Secret Santa 2013!

My Secret Santa box came today!

       On the 9th day of Christmas my Secret Santa sent to meeee.... WAY more than I deserved! So today I found out that the AH-MAZING and SUPER SWEET Jenn over on The Pouring Pot was my Secret Santa this year. I can't even begin to describe how thoughtful Jenn's gifts to me were. She put so much thought and effort into my box. All of the gifts were wrapped in pretty wrapping paper, even the super small ones, there were little notes on some of them, and even the box it came in had super cute cartoon kitty tape on it. She put in so much love in my box that I wanted to cry. I'm so touched by her wonderful presents to me and she spent WAY more than she should have. Jenn just has such a huge heart. I LOVE her to pieces and Jenn if you are reading this I don't even have the words to properly thank you enough. You were so generous to me and your box and little notes made me want to tear up and it sincerely touched my heart. THANK YOU SO MUCH Jenn and thank you so much for being such a truly great person and friend. So without further mushiness before I become a blob of Jell-O here is what she sent me...

Jenn certainly spoiled me ROTTEN!

   As you can see Jenn totally went the extra mile. I was super surprised when I saw all of these and even more touched when I saw just how much thought she gave it. Everything here was things that I have said I wanted on the boards in different posts for who knows how many weeks or months ago?  Jenn has such a great memory and attention to detail. The first thing I noticed was this adorable little paper bow that actually unfolds and becomes a little note. The note she wrote me was so sweet and made me smile from ear to ear. I'm keeping it on my computer desk because I can't bare to throw it away just yet.

See the super cute bow and journal.

    Then of course you can see this MASSIVE 1 pound chocolate bar. This may or may not be gone by Christmas... We will have to see how good I am and whether or not my mom gets into it too lol. Then there was this adorable little journal. It has different pages with this cute cartoon girl and her cat. I can see me plotting CBV orders in it already! Plus it is just my style everything from the colors to the girl.

Pretty much my same reaction.

And she threw in some Bath & Body goodies!

     I have been wanting to try Melissa's Bath & Body line for awhile now and Jenn was sweet enough to gift me these three babies. I was so excited when I saw these! I love body butter but get it from a different company so hadn't ordered Melissa's because I wanted to use up the ones I have so you can imagine my joy when I saw the body butter and the cherry on top was that Jenn got it in Whistlin Dixie! One of my all time favorite scents that I waited to be added to the bath and body line specifically. I was so touched she remembered and then the warm and fuzzies continued when I pulled out the Sophie Belle body spray. I love Sophie Belle it is one of my favorite of the fruity floral mixtures and it is perfect for a perfume! If that wasn't enough to make me weep with gratitude she also gifted me the sugar scrub in another favorite scent of mine Pizelle! It smells like such bakery wonderful goodness and I know will be so amazing to use in a hot shower in these cold months! I honestly cannot even express how much these mean to me. The fact that Jenn took into account my favorite scents and in the exact products I had offhandedly mentioned in previous posts on the board. UGH I just can't express all of the love I am feeling right now!

I wanted to roll around with glee when I saw these.

As if all of that wasn't sweet enough...

    Yep, to top it all off Jenn was so warm-hearted and charitable she even gave me a Glitter Candle in another one of my all time favorite scents Orange Vanilla Coffee. I'm not sure what glitter this is exactly. I think it may be Gem Blue or Aqua And Silver. It looks a lot like my gem blue glitter candle but it has more silver in it and is more sparkly so I'm thinking it may be aqua and silver. This picture does it absolutely no justice at all though it is super gorgeous and sparkly. Then you may be able to see it there at the bottom, my picture skills are less than stellar, but she also threw in a Blue Raspberry Slushie lip balm. Jenn must be a mind reader because I just placed an order the other day for a Green Apple lip balm, but I was so torn between getting the apple or the blue raspberry. It couldn't have come at a better time to because as most of you guys may know I accidentally washed 2 tubes of my Burts Bees in the washer and not having another tube of balm was driving me crazy!

    Jenn spoiled me way too much! She is so considerate and gracious. My heart was truly touched by everything in this package. It wasn't just the amazing gifts she gave or the great amount that she gave it, but her touch and care are so evident in every little thing. Honestly Jenn I don't know how to thank you enough. I feel so lucky to have you as my Secret Santa and also to have your friendship. I'm so grateful to you.

I wish I could hug you right now Jenn!

CBV Soap Shots Review

CBV released new soap shots!

     Hey everyone here is a short little review of Candles By Victoria's new bath & body product called Soap Shots. These are just like their usual scent shots only instead of being filled with scented wax they are filled with scented soap. I have to say I was really excited to see this new addition because I have often eyed Melissa's soaps, however I wasn't sure if I wanted to buy a whole bar if I didn't like the over all formula of the soap itself. Now I can try these little sample soaps that cost the same as a scent shot ($2.00) and see for myself whether I wish to buy the full sized bars. I decided to buy two in some scents that I have had before and really liked. So here are the two soaps that I purchased...

They are like brighter scent shots...

   I really like these two fragrances on their own and I like that they are both different, but feminine and girly smelling all the same. I'm not sure I wanted a soap that smelt like food so I went with these perfumey smelling fragrances. As for the formula on these soaps I have to say that they could be better. I have really dry skin and these just weren't moisturizing enough for me personally. It made my skin feel a little tight after using. The shape of the shots also makes it a little difficult to use. Nothing too bad, but still not the easiest thing to grip on to in the shower. They lather up really nicely though. I had no problems in that area. I could still smell the scent on my skin about an hour after I used it however the scent was kind of faint.

    Personally I will not be using these on my body, however I think they make great hand soaps. That is what I am going to use them for from now on. My skin just needs more moisturizer than these little guys can give. So if you have dry or sensitive skin like me you might want to pass on the soap shots, but if you have regular skin then give them a try and see for yourself if they work for you or not. I think I am going to stick with my staple Fortune Cookie Soaps. Overall these are not bad, but they aren't that great either. I give them a 2.5 stars out of 5. 

