June Favorites

It's the end of June! (Well, now the beginning of July..) and it's time to talk about what I've been loving this month! So let's jump right in!

Victoria's Secret Body Splash in Fresh & Clean

I've recently rediscovered this fragrance, and I'm loving it all over again. Beth has the Fun and Fearless scent, and it made me want to use mine. I really like Victoria Secret's scents, because I feel like they're not super duper girly (or at least, you can find some that aren't) but they stick around well, and I feel like they're pretty light too.

Ulta Nail Polish in Pinata Yada Yada

This product isn't even technically mine, so I might be cheating by including it, but I used this polish for accent nails over a Selena Gomez polish (that's coming in another post) and I fell in love. Beth picked this up 2 for 1 at Ulta when we went, and I'm definitely picking some up the next time we go. I have never been a glitter fan for my own nails. I love it on others, but I never liked it for me. This might be the polish to change that. 

Warm eyeshadows

This isn't a specific product, but lately I've been going for warmer reds and oranges and pinks with my eyeshadow looks. Maybe it's because the weather has been pretty dreary lately, but I've been gravitating toward them, even though I've never been one for those colors with my red hair.

Rimmel London Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Liner in Nude

I bought this last month, but I only really started using it consistently this month. It was one of those things that many of my Youtubers raved about, so I decided to try it. I use it in my waterline, and I really love how it helps to brighten up my eyes. I don't necessarily believe it's waterproof because it doesn't stick around all that long, but I at least like looking bright eyed in the morning, when I first put it on.

Candy Crush Saga

I admit, I have been sucked in. I remember people playing this back in the Fall semester, but it never interested me. Then one day, while I was in Baltimore doing nothing, I decided to try it, and now I'm hooked. I got Beth hooked, and we've pretty much been playing non-stop. It's addictive in the way that even once you want to stop playing, you feel like you have to keep playing. I'm on level 65 now, so I'm moving along pretty steadily.

The Dive from Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer

I bought this from the Monmouth Library's book sale for $.50, and I'm really enjoying it so far. I originally bought it because I thought it was by Ann Patchett (I obviously didn't look very hard) but it sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a try. It's not anything like what I thought it'd be, but I'd recommend it none the less.

Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch

I was really hesitant to get this the first time I saw it, but it turned out to be absolutely amazing. They don't sell it in family boxes, so I honestly buy two boxes at a time. I thought the flakes and o's would be a weird combination, but I'm so in love with this cereal. If you like such things, do yourself a favor and try it!

Hannaford Mango Peach juice

I couldn't find a picture of this, but I finished my most recent bottle of this today, and it's still delicious. I saw it at Alex's house when I visited her, so I picked some up for myself. I've had it by itself and as a mixer, and it works great both ways. Plus, it's only 80 calories!

We're preparing to start our month of tech! It's exciting to be starting all the other shows. I've now seen stumble throughs of Our Town and The Year of Magical Thinking which are both going to be great. I have a lot more appreciation for Our Town then when I was in the production in 10th grade.

There I am, in the white

The Year of Magical Thinking is based on a book by Joan Didion and the play combines the stories of the book by the same name and Blue Nights, her next book. The play deal with Didion's husband's sudden death of a heart attack in 2003 and the subsequent death of her only daughter 20 months later in 2005. It's a one woman show, and I was really touched, even in the stumble through.

I had some problems with the play, but I think I tend to be easily swayed by true stories of love and loss. Even though Janis (our actress) was beating herself up, I was moved by her performance.

Rew and I spent Tuesday recording songs that will be used in Knight of the Burning Pestle to help the actors learn their parts and then slogging through our recordings to find the best take. It took the better part of the afternoon, but it was nice to feel like I was working toward a palpable goal. Rew's also given me the task of researching music of the time period for The Taming of the Shrew because he's feeling a bit behind.

