Review | 3 Lush products

I have always wanted to try out Lush cosmetics, but the nearest one to where I live is a few hours away. I know I could always order online, but I like to be able to smell the products. What if I spend $30 on something and then the smell gives me a headache?

So while I was down in Florida visiting my sister, we were out and I saw a Lush and convinced her to stop. I bought 3 things while in there and have used them all already!

First, some information on Lush. It uses all all fresh and natural products in their cosmetics and it is headquartered in the UK. I'm not gonna lie, some of the products smelled a little funky -- but if you think about how what they are made with it makes sense. I personally love the idea of only putting natural products in/on my body. they even have a recycling program that encourages you to return 5 black pots (what the products come in) and get a free fresh face mask! Please visit their website for much more information and shopping!

My 6 year old niece fell in love with the Fun multi-purpose soap. The scent she chose is the pink fruity, candy scent. You can use it 4 different ways: soap, shampoo, bubble bath and a play-dough like toy!

It comes in a biodegradable bag, and it is fun and practical. A little goes a long way!

There are 5 different scents in total, and each one costs $6.95! I personally want smell them all day long.

Next up, is the Bubblegum lip scrub. It smells like cotton candy, and is edible. All you have to do is rub a little bit on your lips to exfloiate them and then lick off the excess. It works like magic! There 3 flavors in total, and the next one I want to try is the Popcorn! I didn't love Mint Julep, but I will give it another sniff next time I find myself in the store. A .8 oz jar costs $9.95, but once again a little goes a long way.

Lastly, let the good times roll face and body cleanser. This product is an exfoliating maize and polenta cleanser that smells kind of like sweet and salty popcorn (but don't taste it...ew.) All you have to do is put a pea-sized amount onto your hand and mix with a little water and scrub onto your body and face. It works great, smells fantastic and definitely helped work the dead skin off my poor sunburned body, and moisturized it as well. A 3.5 oz jar costs $12.95.

All in all, my first Lush experience was a great one. I had a blast, and definitely found more products that I want to try!

June Birchbox Review

I apologize for my slight disappearance from social media, I have been in more remote places and therefore have been unplugged. But, I am back with another month of birchbox in the works. This review is coming at you a little late due to my travels, but I am back in Michigan and ready to dive into my birchbox with you!

1. Lierac Paris Micellar Cleansing Water. I have never tried a micellar cleansing water, so I am excited to try this. It smells great, and is alcohol-free. It says it is for senstive skin, so that is fantastic. I used it on my eye makeup, and it got everything off great and left no residue and no stinging. This cleansing water is rich in botanicals and even has probiotics. The sample size is huge, 1.7 oz! A full size on birchbox.com costs $24.

2. Benefit They're Real! Mascara. Ahhh, benefits most boasted mascara. I have never tried it, because spending $23 on a mascara seems a bit steep to me and my budget. Beauty bloggers all across the land love this product, so I am excited to try it! 

3. Paula's Choice RESIST Barrier Repair Moisturizer with Retinol. This moisturizer is supposed to work for all skin types and is pretty light, even though it apparently does some heavy duty things. It boasts the ability to repair signs of aging, reduce wrinkles on face and eye area and hydrates and firms.  This product has no scent, which is strange. It does hydrate the skin and soak in nicely leaving no residue. I haven't used it long enough to know about the effects on aging, but I am always kind of skeptical at first. You use this product on dry, clean skin but if you use it in the daytime be sure to follow up with an SPF! A full size costs $27.

4. Cynthia Rowley Beauty Cream Lip Stain. I got the color Valentine, which is a bright pink color. This product comes in two other colors; tulip -- which is a "radiant orchid" color and sugar which is a nude-pink color. These lip stains are quite creamy, and apply rather sheer. Which is good, I was nervous to wear because I don't do bright pink very well. It is not sticky, which is great. It is very layerable and does last a long while. A full size costs $20.

5. English Laundry Signature for Her. I pretty much only use sample perfumes, and when I don't have any I use regular ole body spray. I DO NOT like super strong scents, it gives me a headache. This perfume was inspired by English gardens and has some woodsy notes. I generally don't like flowery scents, but this one is pretty sweet and even seems a bit fruity to me (which i like!). The full size of this perfume costs $90 (what?!).

I love birchbox, and if you want more information about it feel free to refer to my May Review or their website.

Vacation Life | little talbot island state park

While visting family in Jacksonville, Florida -- we were led to Little Talbot Island State Park. We were on the hunt for a clean, family-friendly, fishing-friendly beach and LTISP delivered.

