Author: Cindy

Glymm June Edition

Posted on by Cindy

Last week I got my Glymm box and noticed instantly that it was fairly light which I have to say is never a good sign. Its like those acceptance letters into university.Thick ones are good news and thin ones are bad news. Right?

Upon opening the box I realize that the Glymm boxes are a thing of the past and sadly I really miss those boxes because I was able to reuse them for so many things especially on my dresser where I put my daily make up in and one under my desk to hold my signed bookmarks.

So instead of the box we are now getting make up bags. I really like this blue one and its the same as the one I got last month with the excpetion that its a bright pink to match the box. I have to say that I am not a fan of the make up bags because really how many make up bags does one person need? I know I said this last month and it will really suck if this will be the new trend instead of the boxes.

Actually I am happy that this months is blue because I have accidentally lost my pink one from last month. Not sure if I left it in NYC or what but I can’t find it and I know I used it while I was there to put some stuff in it.

The bag has a value of $12 (just the bag alone) and this is the season’s hottest shade.

This is an inside peek into the bag and as you can see not much there and sadly with this size of a make up bag I really don’t see us getting full size products anymore and that they are going to be little sample sized products. If this is the case I think that Glymm needs to re word their description of the products we will be getting because they aren’t deluxe sized.

So lets get into the bag shall we. As you can see not much and yea I am disappointed. I know I will be getting comments about this but honestly I am paying $10/month and I would love to get products that I can’t pick up at a pharmacy or Sears or Bay. Seriously would you pay $10 for an eyeshadow that didn’t have an eyeshadow in it?

Another change in the Glymm was the fact that they are no longer sending out product cards so now everything is online.

-La Fresh Acetone-free nail polish remover pads. I like the idea of this because its 100% biodegradable, it saves water, its natural ingredients and its cruelty free. I have never heard of this before  but I think its a great idea. Apparently one pad will remove and condition all 10 nails and they are scented with fresh Tuscan orange. The full size is 18 pads for $9.99 so I got to pads for $1.11 (roughly 0.56 cents each) This is an exclusive item in the box.

-ltls Dream fragrance. This is another exclusive item. The spray was filled and it said you could get about 35 sprays from it. I like the scent of it, its very fruity and floral. Just the scents I like. I would say this could be a day time scent as well as a night time one. The longer I wear it the more I am liking the smell. Full size is 60ml for $54 and I got perhaps 5ml for $4.50 *

-Perfect Skin Solutin. Its a vitamin & Sea serum its 100% natural blend of vitamin E and essiential oils.There is no chemicals in it (NO dyes/frangrances/synthetics/silfates/parabens/silicones or chemicals). I have never heard of this before getting it and curious to try it out. Full size is 45ml for $68 and I think I got a sample of 1.2ml for $1.81* There is enough to get about 5 uses from it.


The next items which I am excited to use and have been is the Duo Lipstick Harmony(Duo Lipstick: 2 in 1 refillable Lipstick and Balm). One end is a lipstick (soft pink) and its a very nice soft shade for me which I like because I am not big into the darker shades. The refills are $10 each.

The other end is a lip balm. Which I have used and its not sticky. There really wasn’t a taste to the balm and I really like how the tube works. Its great if you have other tubes as you can mix and match your colors for an evening out or a day out. Perhaps if you want a going from day to night look without going home you can slip in another shade. This would be perfect for vacations and you don’t have to lug tubes of lipstick with you. This is a full size product of 3.4g for $20 and it will last up to 16 months. The shades it comes in is Soft Pink, Natural Earth, Elegant Maroon and Intense Red.


-Clark’s Botanicals Smoothing Marine Cream. I have never heard of this before. Its an exfoliating and moisturizing cream. I liked the smell of this. Sadly with the price tag of $115 for 50ml is a little intimidating for me but on the upside a portion of the sales goes towards the Christopher Reeve Foundation. I got a small sanple of about 10 to 14 uses. Perhaps its about 5ml of product for about $11.50 (its hard to tell since it wasn’t marked)*

A rough total of this months box is:$ 50.92 (give or take since the ones with * are rough guesses) This basically paid for the bag but I still feel as though I’m not getting what I paid for. Are we being to picky?

