Fiber One Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

I got a box of the new Fiber One brownies in Chocolate Peanut Butter. I have to say that this flavor was not my first choice, but I didn't see just the plain chocolate ones. Anyway, I am always interested in trying the new diet junk foods, hoping against hope that they will actually taste like the real thing. They usually don't.

The Fiber One brownies were no exception. They do not taste like real brownies. They don't even taste like the prepackaged Little Debbie brownies. The biggest problem I had with them is that they are dry and much more cake-like than brownie-like. And maybe it was just the chocolate peanut butter ones, but I think they smell strange and it kind of makes me not want to eat them.

I have to say that they aren't very good and I'm not going to get them again. I'd rather spend 90 calories on something else. As far as diet brownies go, the Weight Watchers prepackaged brownies are much better.

Funny video

Benefit Eye Gotta! set swatches

Most of the Benefit products I have are face products. I saw this set online, though, and had to try it. I hear a ton of good things about the Creaseless Cream shadows all the time but have never had one, so this was a perfect opportunity.

Jesse's Girl Baked Powder Eye Shadow Collection swatches

I've never tried Jesse's Girl before because none of the places I go have it. But they all got this 9 eyeshadow palette. It reminded me of the marble look that the MAC semi precious stuff had, so I wanted to try it.

Like the Semi Precious shadows, each palette had a different marbling than another one, so I picked one where the shadows had the most even colors. There were a few that had a lot more of one color than the other, so each shadow will look different than the ones I have.

The palette is cardboard, but it seems sturdy enough for regular use. I doubt it would hold up well being moved a lot, though. The cardboard seems like it would eventually wear away.

Catherine "Love is Over" Deluxe Edition pics

I've kind of gotten out of video games recently. I became severely burnt out after several years at Gamestop so when I quit, I kind of quit games, too. Besides, I was never a fan of the shooters like Halo and COD that had become so popular.

I do have one series that I buy no matter what, though. My absolute favorite games are the Shin Megami Tensei series and the Persona series... so I had to get Catherine. And I had to get the Deluxe Edition because I love stuff even though I will never use any of it. I haven't had a chance to play it yet, but I did open it to look at what's inside.

Song for my day today

More MAC Semi Precious and other random swatches

When I made my original Semi Precious purchase, I didn't want any of the other products. But I kept seeing the face charts and I realized just how much I liked the lighter colored one.

Too Faced Matte Eye palette and other stuff

I went to Sephora with the purpose of getting one of new Benefit palettes and through the course of conversation, the girl working there told me they had some new palettes in. She was showing me all the stuff from Stila and Too Faced they got in, and I decided to pick up the Matte Eye palette because I don't have tons of matte shades and I needed something non-sparkly.

NYC Black Magic collection swatches

At the same Rite Aid that had all the WnW Dreamweaver stuff, I found a LE collection by NYC called Black Magic. It seems to be a Halloween one because, along with what I got, there were black and orange nail polish. The names seem to suggest Halloween as well.

Wet n Wild Dreamweaver Trio swatches plus more

I finally found the one Rite Aid in town that had the Wet n Wild Dreamweaver trios. It's actually one that's one a busy, construction-filled street that's not on my regular driving path, but I might have to go out of my way more often because they seem to have all the good stuff.

Lime Crime swatches

I finally got my package from Lime Crime on Monday. It took forever to get here... I placed my order on July 1. To be fair, I ordered during a 24 hour sale and they got pretty backed up. I tend to buy in twos with them, and I got two things this time also.

 Troubadour Magic Dust eyeshadow and No She Didn't lipstick

Troubadour Magic Dust eyeshadow (dry, no primer)

No She Didn't lipstick

Sula makeup swatches

Ulta started carrying a brand called Sula recently. I really like trying out new brands, so I got a few things. I was especially interested in the shadows because they were so light and a lot of light colors don't show up well for me. So far, I really like Sula stuff. They have good color payoff.

 I'm in Heaven

Random makeup swatches

I have a few random products that I bought over the last few months that weren't big enough to do a post on, but weren't things that could go in a drugstore haul post, I thought I'd do a random makeup post for those things.

Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams

The Sephora in JC Penny near me finally got MUFE and I've wanted to try the Aqua Creams for a while.

 #17 (Plum)

#11 (Gold)

Drugstore makeup haul swatches pt 2

Wet n Wild single eyeshadows

Penny, Nutty, Envy, Brulee

Drugstore makeup haul swatches pt 1

I've picked up some things at the drugstore over the last few months that I thought I'd share.

e.l.f. Elements Custom Eyes eyeshadow

 Pink Ice, Wisteria, Mocha (top to bottom)

Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection Swatches

I lucked out and was able to order 15th anniversary palette from Urban Decay right before it sold out. It was my surprise last night on my doorstep after a long day at work.