I wanted to like these so much more than I do...

Fortune Cookie Soap Spring 2013 Review!

Fuck Yeah! The FCS spring line is here!

       Fortune Cookie Soap launched their official spring 2013 line on March 15th. The collection introduced 8 brand new fragrances all inspired by the scents of springtime. These new additions also showcase FCS's signature humor when it comes to naming their products. The eight new fragrances are A Nod To The Hippies, Dirty Hoe, Down To Earth, Honey-Dew Me, I Wet My Plants, Kiss My Vine, Late Bloomer, and The Birds & The Bees. I only purchased 4 of these scents because the other 4 scents had certain fragrances that I know I am not a fan of. (A Nod To The Hippies has patchouli, Dirty Hoe & Down To Earth are obviously earthy fragrances, and I Wet My Plants has jasmine and baby powder in it. Two scents I'm not fond of.) As I always do I only purchased the 4 scent body butter sampler pack. I like to smell the small individual samples and then chose whether or not the fragrances are worth buying in a full sized product. And without further ado here is my review...

All of this little haul's goodies.

Honey-Dew Me:
Color: Fluorescent Yellow
Scent Description: After I got done giggling at the name I opened this little guy and saw that the body butter was this really bright and vivid fluorescent yellow. Most of FCS's body butters come in these pale pastel shades, but this one is in your face neon yellowish green. It looks like it could glow in the dark. (Sadly it does not though) After I spent the next few minutes just being impressed with the color I finally smelt this and whoa mama is it good! Depite the name it isn't just a honeydew scent, it is more of a sweet melon scent. A lot of melon scents in general tend to pack a very strong punch, but this one is nicely toned down. It is a really fresh fruity fragrance. I get a mixture of honeydew and cantaloupe melons, and in the undertones I can even smell watermelon. The site mentions this one also has apples and vanilla bean. I do not smell those scents individually, but I believe the apples probably blended with the overall wonderful fruitiness and the vanilla bean is probably what rounds out the fruits from smelling too thick or powerful. This is a wonderful fruity scent that is both sweet and refreshing. Perfect for the springtime. 

It smells so wonderful!

Kiss My Vine:

Color: Cotton Candy Pink
Scent Description: This one is supposed to smell like strawberries and champagne. I can kind of see how it smells like that, but to be honest when I first opened this I had forgotten what scents were in this. So when I smelt it my first impression was that it smelt like a light floral fragrance. It wasn't until after I looked up the description again that I started to notice that yeah it does kind of smell like strawberries and champagne when you think about it. The champagne scent isn't overly strong or sharply alcohol smelling like I feel a lot of "champagne" fragrances end up smelling like. The strawberries aren't really all that fruity either. They mix and blend in with the champagne to the point where they are almost indiscernable. If you were blindfolded and asked what fruit was in this, you probably wouldn't have guessed strawberries...at least I know I wouldn't have. This is a feminine scent that reminds me of an expensive bubble bath. It is certainly a different take on a springtime scent, but it is nicely done.

Not your typical springtime scent, but still lovely.

Late Bloomer:Color: Mint Green
Scent Description:  I was a little leary about this one when ordering because it has Polynesian Hibiscus, ripe berries, white amber, and vanilla. The reason I was hesitant is because I cannot do strong florals, overly dark berry scents, or too woodsy earthy scents. Luckily this fragrance isn't any of those. The main note in this one is a vanilla that is warmed up by the white amber. I smell the faintest trace of a soft smelling flower, but that's it. I don't get berries in this at all. There is nothing fruity about this scent in the least. The scent throw on this one is kind of weak. You can't really smell it until you rub it into the skin. It kind of smells like a fresh, clean, and natural lotion to me. Not my favorite of the bunch, but it is still nice. 

It was nice, but not my favorite.

The Birds & The Bees:
Color: Robin's Egg Blue
Scent Description: The official description for this one is incredibly vague. The site just says "Dont worry, we're not going to give you "the talk". But we will give you a sweet and fruity FCS."...that's it. Needless to say I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this one. I will tell you the first thing I smelt was artificial strawberries. Not the signature Laffy Taffy kind that is in FCS other strawberry fragrances though. It also has this vanilla cream like base to it. So it is kind of like strawberries and cream. It kind of reminds me of one of those Creme Savers Hard Candies. It is fruity and sweet and oh so creamy. I also happened to get half a robin's egg bath fizzy in this fragrance as my free sample. The egg shape makes it so very cute.  

To wrap things up...

       In closing I feel like this year's spring line was great. I like that they took a different angle on their scents instead of doing the generic run of the mill flowers and peeps/jellybean candy type fragrances that a lot of companies tend to recycle year after year. I ended up liking all four of the scents that I purchased which doesn't happen often. Usually there is at least one that my nose ends up hating, but happily that was not the case this time around. If I had to reccommend one above all the others I would say go for Honey-Dew Me. It is just a fresh melon explosion and it is fruity without being too in your face. I love it! The scents that I purchased are all for sale currently on their website, but you guys better hurry and try them now and stock up before the summer line comes around. That's all for this year's first Fortune Cookie Soap review. I will be back with another one as soon as the summer line lauches. Keep looking back for my review of a Candles By Victoria Smore's Galore speciality candle. Until then take care guys and keep it pretty!




Nail Polish Challenge Week 23: Inspired By A Movie!

And I said what about Breakfast at Tiffany's...

      Hello again all my lovelies! This week's nail polish theme is Inspired By A Movie. So it got me thinking about all the movies I've seen. Let me tell you I thought all week about it; going over the movies I love and also trying to come up with a design that my polish collection and shoddy painting skills could do justice to. That knocked a lot of my ideas out of the running. In the end I decided to do a design based off of the classic Audrey Hepburn film Breakfast At Tiffany's. Meanwhile while I was painting my nails I listend to the song "Breakfast At Tiffany's" by Deep Blue Something to further get me in the mood. I decided to keep the design very simple and chic. 

