All posts for the month May, 2020

The Book Quadrant: To Sleep In A Sea of Stars by. Christopher Paolini

Hello to all of you beautiful nerds and welcome back from traveling the vast nerd universe! I am back with a new book review!

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini

Disclaimer: This partial ARC was given to the lead writer of this blog to review. Please respect her thoughts and opinions that are in this review. Thank you!

Kira Navarez has always hoped to explore new worlds but one world has given her a nightmare she thought she would live. While being on a planet in a system ripe for colonization by humans she ends up falling onto a relic that causes her to change into something that no one has seen before that may lead to the annihilation of the human race and she is the only one to keep it from happening.

Thoughts: When I saw that this was written by Christopher Paolini I was surprised. I have read the first three books in the Inheritance series and still on the fourth one on one of my Victor Reader Streams and when I read this I was amazed how much his writing has changed. I know he was a teenager when he wrote Eragon and I have a feeling he is in his twenties or early thirties by now writing this book and I was happy to read a partial ARC of it. This book kind or reminded me of Event Horizon with a mix of Alien or Prometheus depending on how you see it when this book comes out around September. I did like how he started the book with the voyage with Kira and her team since this was important to start painting the picture and how Kira started to change. As in the mission that changed her to how she loses herself and the teammates closest to her, then to her being alone in the universe. I did find it interesting how the parasite is more of a suit rather than just a virus like how Sam Neil was infected in Event Horizon since his consciousness was being controlled and manipulated when Kira is still conscious and being able to control herself. At first, when she first got infected with her first encounter, I had a feeling that something was going to happen to her and that it could kill her with how Paolini made it sound. I may have to buy the book to read the rest of this because when it dropped off I was hoping her travels on the Valkyrie to get to 61 Sydney, which is in the Wayland System, and how she would deal with things and the remaining crew from the military from the quarantine ship. I also hope this turns into a short series too because I can see this may require a sequel if Paolini hasn’t started on one yet.

Rating: 5 Star Paw Prints Out of 5! For a partial ARC this was a good one! I liked how the story was set up with the mission starting off good and then it went to crap once Kira fell into the relic where a crashed drone was located. I feel that this may be a series because we are going to be facing an alien race that may threaten the human race or maybe Kira is just going to be the next Eragon by being the hero and having to use the military at her side to take on what may be coming after her for the suit. It looks like I will be buying this book, heck I would even get it on Audible to see who gets to read this book since I’ve been enjoying that service on my new Kindle that I purchased this month. Let’s see how this one goes.

That is it for this book review! I know it’s short since it was a partial book after all and hoping I will get the book once it’s released in September since one of the other Dresden Files books is supposed to drop at the same time which I am happy for since it’s been five years since Skin Game! Anyways, what’s next? June is right around the corner so stay tuned for more posts!
To Sleep in A Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini

Leave a comment
by moonleopard85 on May 28, 2020  •  Link  •  Permalink
Posted in Books, Reviews, Science Fiction
Tagged , , ,

Posted by moonleopard85 on May 28, 2020

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2020/05/28/the-book-quadrant-to-sleep-in-a-sea-of-stars-by-christopher-paolini/

The Beauty Quadrant: MakeUp Stores Stopping Testers!

Hello to all of you beautiful nerds and welcome back from traveling the vast nerd universe! I’m back with a new topic that came to me.

MakeUp Stores Stopping Testers!

That is today’s topic because I saw on my Newsfeed on Facebook that someone posted about how Sephora and Ulta are stopping store testers alongside the link to the article. I did take a read and this is what I think!

Disclaimer: This post is based on thoughts and opinions of the writer of this blog. Please respect her thoughts on the topic at hand. Thank you!

All thanks to what has been going on in the world with Covid19 and how the stores are starting to slowly open up and letting customers back into their locations even if it’s not more than ten or so at a time but one thing is that someone wants to do is try out a new foundation they have been eyeing on online and want to try it in store. Once they get in and head over to the counter or the shelves where it may be there are no testers. Why is that? Well, stores are putting customers’ safety first especially with the pandemic we have gone through for the past few months and thinking of removing the testers due to how they are a petry dish for bacteria to form. This includes foundations, concealers, mascaras, and even lip products since those carry the most infectious diseases on display.

