Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette

I got a great deal on this makeup set. As with most other things I've come to own, I ordered this from HSN. Not only did I receive the palette itself, it also came with a 'Better Than Sex' mascara, a nude, semi-sheer lipcolor and an eyeshadow primer. How much was all this? It was $49. It was a special discounted price for a limited time and there was no shipping charge for beauty items that day! If that wasn't enough to entice me (which it totally was if you were wondering), this was on 3 Flex payments of $16.33. So for those of you who don't know, I pay $16.33 for 3 months (no interest). Sad news though, as of 1-29-15 it has sold out. But hopefully this comes back in stock.

 Pretty packaging!

'Better Than Sex' mascara, lipstick and 

Too Faced EyeShadow Insurance

From watching Cora review this palette (her channel is vintageortacky) she's complained that the eye shadows are not labeled. But maybe mine may be a second edition of sorts, because mine are all labeled. Or maybe this feature is an HSN exclusive, but that's pure speculation on my part. She has a great review if you'd rather watch than read. Plus, she has a tutorial with her review. Don't have anything like that here.

Check out her review and tutorial! Don't forget to subscribe!

First row: Gilded Ganache, White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Black Forest Truffle, Triple Fudge

Second Row: Salted Caramel, Marzipan, Semi-Sweet, Strawberry Bon Bon, Candied Violet, Amaretto

Third Row: Hazelnut, Creme Brulee, Haute Chocolate, Cherry Cordial, Champagne Truffle

I'd heard that this palette smells like chocolate and lemme tell ya... It does. After I smelled it, I found that it reminded me of a Kit-Kat bar. It also makes my teeth feel weird every time I smell it. Crazy, I know.

A good thing to note as well, my skin is naturally tan. Some colors could possibly look different on someone who is lighter or darker than my skin tone. Just bear that in mind when the colors are swatched.

I noticed that when I went to swatch 'Gilded Ganache,' it was very powdery and I had a hard time getting the color and the shiny bits to 'stick' to my arm because of fallout. 'White Chocolate,' seems to be very powdery as well.  However, 'Milk Chocolate,' 'Black Forest Truffle,' and 'Triple Fudge,' went on with very little effort and fallout.

 Gilded Ganache, White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Black Forest Truffle, Triple Fudge

The second row went on with very smoothly. 'Strawberry Bon Bon,' was the only one that really didn't show up. Although, I think it might be my skin color that's to blame.

Salted Caramel, Marzipan, Semi-Sweet, Strawberry Bon Bon, Candied Violet, Amaretto

The last row has my favorite colors. I LOVE the way they look on my skin and all felt creamy as they went on. It also had the best pigmentation of them all.

Hazelnut, Creme Brulee, Haute Chocolate, Cherry Cordial, Champagne Truffle

There really isn't much to say about the mascara, except that it is one of my most loved mascaras! It reminds me of Tarte's 'Lights, Camera, Lashes' mascara (another one of my favorites), except I feel this mascara gives length as well as volume.

My eye area looks so gross up close... Anyway, plain eyeball.
No mascara. That flash was SUPER bright.

First coat of mascara. Sorry, I chopped off the tips.

Second coat. 

Third coat of mascara.

The lip color is called 'Nude Beach.' Now... it might be because of my skin tone, but I'm not all that crazy about this lippy. But I feel this way about almost all shades of nude lipsticks on me. I've yet to find one I like. I'm more fond of this swatched on the back of my hand than I do on my lips.  But if you're a nude lip junkie, you'll love this. Personally, this lip color is not for me...

(INSERT SWATCH OF LIPSTICK)

Over all, I do like the palette. It has mostly warm eyeshadows and I like the smell of the palette when I open it (although it still makes my teeth feel weird when I sniff it. Odd, I know). I don't like how powdery a couple of the shadows are. But the eyeshadow primer, also included in this set, should help the shadows adhere a little better. 

Too Faced Eyeshadow Insurance is an okay eyeshadow primer, but I find that over the course of a few hours my eyeshadows seem to fade. So then I have sheer smokey eyes. But then, I do have oily lids. Jealous of all those who need no primer. The eye shadow primer from Nars is the only primer that really seems to work for me.

