Julep - Luxe Up Your Lips - Poppy

The Zamac tip provides cool relief, soothe lips and boost microcirculation. The lip treatment is enriched with pumpkin seed oil and vitamin E to enrich, hydrate, sooth and plump lips. I was excited to try it but when I opened the cardboard box, the formula was all clumpy and impossible to come out.  The lip treatment also goes on sheer and leaves my lips smooth and soft. The lip treatment also had unappealing taste and scent. Definitely not one of my favorite lip treatments and a completely waste of money.

Benton Snail Bee High Content Mask Pack

The  face mask is enriched with snail slime filtrate and bee venom to promote skin’s immune system. It’s free of parabens, synthetic colorants, artificial fragrances and formaldehyde. Unlike other masks, this one wasn’t super saturated with serum, However, it left my skin soft and smooth. It wasn’t my favorite mask but I would get it on sale again if it was for $1.

Memebox Ariul Moisture Box

My latest Memebox splurge - the Ariul Moisture box. I always loved sheet mask and the Ariul brand was new to me. The box came with 14 sheet masks, a cleanser and a lotion. Reviews will be up soon!

Book Review - Sister Eve and the Blue Nun by Lynne Hinton

Photo Credit - Amazon

While visiting her old monastery for a speaking convention on the Blue Nun, Sister Eve comes across a murder at the monastery. Sister Eve is a private detective with the uncanny ability to solve murder and she takes on the case when the victim is the sister of her friend. She must prove that the young monk isn't the killer when all the evidence points to him and he disappears. On her journey, Sister Eve is debating whether or not she should continue the life of the cloth or become a private detective with her dad.

The book was an interesting read but I can't say I am a big fan of it. The main character's father seemed sexist and the nun herself  has questionable values. The characters don't really seem believable and most of the book was a bit of fluff. Only towards the end you really find any of the excitement but it wasn't enough to redeem the book. Also, she can't really claim herself a detective since she had no clues to actually point to anything related to the murder other than one thing a person had said.

**Disclosure - I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review**

Scinic All Day Fine Pore Clay Mask

The airy Amazon clay mask has a slight spongy consistency due being infused with carbonic acid. It supposedly helps the mask be applied evenly however when I applied it, it was clumpy. When I first opened the jar, it was a bit dry the edges and the entire clay mask was giant ball in the middle not touching the side of the jar. The mask was spread unevenly no matter how I tried but in the thin areas it hardens when it dries. And God oh Almighty, it takes forever to clean off my face! Even with a wash clothing but it was worth the effort. My face did feel a bit tight even with lotion on but it my skin was smooth and soft afterwards.

Book Review - Still Here by Lara Vapnyar

Photo  Source - Amazon

**Disclosure - I received a free uncorrected advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**

Four immigrant Russian friends are bought together by an act of betrayal. They wade through their complicated relationships with each other and dealing with the drudgery of everyday complications.  Each of the four friends leave their homeland for a better life but they are haunted by death, love, happiness, forgiveness and finding themselves in a digital age.  Vica and Sergey are a couple who are struggle as Sergey loses one job after another. Regina who was once a famous translator is married to a rich tech startup owner, Bob and is dealing with losing a loved one. While, Sergey's best friend is a programmer who is unsuccessfully searching for love and his true self.

Sergey develops an app called "Virtual Grave", which preserves a person's online presence. While, each one of the friends are dealing with loss, they view his app as a waste of time. However, it sparks a debate within the group on how someone's death should affect their virtual selves. When a person dies who should take over their online persona? How does our virtual lives define us? Will the friends be torn apart while trying to figure out what they want? 

The book was an interesting read. As a person who lives in NY and used to live in Staten Island and Brooklyn, it was fun to hear familiar places. However, the book was a bit boring and tedious at times. I fell like there was no story or real purpose to the novel. It  was like a cross between a "Friends" and "Seinfeld" episode. The title of the book "Still Here", is basically asking readers -- "Are You Still There"?

Patchology FlashPatch Eye Gel

I got a sample of this in one of many many subscription boxes. I have used eye masks before and know of the Patchology brand. The gel is packed with caffeine, sodium hyaluronate, centella asiatica, hydrolyzed collagen and portulaca oleracea extract to enrich and nourish skin. The gels stayed put for a good portion of the application. My skin felt smooth and soft --- I am sure with dedicated usage I might notice my crow’s feet less though.

Julep Kaolin Clay Konjac Sponge

The exfoliator is made from the fibrous root of the Konjac plant. It is enriched with detoxifying kaolin clay. The sponge is also biodegradable and compostable.  It is recommended for all skin types. The soft sponge can be used by itself or with a cleanser to leave skin feeling smooth and soft. My skin felt great after  the sponge.  It removed my mascara without much effort although I did lose a couple of eyelashes.

Book Review - Annabel Lee (Coffey & Hill Book #1): A Coffey & Hill Novel by Mike Nappa

Photo Source - Amazon

Annabel Lee lives an ordinary life on  her Uncle Truck's farm except for the guard dog that eats human fingers. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, Truck wakes her up and takes her deep underground with the guard dog. He tells her "Don't open that door for anybody, you got it? Not even me." Terrified, she obeys and closes the door behind him leaving her and the guard dog alone. 

The girl's godfather, the Mute is a former Army sniper who will stop at nothing to kill Dr. Smith who is after Annabel. In the meantime, Truck's former trainee Samuel Hill and his ex wife and private investigator Trudi Coffey have to piece together Truck's cryptic message to find the girl. Will Truck's team be able to find the girl before it's too late? Why does is she in the bunker? What does Dr. Smith want with Annabel?

The thriller was a quick and easy read. I also like how Mike created a strong female lead (although, there were a couple of "annoying" things but I can see why she felt that way). The book was highly entertaining with an interesting story line. I have not read anything from Mike Nappa before but I am looking forward to reading his other works.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion**

Julep Nail Polish - Randi

Ah, the spring is here! Too bad the rainy, wet, and cold weather didn't get the memo. The pink plumeria creme goes on smoothly. I like with one application, it provides full coverage but with a second coat the color really pops. One of my favorite color this month.