Audrey inspired nails.

       For the base coat I used China Glaze's For Audrey which is in a beautiful Tiffany's mint color. I decided to do a french tip design and I used China Glaze's Liquid Leather because I thought the black brought to mind Holly's iconic little black dress with her sophistacated gloves. I really like how the colors contrast yet still compliment each other. So that's it for this week. Next week is inspired by a book. I already know the exact book I am planning to draw inspiration from so please look forward to that!

Winter Fortune Cookie Soap Haul & Review!

Yep, it's that time of year again.

      Hello internet! The holiday season is now officially upon us and so is the rush to get all our loved one's presents. So just in time for the Christmas season Fortune Cookie Soap has released it's winter line-up of scents and products. I have samples of body butters in almost all of the new seasonal scents except for Stuff My Stocking so if you are looking for a unique gift for a loved one or friend or maybe just a special treat for yourself then keep reading to find out which scent is right for you.

So here are the tops...

And here are what they each look like.

Tangle In The Tinsel:
Color: Pastel Pink
           First up and my personal favorite is Tangle in the Tinsel. It is an odd mixture of Cola and Pink Sugar. You can definitely smell the Cola even the carbonation in it, but it's tampered down by the sweetness of the pink sugar. Honestly at first I was a little confused by this one, not just the off the wall mixture, but because it had nothing to do with the holiday season in general other than the name. Now that I've tried it I really like the fragrance even though I was unsure at first at smelling like sweet Cola. Somehow this little baby has just grown on me even though it still has nothing to do with the holidays. Oh well maybe it fits New Year's more.

Mistletoe Mistress:
Color: Mint Green
           The site says this is inspired by crisp winter air, and is a blend of nutmeg, clove, warm vanilla, sandalwood, cranberry, and zesty orange. Personally I get none of that and all of that at the same time. This one is such a complex fragrance. I get the almost fruity basenotes, but they are deeply blended in with the vanilla and sandalwood. There is nothing spicy about this scent though since I've had a lot of clove scented things, (Thank you CBV!) I can tell that there is some clove hinding underneath all the other scents. This scent is majorly seasonal and lovely. It's not too fruity, not too earthy, and not too spicy. It's just the right combinations of scents to make a completely original one. Very nice.

Baby, It's Cold Outside:
Color: Pastel Peach
           First off I was sold into buying this by the name alone and then I read the description. This one is supposed to smell like mouthwatering chocolate mixed with mandarin, tangerine, lemon satsuma, red grapefruit, with middlenotes of bergamot, and oakmoss. I smell artificial chocolate and oranges with a background of bergamot. It really is heavier on the chocolate than the citrus notes. In fact all the fruits kind of get swallowed by the artificial chocolate. It's not a bad scent in anyway though I just find that for as many citrus notes said to be in their it isn't a majorly fruity smelling product. It's nice for all you chocolate lovers out there though be warned it is an artificial chocolate.

Snow Day:
Color: Creamy White
           The description for this is a warm cozy blend of cinnamon bark, luscious berries spiked with fresh pear. I get the cinnamon bark which isn't the same as cinnamon because you can smell the earthy bark of it and the cinnamon is majorly toned down. There is a hint of dark fruity sweetness which I'm guessing is the berries. They smell almost like cranberries if I had to guess. And then I smell the middle notes of pears. This is a well rounded holday scent that reminds me of the fruit baskets you get around thi time of year.

Snow Bunny:
Color: Pastel Grey Blue
           This one is very spa like to me. Its supposed to be a blend of sandalwood, peppermint leaf, strawberries, raspberries, and vanilla. I get the peppermint but it isn't in your face like most mint scents. It is really suppressed by the warm sandalwood. I really don't get any majorly fruity notes in this one, but it does have like an herbal sweetness to it. Like I said this reminds me of what certain upper crust spas smell like. It's a mixture of refreshing mint, with a hint of earthiness, and calming sweetness.

The above scents...Me Gusta.

Candy Cane Fluff:
Color: Creamy White
           As a mint lover I was most excited about this fragrance. The description is Indulge in the sweet scent of crisp peppermint and fluffy marshmallows. How could I not get this one? Sadly though I am not as in love with this scent as I expected to be. Don't get me wrong it's not bad, I just don't like it as much as I would have wanted to. I get mainly the thick marshmallow scent with just a pinch of peppermint in the mix. I'm not big on marshmallows myself so I would have preffered it to be the other way around with me smelling more of the peppermint instead. Still I have to say Fortune Cookie Soap makes a hell of a marshmallow scent because it does smell like the real deal. It smells sugary and fluffy like legit marshmallows. So while I do not enjoy smelling like marshmallows those of you out there who do need to get this scent. You will probably adore it. 

I wish this smelt more like peppermint than marshmallows!

We Three Kings:
Color: Pastel Yellow
           This one is a mixture of patchouli, plumeria, and sweet orange. Now I should have known I wasn't going to care for this fragrance when I read patchouli. I hate patchouli! Still I've had other fragrances with patchouli in it that I liked because all the other scents masked it. This one however does not. I was hoping the sweet orange and plumeria would be enough to drown out the earthiness of the patchouli however I was mistaken. The main scent is earthy smoky patchouli with just the tiniest undertones of plumeria. Such a let down for a patchouli hater like me. But if you like patchouli or earthy scents in general and don't need a lot of sweetness in a scent to like it then this one is right up your ally. It's woodsy, sharp, and not at all sweet or soft.   