On Thursday I spent most of my time editing together a Disney princess medley for Black Fly Follies, and found out that my editing skills aren't nearly as bad as I thought they were. Rew gave me a few pointers, but I was basically on track, and that was an awesome feeling.

Our tech for Black Fly was...not fun. People aren't taking it seriously, and it was a really frustrating night. Hopefully the performance will be better. Stay tuned!

June 2013 Ipsy Bag

I accidentally forgot to change my address on my Ipsy this month, so mine was a little slower getting to me, as it had to be sent twice! But, it's finally here, and while I haven't actually tried anything yet, I figured I could at least post about it!

The stock picture on ipsy.com

 I already knew what was in my bag by the time I got it, minus the colors. So here's my haul!

Starlooks Lip Pencil in Tickle Me Pink

JCat Eyelashes and Glue

Nyx Cream Blush in Tea Rose

JCat Sparkling Cream Palette in Volta

Cailyn Gel Eyeliner in Iron

I'll be honest, I'm not the most excited about this month's bag. I don't use lip pencils or false eyelashes, so I'm trying to trade those away, as well as the eyeshadow palette because I don't do sparkle eyeshadow. I am interested in trying the cream blush because I've heard really awesome things about Nyx (I'm still trying to get my hands on their matte lip gloss in Buenos Aires - Ulta was sold out!), and while I've never done gel eyeliner, I've lusted after winged eyeliner for a while, so I'm going to need to play around with it and see if I can make it work for me.

Making love out by the lake to our favorite song..

Sunday was so much fun!

After a pretty miserable Saturday and staying up way later than normal both Friday and Saturday nights, I slept in Sunday and spent most of the day lazing around in my bed with the internet. Then Beth and I got up and got ourselves ready for our lake day!

One of the TAM board members lives off of Berry Pond, and they graciously invited the summer company to come hang out! So Beth and I did the necessary hair removal, she fishtailed my hair, and we were ready! Saturday night, she, Amadi, and I went bathing suit shopping (since I haven't owned a bathing suit in....ever) and we were all set!

We pretty much arrived and dove in. I barely had time to be self conscious, and it was wonderful. The water was actually way warmer than I was expecting, and they had one of those floating platforms, so a bunch of us swam or canoed/kayaked out to it and hung out until it was time for dinner. Then we ate delicious burgers and pasta and potato salad.

After dinner, Amadi, Beth, Beka, and I played Cornhole (my team won) and then Beka left and Tannis (our master carpenter) joined us for Kubb (my team lost) which was fun and a lot harder than it looks! Afterwards we ate brownie sundaes for dessert and then decided we wanted to venture back into the water, despite the fact that it was starting to get dark. So Amadi, Beth, and I set off in the canoe and Ryan set off in a kayak. We putzed around in the water for a bit, enjoying the Maine landscape, and then we headed to the floating platform where we tied up our boats and jumped in again.

Beth may or may not have mentioned that going skinny dipping was on her bucket list, and so the four of us may or may not have stripped off our swimsuits and gone skinny dipping. And the skinny dipping may or may not have included Beth, Ryan, and I climbing onto the floating platform naked (one at a time) and jumping off the other side.

It was really cool to not have to worry about water snakes or any of the other abundance of wildlife that wants to kill you in Florida lakes. And, it was really lovely to spend some much needed down time with these wonderful, talented, crazy people who are rapidly becoming close friends.

Next Monday we have another lake party that starts at 11am, so we get to spend the entire day swimming and playing. I'm excited about it. I forgot how much I love doing stuff like that. Maybe I'll actually remember to take some pictures so that my blog isn't a wall of text. Until next time, lovelies!

Five Products I've Emptied

I've been collecting these for a while now because I was originally going to make a video about them (back when I was trying to be a Youtuber) so I've decided to split them up into two posts. I assume this will become a regular thing as I finish up products.