Demon Chick review

Demon Chick by Marilyn Kaye

2 out of 5

Marilyn Kaye wrote the Camp Sunnyside Friends books, which I used to love when I was a kid. I had no idea she wrote anymore until I was browsing the discount books on Amazon and saw Demon Chick. The synopsis sounded interesting, so I decided to try it. Sadly, the synopsis was the only interesting thing about this book.

Jessica Hunsucker finds out that her mother sold her soul to the devil for political success when a demon, Brad, shows up to claim her on her 16th birthday. Brad takes her to "one of the better neighborhoods" in Hell, which she seems to accept rather quickly. Basically what makes this part of Hell hell is that everything is mediocre and boring. Fast food abounds, but there are no good restaurants. They have stores, but there is nothing good in them. They also have a TV that allows them to watch the human world.

Very boring spoilers ahead

Sugarpill swatches

I bought a few of Sugarpill's loose shadows when I saw that they finally had the red, Asylum, in stock. It had been missing from their website for a while and I wanted to get it in case it went away again.

July Birchbox

I got my July Birchbox last night. Apparently, this is a special designer one... but personally I don't see anything that's any different from any of the others I've received other than the slip-off cover. I do have to say that I'm glad that there are no perfume samples this time.

Tarte for True Blood set swatches

I actually don't like True Blood. I liked the books that the series is based on, but can't get into the series... probably because the actors are nothing like I pictured the characters to be. Still, I thought this was a nice set and I don't have anything from Tarte other than a face primer. I debated because of the price ($52) but the shadows were a good size and there were 17. It also comes with a mini mascara, eyeliner and eye primer. I seriously have enough eye primer samples now to never need to buy another one.

Wake Review

Wake by Lisa McMann

2 out of 5

I didn't really like this book much, for many reasons. Here's a list.

1. I don't like the way it's written- in 3rd person, present tense. While I like 3rd person, I don't like present tense. It felt awkward.
2. The writing was so choppy.
3. Everyone Janie knows suck. Her mom's an alcoholic. Her best friend is a loser. I thought Cabel (stupid name) was lame, too.
4. Speaking of Cabel... his "twist" was ridiculous. 
5. The "gruesome nightmare" that is mentioned in the description takes almost no time and turns out to be nothing.
6. The dream thing didn't turn out interesting at all.
7. For someone who has an alcoholic mother, Janie sure drinks underage alot. But then she has to nerve to be judgmental about the drugs. Not that I'm advocating drug use, but they are both illegal for a 17 year old so don't be so hypocritical, Janie.

Did I like anything? Not that I can think of. I guess I didn't hate it enough to abandon it, so that's something. Anyway, I bought this book after I found the 2nd and 3rd on clearance, so I do have the others to read. I would not, however, have considered buying the others if I only had this one. It's definitely one to skip.

Pixi and Pop swatches

Pixi and Pop were on Haute Look a few weeks ago and I got a few things. It was a good chance to try them out. Even though Pixi is at Target, I've never gotten more than one eyeliner because they are pretty expensive, especially in a place like Target that sells much cheaper products. I have one or two things from Pop, but not a lot.

Anyway, they got in Friday, and I was interested in seeing what the neon palette I got looked like, so I wanted to swatch it.

 Pixi Lid Line, Pop Lid Neon, Pop eye shadow brush, Pop eyeliner brush

Falling Under review

Falling Under by Gwen Hayes

3 out of 5

It's been this way with a lot of YA books lately, but I just don't really know how I feel about this book. There were parts that I liked, parts that I didn't and things that seemed dropped or unfinished.

Theia is a 17 year old girl who lives with her very strict father. She also moved 4 years ago from England. We know this because the characters tell us and she occasionally throws in a word like "bloke." Personally, I didn't think adding her British heritage made any impact in the story or added to Theia as a character. Anyway, despite the fact that she's allowed to go places after school and have friends, her father doesn't want her to do anything because it might kill her like it did her mother. Thing is, you find out early on that Theia's mother died in childbirth... so the only reckless thing she did was to get pregnant.

One night, Theia sees a burning man falling from the sky and landing on the ground outside her window. She sees him disappear, but after that, her dreams lead her to a guy, Haden. Later, she sees him at school. As is the standard in YA books, she's immediately obsessed with him and he with her. Of course, it's dangerous for him to want her so he does that whole push-pull thing and is generally an asshole.

But Theia keeps throwing herself at him, long after any self-respecting girl would have decided he wasn't worth the effort. Her persistence pays off and she is awarded with her first kiss and some information.

Spoilers ahead

Essence swatches

I never thought about trying Essence before- not because it's cheap but because it looks like it's for kids. I've only seen it at Ulta and I usually walk right past it. I've seen a few reviews of their products lately, though, so I wanted to try them. They are so cheap that if they sucked, it wouldn't be a huge deal. Most of what I got were clearance products from older collections but I got some lipsticks from their regular line and a gloss from one of their more recent collections.