If you remembered my story with what had happened to me at NYX, if you’re new here I will tell it again. During 2017 and still living with my parents, I went to one of the NYX locations in town and decided to try out the Alabama lipstick since I heard good things about it and it was a dupe for the Sephora liquid lipstick that was in the same color. The associate who was helping me hands the tube and I look at it in my peripheral and she asks, “Do you want to swatch it on your lips or hand?” I just froze because I have heard a horror story about testers causing infections and then swatched on my hand and it fit my skin. Got a fresh tube and a few more items and did my transaction and left. I was kind of annoyed because the associate could have harmed me with the lipstick if I did swatch it on my lips. Heck, even Sephora got sued that same year for a woman getting Herpes from trying out a lipstick in store. And of course with today’s pandemic the lips, the eyes, and nose are the biggest parts of the face where a disease can go and that is why we got the messages to wash our hands and use hand sanitizer all this time and seeing why that testers may be removed.

Yes, these things are part of the experience and the product should be tried out before buying but do you really want to risk it? Heck, even people have been risking it by using the mascara wand directly on their eye and even lip glosses on their lips but now that won’t be the case. That would go for perfumes too because your fingers are touching the bottle and you have to clean that bottle off after the person touched it. Besides the testers this would also cause the makeup artists in store be more careful with products when they are doing someone’s makeup for events and may go the same way with freelance artists too since products do have to be cleaned and sanitized plus you do have the disposable wands to use for mascara tubes.

Going back to testers and knowing that they are important for the experience I think brands should jump in and change the idea of testing and I am using this as a good example. To me brands should make sample cards with foundations ranging from light to dark, going the same with their concealers, blushes, and even lip products and send them to stores and explain to the customer to use this to match themselves and purchase the product online or come back with the match. It worked with Pretty Vulgar and Becca Cosmetics when they have sent BoxyCharm cards with samples of their concealer and foundation for Charmers to try out and answer surveys with their match to get that product in a future box. I got one of the Becca cards since I prefer trying new foundations and was able to match myself with Cashmere in the shades and got a bottle of this foundation. It worked out because it saved me time from trying to have a store associate going through samples and did it safely from home and having this cards for stores can do the same thing but who knows if it will be implemented or people are going to complain about the lack of testers.

Which brings up another point, with the experience part of it there are going to be people that may break into the products on display since that has been a big issue even before the pandemic happened. I have seen YouTube videos of former Sephora employees talking about customers breaking into gift sets to try out that ever-so-famous charcoal peel-off mask and other times customers go into the foundation drawers which they’re not supposed to and it also happened at MAC a couple of times too. Hearing these stories make me wonder if people don’t want to look at the display would they get into the product more? That can be even more risky because the item does get compromised and can’t be sold once it’s broken into. I remembered seeing this happen once when there used to be a Kmart near my parents’ place and a girl went up to one of the displays and opened the product and took it out of there and who knows what had happened to it. Plus some of my YouTube personalities have experienced while shopping for a foundation or a mascara or lip item that some of them were opened and swatched and like earlier that can have something going into it and build up over time if left on the display until an associate sees it. This does lead to tossing the product afterward because since it is broken into that would lose money and of course throw it out because the store doesn’t want to cause an uproar if someone gets sick. Which also brings to another point.

How stores throw away items when they are returned! I know this is about samples and testers but bringing this up is also important because some people have seen a video of an Ulta employee poking out eye shadows with a sharp instrument before throwing them away and this was a pallet that was returned by the way. Reason being is that when an item is returned after being swatched or partially used it has to be destroyed and tossed out. If they were placed on the rack again people will be more at risk because they don’t know what the previous customer may have had Covid 19 or not and in order to destroy the returned product keeps germs away and also discourages anyone from dumpster diving for it too. Remember how some people have done that at Ulta locations in the past? Best to just buy a new item anyways and just save yourself from being infected.

Conclusion: So, what will happen with ending these testers? It’s hard to say because it can be a safety thing since we don’t know who has passed by and what they may have and if they had Corona in the first place. I think stores want to keep their customers as safe as possible and don’t want to go through issues if it were to happen. What I’m worried about is that there is going to be someone who may break into a product though and leave it after testing it since that can happen. I would prefer if the brands would do the sampling cards because it can be done safely and once the card is used and the shade is matched it’s thrown away in the person’s home versus being at risk in the store and the store will still get it sale online or in person. And also towards mascaras, I didn’t get to mention, good idea is to watch reviews on it before buying because YouTube is a good source for reviews and of course you have customers posting them almost every day and month to express their experience. People have gotten sties and I don’t want that to happen either. So, in the end it will be interesting to see how this change will happen and how effective it would be. Yes some people will be annoyed if they can’t get a foundation or concealer tested but keeping that safety is important.

Well, that is it for this post! I know it was a bit rambly but at the same time trying to talk about the topic at hand and seeing what protocols are being in place as things are starting to open up again and trying to get back to a somewhat normal. Well guys, stay beautiful!

