Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! It is that time again and that is for my July and August favorites! I tend to do my top ten songs but it is getting hard for me to know what to put into my list so I am doing every three months rather than every month because it gives me time to listen to a lot more music! It doesn’t mean I can’t still mention fave music at the moment so let’s see what I have this month!

Not So Faves:

Essence Brow Gel: So, lately I have been experiementing with a newer brow product and see about a cheaper alternative if I can’t get my NYX Control Freak brow gel. I am trying out the Essence Brow and Lash Gel and well…it is not that bad but I feel like it is not there. Whenever I wear my lash and brow gel from E. L. F. I know it’s there on my brows when I use the brow side but this one I don’t feel it on my brows at the end of the day. I don’t get why it disappears after application. I do have it to use up and if it improves by the end of it then I will go back to the NYX one.

Slim Fast Meal Replacement Shake Powder: I bet you are wondering, “Mari, did you start a new diet?this?” No, I was sampling it because of Pinch Me. Pinch Me is a free sample service where you sign up, take a survey, you don’t pay anything and you get free samples depending on what they have. This box that came recently…well…it had something I hadn’t had in years and that is from Slim Fast. I know everyone is thinking you aren’t fat and I agree I am curvy but I won’t be left alone without trying it. I did and it was gross! It did not dissolve, I think I wasn’t supposed to put in the entire packet but it made the milk taste worse. I think I would rather drink almond milk over this stuff which I do prefer my almond milk thank you very much. I hope I never get a Slim Fast product again because I used to drink it as a teen to get skinnier but never worked and I tasted can! No offense anyone on this diet but I didn’t like it from my first try and never going back again!

Faves:

Ice Cream: Truffle Kerfuffle from Ben & Jerry’s: Starting with a food item and that is an ice cream by Ben & Jerry’s and it is a flavor known as Truffle Kerfuffle! I know it is a tongue twister and I admit I can’t say it either! This ice cream is basically vanilla with pieces of salted truffles and pecans! I tend to have pecans with sweets and this added a great balance of salt to the truffles and I already love sea salt chocolate truffles since I tried the Godiva ones and I am glad they made this one!

New Chocolate: Hershey’s Cookie Minis in Vanilla Cookie: I know, “Say what now!?” Well, for a while Hershey’s has been making these special cookie versions where they put cookie pieces in the bar and they make them look like the nuggets but as segments of three! They have them in caramel, mint, and the ones I have tried recently and loving are the vanilla ones! These are so creamy and you hardly notice the vanilla because it blends so perfectly into the chocolate. So, basically you have a twisted ice cream cone but in chocolate form with cookies. I have to keep my paws off because you know me, I do love my chocolate. What sucks htough, they only come with nine per bag and wishing they added more due to how much space is there in the bag for more. I know Ghiradelli has a ton of room for ten or slightly more squares. Still like them though!

Hair Product: Marc Anthony Hair Growth Leave In Spray! I think I haven’t mentioned this product but it is the Marc Anhthony Caffeine and Ginseng Leave In Spray which is what it does it helps hair grow. Well, helps it to be stronger so it would grow. GOndras wanted me to grow my hair out and I am doing my best and I had so much damage and split ends as time went on. Yes, I do have the R&B tbut it does so much to keep my hair from frizzing up but this spray helps tame those split ends and damage since there are some areas where there is some damage that exists. I am not sure if it is from straightening my hair even though I don’t do it as much or from when I had highlights but this is helping out a lot! I rarely don’t feel so much damage on the right side of my head which was the most of it was going on ever since I have been using this product. I did have to order another and lord and behold Ulta sends me another 20% off coupon and I used that to get another bottle along with the Oil of Morocco spray I love a lot from them along with two other items. Thank you Ulta for that and just in time for getting a new bottle and I did get double points due to still being August!

Best Store Birthday Gift: NYX Birthday Pallet! I know that with everyone’s birthdays we do get gifts and this year was a full pallet from NYX and that is called the Birthday pallet! I thought at first it was going to be from Lancome since they were doing that, I am thinking it was only Platinum members got Lancome and regular people got the NYX pallet which to tell you the truth I am not a big Lancome fan. The face makeup made my skin itch which is kind of sad. So, the NYX pallet is a ten shadow pallet of neutrals and they are pretty pigmented and easy to apply! I hope they keep on having birthday pallets like this, even with other brands, because I think this is better than the sample size gift from Sephora, which I went with the Tarte blush and lquid lipstick which I do like the lipstick by the way and the blush. Even though I do like Tarte blushes already. So yes, hoping another brand does this next year.

