a golden wonder with a little white bow

lately ive been suffering from rather intense back pain. my current favorite thing to do to relieve some of the pain is to take baths. i am really not a huge fan of baths, but i am starting to enjoy them --- thanks to lush!

youtube enticed me into getting some of the goodies from lush's christmas collection, one of which was the golden wonder bath bomb. i bought this because i thought someone had mentioned that there was confetti inside of it, WHICH THERE WAS! AHH! so obsessed. thankfully, i have no self control and bought two. i would say that the scent leans to citrus, but it is rather tricky--i find--to try and pinpoint exact notes in lush products (probably because i keep them all in a bag together).

watching it dissolve was kinda surprising because i hadn't looked it up or seen any reviews of it beforehand. (SPOILER ALERT!!! photos to follow)

these sequin looking confetti dissolved into glitter! wahooo!

obsessive tendencies #4: creamyyyy part deux

i love cream products for the eyes. i find them really easy to work with and are often great to wear on their own. in my last obsessive tendencies post, i discussed cream eyeshadows like paintpots and color tattoos (wanna read it? click here.) this post i am dedicating to shadow sticks. i have quite a few from three brands, however due to the quality and price-point of some of these products are so worthwhile that i will probably not try any others. 

i have four from NYX and four from Urban Decay, all of which are excellent quality. i have one deluxe sample size of a NARS shadow stick, which in comparison to the others don't apply as smoothly or as in rich of color. revlon has some double-ended shadow sticks that are getting a lot of love from the youtube beauty community, so i plan on checking those out in the future!

L-R: NARS Angel, UD Clash, Sin, Rehab, Juju, NYX Lime, Black Bean, Slate, Purple Velvet

L-R: NYX Purple Velvet, Slate, Black Bean, Lime, UD Juju, Rehab, Sin, Clash, NARS Angel

jetsetter: thai food in thailand

i thought i'd share some things that i would suggest people did, if they happen to be traveling to some similar places as i have had the fortune to visit.

so, very recently i accompanied my mother on a work trip to chiang mai, thialand. while she was working, i was kinda left to myself to explore and what-not. i decided to go to cooking school. now there are a million different cooking schools all over thailand, so just choose one that you believe suits what you want to learn to cook and go.

it was a great experience. you received a cookbook with all the recipes that you would want when recreating your favorite thai dishes. i also met a bunch of new people and had a great time. when you first arrive, you are to choose the dishes that you would like to prepare that day. then they break you into groups based on what you are planning to make for each little section.

first we made a noodle dish. i choose pad see ew, because it is one of my favorite thai dishes.

then it was time for "lunch," and that is where we made our stir-fry and curry of choice. i choose chicken and basil leaves, as well as, massaman curry. the cool thing about the place i went is that we got to make our own curry paste, which is something that i found really interesting as massaman curry isn't something i have commonly come across at most thai restaurants (as common as green or panang curries). this was also the reasoning behind choosing to make massaman curry. it is one my favorite thai dishes purely because it takes like the food is doused in peanut sauce. YUM.

lastly was soup, where i chose to make my favorite tom yum soup with shrimp. 

all in all, i thought that it was a worthwhile experience and one that i would highly recommend to others who are planning to travel to thailand. by the end of the day, you are stuffed and able to walk away with a new experience.

all used up: mascara edition

part two of my empty products. all mascara, not all used, but some i just plain hated.

1.  Make Up For Ever Smokey Lash (Sample)- another mascara from the lash stash box and one that i loved! it gave my lashes the exact effect that i like. kinda grungy yet full and voluminous. it does dry out quickly, but not quickly enough where i didn't get enough use out of the sample. so instead of buying a full size, with each sephora online order enter coupon code "REBELLIOUS" for a sample size of this mascara. (thank you to youtuber/blogger ChelseaWears for this excellent tip. also, she is very funny, check out her youtube channel).

2. Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect Mascara- this mascara is something i picked up on my last trip to europe, as Bourjois products cannot be purchased in the US. i bought this because of the pixiwoo sisters (who if you don't watch on youtube, go now). the wand is supposed to spin, but the battery in mine was dead and i didn't feel the need to go and buy a new battery. i enjoyed the formula of the mascara itself. it was a rather dry consistency, and it was more volumizing rather than lengthening--which are both attributes i look for in mascaras. i would definitely repurchase this mascara and highly recommend trying this product, if you can get your hands on it.

3. tarte gifted Amazonian clay smart mascara (Sample)- another mascara from the lash stash box, and another one i really didn't like. i found that it just really didn't give my lashes the effect that i wanted, and therefore, i just didn't reach for it. if you enjoy mascaras that are nice, but still keep your lashes looking quite natural, then i would give this mascara a go.

4. Clinique High Impact Mascara (Sample)- around the holidays, Sephora tends to put out boxes with different products in them for gift giving. however, i like to buy them for myself as a way to test out many different brands products. this sample came from one of those Sephora gift boxes that contained two full size mascaras and a bunch of minis. as to the mascara itself, i really enjoyed the high impact mascara. i know Clinique recently released an XL version, which i am planning on purchasing as i liked the original formula so much. i definitely can see the high impact mascara becoming one of my favorite mascaras.

5. Cargo Triple Action Mascara (Sample)- this came in a little cargo trail set i bought and the only of the three items i didnt give to my sister. however, i hated this mascara. it claims to thicken, and it did not. it claims to curl, and it did not. and it claims to lengthen, which it slightly did. also, it made my lashes look like i had nothing on them at all. all in all, it's a no go.

6. stila forever your curl mascara- one of the full size mascaras that came in last year's Sephora lash stash box. i hated this mascara. it really did nothing for volume and fullness, which is what i prefer a mascara to do. i have rather long eyelashes as it is and often times lengthening mascaras make my lashes too long, especially before i go contacts. i'd put on mascara and then put on my glasses only to blink and get mascara all over my lenses. ew. also, this made my lashes look like nothing spectacular, and i don't think that it did anything for "saving" or "aiding" my curl.

hope this helps anyone in their hunt for a great mascara!

xo damers

all used up (finally)

one thing i love in the beauty community are empties posts and videos. i feel like they give people a chance to really review a product well because they have used the product in its entirety. so i'm jumping on the bandwagon.

1. Pond's Wet Cleansing Towelettes with chamomile & white tea- these are just regular old makeup wipes. nothing crazy. but i love the way these smell!

2.  Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask- i love this stuff. i can tell a difference when i use this on my hair. my hair become so soft and silky and i really enjoy the smell. it smells just like the Macadamia Natural Oil hair recovery mask, which is what i was initially going to buy when i got this instead. i picked this up because my Walgreens was out of the macadamia one and this one smelled just like it. however, i actually will just skip on the macadamia one and just repurchase this mask, because you have to leave it in your hair for 3-5 minutes versus 7-10 and it is only $7 versus something close to $30. so if you wanted to try the macadamia mask, i'd say try this one instead.

3.  The Body Shop Satsuma Body Butter (Mini Size)- i love body shop body butter, even though they are greasy. however, the scent of this one just made me sick to my stomach every time i used it. i had to force myself to use it up because i hated the scent so much. so my advice is never buy a heavily scented product without testing the scent (i solemnly swear that i have learned my lesson on this).

4. Rusk Healthy Treatment Leave-In Strengthener- i have has this bottle for forever, and by the time i used it, well let's just say it didn't do anything. i can't really comment on it. i mean i used it, but because it was so old (had since high school, am graduated from college), i feel as though i can't give it a proper chance and review.

5. Viktor & Rolf flowerbomb eau de parfum- this perfume i have had since high school and has gone a bit off, hence why it is in this post. however, i do have another bottle---PRAISE BE---because this perfume smells so good. i love this stuff so much and think that if you enjoy flowery scents that this is definitely one to check out, if you haven't already. what are you waiting for?

