Tag: Review

Movie Review: Priceless

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Starring: Joel Smallbone, Bianca Santos, Amber Midthunder, Jim Parrack, David Koechner

Directed by: Ben Smallbone

Rated: PG-13

“We’re all on a journey but it seems somewhere along the way I took a wrong turn.”

James’ life fell apart when his wife died. He can’t keep a job, he lost his young daughter, and desperation has led him to a cross country, for cash, trucking job. Don’t ask, don’t tell, and drive straight through. It’s all fine until, in the aftermath of being run off the road, James hears a person crying the the back of the truck. James breaks the lock and starts down a path that he never imagined.

“If you’re hearing a little voice that’s telling you to stay, that there’s a larger hand at play here. Then you might want to listen to that voice.” 

Priceless is a movie about human trafficking and as such it dives deep into its horrors without making a graphic display. After opening the back of the truck, James chooses rather than to look the other way, to step into that world to rescue a young woman and her sister from its grip.

In the world of “Christian” movies, I am often disappointed by the lack of quality in acting and cinematography but I was very impressed by Priceless. The story was well developed despite the short length of the movie. My only complaint is that I felt that the romance between two of the characters was not developed as well as it could have been.

Priceless was starred in and produced by Joel and Luke Smallbone of For King and Country, one of my favorite bands, and it was directed by their brother Ben Smallbone. Joel and Luke for years have been spreading the message that women are priceless and worthy of respect and honor and I think that this movie was an excellent application of that. It’s not a fun movie, I wouldn’t recommend it for a cozy girls night and it is definitely not entertainment but it is a story that needs to be told and a it shares a reality that desperately needs people to be aware of its horrors. I highly recommend watching Priceless, sharing it with your community, and when you’re done, seriously thinking about what you can do to fight human trafficking.

~Maizy

Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t truly think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or yarn, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.

Redeeming Consumerism: Fair Trade Friday

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Today’s Redeeming Consumerism post is about Fair Trade Friday. Fair Trade Friday is a subscription service that provides support to impoverished women by providing you with adorable fair trade products every month. They have three different subscription options. The Original Box for $31.99/month is a box full of various fair trade goodies that range from skin care products to luxury fair trade fashion. The Bracelet of the Month for $13.99/month is a beautiful fair trade bracelet. The Earring of the Month for $11.99/month is a fun fair trade earring. I have subscribed to the Earring of the Month in the past and I have posted about some of my favorites here, here, and here. Many people love subscription boxes because everyone loves getting fun mail each month to liven up the bills and junk mail. Fair Trade Friday is an awesome way to do that as well as find out about ethical brands you may never have heard about and to support impoverished artisans.

August’s earring of the month is so cute!

FairTradeFriday2

And now for some fun!

I am giving away two pairs of the August Fair Trade Friday earring of the month!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please enter only one giveaway. If you enter one you will not be eligible to win the second pair.

~Maizy

Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t use all the time and think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.

 

Redeeming Consumerism: American Eagle

adminRedeeming Consumerism

Today’s post is a continuation of my Redeeming Consumerism series. Today I am evaluating a mainstream brand’s labor and manufacturing policies. The brand I have chosen is American Eagle Outfitters.

My four categories are Wages, Worker Safety, Forced and Child Labor, and Enforcement

Wages: Suppliers are required to comply with all compensation laws including wages, overtime hours, piece rates and benefits. Workers may not be required to work more than 60 hours a week and are entitled to at least one day off in a seven day period. Suppliers are required to provide all benefits that are required by law including meals, transportation, health care, child care, and leave for family, medical, or religious reasons. As required by law suppliers must contribute to workers’ social security or insurance programs.

Worker Safety: Suppliers must comply with all laws regulating worker safety. In addition, workers must have access to potable water and sanitary facilities and workplaces and housing facilities, if provided for workers, must have adequate fire safety, lighting, and ventilation.

Forced and Child Labor: Suppliers are prohibited from using child labor as defined by law, in addition suppliers are prohibited from employing workers under the age of 15, or the compulsory age to attend school. Forced labor of any kind is prohibited including prisoners, bonded, or indentured workers.

Enforcement: All suppliers must contractually agree to American Eagle Outfitters Vendor Code of Conduct and are subject to inspections including inspection of all records and documentation and private worker interviews at least once a year. AEO inspections are unannounced and private party inspections are semi-unannounced.

