*

 

Above from L to R: Library, Moonlight on the Grove, Shoikan Grove, Manor, Attic, Snowshoe Pass, and Lace Draped Spectre

My Solstice Scents collection contains some of my very favorite perfume oils. Manor and Library are my absolute favorite scents, and I always go to one of them when I cannot decide on a fragrance. I have raved about Solstice Scents many times, so I'm sure you guys don't need me to do any more gushing here :)

 

 

*Haus of Gloi*

 

Above from L to R: Ghost Puffs, Samhain, Spring Tonic 2, Selkie, and Spider Silk

Next, I have my Haus of Gloi perfume oils. One thing I love about my HoG perfume collection is that I have a scent for basically every season (sans winter). Spring Tonic 2 is the absolute perfect spring scent. It smells so fresh and lovely. I received it as a perfume sample last year with my Valentine order, and I absolutely *had* to purchase a full size because my boyfriend and I were obsessed with it. Selkie is an aquatic, oceany scent that is great for the summer. I don't even blink at any other ocean type of scents because Selkie is just perfect. Growing up, my dad taught me how to surf; so Selkie also makes me smile and brings back great memories of surfing in California. For instance, there was one time a seal poked its cute little head out of the water and looked at me with wonder. Another time, my dad and I rode the same wave! It was awesome and very precious to me, because he cannot surf anymore for medical reasons. Samhain is a perfect autumn fragrance. It is very dark and not for everyone, but I think it is beautiful and that it really evokes the image of a perfect fall afternoon with fallen leaves and dreary skies. Ghost Puffs is a great sweet, marshmallowy scent. Spider Silk is a good 'fresh' scent that I think could be worn all year.

 

*OHWTO- Halloween Scents*

 

Above from L to R: Down a Dark Path, Final Girl, Jack in Black, Hungry Ghost, Gracie, and Dudleyville

Okay, I really went overboard when the OHWTO Halloween collection came out in 2012. Embarrassingly enough, I even got a few solid scents along with these perfume oils. I'm just really, really obsessed with Halloween, and when you mix Halloween with indie collections, I'm all over that shit! Down a Dark Path is my favorite out of this selection. Since I am absolutely terrible at describing scents, I will provide the scent description!

Down a Dark Path: It's where many a good scary story starts. Fresh figs, Dried Leaves, Carnations, Oakmoss, Amber, Sage, Black Pepper, Pumpkin, Vanilla, Pomegranate, Beeswax, Rhubarb, Lavender, and the scent of an unidentifiable animal stalking you in the shadows between the trees.

I got that description here; and you can find the rest of the OHWTO Halloween scent descriptions there if you're curious! :)

*OHWTO- Other Perfume Oils*

 

 

Above from L to R: Finnegan's Folly, I Smell Like a Witch, and Maura

Mae

I think I like all three of these scents equally, if that's even possible. I already did a quick review on Finnegan's Folly here, so I will say no more about that. I Smell Like a Witch is absolutely amazing. It's a pretty unique scent that intrigued me when it first came out at the end of 2011. It was my first One Hand Washes the Other order, and I was very impressed! I love the little back story that goes along with it, and it smells just wonderful. I already did a post on this scent during the summer, so I will again provide the link if you guys are interested- Clicky Clicky!

I bought Maura Mae (with Finnegan's Folly) when OHWTO re-opened their etsy to sell limited quantities of a previous spring collection. Here is the scent description- Maura Mae: With her curls of copper, her twinkling eyes, her sweet smile- this is what they mean when they refer to "The luck of the Irish". A sweet and fruity scent, Maura Mae is strongly apricot, with supporting notes of green clover, tea, cut grass, a sprinkling of field flowers- lily of the valley, violet, lavender, as well as a dash of berries, vanilla bean, and the faintest, tiniest, entirely lady-like nip of whiskey. Source- OHWTO blog

 

*Cocoa Pink*

 

Above from L to R: Fear of Cemetaries, Fear of Halloween, Fear of Pumpkins, Black Cat in the Pumpkin Patch, Fear of Witches, and Fear of Ghosts.

As you can see, Fear of Cemetaries is the only bottle that has gotten any love, and that makes me really sad. I adore the scent, so that's not what makes me sad. The fact that none of the other scents worked for me (and they're all full sizes because I'm a noob) is the saddening factor. Black Cat in the Pumpkin Patch is probably one I'd keep, but the other four were just meh. I really want to find good homes for these guys where they will be loved and not neglected! :( Someday, I will. Someday. Here's the Fear of Cemetaries description from cocoapink.net because I LOVE IT LOTS-
Fear Of Cemeteries (Coimetrophobia) - Cool damp graveyard dirt with a single white carnation placed cautiously against an old granite headstone, covered by dying crimson and yellow autumn leaves with a soft whisper of wood smoke carried in a crisp breeze.

*The Morbid the Merrier*

 

 

Above from L to R: Horseman, Morton, and Paramour.