White Elephant:
Color: Pastel Purple
           Now this is a little different from the rest because it is a mystery scent. It is said to be a curious blend filled with mystery and intrigue. If you can correctly guess the fragrance and email it in you will be entered in a $100 giveaway. The winner will be chosen on December 20th. Now I'm going to tell you all what I think it smells like, but I wouldn't go entering it in the giveaway because honestly I have NO idea what it really is. My scent description is really grasping at straws on this one. But to me I think this one is a mixture of Cola and either lavender or violets. Truthfully though I have no idea, but I'm willing to bet it has Cola in it because it has the same carbonation in it that Tangel In The Tinsel has. There is almost a sour note in this one to me like Coke and dying flowers. Lol I told you not to go entering this into the contest. Hoenstly though I have no idea only that I don't like it at all. 

Did I like We 3 Kings or White Elephant? NO!

       My free sample actually turned out to be a White Elephant bath bomb which I will probably NEVER use. Maybe somebody else I know will like it and I can give it to them either that or I might stick it in the next Candles By Victoria Round Robin if I decide to participate in it. Overall I liked most of the scents with only two of them disagreeing with my nose. I hoped this little review helped some of you narrow down your decisions. Please look forward to my next installment of the Nail Polish Challenge and for more Candles By Victoria reviews. Bye guys!

FCS: The Halloween Soap Box

Another FCS Haul!

      Hello folks! I finally received my Halloween Soap Box from my favorite bath company Fortune Cookie Soaps. You can no longer order just the Hallowen Soap Box, but you can buy the individual and full-sized products for a limited amount of time. You can find them all here. There are 10 things for me to review for you all today. You can see them all together in the picture below. And yes that is a tart in that picture, but it isn't from my beloved Candles By Victoria, this one is from an independant company known as Sentsory Overload and the company had a one time partnership with FCS just for this box. Seeing as I am a scream queen how could I possibly pass these little beauties up? 




All the swag except for the supposed Vampire Blood which they forgot in my box.

Grave Digger: Fortune Cookie Soap
           The card that came with my box says that this is supposed to smell like freshly dug earth. Now I first just want to point out the oxymoron of a soap smelling like dirt. It's kind of funny. Needless to say that's exactly what this smells like. It smells like wet soil and fresh grass. Almost has a gardener like quality to it. The soap even has little black crumbs on it that look like dirt. While I personally do not want to smell like mud, I can appreciate the novelty of this product. It is kind of mind boggling to think of a soap that smells like dirt. It certainly is a unique take on the Halloween spirit. As for the soap itself it is shaped like a fortune cookie and does have an actual fortune inside like all of their fortune cookie soaps. The fortunes themselves are usually funny and individual to each soap. I cannot tell you what my fortune was inside this one because it is tucked all the way inside where I'd have to break the soap if I wanted to see it and I don't want to do that just in case I want to give this away as like a gag gift. This particular soap though is a bit bigger in size than their regular line of fortune cookie soaps. Needless to say I probably wont ever use this, but I still think it is a cute twist to their Halloween line.

The color of this is actually more true in the first picture.

Scary Spice: OCD Hand Sanitizer
          This is supposed to be scented as a blend of pumpkin, apple, and caramel. When you first pop the cap open it smells like caramel banana. Really strange. I do not know why it smells like that at first, but once you actually get the product onto your hands and rub it in it smells like warm spicy pumpkin with a tiny hint of caramel apples. The pumpkin is really the main note of the fragrance though. This is a full sized product and the bottle is made out of hard plastic which is kind of a double edged sword. On the upside it wont break very easily and you wont have to worry about it busting in your purse, on the other hand though you can't simply squeeze the bottle to make the product come out. You have to tilt it and tap it against your palm. Not such a huge deal though just a little different than most hand sanitizers. After the product is rubbed in it doesn't have an alcohol scent to it that a lot of hand sanitizers have.The product does not dry my hands out either which is nice. These little guys even have a cute suprise in them. Floating in the container is a little fake black spider. Gives it a nice festive touch. I don't know how long I have just sat here tilting the container back and forth to watch him swim about.  Plus when I first read the name of this my brain immediatly thought of the Spice Girl. LOL. There was a mix up in my order however, instead of a bottle of Vampire Blood Body Wash which I was supposed to get that comes in a bottle identical this one only darker, they accidentally gave me two of these instead. So I gave the extra one to my mother and then she proceeded to watch the spider glide about. Such a simple, but genius idea really.  

View from the front.



View from the back with the spider.

Zombie Treats: Bath Fizzy

         I have to admit that I am most excited about this product. I will probably buy the full pack of 3. This is a bath fizzy that smells like a watermelon Jolly Rancher. Big deal right? Well it also GLOWS IN THE DARK! How awesome is that? It comes wrapped up just like one of those chocolate candies you get on Halloween and after you unwrap it, it doesn't really look like much, but put it close to the light for a little while then turn the light off and it glows! I have not put this in the bath yet, seeing as I wanted to get this up for you guys asap so you could place your orders before these went out of stock so I do not know for sure if these will make the bath water glow as well, but I do know that they will fizz up in your bath water and that they have oils and vitamins in it that are supposed to make your skin soft. As I have said before, I am not a bath person so much as a shower person, but this product actually makes me excited to get in the tub.   

What it looks like wrapped.



And unwrapped.



Ghost Gum: Hydrate Me! Bar

           This is one of their hydrate me bars that is shaped like a skull and it supposed to smell like a 50/50 Orange Cream Bar. I do not know what an Orange Cream Bar is, but to me this smells like orange vanilla ice cream. It has that sweet Dreamsicle quality to it. I don't really know why it is called ghost gum though when it is shaped like a skull and smells nothing like gum. I don't know if there is a Halloween candy that this is modeled after, but I've certainly never seen or heard of it. Still this one smells delicious. If you are a fan of orange and vanilla sherbert like scents then you will love this. The Hydrate Me! bars are really nice in general. You use them at the end of your shower when you are still damp and you just rub it all over your body and it locks in moisture and hydrates your body with soft oils. It kind of feels a bit like wax at first when you are rubbing it in, but the waxy feeling does eventually go away. While I like the hydrate me bars and the smell of this I don't think I love it enough to stock up on it. 

