Ditching Birchbox. (Boxes April and May)

I got my last Birchbox the day of the marathon bombing, and I didn't feel it was appropriate to really blog about makeup on a day like that.  Unfortunately, putting it off meant I forgot to post it for the whole month of April.  Here's the short version:

We have...
Beauty Protector, Protect and Detangle:  It smells good but is nothing I would buy--I use it to help with heat styling, but it weighs down my hair.  It's not exactly sticky, but I definitely can't run my fingers through my hair after I use it.  The only bonus is that it doesn't seem to set off my allergies like most hair products due.

Caudalie S.O.S Morning Eye Rescue: I put on a few blobs of this dark circle/puffiness remedy and immediately broke out--and my skin is pretty tough.  No, thank you.

Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Repair CC Cream:  I didn't feel or see much of a difference when I put this on, but man, did it STINK! It smelled like an overflowing ash tray in a closed-up hotel room.  Bleh!  I tried it twice, once alone and once under makeup.  I read on the site that you "definitely don't want to fall asleep with zinc on your face!" so you should make sure to take this off before going to bed.  I didn't do so, and my skin was fine, but I was pretty freaked after that.  I mean, I know we're supposed to take off all our makeup before bed, but...why zinc specifically?  What is supposed to happen if you don't?  I'll let you know if my skin starts coming off in chunks or something.

Yes to: Carrots/Grapefruit/Cucumber:  Tiny samples of a scrub and dark spot corrector.  I don't have dark spots, but I used it anyway.  Nothing exciting to report.  I also got a Cucumber Mint chapstick which was as boring as your average chapstick.  I was really disappointed in this stuff specifically because I can run down to Target and pick up this brand--I thought the point of Birchbox was to introduce us to brands we might not already use or find on our own.  Bah.

Out of everything in this box, the only thing I'm going to actually keep using is the detangling spray. Everything else was a bummer.

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May Birchbox:

amika Obliphica Nourishing Mask:  I was excited at first until I realized this is simply a conditioning mask for your hair.  This would be all well and good except I still haven't used the leave-in hair treatment from my March Birchbox.  I wish they would shake things up a little.

Marvis toothpaste:  Again, I was excited at first to see an imported italian toothpaste.  Sounds fancy, right?  Unfortunately, one of the ingredients is Sodium Laurel Sulfate, and that bothers my gums.  Can't use it.  Bummer.

COOLA Classic SPF 30 Cucumber Moisturizer for Face:  Not really a moisturizer, but a sunblock. Which is, surprise, just what they sent me in March, which I still haven't used.  Again, shake things up a little, please.

Sumita Color Contrast Eyeliner: (in black) A waste for me, as my eyeliner is tattooed on.  I have no use for eyeliner.

Pilot Corporation of America Acroball PureWhite pen:  Yikes.  Talk about a reach, Birchbox.  How is a pen a beauty supply? The Birchbox reviews are pretty amusing--everyone is equally pissed.  And it writes in pink ink, so it definitely won't get used much.  Boo.

Isaac Mizrahi FABULOUS Eau de Parfum: When I see a perfume sample I pretty much just throw it out. So, that was equally wasteful of Birchbox.

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So after all this, I've cancelled my Birchbox subscription and moved on to ipsy's Glambag.  The one good thing about Glambag is that each subscriber gets the SAME bag as everyone else does every month--so it won't be like looking under the Instagram #birchbox hashtag and getting envious because everyone else got better products than me!  (And honestly, with Birchbox, they did!  Lipsticks and blushes and foundations and mascara...things I actually would have used!)

Plus with Glambag you get a cute reusable makeup bag every month! I'm excited about that.

Birchbox could have been a lot better if they simply had a better system!  If I could have checked a box that said, "Don't send me perfume" or "I don't wear eyeliner", it would have been really helpful.  Of course, ipsy doesn't have such a box to check either, but at least their bags look more fun.  We'll see!