1. Softsoap Body Butter Coconut Scrub Body Wash

I am a huge fan of the Softsoap brand. Ever since I received the Coconut Scrub bar soap in an Influenster Box, I've been enjoying trying all the scents and formulas. This was the first one I tried because I loved the bar version of it so much. It's lovely and exfoliating without being abrasive to my very sensitive skin. It smells really good too! I'd definitely recommend it.

2. Boi-ing Concealer

This was my holy grail concealer when I first found it. I still love it a lot, but I've been trying to reverse the slow move I'd been making over the past few years toward higher end makeup. I still enjoy high end makeup, but I'd rather have affordable options if I can find them. I never truly emptied this product, but once I hit pan on this, it dried up pretty quickly.

3. Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray

As previously noted, I'm not a huge fan of this brand. I received a trial size of this in an Influenster box, and I was really excited about it. I had been eyeing this product (and sea salt sprays in general) for a while now, and I loved that I got to try it before I bought it. I loved it at first, but the more I used it, I just didn't think it did anything for my hair. My hair is naturally wavy, and I didn't feel like I could use this product by itself. It just didn't give me the look I was wanting. 

4. Organix Hydrating Macadamia Oil Intensive Moisture Mask

I've been lusting over the Natural Macadamia Oil brand hair mask for a while, but I just couldn't justify the $33 I would have to spend on it, so when I heard a Youtuber talk about how great this one was, I decided to try it. First of all, I love packaging like this. Love it. Can be sucked in by just about anything in this packaging. Second, there's really nothing wrong with this mask except I didn't feel like it did much for my hair. My hair is not ridiculously dry or damaged and maybe I would've noticed a difference if it was, but I just felt like the formula didn't cling to my hair enough to really penetrate and make my hair super soft. There was nothing bad about this product, per se, but it was more of a regular conditioner than a special treatment mask.

4. Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes

Yet another thing that Youtube raves about that I didn't like. I like the Simple brand a lot. I've used their cleanser, and I'm currently using the moisturizer, and I really enjoy both of those products, so I had no qualms about buying the facial wipes. My issue with these is that they weren't wet enough for me. I felt like I had to scrub my face with them to get makeup off. For a brand that calls itself the "sensitive skin experts" this was unexpected. The truth is, my $2.80 wipes from Forever 21 work way better than these.

I'm linking up today! Check out Agape Love Design's post for Makeup Monday by clicking on the button below!

I meant to post earlier, but it's been a rough day.

I'm having some personal things happening, and it's really wearing me down.

The good news is The Velveteen Rabbit opens tonight! We did our final dress earlier, and it seems like it's going to be a pretty good show. It's only 50 minutes, so the tech process was very easy and went very smoothly. And now the show opens and will run until my birthday (with all the other shows in rep).

My view from the booth!

In Toad news, it's Beka's 21st birthday tomorrow, so we're having an opening night celebration/21st birthday party here tonight. Beth and I made a cake, and Beth bought alcohol and mixers. Beka's not a drinker, but she did say she'd drink at least some tonight. I probably will too to keep me from thinking about my life.

Tomorrow Amadi, Beth, and I are going to set off to buy me and Amadi bathing suits since we have a company party on Monday and neither of us owns one.

Other than that, it's been pretty quiet. I've had some time off because the show's opening and tech wasn't until the night, so Beth and I went grocery shopping, and I read and relaxed. We're *fingers crossed* hopefully getting a new router soon, so the internet won't be so awful.

I'm sure there are some of you who are as upset about Google Reader dying as I am. I've been trying out replacements, and I have to say, I really haven't liked any of them. I'm a creature of habit, so I wanted something that was as close to Google Reader as it could be. I tried Feedly; I tried Bloglovin, and I tried Netvibes. I probably looked into others, but finally yesterday I found something I could live with. It's called The Old Reader, and it was made in homage to Google Reader. It has a crappy name, but if you're looking for a replacement that's almost a clone, I'd suggest it.

