FITFABFUN Spring Subscription Box

I decided to try the Spring box of FITFABFUN with a $10 off coupon. I was able to chose 3 things in my box and if I think it is worth the value/money, I will get the annual membership. I like that it has a mixture of beauty, fashion, and lifestyle items. It will feed my beauty addition, but also add a few things our home needs and a few pieces to my wardrobe. If there is anything that I don’t like/need, they would make really good gifts. As long as this month, I get my $40 worth then I will continue the subscription, because it would still be worth it. I am really happy with my 3 picks and it was really easy to sign up for the box. The annual membership, you get to choose more items that go into your box, so I am looking forward to that if I decide to do that. Oh, and this is a quarterly subscription, so the next box that I would get would be in June/July. Plenty of time to decide if I want to get the year plan or just another month. This is something I always wanted to try, but could never afford before.

The Box:

The box is cute as hell and I will be keeping it to collect items for birthday gifts and such. It is the perfect size for things like that to store away in a closet. I can for sure see myself in the future repurposing more of these boxes as they are pretty, sturdy, and generally a good size to have around.

The box has a magazine insert in it that has recipes and articles, but also has the list of everything in the box and the breakdown of the prices as well. I will also be double checking the prices online to let you know how true to scale what they say you are getting in these boxes. The magazine is a nice touch and I will be reading/using it for sure. I like having light reading material sometimes.

Ciate London Extraordinary Translucent Setting Powder, $22

I am pretty darn excited about getting this one! I have a finishing powder, but now I have a setting powder that I can pair with my concealer or foundation if I want to wear those types of products or anything that really needs a setting powder to “set” it. Otherwise, on the day to day, I use my finishing powder to give my skin a soft blurring effect. I will be putting this powder to good use for sure and now, I will not be needing to buy any face powder for a long, long time. It is also a pricey brand that I wouldn’t buy unless on sale at Sephora.

OUAI Leave In Conditioner, $26

I was just talking with my boyfriend, Martin, that I recently finished up my current leave-in that was doing nothing for me and switched to using my expensive Moroccan oil and the wonders it was doing to my hair keeping it knot free. I am going to immediately start using this instead of my expensive oil and see how it compares. If it doesn’t hold up, I want to finish it up and go back to what works for me. I am willing to try new things, but my hair oil (even though expensive) does the job of detangling, moisturizing, and keeping it tangle free when I don’t wash my hair for days. I am excited to try a prestigious brand from this box. Already, this box is equal to what I paid for and I am very happy. I will give you the grand total at the bottom of this post.

Manna Kadar Champagne Body Scrub, $24

This is a huge and generous body scrub tub. It isn’t very pricey when you consider that VS sells their 8 oz tubs for almost the same price and you are getting more than double the amount in there. I will be setting this aside for when I finish my other two body scrubs from VS. I like to use a body scrub before shaving my legs and about once a week to keep my skin soft and smooth. It’s actually a “secret” of mine. It really works to give yourself baby soft skin and to keep your skin in its best condition. The best part? Most of these scrubs with oils hydrate the skin and seal in moisture. This means you don’t have to put lotion on your skin when you get out of the shower. I love skipping a step when I can, because time is a precious commodity.

Unplug Meditation Aromatherapy Diffuser, $55

We just used this last night and I am in love. It changes colors, so it is a pretty cool nightlight. I love the essential oil included. It is a sweet orange scent that is very uplifting. I filled it when we were settling into our room for the night and it diffused until we fell asleep. Don’t know how many hours it works for, but it was very nice. Only con is that it needs to be plugged into a USB port which is a pain. I will buy a USB charger/battery thing, so it can run on its own. Currently, I hook it up to my laptop at night. It isn’t ideal since I tend to knock things over and I don’t want to get water anywhere near my laptop.

Eleven By Venus Jump Rope, $15

Not sure that this jump rope is worth $15, but I will be keeping it as part of my exercise routine indoors that I need to get back to. May is a brand new month, my birthday month, the perfect month to get back to exercising again. This will be nice to rotate into my routine and get some good cardio going. I will be keeping this at my desk, which is in a corner of our living room where I will be keeping my exercise equipment/supplies as I collect them. I like having the extra space over here (next to a cement ledge), because it sort of extends the top part of my desk. I didn’t care for this item, but I will put it to good use and will use it.