Leave a comment
by moonleopard85 on May 24, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in beauty, Response and Opinion

Posted by moonleopard85 on May 24, 2020

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2020/05/24/the-beauty-quadrant-makeup-stores-stopping-testers/

The Tag Quadrant: All About My Eye Shadow Pallets!

Hello to you beautiful nerds and welcome back from traveling the vast nerd universe! I am back with a new tag post!

Eye Shadow Pallet Tag!

I’ve been seeing this tag around and have seen a few and wanted to do this one and that is the Eye Shadow Pallet Tag. I have a lot of shadow pallets and haven’t been buying any lately, last one I got was the Tuscany Intense Pallet and waiting for Cremated to be re-stocked so let’s see what I have to say! Also…

Disclaimer: This tag is based on thoughts on shadow pallets that the writer of this blog owns. Please don’t judge her tastes and purchase decisions that will be mentioned! Thank you!

Show Your Newest Pallet: My newest pallet is the Ease to Wear Pallet from Studio Makeup which came in my BoxyCharm this month. This is a neutral pallet that anyone can wear and it smells like Tarte shadows not going to lie. I haven’t been using it because I haven’t been wearing that much makeup during the quarantine and well this past Tuesday I got hurt all thanks to a dumpster door at our dumpster in my complex hitting me in the face and cutting my cheek open so I have to wait until the sutures fall off before I use my skin care or makeup. Glad I did get this even though there was another shadow pallet that could have been placed in my box but neutral is my way to go for everyday if I wanted and also for work looks. I will have to use this at some point.
Show Your Oldest Pallet: I would have to say my oldest pallet would be the Urban Decay Smoked Pallet that is the zipped up pallet that also came with the 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Perversion and I remembered getting this. I was still a student at the time at my workplace and when Ulta said that this is on sale for half-off I decided to get it since I have enjoyed the Naked Basics pallet since I already used up my old Naked Basics before I opened my newer one when it was on the discontinued list. I remembered one time I wore the Smoked and took a picture for What’s up in Makeup and people made fun of my look and I never knew people could be mean if you use something that can be a bit vintage in your collection and I have loved this pallet since I do love doing smoky eyes for years. I still have it but haven’t touched it after that photo. I have a feeling it was used in the makeup shaming group because this happened to me when I started working where I got a message on Messenger from the WUM Moderators and they told me what had happened and I was upset and did a video about it when I got home. Not sure if it was that picture but it is a feeling.
Show you’re Most Expensive Pallet: I give it to both the Jeffree Starr Blue Blood Pallet and the Urban Decay Game of Thrones Pallet! If I got Cremated that would be in this too but nope! Anyways, these two pallets were purchased last year. When I saw Bunny talking about the Blue Blood pallet I had to have it because she described the shades so well and I love blue so much! I was lucky to get the bundle with the liquid lipsticks and have enjoyed what I created so far. I still have shadows in there to try in that thing which I haven’t pulled out as of late but I may combine it with some looks with Cremated. While Game of Thrones, I am a fan of the books to tell you the truth, still reading A Feast for Crows which will take me forever to read due to how long these books are! Anyways, this was a collector’s item and the shades are beautiful but I heard some people were having issues with blending but I think I was able to have an easy time with it since I was using the House Starke quad from this and Urban Decay is really pigmented with their shadows and have no issues. Plus this had FOMO written all over it even though I was able to purchase it on the Urban Decay website and had to wait for the Mother of Dragons Highlighter Pallet to come to Ulta. I admit I haven’t touched it in a while since it is kind of heavy and still want to try more of the other quads and mix and match.
Show Your Most Affordable Shadow Pallets: I do have two of the E. L. F. Bite Size pallets but I haven’t used them yet like most people but I would give this to the Colour Pop Nude Mood Shadow Pallet! I have heard how awesome the monochromatic pallets that Color Pop has been releasing like crazy but the one that got me was Nude Mood due to the colors being pretty. I did use it once and they were really pigmented and easy to blend. If you haven’t tried the powder formula you must because it is a really good formula and you can get single shadows for $5 and customize your own pallet.
Show Your Every Day Pallet: This one’s hard but I would have to say the pallet I created with shadows from Coastal Scents! It is a Z Pallet with shadow pans I purchased through the Hot Pot sales that Coastal Scents tend to do off and on and I love these things because I can just customize to my heart’s content and be able to have an everyday look with whatever I wear. Plus I have a blush in there too that is every day wear and they are easy to blend. A little bit of warning make sure you don’t stick your finger and get it on your skin, I had that happen to me a couple of times and my supervisor had to help me clean that up. Anyways, they are really good and yes the price did go up to $3 but worth it even with the half off sale. I did have to get replacements for my blue shadow column since I sometimes wear blue outfits and want to match and glad to get new shades for that column.
