FabFitFun Summer Box Review

I received my FabFitFun Summer VIP box last week! For those of you who don't know what this is, it's a quarterly subscription box that comes with $200 plus worth of products. It's $49.99 a quarter and there are opportunities to earn a discount on each box and even earn some of them for free (all based on a referral system). I have a chance for you all to try this out and get the summer box at a discount and will include that info at the end of this post.

It is worth mentioning that I have cancelled my other beauty subscriptions and am only doing this one. I am super impressed with the value, variety and quality of the products in these boxes!

First off, we received a Slim Fast Birthday Cake bar (I haven't eaten that yet) and Salt & Vinegar Pop Chips (I have eaten those, hence why you don't see them in the photo). We got food last time too and I like that. I like treats in the mail, especially new treats.

We also received this adorable clutch/makeup bag (there were four or five different designs, this is just the one I got) with a $30 gift card to the site to spend on whatever we want. And THEN we got a bottle of nail polish (which it sounds like there were two or three colors sent out). From Zoya. My fave brand of polish. AND...it was a color that I DIDN'T already have. I know. Shocking. The color I received is Thandie, and it's an orangey-coral color that I really like. I posted a pic of my mani using this on Instagram.

Also pictured above is probably my least favorite item out of the box. A duo of lip balm for making out. Um....am I 16? So it's two different flavors that, when mixed together, are really supposed to be delicious and awesome fuel for your face sucking needs. I got sweet and sour. Ew. Not impressed and will most likely toss them or give them away to someone. Kinda lame.

Next up are some hair and skin care items. The first one is a facial that apparently celebrities use. And it's supposed to be awesome (this tiny little bottle retails for $95). I've tried a few times now and I don't see any results. I mean nothing. Maybe I'm not using enough product? Maybe my skin is already so amazing this just doesn't do anything? Whatever.

The middle bottle is hair oil. This is fine. I prefer Morrocan Oil, but hey it's summer and I can always use a good hair oil. This smells a little weird to me, but once I have it in my hair it's fine and I don't notice it.

Then we got a face moisturizer from pur-lisse. I haven't tried this yet, BUT I have tried other products from this brand and really like them so I will give this a shot and let you know. It has SPF 30 in it so I'm excited about that!

And finally we received a water bottle with a diffuser in it for fruit and stuff, shave gel and some feminine hygiene products. Love the water bottle. don't really need another one, but it's so cute. And smaller than the other ones I have so that's cool. I've tried this shave gel before and really like it so I am excited to have a travel size version for all of my upcoming work trips!

The always pads are kind of meh for me. I mean hey, a girl can always use these things and I'm sure I will, but I just haven't had a need for them yet. TMI? Oh well.

All in all I was very satisfied with the summer box. I love trying new things and I love that we get such high quality products and they aren't repeats of what I got in the last box.

And before I forget, the details about the discount are below.

The first three people to use this code 2280115 can get a Summer VIP box like the one I got for $15 off! Redeem at vip.fabfitfun.com!

May Fitness Post - How I (try to) deal with negative self-talk

Hello lovely readers! So I don't know what I was thinking this month. I was totally organized and had a schedule of all these really great posts I was going to write and then shit happened. This is the busiest time of year for me at my job and there were some other twists and turns along the way and I just didn't get to write everything I wanted/planned to. I am considering the frequency with which I post anyway, because I want to give you guys "quality" over quantity. Which segue-ways  perfectly into this post.

Negative self-talk is something most of us deal with. And it's hard to write about. I'm no expert or doctor but I wanted to share with you how I deal with it. What I define this as is the following:

- that negative little jerk voice in your head that is constantly telling you, you aren't enough. You're too tall, too short, too skinny, not skinny enough, you don't make enough $$, you aren't as good as so and so, etc. Male or female and that voice is an asshole.

So in this post I wanted to give you some examples of the things my inner voice tells me sometimes and what I do to stop that bitch in her tracks. (I apologize for the language in this post, I am passionate about this and it's been a long week)

I am 5'0 short and weigh roughly 130ish pounds, which means I am not "thin". I have what I consider to be a big nose, big hips and my face is too "red". I am also extremely NOT tan, and not toned or fit. I have cellulite, and sometimes when I walk fast my thighs rub together.

That description above pretty much is the executive summary of what my negative self-talk revolves around. And based on that description my self image is sometimes that of an ugly disgusting troll. More or less.

Now, here is how I fight back. It may sound stupid, cliche' or cheesy, but I really don't care. It works for me and I hope by sharing this it might work for you. And if by chance you happen to be reading this and you are perfect, then stop now as this clearly isn't intended for you.

The least offensive thing in that summary is the fact that I am short. I have been short all my life and my family members are short too. It doesn't always bother me, but sometimes when I see you tall girls strutting around in your long legs I get a little pissy. So I wear heels, or wedges or say fuck it and wear flats because I'm short and proud of it. I can buy pants in the kids department that aren't too long and are cheaper than women's pants. (Incidentally, I can also buy shoes in the kids department because I have small feet. Plain black flats or flip flops for less than $10? Yes please!) As my mom always told me, "The best things come in small packages."

