99 Cent Store Goods

I love shopping, but I love getting bargain items even more!

Here are some of the cool items I found at the 99 cent store.

Just goes to show you don't have to spend a ton of money or even go far for some pretty cool and useful things.

$1. I love to cosplay and I needed a brown belt. Who woulda thunk that I'd find the perfect item for 99 cents at the 99 Cent Store?! Though not a high quality item, it serves it purpose and looks the part.

$2. Scissors. Though these don't say they're fabric scissors, they were in the "sewing section" of the store. Yes! The 99 cent store has that sort of thing. Most of it is safety pins and little on the go sewing kits, but it's no less awesome. And hey! They cut through all the fabrics I had to test em out on. Pretty good huh?

(I found this priced for $6.95 on Amazon).

$3. Super Dry clear nail polish. I picked this up just because I needed some clear nail polish to set my colored stuff. I didn't really know what super dry meant, and I didn't read the label because...who's got time for that? (I had my mom waiting for me outside the store so not me). Upon testing it out on a naked nail, I found that this stuff does dry super fast! Almost instantly in fact...until I tried it over wet colored nail polish. This stuff said that it would help dry wet nail polish in 60 seconds or less. Well, if you watch the video, you'll find that though this isn't exactly true, it does help speed up the drying process. I'd just give it more than 60 seconds. Most of the video is me trying to figure this dang thing out.

(I found this priced for around $3 on the internet).

$4. Nose strips. I love Biore's stuff, but sometimes, all you got is a dollar. These do a pretty decent job. And for a dollar, you get three. Not bad.

(These can come in bulk on amazon: 24 for $23.99 and various offers).

$5. Collagen mask. I kind of love this thing, and who would have thought you could get it at the 99 Cent Store?! It comes off leaving your skin brighter, softer, and just looking dang good. It comes with two and is totally worth the buck.

(On Amazon the listed price is $13.98 and marked down for $6.99).

So those were my five bucks. But I've shopped at the 99 Cent Store before, so as a bonus I show you two lip glosses I got from there and use. Watch the video and you can be the judge if they're worth it or not!

DIY: Whitening With Activated Charcoal

Everyone wants whiter teeth!

Of course we do. There are obvious ways to prevent yellowing of teeth (avoid dark sodas, coffee, smoking etc.) but what about teeth that are already yellow or just not as bright as we would like them to be.

Here is an inexpensive way to give your teeth a boost.

Activated charcoal!

How To:

Break open a capsule.

Put half a capsules worth of powder onto your toothbrush.

Brush your teeth with the charcoal for 5 mins.

Wash and rinse.

The more often you do this the whiter your teeth can become!

Good luck :)

Neoprosone Review: Does it work for acne scars?

I've had some skin issues. Like. Bad reactions to products or experiments.

The first time this happened Neoprosone with Vitamin C helped a lot. But I couldn't find it in stores this second bout with acne madness. So I settled for another product by the same people.

Did it work? Yeah. Mostly. Not as well as the other item, but it did lighten my scarring.

Story Time! My Brother's Embarrassing Grade School Incident

It's all about the flatulence. Yup. Farts

It all started on our way home from a church event.

Mom was going into the store to get some items and it smelt oddly of bad eggs, which got my two brothers and father on about farts. How to get them out without making noise or smell, who you'll do it in front of, and all that awkward stuff.

And then my brother told this story and I couldn't stop laughing...

Maybelline Time Rewind Foundation: Review

We've come to it.

Makeup.

It's a girl thing.

TYPE 4 DISCLAIMER

A little bit of a disclaimer here: I'm really picky about makeup. I'm also a critical T4 (ask and I'll make a video about it :)). So if I don't like it, I aint gonna lie about it. That doesn't mean there aren't forgivable aspects to this product. Do your research and decide if it's something worth trying out for you. AN OPINION IS AN OPINION and different people will react different to different products.

