Happy Belated 5th Anniversary

Posted on by Cindy

Oh my gosh, how could I have let this happen? I totally forgot about August 26th being my 5th Year Blogiversary.
 
I was thinking about this in June and wanted to do something totally awesome and was working on a few things but then IRL (in real life) things have come up that were a little more important then my blog as you probably already now.
 
I am hoping with September things will get back on track and I will get back into a normal routine again.
 
Over the next few days I am going to come up with an awesome give away so check back for that but until then Happy 5 year Anniversary Cindy’s Love of Books.
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.

First Day back to school

Posted on by Cindy

I am late in posting this (even though its showing up on the right day because I back posted this) but I thought I would share with you this cute picture.

Today (Thursday August 29th), Michael went back to school and is starting grade 5. We are super thrilled and excited with the teacher he has for english but a little sad because he will have a new french teacher.

 
I really can’t believe that my little guy is growing up and will soon be starting high school (2016)
 
This year is an important year because the high schools start looking at the grade 5 marks for admittance. We will start to go to open houses to check the high schools out but as of right now we are looking at two. One is literally down the street from us (a mere few minute walk) and the other one is behind our house.
 
Wishing all my mom readers with kids going back to school a very happy school year.
 
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.

Subscription Saturday/ Lip Factory Inc August Box

Posted on by Cindy
Welcome to another Subscription Saturday. If you are wondering what Subscription Saturday is, its where I share with you what I got in a beauty box subscription this week. Please note that all these boxes are purchased by me. I was in no way compensated for this.
I decided earlier in July that I would only post these beauty box subscription unboxings on a Saturday. There will be some Saturday’s where I will be posting a few unboxing posts.

 
This week I only got one box and that was one of my favorites, Lip Factory Inc. I have been with Lip Factory Inc since October 2012 and I honestly have to say that this is one of my favorite beauty boxes of them all.
 

For $22 per month, each month, you will receive your Lip Factory Beauty Kit containing 5 to 7 of your favorite makeup brands. Although your kit may include a full face of makeup products, our focus is on your lips! Your kit may include lip products such as lip glosses, lip sticks, lip liners and lip therapy products. Our products are chosen each month by our expert team of beauty specialists and makeup artists.

Each month your beauty kit, filled with well known and new brands, may also contain a surprise beauty bonus.

 
 
 
If you are interested in subscribing to Lip Factory Inc I would invite you to use me as your referral and my Referral Number is 27022. Your referral will go towards me getting a free box. You can go directly to this link: http://www.lipfactoryinc.com/#!subscriptions/con8
 
This month I noticed right away that the outer box had changed and I have to say I love it. Its the perfect box for Lip Factory Inc. Hmm I wonder if this is something that they will continue or if it was just a one time box?
 

 
 
I am always so excited when I get Lip Factory because its the one box I always try to avoid looking at spoilers for.

This month I also noticed that the product card was different to. I really like it. inside there is a brief description of the items and what they are.

 
The inner packaging has stayed the same  and I really like that they use a box because the boxes are great to pack things in if you are shipping stuff or giving some stuff to a friend.
 
When I opened the box the first thing I see is this:
 
 
 
 
Right away I noticed the Me Me Me Cosmetics Shimmer Stack in Gold. You can use it as 5 eye shadows or you can use a large brush to brush over the palette to create a shimmering illumination and definition to the cheek or brow bones. As you can see this is totally me. Its very neutral in colors which I love. I would probably use it as an eye shadow palette but perhaps if I was going away on vacation and was limiting what I was bringing perhaps this would come with me and I can get use of it as an eye shadow and blush. What do you think?
 
I really like the colors in the palette as they are nudes with shimmer.
 
Then I swatched them and I have to say I am not really feeling this palette. The pay off isn’t that great as you can see and this was after I applied the shades several times.
 
 
 

 As you can see there really isn’t that much color to them. I literally ran my finger over the shades quite a few times. I am disappointed because it looks so pretty.

 
The next item I pulled out of the box was the Sweetpea & Fay Lip Joule. This is something I have gotten before and I like it. Its very pigmented so a little goes a long way in my opinion but its nice because you can lightly blot it for a liquid look or build it up for a more glossy shine. For me personally I would lightly blot it because its very pigmented and the color is not me at all. I got it in the shade Merry Widow.
 
 
I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised with the color. When I first put the drop on my hand I was like no way that is just not me and its too bright and then I figured why not try it out and well let me say I am happy that I did because I actually really like the color and that little drop did my lips.
 
