Sneak Peek at some Authors Signing at BEA this year

One of my favorite things about attending BEA is the author signings because for three days you have hundreds of amazing authors signing their books. They can be debut authors or regular authors.

When planning out my BEA days I always see what authors are signing on what days and where because they can be scheduled for in booth or in the autograhing area. Sometimes you can get really lucky have an author signing more then once and last year I was really lucky with those.

Living in Canada and especially Quebec we don’t get alot of the big name authors coming unlike Toronto that gets tons. So alot of the time its your one chance to get to meet your favorite authors and get the chance to briefly speak with them.

So this morning I was pleasantly surprised when I went on facebook and saw that Book Expo America posted a sneak peek at authors who would be possibly signing this year. If you are curious you can see the list here: CLICK THIS TO SEE THE AUTHOR LIST

Some of the ones I am super excited for are:

  • Jenniger L. Armentrout
  • Ally Carter
  • Kate Brian
  • Andrea Cremer
  • Jenny Han
  • Richelle Mead
  • Elizabeth Norris
  • Lauren Oliver
  • Veronica Rossi
  • Marie V.Synder

Plus so many more. Who are you excited to see there?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Star Looks March Edition

 I am so happy to share with you one of my all time favorite beauty box subscriptions with you. As you know from my previous posts I am always gushing about Star Looks. I absolutely love this box and the contents.

As you can see the box is very basic looking and even though its plain its still very elegant in my opinion. The box is just plain tan with dark blue lettering topped with a rust colored stretch elastic ribbon.

 The March box was no exception. I love each and everything I was sent this month.

You can see the special touches they add to the box each month such as the product card. Each month its a whole new look and the tissue paper that always seems to carry through the theme of the box which I love.

Lets get into the box shall we as this month its labelled as a mixed month. Meaning we got a combination of bold and neutral colors/products.

 This is labelled as the neutral item in this month’s box.  Its an eye shadow in the shade Disarray. I have to say I was a little nervous about this being so dark but I think you can achieve a few great looks with this. Its very pigmented and a little goes a long way in my opinion. This sales for $12 on the starlooks.com site.

 This is a exclusive item and a surprise item this month in our boxes. Its all natural Vanilla Lip Sugar lip scrub. This is fantastic I found after using it it brought my lips back to a natural smooth feel. It got rid of my dry chapped lips. This is a sample size only valued at $2. I really hope that Star looks will bring this back as a regular item.

 This is labelled as bold and its a lipstick in the shade Flutter.

 One thing I love about their lipsticks is that they are creamy and hydrating. Very pigmented and long lasting. Plus they are non sticky.

 I have to admit that at first I was like wow this isn’t going to suit me but I found out that after applying it gentle on my lips I actually liked the color. Its a frosted lip stick and its almost like a rust color.  Very nice.

 Finally the last item is the Lenghtening Mascara and its of course the neutral item. I wasn’t going to open this right away since I basically have quite a few tubes of mascara opened but was told once I did I would love it and honestly I love it. I have to take about the packing first. Yes its not very fancy but this has some weight. I have never felt a mascara this heavy before. I was really impressed with the mascara and the quality of it and with a price tag of $15 I would repurchase this when I was finished with it.

 
So that’s my March Star Looks box its got a value of $40 and in my opinion very well worth it. I am always impressed with the quality of the make up and I would say that its pretty much a high end product. Something I am starting to get into.

Would you wear any of this?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

MEME/ Know Me Better….#13

Kathy has created this wonderful meme and each week she will pick 5 questions off her author interview list for us to answer.

Kathy invites you to share your answers to these questions as well. You can either leave your answers in this weeks post which if you click here it will take you to it or you can create a post on your blog and then go back and link to this weeks post by clicking here and it will take you there.

Quotes

What story does your family always tell about you?