We went on a Monday, and it was pretty much deserted. There were a few people fishing, around 3:00 a few families arrived, but there was so much space you didn't feel cramped or like you were intruding on others beach day. The cost to park the car was $5, and you can buy a season pass. I believe it costs $120/year but it gets you into ALL Florida state parks -- there is a military discount as well. 

We drove down the main road, and you pass the first beach area and keep driving for a little ways. Then you will reach the end of that road and another parking lot -- this is where we went. Now, I'm not going to lie --its a bit of a walk. BUT -- it is SO worth it.

There are more than 5 miles of white, sandy beaches along with a variety of landscapes and animals. They were flying the purple flag when we were there, which means "dangerous marine life", because I guess there is an area quite far out that sharks swim through. We saw nothing dangerous of the sort during the 4+ hours we were there -- including a swim out to the sand bar. Update: we have gone two more times and both time tides were out when we arrived and we saw a lot more wildlife. We saw a bunch starfish, some jellyfish and a GIANT horseshoe crab. 

There are also campsites available. We did not camp, so for more information on that visit this website.

There are also hiking trails, great fishing and surfing. We truly enjoyed our day there and are making plans to go again soon!

Weekly Wrap-up | photo.a.day

Another weekly wrap up for the books! These are photos from 6/14-6/18 and all of them are from while I am in Florida visiting family! The prompts are from Fat Mum Slim and her photoaday challenge, check it out!

14. cross. i took this picture at an origami owl party (google it). i was at my sisters friends house and as we were walking out the door, i saw this pretty cross hanging in her hallway...so i creepily took a picture of it. 

15. lovely. now, i am in the minority here, but i don't like to be hot. hot = sweaty = annoyed esther. BUT, being in the water when it is hot out is lovely. so i took a picture of the empty lounge chairs at the pool.

16. in the shadows. we were at the beach, little talbot island state park, and i pretty much stayed in the water the whole time. but when i wasn't in the water, i was in the shadows under the beach umbrella.

17. peaceful. this is my sisters cat, minnow. he was being super snuggly and napping. 

18. quirky. this is my 6 year old niece, E. she is a quirky kid, she always wears socks up to her knees to go to bed, she has a super specific way that her bed needs to be made and she hates kisses (sad face).

Stay tuned for the next weekly wrap-up!!!

High Five for Friday | link-up

Once again, will be linking up at thelaurenelizabeth.com! Hope everyone had a great week, mine was full of water and fun activities with family in Florida! 

1. 

We went to beautiful little talbot island state park on Monday. The weather was perfection, the water was crystal clear and so refreshing. I got sunburned (*shakes fist*) but it was still a great day spent playing mermaids.

2. 

 

 

My sister and her husband went away for the night, a much needed mini-vacation for the two of them. I happily babysat these two cuties-I love the opportunity to help my sister out AND have quality time with my favorite nieces!

3. 

I have been able to have some snuggles with this cutie. He may bat at my feet all night long, but he is cute so I allow it.

4. 

We went to Aquatica in Orlando -- it's a few hours away so while i did not take my phone into the park, I did snap this car selfie on the drive down.

5. I also went bridesmaid dress shopping with my sister and oldest niece. We had a "special" day with E, and hit up some stores and did some wedding thangs. 6 months away...oy vey!

Weekly wrap-up | photo.a.day

Well, here we are! Weekly wrap-up from 6.9-6.13! All prompts come from Fat Mum Slim @ http://fatmumslim.com.au #fmsphotoaday

9. We live here. This is a picture of the pond in the yard. I snapped this photo on a beautiful morning and the water looked super clear!

10. Flying. This is my suitcase, I was flying the next day to visit family in Jacksonville, Florida. I was in the midst of packing when I snapped this shot.

11. The beginning. This was the beginning of my traveling to Florida -- the escalator at the airport.

12. Pastel. This was a hard one for me, I wasn't feeling particularly inspired by this prompt. Luckily, I was in Wal-mart and they had a sunglasses display that was all "pretty pastels" so I went with it!

13. Simply. My youngest niece fell asleep (a rarity!) in the car on the way home. It was a simple thing, but it was so peaceful and she is adorable. Simply adorable.

High Five for Friday (link-up)

Greetings from Jacksonville, Florida! I am here visiting my sister and her family for the next two(ish) weeks! Let's get down to why we are all here, okay?

1. I live about an hour and a half away from Detroit, but love to go down and explore all that it has to offer. My fiancé and I went the Detroit Institute of Arts on Sunday and explored about 1/4 of what it had to offer. I wrote a whole blog post about it so if you want to learn more, check it out!