What did you get? What did you think of yours? Mine?

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.

[Review] Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand

Posted on by Cindy


Title: Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand
Author: Linda J. Ferguson
Pub Date: December 2011
Publisher: Balboa Press
Pages: 208

Source: I received a PDF of this book for review and my participation in the virtual book tour. The PDF was supplied via the author and from Pump Up Your Book tour.

About the book:
Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand provides insightful stories and ideas to support your spiritual journey and help you answer your soul’s calling. Inside you’ll read how to step fully into who you are as an awakened soul being. You’ll shift how you experience your world using the affirmations, meditations, and visualizations provided in each chapter. A new process called Transformational Empowerment shows five key steps for manifesting your heart’s desire and fulfilling your soul contracts. You’ve already signed up to be an agent for spiritual transformation, in your own life and in the world. Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand is a spiritual guidebook to help you navigate through your daily stresses, spiritual tests, and challenging relationships. It also is a celebration of the joy you are here to experience in earth-school. Each chapter has meaningful exercises for you to use immediately! Read more so you can live the magnificent expression of Divine Essence that you are.

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This is not a typical book I would normally read but after reading the description I wanted to read it.

This was a pretty short book but not one you can just zip through it. I read this in about a week and taking two or three chapters at a time. Letting it all seep in.

What I like about the book was that after each chapter there was little exercises you had to do. The chapters weren’t long or complex. The exercises basically re enforced what you read and how you would apply to your life. A majority of these exercises made you sit back and really think.

There was quite a few times where I had those AHA moments and the light bulb went on.

I only had the PDF version but I am seriously thinking I want to get a physical copy of the book so that I can share it with others who I think could benefit from the book.

Another great thing was the quotes that were used through out the book and they were all relevant to the subject.

I think with so much going on in our lives that its hard to stay focused and true to ourselves because of the stress, and so much going on. We are in a rush and never stepping back. I enjoyed my week away from reality and once I got back I realized that I want to be like that all the time to be less stressed etc so this book was a good one to read at the time and I look forward to using what I learned in it.

Thanks Linda and Pump Up Your Book for allowing me to be a part of this tour.

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.

Topbox June Edition

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Last Monday my June Topbox was delivered but sadly since I wasn’t home the mailman didn’t leave the tube so I had to wait until Wednesday to pick it up.

Topbox is always one of the first beauty boxes I get each month and I love that it comes in the beginning of the month.

As you can see I stuck with the original tube instead of the recycled one. I think that this looks much prettier sitting on a shelf/bookcase/top of a dresser etc.

I try to avoid watching any of the youtube vlogs because I don’t like to ruin the surprise and I have even stopped looking at their facebook page until I have gotten mine. I was excited and curious about this months box because it was a little heavy and that is always a good sign.

When I opened the tube I instantly say this card “Bonus In addition to your 4 deluxe samples, we think you’ll enjoy these new products found at your local drugstore.” I was curious about the CLEAR new product as I have never heard of them but I have heard of Simple and I love their skin care line.

So the bonus items were:
-Simple Eye Make Up Remover. The full size is 125ml and usually retails for $9.99 and I got 56ml for $4.48 I recently got this in another beauty box I think last month and brought it with me when I went to NYC and I really enjoyed it. I love that their whole line is for sensitive skin. The make up I had came off smoothly and easily. I will definitely buy this when I run out.

-Clear Scalp and Hair Therapy total care daily conditioner. The full size is 356ml for $7.49 and I got 50ml for $1.05 This is a brand new product and I did see it at Walmart when I was there last week. I like the smell.

