Julep Jewel Heist Mystery Box

On September 8th I got an email from Julep (and also saw on facebook) they were doing a mystery box called Jewel Heist that month that would be giving the entire birthstone collection to 50 people and a pair of earrings to one person. I used to love their mystery boxes but was hearing a lot of bad things lately so I was avoiding them, but I'm in love with sparkles lately so this seemed like a box I would enjoy, and I found a $10.00 off coupon making the box only $14.99 for what they claim to be $100+ value. Since I had saved that $10, I added the large add-on for $15.00. 

Since I live in Canada anything from Julep seems to take ages to get to me. I ordered it September 8th, got shipping conformation September 10th, and received the box October 2nd. 

This is what came in my box, for $30.00 I think it's not bad at all. I saw a lot of complaints about this box (like all boxes) but I think I'm happy with mine. The only thing I'm upset about is that I was expecting more jewel-tone nail polishes. If I hadn't of gotten the add-on I wouldn't have gotten any sparkles at all.

So the actual box came with these items: 

I think if I had of paid the $24.99 for these items I wouldn't have been happy even though the value is there. Here are picture of the individual items I got and their values.

The add-on came with these items:

First item is the Moisture Mask Trio which contains three masks, one for hands, feet and nails. This item is $20.00 or on sale at the moment for $14.99.

The next item is the Blank Canvas plumping lip primer. I'm not a lipstick person so this doesn't interest me that much, but I tried it out and it made my lips tingle so I took it off. I'm assuming that's the lip plumping properties which some people may like. This item is $22.00 or for mavens $17.60.

The one product in the box that I'm excited for is Vanish cuticle softener and remover. I've already used this once and I love it. I don't need it for cuticle removal much, but it takes stains off of nails really well. This is exciting for me since my nails seem to stain no matter how much base coat I use. This item is $18.00 but on sale right now for $9.99.

Finally I got three nail polishes. These were Alfre, Lynn and Nadia. All nail polishes are $14.00 or $11.20 for mavens, but Nadia is on sale right now for $4.99. Lynn and Alfre are both pretty colours. These are the first three polishes below. The add-on came with two polishes which are the two on the right, Taryn and Dawn. Both of these are $14.00 or $11.20 maven price. I don't ever use yellow as an all over nail colour but they are good to have for nail art. Taryn however, may be one of my new favourite colours. I'm in love with these blue glitters. 

With the two nail polishes I also got the Sweep Eyeshadow Palette: Neutrals which I love. This palette is $24.00 or $19.20 maven price. I have blue eyes so these are the eyeshadow colours I use on a daily basis, and it's in a cute small package which is perfect to fit in a travel makeup bag.

The total price for the box was $102.00 or with sales and maven prices $69.97. The add-on was $52.00 or maven prices $41.60. This is a total value of $154.00 or with sales and maven discounts $111.57. Considering I paid around $30.00 this is a pretty amazing value since I will use basically everything I got. 

September Ipsy

This months Ipsy theme was Street Style. On the Facebook group most of the items were spoiled before the bags came out, also you could share a link on your Facebook to get early access to your glam room. Ipsy is a monthly subscription service that costs $10.00 a month, but being in Canada I have to pay for shipping which is another 4.95 USD so you'll pay the difference of exchange rate. If you want to subscribe you can do so here: http://www.ipsy.com/r/3kg1

This is what came in this months bag. I'm mostly happy with this bag.
The first item I got is called Caviar CC Cream 10-in-1 Complete Correction by Alterna Haircare. I'm pretty excited for this item, it is a leave in "hair perfector" that you use after washing your hair. It says that it perfects your hair in 10 ways: moisture, shine, smoothness, softness, UV protection, manageability, strength, anti-breakage, heat protection and light hold. This product sold at Sephora for $31.00 for 2.5 oz and this is 0.85 oz making the sample worth $10.54. 

The next item I got is a nail polish by Pacifica in the colour Red Red Wine. These nail polishes are 7 Free meaning they are made without many of the chemicals that are typically used in cosmetics and have a vegan brush. This is a full sized item worth $9.00 on the Pacifica website. 

The next item I got is a moisturizing cream face cleanser by Nourish Organic. This is fragrance free, alcohol free, gluten free and vegan. It is made with aloe vera, cucumber and watercress which I'm excited for since I have pretty sensitive skin so I should be using more products like this. You can buy this item in Canada from Well.ca for $15.99 for a 177 mL bottle making the 30 mL sample worth $2.71.