2. I am a huge library nerd. I try to get my picture taken outside of every library I encounter. As it turns out, the DIA is directly across the street from the main branch of the Detroit Public Library!

3. Along with our Detroit Adventure, we went to a film festival called Cinetopia. We viewed a documentary called Rich Hill and it was about rural poverty. We viewed the film at Detroits ONLY independent theatre, Cinema Detroit. When you pull into the parking lot it looks like an abandoned building but it is a fully operational (including concessions!) two screen cinema. Read more about this experience in the previous blog. 

4.

I flew down to Jacksonville and am staying for two weeks! The flights were uneventful and the clouds were looking marvelous!

5. Reunited with my nieces! I am so excited to spend the next two weeks w them, hanging out and experiencing life in the sunshine state!

Experience | Cinetopia & Cinema Detroit

Cinema Detroit is Detroit's ONLY independent movie theatre, and over the weekend they were participating in a film festival, Cinetopia. It is located on Cass Ave in the former Burton International School building. It looks like an abandoned building on the outside, but once you pull into the parking lot you will see a flashing sign that says "Theater."

You will follow the theater signs through a cement courtyard with hanging lights, and you will imagine how idyllic and peaceful that probably looks at night. Then you will turn another corner and find this Cinema Detroit sign awaiting you.

Cinema Detroit is open 7 days a week, with a schedule that varies depending on movie start times. There is a full service concession stand, with pop, popcorn and candy. Doors open 30 minutes before the scheduled start time, and there are 2 screens that show films. You can visit the website (posted below) or call 313.281.8301 for daily show times. I have only been in the downstairs theater room, and it does not have stadium seating. That is not a deal breaker for me, but if it is something that concerns you just make sure you get there with enough time to snag a front row seat. The seats do not go right up to the screen, they are back quite a bit which is great -- especially if you need one of those front row seats. There is nothing worse than having to look UP at the screen to watch the film.


Now the reason we were even at Cinema Detroit at 4:30 on a Sunday afternoon is because of Cinetopia. Cinetopia is a film festival in southeastern Michigan that shows films that were selected because of the high acclaims made at more prestigious film festivals (sundance, SXSW, cannes, etc).  This year Cinetopia launched off with a fancy, invite only, party at DIA with Spike Lee. Films were showing in Detroit and Ann Arbor all weekend long -- 110 screenings, 50 films and at 10 different venues. If you want to learn more about Cinetopia you can visit the website (link below).

 At a lot of the screenings, the cast/crew were available for a q/a session and there were discussions to be had after the film. At our particular one, a professor of Social Work from the University of Michigan was present and led us in a talk that was interesting, to say the least.We were there to see the film Rich Hill, which I will write an entire different blog post about, including the talk after -- so be on the lookout for that.

I believe Clarence and I want to purchase weekend passes for next year, and we definitely plan on going to see more films at Cinema Detroit. It is awesome to see some of those stunning buildings downtown being put to good use!

Learn more about Cinema Detroit!

Learn more about Cinetopia!

Pure Michigan Travel | Detroit Institute of Arts

Visit the DIA website to learn more and plan your trip!

So the last time I had been to the DIA was waaay back in late middle school/early high school. Clarence and I decided to adventure down there on a Sunday to take it all in. Now, we got there around 12:30-1:00 and had another engagement at 4:00 and we didn't even cover half of what was there to look at. 

The cost to get in was $8, but if you are a student there is a discount and if you live in Wayne, Macomb or Oakland counties you can get in for free! But let's face it, $8 for 3 floors of art, artifacts, history and so much more -- it's a steal.

The DIA is located on historic Woodward Ave, right in midtown near Wayne State University.

As we wandered in there were special exhibits displayed in the promenade. There were sculptures and carvings and this cool wood mural type piece.

The first area we wandered into was the Native American exhibit. It was full of artifacts, tapestries, jugs, clothing, sculptures, musical instruments...you name it.

The intricacies of the work was amazing.

Next we wandered into a special exhibit. 

It leaves June 29th, so I am glad we caught it! No pictures were allowed in the exhibit but it was all drawings of cities and countrysides. There were watercolors, lithographs, etchings, etc. it was amazing, the fact that people can create those visuals with their hands is crazy to me.

Next, I was starving. I didn't want a hangry situation on my hands so we swing by the CaféDIA, located right next to Prentis Court. It had a bunch of great options - 4 hot food stations, that served everything from pizza to quesadillas. There was also two soup options and an extensive salad bar. Plus -- desserts! It was super convenient and reasonably priced.