Collection Complete: Too Faced Chocolate Bar Pallets! I know! I know! “What!? You never got the Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar?” Well, the truth was back during last Christmas, I was choosing between the Semi-Sweet and BonBons and I liked BonBons more which I do still like that pallet out of the three. I am glad I finally finished it to get Semi-Sweet and I saw why some people did start liking it a little more than the original since it did have more unizue colors besides the same old pinks we are seeing from Too Faced pallets. I do like the idea of pink shades but not everywhere! This one did have a good balance and same with BonBons and I did do a small series where I did looks that involved one from each pallet and then shades from all three and liked how it came out! I think my fave shade would be Puddin’ which is a taupe grey shade and it reminds me of my fave character Harley Quin when she says it. And yes, in case people are wondering, I am excited about the new Batman and Harley film! So, since I got this completed, that would mean no more Too Faced unless if I need to get another Chocolate Bar if I hit pan.

Fave Shadow Primer: MAC Paint Pot in Painterly! I know…I know it took me a while to finally try it out and that is the Mac Paint Pots! I heard so many good things about these and how well they keep eye shadow on and I was able to sample it first with Painterly and Soft Ocre to tell between the two and they do keep my shadows on like crazy! I got Painterly first since I do like the idea of a white base to my shadows but will get Soft Ocre after I am done to give a bit of variety to the use of these and it is so satisfying to see my shadow on my cotton pad because I know it works!

New Mascara: Lash Paradise by L’Oreal! Next is a new mascara I got into and that is Lash Paradise. I wanted to try this ever since I saw people try it out on YouTube and they were right that it is a dupe for the Too Faced Better Than Sex and even better than than that one actually because…Too Faced flakes on me like no other mascara! It makes my lashes too normal and it doesn’t work like for most people and when I heard about Lash Paradise I knew I had to get it. I got it on my birthday at Ulta and the girl who was checking me out said, “You will love this mascara!” She was right! I do! Yes I did experience a tiny clot in my lashes but they made my lashes curl like crazy! I felt like I had the good spider lashes rather than the bad. If you hadn’t tried this one, I suggest to do so because it is affordable and it doesn’t flake like crazy like Better Than Sex did and L’Oreal knows how to make mascara work. I mean, look what the Miss Manga does to my lashes everytime I cosplay for example!

New Eyeliner Toool: Wing Stencils! So, I decided to mention a tool since I rarely do it and the tool is a set of ten eyeliner stencils for wings. When I first did my Link cosplay, I tried doing winged liner freehanded and I had a hard time doing it and decided to go hunting on the interwebs for the stencils and I found a set from EBay that was $1 and got them in the mail by July and these aren’t ones to stick, you just put them against your eyes and do the wings like normal. These are so handy and easy to use and I can use them with gel liner which I got a pot of the Essence one and that glided pretty well, pencil which is easy to do, I haven’t tried liquid yet but I will someday but these will be handy when I do Link again which I am planning for Holiday Matsuri if we do press again.

New Lipstick: The Midnight Mermaid Mettalic Cat Suits from Wet ‘N Wild! I know this a bit of a cheat but…I had to mention these! They are the new Metallic Liquid Cat Suits that Wet ‘N Wild released for fall for the Midnight Mermaid Collection! I have been wearing Harbor a Crush and man they do stay put like their original counterparts! All I have to say is WNW is beating it out of the water since they have improved greatly as a brand over the years and happy that these liquid lipsticks are here to add to the collection but for the limited time! I would say hurry and get these as they last especially in store, knowing people would run for these like on Ulta’s website and WNw’s site.

Fave Accesory: Sailor Moon Luna and Artemis Wallet! So, on my birthday Gondras and I went into Hot Topic and I was hoping to get new t-shirts since I was getting bored with what I have been wearing especially in the music department but they didn’t have that many at the location we went to. I do go online and had to go to the Florida Mall location for the second shirt but the item that I did love that I picked up was a wallet of the cats from Sailor Moon. Ever since meeting Linda Ballumtyne and Katie Griffin, hi ladies, I think I went a little crazy for Sailor Moon and when Gondras shown me the wallet…I got it! You know me and cats and these two are no exception! Heck, I am waiting on an Artemis makeup bag to come in the mail!

