Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner with the Minions!

Hello. I am a contest-entering-addict. But I win amazing stuff so it's all good! Today, I picked up the prize I won from Chicago's Showplace Icon. It is simply minion-tastic!

Swag highlight: Influenster

Living the good life is fun, but very expensive. Living in a big city like Chicago makes the cost even more. But one can still live that champagne life on a beer budget if one tries hard enough. A way to help offset that cost is through swags. Swag stand for Stuff We All Get. And I usually get them at parties, events and the internet. Thanks to the internet, anyone can sign up and get these things mail to them free of charge. If you want small samples, go to the free stuff page of fatwallet and slickdeals and simply sign up. The really GOOD stuff requires an exchange of online work, mostly through Word of Mouth Marketing. Bzzagent, Crowdtap, PinchMe and Influenster are my top three sites for such things. However, I've been slacking on keeping active on these sites. I'm going to try to make more of an effort and I'm going to start with Influenster.

I love Influenster - they provide the members with boxes of sample products based on their area of expertise, and in exchange, members promote these products via social media such as facebook, twitter, youtube, and other blogs such as this one. I've been a member of Influenster since October 2, 2011 and currently have an impact score of 1852, which is high, but not the highest.

I've received 2 boxes since I joined. The last one was a year ago and one of the items- the Rimmel Scandalous Mascara- was reviewed with this blog post. (Sorry about the bad eye-makeup job. I love makeup but am nowhere near professional-caliber yet, sadly.) What I love about the boxes is the variety of items in it. That last box had chocolate, biscuit, insoles, nail polish and mascara. I consumed each of them with such glee!

Influenster RoseVoxbox

Not only do you receive these things, but are enticed to receive more with rewards for doing certain tasks and actions. I loved the eye makeup, so I made sure to win those rewards, and ended up with more Rimmel!

Like I've mentioned, I haven't been using these sites in a while, and since I last used it, Influenster had a site overhaul. I'm still trying to understand it, and had just spent a good hour answering "Snaps" questions. Hopefully those answers bring some more VoxBoxes!!!

Another change to Influenster is their new InfluensterApp, available in both Apple and Android. I downloaded it and perused it for a bit. One major difference from the full web site is the upc product scan capability. I scanned a few makeup items, and 98% of the items I scanned appeared on the screen, showing me reviews, and prices, and where-to-finds info. I can totally see this coming in handy. Like when I'm at a friend's, and seeing an item and wanting to buy it so I'll use it to locate the stores and prices. Also, if I'm in the store and wanting to know how well it works, I can simply scan it and read the reviews. It's so useful! I don't know why they didn't think of this earlier!

I just wanted pie...but got that and more!

When I attended the Beerhoptacular Event a few weeks ago, I received a coupon for a free pumpkin pie at Whole Foods.The coupon expired today, and since I was out of town for a week, today was the only day I could have redeem it.  I hate doing things last minute (but I still do. Constantly. I hate it.) because I always end up sacrificing something else to get the first thing done. In this case, I skipped out on a party at Studio Paris and instead went to Whole Foods and picked up my pie. (I was not going to be that person who shows up to a club/bar with a grocery tote bag. That's totally inconsiderate with the crowd and bag-ladylike). I could have been shooting back Grand Marnier Titanium shots, but instead I hurriedly ran to Whole Foods to redeem a coupon. And THIS is what happens:

Can you see what's so great about the picture below??

Do you see it? I got a free pie, AND $1.84 in change back! Back in my extreme-couponing days, this is what we call "Overage". This would have been meticulously planned for but in today case, it was a complete accident! I don't know how it happened, but I did have to wait half an hour for a pie to be restocked, so I will take that as good karma. I almost walked out too when I was waiting for so long, but I had already declined a ride home just to go to Whole Foods, so I was willing to be a bit annoyed, which turned out to be compensated for. I love when things work out like that! 