When I looked back to get my next item I quickly noticed the NYX logo and was happy. Since discovering NYX in my beauty boxes I have grown to love this company and slowly picking up a few things from them here and there when they are on sale. This is the NYX Wonder Pencil. This is suppose to be the essential pencil that will fullfill all of my beauty desires.
 
 
 You can do three things with this pencil and they are: conceal (flaws & blemishes), line your lips (so your lipstick doesn’t bleed or fade) and brighten your eyes (use along your water line). For me personally I don’t think I would use it for all three just because I would be worried about cross contamination.
  
A new name that I saw was the ColourU Cosmetics.  I have never heard of them before so it was nice to get something new and exciting. They graciously sent a matte lipstick in the shade Skinny Dip. I really like the shade.
 

I have to say I was disappointed in this. It looks so creamy and moisturizing when I opened it but it wasn’t. I had a hard time to swatch it as it was hard. The color is really nice when I did the swatch

 
I figured I need to see what it would be like on my lips and I didn’t like it. It went on hard and its wasn’t moisturizing at all. I didn’t like the feel of this and the color is not me. I had to apply it several timesand it started to bleed out which I didn’t like. I probably won’t use this and shoved it in the make up I use for Halloween.
 
I thought this next item was fantastic and it quickly went into my traveling make up bag. Its the White Towel Make Up Remover. Its great to throw in for an over night trip or to have in case you want to do a quick make up change while your out. Its a 2 in 1 wipe meaning its an exfoliator and a make up remover. Its naturally gentle and effective and it will leave your skin feeling fresh.

 

 
I haven’t gotten onto the fake lashes band wagon yet and I think that is due to the fact that I am seriously worried about glueing my eyes shut so I have avoided them but I am thinking I should give them a try since I have gotten quite a few pairs in various boxes. These ones are by Red Cherry and they are 100% Natural lashes. They are made from human hair. Its #47 in black.

 
So this is my August Lip Factory Inc box and I liked the box because I tried a color that I probably wouldn’t have othewise even though there was two not so great products. I am hoping that maybe the palette will make a good blush and perhaps I will give the fake lashes a try?
 
What do you think?


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.

Guest Post/ The Magic Crystals author Stephen Hayes

Posted on by Cindy

 
Today I am honored to have Stephen Hayes the author of The Seventh Sorcerer and Rock Haulter stop by to do a guest post for me.
 
The Seventh Sorcerer and Rock Haulter were both released in February 2013.

Thank you Stephen for taking the time out of your busy tour schedule to do this guest post for me.

 
 
The Story Behind The Magic CrystalsSeries by Stephen Hayes
The simple and rather dull truth was that the original reason why The Seventh Sorcerer (and therefore the entire Magic Crystals series) came about was because I had a Saturday night in which I needed to do something, and nothing but a brailler and about twenty sheets of braille paper to do it with.
 
Within a month of that night, I had written the first two books in that original series (each about twenty thousand words), and would eventually go on to write three more in the following two years.
 
The story was pointless, serving no purpose to entertain me and my sister, as it was based on the games we played as children, and yet it was good enough for me to want to re-write it, on my computer this time, in a way that I could perhaps share with other people—a way that would allow me to thicken the plot and close those holes which the first draft had left open. And so over the summer of 2002-2003, The Seventh Sorcerer began.
 
I have said elsewhere that the theme of The Magic Crystals is power, but while that is true, it wasn’t the original theme. In fact, far from power, the first six chapters of The Seventh Sorcerer centered around youth. Being only sixteen at the time, it was the sort of writing that came naturally to me, even if much of it had to be cleaned up or removed before publication.
 
Not only did the writing quickly become my favorite hobby, but as I was going through a difficult period of my life at the time, it also became therapeutically for me to step outside myself and into the lives of my characters, who despite having plenty of troubles of their own (the story would be rather boring if they didn’t), seemed preferable to my own.

 
I finished the first draft of The Seventh Sorcerer in June 2003, and from then until its publication in 2013, altered it so many times that probably less than half of the original text remains to this day. I would not have considered publishing it at all except that The Magic Crystals, the story which grew from the first book in the series, became one that had much more meaning than I had anticipated, and is now a story that many besides myself can enjoy.

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.

Book Spotlight/ The Magic Crystals

Posted on by Cindy

 
 
About The Book:
 

The Magic Crystals is a story of the greatest power in the world, a power so supreme that it can control most aspects of life. Amazing if used for good, terribly dangerous if in the wrong hands, the question throughout is exactly how this power should be used.

Should it be wielded to its fullest extent to benefit all of humankind, or tamed in order to protect others from it?