Korres Wild Rose Vitamin C Brightening Sleeping Facial, $48

I thought this was a face mask, but it is more like an overnight treatment face cream? I am excited to try Korres, another high end brand that I have always wanted to try before. I will set this in my bathroom to alternate which my night time face oil, since one of the serums that I do use at night is more compatible with a cream than an oil. This will be a good pairing with that. This seems EXTREMELY STRONGLY of roses which I LOVE but may not be everyone’s cup of tea. I feel so fancy! I can say without a doubt that I am keeping the subscription right now. Not sure that I can afford to swing the annual membership for a bit, but I will as soon as I am able. That’s like paying for 3 1/2 instead or 4 boxes. Even saving $20 makes a difference, plus with the upgrade, you get to chose two more products in your box instead of 3.

Giadzy Copper Plated Measuring Spoons, $15

One can never have too many measuring spoons when cooking and these are a super nice pair and SO SHINY! I am reserving these for my dry ingredients, since these don’t separate. I am excited to have a plastic set for wet and a nice sturdy pair for dry. You really do need two pairs, because yesterday I had to use a TBS of oil and then a TBS of sugar. I had to wash and dry in between cooking. A second pair will just make things so much easier while cooking.

Dr. Brandt Skincare Needles No More No More Baggage Eye De-Puffing Gel, $42

I have a major problem with dark circles under my eyes (Genes) and my eyes are always a bit puffy in the morning. I am currently using a roller ball by ELF for $3 that I am enjoying for depuffing but it does nothing for my dark circles. I am excited to give this a try once I finish up my ELF morning treatment. This will be put in back stock until then, but at least I know that I don’t need to buy any day eye cream/gel anytime soon. My evening eye cream is getting low though. I have a few things on my list to get for my birthday that I limited myself to 4 stores: Lush, MAC, Sephora, and ELF.

That is everything that came in my box. So, I paid $42 with shipping and the value of this box was…..$247. I definitely feel like I got my moneys worth from this box and will use everything. I had nothing set aside for gifts, because I know that I will use everything. This was a very nice surprise! On future calculations, whatever I set aside for gifts will have a box total and a usage total of what I will actually use. I am very happy with my first box and I am looking forward to the Summer box in June/July.

With Love,

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5 Out: July

I wasn’t sure how to name these review posts. I knew that I want to title them 5 Out, but I didn’t know beyond that. I think that I will just name them with whatever month that we are currently in. Even though, these are items that I finished in May. It takes me awhile before I get around to blogging about them, but I am going to be better about it for sure. I have 5 more items waiting to be written about and I will do that right after this post. You might see two if these posts in July then, but they will be named the same.

Not Your Mother’s Clean Freak Refreshing Dry Shampoo

I liked this dry shampoo, but I would not repurchase it. I don’t think it absorbed enough oil in my hair. It still was a bit oily. If I sprayed a ton, it did leave a bit of a white cast, but you couldn’t really tell with my grey hair. It does not leave your hair feeling gritty and it does provide some volume. I think there are other dry shampoos that do a better job on oil hair. I have oily roots and this did a 50% job on day 2/3 hair. I need to find something affordable to work on my hair. The only dry shampoo I have found that works is Amika Perk Up. That stuff is amazing!

Victoria Secret’s PINK Coconut Mango 2-in-1 Wash & Scrub

The scent on this is to die for, but I will not be repurchasing. Somewhere along the way, VS has become non-cruelty free. I will continue to buy bras and such from them on sale, but no more beauty products. This was a great scrub, perfect for summer. It was very gritty like sand on the beach. It was like a beach in a bottle. I really enjoyed this scrub, but it is not as good as Tree Hut scrubs. Hopefully, I can get my hands on them at Marshall’s soon. You can always get VS on promotion, so never buy them full price like B&BW. It is not worth it.