  • The one that is always told is the time my cousins came down to visit for summer vacation from Ottawa and we went to the beach that is behind my old house, it was a few days before the were heading home and the water was really wavy so we were playing in the water and this big wave came up and I turned my back thinking I would block it well sadly it hit me and I lost my glasses in the ocean. I was crying hysterically because I knew  I was going to be in a whole lotta trouble when I went home. I was still in elementary school and yes I did get into trouble when I went home without my glasses on as we couldn’t find them.

What kind of music do you like?

  • I love listening to and discovering all kinds of music. My taste go from classical to pop to rock etc. I always loved music and always will love music.

Would you rather have money or fame?

  • I would have to say that I would prefer the money. I think fame you have a price to pay and I hate being the center of attention.

Do you celebrate Easter? If so what is one of your traditions?

  • Yes we celebrate Easter. One of our traditions is me making the ham with all the fixings the day of before Easter. Michael loves coloring the eggs so that is something else we always do each year.

Best April Fools Day Joke you have done or someone has done to you?

  • The best April Fools day joke was done to me this year, I was on facebook and someone said that a huge storm was coming and that it was going to be cold. At the time I honestly believed it because Ontario got hit with snow on Easter so in my head I was cursing because I am so over winter and it was only later that I realized it was a joke we weren’t getting a storm.

So this is a little more about me, find out anything interesting?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Easter Treats from Lush

Okay when I had originally bought the following Lush products I instantly thought of doing this post but as I sit and write this up I realized my planning of this post wasn’t exactly right. I am sorry about that.

I probably should have planned to do this long before now because I am not sure that these are still available.

Earlier in the month of March I saw these at my following Lush store and bought them to try and funny enough whenever I would go to use one of these items Michael wanted to try them out so I ended up having to go back and buy a set for myself. I love Lush products and hopefully for the next big promo I will do it right.

The first item I tried was Henata. It sells for $7.95 and its currently sold out.

Our Easter hen is inspired by a colorful piñata, and is meant to be smashed on the side of the tub to reveal the hidden surprises inside. Should we tell you what they are? Why not! This hen lays a Bath Bomb egg just for you, and it’s surrounded in soap paper flower petals to scrub up with. Perfumed with fresh and citrusy tangerine, bergamot and mandarin oils, Heñata is a fiesta for your tub.

 

This was the second bath bomb I used this month and I loved it. This is very colourful as you can see with the orange and yellow colors. It smelled delicious before smashing and even more so after smashing it. You can tell right away that its a citrus smell and we loved that smell. The water turned yellow/orange which Michael loved. The only thing is I think if I was to re buy this again next year I don’t think I would use this at bed time because its more of a wake up and smell me scent. Not relaxing at all.

This is called The Brightside and its sales for $8.95 and sadly this is sold out as well.

A brand new invention this spring, The Brightside is a bright and cheerful bubble bar to bring you a fresh perspective. When you crumble it under the running tap, the water will turn into a hazy red and orange sunset with frothy white clouds of bubbles. Sink in and inhale the Sicilian mandarin, tangerine and bergamot oils. You’ll emerge from the tub feeling clear and energized.

I discovered that this is a limited edition soap. I ended up breaking this into four pieces so we were each allowed two baths. This was another lovely bath item. It gave off a ton a bubbles and it left the water orange/yellow. The smell was delicious and very citrusy. Its exactly what I needed in March with the snow and cold temperatures. I would definitely buy other scents in this format.

This is a limited edition soap and its called Egg Hunt and it sells for $7.95/100grams

The entire round of this soap looks like a giant lawn studded with Easter eggs waiting to be found. We’ll cut you a fresh slice to take home and wash up with, or hide around your home for the family to find. They’ll just have to follow their noses to the fruity raspberry, orange, lemon and violet leaf scent!

This was so pretty in the store that I just had to buy some. It looked so cute when it was whole because it literally looked like a patch of grass covered with Easter eggs. It smells so good and I am not really a raspberry fan but all the other scents make it a very nice soap. This was placed in our upstairs bathroom to get a longer use of it.