The next item is Art Touch Tinted Lip Gloss from Cailyn. The one I got is in the colour Love Affair which is a darker red, I wish I got the other colour which is more of a pink but it's still nice. This item is a full sized item of 4 mL which is sold on the Cailyn website for $19.00.

The last item I got was a double sided Infinity Shadow/Crease Brush from Crown Brush. This brush is number C476 which is $17.50 online. I have recently been loving new brushes so I'm excited for this one.

The bag this month was nice, it's a little bigger than they normally are and looks nice.

I really liked this months bag. It had a hair product, nail polish, face cleanser, lip gloss and a brush which is a wide variety is items. Also the overall value is $58.75 which is great for the $15.00 I paid for it, and three of the five items were full size. 

August Barkbox

This months barkbox had a nautical theme and was really cute, even the tissue paper in the box was different with a dog in a nautical outfit, a crab, some waves and other nautical things. 

This one had two toys and two bags of treats. Both the toys float, which would have been great when we were at the cottage a month ago, but I'm sure they'll be destroyed before we are back where he can go swimming. The first toy is a ball on a rope called Jolly Pets Romp n' Roll and is worth $11.00 on the card. The other toy is a stuffed toy with a squeaker called Pet Rageous Lobster and is worth $8.00 on the card. 

The two bags of treat are within the theme and my dog loves them. The first is called Bocce's Bakery Lobster Roll Treats. These are made of organic rye and barley flour, lobster, kelp and parsley and are worth $10.00 on the card. The other bag is Grandma Bowser's Chedder Biscuits. He's had treats from this company before and they were good.

This box is worth $37.00 US according to the card, but like always it would cost a lot more to purchase these items in Canada so I am very happy with this month! He is loving the lobster toy and has chewed that rope off already. 

Garnier Fructis Color Sheild

I was given a sample of some Garnier Fructis Color Sheild Blonde Refresher shampoo, conditioner and hair mask in a VoxBox from Influenster to try out. 

The last time I used a Fructis shampoo/conditioner was probably 10 years ago and it was one of the only bottles of shampoo I've ever bought that I could not finish because I did not like what it did to my hair. I have blonde hair which is very thin and light and Fructis tends to have formulas to make your hair shinier which only weighs my hair down and makes it greasy. Using the original Fructis in a green bottle all those years ago I always felt like as soon as my hair dried it looked like I hadn't washed my hair at all. This made me a little hesitant to use this shampoo on a day when I had somewhere to be. 

So the first day I used this shampoo I used the hair mask with it. The formula smells amazing and is purple which is great for blonde hair with blonde dye, my hair is naturally blonde but with blonde dye which a lot of people have issues not staying the colour they want it to but I'm typically lucky when it comes to that. I left the mask in my hair for a while, I didn't keep time but it was probably around 10 minutes (I like to leave these in for a while). Maybe I left it in too long or maybe it's the formula but it took a long time to wash it all out of my hair. 

This first day I let my hair dry naturally to see how it looked and it did not look greasy and unclean as I was expecting from my past experience. So I was pleased about this, also my hair was not dull as it is sometimes when I don't blow dry my hair. I don't typically wash my hair everyday, so the only disappointment I had was that the next morning my hair did get back to that greasy state that doesn't happen with some other shampoos, but this can be easily fixed using a dry shampoo before going to bed. 

I haven't had the package for too long, so I've only been able to use the shampoo and the regular conditioner twice. Using the regular conditioner it doesn't take as long to wash out but it is still a little more difficult compared to other ones that I have used before. This had the same effects on my hair as the day that I used the mask. Overall I am enjoying these products so far, they smell really good and work well for hair to be washed daily or with the use of a dry shampoo and keep my blonde hair from being dull. 
Below are some pictures of the individual products.

August Ipsy

This is my Ipsy from the month of August. This month I got a sneak peek email on my other email address saying that everyone would be getting an Urban Decay item which I was really excited about. Later on on their Facebook page if you shared a link you would be able to see your glam room early. When I saw it I was a little excited but now I'm not that sure. From looking around on Facebook I saw that most people had the same bag. 

The first item I got was the Urban Decay item. Mine is a mascara called Urban Decay Perversion Mascara in black. I have so many mini mascaras at this point, but this one seems like it would be amazing even though it's so tiny. The alternative would have been an eyeliner, which I would use but I got on a couple months ago that is still basically full so I'm glad I got this one. The thing with this mascara though is when you buy it from Sephora or from Urban Decay it comes with a Lash Primer. In stores it's $22.00 for 12 mL the sample is 3 mL which would be around $5.50.

