Tag Archives: Fortune Cookie Soap

Empties – November 2014 through January 2015

Garbage time!

Chella Eyebrow Defining Gel
Chella Eyebrow Defining Gel

Having never used a brow gel, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But uh… it’s really just gel.. for your brows. Revolutionary. I don’t have unruly brows (hell, I barely have brows at all) so this was essentially pointless on me. I used up the Chella Eyebrow Defining Gel and it was perfectly adequate, but I doubt I’m the best test subject for this kind of product.

Purchase? Nah.

Make Up For Ever Aqua Liner in 13 Black
Make Up For Ever Aqua Liner in 13 Black

This was super disappointing. Make Up For Ever‘s Aqua Liner in 13 Black was super shiny which caused it to collect eyeshadow from the rest of my lid. It picked up pigment from the eyeshadow on my lid. It was beyond infuriating and drove me absolutely mental. Never again will I buy a shiny liquid liner. Ugh.

Repurchase? GOD NO

MAC Prep + Prime for lips
MAC Prep + Prime for lips

MAC‘s Prep + Prime for lips – a must have for me. I finish one of these every 3-6 months because I wear it whenever I wear lipstick. It holds my lip product in place and prevents bleeding outside my lip line that not even lip liner can stop. Must have!

Repurchase? Already have two more open! One at work and one at home.

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge
Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge

Real Techniques‘ Miracle Complexion Sponge is my preferred way to apply foundation. I can barely stand to use brushes now because this thing is so amazing. I’d actually been using this one since March of last year and was worried that perhaps it had gone mouldy in the middle (since I’d heard some people complain that had that happen with their Beauty Blenders) despite regular washings. So I cut it open one day and low and behold, it’s perfectly fine. So if you clean your sponges regularly enough, I wouldn’t worry too much about it going rotten on the inside, even if you’ve been using it for about 9 months.

Repurchase? Already have! I picked one up at IMATS 2014.

MAC Lip Conditioner in Petting Pink
MAC Lip Conditioner in Petting Pink

I’ve had MAC‘s Lip Conditioner in Petting Pink for quite a while before I finally used it up. It was a bit goopy and never really stayed on my lips that long. I didn’t find it actually moisturized all that much since it wore off so fast.

Repurchase? Nah. Pass.

essence Get BIG! Lashes, Benefit They’re Real!, Estee Lauder Sumptuous Infinite, Urban Decay Perversion
essence Get BIG! Lashes, Benefit They’re Real!, Estee Lauder Sumptuous Infinite, Urban Decay Perversion

essence Get Big! Lashes (pr sample) – Great product, but I never really fell in love with it for whatever reason. The curve of the brush made it easy to apply to my lashes and it definitely made them quite black.
Purchase? Nah.

Benefit They’re Real – I love this mascara! It makes my lashes look enormous since the volume it builds is incredible. HOWEVER, this stuff dries up way too fast. For a thirty dollar mascara I’m pretty pissed off that it’s near un-useable after a month and a half. BUT for that month and a half, my lashes looked amazing.
Repurchase? On the fence.

Estee Lauder Sumptuous Infinite (sample size) – This one surprised me. I was expecting an old style bristle brush, but it was actually a rubberized wand with really nicely spaced out bristles. It applied mascara evenly and separated my lashes perfectly.
Purchase? Maybe. I’m put off by the price of high end mascaras, but I really did love this one.

Urban Decay Perversion (sample size) – Another amazing one! Not as separating as some mascaras, but the volume on this was one was especially nice. This one small sample size actually lasted me a really long time (longer than the Benefit one!)
Purchase? Same as the Estee Lauder one. Nice to use, but damn that price is really a put off.

Revlon Top Coat
Revlon Top Coat

Revlon Colorstay Top Coat was… a top coat. Man, I don’t notice any difference with top coats really. Like what’s the difference between a top coat and a clear nail polish? I sure as hell don’t notice one!

Repurchase? Nope.

Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Make-Up Remover
Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Make-Up Remover

 

A well loved eye makeup remover, but not my favourite as I prefer oil-based removers.

