Katie by the Bay

"Masquerade! Paper faces on parade, masquerade. Hide your face so the world will never find you...." I am so pleased that my Allure box came at a reasonable time this month! I will be honest that when I saw that it was going to be mostly masks I was dreading it. It's not that I don't like masks, it's because I currently have an insane backlog of clay and paper masks that I am desperately trying to use up. Seriously, I've been trying to use at least two masks a week to try and get through some of them. Happily, this box includes some really interesting masks that I had never heard of or tried, and some aren't for your face which is so refreshing. In light of this knowledge I'm gladly making some room in my collection for these guys. **I promise I am not a hoarder...*** Before we get into the contents of the this months box lets go over the subscription details briefly. Allure Beauty Box is a subscription service which for $15 + tax will deli

This is the time of year that I look forward to the most with my subscription services.... Ipsy in particular has always been exceptionally good in the Nov/Dec months. Like anything else subscription services usually try to wow you during the holiday season and I am all for it! While this bag isn't a complete and total win for me, I will say I am very happy with it on the whole.  For those of you who may not know, Ipsy is a monthly subscription service which for $10 plus tax will send you 5-6 sample to deluxe sized products ranging from skincare all the way to beauty tools. This time of the year I am loving the travel friendly products I can just throw in my bag. The contents of each bag will be different for different subscribers based on your answers to a questionnaire and how you reviewed products sent to you in the past.  So if  you are ready to see what I got in my particular November bag then let's get to it! ** Quick disclaimer; I would ideally prefer to w

I have been subscribed to the Allure Beauty Box for years and I have never had a box arrive so late before...... It all started with a seemingly harmless email asking me if I wanted to update to a yearly subscription with two free boxes. I had just received the September box and had plenty of time before the November billing and shipping period began so I decided to give it a go and get the two free boxes. Everything seemed fine except I the shipping cycle started and I still had not notifications of my box for October. Finally when the month was halfway through and I had no box and no shipping notifications yet I decided to reach out to Allure. To make a frustrating story short after multiple emails and promises of shipping notifications I finally got my box.... on Halloween..... **insert sad whomp whomp noises here** Even though this box isn't really relevant anymore I still wanted to share it's contents here with you guys. It was a great box; which is kind of a sham

Today we once again delve into the world of make-up & beauty with the October 2018 Ipsy Bag. For anyone who may not know, Ipsy is a mail order subscription service through which one can receive 5 sample to deluxe sized products each month for the reasonable price of $10 plus whatever tax might be in your area. I first learned about Ipsy from a work mate who, like myself wanted to explore more in the realm of beauty without spending a ton of money on full-sized products. I had never heard of such a wondrous thing so I decided to give it a go and was hooked after my first bag. I've been subbed to Ipsy for about 6 years or so and I've rarely been sent bags that contained more than one or two products that I simply couldn't stand. **I'm thinking of you, mac-n-cheese orange lipstick from 2013.**  Unlike some subscription services Ipsy will have customers answer a questionnaire when they sign up which will help them curate a bag that will better suit each indi

I've been married for nearly 8 years and I am still unpacking boxes. **insert mournful violin music here.**    Now that I have been out of the work force for a while and we are living in our first sort of permanent home that isn't a crap college town apartment I have finally taken the time to unpack some of those boxes and decide what to do with the contents. Amongst the assorted kitchen gadgets and hopeless tangle of random electronics I found two sets of glass coasters into which can be inserted a picture for your sentimental pleasure. I am pretty sure these were a wedding shower gift and we were supposed to use them to display wedding photos or maybe pictures of our offspring, of which we have none. Not finding them particularly pleasing but also not wishing to be wasteful I brainstormed on something interesting I could do with them before I relinquished them to the thrift store. After having a think I decided they had to be LoTR themed because of course they do, and w

It's that time of the month when some of us gals get a special surprise..... no not that kind of surprise. It's beauty subscription box time!!! **insert excited cheering noises here**  I've been a faithful advocate of mail order beauty subscriptions for the past 6 or so years now and its been an absolute delight throughout. It's like getting a gift every month to you from you and what could be better than that. I've had the opportunity to try so many different and amazing brands through beauty subscriptions. I am a born cheapskate by nature so this allows me to branch out in ways I never would if I was buying these products myself. I get a chance to try things out before really committing myself to buying the full-size which allows me to be confident that when I do add a product to my rotation it's always a gem not a dud. Ok, with all that said and done let's get into the box in question which is the Allure Beauty Box. For those of you who might b