Shaped like a cute skull!

Headless Horseman: Bath Melt

         This is in the shape of a pumpkin because the Headless Horseman's head is replaced by a pumpkin. I like that they went with the Headless Horseman myth instead of just saying this is a pumpkin. The card says the scent on this is a tropical pumpkin blend, but when I smell it i just get a strong pumpkin scent with an odd unidentifiable note. I don't really feel it's tropical at all, but I can't say what exactly is the accompanying note I get along with the bold pumpkin smell. Personally not really a big fan of this fragrance, the pumpkin is a bit too strong for my liking and the "tropical" notes just rub me the wrong way. There is nothing bad about this scent it just isn't for me. However I know you pumpkin lovers out there will probably adore this. You just have to take a chance and try it for yourselves. This is a bath melt so you just drop it into your bathwater and it will dissolve and fill your water with nourishing oils and vitamins that will make your skin super soft. 

The Headless Horseman Rides Again.

Witches Wart Be-Gone: Clearly Complexion Face Mask 

             This is actually just one of their regular products (Clearly Comlexion Face Mask) re-named and with the color darkened. Still I don't mind that so much because their face masks work great! The clearly complexion lines are formulated to help clear up acne prone skin and like all of their masks it hydrates and tightens the skin. I have the original Clearly Complexion and I love it! It makes my skin feel so soft and smooth even if the application is a little messy. To use this product all you have to do is pick which activator you want to use. It has a list on the back of what all different ingrediants you can use (most of which can be found in your kitchen already) Depending on what kind of skin you have (dry, oily, combination, or acne) you can go through the list and choose which ingrediant will mix the best. Of course just plain water goes with all the skin types so you can just use that if you don't want to mess around with the milk, honey, tea etc..activators. A caution to the wise though, this is really kind of messy to apply and it dries rather quickly so you will want to spread it on your face as quick and evenly as possible. This will look ridiculous on your face as most masks do and you should leave it on your face for 10-15 minutes. Despite the mess though it will leave your face feeling softer, tighter (not dry though), and will look smoother. 

The front of the package.

Gremlins, Goblins & Ghouls OH MY!: Whipped Cream

          This is a small sample of their whipped cream body butters. It is the exact same size as the samples you would get when you order the 4 sampler pack.  It is a beautiful light purple color and it smells like grape Laffy Taffy. It is definitely an artificial grape candy smell. I adore the formula of FCS's body butters. They are my favorite body lotion of all time. It feels light and creamy, but once you rub it in which doesn't take very long it actually sinks into the skin and doesn't leave it with any filmy greasy tacky residue on the surface. I love how it instantly moisturizes my skin and makes it silky smooth and that my skin is instantly dry once I've rubbed it in. There is no slickness left on the top that most lotions has. I like the smell of this one even though I'm not a huge grape fan. The name is also a fun homage to both Halloween and The Wizard of Oz. I think I like the color most of all though since most of FCS's body butters are pastel colored and this one is a vibrant purple.

Smashed Pumpkin: Wax Tart

          This is something new and different for Fortune Cookie Soaps to do. They have not started making wax tarts, but this is a product from Scentsory Overload a small independant guest company. This is said to be made out of soy which according to the Scentsory Overload facebook page is supposed to burn longer and be better for the enviroment than bee's based wax. I don't know about that because I have yet to burn this, but we will see how it matches up to my beloved CBV tarts. This is supposed to smell like pumpkin and rum and that is indeed what it smells like. The main notes are a thick spicy pumpkin with a hint of rum although it does not have an alcohol smell you get the warmth from the rum itself. Overall it smells great! I don't really have a whole lot of pumpkin scents from Candles By Victoria so I can't really compare it scent wise to any of hers because the ones I do have smell nothing like this. I know this is supposed to be a sample product, but I'm not sure if it is half full on purpose or not. I really hope that's just because it is a sample because I would not purchase it if it were only half full. You can see in the picture below the comparisons between this shot and one of CBV's. The containers are actually the same size, but you get waayyy more product with the CBV scent shots. Because this is made of soy you can also see the difference in texture between the two as well. Will have to burn this one later to see how it stands up in strength compared to CBV. Scentsory Overload currently does not have an official website up yet (though they are working on it). However you can check them out on facebook or contact them through email at scentsoryoverload@gmail.com. 

As you can see CBV is filled to the brim.

     So that is all for this haul. While I am a little dissapointed that I did not receive my intended Vampire Blood Body Wash I do understand how such a mix up could happen. The Vampire Blood comes in the same kind of container as the Scary Spice OCD Hand Sanitizer so I can see how during the packing process they probably saw a dark cap and figured it was the Vamp Blood and just added an extra OCD by mistake. The free pack of Sixlets chocolate candies made up for any lingering sadness though. I felt just like a little kid again. Free chocolate! Such a cute touch to finish of the Halloween box. Overall I'm happy that I ordered this even though some things weren't exactly things I'd consider purchasing again like the Grave Digger fortune cookie soap or the Headless Horseman bath melt. Still I can appreciate their novelties and I'm glad I at least got to try them. The stand outs of this order are the Zombie Treats Bath Fizzy and the Scary Spice OCD Hand Sanitizer. I will more than likely cave and buy the full 3 pack of Zombie Treats before they are all gone. Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed this haul and found it somewhat helpful. Please look forward to my next 31 week nail polish challenge and also another future CBV haul and review.

Goodnight guys!

Fall Fortune Cookie Soaps Haul & Review

Good morning internet friends!