Repurchase? Nah, gone back to my favourite Marcelle one.

Dr. Brandt – Pores No More
Dr. Brandt – Pores No More

This was interesting. I’m not a big fan of primers, so I’m mostly trying to finish up what small samples I have to get them out of my collection. However, Dr. Brandt‘s Pores No More primer was a lot of fun to use. It smells like tea tree oil (and was therefore quite refreshing on my skin) and smoothed on my face like butter. It’s tinted slightly darker than my own skin colour (roughly MAC NW20), so it helped darken up some of my lighter foundations. I have no need for a primer, but this was fun to try out nonetheless.

Purchase? Nah.

Olay Fresh Effects – Bead Me Up and Shine, Shine, Go Away
Olay Fresh Effects – Bead Me Up and Shine, Shine, Go Away

 

Olay Bead Me Up! Exfoliating Cleanser – Totally sucked in by the awesome packaging on these. The scrub is nice, but not especially abrasive. Smelled nice, worked just fine.

Olay Shine, Shine, Go Away! Shine Minimizing Cleanser – Yeah, I’m not convinced this reduced any shine on my face at all. I did love the product though – it was a cool grey colour and smelled really fresh.

Repurchase? Maybe (to both). I don’t have sensitive skin so I like trying out new products all the time, but I’m sure I’ll eventually repurchase these.

Aveeno Skin Relief Body Wash
Aveeno Skin Relief Body Wash

Aveeno Skin Relief Body Wash – I *love* the smell of this. To me it smells intoxicatingly like almonds and cherries (not the cough medicine kind of cherry smell). It’s also gentle on the skin, especially during the winter months when my skin can feel dry and itchy.

Repurchase? This is probably my tenth bottle of this stuff, and I already have another one in the linen closet ready for use!

Fortune Cookie Soap – various
Fortune Cookie Soap – various

 

All of the Fortune Cookie Soap items are not going to be repurchased by me as they are primarily seasonal scents. Mini reviews below.

Personal Space Air Freshener in Flying Monkeys – This was no good at all. It would scent a room for about 10 seconds, then totally dissipated and it definitely didn’t take any bad smells with it.

Lip Scrub in Blow Me! – Delicious! Tasted like bazooka gum with a bit of Fun Dip. Did its job and was fun to use.

Deep Conditioner in Christmas Bonus – This was WONDERFUL. The pepperminty, white chocolate scent was amazing and it made my hair feel fantastic.

Whipped Cream in Wicked, Good – Lovely, but a bit too much of the rich pumpkin scent. The scent would’ve worked better as a candle.

Whipped Soap in Fried Pussycat – Smelled nice and was fun to use. Not sure it’s a cost effective way to make or use soap though.

Hair Oil in Hair Flip – I used this on the ends of my hair and while I didn’t notice a change in the quality of my ends, it sure did make my hair smell nice.

Vaseline Total Moisture Cocoa Radiant
Vaseline Total Moisture Cocoa Radiant

This was my “leave at work” moisturizer. I’ve bought  Vaseline‘s Cocoa Radiant moisturizer many times over the years. It can be a bit greasy, but it’s because it’s so thick. Heavily moisturizing and smells great.

Repurchase? Definitely.

The Body Shop Frosted Cranberry Shower Gel
The Body Shop Frosted Cranberry Shower Gel

 

You really can’t go wrong with The Body Shop‘s shower gels. This one in Frosted Cranberry smells like a fruity alcoholic drink. It was a small size (it was in my Christmas stocking), but it gave me about 5-10 uses out of it.

Finally! /throws out the garbage

Fortune Cookie Soap – Winter Soap Box 2014

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Soap box time! I was excited to see Fortune Cookie Soap‘s winter theme of the year… and they’ve gone with products themed after National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, a movie I personally try to watch every Christmas.

Jelly of the Month Club – Official Member
Jelly of the Month Club – Official Member

As per usual, their graphic designs are spot on. Sometimes I wonder if I just enjoy FCS‘ creativity more than their products!

Shower Steamer in I Pledge Allegiance, Amen!
Shower Steamer in I Pledge Allegiance, Amen!