Show Your Most Colorful Pallet: I give this to the Vintage Dawn pallet from Ace Bouteau! Reason being is that it is my most colorful free standing pallet and also my Ulta makeup sets I got last Christmas time. First to mention the Vintage Dawn pallet since I got it in BoxyCharm. This pallet features shadows that can be seen at dawn and it feels that they chose really interesting shades to play with such as yellow, yellow orange, a few reds, even two blues in this pallet and it’s fun to play around to give an interesting take on the color wheel because you can go all colorful or all neutral with the browns, the green, the golds and so on. I want to get the Scarlet Dusk and see if I can how the shadows can play with each other since that has more of a red and purple feel but in the meantime I do have this one. While the Ulta sets, on the other hand, you can play with so many things with these sets. They have so many colors in the big ones as well and you can do so many looks with the shadows. I have to give it to Glamour On the Go because it has really pretty green shades alongside blues and of course I will be taking this with me to conventions since it is a compact set I can just pull out and not have to worry about putting so many makeup pallets or compacts in my luggage. I still have the Be Gorgeous set in tact since that was a colorful dream right there from 2017 and still my favorite.
Show Your Smallest Pallet: My Urban Decay Naked Mini Pallet! I haven’t touched this either but felt like mentioning it since I got it in the Urban Decay Honey Set which came with the Amber eyeliner, the Honey Setting Spray, and the Honey Shadow Primer Potion and I love the Naked Honey Pallet and was wondering if like the Naked Heat if it was coming out with a mini as well and guess what? It did but in a set which kind of sucked but hey what can you do? This is in a different format from the mini versions of Naked and Naked 2 and Heat where this used more of a cardboard packaging over the plastic and it had the shadows three by three and side by side which I prefer! There are times where I see them in a row and not sure where they are positioned and grab the wrong one but here it is better to get what you need since they are side by side and do a three shadow look. I have to use this and see how it goes and use it with my Naked Honey pallet too since like with Heat it did come with shadows that didn’t appear in the Naked Honey.
Show Your Biggest Pallet: I have mentioned it but my Game of Thrones and of course giving it to the Emily Edit Wants Pallet from Makeup Revolution. The Game of Thrones pallet came in a box that you slide the pallet out and you have the throne pull out on top which made it pretty heavy in the first place but wishing it was in a pallet that just shows off scenes in pictures than just the wasteful throne. My opinion right there. While the Emily Edit Wants Pallet, it was really good! I know there was some controversy about the application of this pallet but I had no issue putting it on with my brushes since there are times where brushes do apply makeup well and other times a finger would do and I am not a finger in my application person. I would only do it with shadow primers if need be and guiding my pencils and brushes. This pallet was big for the amount of shadows you get and they are colors that fit with Emily’s life and did like how she put the pallet together. I did enjoy the green shades and of course the maroon type shades that came in this pallet yes Makeup Revolution can be hit or miss but glad this was a hit!
Show Your Pallet With the Best Memory: I would give it to the Too Faced Merry Macarons pallet! I remembered this one sold out all over the place during 2016 and it was on my Christmas List and when I found out it was back in stock at the Ulta my dad went to because he wanted to still get it for me since he felt bad about it selling out and when I heard it was in stock I begged the store associate over the phone to hold it for me. She tried being snippety about it like, “Not sure if we can do that.” And then I said, “Please!” A couple of times and she said, “Fine, I will hold it until noon for you.” And I rushed to my dad’s room and got him up and out of bed and told him what happened and he got me the pallet even though it did come with the Better Than Sex Mascara deluxe size but mainly cared about the shadow pallet. I still have it and it’s still pigmented. The smell slightly gone away since it was a subtle cookie smell to it.
Show A Pallet With A Lot of Hype: I give it to the Naked Honey pallet from Urban Decay and the Beached Pallet from them too. I remembered when the Beached Pallet coming out for summer 2018 and was still living with my parents and this caught my eye so much! I saw so many people talking about the shades even the teal shades really caught my interest due to how nice and deep they were and they did go well with the bronze shades in this pallet. Plus it’s easy to travel and you can just use a few here and there for a nice look and add either a blue liner or a bronze liner. While the Naked Honey, on the other hand, this was a really good pallet and people have enjoyed it, even me, plus so many compliments were made on what I wore with this pallet. I think this was the best release from Urban Decay in 2019 since they have done three or four releases last year and glad they stuck it to that since most brands are over saturating the market and this has been a brand I turned to for their Naked pallets if I wanted to pull one out for a particular look.
Show a Pallet that’s not worth the Hype: Sorry guys but anything Morphe is not worth the hype. I feel that so many people hype the brand up that I can’t go a few videos without hearing that this brand is amazing or use my code and so on. I have heard how the Jacklyn Hill Vault was not that great and how she re-released it within a month and as most companies do it and explain, like Marlena from Makeup Geek and Jeffree Starr, eye shadows take time to formulate and press and on top of that go through try on to see if the formula is just right before release and I feel that Moirphe just presses and releases with a lot of their shadow pallets. After trying the Vegan Brush set I felt like my money is better in going towards better brush sets from other brands and shadows I have loved over time.
Show A Favorite Pallet From a Favorite Brand: The Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics! I love this pallet because it is so versatile and I love it as a go to work pallet. It is so blendable and I love the color scheme in this pallet since it just have more of a softer look to it and love how it stays on. I did find out the hard way that they discontinued the Naked 2 which makes me sad about that and hoping they bring a Naked 2 Reloaded pallet like with the first and I did notice that the mirror always fell off in the Naked 2 which was pretty bad so I had to toss it. Hoping they do a relaunch of the Naked 2. Still the Naked 2 Basics is always a favorite from Urban Decay in my book and hoping they keep it!

