Quick Shout Out

Hey everyone!

So I wanted to bring your attention to a new blog. My friend, Jenn, has started a baking blog and I can tell you she's great at what she does. Her blog is at:

http://bonbonbyjenndi.blogspot.com/

Please check it out and if you feel so inclined, give her a follow. :D

Review: The Sookie Stackhouse Companion

So, I will admit that I have been very lucky lately with winning online contests. Luckily, as my readers and as most of my prizes are nominally geek related, I will be sharing these prizes with you as they arrive and as I am able to try them out. The first prize I won was a signed copy of The Sookie Stackhouse Companion. I will admit that normally I don't go for companion books such as these but I was very pleasantly surprised by the content.

The first section of the book is a new short story in the Southern Vampire Mysteries universe. I really liked it because it took Sookie away from the vampires for a little bit and showed what was happening in the world outside of Louisiana a bit more. Another thing that I should note is that I am not entirely caught up on the novels so I am coming in with a relatively fresh perspective and I realize that I am reading things a bit out of order.

Probably one of my favorite sections is the recipe section. It has recipes both fan submitted and ones from Charlaine herself (or her characters) including Gran's Blue Ribbon Chocolate Cake and a recipe for Fried Pickles which are one of my favorite pub foods. I have yet to try the recipes however there will be more entries as I do. I am so excited to try diving into these.

There are also interviews with Charlaine Harris as well as Alan Ball (the creator of True Blood) which answers fan-submitted questions about Sookie, Eric, Bill, and all the rest of the Bon Temps gang.

While this book is meant for the more die-hard fans, it is a great insight into both versions of Sookie's world (books and television). There is also an index with some brief character histories and it lists the books in which they appear and for those that have died, the book in which they died.

A great resource for Truebies and Newbies alike.

Bath and Body Works: Spiced Apple Toddy Candle and Owl Holder

One thing I love about living in Columbus, OH is that we have test stores for a lot of the Limited Brands. One of my newest obsessions are the Slatkin & Co. mini-candles that you see at Bath and Body Works as well as White Barn Candle stores. The White Barn Candle store I go to is one of the test stores so would you believe they already have their Winter fragrances out? However that's not what this entry is about. I recently bought a mini-candle holder and 3 candles. I thought I would review these in a series. In the picture above, you can see my first candle up for review in this series lit behind the owl candle holder. The fragrance is Spiced Apple Toddy.

Spiced Apple Toddy is what I feel every Autumn apple fragrance should be. It's packed full of spices and smells to me like a stronger Spiced Cider which is precisely what I wanted when I picked up this candle. Some might consider it a duplicate and it is pretty close however I never really liked Spiced Cider because it wasn't that strong. This candle fills up my entire room with the smells of Autumn that I so love.

A Positive Note: Wet n' Wild

I wanted to take a moment a blog about a positive experience in the cosmetics world. I purchased the nail polishes from the Fantasy Makers line at Ulta recently in preparation for a month full of Halloween reviews that I wanted to do next month. Now, this one didn't go off without a hitch but I wanted to take a moment to highlight the fact that a larger company that has promptly replied to my concern.

The Black Magic nail polish that I had purchased from Ulta was described on the display as a "black sparkle" polish. Unfortunately, the specific version at Ulta is a solid black polish. I decided to go ahead and e-mail the company because even if I didn't get a reply, I hoped that my feedback would be taken into account in the future and even if they can't do different displays for different stores, to find a way to spread the word about multiple versions of the same color that are out an about, especially since the two different colors were released intentionally.

I was very pleasantly surprised to find a response in my inbox within about an hour to an hour and a half. I had sent the e-mail in the afternoon and kept it polite as it was just something I was concerned about for others who may be looking for something a little different in a black sparkle polish.

They offered to send me a bottle of the sparkle version and all I needed to do was confirm my full name and shipping address. I wasn't writing to them in order to get free product and I want to make sure this is clear however their prompt reply and courteous customer service is something that I didn't feel should go unnoticed so I wanted to write a blog post specifically about that.

Thank you, Wet n' Wild. This is something that is refreshing in this day and age.