I don’t understand these products at all. They’re called “Shower Steamers” but they don’t actually cause any steam in my shower. Sure, they smell nice… but that’s about it. It doesn’t do anything for my skin and I sure don’t get any kind of a fog in my shower unless I turn the water on burningly hot and open the window to let in the -5 degree air.

Deep Conditioner in Christmas Bonus
Deep Conditioner in Christmas Bonus

This stuff was wonderful! The Christmas Bonus scented (yeah… they haven’t told us what it’s actually scented with… we’re supposed to guess) deep conditioner is pretty amazing. To me, it smells of peppermint candy canes, and on the hair it feels like a thick paste. My hair feels especially soft and pliable after using this, but it’s really the scent I’m in love with. I got two uses out of the little pot they sent us.

Hydrate Me in Sparky
Hydrate Me in Sparky

Oh boy. This THING. (Hydrate Me in Sparky) The item itself is lovely – it’s a moisturizer body butter type thing that melts into your hand as you apply it to your skin. And good lord the scent is delicious (vanilla pumpkin waffles – AMAZING)… BUT… and this is an *enormous* but (*insert Kim K joke here*)…

Carnage in the bathroom
Carnage in the bathroom

It’s just a FREAKING MESS. Who the hell wants to use a body butter that is going to turn your body RED? It gooped red all over my hand, onto my leg and then when I gave up trying to rub it into my skin (it tinted me pink), I ended up wiping it off on my towel… which is now stained. (I sure hope it comes out in the wash!) This product is completely *useless* because of the added colour on top of the body butter. Like seriously, did they not test this before sending it out? It’s completely ridiculous and *totally* impractical. Not to mention that it will stain anything you sit on afterwards (like my brand new white sofa…).

DISLIKE.

Edit: I posted about my problem on their Facebook page and they responded by saying that they’ve removed the green and red Hydrate Mes from their order and are sending out different ones. They asked me to contact customer service to “resolve the issue”. In the end they apologized and offered me 10% off my next purchase. I won’t be taking them up on that though since the cost to ship up to Canada is insane!

Whipped Soap in Fried Pussycat
Whipped Soap in Fried Pussycat

Now this was interesting. Whipped Soap? Never even heard of it. But the texture was moussy and slippery and it was a pleasure to use. The Fried Pussycat scent was also equally appealing. I wasn’t entirely sure HOW to use it, so I just plopped a bit on my hands and slathered it all over my body. It probably would’ve worked better on a washcloth.

OCD Hand Sanitizer in Mele Kelekimaka
OCD Hand Sanitizer in Mele Kelekimaka

More OCD Hand Sanitizer. Comes in every box, so I’m left to conclude that this is either the most popular product they sell (doubt it) or the cheapest to make (I’m going with that one). I’m over the hand sanitizers at this point – I’ve yet to finish the one I got in the spring soap box many moons ago!

Cuticle Butter in Moose Mug
Cuticle Butter in Moose Mug

This is glorious. So glorious that I want to eat it. Cuticle butter scented like egg nog? Holy god, be still my heart. Slippery, slimey, oily cuticle goodness. Hard to go wrong with this product! Just… try not to eat it.

Whipped Cream in Bend Over and I’ll Show You
Whipped Cream in Bend Over and I’ll Show You

I love their whipped cream, and I was especially happy to try out a scent that I wouldn’t normally gravitate towards. Bend Over & I’ll Show You is especially tart since it’s scented with cranberries and oranges, with pine, spruce and clove. It’s a weird mix, but I really like it!

Fortune Cookie Soap – Tis The Season To Be Mary
Fortune Cookie Soap – Tis The Season To Be Mary

And the final product, usually the most interesting, was ultimately the most disappointing (even Sparky had some pizzazz to him). Compared to last quarter’s red sparkly soap, this was just… meh. It was supposedly scented with sweet almond and tobacco – to me it was just… soap.