After eating some chicken strips, French fries and a slice of cheesecake -- we moved onto the Ancient Middle East exhibit. 

Then I got distracted that the photography exhibit was closed and we went upstairs and found ourselves in this GRAND room.

We then found ourselves in the European: Medieval and Renaissance exhibit. Let me tell you, those paintings were HUGE. My favorite parts were the hand carved woodwork.

Also, the stained glass pieces were out of this world. Stained glass is so amazing. 

The European: Medieval and Renaissance exhibit is above, and at times, overlooks Kresge Court. While we were there, someone was playing the piano and people were eating down there and sitting on couches --- it was a delightful scene.

At this point we were realizing we only had about an hour left and we still wanted to hit the Islam exhibit. We wandered through the Modern exhibit, just for a shortcut, and I look forward to returning to explore it further. 

On our way to the Islam exhibit, we wandered into Rivera court which had two GIANT iconic Detroit murals. 

This mural is often seen on t-shirts, postcards, etc. I did not get a shot of the other one, but it is similar in content-- depicting Detroit as the "motor city" and the assembly lines.

Lastly, the Islam exhibit. I think the ancient writings were the best thing there. The artifacts were awesome as well, the colors were so vibrant.

I love colors.

I encourage everyone to go visit the DIA. Take as many hours as you can spare and go. Street parking on Sundays is free!

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Weekly Wrap-Up | photo.a.day

I am missing two photos, I lost them in the transition from my old phone to my new phone. They are probably out there on the cloud somewhere...

These photos are from the first week of June (6.1-6.7). I will discuss the prompt and each picture below!

1. Joy. I snapped this picture of a bouquet of flowers because it made me happy.

2. 11 o'clock. This prompt is actually from day 5. At 11:00 I was sitting down reading the book I took a picture of.

3. Pattern. This prompt is from day 7. I snapped this photo of the pattern on a paper plate at a graduation party I was attending. 

4. Doing. This prompt is from day 2. I took a picture of my running shoes at I began to exercise.

5. Adventure. This prompt is from day 6. This is a photo of 4 of my Hanson CDs that I began to upload onto my new phone. It led me to look through all of my old CDs from high school and college -- good times and laughs!

Next week I will attempt to not lose any photos and actually put them in order. 

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Review | Rich Hill Film (Documentary)

Rich Hill is a documentary about rural poverty. It follows three boys, who live in Rich Hill, Missouri -- about 70 miles outside of Kansas City. The boys vary in age; Appachey is a middle schooler and Andrew and Harley are high schoolers. 

This documentary follows them for over a year, documenting the trials and tribulations they face. Appachey is a very discontent young boy, he appears to have lots of siblings and a mom who is overwhelmed. He often is alone, and states that he has no hope for his future. Andrew and his family move around a lot. During the duration of the film, they move three times. His mom has a "condition" and she is often taking sleeping pills and the film shows Andrew having to care for her. Harley's mom is in prison for attempting to kill her husband when it came out that he had raped Harley. Harley lives with his grandmother and is often truant from school.

We had a discussion after the viewing of the film, which we saw during Cinetopia in Detroit. The discussion was led by a professor of social work from university of michigan. After watching the film, I felt sad. Sad at the cycle these families are stuck in, sad at the system that fails them, sad for the children who feel so hopeless already. 

Our viewing partners appeared to be mostly urban residing, and placed a lot of the blame for these families situations on the parents and on "the system". They were also quick to point that at least these children were white, so they didn't have the additional difficultly of racial injustice.

While it is real easy to place blame on the parents, what is important to remember is that a lot of the resources that are available in urban areas, are not at the hands of people in rural areas. Services such as food banks, community centers, income based child care, housing assistance and shelters just aren't as present in rural areas. Not to mention, public transportation. I felt Iike a lot of assumptions were being made.

The film was heartbreaking, but very real. Poverty is NOT just present in an urban setting -- nor is racial injustice. Some of the poorest areas in our country are rural and mostly populated by minorities (thinking of the delta region in the south).

Review| The Body Shop Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask

So I do a face mask weekly, and I like to try different ones. I swear by The Body Shop Tea Tree Mask - it's fantastic and really helps remove and soothe my sometimes blemish prone skin.

So I recently had a groupon for The Body shop and repurchased some of my old favorites and got this new mask to try. It costs $22 for a 5 oz tub, but a The Body Shop has great deals and sales all the time so keep an eye out and you can for sure get it for less.