          I'm back and as promised in my last FCS haul/review I am here with some of the new fall fragrances for you guys. So I bought another whipped cream body butter sample pack and then I saw they had these new lip scrubs for your lips so as I am a balm/chapstick junkie I had to get it. I'm always willing to try anything that will make my lips nice and soft. And then as always with every order you get a free sample product. So now onto the review...

Though it doesn't look like it this has glitter in it.

Capitol Diamond:
Color: Pastel Pink
           This fragrance is actually inspired by the Hunger Games's Effie Trinket. Not the description on the site says that it is made out of coconut, clove, citrus, vanilla, and strawberries. Now that is a lot of contradicting scents in there so I wasn't sure exactly what this one was going to smell like. This smells to me like sweet artificial strawberries and creamy vanilla. I don't smell any of the spicy clove at all and if there is coconut and citrus in it then it is incredibly overshadowed by the strawberries and vanilla notes. The only thing keeping me from instantly ordering this in the full size is the very tiny microglitter flecks hidden inside. You don't see it in the jar but they show up very subtley on the skin.Unfortunately I kind of hate body glitter so I will just enjoy the sample piece I have. Overall though this is probably my favorite out of the whipped creams that I got. It has a nice toned down sweetness to it that I really like. I think that FCS did a great job in capturing the girlyness of Effie in this one. It makes me really curious to try there Tiny Tribute fragrance which is based off of the character Rue.

Capitol Diamond is Effie Approved.

 Snickerdoodle:
Color: Pastel Yellow
           First off snickerdoodles are my all time favorite cookie. A few years ago I went on a crazy baking spree and I made a huge batch of them like every month for half the year. So I was super excited when I saw this on FCS website. Sadly I think I set my hopes a bit too high. This scent isn't a bad or gross one it just wasn't all that I had hoped for. I think I was expecting more of a baking scent, but instead this one smells like butter, allspice, and that fake sugar cookie smell. I don't smell any cinnamon in it at all. I mean it still smells like a cookie, but it smells fake and I'm just not a fan of that. I wanted it to smell like the kind I make from scratch. Overall I was a little dissapointed, but the scent isn't bad. I will still use it all up. I would reccomend this to those people who like that thick artificial sugar cookie smell.

Snickerdoodle #Not Impressed...

 Ripe For The Picking:
Color: Pastel Maroon
          As I said in my last FCS haul, apples are my favorite scent and that I was hoping that this fall they would release a scent that was similar to their How About Them Apples scent from last fall which is my all time fav Fortune Cookie Soap scent. It smells just like a pure fresh cut Macintosh apple. So you can imagine how excited I was when I saw that this scent. The website describes this one as reminiscent of apple picking. It is supposed to be a mixture of Red Delicious, Granny Smith, and Macintosh apples. And I have to say it smells exactly like what it says it's supposed to. I get ripe crisp fresh cut apples, but it isn't distinctly one type of apple. I'm really happy with this one, but I still like How About Them Apples better. That one is more fresher and straight up cut-apple smelling where as this one is a bit more on the sweeter side. Still this one is a must have for apple lovers! Doesn't smell artificial at all. I'm seriously thinking of ordering this in the full size container.

This pleases me

Figs & Berries:
Color: Mint Green
          This one is a really complex scent to describe. The description on the site says that it is made out of fig, amber, sandalwood, fresh lemon, and berries. Honestly I have no idea what figs smell like. The only fig I have ever come close to is a Fig Newton. And no this does not smell like that. This one is really difficult to put into words because it doesn't smell fruity nor woodsy. It doesn't smell like anything I've ever had before. If I had to break it down I'd say it smells like a hint of berries blended very well with a slightly masculine soap. It is fresh smelling with some fruity notes filled out with a deeper woodiness and a hint of a perfume like undertone. Don't be alarmed by the woodiness description because this one is still a feminine scent.So frustrating trying to narrow this down and make it sound like what I smell. You guys just have to try this one out for yourselves to get an accurate reading on it. Overall this is a nice scent. It's not my favorite out of the order, but it is something different that I've never had before. So I'm kind of neutral on it. Don't love it, don't hate it.

Note the size!



Top of the lip scrub.

Itty Bitty Gritty Caramel Apple Lip Scrub: 
       This is a brand new product from Fortune Cookie Soaps. What it is for those of you not familiar with lip scrubs, is a sort of clear lip balm with sugar crystals (yes REAL sugar crystals) in it that help exfoliate dry and chapped lips. All you do is put it on like any other lip balm, now you can wipe off/ lick off the sugar cystals if you like afterwards and your lips will still be hydrated from the balm. However you can just leave it on as it is, you just might see some of the sugar crystals sticking on your lips. Personally I just lick off the sugar. The sugar makes it really sweet tasting. So the one I ordered is Caramel Apple and it smells just like granny smith apples. Truthfully I don't get any caramel in this, but that's okay because it still smells great. If you have seen my previous FCS review then you will know that I reviewed their Green Applemint lip balm and that is exactly what this is only with the added sugar crystals that scrub off the dead skin off of your lips and without the mint. So it is their lip balm with a sweet upgrade. This product is a bit more expensive than their lip balms, but you also get ALOT more product and the sugar crystals so it comes out pretty even I think. This tube is going to last me a year I already know it. This product works really well. My lips already look and feel a lot better and I'm glad I purchased this because winter will be here before you know it and I will be needing this to battle the frigid cold air. So I'm very satisfied with this. 

I give it two thumbs up!

My free sample.

Cram Your Face In My Sweet Pumpkin Pie Bath Bomb: 
       So as you guys can see mine got a little crunched in transit, but that's okay since it is a bath bomb and will disolve in water anyways. This is actually a return scent. They came out with this one last fall and it was such a hit that they brought it back for this year. I missed out on it this year so I'm happy I get to see what all the fuss was about. This one does not smell exactly like pumpkin pie, but it is still a  fabulous scent. I smell pumpkin, with clove, and ginger. It says there is cinnamon in there too, but it doesn't stand out to me. I just sort of smell sweet spiced pumpkin. As for the bath bombs themselves, I have never tried them before so glad I get to now. I have not used this particular product yet, but I will let you know what I think of their quality as soon as I try it. I'm just not that much of a bath person (you're sitting in your own dirt after all), I prefer my showers, but when I find the time I will test this baby out. 

