Julep Maven Cupid's Mystery Box #2

My second Cupid's Mystery Box arrived yesterday.  Shipments to Canada seem to take forever... my box was held up at customs for the longest time.  I received 4 nail polishes in my box:  Niecy, Molly, Lynn, Rose & a lipgloss in Camelia.  When I ordered the box I was hoping to get some Valentine-ish colours so when these arrived, I was quite glad as these were also colours that I don't have in my polish collection.

The code for the free nail polish was a lovely surprise.  I had skipped their March Maven box - mostly because there was a bunch of really bright pastels that are just not for me.  However out of the 8 new colours, there was one that I was kind of eyeing.  so with the free polish code, I was able to order that colour tonight.  Yah!   Can't wait to wear this pastel mint green opalescent shimmer for spring.

Anytime you purchase a mystery box, there is always a chance that you will get products that you do not like.  Guess I lucked out this time.  Of the two boxes that I received, I was pretty happy with both.  None of the colours were duplicates & I definitely got value for my money.  Considering that each Julep polish retails for $14 each.  My box's retail value was $70 for the 5 polishes alone.  And the lip gloss retails for $18.  So the grand total was $88.  I paid $19.99 to get it shipped to me.  Pretty sweet deal eh?

Did you get a Cupid's mystery box - what did you get?


Julep Nail Colour is “4-free” and does not contain formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toluene, or DBP. They are based out of Seatle, Washington. I like that their polish is highly pigmented & they have a HUGE colour selection. I discovered their polish over my Christmas 2012 holidays when I signed up for their Julep Maven program.
Each month Julep introduces 8-10 brand new colours & as a Maven I get to preview them first. For $19.99/month I get 2 brand new colours/polishes + 1 product delivered to me (shipping is free as a Maven & there's no tax).

Interested in joining? Just fill out the quiz to discover your "style profile" & to pick your first box. The first box is free & you can skip any month you want. Please use my referral link:http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/96303/ and the promotional code: "FreeMaven"

A week in the mountains!

Recently my husband and I took a mini trip to the mountains... we stayed at the Jasper Park Lodge  - with the Groupon Getaway deal that I purchased in December.  If you ever get a chance to stay at the Park Lodge, I would totally recommend it.  The hotel is a bit dated, but the service is top notch & the views are spectacular.  We stayed in a Fairmont room in the main lodge and had a huge balcony/deck outside (lots of room for my daughter to run around in?) - btw, morning coffee on the patio deck before the rest of the family awoke was superb!

Why did we go?  In lieu of purchasing gifts/celebrating our birthdays - my husband's in December, mine is in January & our daughter's in February... I thought it would be nice to go away for a week.  Luckily my husband agreed & I began planning for this trip last December... btw, I LOVE the mountains!  Below is a picture of my daughter & I at Athabasca Falls, AB.

Got to say that we felt spoiled by the hotel.  We arrived at 4pm, which was check in time.  Our room wasn't quite ready for us (it was family day long weekend) so the front desk comped us a couple of beverages from their lounge... I ordered a paralyser & my husband had one of their malt beers... let me tell you, after a long road trip those beverages tasted so good!

Also since we're staying in the main lodge, we had valet parking & the bell person helped us with our luggage... something that I'm not quite used to.  It totally felt odd that I didn't have to lug up all our bags... this is the view from our room:

Sorry for the bad quality pic - it was taken from my cell phone.  But gorgeous view huh?  Travelling with a two year old isn't the easiest.  We were pretty much on her schedule... right down to the afternoon naps & being in bed at 9pm... sigh.  But the fun part was that we spent lots of time in that outdoor pool!  So cool to be outside in a warm pool when everyone walking around has winter coats on.  This is a picture of my husband and our daughter.

As mentioned earlier we were there during the family day long weekend (or President's day for those of you  Americans) the hotel put on a Madagascar themed weekend with loads of activities - all geared towards kids!  Imagine our surprise.  They brought in a bouncy house, had activities for the little ones, face painting, nightly movies with popcorn, professional photography to take family pictures, plus the best part was that all of their staff wore safari gear (front desk) & goofy wigs for their "afternoon of wigging out" ~ my daughter loved it!  This was the family picture that we were given to commemorate our stay:

Overall it was a much needed break from our regular lives - We all returned more relaxed & ready to resume our daily routines again.

I haven't been outside for 2.5 months, thank you

My client, who's 75 years old, uses a cane & is non-verbal (due to a recent tracheostomy) wrote, "I have not been outside for 2.5 months, thank you" 

Perfect end to a stressful week. So glad that I was able to teach him some independence today :o)

That was what I wrote for my Facebook status & it generated lots of "likes" and "comments" from my friends.  It has made me take a moment to reflect on life & on what I do in my professional life as a whole.  Lately my work has been very stressful.  So much so, that I've actually considered leaving the profession.  My once "dream job" was slowly becoming something that I dreaded going to every morning.  When something is causing me so much grief, the natural response was to plot an escape strategy right?  I went as far as call up one of my former bosses and he asked me to send him a resume... what will come of it?  Not sure?  This was the same boss that tried "recruiting" me a few months prior for a director role, which I politely turned down.  Just because things were much better then.