Fave Album: Wolves from Rise Against! Oh yes, had to mention this and that is the new Rise Against album, Wolves. This album has been out since June and I did get it with some of my birthday money and happy I did! I had to listen to it and now I can see where the notes were talking about because this album was written after the last election. Even though the song, “The Violence,” is something that describes what we face day to day. It does have a good message to it like a lot of their music and I do like “The VIolence,” of course, also the songs “B. S.,” “House on Fire,” and the title track, “Wolves.” I even have the album t-shirt since I couldn’t get the “Time + Tragedy” shirt which made me mad. Anyways, I think this album was shorter than the last even though some of their albums have up to ten songs while others do have thirteen or fourteen unless you get the special edition which there wasn’t any. I would say well cone to Rise Against and hoping to hear more albums in the future since they are known for songs with a message.

Fave Book Series: Accidentally [Yours] by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff! So, covered food, makeup, music, and now onto books! This time it is a series from Mimi Jean Pamfiloff and that is her Accidentally [Yours] series which is one of her more early books which is a paranormal book series hat has gods, vampires, and an incubus…oh my? We first meet Emma who has been hearing a voice in her head and that voice belongs to the god of War and Death, Guy who has been trapped in a zenote for many years. She goes on an adventure to find him and once he is freed her life changes and so many others such as Helena who meets her vampire lover, Niccolo, and many other women who fall for either a vampire or a god according to the fate of Samille, which she has a secret to why all this is taking place. This series was cute and funny despite all the hapenings. Yes, I went into it blindly, tee hee, but it was something new and interesting. I do like the characters and how they got together and the book that I really liked was Vampires Need Not [Apply] which deals with the goddess of suicide, Exstab. I think I was laughing the most because her character was quirky for someone who wanted to hide herself behind a veil and I liked how she shown up at self-help groups to find her true nature and to make her feel better about her talent. It was even funnier when the guy that she fell for…forgot his name…met her at the zenote and had to beg for her forgiveness, it was under the style of Samille’s list of getting it, which I forget to mention, Samille was the best part of everything because she was so ilarious! Yeah…she ight have caused things…but her character was the best and it made it even more entertaining. I do have the first book of the Immortal Matchmakers series which is the sequel on my phone but this is a good start and if you are around my age and into paranormal romantic comedies with some action, this is one series you want to look at!

Fave Release: MY SECOND BOOK! LOVE FOUND IN CINDERS: A BACKWARDS FIARY TALE! ::Final Fantasy Fan Fare Plays:: Thank you! Thank you! And thank you! Yes, your lead writer here has now have a second book out and it is known as Love Found In Cinders. This is the first in a new series I am going to be writing known as A Backwards Fairy Tale where the gener roles of our fave fairy tale stories get switched. Int his one, you meet Sidney, a kindhearted boy, who meets his princess all thanks to a garden tea party and the princess doesn’t like her fiancé as much so she hatches a plan to meet Sidney again in a different way and get back to the ball in time. I did start with Sleeping Beauty but that story…well…that has to go through a re-write but later! I am currently doing a new book but that will come later since I am trying to finish up a fan fic at the moment and my schedule has been busy trying to get around to get back into volunteering again, getting into school for my grad certificate, and many other things. So, yeah I am busy! So, in the meantime, please support my work! You can also get The Blind Perspective: Convention Stories From the Dark on Amazon as well for Kindle. I will have more stuff to release in fiction so keep an eye out! Here are the links again:

The Blind Perspective: https://www.amazon.com/Blind-Perspective-Convention-Stories-Dark-ebook/dp/B01M16V8IO/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1503884736&sr=8-8&keywords=The+Blind+Perspective

Love Found In Cinders: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Found-Cinders-Backwards-Fairy-ebook/dp/B074PYZRV5/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1503884818&sr=1-1&keywords=love+found+in+cinders

That is it for now! I know it was a huge list but hey, a lot of things to talk about! So, next itme I am doing a response to something that was talked about on YouTube. You will see next! Also, follow us on Twitter @ Nerdy Shique, and check out the YouTube channel, and buy my books while you are at it!