Cook'n Recipe Organizer 11 v.11 Review + Giveaway

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

 Have you guys heard of Cook'n? I got the chance to download a digital copy for review, and I am so glad I did. Cook'n is a recipe organizer - a cookbook stored on your computer. It allows you to upload your own recipes via manually or even scanning them in, pull recipes off of websites and pinterest, or you can order Cook'n cookbooks for additional recipes. Once stored, you have easy access to view or share!

I was excited to try this, mainly because most of my recipes come from the internet now. I either bookmark them, (with no organizing... recipes often get lost) pin them to a yummy board on pinterest, or print/write them out. (again, with no organizing... recipes are often lost. lol. I'm sooo bad at organizing)

Cook'n makes it fairly easy to organize, it just takes some getting used to.

1,500 Facebook Likes Giveaway!

Last month, I reached 1,500 likes on my Facebook page! The plan was to sort out some items for a giveaway right then and there, but last minute travel pushed my giveaway plans back a bit. I haven't forgotten though! I spent the last week and a half trying to sort out and acquire items - bearing in mind I wanted to have an international giveaway. Almost everything here are things I personally like/love, so I'm hoping you will too.

 One winner will receive all of the below!

 Here's what I have:

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A Nail Duo Inspired by The Hunger Games: Catching Fire from Covergirl. The polish is Seared Bronze, the nail art stickers are Tawny Flame.

Nails of the Day!

Just a short post to share my nails for the day!

Tada! Notebook paper nails. Complete with doodles. lol.


Polishes used:
Essie Grow Faster Base Coat
NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel in French Tip White
Sally Hansen I ❤ Nail Art Striper in Hot Pink
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
NYC Matte me CRAZY Mattifying Top Coat

and three ultra fine point Sharpies in blue, light blue, and lime green.

Wet n Wild Megaslicks Balm Stain Review

So last month, I picked up some Balm Stains. I got three of the Wet n Wild Megaslicks Balm Stains, and one from Jordana. I ended up disliking the Jordana, and since there was only one, I skipped reviewing it. But today I'll be reviewing the Megaslicks.

As mentioned, I picked three up - a pink, a red, and a berry purple.

Mail Call

Ahoy folks! So last week, I mentioned all the mail I had waiting for me after being away for a week and a half. Finally deciding to share some. Here's a pick of the pile:

Now, yes, I got a seventeen magazine, and a Victoria's Secret catalog, but you can plainly see those, so I won't be sharing individual photos. lol. Also, most of those smaller envelopes are Valentines from the Iggle swap I mentioned already, so you can already see all of those here.



First up, a couple of books. Here's a Psych book:

A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Read. A Psych book comes out with every season of the show, I believe, but none of the bookstores near me have them, so when I was given an amazon gift card, I grabbed one. (I also grabbed another book, Hyperbole and a Half, but I got that one in the mail just before I left, and I might be doing a separate post for that one in the future.)

Valentine's Day Ulta Haul

Last year, in lieu of chocolates or flowers, my guy got me makeup. All from the clearance section at Ulta. He asked, back then, if this would be an annual gift from now on. I warned him that the palettes and whatnot that he got me were great, but, because of how great they were, if we were to continue the tradition, I might want some of the more expensive makeups - like the Naked palette.

This year, he decided that more expensive makeup lasts longer than flowers or chocolates anyway, so we went back to Ulta. And I am one happy camper. Hee.

Granted, a lot of the haul is from the clearance section, because I couldn't resist. Hee.

Happy Valentine's Day!

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Happy Valentine's Day!! 

With or without a significant other, I hope you're all having a lovely day! And that there's chocolate around. ☺

-ɳoχʏ                   

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Super short post today, just sharing a picture of all the Valentines I got from the IGGPPC swap!

Isn't it all so AWESOME?! Thanks to everyone who sent me a vday card!! ♥♥♥♥♥

Valentine's Day Nails

Another short post for today, I thought I'd share my Valentine's Day manicure. I had been a bit stumped on what I wanted to do for my Vday mani, but then realized - for the last two weeks, my nails have been stiletto in shape and were black and red.

While there were hearts in the simple design, I think I got tired of the black and red after keeping them that way for so long. So I decided I wanted something simple and clean.

Time for an Update!

Hellooooo folks.

So, Monday afternoon, we finally headed home, again.

Most of Monday was spent packing and straightening up, so I didn't have time to write up a post. Then yesterday, well,  I was relaxing a bit. Although, I did snap a pic of all the mail I got while away, but I'll share that later. I haven't even opened most of it anyhow. lol.



