Random Post: March 2015 Favorites (and a Couple of Empties)!

Howdy, friends! March is over, and no, I will not be subjecting you to an April Fools joke, which, by the way, companies have gotten super lazy about in the past few years. Sending out a bajillion "IT'S NOT JOKE! FREE SHIPPING TODAY ONLY!!!' emails are just annoying, not clever.

Instead, I want to recap some of my monthly favs from March! WOOT!

*Empties: These 2 monthly empties also serve as favorites. On the left, Bath & Body Works' Cucumber Melon foaming hand soap. Classic scent, love the new bottles, used this in out spare bathroom and got lots of compliments on it. On the right, Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle Body Wash. Refreshing, wonderful, and I already have another bottle in the shower. It is such a great wash, and fun to use because everything feels sooo cool when you use it!

*White Barn No 3. Renew & Refresh: One of my absolute favorite candles from Bath & Body Works, this might have one good burn left and then it's a goner. Fresh with bitchin' throw and some mild, mild green/floral notes, this is a sure winner. I don't know how new versions of this candle work, but this one from 2012ish (or 2013?) is the best.

*K. Hall Designs' Peony travel candle: One word: amazeballs. You'd probably assume like I did that a little candle such as this one might not pack a big punch. You'd be wrong, just like me. This thing is INSANELY strong. Peony is a light, delicate scent, but with a throw like this, you wouldn't know it! Such a brilliant candle reminiscent of my favorite discontinued candle, B&BW's Flower Shop. BRING THAT ONE IMMEDIATELY, BACK, BATH & BODY WORKS.

*Wonka's Randoms gummy candies: I received a package from Smiley360 for free to try these Randoms candies, something I had never heard of. I love anything gummy, and these were no exception. Some of these were just like your usual gummy bears, but others had these creamy white bottoms (eeheheheheheeee) which only served to enhance the yumminess. BTW, how do we feel about the word 'yummy' as a collective? Anyways, even though these were free, they were somethin' else! I didn't know Wonka was still in business and not I cannot wait to track more of these down for immediate consumption! They claim no 2 bags are the same, which is also fun! But, while I have you here...

...maaaaaaaaaybe you might wanna work on your ambiguous shapes a little bit more so they don't resemble, well, you know, this?????????????

*Edoughble Cookie Dough: yes, there IS eggless cookie dough out there! I first heard about Edoughble through Treatsie (which I still receive but haven't posted about in a while because of a mix-up with February's box, more to come later). I ordered the chocolate chip version of their eggless cookie dough on a whim and LOVED it, so I went back for Birthday Bash, which is sugar cookie with sprinkles. So good! It is much better at room temperature because it tastes like the real thing, but it made with apple sauce instead to mimic the texture of eggs without the salmonella.

*Game of Thrones: With 3 free months of HBO from our cable provider, Josh and I have all but caught up on "Game of Thrones." I'm sure we are the last people on earth to either read the books or watch the show, but now, this has changed, and we LOVE IT. It's not one of television's highest rated shows for no reason. It's intriguing, captivating, scandalous, murderous and fantastical all at once. Watch if you haven't already done so!

*The Last Man on Earth: want to watch a show that'll make you laugh your ass off every week? Then you NEED to check out this show! There are only 7 or 8 episodes of "The Last Man on Earth" since the show just started, but I'm already obsessed with it. Starring funny man Will Forte, genius comic actress Kristen Schaal and January Jones, give it a try if you like sitcoms and chances are, you'll love it, too!

*The X-Files Returns: it's not really a favorite, more like favorite news of the month: "The X-Files" (AKA MY FAVORITE SHOW EVER) is making a return for a couple episodes!!! YESSSSSSSSSSS!!! I have been waiting for this forever!! *dancedancedance*

*KBShimmer's Cuticle Oil Pens in Pink Sugar & Peppermint: Cuticle oil is an important step in doing my nails. My skin is always really dry regardless of how much or how little lotion I use, and I like to make sure my cuticles are moisturized. KBShimmer's cuticle oil pens are really fabulous and easy to use, plus, they smell great! I picked up one in pink sugar many months ago and just bought a new one in peppermint.