 I love getting hair care products but the only thing that always bothers me is when these beauty boxes send out one and not the other. I like being able to try them both to see if I will like them before buying them especially when they are over a certain amount. For me if I am going to try a new shampoo I would like the conditioner to go with it. This way you get the full effect of the product.

The total value of the bonus items are $5.53

Inside my top box was:
-Get Creamed Body by Naked Decadence Salon Hair Wash. This is a new to me product.

Naked Decadence Premium Hair Care

Naturally-based Salon Hair Wash and Conditioner

Stop washing your hair with detergent! Stripped naked of the superfluous questionable chemicals, this premium salon hair care line is formulated using decadent natural organic and plant-based ingredients. Starting from a base of organic lavender and rosemary water, we added healthy botanicals including ginseng, nettle leaf, vitamin B5, and wheat proteins to gently clean, strengthen, and protect your hair naturally.

Additionally, instead of “fragrance” or “parfum” we scented this luxury product line with only Pure Essential Oils of Rosemary, Peppermint, and Lavender. These were carefully chosen to provide further scalp and hair benefits and a wonderful aromatherapy experience!

We believe you deserve a high quality hair care line that is also safe and healthy. You’ll likely see the difference in your hair after the first use, and continued usage will result in only healthier and more gorgeous hair!

Does not contain: SLS or any sulfates, parabens, phthlates, dyes, or perfumes.

The full size is 240ml for $22 and I got  60ml for $5.50  I love the concept of this because this is a natural and organic shampoo. I’m not sure about the smell but perhaps its different when you use it. Sadly I wish that they would have included the conditioner to go with this because I need conditioner and right now it would defeat the purpose if I use this natural, organic shampoo and then put chemicals in my hair, right?

-Stila Stay all day 10 in 1 HD beauty balm. Since getting these beauty boxes I have been introduced to same many name brands that I have been wanting to try but just could never afford it and Stila is no exception. This little tube was filled and as I opened it the product was coming out. It went on smoothly and blended very well leaving my skin feeling silky and smooth. The full size is 45ml for $38 and I got 5ml for $4.22

-Stila forever your curl Mascara. Another Stila product and I love mascara so being able to try a higher end mascara is always great. The full size is 0.35 fl. oz  for $29 and I got 0.12fl. oz  for $9.81  I haven’t opened it yet as I am still using another brand and want to use it up before opening this one.

-Pari Beauty Precious Glow. This is an eye shadow intensifier and primer. The full size is 10ml for $15 and I know this isn’t a full sized product based on the description as it says pump out the desired amount of precious glow. I compared this to the mascara and its the same size and it was 3.5ml so we will say its that for $5.25

The total value of the box this month is $24.78 + $5.53 (bonus)= $30.31 as you can see the box paid for itself. I am excited to try the Stila mascara and the Pari primer. Both items I use all the time.

I loved this months box apart from the hair care products. I think personally if you are going to send a shampoo you should send the conditioner as well. That is just my opinion. I am curious to what you think, please leave me your comments to let me know.

Check back later this week for my Glymm unboxing.

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.

Last Recap of BEA 2012 Blogger Style

Posted on by Cindy

So this is it, my very last BEA post for 2012. I am sad to see it end. I hope you enjoyed the posts as much as I have.

I decided for this very last post that I would link to all the awesome bloggers I met when I was at BEA 2012. Please if you haven’t checked out these blogs out you really should.

These are bloggers I met while I was in NYC.

Dazzling Reads
Natalia from Dazzling Reads and I travelled together on the train Sunday morning. Once I got to NYC Tina from Bookshipper came to the train station to say hi and Welcome to NYC. Which I thought was very nice of her to do.

Then when I got to the hotel I saw:
Jenn from Jenn’s Bookshelves and Trish from Hey Lady . Both bloggers I have meet in the past.