 Eyeshadow duo, liquid liners, lipgloss

 lipgloss, lipsticks

 Nail polish, lipstick, nail polish, angled eye brush

MAC Semi Precious swatches

I went to pick up some of MAC's Semi Precious collection this morning. Apparently, it's pretty popular because this is the first time there has ever been other people waiting for the store to open. Of course, I had the benefit of knowing what I wanted before I got there, so I didn't miss out on anything.

Wet n Wild 6 pan palettes

I read on a couple blogs that the 6 pan palettes were going to be discontinued soon, so I wanted to get them before that happened. My favorite has to be the Lust palette. My least favorite is the Greed palette. I like some of the colors in the other two.

 Greed, Lust, Pride, Vanity

e.l.f. Beauty Book, quad and elements custom eyeshadow swatches

 e.l.f. Beauty eye manual Bright Eye edition

Born at Midnight review

Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter

4 out of 5

It's harder for me to review books that I liked. While I can point out all the reasons I have for not liking a book, I find it much more difficult to articulate why I like something. Often, the books have a lot of the same problems as ones that I don't like but there was something else that helped me overlook them. This was one of those books.

I feel like there were quite a few problems with this book. Kylie (#1 problem- I don't like that name in books) is sent to a camp for "troubled teens" by her mother after one night of being somewhere where she might have done something bad, but in fact did not. I'm not a parent, but I don't think I'd send my generally good teen who was in the wrong place at the wrong time to a camp that, as far as I knew, was for kids with major problems- even if it was strongly suggested by the kid's therapist. I'd know my kid wasn't a problem and maybe made a bad decision based on the poor reaction to her father leaving.

Stila clearance sale haul and swatches

I ordered some stuff from Stila's Last Call sale last week and it got here Friday. Most are products I've never tried before.

Wet n Wild Walgreens exclusive beauty bag

I was in Walgreens and saw these bags from Wet n Wild that came with a pencil liner, eyeshadow trio, lip gloss and mascara. There were only two, and I have a feeling I have both trios , but I didn't have any of the other products so I thought I'd try them. I actually decided to get both because I wanted the mascaras. I don't use a lot and I like to get little bottles so I don't feel like I'm wasting it.

The trios are not in the hard plastic case that they usually come in. It is a flimsy package that doesn't seem like it would be good for any kind of traveling.

Books of June 2011

Spoiled by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan - Review Here 3 out of 5

Peachville High Demons 1-3 by Sarra Cannon - I'm talking about these together because I read all three over a day and a half, so I can't really separate them in my head. The Peachville High Demons is a self published YA paranormal series available in ebook format only. I don't usually read self published books because there is usually nothing that strikes me right away. I'm a sucker for good looking covers and they usually don't have them. These books caught my eye because of the covers and I was convinced to buy the first one because it was $.99 and it's hard to beat that.

After a slow start, these books were really good. I liked all the characters, even Harper. It's not often that I actually like the main character a lot, but I did here... mostly because she wasn't stupid. The story is really interesting as well, though I'm not sure why Harper is kept so in the dark when that doesn't seem to be the norm.

I did have an issue with the first book, but I didn't know if it was a defect in the downloaded book or something that was not part of the book at all. Near the beginning, Harper sees the cheerleaders for the first time. The next scene is her outside talking about ruining her first day. Presumably she dumped something on one of the cheerleaders, but it wasn't talked about after the fact like it was obvious that scene wasn't supposed to be here. It was mentioned here and there later like we were supposed to see it. *edit: I did find out it was a formatting error with my ebook and it was missing part of a chapter. It was fixed, though.*

Books 1- 3 are Beautiful Demons, Inner Demons and Bitter Demons. 4.5 out of 5

Angel Burn by LA Weatherly - Review Here 3 out of 5

The Nine Lives of Chloe King by Liz Braswell - Review Here 2.5 out of 5

Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich - I still really like the Stephanie Plum books, even though they aren't as good as they were. This particular one had a lot more angst than normal about Stephanie's relationships. I also knew from the beginning who the killer was, which hasn't really happened a lot to me in this series. It also seems a little shorter than normal- big print and large margins that make it look longer than it is. Still, I enjoyed reading it. If you haven't enjoyed the last few, you might not like this one. But if you still like them, this is good. 4 out of 5

Almost to Die For by Tate Hallaway - It was a little better than average, but I'm just not sure I want to invest in the series. Even though there wasn't much in this book, I can definitely see that a love triangle was brewing and I'm not interested in reading about it. Ana's mother and the other witches came off as pretty awful and I'm not sure that was the intention but that's the impression I got. It was also pretty short, which was okay because the one I bought was a clearance book for $4... however it's too short to spend full price on. 3.5 out of 5