*Jolie Polish's Nooks  & Crannies Liquid Latex: Liquid latex is all the rage in the nail world right now. Some brands with the same type of item cost upwards of $20, but Jolie Polish offered a similar product for $8. $8! This stuff is a lifesaver if you're horribly messy with your manicures. The fine, thin brush helps apply around the nails with easy and any polish that gets on the nooks and crannies product can easily be removed once the manicure is done. Really awesome product!

*KBShimmer's Ins and Sprouts nail polish: Green is not typically my color when it comes to polish, but I can't resist a holo, and man, IS THIS HOLO. Ins and Sprouts completely surprised me, but then again, I should know better since KBShimmer puts out consistently excellent products. The bottom photo is from my Instagram (follow me @lololovesscents for random stuff and @lololovesfilms for all things movie related) with the flash from my phone's camera...LOOK AT ITTTTTTT. I am still in love.

*Sally Beauty's ASP Manicure Saver: If you're further like me and impatient when painting your nails, you NEED this manicure claw thingmabobber. It has always saved me twice from screwing up my manis! Who even knew a product like this existed?! I sure didn't! The little claw opens up and you stick a cotton ball in there and rub your mistakes away without messing up your other digits. COOL!

*Airborne's Chewable Citrus Tablets: Repeat after me: I will not. Get sick. Anytime soon. If I feel the slightest little sign of a cold, I pop a couple of these with my OJ and feel better. I gotta tell you, Josh hates that I buy these because he swears they don't work, but I have yet to be sick since I have started taking them!
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Happy April, everyone! Do you have any favorite products this month?

Random Post: A Life Deliberate Soap Co. Haul #1!

A couple of my close wax buddies are also really into bath and body products, mainly homemade soaps! I have heard about A Life Deliberate several times within the past couple of years and have liked their Facebook page for some time now, and though I have had about 12 carts full of stuff throughout the years, I have never pulled the proverbial trigger and ordered. It might be TMI (??), but for some reason, I just haven't been able to use homemade soaps with any degree of success. They are always really drying on my skin. I don't know if it's because we have horribly hard water here in San Diego, but regardless, I have been deterred. The only soap I ever had any success with was one that my good pal Deb made!

Well, here we are today. At the end of September, I did it. I bought from A Life Deliberate! There was a scent I just could not pass up. Let's take a look, shall we?

Pumpkin Lager goat's milk bar soap: the one that drew me in! The description reads: "A warm fragrance blend of pumpkin puree, fresh ginger, crushed spice island's nutmeg, ground cinnamon, vanilla sugar, and sparking rum." Doesn't that sounds amazing enough to eat!? No matter how many times I took the photo, the pumpkin would never come out quite right, unfortunately! I love the brown swirls and colors, very fall indeed! This smells incredible, I almost don't want to use it. You pick up on the cinnamon first, then is transitions into a sweet vanilla pumpkin, Aghhh, so good! The ingredients sound like this will be a very moisturizing bar, so I have faith it won't dry out my skin!

Happily Sever After goat's milk bar soap: the description reads: "this fragrance is a cut above the rest with top notes of tangy lemon zest, blood oranges, and bubbly carbonation; followed by middle notes of Italian bergamot, fresh mint, gin martinis and lavender, sitting on a base of rosewood." WOWZA! I definitely pick up on the orange and lemon notes with a fizzy after scent, too. The fizz is more than  just carbonation, though, there is a slightly alcoholic bubbly to it! Love that. There is a complex woody note in there as well, but I can't tell if it's a rosewood or a bergamot type of smell. I love this way more than I thought I would, and I gotta admit, I really bought it because of the finger, LOL! And look at those colors and swirls, so gorgeous.