My roomies for the week were:

Midnight Book Girl

On the Wings of Books

Rea Write
The following I met at BEA and Publisher events:
http://alitareads.wordpress.com/ (Alita-Canadian)
http://bermudaonion.net/ (Kathy)
http://www.bookingmama.net/ (Julie)
http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/ (Sheila)
http://www.tickettoanywhere.net/ (Gail)
http://www.misbehavinlibrarian.com/ (Jennifer-Canadian)
http://bookishlyyours.com/ (Katie-Canadian)
http://www.almostgrownup.net/ (Jen)
http://theladycriticslibrary.blogspot.ca/ (Katherine)
http://www.coffeebooksandme.blogspot.ca/ (Jenna-Philippines)
http://www.thefakesteph.com/ (Steph)
http://bookchicclub.blogspot.ca/ (James)

Sorry I am drawing a blank right now on who else I met. If we met at BEA please let me know and I will adjust this post. I know I have mentioned other bloggers in posts I have made previously to this one.

I loved meeting old friends and new friends this time around.

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.

My hotel for the week while in NYC for BEA

Posted on by Cindy


Before starting this post I want to mention that I was in no way compensated for this review.

I was so happy when Kimberly said that we would be staying at the Hampton Inns during our week in NYC for BEA.

I was first introduced to Hampton Inns when I went to NYC in 2010. I loved it and since then when ever I travel I always make it a point to stay at Hampton Inns. (Meadville, PA) I am always recommending the Hampton Inns when I hear friends traveling.

I personally always find the atmosphere at Hampton Inns to be very warm and welcoming. It feels like you are at home. I have to say though that this room (Manhattan/Time’s Square) was much bigger then the room I had in 2010 (Madison Square Gardens).

When I arrived at the hotel on Sunday night, my roomies weren’t there and the staff quickly said that they would hold my bags for me while I went to meet them. From that point on I have to say that everyone went above and beyond what I expected.

Sadly, I didn’t get to know the day staff as well at the night staff. The night staff (Britney and Luis) were fantastic and always smiling and laughing with us. They were extremely helpful (providing me directions to the M&M store) and willing to take a few minutes to chat with us. I was a little bummed that I didn’t get to say bye to Luis since he didn’t work the Friday night. So if by chance you are reading this Luis, thank you so much it was a pleasure to meet you. Waves hi to Britney, you were awesome and I am happy to have met you.

The only down side was that we always seemed to miss the fresh cookies but could smell them hours later. I have to say that luckily I did manage to nab an oatmeal raisin cookie one afternoon on my way out.

I love how the Hampton Inn provides a breakfast to eat there and on the go. I was lucky enough to partake in both. The mornings I was able to sit and eat there was always a great selection of stuff to pick from. I feel in love with the biscuits they were so good.

The breakfast on the go bags were great as well. You got a muffin, an apple, mints and water. Perfect for a quick bit on the go.

The entire staff was friendly and very approachable any time of the day and the place was super clean and you could see they took pride in the building because after the room was cleaned someone would come to see if it was clean and someone was always cleaning something.

I loved how close I actually was to the Javitis and Time’s Sqaure and everything else.

I know the next time I go to NYC I will definitely stay here again.

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.

This Time Last Week (Day 7 Going Home Edition)

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This time last week I had to get up super early because I had a car picking me up (6:45am) to take me to Penn Station. I was going home.

The whole week was fantastic and I couldn’t have wished for a better week. Well actually it would have been nice had the weather cooperated more. (The first part of the week was raining)

This time I really stepped out of my comfort zone in so many ways. First was rooming with three bloggers I have never met in real life Kate from Midnight Book Girl , Kellie from ReaWrite and  Kim from On The Wings of Books . OMG all I have to say is from that first night I knew it was going to be a hilarious adventure with them. One that I will always remember. I don’t think I have laughed so much or so hard in a long time. (Kate and Kim you know what I’m talking about LOL)

The second was walking all over NYC….alone. I was nervous at first but quickly realized if you don’t make eye contact or say anything its all good. I always made sure before going out that I had my print outs and the staff at the hotel were always there to offer directions. I have yet to take the subway on my own and quite honestly I don’t think I am ready for that. Its just to darn complicated.