Sporto® Waterproof Suede Tall Boot with Pom Poms Review

So... I haven't bought boots in... quite a few years. Which is surprising, because I live in Michigan. We always have snow in the winter. Always. I can remember only one year that was just cold and had no snow. But getting back to the topic: I wanted cute fashionable boots. Something that I could wear all bundled up or just with jeans. Something I could wear even when it's wet and slushy out. Something I could wear-- Well, you get the idea. A fashionable, durable winter boot is what I needed.

*To avoid my long boot story scroll down to the bold heading titled 'To Sum Everything Up'*

I first went to Sears.com and thought I found what I was looking for. They were called Women's Freesia Black Winter boots. Obviously they were black, had no zipper, and looked like it had faux fur on the inside. Along with some other things for my daughter and a couple of other pairs of boots, I ended up buying them. I couldn't wait for my boots to get here! I didn't wait very long, I think maybe 2 or 3 days.

I thought this boot was so cute!

I opened up the box, so excited to put them on! However... when I did, something was wrong. One boot fit very tight across my foot, while the other fit me just fine. I bought 3 pairs of different boots in all and every single pair had problems. I was very upset that I spent all this money and nothing came out right! I usually don't complain about things I buy (usually I just take the darn things back), but this time I did. I politely complained on Sears's Facebook page. Sears actually sent me a $50 gift card to apologize for the inconvenience. They didn't have any more boots in stock and didn't know when and if they would ever get those boots back in stock. I was only able to exchange one pair of boots at the actual Sears store. The rest I had to return. In my defense, I did chat with a customer representative on Sears.com, who assured me the store closet to me had winter boots in stock. The store did, although not in my size.

I was back at square one.

I didn't see any other boots online or in the store that I liked. That's when it hit me. HSN! I love that channel. I swear I'm always buying something from them. I went to their website and immediately found a boot that I liked. The Sporto Waterproof Suede Tall boot. They were cute. The suede is chemically treated to be waterproof. All the edges are double sealed to make [double] sure no liquid will enter the boot. They came in colors that are hard to find in shoes, let alone boots (but if you look now, there are only 3 colors available. The rest are sold out as of 2-22-14). 

I placed an order for the winter white and waited. I couldn't wait for my boots to arrive. Especially since we were in this polar vortex winter (snow was EVERYWHERE). The big box arrived a little late for my taste, but to be fair the boots were so popular that they were on backorder. I took them out of the box and loved them. At the time I didn't think I'd be writing a review, so I didn't take a picture of them. Not even for Instagram. Trust me though... They were adorbs.

I'm babbling so much about how cute they are, I forgot to tell you the price. They were $99.95. But I was able to get them on Flex Pay (I love Flex Pay) for 3 payments. The first payment is always a little more because of tax and shipping.

The winter white boots I ordered were lovely and immediately put them on. I noticed that the faux fur did not run all the way into the foot of the boot, but I really didn't pay much attention to that. I loved the pom-pom detail at the end of the laces. Made them look so cute to me.

Modeling them in the mirror made me cherish them even more. I took them outside for a test run to see how waterproof they really were and how warm they were going to keep my toes. Everything was snowy and frozen, no winter slush to test how waterproof they really were.

I stuck my feet into the first snow embankment I saw. In no time flat, I felt a cold creeping into my toes. Confused, I pulled my feet out of the snow and wiggled my toes inside the boot to feel if I could feel any wetness inside. I didn't feel anything and stuck my feet in the snow again. Once again, I could feel the tips of my toes cold like before. I went back inside after that to take off my boots.

I pulled them off and that's when I noticed the inside bottom sole stuck to my sock and slipped right out of the boot. However, I didn't feel any wetness inside the boot. It did feel cold though. Didn't like that. Aren't boots supposed to keep your toes warm...?

Very confused, I took the other boot off and the same thing happened. I figured they must have forgotten to glue the inside soles of the boot to the actual boot. With the added sensation of cold sneaking its way inside, I sent them back in exchange for another pair.

I received a navy blue pair with brown fur trim and had the same things happen with those as well. I sent those back. I thought I must have gotten the only two defective boots in the whole lot. Figures. I wanted SO MUCH to love these boots, I actually sent these back and ordered my final pair in a chestnut color. Now this pair... had half the same issues. I didn't feel the cold coming into the toe area of my boot. But the inside sole still slipped out.

 As you can see, I've used these boots a lot since I've

gotten in the winter of 2014.