Follow a group of teenagers from out in the bush as they are forced to mature rapidly as the world they always knew unravels around them. Watch as romance blossoms and is then tested by circumstance; listen as the youngsters resort to ridiculous humour in the face of danger just to find something to smile about; and above all, enjoy an intense and somewhat controversial tale of how human society can become so horribly unstuck simply due to mankind’s own insidious nature in the face of power.

Purchase your copy of The Seventh Sorcerer:

AMAZON| BARNES& NOBLE

Purchase your copy of Rock Haulter:

AMAZON | BARNES& NOBLE

About The Author:

Stephen Hayes lives and writes in Melbourne, Australia. Having been born partially blind in 1986 and lost his limited vision in 2000, he started writing stories at the age of eight, winning the Harold Dickinson Memorial Australian Literary Competition for a short story about a haunted house at the age of eleven. He completed his first novella in Braille at fourteen and by sixteen, had completed the first draft of ‘The Seventh Sorcerer’.

Since 2002, Stephen has allowed his imagination to run wild with The Magic Crystals saga; sometimes pushing boundaries that today’s somewhat moral society deem to sweep under the carpet. Although classified as fantasy genre due mainly to the prominent magic component, Stephen’s writing also includes a good balance of drama, mystery, romance, humour, and he isn’t afraid to address controversial moral issues.

You can visit Stephen’s website at www.themagiccrystals.com.

Connect & Socialize with Stephen!
 
 
 
 
If you are interested in the book and want to see the other tour stops you can look here:
 
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.

#NiveaHaus Experience & Haul

Posted on by Cindy

For as long as I can remember I have always loved Nivea hand creams. There is just something about them that I love and I find that they are the only hand cream that works amazing on my hands.
 
It was roughly late spring when I heard that Nivea would be hitting the road and I was thrilled because they were going to do a semi cross Canada tour (finally a brand I love would be coming to my city) and they had stops scheduled in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calary, Toronto and Montreal.
 
Imagine my surprise when I found out that they were actually coming to the one closest to me? I was thrilled because I thought for sure they would only go down town which honestly probably wouldn’t have been doable.
 
This past weekend (Saturday) I was lucky enough to get to experience the #NiveaHaus stop. To date they have traveled roughly 12, 693km (roughly 7,887 miles) and saw 17, 538 visitors. Wow that is alot of people.
 
The purpose of this cross country trip is to share their passion for healthy nourished soft skin.
 
Nivea has been in business for 102 years and they are one of the worlds largest skin care companies. They have a huge selection of skin care, bath care, body care, lip products, anti-perspirant/deodorant and a new mens care line.
 
 My first stop when I walked in the trailer was the Nivea Skin Analyzer to get my skin analyzed. I am always curious about this because I always think of my skin being normal with sensitivity and to get a right analysis is always nice. Currently I have sensitive skin that is a little dehydrated and over all its in very good shape which is always nice to know.
 I wish I would have gotten the girl’s name who did my analysises because she was so nice. She recommended that I try the Nivea Aqua Effect Gentle Cleansing Cream or the Gentle Foaming Cleanser along with the Gentle Toner and then to mositurize with the Q10 Anti-Wrinkle with SPF.
 As you can see they have a great selection of various skin care items. I wish I would have gotten more of a peek at the dry to sensitive skin care line that was on the second shelf.
 
After doing that I got speak with Adam, who was super sweet and nice and walked me through the rest of the trailer where he talked about the products and answered any question that I had about the line of items.
 The first place I checked out was the new men’s line. This line carries face cleanser & moisturizers, body lotions, shaving gels/creams/foams, after shave care and so much more. I love how they have kept it simple and appealing.
 One of my favorite stops was the body care line. I love lotions and two of my favorites from Nivea are the smooth replenishing lotion and the body milk. Although after smelling a few of them I have to say I think I want to try the other items out.
 
Another favorite stop of mine was the bath care section because if you happen to look in my hall panty you will see a ton of various shower gels and soaps by various companies. I just started using the Nivea Creme Soft shower gel and its been a few months using it and I love it. I love the smell and they way it leaves my skin. Also in the shower is the creme soft soap which is something we all love using in the shower/bath.
 
Nivea has a ton of great smelling shower creams although Water Lily & Oil and Sunny Melon & Oil are the next ones I really want to try out. They smelled so good but I am sure I will be discovering the other shower creams in this line very soon.
 
Something that was new to me is they now carry anti-perspirant/deodorant. I never really noticed them because I generally buy one brand and scent and never really looked at anything else until today. I have to say I was really impressed. They have various kinds in roll on & stick and ones that will give you extra protection, anti staining, give freshness and extra care.
 