And with this box, I’ve done an entire year of Fortune Cookie Soap’s soap boxes. I’ve decided to cancel my subscription just because subscription boxes just aren’t really cutting it for me lately. I cancelled Ipsy a while ago  and decided I’d cancel FCS after a year as well. While it was a fun box, ultimately the cost was just a little “out there” for the products I was receiving (particularly since I had to pay international fees). Although I do have to say I’m a biiiit jealous since they just recently announced their spring soap box is going to be Alice in Wonderland themed…

Fortune Cookie Soap – Fall Soap Box 2014

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Having been subscribed to Fortune Cookie Soap for the last two season’s boxes, I knew I would be the most excited for the fall soap box. Fall scents are what I lean towards the most, likely because everything tends to smell like the woods and pumpkins (yep, I’m one those pumpkin spice latte women).

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One thing that I need to point out is just how much I enjoy their design work. Their logos and designs are always eye-catching and I find myself in awe of what they produce from a visual perspective. The colours are always enticing and the graphics are beautiful. I love that they put so much work into the visuals.

201408_fcs_soapbox3

Fortune Cookie Soap‘s Fall Soap Box is very clearly Wizard of Oz/Wicked influenced. While I’ve seen the musical, I’m not fanatical about it like most people are, so a lot of these products names may be totally lost on me.

Whipped Cream in Wicked, Good
Whipped Cream in Wicked, Good

Awwwww yisssssss. Pumpkin goodness right off the bat! Their Wicked, Good scent is basically pumpkin, vanilla and dried fruits rolled up into one amazing scent. I *love* this. I’d prefer it in candle format since smearing it over my body makes me feel like I’m rubbing a Bath & Body Works candle on me, but I still love it. Their Whipped Cream formula is wonderful, as per usual. Highly recommended.

OCD Hand Sanitizer in Roy G. Biv
OCD Hand Sanitizer in Roy G. Biv

I’m so over hand sanitizer. This is my third FCS Soap Box, and my third OCD Hand Sanitizer packed within. I’m not even halfway through the first one they sent me, never mind the second one. The Roy G. Biv name is cute and clever though.

Bubble Bath Powder in Miss Popular
Bubble Bath Powder in Miss Popular

Oooohh noooooo. This one is not for me! This smelled way too flowery. I dumped it in the bathtub and had the quickest dip of my life (and I’m not much of a long soaker to begin with) because I couldn’t stand the smell. This may work for other people, but the scent was just not up my alley at all.

Perfume Oil in The Shiz
Perfume Oil in The Shiz

I had good experiences with their previous perfume oil, and The Shiz turned out to be just as good. This one is pretty musky and deep. It leans heavily towards the more masculine side of scents, but it definitely has a sweet side to it. I like the longevity of their perfume oils – it will last me through an entire day without issue.

Personal Space Air Freshener in Flying Monkeys
Personal Space Air Freshener in Flying Monkeys

Ehhhhhhhh I’m kind of so-so on this one. Flying Monkeys smells vaguely like fruits rolled through laundry detergent. It’s more of a clean scent, so it smells nice, but it doesn’t seem to have a whole lot of lingering power. This is a room air freshener, but I didn’t find it had particularly good lasting power. Even using about ten sprays didn’t seem to make the scent stick in the room very much.

Walnut Facial Scrub in Swankified
Walnut Facial Scrub in Swankified

At first I thought this was the same as their microdermabrasion scrub that they included in last month’s box, but the granules were slightly larger. On second look, I realized this was actually just a scrub. No objections to this one. Swankified cleans my face and smells nice doing it.

Hair Oil in Hair Flip
Hair Oil in Hair Flip

This is another new product from the company – hair oil. I’ve little-to-no experience with hair oils so I can’t really say much about this other than what I noticed from using it once. I applied Hair Flip to the ends of my hair before blowing drying and it left the tips of my hair smelling like hazelnut and vanilla without leaving behind any greasy residue (which is much appreciated).

Fortune Cookie Soap in There’s No Place Like Home
Fortune Cookie Soap in There’s No Place Like Home

Oh this one is coooool! It’s a semi-transparent red soap completely shot-through with red glitter. This soap is BEAUTIFUL, even moreso when it’s a little bit wet and the translucency shows through a bit more (see picture below).