However after working with this client, it dawned on me that it is not so much what I do but how management is choosing to manage everything... that everything includes me.  I just don't respond well to threats & being micro-managed I suppose.  At this point I have no idea where I will be next month - I just know that I will have to do much reflection and decide on my next course of action....

So sorry if this post is such a downer, just thought that it's better if I jot my thoughts down...

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone!

Amex Topbox

So a while ago American Express Delights has a Topbox promotion.  For $12.50 you can get 8 deluxe samples.  That's double what a normal Topbox typically gives out.  I'm a sucker for a deal so I purchased one for myself and sent one to my niece.

Below is what arrived today:

I haven't tried any of these products and excited to get a chance to try them all.  Did you get the Amex Topbox - if so, what do you think? 

Ipsy February 2013

It's a busy mail week for me... not only did I receive two Julep shipments, but I also received my Ipsy & the Amex Topbox...

Below is a this is a picture of what I received in my Ipsy bag:  All of these products came nicely packaged in a black make up bag (which I reuse in my work bag - great for keeping lipgloss, chapsticks in one spot)...  I am not huge into make up so these subscriptions allow me to try out different things inexpensively (that's a word right?  This bag only cost me $10 + $4.95 shipping.  I am excited to receive a mascara as this is the one that I would like to try.

What do you think of the Ipsy bag this month?  Is it worth the $14.95 US price tag?

Julep - Cupid's Mystery Box

At the beginning of February, Julep posted a Cupid's Mystery Box - for $19.99 (with free shipping and no tax) you would get minimum $70-$1000 worth of product.  Since I'm just building my polish collection and I'm a sucker for deals such as there, I bought two.  Yesterday (Valentine's Day), my first Cupid's Mystery Box arrived.  What perfect timing!

My box was Cupid's Mystery Box #3.  This box contained a lip gloss in Camellia & 5 nail polishes (L to R):  Susie, Eileen, Evangeline (halographic), Lauren, Lucy.  Considering that the polishes retail for $14 each, receiving 5 polishes in colours that I don't already have is pretty sweet.  Actually not bad for $19.99?  

What do you think?

Oh and just in case you want to help feed my polish addiction, you can sign up to be a Maven & get monthly deliveries of polish too. Use my referral link below, the first box is a penny. You get a preview of the colours on the 20th of every month & can opt to skip any month that you don't like the colour and/or don't want to spend the cash.  Code to use is "penny" Sign up here.

http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/96303/

Julep - February 2013 Glamour Nail Wardrobe

I was at work when one of my neighbours (who is also a Maven) texted me to let me know that her Julep box arrived today and that I should check my mail too.  That was at 2pm.  The next 2.5 hours at work couldn't have gone any slower... I was eager to go home so that I could check my mailbox.  When I did, there it was:  my February Glamour Nail Wardrobe.

Each month Julep releases new nail polish colours and as Mavens/subscribers we get a chance to purchase it first.  February was my first official month as a Julep Maven subscriber and I chose to upgrade to the full wardrobe.  This means that instead of receiving 2 nail polish + 1 product for $19.99, I chose to pay the extra $35 to get all of the new colours (usually this is 10 nail polishes).  This month the product was the Oxygen Nail Treatment & the Freedom Polymer Top Coat.  

As a bonus this month, if you upgraded to the entire wardrobe you get two additional nail polishes (so that's a total of 12 new nail polishes!) & the white lacquered jewelry box for an extra $35.  So for $54.99, how could I resist?

The white lacquered jewelry box alone sells for $38 on their website & each polish retails for $14 at Sephora... so paying $54.99 for 12 polishes, an oxygen nail treatment (retails $18), Freedom Polymer Top Coat (retails $18) equals a real good value.  I'm a sucker for a good deal, so I bought it!

Below are the colours that I received:  Oscar, Laura, Marion, Julianne, Joan, Helen, Ellie, Ginger, Sally, Ingrid, Claudette, & Rebel.  These twelve colours will be a welcome addition to my nail polish collection.

Oh and just in case you want to help feed my polish addiction, you can sign up to be a Maven & get monthly deliveries of polish too. Use my referral link below, the first box is a penny. You get a preview of the colours on the 20th of every month & can opt to skip any month that you don't like the colour and/or don't want to spend the cash.  Code to use is "penny" Sign up here. 

http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/96303/