6. Avène Cold Cream for Hands- this brand and line of creams is one of my favorites for dry skin. however, this expired like five years ago (OOPS) so i am just throwing it away. i did love this hand cream, but it was something i had to plan to use right before bed because it made my hands super greasy. i hate the greasy feeling that lotions leave and tend to wash my hands right after applying lotion, so i wouldn't repurchase this again even though it's a great product.

7.  Yu-Be Moisturizing Skin Cream (Sample)- a Birchbox sample that really did live up to it's claims as a product. however, this product smelled like bengay or icyhot and not something i want to smell like when walking around. so this, even though it was moisturizing, is not something i would buy.

8. Klorane Shampoo with Nettle Oil Control- this shampoo was my everyday use shampoo for a long time. i absolutely hate washing my hair because styling it takes forever and a half, so i used to use this shampoo in order to prolong the time between washes. after prolonged use, i noticed that it began to dry out my scalp. but if you actually have really oily hair, i really recommend this shampoo. i enjoyed using it.

9. benefit Facial Polish (Sample)- this was a sample that i received in my september Birchbox. i love scrubs and exfoliators and have been on the hunt for a nice scrub/exfoliator for my face. i really enjoyed this sample and plan on purchasing the full size. i cannot say much else besides the fact that i enjoyed the short time i used this product.

10. Biotin Vitamins- biotin has amazing properties for helping in skin, nails and hair health. so anyone who wants to improve those aspects of their beauty regime, i would recommend adding biotin to your vitamin regimen.

11. Lush Retread Hair Conditioner (Sample)- this sample i received from the Lush store. if you have never tried Lush or want to try one of their products, i highly suggest going there and asking for a sample. they give generous samples that you can use more than once (and multiple product samples!!). as to the conditioner, it smells absolutely horrible. i cannot stand the smell. to me, the scent came off as something that you would smell at a construction site or some industrial strength cleaner. however, it does exactly what it says it does. it is an amazingly hydrating conditioner. when i put in my hair at first, it seemed that it wouldn't condition my hair as well as what i am currently using because the consistency was thinner. after my hair was dry and styled is when i could really feel the difference in my hair, even after one use. i cannot say that i would run out and repurchase it because of the smell, but i would not be opposed to more samples of it to use in the future.

12. Re-Life Skin Body Scrub- this is a brand of products based out of Jordan, where all their products contain dead sea minerals because Jordan is on the Dead Sea. i visited Jordan this past summer, and everywhere you went were tons of body and skin care products with dead sea mud/minerals (salt). i ended up buying some different things to try, including this body scrub. this scrub was alright. it didn't leave a filmy residue on my skin like some scrubs do, but i tend to scrub pre-washing. the granules were too small, i found, for a body scrub. i have really dry skin and i don't think that smaller granules really help in exfoliating my dry skin. this is also a brand that is not readily available and something that i will not be repurchasing.

13. Lush BOMB bath bomb- this was the first bath bomb that i have ever used from lush, and i really enjoyed it. the smell was really nice and it turned my bath purple! i felt that it moisturized my skin, even after i showered post-bath. i didn't need to slather the lotion on as extremely as i normally do. its definitely something that i will repurchase time and time again.

14. Klorane Dry Shampoo- i have used this dry shampoo for the past five years with ferocity. i go through probably close to three cans per month. i first tried this dry shampoo while living in paris, and it has been my holy grail dry shampoo ever since. i do prefer the aerosol version, but you will go through it much faster than the non-aerosol. i do also own and use the non-aerosol version for traveling. this product does have rather hefty price tag at $18/can, but it is by far the best dry shampoo that i have ever used. i am currently testing out a few other dry shampoos at the moment to find one that works just as well and is nicer to my wallet.