Well guys that is it for this tag! Glad to do this since it does kind of made me think about what I’ve enjoyed in my collection and what I have missed since I haven’t touched some of my makeup throughout quarantine unless it was to try something new for Instagram or for a video. Glad that this tag was created and had fun talking about eye shadow pallets from the past and the present and my thoughts on them. What is next? Reading another book so you have to wait and see! Until next time! Stay beautiful!

Leave a comment
by moonleopard85 on May 23, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in beauty, Tags
Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by moonleopard85 on May 23, 2020

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2020/05/23/the-tag-quadrant-all-about-my-eye-shadow-pallets/

Subscription Satelite: BoxyCharm May 2020

Hello to all of you beautiful nerds and welcome back from traveling the vast nerd universe! I am back with this!

BoxyCharm May 2020!

My last box for the month and that is BoxyCharm! Best saved for last and this box is $25 a month and you get five full-size products from prestige to luxury and they range from skin care to makeup to lifestyle. Let’s see what I got this month!

ELEMIS Dynamic Resurfacing Pads: First is my choice item for this month and it’s from ELEMIS! I have been enjoying this brand so far and when I saw these I had to get these to try out. These pads have the tri-enzyme formulation with lactic acids and probiotics to help smooth the skin to reveal a luminous complexion. This sounds like the First Aid Beauty ones and I like those since I got the travel size in this box which I bought and then when 21 Days of Beauty came I bought two of the full-size pack which this is what I got this product in which is around the same size of the First Aid ones. These are pricier than those which the retail price is $59. Okay, this box is paid!
Studio MakeUp Eyes Ease to Wear Pallet: Next is an eye shadow pallet from Studio MakeUp. I remembered when I was not subscribed for two years and this brand was in the box and wanted to try them and finally get to since I got back in last year. This shadow has shades that compliment every skin tone and has a creamy texture to them and gives day to night looks with one swipe and easy blendibility. I will have to see with this pallet since I’ve seen some shadow pallets where I have to dip in more than once so I will see what happens. Plus, this pallet smells really good, it reminds me of the scent of Tarte shadows. This pallet retails for $35.
Pretty Vulgar I Am Caged Shadow Primer: Next is an item from Pretty Vulgar and that is their eye shadow primer. I saw this tube and was wondering what it was and glad that it was this! This is a lightweight and blendable formula that helps smooth lids and make shadows pop. I can’t wait to try this product out because I have been switching out eye shadow primers and glad I get to try this one while I’m doing that. This retails for $22.
Appeal Ultra Crème Liquid Lipstick: Next is a liquid lipstick from Appeal Cosmetics. I thought this was a mascara so I have to fish it out of my giant Caboodle. I do love liquid lipsticks and glad to try this item out from Appeal. This is a luxurious and creamy lipstick with a satin sheen, also only one coat is needed. I will have to see how that goes because the Tarte Sugar Rush lipstick claimed the same thing but did have to dip in another time. I have to see how this works out since there are formulas that can be drying and uncomfortable while other ones are very comfortable, stay tuned for my Round up Review! This retails for $21!
Tarte Magic Micellar MakeUp Remover and Cleanser: Final product is from Tarte Cosmetics and it’s their Magic Micellar MakeUp Remover. I have been getting back into cleansing waters where I use them after using my makeup wipe to make sure everything gets off my face since there are times where I have mascara sticking behind on my lashes and that can be annoying. Let’s see what this says! This item removes the hardest to remove makeup, even waterproof, and excess oils without stripping the skin. Can’t wait to try this out! This retails for $18.