This was the most expensive item in the whole Easter promo. This is the Immaculate Eggception. It sells for $12.95 and comes in Yellow and Pink. Sold out.

Inside each giant fizzy egg is a secret surprise. What is it? You’ll just have to crack the Bath Bomb shell to find out! Get a hold of your egg, line up the crease with the edge of a hard surface and give it one good WHACK! Once it’s cracked, you can drop the shell in your tub for a beautiful ylang ylang, grapefruit and vanilla bath. And of course, enjoy the mysterious treat inside, too.

You are able to get three baths out of this. Michael wanted the yellow and I took the pink one. I told Michael that there would be a little surprise in the eggs so he was excited to get into his bath to find out what it was.  I actually loved the scent of this and was surprised at how much I liked it. I thought at first that the price was a little steep but when I discovered it was good for three baths I realized that it was a good deal.

This Fluffy Egg was probably my favorite of them all and the price is great at $6.95. This is out of stock as well.

Fluffy Egg is enormously popular every Easter. While we love the cheery pink color, we think it might be because Fluffy Egg smells like a vanilla ice cream cone that fell into a cotton candy machine. The scent comes from the (now retired) Candy Fluff dusting powder, so those of you who adore Creamy Candy bubble bar will fall madly in love with Fluffy Egg. Pick up a dozen while they’re still here!

I was really happy to find out that this is almost a staple every Easter so now I know next year to stock up on these. This smelled delicious and I could smell the vanilla and the cotton candy smell. I think this was the first one I put in the bath that caused Michael to want to jump in. It left my main floor in the house smelling so good and spring like. My only regret is not picking up more when I had the chance. Now I know for next year.

Finally the last item that I bought are we are currently still using is Carrot (bubble bar). It sells for $7.95 and it might still be available at least online it is.

Hop into the tub this Easter with the best-smelling ‘vegetable’ you’ll ever enjoy. This bubbly carrot may not improve your eyesight, but it will fill your bath with piles of frothy lemon and buchu scented foam. Simply grab the carrot by its top and swish, swish, swish around your tub and set it aside to use again and again. This beauty is good for 7-10 baths, so you should have lots to keep you busy until the Easter Bunny makes his visit to your house.

This is another one I loved the smell of this (nice citrus and perfect when you are longing for spring to come) and loved that you could just hold onto the green part and swirl it around your bath to get the desired amount of bubbles that you want in your bath. The only thing you should make sure that when you dry it its not on a flat surface. You can expect to get at least 7 baths from this one carrot.

So this is my favorite Easter Lush items. What would you want to try?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

MEME/ Sundays In Bed With…..#43

The awesome blogger behind this is Kate from Midnight Book Girl   not only is she an awesome blogger but she is was one of my roommates for BEA. YAY!!

Midnight Book Girl

Sundays In Bed With….is a meme I’ve started to share the book we’re spending the morning in bed with, or the one we’d like to stay curled up in bed with all Sunday if only our busy lives would allow! For fun, take a picture of the book in your bed, or simply write up a post or comment below sharing your Sundays in Bed With book. Quoted from Kate’s blog.

Is it really that time for another Sunday’s In Bed post? Where is the time going? Can you believe its already the end of March? The time is flying by.

When this posts I will have probably been up for a bit because its Easter morning. Its like Christmas day here. Michael probably has already completed his Easter egg hunt and we are probably pretty close to eating our delicious Easter morning breakfast. So there is no sleeping in today.

Hoping to possibly relax this morning before going to dinner at a family members house and if I do get to chill I am curling up on the couch and hoping to finish reading this I think a few more hours straight and I will be done. Really like this.

 
This week I did something I normally don’t  do and that is start another book while I am currently reading one. I was planning on finishing up the Paladin Prophecy and start Star Crossed but for some reason Star Crossed kept calling out to me so I caved and cracked this book open and let me tell  you I am so happy I did because its soo good. I am loving this book and I can’t wait for the second book to come out in this series.