Finally the last stop on the tour was the hand creams and lip care. This is my all time favorite section. I was able to try some hand creams. The one that will be bought this fall is the SOS Repair & Care because once it gets colder my hands get dry and chapped and this will help them. The other creams in the line are the Q10, Express hydration, Pure & Natural and the Smooth Replenishing.

Personally for me I prefer the lip balms in the jars over the sticks & tubes. I know the jars are messy but they are so hydrating and long lasting. I never really have to reapply like I do when its in the stick/tube.

As you can see Nivea has a great selection of sticks that offer hydration, color & shine, instant repair & relieft and SPF. The tubes over you color & shine and the jars offer you long lasting and moisture.

I want to thank Nivea for making this one of the stops on the tour. I loved getting to see the brands, what is new and meeting the awesome staff that was there.

A huge thank you to Adam for showing me around and talking about the products and to Antonia for her recommendations and to talking me into doing that video.

As I was leaving Antonia gave me this little goodie bag. Antonia I can’t wait to try the items out.

 Inside the little goodie bag was:
-samples of the Nivea Creme (which I love and I have this by my bed and use nightly)
-samples of Nivea Soft Refreshening Soft Cream (this is for the face,body and hands)
-samples of Nivea Body Lotion Firming (Q10)
-samples of Nivea body milk Extra Nourishing
-samples of Nivea Mattifying day care moisturizer & purifying cleanser gel
 
Since I did a little video response I also got a bottle of water which I have to say is the cutest ever.
 
Since the #NiveaHaus was right in the Walmart parking lot I had to run into Walmart to get a few things that we need and look at what jumped into my basket. I have no idea how those got in (hehe)
I bought:
-Nivea Harmony time shower cream (delicate scent of white rose petals & moisturizing almond milk) (love the smell of this)
-Nivea happy time shower cream (invigorating orange blossom senct & caring bamboo milk) (another one I love the smell of)
-Nivea happy time bar soap (its like the shower cream above)
-Nivea Aqua effect gentle cleansing cream
-Nivea Aqua effect gentle foaming cleanser
-Nivea Aqua effect gentle toner
-Nivea Invisible for black & white anti-perspirant/deodorant (blue cap is pure)
-Nivea Invisible for black & white anti-perspirant/deodorant (white cap is clear)
 
If you are in the Montreal area you still have a few days to check out the #NiveaHaus stops.
 
August 13 at Walmart in brosssard
August 14 at Walmart in LaSalle
August 15 at Walmart in Laval
August 16 at Walmart in downtown Montreal
 
be sure to check out Nivea Canada on facebook.
 
Do you like Nivea? If so what is your favorite item?

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.

Subscription Saturday/ Ipsy August Edition

Posted on by Cindy

One of the great things about going away on vacation is you do some re-evaluating. While I was on vacation I thought about my blog and what I wanted to do, how I wanted to do things, etc.

I want to include my book reviews, author events, book tours as usually but I also want to include other things that I really enjoy as well such as make up, hauls and beauty box subscriptions. In order to make that all work I decided that I really need to make a schedule and try to stick to it.

 
So for now until I can see how it will all look and go together I have decided that this new feature called Subscription Saturday will feature all my beauty box subscriptions on Saturdays only. Now there will be Saturdays I only feature one unboxing and sometimes it will be more then one.
 
Currently I am subscribed to the following: Ipsy, Lip Factory Inc, Beauty Box 5, Starlooks, Mademoiselle En Boite, Season’s Box (although I am thinking of canning this one because this box is always late and there always seems to be issues getting it) and The Soap Box (this one only comes out 4x a year) . Topbox is a guest post from a friend and she subscribes to the box and graciously does guest posts for me.
 
So you can expect to see the above unboxings on Saturdays. I am going to try and have them up early in the morning.
 
If you want to know more about ipsy please check them out online http://www.ipsy.com and I am including my referral link below in case you want to sign up as I would appreciate if you use me.
 

Join me on ipsy and subscribe to the Glam Bag! You get 4-5 beauty products every month delivered to your door, for just $10. Michelle Phan curates the bags! Check it out here: http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-h051evi8e4zxvu3

 
I have to say that at first I was worried about getting so many make up bags but after getting so many great bags I kind of like it. This months bag is a great back to school bag and its Ipsy Glamour Academy all over the bag. I really like the purple and gold.
One of the downsides to Ipsy is that you really don’t get a detailed product info card like in other beauty boxes. The reverse side of the card just tells you about the discounts you can get if you decide to purchase the item.
 