 To get started make sure your face is cleansed and dry. Then just take a small scoop and begin to smooth over your face, avoiding your eyes and making it as even as possible. Then let it dry. It hardens pretty quickly and it immediately feels like your turning to stone. After about 10-15 minutes, I took a damp washcloth and washed it off my face. I immediately noticed that my face felt quite dry. I took a light moisturizer and applied it to my face. My skin felt amazingly soft, but it was red for about 30-40 minutes after. I think that was from the vigorous running with the washcloth, cause you know...it was a clay mask and it took a bit of elbow grease to rinse off completely.

The next day my skin felt super soft and I had no new breakouts and the ones that I had were less red. I would definitely purchase this product again.

Link| thebodyshop-usa.com

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High Five for Friday (link up)

Happy Friday! I leave for Florida on Wednesday to go visit my sister and her family so hopefully I will be back next Friday with some fun things we did (i make no promises though!)

1. I have been making a point to go for a walk every morning, and Monday morning was a glorious one. I caught this nice picture of my parents pond and enjoyed the peace and quiet of a country morning.

 

2. I had a dentist appointment on Tuesday, and unlike most people -- I enjoy going to dentist! I love leaving with clean teeth and knowing that they aren't going to just fall out at anytime. That is one of my biggest fears -- losing my teeth. I seriously have nightmares about it. *shivers*

dental care all day errryday

3. Clarence and I went for a walk at Sleepy Hollow State Park, which is near my parents house. I proceeded to get eaten alive by bugs, but before that we had a enjoyable exploration. You can check out my blog post on that experience and learn more about Sleepy Hollow here!

4.

Wednesday night was my little brother's 7th grade orchestra concert. He plays the cello (he also plays the piano, but not in the orchestra!) and the concert was super good. They played Call Me Maybe which made my life, and they even had a little skit at the beginning and it was super cute. It's fun to be able to watch the progression of the orchestra from 5th grade to now. It's amazing how much they have improved in just 2 years!

5. And finally, I got a new phone! I upgraded from a iphone 4 or an iphone 5c. Due to my lack of backing up because of a shoddy internet connection, I lost a few things along the way - but nothing important. Mainly, photos from day 3 and 4 on photoaday and some other things.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Pure Michigan Travel: Sleepy Hollow State Park

One of the benefits of living in a great state like Michigan is that there are TONS of things to do in your very own backyard! I plan on covering some of the great gems of Michigan as I explore them. Yesterday, Clarence and I wanted to get out and go for a walk. My parents live only a few miles from Sleepy Hollow State Park, so we decided to venture over there. I went there frequently as a child, but Clarence had never been. Once we arrived to Lake Ovid, he became incredulous that I had never told him about it or brought him there in the 7.5 years we have been together.

Sleepy Hollow State Park is technically located in Laingsburg, Michigan and has an amazing 2600 acres to explore by camping, horse riding, hiking, biking, etc. It even has disc golf course if that is your jam. We inadvertently wandered into this mans disc golf game TWICE -- so make sure when you're hiking you're doing it on a legit trail and not the disc golf course.

We have the Michigan Recreation Passport, so we just cruised on in and began exploring. Sleepy Hollow has multiple campsites, including hookups for RV's. They also have a 16 mile hiking trail and a 10 mile horse trail. We only wandered for a little bit on what i believe was the horse trail, and it was really nice -- minus the mosquitoes. To be fair, I had brought bug spray and forgot to use it...

Sleepy Hollow State Park

You can also canoe and kayak on Lake Ovid, along with swimming and fishing. I have swam in Lake Ovid in YEARS, but it looked super nice and there were families playing on the playground and eating at the picnic tables.

We have already decided we are going to kayak or canoe sometime later in the summer and I am already looking forward to it!

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FMSphotoaday for June 2014

I plan on doing the FMSphotoaday challenge for the month of June. Every summer I attempt to do this, so I am hoping that by blogging my intentions I will actually stick with it this time around.

I believe that the idea of a photo a day challenge is pretty self-explanatory. FatMumSlim and her band of friends come up with monthly prompts for inspiration. You can interpret the prompts however you want and then you just take a picture and share it via the social media of your choosing. The prompts are pictured below and click here for more details.




I plan on doing a wrap up at the end of the month, or maybe a weekly wrap up so its not as overwhelming!

Good Luck! You'll find my pictures on instagram @estherlaurien or on twitter @estherlaurien.

Happy snapping!