I was pleasantly surprised by American Eagle Outfitters’ policies for vendor conduct, especially the fact that their code of conduct is a contractual agreement. Many companies have a voluntary code of conduct which means that suppliers are not required to comply with it in order to do business with the company. I think that American Eagle is a good choice for consumers desiring to shop consciously and ethically.

All of my information is directly from American Eagle’s website here. If you want more information you can go there, or send AE an email  or message on social media.

Have a great day!

~Maizy

Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t use all the time and think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.

 

Review: Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge

amaizylifeBeauty

sponge1

Hello!

I have heard that the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion sponge is the best dupe for the famous Beauty Blender sponge so when it caught my eye at ulta a few weeks ago, I thought I would try it out. It costs $6.99 on Ulta’s website here. I have tried using it with the Rimmel matte BB cream and with the Revlon Colorstay Oily/Combination foundation.

sponge2

sponge3

The sponge has a pointy end, curved sides, and a flat side to allow you to apply product to various parts of your face in various ways.

I really like the finish that this sponge gave the BB cream and considering that I usually use my fingers to blend BB cream it was nice that it kept my hands relatively clean. However, it did not blend the Colorstay foundation well at all, and it soaked up quite a bit of the product so it took more product to get the same amount of coverage. I’d like to try it out with a few more face products but so far I will probably not be repurchasing this when it is worn out.

Have you tried this sponge? What did you think?

Have a great day!

~Maizy

Battle of the Makeup wipes: Neutrogena vs. Elf

amaizylifeBeauty

bothwipes

Hello!

Today I have a review of two cheap makeup remover wipes. I have seen both Neutrogena and Elf’s makeup wipes highly recommended so I wanted to try them out for myself and see which one was better.

Elf:

elfwipes

The Elf makeup remover wipes are $3 on the website and come with 20 wipes. I have to say that the packaging on this one is a major bonus. The lid that snaps shut is really effective at not letting the wipes dry out.  The wipes started out a little drier than I would prefer but they still took my makeup off effectively and they didn’t dry out my skin too much. You can find the Elf wipes here.

Neutrogena

neutrogenawipes

The Neutrogena wipes are $4.99 at Target and come with 25 wipes. I don’t like the packaging on these wipes, the sticky flap that keeps the package closed loses its stickiness rather quickly and the wipes start drying out. The Neutrogena wipes were nicely moist when I opened them. They took my makeup off pretty well but they left my face feeling a little dry and like some of the makeup remover was still on it. I usually cleansed and moisturized my face after using them, though, so it didn’t make much of a difference. You can find these wipes here at Target.

Overall, I liked the Elf wipes better, and for the price, you really can’t beat them.  Both, however were helpful for removing my makeup before going in to really cleanse my face. What is your favorit makeup remover?

Have a great day!

~Maizy

Review: Elf Mad for Matte eyeshadow palette

amaizylifeUncategorized

palette

Hello!

I took a bit of a break from blogging for finals season (blehh) and the holidays but I’m back today with a review of the Elf Mad for Matte eyeshadow palette which you can buy here.

 

shadows
Shadows in the pan
swatches
swatches

I liked this palette overall. It has a nice range of light and dark shades and consists mostly of neutral shades (browns, grays, black) and rosy/pink shades. The shadows kick up some dust in the pan but I didn’t notice a lot of fall out when applying them on my eyes. They are very blendable but the pigmentation leaves something to be desired. The lightest two shades almost disappear on the eye. My final recommendation on this palette would be that if you are a beginner and you’re looking for an inexpensive palette to experiment with doing eyeshadow, this is probably a good palette for you; if you are more experienced with eyeshadow and have a pretty good variety of shades and palettes you won’t be missing out on anything if you pass on this palette. Have you tried this palette? What did you think?

Have a great day!

~Maizy

Review: Maybelline Define-A-Lash

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It’s official. I’ve found my Holy Grail mascara.

maybellinedefinealash

I read about the Maybelline Define-A-Lash in a favorite makeup post by Erin of Sunnyside Up so when my last tube of mascara was used up I decided to try it out. I bought the waterproof formula in the shade “very black.” Using a new tube of mascara for the first time is usually a wonderful moment but when I opened this mascara the clouds opened up and I’m pretty sure I heard angels singing in the background. It was that wonderful. I have pretty dark and long lashes to begin with so I don’t like mascaras that add a crazy amount of drama. This mascara gave my eyes a polished look and helped my lashes look longer and hold a curl while still looking like eyelashes. My last mascara smeared under my eye after a couple of hours but this mascara stayed put all day. I didn’t think I was going to like the brush at first. I tend to prefer brushes with long, fibrous bristles. This brush had plastic bristles and it was very flexible, but it combed through my lashes like a dream. The only downside to this mascara is that it isn’t volumizing or thickening at all. I like that about it but if you don’t you will need to pair it with a mascara that does that.