Today will be a short post. I just wanted to update my beauty wishlist for 2014.

I took one last look at Coralista, and changed my mind for good. It is no longer on my wishlist. Instead, I started falling in love with the Naked Basics of all things. So I added that, and then specified my Lacquered Bliss item. Previously, I just knew I wanted to try another polish from her, since Deck Your Holos is my current favorite polish. Upon seeing Accio Lacquer's grand opening post, (I used her picture for my wishlist) I immediately fell in love with La Jaconde!


So, to recap, the items still on my wishlist (excluding what's already been acquired) are:

1 and 2: The Naked palettes.
I was too, too happy to get the Naked 3 palette in January, which leaves Naked and Naked 2.


3:  Drop Dead Fred from Scofflaw Nail Varnish
Recently, just this past Friday, Scofflaw had a restock, and - 4 minutes late - I watched helplessly, as Drop Dead Fred sold out in minutes. I have been informed that this polish is part of her permanent line, so I suppose I shall just hope that I can be quick enough in the future to nab this polish.


4: Essie Polish in Chocolate Cakes
I'm going crazy trying to find this Essie in stores. But I shall find it, dang it.


5: La Jaconde from Lacquered Bliss
As mentioned, I fell in love with this polish. Love at first sight. It's inspired by the Mona Lisa and I can't stop looking at pictures. I've always been a fan of neutrals, and green is my favorite color, so this polish appears to be a happy medium. I'm dying to get this. Hopefully soon!


6: The Naked Basics Palette
For some reason, I had it in my head that this palette wasn't worth getting. It wasn't until last month, when I was picking up the Naked 3, that I really had a good look. Now I'm wondering why on earth did I shrug this palette off!

Stiletto Nails?

So two weeks ago, I was dreading the ever coming "day I trim my nails to nubs". Two nails had started to break close to the base, and the tea bag wrap method was only delaying the inevitable. But I noticed where the breaks were and realized I might be able to get around trimming them down to nubs, by instead pointing them.

I posted a pic of them as soon as I painted them, so excuse the messiness.

But there they are. Pointy, stiletto nails. I really wasn't sure if I liked them. The idea of them seemed to be growing on me though!

Here's another pic taken over a week ago, a bit cleaner. lol.

Over the past few weeks, I came to the decision that yes, I do, actually like the way they look. However, they're... well... sharp. And I spent a lot of time being super careful not to stab myself in the eye if I had an itch to scratch on my face.

I did end up scratching myself hard enough to bleed a tiny bit too while I was maneuvering out of my coat.
(I scratched my right thumb with my left hand somehow.)

Not to mention the light stabbings I unintentionally attack my guy with whenever I went to hug, snuggle, or cuddle.

And since pointing my nails, two nails have since broken anyway. (One was not expected.) I still haven't trimmed the rest of my nails down yet though, so now I've got one nubby nail on each hand, and claws for the rest. lol.

So I suppose... as much as I like the way the stiletto nails look, I think I might just be a little too clumsy to keep stiletto nails. I don't want to spend all my time fearing I might accidentally stab my eye out, or my guy's eye. Ah well. :)

January Favorites!

Ahoy folks! Just a quick update on things that have been happening. On the 29th, my guy and I took an unscheduled trip back to Michigan due to family emergency. (his family) That was all the 30th-31st. Frustratingly enough, I. Am. Still. Here.

It bothers me beyond belief that I am stuck in Michigan, again, after being stuck here for 2 weeks already in January. Sigh.

I pre-wrote some posts to schedule and saved some drafts with pictures I took when I was still home, so that I could write the posts up here. But I've run out of those, because, naturally, I wasn't expecting to still be here.

So today, I shall share with you a quick post on my January Favorites, because it's been a while since I've done that!

Here's a picture of the items I have right now that I managed to pull together for a quick phone pic! :)
Not pictured is the Epicare, which I really wish I remembered to grab when I was packing!

In the pic:

Urban Decay's Naked 3 palette
Essie's Penny Talk
Essie's Grow Faster Base Coat
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
China Glaze Just Be-Claws
Rimmel London Scandaleyes RetroGlam Waterproof Mascara
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
Wet n Wild Megaslicks Balm Stain in Lady and the Vamp
Color Sensational The Buffs in Blushing Beige
Maybelline Baby Skin


I still need to post a review a couple of these things - the Naked 3 palette and the Balm stain - but those are all in various stages of incomplete and on my computer at home. I wasn't planning on reviewing the Grow Faster Base Coat, although I might anyhow, and I already reviewed the regular RetroGlam, so I didn't think there was a need for a waterproof review. I have mentioned the waterproof formula though - it's a bit watery compared to the regular and doesn't quite do as well as the regular, but it's still a good waterproof mascara, and definitely my fave waterproof mascara.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

In January, my guy bought me my first Urban Decay Primer Potion. And I was soooo excited!!