Okay, this month was a really good month for BoxyCharm! I got items I would use and get to try out since I have enjoyed some of these brands already. ELEMIS already had my choice with the facial pads since I wanted to try more items by them but their prices are a bit on the high side so glad to try this when I pay for the box. I have been enjoying the items from Tarte which I’m glad to get a Micellar water to try out and an eye primer from Pretty Vulgar on top of it. I get to try out more Appeal and finally try out Studio MakeUp! All in all a really good month! Can’t wait to see what June brings since there are possible products to come! Can’t wait! I do have a tag post coming up so stay tuned!

ELEMIS Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Pads
Studio MakeUp Ease to Wear Shadow Pallet
Pretty Vulgar I’m Caged Shadow Primer
Appeal Cosmetics Ultra Creme Liquid Lipstick
Note: Shades vary when they came in the box!
Tarte Cosmetics Magic Mycellar Cleanser

Leave a comment
by moonleopard85 on May 23, 2020  •  Link  •  Permalink
Posted in beauty
Tagged , , , , ,

Posted by moonleopard85 on May 23, 2020

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2020/05/23/subscription-satelite-boxycharm-may-2020/

Subscription Satelite: Glam Bag Plus May 2020

Hello to all of you beautiful nerds and welcome back from traveling the vast universe! I am back with another post!

Ipsy Glam Bag Plus May 2020!

It is time for my Glam Bag Plus guys! I got this with my Glam Bag which is a first. As you know last month it traveled away from home but this month it came early even with an add-on. This tier is $25 and you get more full-size products to try out and it’s a good way of replenishing some of the items you’re running out and trust me I’m happy for this subscription since there are times when some of my skin care items are running low. You get from indie brands to luxury and it’s good to try those through this when you only pay the $25 versus the retail price. Let’s see what I got!

Beauty For Real High Def Mascara in Black: First is a product from Beauty For Real and that is their High Def Mascara in black. I love getting to try mascaras from brands I already have tried through subscriptions or from newer brands. I’ve tried a few items from Beauty For Real and I think they’re okay but when I saw this in my box I hope it’s good since mascaras can be hit or miss. It claims to be long-wearing and smear proof and also fast way of getting your lashes voluminized, long, and curled and the wand fits any lash length even really short ones. I can’t wait to see how those claims come true. This retails for $19!
MOTD I Got It Five Piece Brush Set: I almost chose this when it was Choice Day but glad I got it in the box anyways. This is a five piece brush set that is both matte black and rose gold, you know I am a sucker for rose gold since it’s my favorite metallic color, and it has the brush name engraved on each handle to tell you how to use it. I did my video on a brand yesterday and I admit I wished the brushes had a better way of telling what these are for since I can’t see them, I think I used one of them for my crease and another one for my brow due to how small they are. I think these are more of detailed brushes rather than full on brushes. I think I should contact this brand and ask about a Braille letter which would be kind of cool. Anyways, these are pretty soft brushes and not going to lie and the set is small enough to travel with so if you’re going for a business trip or a convention these would be a great companion! These retail for $34.
Colored Rain Cosmetics Vineyard Soiree Pallet: Next is a pallet from Colored Rain and this was almost my choice item but then chose the other item. I had a feeling this would be chosen for my bag this month if I hadn’t chosen it. I like how sometimes they put in items you haven’t chosen in the box since there are a few items in this box over the regular Glam Bag. This is a GB Plus exclusive and its limited edition which almost had me choose it but you will see why I chose the item when I did. This is a six shadow pallet with four mattes and two shimmers and it is a gray and berry pallet for that smoky look and you know you have me at hello with smoky! Even though I do the neutral looks but I do love my smoky looks and that has been a favorite since I started wearing makeup. Plus it is an easy to go to look for me. This brand will be on my MakeUp Meteor list which is my newest series over on the channel since some brands aren’t always on the radar and so far after trying out their liquid lipstick I am starting to like this brand! I know someone talked about the Chinese dupes thing but FYI a lot of brands do manufacture in China and I believe this is one of them. Anyways, this pallet retails for $22.
Sugar Rush Sugar Coated Velvet Liquid Lipstick in Sprinkle: Finally get to try a product from Tarte’s sister brand Sugar Rush with this liquid lipstick! I am even playing the song from Wreck It Ralph! Couldn’t help it because it popped in my head. This claims to be a matte drying liquid lipstick that doesn’t crack and it has sunflower seed and rose hemp oils to help with fine lines in the lips to help them be softer and only need one coat. Plus it’s a berry shade too. I smelled this and man it smells like cake frosting! I love cake and can’t help it. I have to try this out and see how I like it and I know they’re available through Ulta. This retails for $15.
Nomad Cosmetics Sidney Bathers Pallet: Finally my choice item is of course from Nomad Cosmetics! I just did a video on this brand and I have been loving them! When I saw this on the choice list for this box I had a hard time choosing between this, the brush set, and the shadow pallet but when I read the shades in this pallet it got my choice since it features two highlighters, one warm bronzer, and one cooler bronzer/contour shade. It also smells really good and it’s due to the macadamia oil used with the milled pigments for this pallet. If you’re vegan and want to find a new brand to try out Nomad is perfect because they are a vegan brand and use naturally sourced ingredients and oils for their shadows and face products. I want a lip product from these guys because trying out their items I want to see a liquid lipstick from them, I even said that in my video. That will come soon to the channel but in the mean time you can use highlighter30 for 30% off your highlighter pallet purchase from this brand and this pallet retails for $27.