Have a great day!

-Maizy

Review: Maybelline Dream Fresh BB cream

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dreamfresh

Hello Everyone!

Today I have a review of the Maybelline Deam Fresh 8-in-1 BB cream skin perfector. It has SPF 30 (titanium dioxide) and it claims to blur imperfections, enhance, brighten, adjust to skin tone, smooth, hydrate, protect with SPF, and have 0% oil or other heavy ingredients. I wasn’t super impressed with this BB cream. I had high hopes for it because I had heard a lot of great things. I didn’t hate it but it just wasn’t anything special. It had a strong scent like sunscreen and the consistency was almost like a paste, not very blendable. I bought the shade light sheer tint which was a pretty good match for my skin. I was impressed with the color range for this BB cream. Most BB creams I have seen have only three shades, which might be all you need considering that they are very sheer, but it was nice to see that there were many different options. The coverage was very light, it was a little bit moisturizing and I didn’t get greasy through the day. Honestly, I would probably go with the NYC matte BB cream over this one. I think it works a little bit better and it is less expensive than the Maybelline one. I would give this BB cream 2.5 stars out of 5.

Have a great day!

Maizy

Review: Maybelline Superstay Better Skin foundation

amaizylifeUncategorized

superstay

Hello Everyone!

Today I have a review of the Maybelline Superstay Better Skin foundation. It is a liquid foundation that is oil free with SPF 15 (titanium dioxide) and actyl C. It claims to be a skin-transforming foundation that improves skin’s look in 3 weeks by reducing the appearance of spots, bump, dullness, and redness. While I can’t say that it has done all of that, I can say that I really like this foundation. I bought the shade 15 ivory which was a little too light for my skin. This summer was the first in a few years that I got enough color to change my foundation shade so out of habit I bought the shade that was closest to what my skin usually is. My first impression was that it didn’t blend easily with a flat foundation brush but it was better when I used my fingers (I haven’t tried it with a buffing foundation brush) and that it had a nice satiny finish with medium coverage. It evened out my skin tone and hid blemishes and the redness on my nose and cheeks without covering my freckles, which I liked. By midday it hadn’t started breaking down and I really liked how it was wearing on my face after a few hours. Around 6:00 when I was going out for the evening it had started breaking down around my nose and on my chin but overall it still looked pretty nice.

The website has 12 different shades, ladies with deeper skin tones, this might not be one for you, but the Target I bought this had like 5 shades, this was probably due to shades selling out but be aware that availability might be limited.

Overall I really liked this foundation, the coverage wasn’t buildable, apply more than one layer and it starts looking cakey, but one layer provided nice coverage and the finish is really nice. I would give this 4 stars out of 5.

Have a great day!

Review: Garnier Fructis Flatiron Express

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flatironexpress

Recently I received a sample of the Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Brazilian Smooth Flatiron Express. It claims to protect hair up to 450 degrees and decrease time and effort on difficult to straighten hair. The directions say to separate damp hair into two inch sections and apply a dime size amount onto each section. I have very thick, wavy hair and I am too lazy to separate it all into two inch sections so I just applied it to my whole head. The first time I used a little more than a quarter size amount and it left an enormous amount of build up on my hair. It didn’t show on my hair but when I brushed through it a couple of hours after straightening, my brush was covered in white flakes. Through trial and error I found that the perfect amount for my hair is about a nickel size amount spread throughout all of my shoulder-length hair. I put it in after I shower before bed, let my hair air dry as I sleep and straighten it when I get up in the morning. It makes my hair so much easier to straighten and it helps to control the frizz that comes on the second day after straightening (which I don’t like) but doesn’t eliminate the texture and little bit of wave that comes back (which I do). My final opinion on this is that a little goes a looong way so use sparingly but if you have thick wavy hair this is a very helpful styling tool.

Have a great day!