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One thing I’ll say though is that this *will* leave glitter behind on your counter over time as they flake off from washing your hands. To me, it smells like cinnamon hearts mixed with apples. Surprisingly, this turned out to be my favourite scent in the whole box.

That’s it for the fall soap box! If you’re interested in their fall scent online launch party, it’s today, August 29, 2014 @ 6:30 p.m. CST. Their new launch scents do tend to sell out pretty fast so be quick if you want anything! (They do re-stock in a few weeks if you’re desperate to get your hands on one particular scent.)

Empties – May through July 2014

201408_empties

Garbage time!

My empties bag has clearly since better days. Poor guy.

As per usual, makeup items first.

Benefit They’re Real mascara
Benefit They’re Real mascara

It’s a mascara graveyard here today. I had so many bite-sized mascara samples to use up and they got completely mauled throughout the last few months.

Anyway, back to the actual product. Benefit’They’re Real is amazing. I’ve never given in to high end mascara hype because I don’t WANT to love the product. I really do not want to develop a habit of enjoying $30 mascara at all! However… My mom even thought I was wearing false lashes when I had this on. Having used this sample size, I have to say that there’s a high chance I’ll actually end up dishing out the money on this one in the future (once I run through all my deluxe mascara samples!).

Purchase? More than likely.

L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black waterproof mascara
L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black waterproof mascara

I used to love this mascara, but this time round the block L’Oreal‘s Voluminous Carbon Black mascara just didn’t cut it for me. I’ll leave it for a while and then revisit it in a year or so. Maybe.

Repurchase? Eventually.

Make Up For Ever’s Smoky Lash Extravagant
Make Up For Ever’s Smoky Lash Extravagant

A surprising favourite out of the bunch. MUFE’Smoky Lash Extravagant builds up quite well and doesn’t clump. It dried up after a month or two though. I didn’t love it more than the Benefit one though.

Purchase? Unlikely.

Pop Beauty mascara
Pop Beauty mascara

No. Just no. Useless and dry.

Purchase? Hah. NO.

NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base
NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base

Love this. I’m one of the unfortunate people that NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base doesn’t actually work on its own to prevent creasing, but it does work in conjunction with Urban Decay‘s primer potion to kill all creasing so I love it for that reason. Word to the wise though, even when the wand pulls out nothing from the tube, cut that baby open and get out the remainder. There is MONTHS more product in there even after it feels empty.

Repurchase: Definitely.

Revlon Lip Butter in Creme Brulee
Revlon Lip Butter in Creme Brulee

Absolute favourite. Revlon’Creme Brulee lip butter is my favourite nude lip. This is my second tube of the stuff and it’s one of the easiest lip shades to wear on my complexion.

Repurchase? More than likely.

MAC Omega eyeshadow
MAC Omega eyeshadow

*The* eyebrow shade for blondes. MAC‘s Omega has the right kind of grey tint to the powder that makes my eyebrows not look overly ridiculously blonde (not that I have much in the way of eyebrows to begin with). I loved this eyeshadow, but I’m currently plugging through my Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade to try something new because this eyeshadow lasted me longer than a year even with daily use!

Repurchase? Maybe eventually, but for now I’m having fun exploring other options.

MAC Prep + Prime for lips
MAC Prep + Prime for lips

Second… third maybe? tube of MAC’Prep + Prime for lips. Fantastic for preventing lipsticks from bleeding outside my lipline.

Repurchase? Already have!

Murad – Oil-Control Mattifier
Murad – Oil-Control Mattifier

I didn’t notice Murad’s mattifier working especially well, but then I also noticed the expiry date was roughly four months prior to when I used it. Whoops. It also smelled like glue. Ew.

Purchase? No thanks.

Barry M – Diamond Glitter
Barry M – Diamond Glitter

 

Ohhhh yes. Barry M‘s Diamond Glitter nail polish had a lovely home on my toenails for about six months this past year. The bottle is dead empty now which is a shame since you can’t buy Barry M in Canada!

Repurchase? If I find myself in the UK again, I will *definitely* pick this one up!