I couldn't believe it. 3 pairs of boots later, I came to the final realization... SPORTO DIDN'T GLUE DOWN THE SOLE IN ANY OF THEIR BOOTS. These boots cost $100, so they weren't cheap and didn't feel that way, so why not glue down the inside of the boot? I know some of you out there might think that I'm a little crazy to obsess over a small detail like that, but for that much money, I expect EVERYTHING to be glued or sewn down.

The smashed look is from me being too lazy to rearrange them 

EVERY SINGLE TIME I took off my boot. Seriously Sporto?

I did get a chance to test how waterproof they supposedly were. I occasionally will step in a few puddles when getting kids in and/or out of the SUV. Don't feel any dampness coming through with this last pair. But don't step into a puddle that's deeper than where the fur trim on the boot is. That long faux fur trimmed tongue isn't attached the boot. It's just there... Waiting for snow to stick to it and melt into your boot.

 See that 'U' shape at the top of the foot area of the boot?

Yeah, there's no extra protection from a deep puddle there...

I feel that the tongue of the boot should extend to each side of the boot.

I've had snow soak into the fur and my legs because of this. I mean the fur

of the boot, not my furry legs... You know what I mean.

To sum everything up...

Now, almost a year later, the fur trim in coming apart at the seam. I wish I could go back and tell myself not to exchange the boots and just buy some other kind of boot. Also, I would love it if the fur lining went ALL THE WAY into the foot of the boot for some extra warmth and coziness. It would be great too if the tongue were attached to the rest of the boot. Just for that extra protection from winter wetness. These boots aren't completely falling apart... Yet. I feel these chic snow shoes weren't worth the trouble or the money I went through. 

Once the fur trim comes off a little more, I'll be on the hunt for a different kind of the boot. One that is worth the money I pay for. Does anyone know of that certain stylish boot that looks great with outfits, but yet durable enough to go sledding all day with your kids? I highly doubt one exists... Or it does, but I can't find it... I forgot to mention that I had to double knot the laces because the momentum of the pom-poms on the laces was heavy enough to actually loosen the knot. Hence, I was constantly tying my boots. I was never running anywhere either...

   This is what the inside looked like sole-less. What bothers me is that,

it doesn't even look like Sporto tried to tack them down.

 

 I literally hot glued the soles down into my boots. Wasn't as easy

as one might think. I hot glued my finger and it STINKIN' HURT.

If you've bought these boots, let me know in the comments below what you think about them.

Also forgot to mention that these can be cleaned with a damp cloth.

At least that's what the presenter said on HSN. 

As you can clearly see, I have yet to do so.

By they way, LOVE my leggings! Random, I know.

Hampton Forge Tomodachi 14pc Knife Set Review

I was in a really bad need of knives. Mine were dulling. On some the handle was starting to crack. They were starting to suck as far as knives go. I was on the hunt for new cutlery. Then I remembered at a Pampered Chef party my sister-in-law, Carrie, put together, the Pampered Chef representative had a knife that came in a sheath. The cool part about the knife? The sheath also sharpened the knife as you took it out!

I whipped out my laptop and was all ready to buy. I went to Pampered Chef only to find they had one self-sharpening knife available. All they have now are normal knives. I clicked through them, but I had my heart set on sheathed knives. I didn't want knives in a wooden block. I have small children that could possibly cut themselves trying to help me, by handing me a knife or something like that. I wanted knives in a drawer that I put a child safety lock on, for extra protection. The sheaths would protect the knives from any bumps and dings that can occur to a drawered knife.

One day I went to Kohl's. I told myself I was just looking, but honestly, if you're me, you can't walk into a store without coming out with something (I mean I can. But it's REALLY hard). Made my way down to the kitchen untensils and spotted something. A covered knife. It was red (my FAVORITE color) around five or six inches long and I think cost around $15 or $20. The name on the side said, 'Kuhn Rikon.' It wasn't a brand I was familiar with, but I took a chance on it. It had everything I wanted. I noticed a red on white Swiss cross. I thought if they make good watches, I'm sure they can sharpen a good blade. Why not?

Wonderful. You can see how dirty the cover is.

My favorite knife!

When I got home, I literally pulled out the knife and started slicing up chicken breasts. It was like a hot knife through butter! The blade cut the chicken so easily! I actually forgot how a sharp knife is supposed to cut. For a little while, that blade was the only one I would use. For everything. From cutting up meat to fruits and vegetables. I knew I had to buy more, but I didn't want to spend too much. I went to Amazon and found a colorful set of Hampton Forge Tomodachi knives that had colored cases to match! All 7 knives came with blade guards and had great reviews. I bought them and several days later, I received them. They set me back $40.23 (I paid no shipping. We have Amazon Prime).