I've gotten some new and exciting things, so I will post about those as soon as I can get pictures taken. I think it's kind of funny that my beauty posts are all lined up, but it's the personal posts I have issues with sometimes. There's just not all that much to report!

But never fear! I will find something to talk about! Even if it's not that exciting!

Not Your Mother's Kinky Moves Curl Defining Gel Review

I'm halfway (if not more than) through this product, so I feel like I can make an adamant judgment on it now. I picked up this product because I was interested in trying something else from the brand and because CVS was out of my usual curling mousse. 

I have to say that I'm really unhappy with how disappointed I've been with this brand. I want so much to love it, but neither of the two things I've tried have done much for me. I will be receiving their Way to Grow shampoo and conditioner through Influenster, so I'll see how that works for me unless my mom steals it.

This is a curling gel which I was wary of from the beginning because gel normally leads to crunchy hair. This gel, unfortunately, was no different. So that was my first problem. My second problem was that it weighed down my hair. I'm a night showerer, so I put in styling product after I shower, sleep on my hair, and then use more styling product in the morning. Using this gel, I'd wake up in the morning and my hair was limp and kind of greasy looking. If I was going to put more product in my hair, that was okay because my normal messy-chic waves masked it. But if I wanted to leave my hair how it was, it didn't look clean.

My third issue was the scent. This product smells very grape. It's something that you get used to, but it's very overwhelming and kind of...cough syrupy. I wish there had been more of the jasmine and less of the grape.

Overall, this product probably does better on people with thicker, actually curly hair as opposed to my fine, wavy hair. Gels are just usually too heavy for my hair. And the scent is pretty off-putting to me. Have you tried this product? Did you like it or dislike it?

Toad Hall Adventuring!

Yesterday I had an unexpected day off, so my roommate Beth and our housemate Sara and I went on an adventure! First we went to Ulta. It was my first Ulta experience (despite wanting to go FOREVER) and it was marvelous. I wanted to buy the whole store. But I didn't! Instead, I got these things:

Back left we have the Ulta brand fragrance mist in Fresh Lilac (these were 2 for $10, so Beth and I each got one), to its right is the Joico Curl Activating Spray, and back right is the Alba Hibiscus Facial Toner. Then in front is a Revlon Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya (I've been looking for this one for a while) and the Ulta brand Brilliant Color lip gloss in apricot.

After Ulta we hopped over to Target because Sara wanted some sunglasses and a yoga mat. We ended up in the pajama/lingerie section, and somehow decided that we wanted to make pajama pants. So, we looked up the nearest Joann's and headed that way. We took way too long looking at fabric, but eventually we left with fabric, elastic, thread, and a pattern.

Which, after dinner and a movie, we took to the Costume Shop and made pants!

Sara and Beth hard at work!

The finish product! I'm on the right.

After we finished, Beth, Sara's roommate Amadi, and I watched Aladdin which was an awesome throwback to my childhood. Today I'm working on getting things done that have been on my list for a while. I finally cleaned by area, and I feel much better about things. I also Skyped with my former roommate Alissa for an hour and a half or so to catch up. Hopefully I'll have more theater things to report soon, but as of now, it's been pretty quiet. The Velveteen Rabbit opens this week though, and I think we're all looking forward to that!

Softsoap Limited Edition Summer 2013

A while back, I journeyed to Walmart to see if they had the new summer Softsoaps in yet. They didn't, but they still had some of the spring ones. I ended up picking up the Forever Springtime scent because as glorious as the Lemonade Berry Splash sounded, it was way to strong for me. I love the Forever Springtime scent, but I was really on the hunt for the summer ones.

The second day I was in Monmouth, I ventured to the Walmart in Augusta to buy a few things. I decided to peruse the beauty aisles, and while I was at it, I saw one of the summer Softsoaps!

Unfortunately, they only had the Pacific Sunset scent, but since that sounded more appealing to me anyway, I wasn't too disappointed. 