     That's it for this little fall haul. I have the Halloween Soap Box being shipped to me as I write this so once I get my hands on it I will get that review up for you as soon as possible for those of you who may want to buy their limeted edition Halloween products. I'm really excited for the Zombie Treats bath bomb because it glows in the dark and is supposed to smell like a Jolly Rancher! So much fun! Well I will see you all lovelies next time!
       

Fortune Cookie Soaps Haul & Review

You mean a post not about Candles By Victoria?!!

       Yes, you read right my friends an actual post about something other than my love for Candles By Victoria! Instead I'm going to obsess over another one of my favorite companies Fortune Cookie Soaps. For those of you not familiar with the brand let me tell you a little bit about them. FCS is a company that sells homemade bath and body products. They pride themselves on making their products with raw materials that don't have any harmful components in them like parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate, synthetic preservatives, ect... They also do NOT test on animals! They get their name because their main product is a small handmade soap in the shape of a fortune cookie. They even have hilarious fortunes on the inside. You can even have it packaged in a cute little take out box that come in different colors for just $0.75! (Note the picture below) FCS has many other products under their belt such as shampoo & conditioner bars, milk baths, bath melts, clay masks, air freshener, hand sanitizers, and even lip balms. The list goes on, but I digress. FCS also has unique fragrances like Blueberry Flapjacks, Butterpopcorn, Hot Apple Cider, and more. Another trademark of the brand is their clever names and descriptions for some of their products. (Unicorn Farts, Banana Hammock, Hubba Hubba, Boy Toy, That's What She Said, OMGWTFudge-Banana!...to name a few)

Some of Fortune Cookie Soaps Products.

     I have been ordering from FCS for about a year now and am always amazed with their products. Not only are they really high quality, but they are pretty decently priced too. Plus, the shipping is always super fast! My all time favorite product of theirs is their Whipped Cream Body Butters. What they are is basically body lotion, but the formula is so light and creamy it feels like Cool-Whip. I love these because I have really dry and sensitive skin and these little miracle workers soak into my skin instantly without any sticky tacky greasy stuff left on the surface of my skin. And because they don't have any harsh chemicals in them they don't irritate my skin at all. The first body butter I ever purchased was Pretty In Plumeria which was a nice soft floral. Now as I've said I don't care for florals all that much, but this one was soft and smelt similair to Bath & Body Works's Plumeria. I loved it so much that when I ran out of that one I then ordered one in Macintosh Apple that smelt EXACTLY like a just cut fresh macintosh apple. There wasn't any artificial apple smell to it at all. Well I have almost used it all up. I can maybe use it two more times and that's about it. So saddened I looked back on the website to try and pick a new one. Now the thing about FCS is that only a few of their scents are always for sale, however most of them are limited edition for that season. So my Pretty in Plumeria was a spring scent and the Macintosh Apple was from last fall. Meaning that now I had to choose a brand new scent to try because those ones were no more. 

   So I was looking on the site which at the time was full of all their summer scents. There were quite a few that sounded good, but there wasn't one that really jumped out and said "PICK ME! PICK ME!" like the other times I had ordered. I debated on which one to get for like a week before I remembered that FCS has a small sample back you can buy and pick 4 scents of your choice that way you can test them in travel size before deciding which ones you want in a whole jar. So I finally narrowed it down to just 4 scents and I also decided to purchase one of their new lip balms as well.  Plus every order comes with a random free sample of one of their other products. Below is my review. 

My small FCS order.

Cupcake: 
Color: Pastel Yellow
           This is one of FCS's permanent fragrances and it is also one of the customer's favorites. For a year now I've been eyeing this one, but I've always decided not to get it for fear that it would smell too sugary sweet. While I am a fan of sweet scents my nose has a very fine line to where certain scents just become sickeningly sweet and kind of make me wanna gag. Needless to say I was a little weary about this one, but I can happily say that although it is sweet it doesn't smell like a pre-teen girl's cheap body lotion. (Come on you know you had one of those Wall-Mart $2.00 lotions, admit it!) This one smells like light fluffly vanilla cake batter with vanilla icing. I almost want to say there is a hint of almond, but it is really really faint. I really like that this scent is really soft and subtle on the skin and that you have to be pretty close to smell it. I don't really like body lotions that everyone can smell from two blocks away. I'm kind of protective of my personal space and so I don't really like people I don't know being able to pick me out of a crowd because they know my signature scent. I only want people I'm close to, to know how yummy I smell. Yeah, I'm weird like that...

Moving on then...

Pinky Swear:
Color: Pastel Pink
           I chose this one because of the adorable description. It said that this one was created to be reminiscent of childhood crushes, best friends, dress-up, and of course pinky swears the most binding of oaths! I was kind of sold after that.  I have to say that they did a fantastic job of bringing me back to when I was a little girl. This one is really girlie and feminine. It smells like candied banana runts and strawberry laffy taffy. This one is such a light and fun candy fragrance. It makes me giddy just putting it on!

What the sample body butter looks like.

Summer Sweet Tea: 
Color: Light Mint Green
          I have to say I bought this one because the description intrigued me. This one is supposed to be a blend of green tea and pink lemonade. Being the curious person I am I sat and wondered what the combination would be. I am an avid drinker of green tea and really don't think there is that much of an aroma to it and we all know what pink lemonade smells like. So I just couldn't imagine what the end product would be to such a mixture. Now that I have it I can tell you all. This actually has a really fresh clean quality to it. It is almost spa like I feel. It isn't really a sweet smell like I had originally figured it would be. There is a calming herbal top note paired with a crisp clean hint of lemons for a base note. I'm suprised to find that I think I like this one the best of the bunch. Normally I love sweet, fruity, food based fragrances, but this one is just so refreshing and rejuvinating that I feel like whenever I'm sick of my usual go to sweetness smells this one will definitley be the one I reach for.