Creepy Cooties Wax Melts: the day I bought these soaps, she mentioned on her Facebook page that she was going to be stocking a couple wax melts, too. HELLO, MOMMY! After much debate, I went with the creepy cooties because they were so dang cute. Big mistake. I should have known that I wasn't going to like this scent but still bought them anyways. It's basically an oatmeal cookie scent, but this is not your typical oatmeal that is toned down scent...all I smell is weird oatmeal stinkiness, like a face mask made from oatmeal. I am going to melt it to see if it clears off while warming, but I doubt it. I should have gone with something fruity instead!

Along with my purchases, I got 2 free samples, which I did not expect! I know wax vendors give samples, but didn't know if soap vendors did. Cool! I got a Farmhouse Shampoo sample that I'm not quite sure what to do with? Do I just rub it in like I would a cream/gal shampoo and rinse out? Do I use my conditioner after? SO MANY QUESTIONS! I also received a free sample of her gourmet body mousse in Viva La Juicy, which is a very popular perfume. This is super smooth but a bit greasy for me. I am willing to give it another shot, though!

Have you ever purchased anything from A Life Deliberate? Let me know if you have an what kinds of experiences you have had with her products!

Haul: Collective Bath & Body Works Haul (Last October through November)!

I have been slowly but surely collecting items from Bath & Body Works that revolve around winter and Christmas.
I figured I'd show them all in one haul instead of multiple little hauls because I said so. ;)
Enjoy!

So apparently, Bath & Body Works has changed their bottles. AGAIN. Good lord, these people change packaging every freakin' season it seems! Their lotion, which I've never really liked, is now filled with 2X the shea, 2X the moisturizer, and 2x the lasting power...I don't buy it, but whatevs. I don't know if these bottles are smaller as far as the amount that they hold, but they look shorter and fatter.

A new perfume! Forever Red was a huge success, if I'm not mistaken, so they have now made Forever Midnight, as well as Forever Red Vanilla Rum (I'm not sure if this it out yet). I smelled this in the store about a week ago and it was alright.

I checked the B&BW website multiple times a day for about 2 weeks to make sure I snapped up these amazingly adorable 3-wick candle pedestals before they sold out. Well, I GOT THEM! YAYAYAYAY!!! I know it sounds stupid, but I am so excited I bought these. I have two of their normal white pedestals on our fireplace mantle anyways, so these just replace those for a month-ish. Also, I picked up a Vanilla Bean Noel PocketBac. LOVE THAT SCENT!!

I bought the Scarlet Pumpkin hard working hand cream several months ago and LOVE the scent. It's incredible and perfect for this time of year! So, when I saw the Scarlet Pumpkin pump soap online, I HAD to get two. I am using this in the bathroom and it's equally as amazing.

Another huge soap hit with us (and with my brother-in-law, who went and bought 5 of these bad boys from B&BW after smelling it at our house) is the Black Cherry Merlot. HOLY WOW, this stuff is so, so good. It's a very deep, dark cherry, and though there's not much "merlot" in this that we can smell, the cherry alone is enough to keep us coming back. I am going to hoard these suckers in case B&BW decides to yank them from the shelves.

Vanilla Snowflake...ehh, I will have a review on this one soon. I wasn't a fan, unfortunately. Also, I'm not sure if Tis The Season was available in soap form last year, but it is this year! It smells pretty similar to the candle, which boasts apple/pine/cider/slight spice notes, but this has a much more toned-down pine note. It's there, but the candle features it more prominently. I have this in the spare bathroom now and it's really nice! Plus, look at the label...how can you go wrong?!

Another scent I have smelled before and decided to try in soap form. Heirloom Cranberries is sweet, but has a touch of spice to it. I have a feeling this will be a good soap for January!

As I've said before on this little blog'o'mine, ANYTHING lemon is good in our book. Well, I couldn't resist the lemon meringue cheer soap, which has another adorable label to it, too. The notes in this are meyer lemon zest, orange blossom, and meringue...sounds too good to be true!

I had my eye on this several months ago online, and when I went to buy it, it was gone. This anchor wallflower, even without a bulb, will look great in our beachy bathroom! Plus, this was on clearance, so I got a pretty good deal.