I'm still finishing up my Forever Springtime, but I'm excited to start in on the Pacific Sunset. I really enjoy switching up my body wash and rarely using the same scent twice! Is anyone loving either of these? Have you found them yet?

It's been a good couple of days!

Rew and I have been cleaning and tidying up, and stuff's actually starting to look really nice! Plus, he's actively helping me learn. Explaining things to me and asking me what I want to learn more about. We went for coffee and ice cream one afternoon, and we talked about my goals, and he drew me a map of how the monitor system was set up. It's so nice to have someone who cares as much about me learning as I do. I feel like I may actually be finally understanding.

He also taught me to solder today, and I fixed a cable! I feel really comfortable with him already which is nice because I have a hard time learning if I'm not comfortable around the person who's teaching me. I feel like I can't make mistakes or ask questions, and I get really self-conscious which is unconducive to the learning process. But here I feel like it's okay if we go slower and it's okay if I have to ask about something I should (probably) already know. Not having the time to learn in school hindered me, but I'm determined to make up for it here!

I'm excited to start working on shows. I know that once I fall into being a board op monkey, I'll get bored, but I'm excited to go through tech and have it not be a massive disaster. Though I do wish I had more access to things like live mixing here.

Since Rew doesn't have an actual office, we've been spending a lot of time in the library. If there's one thing I love above everything else in this town, it's the library. It's so small-town, and the atmosphere is so friendly and warm. I love sitting there and listening to the people come in and the librarian talk to them and make suggestions. There's such a charm about a small town. There's also a book sale in the basement, and I am definitely buying at least two books.

I said I'd get tired of the atmosphere in Toad, and it's already started. It's loud and energetic most of the time, which is just not something I like. Thankfully, I can hole up in my room most of the time and escape it, but it's hard that this is the base for most of the activity because it means there are people here all of the time. My introverted self is trying hard to adjust. I'm definitely glad I have a car, though, so I can strike out on my own when I need to do so.

Five Products I Love

Since I've been so busy lately, I'd like to give a little shout out to five products that have just been working for me. Things that make my life easier (in the beauty realm anyway) and one that has really saved me. Here we go:

1. Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo

This stuff has seriously been a lifesaver recently. If you read my Suave Moroccan Infusion review then you'll know that I haven't been using it as much lately because I was no longer feeling that products were building up in my hair. However, Toad runs on well water, and my hair is (in the words of my roommate) not about that life. It's been very tangly and rough feeling lately, despite my use of a nourishing masque, and eventually I researched and found out it's because the minerals from the water are building up. So, I used this, and it's tons better. My hair still doesn't love the water, but as long as I use this a couple of times a week, I think I can manage.

2. Elf Eyelid Primer

Before I started using an eyelid primer, powder eyeshadow was a no-go for me. But a primer really makes all the difference! My eyelids aren't super oily, but my eyes are fairly hooded, and powder would just disappear into the crease immediately. This stuff keeps my eyeshadow looking great throughout the day, and it's only $1! Who can beat that?

3. Elf Makeup Mist & Set

Before I found this product, I'd basically resigned myself to the fact that my makeup would be gone as soon as I started sweating. I've tried the Urban Decay All Nighter Spray, and it didn't really do anything for me. I assumed that if Urban Decay couldn't help me, no one could. But I was incredibly surprised when this helped and a lot! I could go outside, sweat a ton, be sure my makeup was gone, and look in the mirror to a face almost as fresh as when I applied it. It's a fantastic product, and I wouldn't apply makeup without it.

4. Elf Beauty Book in Warm

Yes, another Elf product. I can't help it that their makeup is awesome and super cheap! I picked this gem up when I visited their flagship store in NYC at the end of May, and I've been using it every day since. The pigmentation is great, and there's a ton of neutral shades, but also some darker shades, and even a few fun colors! I generally go more natural for my eyeshadow, but today I had an orangey/pink thing going on, and I loved it. And, it's 48 shades for $6. Literally can't be beat.