This collection also makes me look like grumpy cat because of all the dramz that went down with TMTM. I won't get into it because there's plenty of places that explain the situation. It just made me sad to see a greatly loved indie company crumble before my eyes. The scent I've worn most is Paramour, because it has notes of blood, red wine,  roses, and gunsmoke (how awesome!) and is very uniquely beautiful. Horseman is my second favorite, though I don't recall the notes. I remember there was something leathery about it that my boyfriend absolutely loved. Morton wasn't bad at all, I was just on the fence about it. I need to whip it out soon to see if age has done it well!

 

*Smell Bent and VApothecary*

 

 

Above from L to R: Ice Station Zebra by Smell Bent, Cemetary Snow by VApothecary

And finally, I have two miscellaneous scents from two different companies. I have already done a post for each of them.  The Ice Station Zebra review can be found right here, while the Cemetary Snow review is over here.

If you are still here, thank you so very much for tagging along with me! I hope this post will be sufficient for the next few days (or until next week) because I have a full week ahead. I'm working nonstop, am attending my boyfriend's nephew's 5th birthday this Thursday, and am going to my boyfriend's family reunion-ish type thing on Saturday! My next couple posts will be on the new Solstice Scents Smoky Mountain Mallow perfume and my Bath and Body Works SAS haul. I'm not sure what day I'll get those up, but let me know what you guys would like to read about first! :)

DISCLAIMER - Every single thang I mentioned in this post was purchased by me for my own personal usage. I am not affiliated with or compensated by any of the companies mentioned. My opinions are always my own and always honest!

Easy Makeup!

I, for one, do not like waking up in the mornings. I love the sunrise, the birds chirping, the stillness, and all the beauty that mornings come with; I just don't like the actual waking up part. I am a grumpy asshole in the morning. Anyway, I like to do easy makeup when possible, because I'd rather be enjoying my morning than trying to get my eyeshadow shaped and blended. Therefore, I opt for winged liner and a crapton of mascara, and I like how it turns out.

So... these pictures are going to be awkward as hell because I don't really take pictures of myself and I forget how to 'human'... but yeah, here's pictures of my makeup :D

I'm pretending to have big eyes. I look dumb as hale, but I like how my makeup looks here, so I swallowed mah pride and posted this anyway.

 

Jordana Fabuliner in Black

Tarina Tarantino Sparklicity Pure in the inner corners of my lid

A LOT of Maybelline Cat Eyes mascara

MAC Matchmaster Foundation in 1

MAC Studio Sculpt powder in NC15

MAC blush in Pink Swoon

 

 

What do you guys like to use for an every day makeup look? :)

 

Thanks for reading, and have a lovely weekend!

 

DISCLAIMER: All products mentioned were purchased by me for my own personal usage. I am not affiliated with or compensated by any of the companies mentioned. All opinions are my own and always 100% honest.

Teeny Weeny Lush Haul and Thoughts

I know there are a ton of Lushies out there, but I'm indifferent to Lush. I've only ordered from Lush twice before, and it was quite a few years back. I did like two of the things I've previously gotten: the Mask of Magnaminty and the Tisty Tosty bath bomb. Both were really nice, and I even reordered the latter for this haul. The reason I'd consider myself indifferent to Lush is because I'd rather support indie companies, and because Lush's prices are a bit steep in my opinion.

There are a lot of staples in my daily hair care routine, and I'm quickly running out of most of them. Though I've ordered backups, the backups won't be here before I run out. Therefore, I needed a little bit of hair ~thangs~ to get me through. I ordered Ice Blue shampoo and Okra conditioner for my hair. I also got the Tisty Tosty bath bomb to spoil myself with a relaxing scented bath full of miniature roses.

Above from L to R: Okra conditioner, Ice Blue shampoo, and Tisty Tosty bath bomb.

 

The following will be a breakdown of my thoughts about Ice Blue and Okra:

What I liked:

*I think both Ice Blue and Okra worked fairly well.
*Ice Blue made my hair squeaky clean.
*Okra smelled really fresh, like mountains with a field of herbs nearby. The scent even lingered in my hair for hours.
*The company doesn't test on animals- a rarity for mainsteam companies these days! Even MAC succombed to animal testing, but I digress...

 

What I didn't like:

*Both products contain both SLS and parabens. Whyyyy?
*They were both expensive. Rach of them costed $9.95 for only 3.3 oz of product.
*Ice Blue smelled a bit medicinal to me.

Final Thoughts: I don't necessarily regret my Lush purchases, but this wasn't my absolute favorite haul in the world. I'm happy to have the shampoo and conditioner to get me through until my regulars get here. I'm also happy to have the bath bomb to look forward to. Though I am mainly a shower girl, I do enjoy the ocassional bath for my relaxation and wellbeing.

Do you guys like Lush? If so, what are your favorite Lush products?

As always, thank you so much for reading! Have a marvelous day!

DISCLAIMER: All products mentioned were purchased by me for my own personal usage. I am not affiliated with or compensated by any of the companies mentioned. All opinions are my own and always 100% honest.