Same as before, if you'd like to sign up for ipsy's Glambag, please use my referral link!  (Katie, this means you.) ;)

I did it!

It took 11 years of frustration, sacrifice and sometimes tears.  But I did it.

Now I have a really expensive piece of paper, a really large mountain of student loan debt, an alumni pin, a novel looking for a publisher, and that persistent nagging feeling, What's next?

I'm really glad I was able to meet one of my major goals--I wanted to get my degree before I turned 30, and I squeaked by just 2 months shy of 29.  Not too shabby.  And my senior presentation went really well, although my graduation speech could have gone more smoothly.  (They made me go FIRST. Worst idea ever.)

Anyway, I'll be back soon with tales of my life as a new graduate.  Ta ta!

Oh, Boston.

I don't even know what to say about today.  I'm rocked by this tragedy more so than Newtown (although that's not to say I wasn't bothered by Newtown) because I grew up in Boston.  I was right in that area last month and the month before that.

There are so many conflicting reports coming in: was it a terrorist act? foreign or domestic? A single person or an organization? An isolated incident? If it was political, what were they trying to prove? At this point, no one can even seem to agree how many injuries and causalities there are.  I don't even know what to think, except that this one hit way too close to home.

I've been able to get in touch with all my friends, thank goodness.  But I'm still uneasy.  I hope we get some answers, soon, and that they aren't the kind that send us into war.  I'm not ready for the post 9-11 fear all over again.

I hope everyone is safe tonight and knows where their friends/family are.

Junk food fail?

For anyone who has been following my medical saga:

Since gluten was ruled out, I figured I'd give the chiropractor a shot.  It didn't work, and I had something like five attacks within January and February alone.  I asked my doctor if it could be something to do with my gallbladder, and he thought it could be possible.

I'm reluctant to say it is for sure, since before I was SO convinced it was gluten...but, we'll see.

My ultrasound is scheduled for tomorrow, and my plan was to eat all my "trigger foods" tonight so I'd have an attack, hoping that when they scanned my gallbladder the next day, I'd light up like a Christmas tree.  Or, you know, whatever happens when you get an ultrasound.  I want there to be no question in anyone's mind.

My worst trigger foods seem to be Dunkin Donuts croissants (although they don't set me off all the time, only most of the time) and pretty much anything at Ruby Tuesdays, although I can only remember it specifically happening when I've had the Zucchini Mini Burgers and their mashed potatoes.

So my plan was to eat 1 croissant mid-afternoon, and then the Zucchini Minis as close to the "cut off time" (I can't eat for 8 hours before the procedure) as possible.

Guess who was out of croissants today?  Dunkin Donuts.  (I had to drive a good 30 minutes out of my way to get one.)

Then, guess who was out of Zucchini Minis?  Yup, Ruby Tuesdays.

So much for that plan.

If it is in fact my gallbladder, the "gallbladder attacks" would be triggered by too much fat in the food I eat. (Which doesn't entirely make sense to me, because things like ice cream, fast food and pizza don't ever seem to set me off. And Ruby Tuesdays Zucchini Minis were touted as being one of the more healthy menu choices.) So I picked up a hamburger and ice cream on the way back home.

Anyway, I hope this ultrasound tomorrow will help me finally get to the bottom of this, because I'm really tired of people shrugging their shoulders and telling me I'm perfectly healthy.  Don't get me wrong--I like to hear that I'm perfectly healthy--but I'd love to know what I'm dealing with here.

Graduation: T minus 20

I graduate in 20 days, and today we received word that my advisor, poet laureate of New Hampshire, Walter Butts, had passed away yesterday.

None of us knew his illness had taken a turn for the worst until just recently, and as soon as we were notified I went out and bought him a card.  I didn't even get a chance to mail it yet, before I got a second email telling us of his passing.

It feels so odd.  Walter was the first person I ever met at Goddard, when I went to Discover Goddard Day back in...what was it now, 2010? 2011?  He was there representing the BFA program--he sat down with me and another student and answered our questions.  I wish I could remember his words now, but regardless, they were enough to draw me to the school.

