Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Musings - April 2019

April kicks off a month of changes. Personal and professional. 

 Books: I actually finished a few this month! (12 peeps - count 'em!) The Moreau Factor by Jack L Chalker (who seems to have a thing for transformation as I recall from The Change Winds series) - a Little Free Library find. The Now Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter and More Social by Jay Baer and Amber Naslund. Still valid but a few years old - I felt like I need to read it since Amber was awesome about speaking at a conference for me. I totally wanted to validate her generosity with her time and brilliance. Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. And the Little Free Library had a 1973 "classic" sci-fi from Piers Anthony, Race Against Time. (It was kind of awful. It didn't age well but was easy to read.) Also, Connections in Death by JD Robb - which, like all Eve Dallas books ROCKS. Plus, I've kind of lapsed on that "getting my money's worth from Kindle Unlimited" - so... a binge happened -  Hexes and Exes by Raven Snow. (Think cozy mystery. Yes. Nice quick read.) And well, I really needed a break after a stressful month - so I ripped through the Kindle editions of all 4 of Shannon Mayer's Questing Witch series. Plus her The Venom Trilogy series. 

 Also.... I got a compliment on one of my books! (Yes, I occassionally write books. Check them out here.) 

 Gratitude: Nearby Chinese food. Kitten cuddles. New vaccuum. Perfume samples. Stretching boundaries of "I'm not good enough." New friend.

 Listening: So much Halsey + Dave Ramsey podcasts. Florence + The Machine in the car with 12 (it's her jam). Live Awake podcast for lunch-time quick meditation.

 Perfume: I've rocked Les Perfumes de Rosine Majalis every weekday for the majority of the month because it's time to finish it out and start fresh for spring.

But, I couldn't resist. Michelle Pfeiffer released 5 substainable, and eco-conscious scents under her new brand, Henry Rose.  Best part? She has a sampler pack!!! All 5, in generous sizes, for $20 plus shipping. (See image at top) And they send you a $20 coupon for your first full-sized purchase. Here's my take:
- Fog. OMG. Described as fresh - light + musk with a perfectly balanced freshness. It's more dense than I expected something described as "fresh" to be. Good sillage and this is a fantastic scent for me. Spring and summer scent.
- Torn. Described as warm, spicy and floral. Vetivier roots with vanilla bean. It opens almost chocolate and just gets more warm/spicy as the day goes. I put it on and thought - this is what Michelle Pfeiffer smells like on date night, I bet. Excellent sillage. (Note: I liked it more the first day I wore it than the second. Not sure why.) This is a November and January scent to me.
- Dark is Night. Described as sensual with woody patchouli with the richness of vanilla bean. I thought it heavy when I first put it on and reminiscent of some well-known late 1980's/early 1990's (unspecified) perfume when I first put it on. Extraordinary sillage. By the end of the day, I loved it. The next morning when it was still faint on my skin - I did wonder if I'd over-sprayed.
- Jake's House - Described as clean which it is with neroli top note and light musky finish. Very little sillage. Nice but there are others in the same scent family that are more "me". (Like my Water + Willow by Library of Flowers.)
- Last Light. Described as smooth - a fresh floral with smooth woody effect. Not on me. Very clean musk. No silllage and it made Lulu cat sniff my arm weirdly. And not for me!

 I'd also note that the scent library for Henry Rose seems to be very limited - vetiver wood, patchouli (which I usually hate but this smells less "dirt-like" than others), musk, vanilla bean across a number of them. Most florals are not clearly defined. (Neroli in Jake's House is the only one specified.) So although her product idea is transparency, these feel like too complex of scents for the few scent notes mentioned.

 Random: Jericho (19) and I went to a watercolor painting place. I suck. She's fantastic ! But it was fun.
(Mine)

(Hers)
Recipes: Nada. I made Easter breakfast (egg muffins, blueberry cornbread muffins, fruit pizza, etc.) And many other things this month but, no new recipes, sorry! (Pictured are remnants of Easter breakfast)
Self-care: This month is cleansing. April is good for that. And I ran out of my favorite make-up remover (100% Pure Blood Orange Cleansing Balm) and, as Murphy would have it, was out of stock online. Over to Soko Glam I went for an alternative I'd spotted on Instagram a few weeks before. Which came with the CUTEST little scooper! It feels less lux on the skin and a touch synthetic. But it washes out of the facecloth with my mascara better. It's good for now, but I like my usual 100% Pure better. 
The Daily Basics

- Day - Juice Beauty line for brightening emulsion, serum, eye cream, CC cream.The brightening emulsion has started to make my skin a littel angry some days. It fades quickly but it goes a hot red when I put it on. And it's not every day - so some other element is at play. A mystery.

- Night - Night is basically bargin skincare. Most of what I use I got on sale -  Predire Eye Care Anti-Aging Night Serum. (And reminder, I did not pay retail for it) which I am trying to run out  - and I've decided may be the best value ever since it seems never ending. I've been trying to run it out for 2 months now! All over moisturizer is H2O Infinity Renewing Youth Serum (which I got on mega-clearance of $28) and which seems to be running out quickly. Plus I'm still using Little Barn Apothecary oil .

 And YES - good skin care matters. It was my birthday this month and 3 people actually thought I was 12 years younger than I am! (Wear sunscreen)

 Things 12 Said:


 Me - Let's make blueberry muffins!
13: Hurrah!
12: Can we add chocolate chips?
Me: That's not how blueberrry muffins are made
12: Are you sure?

 And...

 Me: We are super-awesome and amazing women! (We'd gotten a lot done - pet medications for 4 cats and 1 dog; baked a cake, baked cobbler, and baked muffins; swept the house; and did the dishes.)
12: Yep, but mostly you because you baked cobbler.
She also found a "dragon skull" and was super excited. Until I sent it to the nature center and we discovered it was a hawk's pelvis. (But as you can see, she was fairly justified in that thought - I had her put it next to a dollar bill for size.)


Watching: Santa Clarita Diet. (That is freaking hilareous. And I've hooked Jericho as well.) Impostors, Season 2. I caught up on Empire, too. And we're back to Grimm. 

Take-away - Change is our only constant. You better learn how to roll with it.
Original musings posts you may enjoy:


All photos by moi! And you can tell...

*Juice Beauty is a staple in my beauty cabinet. I stray, I try other things - but it's my favorite "foundation" (I used the CC Cream) and great skin care. If you like Juice Beauty too, here is a link. I do get a small commission (at no cost to you) when you use these links which helps support this blog.

- Skin Care by Juice Beauty
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