I am thinking that I want to read her other books. Have you read Jennifer Echols? What should I read next in her books?

What are you reading today?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Nails by Tanya (March Edition)

This month’s Nails by Tanya feature isn’t going to be jammed pack with a month’s worth of nail looks because Tanya has been super busy with school but she was so kind to share with us two looks that she created this month.

The first look is:

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, Tanya did her nails with China Glaze “I’m not lion” and China Glaze “Graffiti Glitter”. 

The second look is:

This is in honor of Easter. I really love this look. Don’t you?

The thumb and pointer finger were done using a dotting tool and thin nail art brushes and the ring finger is a stamp. For the bunny and chick I used a thin nail art brush to create the outline of the shell and bunny head and ears. Then I used a dotting tool for the eyes and mouths, dragging my line for the mouths so it wouldn’t just be a dot. The polishes I used were:

Butter London:
-fruit machine
-fiver
-artful dodger
-molly-coddled
-jasper

no name nail art pens in black and white
With Easter being this weekend I am tempted to try something creative. 

Thanks once again Tanya for sharing your nail art with us and for perhaps inspiring me to get creative this holiday weekend.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Glossy Box March Edition

 I was pleasantly surprised when my Glossy Box came in before it was suppose to. I honestly wasn’t expecting it until April according to the Canada Post tracking info I received. None the less I was happy.

I am always excited when Glossy Box comes in each month because I find they tend to be consistent in what they send each month in regards to full size products and the content.

I often wonder if I should continue my subscription and wonder if I always get my month’s worth out of the box and I have to say that I always get items that I might not normally buy on my own but I want to use so for now I think I am going to continue with my subscription.

The first item I pulled out of the box this month was:

 Jergens Natural Glow 3 Days to Glow Moisturizer. I like that this is in my shade Light to Medium and this leads to me think that they do read our profiles. Its a moisturzier that will allow you to look one shade darker in three days. I think this would be great to use as it gets wamer and you start taking off the layers. This is a full size item, its 120ml for $12.99

 Modelco Cheek + Lip Tint in Rosy Red. This is actually going to be my beef of the month. When I opened this it said that it delivers a perfect amount of sheer color for a naturally flushed “just pinched” cheeks and a sexy pout. Well when I tried this out it stained my finger red and it was too dark on my lips. Not sure I would use this on my cheeks. Another think that is part of my beef is that they said its a full size item 10ml for $24.00 I honestly don’t think my tube has 10 ml of product in it and if it is they why send out a huge tube for such a small sample.

 TRESemme Platinum Strength Deep Conditioning Treatment. This is suppose to reinforce hair’s naturally protective layer and restore the beauty of your hair and protect it against future damage. Its suppose to repair up to two years of damage in 5 uses. I have to say I am pretty thankfully with my hair because no matter what I have done to my hair (permed a few times back in the day and dye it constantly) it is always healthy.  This is a full size item, 177ml for $5.99

 BM (Beautiful Movements) Beauty Platinum Tiara Eye Shadow . This is 100% natural mineral eye shadow that is cruelty free and BUAV approved (Vegan) its a sparkling grey. I haven’t opened it yet as I honestly  have way to may shadows open but it looks like it would be a nice color. This isn’t a full size item since its only 1g ($5.40) and the full size is 2g for $10.80

 
Finally the last item out of the box is this:
 


L’Oreal Paris Youth Code Dark Spot Corrector Serum. This will fade dark spots giving you a even luminous skin. This is a full size item 30ml for $29.99 As I was reading the packaging it says for best results use with other Youth Code products. Is it just me or does this annoy anyone else? I hate when they do this.
 
As you can see the box did pay for itself $78.37 but I feel as though I would end up spending more just because of the Youth Code. I like to have all the products to get a feel for them so I am not sure what I will do with the Youth code. Perhaps I will wait and check out the sales or winners to see if they carry this.
 
What do you think of the box this month?
copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.