Alba Botanica Acnedote Deep clean Astringent

Alcohol is the second ingredient, so I will not be repurchasing for that reason. It stung my skin if I used it after a drying mask. It was effective against acne, but there are less harsh things that work just as well. If this brand makes an alcohol free toner, I would buy it. I like to use a toner that also doubles as a morning cleanser or micellar water. It also had a strong smell that irritated my eyes and made them sensitive. I like that the ingredients are 100% vegetarian and that it contains no “bad” ingredients, except for the alcohol.

Dr. Brandt BB Cream Self-Adjusting Flawless Coverage SPF 30

I am decluttering this BB cream. It is not self-adjusting. It comes out super orange and muddy. I cannot wear this at all. I don’t know why I have this around still and it for sure went bad. It was a good idea if you have a medium skin tone or are tan. I will not purchase from Dr. Brandt, since he is not CF. I have never found a BB cream that matches my skin tone. When I think I am medium, I’m light. When I think I’m light, I’m fair. It is just a bit of a guessing game with most brands.

ELF Tone Correcting Powder in Cool

I am super sad that they discontinued the warm powder. I loved this powder. The only drawback is that the cool makes me overly pale and ghostly. I have warm yellow undertones, so it doesn’t really suit my skin tone. The only other negative is that the powder kept on getting hard pan on the blue and yellow side until I repressed it. The powder is finely milled and kept my skin oil free all day. I didn’t notice any benefit from the color correction, but I have yellow undertones. So, a purple color would have suited me better for a brightening effect. Overall, a great powder for 3 dollars.

Do you like this new review style? I think it works for my blog and makes my review posts more interesting. It does take awhile for me to write these posts, because I have to take the time to review each item. I hand write all of my reviews first before they appear on my blog. I like to get my feelings out on paper first before typing them up and adding a few bits and pieces that I forgot to mention. Even though I do online college, I still take notes in my notebooks. There is just something about putting ink to page that speaks to me and helps me remember. But maybe that is just the writer that is talking in me.

With Love,

May Empties

I may be late sharing my empties, but I never knew how much I had to share in a month until I cut down my schedule to about 15 posts a month. I’ve been having to switch around the format of my posts and so this one is coming up later in the month than what I like. I basically sit down two Sundays a month now and write posts. I now have two Sundays a month free for classes. I only work on my blog for about 4 hours a month. That only includes writing the posts, not taking the pictures and coming up with the ideas. I am happy with this new pace of my blog. It makes it so I can be a well-rounded person and have time for everything that I want to have time for. It is nice to know that when life gets hectic, I generally have a week or two already planned out on my blog.

You hear about these every month, so I am cutting out the drinks that I purchase without fail every month. You know that I love them or else I wouldn’t have featured them for over a year here on my blog.

1 Not Your Mother’s Clean Freak Refreshing Dry Shampoo

2 Hair Teasing Brush

1. MJCARE Sea Weed Sheet Mask

2. Alba Botanical Acne Dote Deep Clean Astringent

3. Borghese Clay Cleanser

4. GlamGlow Super Clean Cleanser

5. Philosophy Purity Face Mask

6. Clinique Pep Start Eye Cream

7. Derma E Hydrating Day Creme

1. VS Coconut Mango 2-in-1 Wash & Scrub

2. Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter

3. Equate Pain Relieving Cream

1. Dr. Brandt BB Cream

2. ELF Color Correcting Powder

3. Buxom Plumping Lip Gloss

4. YSL Black Opium Perfume

5. 1. Perfume Sample Cards

19. Physician’s Formula Cushion BB Cream

1. 719 Walnut Avenue Honeysuckle Jasmine Hand Soap

2. Fresh Breath Brushing Gel

3. Equate Cotton Rounds 100 ct

4. 1. PaperMate Ink Joy Blue
5. 1. 1. B&BW Mini Candles

6. Avon Mini Emery Board

Well, I had a lot more empties than I had originally thought. I cannot wait to do my progress update on my 200 pan goal. I have been working on my pictures and I hope you can tell a difference. I think it looks more professional and I have added a bit of brightness to the pictures themselves by staging some lightening. Since I have a bit more time, I thought that I would put more effort into the picture taking themselves. I have a feeling that my empties will be slowing down, because I am running out of mini things. I still have a whole bunch of samples that I need to get through though. I hope you enjoyed looking through my trash today. Reviews are to come. 🙂