***

I tried this foundation out because beauty guru Michelle Phan had said she liked it. We must have different skin types >.<

When picking out a foundation one must take into consideration their skin. Is it dry, is it normal, oily, sensitive etc... but it seems to me that environment has something to do with it also.

My skin is normal'ish. When I treat it like it's dry it gets oily when I treat it like it's oily it gets dry. So this foundation, being good for normal to dry skin according to Miss Phan, should have been all right.

I didn't find it to be in my case. It didn't have very good coverage (so, if you're looking for something light this'll work), it was difficult to blend, and it seemed to melt too easily. Worst of all, the fumes within the product burnt my eyes and seemed sticky under them so my undereye pasted together and I had to use my fingers to smooth them out.

Though not for me it may work for you. Leave a comment with your experience and let others know your skin type and environment so that they know why it works or didn't work for you.

The fact that my area was currently muggy and humid probably didn't work for its super creamy and slick consistency.

Tell me what you think!

Dog Clings Like Baby

I am super sleepy. Like. It's 6:00 pm and I just want to go to bed.

My sister graduated from her college this last weekend, so the family went to go see. We drove straight through from Southern California to Portland, Oregon.

I have insomnia...

I can't sleep in the car...

I'm dead.

And what's even better is that we started the trip back to California the day after the graduation.

That means we had one rest day period.

I'm so tired *cries*.

But of course, it's hot here in Cali, and we had just gotten our pool filled.

So what do we do when we finally make it home (without having gotten any sleep whatsoever)?

We go swimming.

And since my sister came down to visit for the week she was really excited to see her dog.

Seems she was even more excited to try and get her into the pool...

None of our dogs like water.

MOVIEPILOT Package Fun: Mp Creator Joys

It's fun stuff, you know, when you get a package or letter in the mail. Despite the normality of instant messenger there's still something special in getting that little surprise from the post man. Or maybe it's because of the instant gratification (so long as people cooperate by responding immediately to us) of receiving a message that makes the rare gift in the mailbox so much more special.

It's even exciting when you're expecting that letter/package. Probably because, even if you know it's coming, you have to wait for it. And that somehow makes it wonderful.

This doesn't count when you're receiving bills, or FAFSA stuff, or that nasty letter from Roberta who hates you because you stole her boyfriend...

PS: that never happened.

But seriously. It didn't. I don't know anyone named Roberta. Are there people named Roberta?

I digress. Packages are fun to get!

So, I'm a writer. I write teen books. And on the day I got this particular package in the mail, I was editing my latest piece (a piece I've also been super nervous about). So here I am, typing away, when my brother walks in. You'd think by now my siblings would know not to disturb me whence in the middle of a writing session, but alas. It happens often. So he comes in, bearing this package like some kind of special sacrificial offering we're about to slay on the alter of my sewing desk (or my bed rather, since that's where he plopped it later), and he asks me, "Jess, you got a package, what is it?"

I was expecting a package, so I shrugged my shoulders and said, "I don't know." Liar. I just didn't want to have to tell him what I thought it might be. I was working, yo.

He asks again, "but what is it?"

"I don't know! Just put it on the bed, I am working!" I was annoyed, obviously. Don't bug me while I'm working, fool!

So he does. And about an hour or so later, I finish. I've forgotten about the package, that is until I swivel in my chair to get out and I see it on my bed.

It is a much bigger box than I was expecting those vitamins I adored to come in. I mean. The beast was huge for the bottle I was expecting. So I pick it up, and to my delight, it's something I wasn't expecting. A package from Moviepilot, a site where I write articles about my nerdy love for nerdy things, but mostly movies.

I remember vaguely that this was something that might happen randomly, but it wasn't something I was ever expecting. What fun! It was even addressed from one of the guys I had corresponded with from that company. (I'm bad at emailing conversationally, sorry that kind of just died). So, I opened the box, and I found my presents.

Sweet deal.

Write for moviepilot, the people are great, it's fun stuff, and you just might get a gift.