Not self sharpening, but they would do!

Now honestly, these knives weren't as tack sharp as my Kuhn Rikon, but that's nitpicking. They cut, slice and dice wonderfully for the price! The handles are better than the Kuhn Rikon because they have a non-slip grip (I can tell from the current picture on Amazon that the handle has changed. I don't know if it still has a non-slip grip). I don't have to force down the blade to cut through something. I move the blade, lightly press and it cuts easily.

On the package the blades come in, it says they are dishwasher safe. But I've learned to baby my kitchen knives. I no longer put them in the dishwasher as the constant hot water can dull the blade. I don't even do the ol' let-the-knife-soak-in-a-dish-of-soapy-water. That can also dull the blade.

Yes, this is my real sink. By the way, this knife is one of three that needed replacing,
because I did things like this to it.

As soon as I'm done using them, immediately I take it over to the sink. I run hot water over the blade and scrub with a soapy brush or sponge, with the blade pointed away from the hand that's scrubbing it. I dry it on a towel and it goes back into its protective covering

I can already tell that this way of taking care of my kitchen blades is a lot better than what I was doing. I changed the way I clean them after I put my Kuhn Rikon knife in the dishwasher. After that it was never as sharp as it first was, but it still works just fine.

Another difference between the set I have and the set currently on Amazon (as of 2-16-14) are the two smaller knives. I received two serrated fruit knives and the current package has two different styles of cheese knives.

As for the color and pictures that are labeled as a non-stick coating on Amazon, I find that I have no problem with it chipping or peeling away. One bad review said the paint started to chip off his knives, but many others said the color never came off. Maybe it's because I've never put them through the dishwasher, I'm not sure though. Personally, I really like the color on the knives. Makes my kitchen just a little more cheerful!

 

 Santoku knife

  

8" Chef knife

8" bread knife

5" tomato/bagel knife

 3" paring knife

I've only used the Chef's knife, Santoku and the paring knife. I'm waiting for my oven to be fixed so I can get to slicin' some homemade banana bread! Over all, I am very happy with my $40 set of kitchen blades and the reviews on them are great too.

Singer FW 75 Featherweight/Singer So Simple 4166 Review

My mother-in-law bought this Singer for me (actually my MIL bought this machine for all 3 of her daughter-in-laws) around... I want to say 4 years ago...? At the time, I thought it was the best thing anyone ever bought me. She ordered it from HSN (they don't sell it anymore, although you can still see the demonstration on HSN's YouTube channel) and she had it sent straight to my house. I literally felt like a kid again opening up that box! **If you don't want to read all of this, scroll down to 'If I would have known,' in big bold letters**

My first sewing machine

It was my first ever sewing machine and I got right to work sewing costumes for my kids' first Halloween out. I made a dog and chef costumes for my boys. I still have them and I don't suspect I will ever part with them.

So proud of my work! My chef decided not to wear his chef's hat.

After that is when I noticed my Singer not doing its best job. I noticed if I had been sewing for a while, I would smell warm plastic. At first I thought my kids had gotten into something and I would race out to find them. But it was never them. For the longest time I couldn't figure out that it was my sewing machine. But I reasoned to myself, since I go in spurts where I sew a lot and then don't, that it was okay. Plus, it still worked and did everything I wanted. Then while finishing a small little quilt for my oldest son, my metallic Sulky thread kept breaking.

I would go to Jo-Ann's and speak with someone about the temperamental thread. And even posted a question on Yahoo! Answers. I tried doing a few tricks to fix it, but they never worked and I eventually finished the quilt, while constantly breaking thread. I also made another small quilt for my niece and had a TON of trouble that time. My needles were constantly breaking, my thread would snap, the tension was never right and I was constantly smelling warm plastic. I would literally have to stop sewing to cool down my warm machine. The easy, simple stippling quality that HSN had promised me my Singer would easily do was just not there anymore. I finished that blanket and I put my machine away for a while.

Don't even want to look at your face right now

Recently, I've gotten back on my sewing machine. I've made cute little aprons for my sons (thanks to Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom- Apron Pattern) to help make a mess in the kitchen and I'm finishing up yet another quilt for another niece. And the troubles that were there before, haven't gone away... Warm plastic smell and now I've had to set my upper thread tension to a 2 to prevent my thread from breaking. Whereas before, it was set between 3 and 4.