Finally, we have my most recent candle haul! WOOT! I am happy with 3 our of 4 of these candles, and am willing to try the 4th just to see how is smells when lit. OoOoOoOo, stacking abilities like whaaaaaat!

First, the one I'm not too sure we will like. White Barn's Nutmeg & Spice No. 1 (link is for 4 oz. candle) is not a new candle, it was definitely around last year. The notes I get from this are nutmeg for sure, vanilla sweetness, and some sort of caramel. Something about it is too caramelly for us, though. When I smelled it in the store, it smelled different, much less caramel, much more spice. When I got it in my package, it's the opposite. I'm willing to see how it differs, of course!

Now, I must confess, I have about a half of a candle in this scent from last year left. I KNOW, I KNOW, STOP HOARDING, but I wanted to make sure I got another one in case B&BW decides to yank this, too. SEE HOW SCARED YOU'VE MADE US, CORPORATE????????? Anywho, 'Tis the Season is fresh apples, pine, and hints of cinnamon. I just love this scent, it's so Christmas to me. And again....that label.... ;)

Josh bought me Spiced Apple Toddy last year for a Christmas gift and we fell in love with it. It's the best apple cider/apple drink scent Bath & Body Works has made, in my opinion. The other are lacking what this candle seems to have...maybe it's the plum note in this, but it's just fantastic. Last year, it burned like a charm each and every time I used it, which was A LOT. I'm hoping this year's version will produce similar results. I think this candle is in a new drink line, thus the fancy-pants label, which I love.

You know the scent Blonde Moment in wax, which is a bubbly fruity type of champagney scent? Well, Champagne Toast is the closest thing to that scent I've smelled in candle form. BOY, is this bubbly! I love it, it's really nice! I am going to use thus from late December - February, because I have a feeling it will last a long while. The notes in this candle are champagne and bubbles, some sort of citrus, and maybe another deeper fruit. I get a lot of that citrus note intermingled with the champagne. Hope this one burns!

Now, on the last two candles, they feature this really pretty lid. I know that the lid doesn't matter whatsoever, but I thought it was cool enough to share. I am a sucker for cool packaging!

And those are my Bath & Body Works hauls from late October through November 2013! I didn't partake in the Black Friday sales because I am an idiot. I should have bought Vanilla Bean Noel, a newly discovered love of mine, when I had the chance. Oh well, there's always after Christmas! Have you boguht anything from B&BW lately? Let me know!

Wickless Wednesday: Bath and Body Work's Cherry Blossom Anti-Bacterial Soap

Have I mentioned how angry I am that Bath & Body Works has gotten rid of Cherry Blossom?
No?
Well, I am. And I'm probably the only one.
I'm so mad that I felt the need to buy 5, count 'em 5 fine fragrance mists in Cherry Blossom.

HEY, for $2.67, you can't go wrong with a few extras. It's my favorite scent: slightly sweet and yet perfumey. Love it, sad it's gone.

Whilst in my local Bath and Body Works store many weeks ago, I ended up getting a Cherry Blossom Anti-Bacterial soap as well. This product is the non-foamy kind, which I remained unconvinced about until I tried this product (FOAM SOAP OR BUST).

This smells exactly like the fragrance mist! I love it! It's gone, as you can see, so it was a hit. Several guests asked me what soap this was (it's usually in one of their soap holders with the labels mostly blocked). I am sad to see it go, but glad to know it was there. This soap, as with most Bath and Body Works soaps, lingered quite a bit!

I give this product a 9/10. I will always have a special place in my heart for Cherry Blossom, and I find that Japanese Cherry Blossom just isn't the same.

Haul: Another Bath & Body Works Haul

...so, I couldn't stay away from the cheap prices of the Semi-Annual Sale!

Josh bought me a super cute cheetah print/bright pink ScentPortable thing for Christmas and I put it in my car. Well, about 2 months ago I ran out of the fragrance refills for it and haven't bought any since Christmas! They were having a sale, buy 3 get 1 free, which isn't great, but I needed some anyways, so one for free is fine! Here we have lavender vanilla, fresh cotton, clean mist (which smells AMAZING, I got this one right after Christmas), and Caribbean Escape (in my car now). It's a nice summertime smell!