Quo – Nail Polish Remover
Quo – Nail Polish Remover

I swear Quo is the only brand of nail polish remover I can ever find at the drugstore. I default to this because it’s there, it’s functional and it’s relatively cheap.

Repurchase? Yes, because I don’t know of anything better out there!

Neutrogena Wipes
Neutrogena Wipes

No shocker here. Neutrogena‘s makeup removing wipes are the only ones I use now. Definite preference to the hydrating ones.

Repurchase? For sho.

Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Make-Up Remover
Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Make-Up Remover

 

I’ve used several bottles of Neutrogena‘s makeup remover now and have another one cracked open. It doesn’t work as well on waterproof makeup as my Marcelle stuff did so I think I’ll be reverting back to the Marcelle one.

Repurchase? I have an open bottle, but aside from that I think I’m going to try something else out next time.

MOR Hand Cream – Kale and Watercress and Urban Decay Anti-Aging Primer
MOR Hand Cream – Kale and Watercress and Urban Decay Anti-Aging Primer

The foil packets of the lot.

MOR Hand Cream in Kale and Watercress smelled nice, but it’s a hand cream… Nothing amazing here.

Purchase? Pass.

Urban Decay‘s Anti-Aging Primer Potion is basically the same as the Original really. I didn’t notice it really having any anti-aging properties (I basically think that anything that claims that is utter hogwash really) so meh.

Purchase? I’ll just stick to the Original one I normally use.

Fortune Cookie Soap – Captain’s Berried Booty Whipped Cream
Fortune Cookie Soap – Captain’s Berried Booty Whipped Cream

FCS‘s whipped cream body butter is an awesome formula, however, their Captain’s Berried Booty scent was totally nauseating to me. It’s fruitloops and cardboard, basically.

Repurchase? Not in this scent!

Fortune Cookie Soap – Tick Tock Whipped Cream
Fortune Cookie Soap – Tick Tock Whipped Cream

Another FCS whipped cream. I liked their Tick Tock scent quite a bit. I have no idea how the scent relates to the Hunger Games, but anyway… it basically smells like clean laundry to me. Very detergent-y, but it doesn’t bother me.

Repurchase? I liked it, but not enough to repurchase it. There are other things I like more.

Tree Hut Coconut Lime Shea Body Butter
Tree Hut Coconut Lime Shea Body Butter

Sample size of Tree Hut‘s Coconut Lime Shea Body Butter. This was okay, but not amazing. The smell wasn’t really my cup of tea either.

Purchase? Nope.

Dermal Therapy – Hand, Elbow & Knee Moisturizer
Dermal Therapy – Hand, Elbow & Knee Moisturizer

This stuff isn’t fancy, or pretty, but oh man does it ever work. Dermal Therapy products are a godsend for anyone with incredibly dry skin. I get pretty scratchy elbows and ankles and this works miracles on them.

Repurchase? Definitely.

Dermal Therapy – Heel Care Moisturizer
Dermal Therapy – Heel Care Moisturizer

And this ganked up nasty jar is Dermal Therapy‘s Heel Care. The best thing EVER for heel cracks. This can repair the Grand-freaking-Canyon of heel cracks and make your heels look baby-butt smooth in the span of a week. I’m not kidding because I’ve seen it happen on me. (You’re welcome for that visual.)

Repurchase? Forever and a day.

Burt’s Bees – Almond & Milk Hand Cream
Burt’s Bees – Almond & Milk Hand Cream

Burt’s Bees Almond & Milk Hand Cream smells nice, but it’s super thick and super greasy.

Repurchase? Nah.

Clean & Clear – Deep Action Cream Cleanser
Clean & Clear – Deep Action Cream Cleanser

One of my usual cleansers. I like how this one has a cool tingle on the skin. I do find your skin gets used to that tingly feeling though, so I tend to swap out my cleansers pretty frequently.

Repurchase? Definitely.