Pony Beads... Not Just for Kids Anymore?

Thanks to the rave community crossing over with the anime community, I have found a new hobby. Making kandi cuff bracelets. Pictured above, you'll see my Barfleet cuff which took about 210 beads and 6 hours to make. The martini glass also glows. I've made a Pokeball patterned cuff but unfortunately, I don't have pictures available. >.>

Review: Bath and Body Works - Halloween PocketBacs and Lotion

Okay so as I mentioned in my earlier post, I thought I would start by reviewing some of the newer products in my haul. These are all part of the Halloween line of limited fragrances. Now this is not the complete set of PocketBacs, they brought back favorites from last year such as Vampire Blood (a plum fragrance and my fave from last year), Haunted House (which is a sour drop, grape fragrance), Gumball, and Chocolate Chew. I picked up 2 out of the 3 from the Scary bundle as well as the Sinful Vanilla mini-lotion and a Pumpkin Patch mini-candle.

First up is the Scary Cats PocketBac. Normally, I wouldn't go for such sweet scented anti-bacterial gel but I like this one. For me, the fragrance goes on strong but fades quickly. This is a good thing for me because just every so often to I get the hint of Black Cherry fragrance that this PocketBac boasts. I have a lot of good memory associations with this style of black cherry and to me, it smells like Dr. Brown's Black Cherry soda which is something I used to drink a lot of around Passover as it has no corn syrup. Would I buy this again? Probably around Halloween but it's not an everyday fragrance for me.

Next up, Skulls which is in the new "Forbidden Apple" fragrance. This is something that has a lot of depth despite being a pure apple fragrance. It's a red apple fragrance so it's definitely sweet but there's something to it that reminds me of the freshness of smelling a red apple before it's been bitten into. This fragrance is a bit stronger than Scary Cats but in my case, it's not a bad thing. It's more refreshing than sickeningly sweet.

Sinful is definitely the right descriptor for this vanilla lotion. The vanilla based fragrances tend to be my go-to sweet fragrance. It goes with almost any fragrance I may put on at another time in the say and usually blends pretty well. Sinful Vanilla is no exception. It has a rich, buttery vanilla fragrance that makes me melt and relax every time I smell it. I wish it were more than just a Halloween fragrance and I would love to see them work this into the regular Signature Collection, even if it means a name change.

First of all, I want to note that I've already used candles that have the Pumpkin Patch fragrance and it's one of the things I look forward to every Fall. With the release of the new mini-candles however, I don't feel like I'll get sick of one fragrance while the candle is only partially used. For folks who may not want the bat on their candle, it's a plastic wrapper around the white candle and it's easy to remove. Since it's Halloween, however, I decided to keep it on there. I really like the idea of the 1.5 oz. candles and will continue to try other fragrances in them.

Overall:

• Scary Cats - Something I would keep only for Halloween but not something I would use every day.
• Skulls - Amazing. One of my must buys and I would love to see this in the main candle collection.
• Sinful Vanilla - Another one of my go-to fragrances.
• Pumpkin Patch - A perennial Fall favorite and I love the new 1.5 oz candle size.

Haul: Bath and Body Works

And when I mean haul, I mean haul. It's true that none of these are full size products but the circumstance under how I was able to get them, IMO deems it a haul. My mom and I walked into the Bath and Body Works store near to our house to get some home fragrance items. It turns out that representatives from the corporate office were there testing some ideas for the packaging for the Spring 2012 line of anti-bacterial soaps. If you participated, you got a $10 gift card. I decided to spend mine immediately and give you a preview of a few reviews that are coming up soon.

First of all, do you remember when I reviewed three awesome geek inspired PocketBacs? I finally was able to complete my collection today with the Starfruit scented Seriously??? and the Coconut scented Friend Me! I knew ever since I laid eyes on that collection that all five would be mine and here we are. I will have a full review up later this week as there are some things better brought up in the review. *tease*

It's that time of year! Time for wonderful vanilla and pumpkin scented awesomeness. Cinnamon, Pumpkin, and Vanilla are three of my favorite fragrances to use and I've got all three in here somehow. The mini-candle is an awesome idea on Bath and Body Works' part as it allows you to be short term with your fragrances and change your mind without totally breaking the bank. I got this candle as part of a Free Mini-Candle with Any $10 Purchase coupon that I got in my e-mail.