Strawberry Blondes Have More Fun: 
Color: Pastel Pink
          Now I'm not for sure, but I believe this is also going to be one of their permanent products. I'm guessing that since this one has stayed on the site for quite a long time now while the other limited edition ones have been taken down. Anyways the description says this is supposed to smell like fresh cut strawberries and while it is most assuredly a strawberry scent it is not a fresh crisp strawberry. The first thing that came to my mind when I sniffed this was Strawberry Laffy Taffy. That's EXACTLY what this smells like! A light and sweet artificial candied strawberry. I like this one, but I think I prefer Pinky Swear soley because it has the added banana that gives it a really nice girlie touch.

Green Applemint Lip Balm: Note the shape!

Green Applemint Lip Balm:
Color: The outside packaging is a lime green and apple green striped print. The actual balm is white and goes on clear like most average chapsticks. 
Shape: One thing to note about FCS lip balm is that the shape is oval and not the standard circular shape. It is shaped this way to make application easier. Personally I think most lip balm/chapstick is easy on application so I didn't really see that it made that big a difference. Still it glided on easily and I have no complaints about it.
         Lip balms are a fairly new product of Fortune Cookie Soap and as an admitted lip balm/chapstick hoarder I am always on the look out for a new favorite. I have tubes of all different shapes and brands strewn about all over the place, on my night stand, in my purse, on my computer desk, in my make-up drawer in the bathroom, ect... However I have yet to find a brand that works better than Burts Bees. With that being my HG chapstick I am always comparing any other lip product to that. And I have to say while the Burts Bees continues to be my all time fave this one comes in a close second! I was super impressed. Like Burts, this one is also made with natural ingrediants and of course bees wax (The allergic beeware!) so the silky smooth formulas feel the same on the lips. It glides on like BUTTAH! As the name suggests the one I have smells like a granny smith apple with a hint of sweet mint. If you've ever had the green apple Mentos it smells just like that! The balm has a slight tingle to it because of the mint, but it's nowhere as strong as the tingly sensations you get with Burts Bees. You can feel it sink into your lips, moisturizing them, instead of with some others where it just feels like you put jelly on your lips. There are only three downsides to this product. First is that the smell doesn't last very long after you apply it (The product still stays for a long while though). Second is that while it is still a great repairing lip balm I feel that Burts Bees is better. It is a bit more powerful than this one. And the last may not be a downside to some of you, but to me it is and that is that it has no taste. Not even a little bit of mint. Once again at least my beloveded Burts Bees has a slightly pepperminty taste to it. In the end I do still love this product and am even thinking about buying one in Cupcake next time.  

My free sample of a Pool Party Hydrate Me! Bar. 

Pool Party Hydrate Me! Sample: 
Color: Light Aqua Blue
           Got this little baby as a free sample with my order. Their Hydrate Me! Bars are another of their fairly newer additions so I had not tried one of these before. This is a body conditioning bar that is supposed to be used near the very end of your shower and like it's name it is supposed to hydrate your skin and make it feel silky smooth with natural oils and vitamins. The sample that I recieved is in the fragrance Pool Party and I have to say that the description on the website was a little bit less than vague! It basically said that this scent was what they thought celebrity pool parties would smell like, but they don't tell you any particular fragrance that is supposed to be in it. Honestly now that I have it I can see why. This is such a complex scent to describe that when I first got it I thought it smelt great, but I couldn't figure out what it smelt like exactly. Puzzled, I went around the house and asked my mother what she thought it smelt like and she couldn't come up with anything either. Finally my dad came to the rescue and said that he thought it smelt like the blue powder form of Gatorade and funny thing...he was right! It smells somewhat fruity, but it's not a fruit I can pick out. I want to say it is something citrusy and the only thing that came to mind was grapefruit, but it doesn't smell exactly like that. This has a fresh, crisp, sweet yet tart smell to it. Gah! It's so complicated!! The name matches it pretty well since I do think this matches pool weather and all that, but don't be alarmed it doesn't smell like cholorine or pool toys! 
          As for the bar itself it has these really cute turqouise microglitter flecks in it. I'm not really a huge fan of glitter unless it is in eyeshadows, but this one wasn't so bad. It's kind of subtle on the skin and it doesn't look like you just got back from raving with Tinkerbell. This sort of feels alot like wax when you are rubbing it on in the shower. Wasn't really a fan of that since I felt like it wasn't washing off, then I realized that the product was off that's just how my skin felt. So after I dried off my skin felt pretty soft and smooth and I didn't have to put on any lotion like I normally do so it definitely did it's job. The scent I found smelt like a clean smell on my skin and was really very faint. While I probably wouldn't buy this one on my own I think it is a pretty good product and the scent wasn't too bad so I might try this in another fragrance, preferrably one that doesn't have glitter flecks in it. If you have really dry skin like I do or if you take scalding hot showers like I do then I'd reccomend this to use before you get out because it did repair my skin and make it feel silky smooth.

                 
       Overall I do like all of the products I purchased and I will definitely be using them all up. I feel I got my money's worth so I'm pretty happy. However while I liked all the body butter scents there still wasn't one that I HAD to have in the full size. So what I'm going to do is order another sampler of the fall fragrances and hope that there will be one that just steals my attention. I tend to love fall scents more than any other and they usually have a lot of apple scents for fall and I know I LOVE apple scents! So looking forward to that. When I get my next order I will review that for you guys too. And fear not my CBV addicts I will return with another scent review for you all soon. Farewell until we meet again my lovely friends!