5. Zoya Nail Polish in Neely

Not my swatch! Click the picture for the source!

 I have two major reasons why this is on this list. The first one is because I'm obsessed with mint green lately. I love it; I own three nail polishes in the color and a pair of pants. The second is because I got a manicure and pedicure with my mom the day before I left for Maine. That was Saturday, June 1st. The first time I noticed any sort of chip in my nails was Sunday, June 9th (this is not including one of my nails breaking and me having to cut it down - that was my nail's fault, not the polish). That means that this single manicure lasted for over a week. And it's not like I was easy on my hands. I was moving in, climbing around the theater, and moving equipment. And that polish did not budge. I don't know if it was the base coat or the polish or what, but I was amazed. When I paint my own nails, I'm lucky if I get two days wear without chipping. So not only is this polish beautiful and my favorite color, but it's formula is amazing, and I'm super excited to try the others I bought from Zoya.

So those are the products I'm loving right now! I don't incorporate a whole bunch of new products into my routines all that often, but if I find new things I love that I'm not planning to review, there will be more of these in the future!

It's been a little while!

There's been some sickness going around Toad lately. One of our actors started it, and now our master electrician has it. I got some form of sickness/my body figuring out the climate but it wasn't nearly as bad as what Ryan and Sam have. Mine was more of a general meh-ness and a scratchy throat.

Because of that and because it was prep week, there wasn't a whole lot to do last week, so I ended up with a lot of time off. I ended up sleeping for most of it trying to ward off the sickness, so I didn't do anything super exciting in that time.

There was a little bit of a clash between the production manager and my supervisor, but I think that's all been worked out now. My hours have also changed from 9:30-5 to roughly 1-8 pm. My supervisor and I both work better that way, so that'll be nice. I can sleep in!

I helped do some inventory which was entertaining. Lots of poorly made equipment (from Radioshack? Really?) and super old equipment.

Reel to reel tape deck, anyone?

Today we had intern orientation with the artistic director, and it was great. It's so nice to hear that someone actually cares about my intern experience here. Then we had lunch and so many new people have arrived! It's bustling and busy and very exciting. Then we had a company meeting where we went over everything from safety to life in Monmouth. Tonight there's a company dinner at a board member's house. She apparently makes amazing desserts, so I'm looking forward to that, even though I'm tired.

Yesterday was my day off so I went down to Arundel, ME where my best friend Alex is working at the Arundel Barn Playhouse.

I hung out with her crew, went to the beach, watched part of the Tony's, and just generally enjoyed the day. I hadn't seen her in forever, so it was really nice to get away from Monmouth and see a familiar face.

Sunny Summer Swap

So, back at the beginning of May I signed up for:



Basically, you get paired up with someone and you have a $25 limit to spend on anything summer-related you want. You learn about your partner and sent them a swap filled with things they'll love that'll help them jump into summer!

My partner is 34-year-old mother of three, Dara of Not in Jersey. We swapped Goodreads accounts, and I read through some of her blog. She posts lots of mom related things as well as crafts things and pictures of her family. It was really fun getting to know her!

We decided at the start that we'd send each other our swaps fairly early because we were both leaving town, so I received my box on the 28th.

I got:

This beautiful card set with a colorful parrot on it

Three pairs of earrings: little birds, dangly balls, and butterflies

Essie Turquoise and Caicos nail polish

Two Stephen King novels: Misery and Thinner

And these cute little bird clothespins

I'm not 100% sure what I'll do with the clothespins yet. I might buy little magnet strips so I can use them on the pretty magnet board my best friend made it. I think they'd go nicely with it.

This blog swap was tons of fun! I'm super excited to partake in the next one Melissa does, and I love her blog! Make sure to check it out at Lulu and Sweet Pea.