Next, we have PocketBacs! 5 for $5 is a great deal, and I promised Josh I'd buy him one for men so he stopped smelling like he was wearing perfume. Most of these are new, I think. Ocean For Men is the one not pictured and in the car for Josh. Pink Berry Citrus is in the spare bathroom, Ocean Pearl is on my nightstand, Citrus Orchid Chill is in the bathroom, and Coconut Water Chill is in the office. All of these scents are really nice, super summery, and you can never have enough hand sanitizer.

When we lived at our condo, I would go to the B&BW right up the street every single time candles were on sale and would always talk to the gals who worked there. Well, turns out one of the ladies (actually, the one I liked the most!) now works at the store closest to our new place! YAY! She talked me into buying this candle...it smells so good, I don't know how it slipped past me for so long. It's very fruity, and again, another summertime scent. Could you tell what I was looking for? LOL.

Turns out, the two soap holders I bought from my last Bath & Body Works haul didn't fit the pumpy foam soaps...ARGH! One of them will be going to a good home for Christmas. I saw these and liked them so much, I got two to match. Woohoo! Love the design on them.

Well, I put one of the skinny, non-foaming hand soap holders in the spare bathroom, and needed some soaps to go along with it! I bought these two soaps (since I knew from buying the PocketBacs that I loved Island Bamboo and just took a wild guess with Beach Flower) and actually like them equally if not better than the foam soap. I KNOW, I KNOW, I have judged many a public place for not having foaming soap...OH WELL, these smell awesome and now we're used to them.

Anyways, it's safe to say that since I'm doing Project Wax I won't be buying stuff at Bath & Body Works any time soon. But, those fall candles are out online already AND I AM REALLY EXCITED AND CAN HARDLY CONTAIN MY JOY FOR FALL AND WINTER. WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

My fall candle wishlist (courtesy of Cia @ See It, Love It, Buy It!):

• Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin (of course, love this scent)
• Marshmallow Fireside (my favorite scent in B&BW history)
• Applewood Bonfire (this is a new scent for the year and it sounds like it's a real winner)
• Leave (as you have probably guessed from reading past entries in this bloggy blog, I'm mildy obsessed with Leaves)
• Pumpkin Pecan Waffles (I. Want. To. Eat. The. Photo.)
• Pumpkin Cupcake (will be a new scent for me even though it's an old favorite
• Blackberry Spice (this one sounds incredible...as long as the blackberry isn't perfumey!)
• Pumpkin Apples (if it's anything like the Front Porch scent, then YES, YES, YES!!!)
• Test scents: Pumpkin Carrot Cake, Creamy Pumpkin, Coconut Woods, Sage & Cedar, Pumpkin Woods, and Vanilla Vetiver

Anywhoozle, I might post again today, or might not, so if not, have a great weekend! :)

Wickless Wednesday: Bath & Body Works' Iced Gingerbread Gentle Foaming Soap

It's been a minute, Wickless Wednesday. It's not that I forgot about you, I've just had other things on my mind!

Last year, I sort of went stir-crazy with Bath & Body Works' anti-bacterial soaps. It's nice to know that we won't run out of soap any time soon. Plus, I like to include soaps or a small candle in Christmas gift bags, too! Also, their soaps are great just in case someone needs a gift on the fly, so it's great to have extras in a pinch. It's not like they expire!

When November 1st came around (coincidentally the same day we needed to get out a new soap), Josh and I decided on Iced Gingerbread; it sounded like a nice transitional scent from our Halloween soap (candy apple something-or-other) to fall. This version is from last year, but I'm sure it smells just as great! It isn't super heavy on the gingerbread spices or molasses, but it's definitely nice. There's also a very sweet icing scent to it, too, but not buttercreamy! If you squint your eyes, you might be able to see that this soap is almost completely gone, which means it's time for a new one! YAY for new soap! Overall, we give this 6/10; it could have a stronger smell, but it's nice enough!