Some other little problems- I could never find a parts for my Singer 75 FW. Anywhere. I tried googling the serial number and model number. Could never find a thing. EVER. All I could find were PDF instruction manuals.

I Googled my brains out

However, I somehow came across a YouTube video showcasing the 'Singer So Simple' 4166. I couldn't believe that it was the exact same machine! Everything from the 66 stitches to the exact placements of the buttons! Only difference? The name 'Featherweight' that is written on mine at the very bottom on the left side of the machine, under the stitches, is missing on the 'So Simple' 4166. See for yourself. The video is too brightly lit, but near the end, when he takes his arms away look under the stitches... You should see the missing name around 0:40.

See? No featherweight name...

So once I began typing 4166 as my model number, I began to find all sorts of parts for my machine. I was also starting to feel duped, even though I wasn't the one who bought the darn thing.

A week ago, I decided I wanted to buy a serger. But while looking for one, I realized I needed a new sewing machine. One that wouldn't smell like melting plastic after sewing for a few minutes, or because I was sewing too fast. I started to do a little researching online, only to realize it was next to impossible to comparison shop for a good machine online. I could not find any prices from any retailers anywhere. I've come to find that some companies try to protect their dealers by not allowing comparison shopping. For someone who does all their comparison shopping online... Lemme tell ya, it gets frustrating!

Today I went to a sewing machine shop for the first time ever since I couldn't get a price quote over the phone on a new Babylock Melody. The nice lady there told me about how Singer has gone down (way DOWN) in quality over the years. Apparently, they went bankrupt and was bought by another company in 2004. Since then (or perhaps even before that time) the quality has diminished. She added that most Singer machines have problems with tension and Singer has also replaced their strong metal frames (on some models, not all) with small plastic and metal parts. Which was why I was smelling warm plastic (hot metal parts being too close to plastic parts). Basically everything she said what was wrong with a Singer, was wrong with my machine. I left with her card and a promise that I would return again to talk more about which machine I will eventually buy. 

If I would have known that Singer isn't the best quality, I would have asked my mother-in-law to take back the machine. I'd have asked her to put the money she would have spent on that machine toward a better one. But now I know. It's a nice machine to get started on and if you don't plan on doing much sewing, like my sister-in-laws, then you won't have this machine give you much problems. They only use theirs every once in a while. But if you're like me and have been bitten by the sewing bug, you'll definitely want a different machine!

Some info on what came with the HSN package my MIL bought me can be seen below:

It came with 16 different presser feet and an extension table

All these came with this machine

66 different stitches. Plus and minus buttons take you to the stitch you want. Button beside the minus, controls how long you want your stitch. And the button beside the plus button, controls how wide you want your stitch. Most of the decorative stitches already come preset from the factory, and their width and length cannot be changed.

It is a small machine. 3/4 of the size of a normal machine and around 12 lbs. It can do free arm work. You can drop the feed dogs for free motion quilting and it has an automatic needle threader. This machine also has a 'Start/Stop' function, so you could literally sew without a foot pedal. It also has a backstitch button to lock the stitch in place (that's the button with the upside down 'U' over it). You can also control how fast it goes.

Cute, isn't it?

Who wants a machine that starts smelling like warm plastic when you sew for 10 minutes or because you are sewing too fast? Not to mention how the tension is starting to snap my thread now. If you do buy or have this machine, remember to go by the actual model number, which is 4166. Otherwise you will not find anything. I recommend this machine for light crafters and light/beginning sewers. But it is literally not built for heavy use. Now I know I do not like this machine. But if you feel this is one for you, by all means, buy it! More often than not, I don't let bad reviews stop me from buying something. I would much rather see for myself if a product is good or bad.

The price you can expect to pay? $150. Which is a pretty good price, considering my mother-in-law paid $300. For each machine. For all three of us.

Singer So Simple 4166

If you still would like a Singer, I'd say go with an older one. Or ask and make sure that the internal frame of the machine is made from a heavy duty metal frame.

*Even though my MIL bought this from HSN, this doesn't mean we don't like HSN. I LOVE HSN. I buy many things from them and they always have great customer service when I need it. So please don't take this to mean that HSN has bad items.*

**HSN no longer carries this particular sewing machine. Although they do carry other machines in the Singer line.**
  
***My husband bought me a Janome DC2013 for Valentine's Day (in 2014). LOVE that machine.***