(pics taken in January. That's not my mani anymore. Hee.)

The primer is tinted when you squeeze it out of the tube, but it disappears once you rub it in.

This stuff. This stuff right here. It works so much better than the primer I was using prior. I can't go back. After 14 hour days, my eyeshadow is crease free. It's fabulous. And a little goes a long way, so I can't wait to see how long this tube lasts, since it's the full sized version of the product. Eeeee! EXCITEMENT! I've been wearing this with my Naked 3, which I still need to share and review here. Oooh I love that Naked 3. So glad I have Urban Decay in my collection now. :)

Ways to check out Urban Decay:

Official Site

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Pinterest

Color Sensational The Buffs in Blushing Beige

So one of my new lipsticks is the Maybelline Color Sensational The Buffs.

Color Sensational The Buffs in Blushing Beige

 I was really hoping I grabbed the right shade for my skin tone.

Blushing Beige

Essie No Place Like Chrome and Penny Talk

So at the end of December, I bought a couple of polishes from a blog sale. They were marked down, and both were polishes I've wanted for a while. These polishes are Essie's No Place Like Chrome and Penny Talk.

No Place Like Chrome, and Penny Talk

 They're not new, but new to me! So they deserve a review.

Maybelline Baby Skin Review

So earlier last month I picked up Maybelline's new Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser. I was psyched to grab this, because I'm always up for trying new primers, especially more affordable ones. This primer is the same price as my normal go to - Rimmel London's Fix and Perfect Pro Primer.

The price ranges from $5.99 to $6.99 around here. Not too bad.

Okay okay, so I know it says it's a transparent gel, but I completely forgot the moment I squeezed the product out. I'm so used to lotion colored primers! Haha.

The feel of this primer is crazy awesome. It's weightless and thin and I suppose it almost feels greasy, but not. It's odd. I love it.

(Pic taken in January)

When I wear this alone, I can see a visible difference in my skin, but underneath foundation it's not as noticeable. It still works great, the primer makes my makeup last all day. The longest I wore this was for 12 hours, and my face makeup still looked great at the end. This is definitely my new fave primer!

Ways to check out Maybelline:

Official site

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Instagram

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Essie Belugaria Review from the Encrusted Nail Polish Collection

Out of all of the Essie Encrusted Collection polishes, Belugaria is the one that I really wanted. One, because the name makes me think of fancy Beluga Caviar, and two, because the name reminds me of Bulgaria, and I have a fabulous friend from Bulgaria. lol. So yes, the main reasons I wanted this polish was because of the name and not necessarily because I knew I'd like the polish itself. I did like the way it looked in the bottle though!

Bottle of Belugaria

On the Essie site, this polish is described as a "holographic jet black lace". Further description as follows:
"live like a czarina. this richly ornamented jet black nail lacquer is laced with highly textured matte glitter with flashes of rainbow holographics."


I'm going to admit it, I disagree with how they describe this polish. This is not a "lace". It's textured like caviar, which makes sense to me, because, again, the name Belugaria makes me think of Beluga Caviar.

Belugaria on the nails

ORLY Secret Society Collection Review Pt 2

ORLY Secret Society Collection

Continuing with yesterday's part 1, here's part 2 of the ORLY Secret Society Collection! I don't have a picture of all three together for you, but today I'll be reviewing Lavish Bash, Macabre Masquerade, and Masked Ceremony.

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Lavish Bash:

ORLY Secret Society Collection Review Pt 1

Earlier this month, ORLY had a pinterest contest to win their entire Secret Society Collection. I think you just had to pick out an SS polish, then pin some clothes and accessories to make a fancy "Secret Society" outfit. I entered, but never saw any winners announced, so I figured I'd lost. Wrong!!

ORLY Secret Society Collection

 Back on the 22nd of January, I received a box from ORLY. I was confused, because I wasn't expecting anything from them. Then I caught a tiny printed message on the packaging that read "Secret Society Winner". I immediately got excited! I've never tried ORLY before, and here were six polishes for me to try! Woot!!


I'll split the review in two, so here are the first three polishes I'm reviewing:

Voyeuristic Adventure, What's the Password?, and Risque Encounter

 Voyeuristic Adventure, What's the Password?, and Risque Encounter