The other card talks about a promotion that Benefit and Ipsy are doing. This caused a lot of back lash from the Canadian ipsy subscribers because we were excluded from this. They were going to offer 1000 ipsy subscribers to have a house party with 9 girlfriends and send them glam swag bags so they can talk about the make up etc.
 
I have to admit I was disappointed because I am an ipsy subscriber and I do like benefit make up and these kinds of things turn me off companies. I would understand if we didn’t have benefit here in Canada but we do. So needless to say this has left a bitter taste in my mouth.
 
I have to admit that I am on the fence at times with ipsy and one bag I say I am going to cancel and then before I can they come out with an awesome product but even that lately is a bit of a disappointment because I never get them.
 
I have decided I am going to wait until after my December bag to decide what I am going to do about this.
 
Anyways I have rambled on long enough lets get into this months bag.
 
The first item I saw was Chella’s Dazzling Dark Brown Eyebrow color pencil.
 
This European-designed mechanical pencil has a creamy consistency that glides into place creating a beautiful, fuller looking brow. The fine tip allows you to create hair-like strokes and can also be lightly smudged for a more natural look.
 
This sells for $18 online
Not sure how I feel about this because I don’t color in my eye brows. I don’t know is this something I should be doing? It was creamy and went on nicely.
 
The next item I was thrilled to receive because lately I am a big BB/CC/DD cream person. I am always looking to try out new ones so I was thrilled to get this in my bag this month.
 Its Pacific Natural Skin Care “Alight” multi-mineral BB cream.
 
The Alight Multi-Mineral BB Cream hydrates, primes, illuminates, and perfects leaving a sheer bare skin finish. Specialized mineral pigments instantly adjusts to your skin shade allows one color to work for many and can be built up for just the right amount of coverage. Your skin will look natural, dewy, youthful and radiant without looking like you are wearing heavy make-up.
This is a sample size of 10 ml and the full size is 30ml for $16.00
The scent wasn’t that strong and it blended into my hand really nice. I was worried because I thought it was too dark but its skin matching technology so you will always get the right coverage. It actually left my skin nice and soft while it was on,
The next item in the bag was this Pixi Lash Booster Mascara in Blackest Black. I don’t know what this is like because I didn’t open it yet. I am trying to go through my open mascara now so this will eventually get used.
 
This unique mascara truly boosts your lashes, giving them a “push-up” effect that lasts all day. The dense, rich formula coats lashes with maximum pigment, for long-lasting full color and the cone-shaped brush coats each lash evenly. Long lasting, smudge-free and waterproof.
It sells for 12.50 pounds
 When I pulled this out I wasn’t sure what it was at first until I turned it around. I love the packaging of the Noya Cherry Lip Balm. I have been wearing this since I got it and I love it. Its smooth and very moisturizing on my lips.It makes chapped fry lips nice and soft.
 The noya Lip Balm is a lightweight, all-natural formula that moisturizes, smooths, softens your lips and packs a full punch of flavor. And because it’s natural, you can lick your lips as much as you want – and trust us, you’ll want to often.

Glam Bag subscribers who receive this product will receive Cherry or Vanilla. I am so happy that I got the cherry because its fantastic and smells/taste just like cherry.

 
This sells for $3.99 and on the website they have found kinds original, cherry, vanilla and spermint.
 okay I have to admit I never heard of Michael Todd until I got the Jojoba Charcoal facial scrub. I have never tried an charcoal facial scrub. It says its good for all skin types and that it will remove dead skin cells, impurities and toxins from your skin. I am curious to try this out and to see what it will do for my skin.
 The Jojoba Charcoal Gentle Exfoliating Facial Scrub is formulated using the powers of Jojoba Wax Beads and Activated Charcoal. This mask effectively removes dead skin, impurities and toxins, but is gentle enough for sensitive and acne prone skin types. Jojoba Wax Beads provide gentle exfoliation without leaving microlacerations on delicate skin. Highly absorbent Activated Charcoal penetrates deeply into pores to draw out impurities and toxins. Also refines texture and encourages skin renewal, leaving skin smooth and refreshed.

Directions: After cleansing, apply to fingertips and lightly work in circular motions being careful not to over stimulate the skin. Follow with toner and moisturizer/serum.

This sells for $18.00
 
I have to say that overall I am really impressed with this months bag and I am sure everything will be used this month.
 
I am actually going to attempt to use up this months bag before I open next months bag because if not then I have all these products just sitting around not getting used. I think what I will do next month is at the end of my post share my thoughts on all the items I got from the bag.
 
What do you think? Anything you would want to try out?
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.