And as things tend to come full circle, Walter was also my advisor for this final semester.  Both the man to welcome me and to usher me on to better things.  I'm very saddened by his passing and regret that I won't get to hear him speak at graduation.

It seems selfish now, but I wanted to buy his books and finally get his autograph.  But like with so many things, I waited.  And now the chance is gone.  I don't know when I'll learn to stop waiting. I make the mistake of frequently thinking there will always be more time...

We'll all miss you, Walter.  You've been an inspiration to us all.

Wet blanket attends (another) concert.

Remember roughly two years ago when I went to see Bright Eyes at the Radio City Music Hall and decided that I was, in fact, too old for concerts?

Well, I've been going to concerts since then.

The Decemberists, Death Cab for Cutie, Leonard Cohen, Afghan Whigs, Gin Blossoms...
and last night...

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

Concerts grew on me a bit, especially the outdoor arenas where I could just lay back on the grass and wander up front if I wanted to. (The Decemberists was the best show ever.  I want them to come back every year.)  Really calm, no one shoving and sweating all over me... but after last night (although it was a great show, don't get me wrong) I'm back to my I'm-too-old-for-this mentality.  I sat in a cramped seat next to a girl who kept rubbing her butt on me as she danced (even after I gave her a warning jab to let her know that wasn't the chair she was bumping into!) and by the end of the show both my coat and my boyfriend's hoodie were covered in $13 worth of mystery beer.  (But hey, at least it wasn't pee.)

The good news is, I have seen almost every band I've set out to see.  I only have Tom Waits left on my definitive list--and he apparently keeps his tours annoyingly in the mid-west, so that might be a hike.  I'd also like to see Transiberian Orchestra one of these days, but they come around every year so it's not as much of a novelty.

But yes.  All in all it was a good show.  I had no idea Nick Cave was that much of a rock star, but he had a ton of energy and was grabbing everyones hands and playing it up.  They played Red Right Hand which is my favorite--I would have paid money to just hear them play that over and over.  Super glad that I got to go, despite my friendly-butted neighbor and the beer bath.

"David Bowie influenced my fashion sense..."

I was driving home listening to the new David Bowie album, and despite being a big Bowie fan, I'm not exactly liking it so far.  Which to me, after years and years of fangirl obsession and seeing him in concert at least three times, felt awful.  I felt like I woke up next to someone after years of cohabiting/marriage whatever and just realized, Huh. I don't love him.

So I'm doing what any (sane?) Bowie fan would do--putting the album on repeat until I love it.

Anyway.  I got to thinking about the evolution of my Bowie obsession:  It started the summer before my Senior year of high school when shopping for school clothes.  The store I was in had ChangesBowie on repeat, and I realized that I recognized a lot of the songs (and really liked them) but had no clue who was singing.  I asked a salesgirl, and within a few hours I was on my way home with ChangesBowie in my Discman.  (And no new school clothes.)  That's all it took.  Before that, I had only seen the movie Labyrinth maybe once...

I apologize for this horribly pixelated image, but Bowie influenced my fashion sense, too, which is hilarious when you consider the fact that I don't mean glitter makeup, shaved off eyebrows (although, I did that my junior year of high school--not intentionally!) and platform boots or anything of that nature.

Yep.  I stole the whole loosely-tied-tie-around-the-waist-as-a-belt idea from his Reality tour.  (And okay, I was in the cheap seats.  Now that I can examine these pictures on the internet, I think it ACTUALLY is a belt, not a tie.  But whatever.  I wore a tie because it looked like a tie.)

And.... Chucks!  Everyone in high school seemed to have a pair of Chucks, but it wasn't until the Reality tour when I saw Bowie in them that I actually started considering them.  If he could wear them, I could wear them...

But yeah.  Other than that, David Bowie hasn't influenced me at all...I swear...

(I've been going through old photos lately, obviously...)