The next item I got was Lord and Berry Silk Kajal Kohl Eye Pencil. I use black eyeliner everyday so it's cool to have another one, but like the mascaras I am getting a lot of them. This is about half a normal size which sells for $15.00 so it's worth about $7.50.

The third item I got is Dr. Brandt Pores No More Pore Refiner. I put this on my hand hoping it would be similar to to Benefits Porefessional, but it just seemed to be shiny and transparent on my skin. This is a pretty expensive item, selling at Sephora for $55.00 for a full size of 1 oz. This sample is 0.25 oz so this is worth $13.75.

Next I got a blush sample from Coastal Scents called the Forever Blush Sample Duo. These are in the shades Fresh (the beige) and Elegant (the pink). I don't use a lot of blush so this probably won't be used, but being as tiny as they are it may be an item I can pack in a travel bag in case I want to use it when away. These sell for $7.95 each for 10 g, making this little sample worth $1.90.

The last item I got was Absolute New York Lip Balm in Grape. This is a very large sample and smells amazingg! This is sold in a multi-pack of 2 for $5.99 making this worth $3.00. 

The bag this month is a little different than bags you normally get, it's not flat and square it's smaller and round which I like. 

The total value of this bag was $31.65 which is one of the lowest value I've gotten, which I'm not surprised about because everything seems to tiny. I feel like I should be liking this bag since I would probably use every item, but I don't get these bags to get items that I already know I would use.. I get them to to try new types of products. Even though they are different brands of what I've already tried, black eyeliner is black eyeliner and mascara is in general pretty similar. Anyways, it's not a complete disappoint but not the best bag I've ever gotten! 

Toronto Harbour Tours

Since I've been in Toronto a while and visited Toronto so often before, I have been running out of things to do that I haven't yet done. One thing I had been wanting to do for a while is a boat tour downtown Toronto, so I found one on Groupon that was inexpensive and seemed cool. This one was from Toronto Harbour Tours and cost $11.00 per person. it states that during June, July and August the cruises leave every half hour between 11 am and 5pm and every hour between 6 pm and 9 pm. Tickets are 24.95 if you purchase them at the location and 19.95 if you purchase them on the website. They have cheaper tickets for children and family passes as well. I had also read on the website that they stop halfway through at the Toronto Islands and your able to get off and get back on another one that passes by later on. I found a map of the route on the website.

We got to the location where you check in to take the tour around 4:10 pm, thinking we would be taking a 4:30 tour and stop at the island for an hour or two and grab another boat that passes by. When we get there we are told the tour is only going every hour, and that the one we would be on would be the last stop at the islands so we could get off if we wanted but we would only get half of the tour. I read quite a bit about the tour before going so I was a little sad we wouldn't be able to get off at the islands, we would have gone earlier if we had of known that. 

The tour itself was good though, the tour guide was knowledgeable and funny and gave us a lot of interesting information. The boat itself is fairly small, but it is covered with windows that open, it was pretty empty so it was good. The tour was only an hour so it felt a little short, but for the price I think it was well worth it and would be good with children especially if you go earlier and visit the island for a bit. There were some pretty views from the boat and you learn some things about Toronto's waterfront and the islands. I liked it, I think I would do another tour but make it a lunch or dinner one instead so it's a little longer.

The Grilled Cheese

A while back I started watching that show on the Food Network called "You Gotta Eat Here" when I knew I was going to be moving to Toronto. I am a pretty picky eater and tend not to like fancier foods, so when I saw the one for The Grilled Cheese in Kensington Market I was excited because the regular grilled cheese looked amazing. This is located at 66 Nassau St. which is a little south of College street and west of Spadina. 

They have a lot of different interesting types, but I am very plain. This is my second time going and it was equally amazing both times. Last time I got plain, this time my sister got plain and I added bacon. It is soo good, I can't even express how good these are. Grilled cheese was always one of my favourite things to get in restaurants when I was younger, but I was always that annoying kid who would ask what kind of cheese they used because there's nothing I hate more than a grilled cheese with a gross rubbery cheese slice. These are made to order and always take a bit to make since they are made fresh with a press, and are cooked a little slowly in order to melt the amazing amount of cheese that they put on these. 

You can watch the episode here: You Gotta Eat Here and see some of the other types of sandwiches they make. Also, there is a bar across the road that you can sit in and have a beer, and they will deliver to you. 

If you are downtown Toronto and looking for something to do, you can stroll around Kensington Market, do a little shopping and stop in here for lunch. There are a lot of cool little shops around this area making it an interesting place to spend half a day.