With Love,

5 In: Walmart & Marshall’s

I have been lightly shopping lately and have been picking up things here and there. These are the latest things that I have picked up. I am pretty proud of all of my purchases. I like to say that I am a frugal shopper and since I discovered Marshall’s, I never want to shop at Sephora again. Will I? Yes, because sometime you just want something and Marshall’s doesn’t always have what you want. I have been making it a habit to go to Marshal’s once a month to make any of my beauty and skin care purchases. The mark down is unbelievable and makes my high end collection that much more affordable. But let me stop rambling and show you the good stuff.

This shower caddy was on clearance at Walmart for just $5. I love having all of my products up and out of the shower now. My shower used to be super cluttered with all of our stuff and now, my dad and my stuff sit in this caddy and Dean’s stuff sits on the shelf in the tub. Everything isn’t all over the corners and edge of the tub and on the floor. It is supper refreshing how clean and organized the shower looks now. I need to get some under the sink storage organizers and possibly a piece of furniture for the bathroom to put towels in. Like the over the toilet kind except I don’t have room where the toilet is (the heater is behind there), so I would put it near the washer/dryer.

This is a boring repurchase, but this is the best toothpaste under $5. This keeps my teeth relatively white. I need to buy the white strips to make them as white as I want them to be, but this toothpaste does a good job at keeping them from getting yellower. If you used this with the strips, I think it would have no problem keeping your teeth as white as you want them. I want a natural white, so I only want my teeth one or two shades whiter than they already are. I love the taste and my teeth have never felt cleaner. It feels like I just came back from the dentist. I love that really clean feeling.

I am a HUGE fan of Kate Spade and Marshall’s has a ton of Kate Spade. I think I might buy a couple of decorate boxes to keep out of season clothes in next once I find coordinating room colors (anything Tiffany blue, gold, silver). I have a Tiffany blue Kate Spade notebook currently and I love it. They had this cute Rose Gold Pearls notebook for $3 and I had to have it for school. I will be taking two classes, so now I have two Kate Spade notebooks for it. I will definitely pick up two more for next semester, so if I see more next month, I will be sure to grab more to prepare. The paper is high quality and looks very classy when you take them with you like I will be taking them to work. I will be writing a post about my college essentials soon enough.

My prized win of all? This Collector’s Edition BareMinerals Deluxe Mineral Veil Finishing Powder for $9.99 worth $58 and originally went for $38. This is a huge powder at 24 grams of product. I think this will take me a whole year to go through and the packaging is to die for. Hopefully, I will be able to pop the sifter and refill. If not, I will reuse it as a holder for something. It is stunning packaging and a collector’s piece. Who would have thought that I would have found this at Marshall’s? AND it was completely sealed and untampered with. The powder has a light salmon color to it, so it color corrects slightly. It really does blur out pores and gives my face that perfected look. Stella always raves about BareMinerals and I have to say, I am impressed so far. I will definitely be buying more BareMinerals if I see any at Marshall’s.

OMG you guys! I had to share these PaperMate InkJoy Gel Pens that I have been wanting so badly for school. They are on sale at Walmart right now. They are currently $8.98 marked down from $15.98. You could practically buy another pack with your savings! I didn’t do that though, I bought two other cute stationary products with my savings instead. You should check out Walmart.com or your nearest Walmart to see if they have any of these. This is my first time buying these pens, so I need to see if I like them enough to buy them again before I go crazy and buy more of them.

That is my little haul to share with all of you. I will be doing a separate in-depth online college essentials post that will cover some of the things I bought here, but mostly new stuff to talk about. Most of the stuff, I didn’t personally had to go out and buy. They were leftovers from my previous college years and failed hobbies. lol. Does anyone else do that? I tried hobbies, because other people liked them but I could never keep up. It just wasn’t my thing. The only hobby that has lasted for me is blogging. Probably because writing is my passion.