And it didn't just happen to me. The boy went to get his pie on an separate, unrelated trip, and he got the free pie and $8.99 off his whole grocery bill. He got a better deal, but I'm not complaining.

Makeup Review: Rimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara

I was pretty excited to receive my November Influester #RoseVoxbox. The box was filled to the brim with lots of great things. However, one thing that stood out was the Rimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara.

First off, a disclosure: I received this product complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. However, opinions are my own. And my opinion is that Rimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara is great!

Time for eyes!

I normally have absolutely no visible lashes as you can see below of my makeup-free eyes (damn genetics) !!!

So I rely heavily on eyeliner and mascara just to have eyes that pop. Normally, my routine is very basic and natural like so:

But with Rimmel, look how my lashes stands out! I love how it's shape like an hourglass, which gave great ease in angling the wand to get a better coat.

I normally don't go too much crazier than this, but with the influester program, I was inspired to give the retro look a try. I used this video from Rimmel London as inspiration and this was the crazy result. HAHAHA, I need to practice this move a few more times before I can go out in public. Or maybe retro just isn't my thing?

I love this mascara. It stays on for a long time too, which is generally great, but that also means that it takes a lot of scrubbing to get it off. I see that as a small price to pay. It will definitely stay in my bag for a long time! This mascara hits shelves November 2013, so grab it when you see it. 

BirchBoxMan Presents: Delivery Man!

Today after a very hectic day of work (nothing new there) I ran over to the AMC 600 North Michigan theater in Chicago and attended a movie screening, which I love to do and used to do all the time. However, this past summer was quite hectic, and I hardly sat in front of the big screen.

But, I'm back! Those movie theaters better watch out for me!

Normally, during a movie screening, I like to arrive an hour ahead of start time. But tonight, I was running late from work, and on my walk over, I bumped into a former coworker and chit-chatted for a bit. So I arrived 15 minutes before start time. Thankfully, my friend was already there and she had snagged us seats 3rd row in. Pretty decent seat for a free screening...

The screening itself was great. The movie was Delivery Man, starring Vince Vaughn. He's one of my favorite actor. He's so funny, and so lovable. The movie comes out November 22, 2013, so if you want a feel-good outing, check it out. However, if you want to stay in, I recommend watching Starbuck , which is the original movie that Vince's remake is based off of. I, myself, saw Starbuck a few days ago on Netflix, and I thought it was a very cute, very well made. After watching Delivery Man, I can say that both movies are EXACTLY the same, just in different languages (Starbuck is French-Canadian).

I saw the trailer for Delivery Man first and the whole basis of one sperm donor with 533 offsprings truly intrigued me. I thought this would be a comedy since it starred Vince Vaughn. But while browsing Netflix, I came across Starbuck and gave it a try. It was very emotional and dramatic. Did anyone else shed a tear or 2? I always love a movie with a good ending.

Another good ending for tonight was that since this screening was sponsored by BirchBox Man, everyone in the audience received either a Birchbox for Men or Birchbox for Women box. Birchbox is a subscription-based beauty box that arrive in the mail. Check them out: http://www.birchbox.com/

Having received a Glossybox (another subscription-based box) just yesterday, I can't help but compare the two. My Birchbox had 4 small sample-size items, whereas my Glossybox were full-sized. Birchbox paled in comparison, however, I love freebies and I would never turn away any, regardless of size.


This is what I got:

From left to right:
Beauty Protector Daily Shampoo and Conditioner
Folle de Joie eau de parfum
eyeko London Black Magic Mascara

I can't wait to try it out and let you know how it is. On a side note, I found out on instagram that the DC screening had eyeliner instead of the mascara and additionally have lipglosses. Not fair! Even before I found this out, I told my friend that I am completely overloaded with mascaras, and was hoping for some eyeliner. Oh well, guess I should clean my bathroom and see if I have an extra stick of eyeliner hiding somewhere.