And last but not least, Pumpkin Caramel Latte. This definitely has a bit of a vanilla pumpkin smell and although I haven't tried it yet, the buzz is consuming me. It's one of their new Fall fragrances. I don't even think it was there when I was in the store last Friday.

Later this week, I will break things down for you a bit more. I wanted to let you know what I have but at the same time, I need a day or so to try things out and see how they wear on me.

Small Update: Vote for "The Pink is in Another Castle"

Hey all!

I entered another contest. Please vote to name this new Geek Chic Cosmetics pink lipstick "The Pink is in Another Castle"! I would love to have some sort of legacy in naming a product on an amazing company's site.

Poll is here

Voting is open until Tuesday at Midnight Pacific, 3AM Eastern.

Or Princess Celestia might have to smack a bitch. >.>

LotD: Firecracker

Firecracker is someone near and dear to my heart. I am an avid LARPer (Live Action RolePlayer for those not in the know) and Firecracker is my PC in White Wolf's Changeling: The Lost chronicle in the Camarilla Fan Club. I am going to include some of the blurbs about her different aspects so you can understand the reasoning behind this simple look.

Fairest - This is what you would call her Seeming. The Fairest are just as the name implies, very beautiful and usually striking. That doesn't just apply to conventional forms of beauty. Some are the beauty of flames and known as Flamesirens and some are the Dancers you see in music boxes. Due to this, Firecracker takes on a mostly human appearance except for pointed ears (not pictured).

Dancer - One of Firecracker's foremost inspirations are two characters from the movie Sucker Punch. The first, Babydoll (pictured to the left) is the lead character and the one who spearheaded the rebellion and the second is Blondie. I wanted to keep the make-up relatively neutral because that's the look that most of these characters have throughout the movie. Firecracker is agile however that's not something that can come across through make-up.

Soldier - This isn't a Fairest kith and in fact, is almost the antithesis of what most Fairest kiths are. It's the blessing that came with her Entitlement which we'll get into later. This manifested in a hidden strength. This is more coming from costuming rather than make-up.


The Pilgrims of the Endless Road - They are an entitlement which is an optional group that a Changeling may join. It has it's benefits however. The Pilgrims are dedicated to constant training and never falling victim to their weaknesses. Like a lot of the characters in Sucker Punch, Firecracker struggled with her sanity. It's something that brought her close to her own destruction and without the help of others, she would not be here today. She has her routine. This lends an unsettling feeling to her look. Yet again, it's hard to get across in make-up and will probably be left to most people's imaginations.

Summer Court - The Court of Wrath. Firecracker is close to the paragon of Summer Court. It manifests in her mien as visible streams of heat rising off of her body and as part of the make-up I used Bronzer to heat up my cheeks and nose.

Some of the other ancillary inspirations for this PC come from The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers which can be viewed for free on Hulu. This webseries tells the story of a group of heroes who use dance in order to manipulate their Ra. I take a similar stance with Firecracker's abilities. Two characters stick out to me... Sp3cimen (pictured to the right) and Ninjato. Sp3cimen has very robotic movements and yet to me still has a grace a rhythm. The thing that caught my eye about Ninjato was the mention of being "the first to sacrifice". She's also introduced in an intricate duet with Katana. I highly suggest checking out this series if you get the chance.
Now for the product list:

• Laura Mercier SPF 20 Tinted Moisturizer in Porcelain
• Wet n' Wild Bronzer - Lost the color label... Sorry. Applied with a concealer brush to ensure that I only put a little on the nose and cheeks and blended.
• Geek Chic Cosmetics Eye Shadow - The Imp
• Bath and Body Works Liplicious Lipgloss - Princess in Training

So there you have it. The inspiration, story, and make-up look for an original character. The photos of the look were taken using a Nintendo 3DS handheld system. So no flash.