Boots No7 – Beautiful Skin Foaming Cleanser
Boots No7 – Beautiful Skin Foaming Cleanser

Snagged this from a friend who didn’t want to finish it up. Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Foaming Cleanser is good but the scent is a little bizarre to me. This may be completely offputting to some, but it smelled faintly like cigarettes. Or like the afterburn of a cigarette. It truly wasn’t as gross as I’m making it sound, but there was that scent to it that was really hard to place.

Purchase? Maybe, if on sale.

Fortune Cookie Soap – Lemon Drop It Like It’s Hot Microdermabrasion Scrub
Fortune Cookie Soap – Lemon Drop It Like It’s Hot Microdermabrasion Scrub

FCS‘ first skincare item. I liked it at first, but the scent started to bother me over time. Nicely abrasive though.

Repurchase? Nah.

Philosophy – The Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash
Philosophy – The Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash

Another product I swiped from that same friend as before. Philosophy‘s Exfoliating wash smells terrible to me. Did not enjoy it at all.

Purchase? Nope.

Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant
Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant

Dr. Brandt‘s Microdermabrasion skin exfoliant was AMAZING. It completely cured me of a milium spot I had on my lower left eyelid. This stuff packs a hefty price tag, but I fortunately received this sample size in an Ipsy bag. If I had milia again in the future though, I would absolutely pick this up even at the full price.

Repurchase? If necessary due to skin problems, then absolutely yes!

Aveeno – Clear Complexion Daily Moisturizer
Aveeno – Clear Complexion Daily Moisturizer

A staple daily moisturizer for me. The packaging’s all messed up though. I normally get the Radiant one, but this one says Clear Complexion in English… but Radiant in French! What the hell? They’re normally two different types!

Repurchase? Definitely. I’m almost done another bottle in the bathroom already.

Eva NYC – Therapy Session Hair Mask
Eva NYC – Therapy Session Hair Mask

I wouldn’t normally post hair stuff, but this came in an Ipsy bag so I thought I’d mention it. This is nothing more than a hair conditioner. I don’t feel it did anything extra special to my hair, even when I left it on for a good ten minutes in the shower.

Repurchase? Nope.


PHEW! That’s a lot of garbage to get through. Looking at some of these products, I kind of wish I’d saved them for Kalyn’s Sample Killah month. Darn!

Fortune Cookie Soap – Summer Soap Box 2014

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Fortune Cookie Soap‘s 2014 Summer Soap Box is candy EVERYTHING. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, you’ll basically want to eat everything that’s inside your box. (Luckily, they’ve even thrown in a piece of gum and a sucker – likely to avoid you munching down on your bath products.)

The smell of this box was glorious. As soon as I opened the flap I was in candy heaven.

FCS Summer Soap Box 2014
FCS Summer Soap Box 2014

Here’s a closer look at some of the products.

Solid Sugar Scrub in Rock Your Socks Off
Solid Sugar Scrub in Rock Your Socks Off

The first item I tried out was the  Rock Your Socks Off solid sugar scrub. The cube is on the small size, but I still cracked it in half and saved the second half for another shower. The scent is full on grape candy – that artificial grape scent combined with cups and cups of sugar. The sugar broke apart easily with a little bit of water (I wouldn’t try to scrub this on dry  skin) and broke down quickly. Loved the smell, but I’d kind of prefer the sugar scrub to be a bit more liquid – that’s a personal preference though.

Microdermabrasion Facial Scrub in Lemon Drop It Like It’s Hot
Microdermabrasion Facial Scrub in Lemon Drop It Like It’s Hot

Next up was the microdermabrasion scrub. I made the mistake of actually using two microdermabrasion scrubs that day (one in the morning and one at night), but suffered no side effects. The scent in the box, and the only one they appear to have on their web site, is Lemon Drop It Like It’s Hot. As the name suggests, it’s lemon-y with a hint of orange. The particles in this scrub are a little bit more coarse than some of the higher end ones I’ve used, but I actually thing it’s kind of helpful since it’ll scrub more intensely if you mush it around your face. Mixed amongst the small particles were a few larger ones – I’m not sure if this is intended, or if a few of the crystals just happened to stick together, but either way it definitely added an interesting texture to the wash. With a price tag that is significantly less than most microdermabrasions, I’d definitely suggest trying this out if you’re interested in the concept but not the high cost associated with other brands.