This is NYC subway map

Montreal’s subway map

Perhaps one day I will feel confident to ride the subway on my own but for now I am okay with walking around NYC or going with other people.

In a way I was happy to be coming home because I think by Thursday I was getting over whelmed with the amount of foot traffic there is in NYC and the horns and sirens etc. I live in a subdivision in Montreal and its never that noisy here. I was also sad to be leaving I had made some amazing friends and I enjoy NYC.

Thankfully Tina from Bookshipper was going to be traveling home with me. We had text that night before so she was waiting for me at the train station. We were able to get a red cap (porter) to bring our bags down for us and he was super nice to get us pre-boarding. Which honestly is a life saver when traveling.

The train ride was pretty uneventful until we got to the border. For some reason its always longer to pass through customs coming into Canada then it is going into the US. A handful of people were removed from the train and you could see from the clipboard that a few names were highlighed. Thankfully Tina and I weren’t interrogated.

Then the fun started once we got into Montreal because they only had one porter and an elderly couple had tons of baggage and we kind of joked with them asking if they were moving here and they brushed us off. Seriously they had more baggage then Tina and I put together. (Tina had two suitcases and I had two suitcases and three tote bags). So Tina and I were left down stairs until the porter came back. Thankfully he did.

It was nice to come home although we didn’t hang around too long downtown because there was a student protest that was going to begin very shortly and we didn’t want to be mixed into that.
So that it is. Its always so much fun to get away and I love NYC but its always nice to come home again. Although its always one of those things were  you need a vacation to get over a vacation and that was me last week. I had a hard time re-entering back into reality. Michael being sick didn’t help much.

I hope you enjoyed my BEA and NYC recaps.

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.

This Time Last Week (Day 6 of trip)

Posted on by Cindy

It was nice to relax this morning and not feel rushed. The only plans I had were shopping and meeting up with  Kathy from Bermudaonion for breakfast. We met at a cute little place and grabbed breakfast to go and sat in a little urban park and ate. I always love meeting up with Kathy and getting to talk to her. After that we went on the hunt in Time’s Square in search of the Naked Cowboy who I have yet to see. Nope we didn’t see him. We spent some time just sitting and talking which is so nice and then sadly Kathy had to leave to catch her plane back home.

I went back to the hotel and met up with Kim because we were going to do the bus tour of the city and I was super excited. What better way to see more of the city. We had so much fun hanging out and seeing the sights. I enjoyed my afternoon with Kim.

I won’t post all my pics (because I took alot) but I will share some of my favorite ones.

The Flatiron building. It was so hard to get a good shot of the building.

I was told this had something to do with 9/11. I think next time I would like to get off and look at it more.

For some reason we ended up getting off at Battery Park and I am so happy we did because we got to see this and it was so much fun to watch the water coming up. I would have loved to have run through that. I think Michael would enjoy this.

Of course no stop to Battery Park would be complete without stopping to check out the Positive Brothers. I think some of the members are the same as one guy looked familiar to me.

From there we walked to the 9/ll Memorial where we were lucky enough to score some daily tickets. This was such a peaceful spot and not once did you realize that it was in the city because it was so peaceful and serene. You literally couldn’t hear the city and the noise. It was a little emotional because thoughts of that day popped into my head and it brought me back to that day.

After that we walked back to the bus to finish up the tour. We drove by United Nations and were sad to discover that the flags are removed daily, then Trump Towers (nope didn’t see Donald), Rockefeller center is an amazing place and I think next time I would love to get off and look around even though Tina and I did walk around after one of our parties.

After the tour I hit a souvenir shop to pick up a few souvenirs and made our way back to the hotel. Kim had decided on doing the night tour since it was a part of the ticket and Kate and I decided to go out for supper and what we thought was a nice little place but quickly realized the service sucked and wouldn’t be going there again.

So that concludes the trip. I had so much fun this past week.

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.