With Love,

Project 200 Pan Update #1

This is the post I will be breaking down my empties post and sharing which ones will qualify for my 200 used up or panned items in 2018. First, I will share the items that I have hit pan on in January.

I hit pan on 3 items: Elf color correcting face powder in cool, Smashbox purple color corrector, and Lush lip scrub in Mint Julep. I feel like that is a great start to the new year. Now, let’s go over everything from my January Empties post that qualifies for this project.

Everything that counts in these pictures are as follows: all the makeup, all the hair, all the skin care besides the foil packets, Aveeno body lotion, and the Equate one as well. So, that is 11 items (I added together two deluxe sized samples). So, in January I used up 14 out of my 200 goal. I have reached 7 percent of my goal this year. Not that bad for the first month. My basket is already filling up with more items, so I am hoping for anything full February. It is a shorter month, though. I would be happy with another 7% down.

How are you doing with your 2018 goals?

With Love,

Project $200 Pan Finale

I had fun for the past 6 months trying to use up $200 worth of makeup products. I already know that I have won this challenge and I feel really proud of myself. I know that this year’s challenge will be a success as well as long as I work at it and don’t slack off too much. Now, let’s recap from last month. I used up $189.18. I think I beat the $200 mark for sure with these two products.

I finished the Laura Mercier loose setting powder at $4.56. The Vampire perfume went for $20.00. So I bet my goal of $200. I ended my project in December at $213.74! This was such a fun project and I look forward to the new project that I am planning next year. Stay tuned to find out what I am doing in 2018!

With Love,

December Empties

Instead of saying another month gone, I’ll say another year gone this time around. I believe the older you are, the faster time seems to go by. Time never went by this fast when I was in high school. It only ever went fast when I was actually enjoying my life. Now, days that drag and days that fly, all seem to go at the same pace. Sounds cliche and maybe it is but it is also the truth. I would never go back in time. I want to always be moving forward, never going back. For the new year empties, I am going to be trying a new style of empty posts. Stay tuned until Feb to see the new empties.

1. & 2. International Delight Coffee Creamer

3. & 4. Gerber Graduates Lil’ Beanies

5. New England Coffee Colombian Supremo

6. Dunkin’ Donuts Caramel Coffee Cake

7. Gerber Puffs in Sweet Potato

8. Dr Fresh Kids’ Toothbrushes

9. – 12. Two Sharpie Highlighters & Two InkJoy pens

13. Zesty Paws Turmeric Curcumin Bites

14. ProActiv Refining Mask

15. Belif The True Cream Moisturizing Balm

16. Coty Vampire Perfume

17. Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder

18. Velvet Purple Scrunchy

19. The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% and Zinc 1%

20. Biore Baking Soda Cleanser

21. Gliss Ultra Moisture Shampoo

22. Equate Motrin

23. Soap & Glory Clean On Me Shower Gel

December was a light month for me and January is already looking better. I have been decluttering some makeup products here and there that are just not good anymore. As I go throughout the year, I plan on decluttering anything that I don’t like that I know are recent products to friends and anything else can and will be thrown away. It’s time for a new me that doesn’t keep products around just to have them.

With Love,

 

Recent Random Purchases

I will continue with what I got for Christmas later. I wanted to share a few things that I picked up lately that are not holiday related in any shape or form. I just needed a few things throughout the month of November and December and just never got a chance to share. I know there has been a lot of holiday posts, Dean updates, and the like, so I thought that this would be a nice break. I plan on having some reviews go up this month too, so you can look forward to that if you enjoy reviews. I’ve gotten a bit behind and have a huge basket of products to review. I’ve been so busy with cleaning the house that reviews went on the back burner. I’m hoping to post at least 10 reviews this month.

Elf Tone Correcting Powder in Cool

I decided to buy this after Liv from Livloveshermakeup on Youtube recommended it and said that it was her favorite powder for setting in her foundation. I haven’t used it enough yet to say if I like it or not. I just finished up my last loose powder. I only have this and the glimmery Hourglass powder left for my face. Most of the time, I want a matte appearance. I’m sure I’ll form an opinion by the time I hit pan on this powder. I really love the Hourglass powder too, but I like to use it 1x when I want that type of look.