Lip Scrub in Blow Me!
Lip Scrub in Blow Me!

The Blow Me! Talkin’ Smack Lip Scrub is a bazooka gum with a hint of Fun Dip flavoured lip scrub that isn’t too tightly packed together in the container. It’s about standard for a lip scrub really, so if the scent appeals to you and you like the price, this is worth picking up. It left my lips feeling tingly and fresh (and doesn’t taste bad either!).

Sparkle Me in The Sweet Spot
Sparkle Me in The Sweet Spot

I love glitter. Like seriously love it. Glitter in a convenient spray bottle is just pure unadulterated pleasure for me. I have a few other scented glitter sprays from Bath & Body Works, but I am ALWAYS happy to have more of them. Their Sparkle Me in The Sweet Spotis quite literally a sweet scented glitter spray bottle of glory. It has more of a sweet fruit scent and it’s fairly light. I wore it to work yesterday (yep, sprayed myself head to toe in it) and the glitter particles (tiny and not chunky) stayed put all day and no one complained that I smelled like TOO much of anything. Winnar!

OCD Hand Sanitizer in Lollipop Your Cherry
OCD Hand Sanitizer in Lollipop Your Cherry

I’ve personally never really latched on to the “I need to sanitize my hands after I touch everything under the sun” regime that most people seem to follow these days, so receiving another hand sanitizer (they had one in last quarter’s box) after I haven’t even used up the one from last time is a little on the boring side. HOWEVER, I know there are a lot of people out there that feel like they practically bathe in hand sanitizer every day, so I’m sure these are for you germaphobes. FCS’ OCD Hand Sanitizer in Lollipop Your Cherry thankfully smells more like real cherries than the horrific artificial smells-and-tastes-like-cough-medicine flavour that usually passes as “cherry-scented”. At the end of the day, it’ll sanitize your hands and it’ll smell good while doing so.

Wax Tart in Sweet Dreamsicle
Wax Tart in Sweet Dreamsicle

Ooo a wax tart! I wasn’t even aware FCS had these. As the name suggests, Sweet Dreamsicle smells like creamsicles. I’ve popped it into my bathroom warmer, but it hasn’t had a chance to actually melt out yet so I can’t comment as to the throw of the scent. It did smell lovely when I sniffed it though!

Whipped Cream in Captain’s Berried Booty
Whipped Cream in Captain’s Berried Booty

I love their Whipped Creams, but this scent just isn’t for me. Captain’s Berried Booty(loooove the name) smells like cardboard fruit loops. I was going to smear in on my legs to test the scent for wear time, but the one little dab I got on my hands was enough to steer me away from using it.  The bloody thing lasted for hours and I barely got anything on me! If you like fruity-scented cereals, you’ll love this. Me however? I’m avoiding this one!

Fortune Cookie Soap in Lick Your Lips
Fortune Cookie Soap in Lick Your Lips

And the piece de resistance – their namesake soap. Lick Your Lips fortune cookie soap smells like it looks: like peppermint ice cream with chocolate in it. This is really lovely and the soap itself is, as always, beyond adorable.

And candy, cuz why not?
And candy, cuz why not?

My favourite products for this box were the microdermabrasion scrub and the sparkle me spray. Those are two products that I know for sure I’ll use all the way through and enjoy them thoroughly. Scent-wise though, my picks would be Lick Your Lips and Lemon Drop It Like It’s Hot, purely based on personal sniffer preferences.

As I’ve said before, their shipping to Canada is way too high for me to even consider ordering anything from them to my Canadian address. (Oddly, the shipping to Canada for their soap box is less than half the price of even a regular order from them…) So with that being said, I do have a $10 off coupon code for the first person that leaves a message for me on this blog post (and actually wants it!). There are zero strings attached to this – I just don’t want the coupon code to go to waste since I won’t be placing at order this time around. So if you want to place an order with Fortune Cookie Soap, snag $10 off while you can! There’s also no minimum purchase required with this code either. Enjoy!