Add-On: In Beauty Project Glaze #1 Lip Oil in Candy Apple: This is being replaced by Ipsy because it came moldy and I am not the only one who had it happen to either. Just_Ann talked about it in her Glam Bag Plus video where she got hers with mold and it got me worried since other people were commenting on her pinned comment that she got a response from Ipsy about it and they will be contacting the brand. I think it’s due to it not using any artificial ingredients since it uses all natural oils. This can happen with some ingredients where they can congeal which happened with mine along with the mold, thank you fiancée, and hoping with my replacement it doesn’t come moldy either. I want to try out more colored lip oils since my buddy Rayne has since our trip to Riley Rose two years ago. And of course during work my lips do feel parched when I talk or wear a lot of lip items. This retails for $15.

Well guys that is it for my GB Plus for May! Good bag with nothing but makeup! I do love my skin care but with this pandemic it has been what I’ve been buying the most especially my usual items. I can’t wait what is up for Choice for June since the choices for GB Plus are better than the regular bag in my opinion but there are times where it’s hard to choose if they’re really good! I will see how it goes when the 24th comes around! Next up will be my BoxyCharm!
In Beauty Project Lip Oil
Beauty For Real High Def Mascara
MOTD I Got It Brush Set
Colored Rain Cosmetics
Sugar Rush Glaze Liquid Lipstick
Nomad Cosmetics Sidney Bathers

Leave a comment
by moonleopard85 on May 17, 2020  •  Link  •  Permalink
Posted in beauty
Tagged , , , , , ,

Posted by moonleopard85 on May 17, 2020

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2020/05/17/subscription-satelite-glam-bag-plus-may-2020/

The Book Quadrant: Wine Hard, Baby by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Hello to all of you beautiful nerds and welcome back from traveling the vast nerd universe! I am back with a book review!

Wine Hard Baby by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Disclaimer: This review is based on thoughts and opinions from the lead writer of this blog. Please respect her thoughts on this ARC that was sent to her for review!

The Oh Hell No series continues with Wine Hard, Baby. In this book we meet up with Camilla who has left Austin after turning down a hot cowboy guy with tattoos all over his arms and a devilish smile alongside great brown eyes named Jed now lives in Oregon and working at winery until he turns up there. With questions of why running through her head, she has her own reasons to stay away from the temptations of him and doesn’t want to say why but the more she fights the more she knows about him and one more thing is that she is engaged to a guy she doesn’t know.

Thoughts: I have to say is that I enjoyed this book more than the last one, My Pen Is Huge, because it was funnier and it had more personality to it. I felt the last one it was a little complicated after thinking back on it even though I still liked it but this book was better since I liked how Camilla and Jed worked together even if she cussed him out and also come up with different words for the manly bits. Even though we allow many ages on this website, I don’t want to have someone get on my case for saying a particular word if you know what I’m saying. I did like the switch between the both of them because not only we got to see what Camilla had to think at first but Jed’s thoughts as well and I hope Mimi keeps on writing these kinds of books because we get to see more into her characters’ heads and how they deal with what’s going on.

With this book, I was surprised that Camilla came from a religious family who only wants to have her marry within the congregation. I like how she is finding ways of trying to say that she doesn’t want that and prefers to be happy and love for love which is true, you should love the person rather than being forced into it from other factors. When we have the arranged fiancé he sounded like he was forced into it as he didn’t want to be there but have to make the Clarks happy since they were also there. Found it funny that he ended up to be the guy that Camilla’s parents were not expecting for her. In the end, I preferred Jed and Camilla being together because they made a cute couple even though they had to make it a partnership due to the vineyard but they did work better together than Camilla would with Milton, the guy she was supposed to marry. I guess breaking one’s heart at first does bring you together again.