So next on the list is my weight. Without getting too in depth and too into social norms and expectations around what a women should weigh, this is what I tell my self "You can't change your height, but you can change your health, so get off you squishy butt and get to work girl." The key to this is the word health. It's NOT about being skinny. Not at all. It's about being healthy. Is that cupcake really giving my body the nutrition it deserves? No? Then put it back. Is sitting on the couch watching YouTube videos or TV for 5 hours really how you want to spend the night? Would 30 minutes of exercise kill you? No. So slap in that DVD and get that workout in. I try to look at it as a positive thing. And once I can get myself on a regular work-out schedule I actually really enjoy it and I totally feel better. Which reminds me of another great quote "Exercise releases endorphin, endorphin makes you happy. And happy people don't kill their husbands. They just don't." Points to you if you know where that's from.

The weight thing has been an issue for me since 6th grade. I was one of the first girls in my class to get both boobs and a booty over the summer and holy crap did people remind me of it DAILY. But I really try to focus on this being about me being healthy and not skinny. That has taken me all of 21+ years to work on and it's still a work in progress. Focus on your health not how skinny or not skinny you are. Be healthy. Your body deserves it.

My nose bugs the crap out of me. It's big at the end and sometimes when I turn to the side, I think "Good Lord girl! Look at that nose!" But here's the thing, who cares? I know I would never get plastic surgery to fix it so I just try not to think about it. Or I contour it with bronzer so it gives the illusion of being smaller.

The big hips, cellulite and rubbing thighs along with being not as toned as I want to be are easy to group together. If I work out more I jiggle and rub together less. My hips are big, if I worked out 10 hours a day and ate salads they would still be big. It's just who I am. Some of us have hips, some don't. And no matter how many creams, lotions and potions I buy that damn cellulite is going to stay there. So I try to keep on that work out schedule and use self tanner on my legs in the summer as that reduces the overall appearance of it.

And finally, I'm pale. Like super pale. Like vampire pale. Which some people think is "yucky". But here's the deal, I have porcelain skin. It's not going to be super wrinkly and dry from over-tanning. And if I can prevent one type of cancer then I'm damn well going to do it. I do use a self tanner in the summer (when I remember) but really I have embraced my un-tan.

If turning that negativity doesn't work for me and I am still really down, I do one of the following two things:
 - stay on the couch and have some ice cream, because fuck it,
- OR I look at what my "imperfect" body has accomplished and when I start to look at the things I have done and am doing in my life that do actually matter more than the size of my nose in the big picture, I start to feel a little better. This is not to say that it works every time, or that I don't have bad days but it's what I try to do most days.

So what I hope you take away from this is that we all have issues with how we look. How you deal with those issues is what makes the difference. Embrace your quirks, be healthy and don't let someone else's idea of what you should look like overshadow you. Historically society has shown it doesn't always know what's right and ideals have been shattered repeatedly. Life is too short to worry about how tall you aren't or how slim you're not. Be proud of who you are and what you've accomplished. Only you could do it.

How do you deal with negative self-talk?

Beauty Cheapie: The travel aisle.

Shh! I have a secret to tell you. If you are looking for a cheap way to try out new hair care and bath and body items, check the travel section of your local drug store. You would be shocked at what they carry travel sizes of and it's a great way to try out a new hair or body care (and even skin care) product without major commitment.

Jergens has recently come out with a new BB Body line of body lotions. There are two versions, one for lighter tone skin and one for medium to deep skin tones. The full size version of this is $11.99 at Target and, for me, that's a big investment for a body lotion. This lotion promises to tone, firm, and correct your body just like a BB cream does for your face.

So as I was browsing around Target I came across these travel sized versions for $3 a piece. I picked up both tones as I was curious if that really made a difference. Plus I was watching one of my fave YouTubers, Melissa Raymond (a.k.a. melmphs) talk about this in a favorites video. If you have never seen her videos, you totally should. She's adorable and I just love her style! She said to get the medium to dark tone version as it would make your skin look more luminous. I haven't tried that one yet (but I will be on Tuesday), but I can tell you that the lighter skin tone one is not that special. I haven't used it more than twice and I believe it says you have to use it for like a month or something to see a difference. But when I put it on, it's no different than my other Jergens lotion. EXCEPT. The smell. Holy Moses. It's like Grandma perfume mixed with a cart of flowers. It's really strong. It's not terrible. But it's strong. Thankfully, the smell does fade, and it does not compete with your perfume or other smelly stuff you might put on. But, whew! it's intense.

Anyway, if you are looking to check out more body, skin care or hair care items, check out the travel section at your local drug store! You can try before spending a ton of money and usually by the time the travel size runs out you really have a sense of whether or not you like it and want to buy the full size.