PaperMate Profile Ballpoint Pens

I needed more pens for my course work and I like the cushy pads on these. I will always choose PaperMate InkJoy as my first choice though. Unfortunately, Walmart was all out of the InkJoy,  so I settled for these. I’m not a fan of how thick the ballpoint is and I cannot wait until I need more pens again to get my favorite. If you haven’t tried them, I highly recommend them. I’m itching to try the Gel Pens megapack, but it’s expensive. Once I start SNHU, I will treat myself to a pack.

Plain Old $1 Notebook

I needed another notebook for my course. The first notebook held the first 5 chapters. I had some Chapter 5 overflow into this new book, but most of it was on the first one. I take a lot of notes too. This will be enough to finish the last two chapters of the book and the exam notes to study from. I plan on taking the test in February probably near Valentine’s Day. I usually plan the actual test date two weeks out from when I finish the last chapter. Two weeks of intense studying has been good for me. So, near the end of Chapter 7, I’ll schedule it at the test center.

Dial Paradise Limeade Hand Soap

I love this scent so much. It smells like a Raspberry Lime Rickey from my childhood. I need to pick another of the oil infused hand soap. My hands are so red and cracked. They need some tlc. I am looking forward to picking that up this weekend. I’m almost done with this one. I feel like the oil one really does moisturize better, but was too heavy during the summer when I first purchased it.

Playhut Plus Adventure Play Tunnel

I had to share Dean’s favorite Christmas toy. I know I said this was holiday free, but I lied. I had to share his favorite thing to play with. He loves crawling in his tunnel and hanging out in there. He plays hide and seek and tries to walk into it, but he’s too tall to do that. He’s such a sweet, good boy. I love watching him play and he brings me so much joy. I can’t imagine my life without him.

With Love,

Ultra HD

MUFE Ultra HD Microfinishing Loose Powder

The powder seemed chunky and would not stick to my flat top kabuki brush, which is the type of brush I like to use my powders with. The Sephora and Covergirl powder did not have that problem. The powder also made my face feel dry. I am not a fan of this powder and I will not purchase it. I will be keeping the container, because it is the perfect size to scoop in some of the cream product from my Smashbox palette and it has a lid so it won’t dry out. I think I’ll scoop in some of the purple corrector for the first go around.

With Love,

❤ Selena Hannah ❤

$200 Before 2018: Update #7

I did not finish as much as I would have liked in October. I’m really cutting it close with this project. I’m starting to think that I won’t be able to use up $200 worth of makeup before the New Year. But I am getting away from myself again.

Let’s recap: I have used 15 out of 20 products to the tune of $133.20 out of $200.

I’m really not sure if I am going to make it. To “win” this challenge, I need to have used up at least 2 products to the tune of 22.27 for the next three months to pull this off. I am not sure about the dollar amount, but I did use up at least 2 products. At least, I think I won half the challenge this past month. It just means that I need to hustle in November!

By glancing at this, I can see that I finished up 4 products bringing my total to 19 out of 20 products used up. I will easily hit my goal of 20 by the November update no problem there. Now, let’s take a look at the price of everything. I paid $7 for the Sephora powder. The Cover FX was in a $10 kit, so I’ll take it as $5 worth. Okay, so far it’s $12, let’s keep going. These nail polishes retailed for $7.99. Now, I’m up to $19.99. Let’s give $1 for the sample. That’s $20.99. I’m looking up the perfume now to see if I can find it. I found the roller ball selling for $3.50, so I’ll say the same for this one. My total used this month is $24.49 and totally NOT what I was expecting. I might actually have a chance!

My total used up is 19 out of 20 totaling $157.69 out of $200. I need to use up $21.15 the next two months in order to “win” this panning challenge. It feels so good to use up what you have and not see SO MUCH clutter. I mean, I still see clutter, but it feels good to use up your stash. This challenge has really opened up my eyes to what I have and how long it takes to use up items. I’m going to be more strict with myself and makeup next year. I’m going to go on a year low buy. I’m only allowing myself to splurge twice a year, otherwise than that, only when I NEED something like replacing my daily face powder.

With Love,