Rating: 5 Shooting Star Paw Prints Out of 5! I felt this was a better book since it did show what had happened to Camilla and how she found love. First with Tass and her guy it was due to childhood teasing, then with her roomie finding love with Henry all thanks to a bet, Georgie with her secretive spy guy who was her boss, then her best friend being with the hot swimmer that had a hit on his head, then Gisela with Leland being a little off and on, and finally Camilla with Jed. I also found this book very funny and cute and does show how you can find love even if you’re either annoyed at the person who was trying to make things better but it does end up being figured out. I am not sure if this is the end but it did round off the series very well and who knows what else Mimi would do next since there are other books I’m waiting for, so let’s see what happens!

That is it for this review guys! Next is my GB Plus for May!
Wine Hard, Baby by. Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Leave a comment
by moonleopard85 on May 16, 2020  •  Link  •  Permalink
Posted in Books

Posted by moonleopard85 on May 16, 2020

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2020/05/16/the-book-quadrant-wine-hard-baby-by-mimi-jean-pamfiloff/

Subscription Satelite: Ipsy Glam Bag May 2020

Hello to all of you beautiful nerds and welcome back from traveling the vast nerd universe! I am back with a new post!

Ipsy Glam Bag May 2020

It’s that time again and it’s time for Ipsy! I got my Glam Bag and GB Plus early this month and still waiting for my BoxyCharm to arrive. Anyways, Ipsy GB is $12 a month and you get sample to deluxe to full size items from skin care to beauty tools to makeup. You get a range from indie brands all the way to luxury brands! Let’s see what I got!

SL Miss Glam SS57 Brush: First up is a brush from SL Miss Glam. I am glad I finally got a product from this brand in my Glam Bag and I love these brushes! This is a gorgeous brush and this can be used for blending or in the crease. These brushes are made with synthetic bristles and a plastic handle. These handles are pretty weighted and the bristles are really soft. I’ve purchased sets from Ipsy from this brand and they are great face and eye brushes. This brush retails for $18.50.
Nails Incorporated Nail Polish in Camilia Drive: Next is another nail polish and from Nails incorporated this time! I’ve gotten polishes from this brand in this bag for months and it’s a pretty good company but my nails do get wrecked easily due to my typing and washing. This shade is a deep raspberry and glad to get this since I do like purple shades since this is a red violet. Right now I’m trying out press on for my first time, I know “GASP!” but I will try this polish after letting my nails breathe when I finish the week with these nails. I think this polish retails around $15.
Space Case Eye Shadow in Intense Stargasm: Next is an eye shadow from Space Case Cosmetics. Since I already love these guys I do enjoy their formula, especially the shadows which are very soft and do have a bit of a cream-like feel to them. This shade is a silvery shade and glad to try out this one since I almost bought this when I first got into them. This item retails for $9.
Way of Will Hand & Body Lotion in Sweet Orange & & EEleni: Next is a hand and body lotion from Way of Will. I never heard of these guys until this bag which I do love trying new brands I never heard of. This lotion contains shea butter, cacao seed butter, and avocado oil, and almond oil, also orange oil for the scent. Plus it is great for using after the gym because it gets rid of bacteria and the It does claim the Elemis Essential Oil helps to boost circulation and acts as an antiseptic. I did start using this and what I have an issue with is getting the product out. Plus it is best to use it on hands due to the small size you get. This retails for $28.
Tarte Sea Jelly Glaze Anytime Lip Mask in Strawberry: Final item is my choice this month and wishing it wasn’t due to the size of it. It’s from Tarte and it’s their Sea Day Anytime Lip Mask and which I wished it was in a pot after seeing how tiny it was. I don’t get why brands have to make their samples so tiny for Ipsy when they can just make a deluxe size in a pot than a tube. You can apply this as thin product during the day or thick at night for an all-night treatment. This retails for $14 which I should just get it from them for a bigger size.

That is it guys for this month’s bag which was meh! I wished the lotion was a squeeze bottle which is hard to do and the Tarte item was tiny. I did like the nail polish which I can’t wait to try and of course glad that I got the eye shadow from Space Case. I am also glad for the SL Miss Glam Brush which I am a fan of their brushes! I am not sure if I want to do Choice for June because the items in GB Plus are better for that but I will see what they offer before I choose Surprise Me! Speaking of GB Plus, I will have that up after I do the new book review on the next Oh Hell No Series from Mimi Jean Pamfiloff. So stay tuned!

Tarte Sea Anytime Lip Mask
Way of Will Lotion
Nails Inc. Website
Space Case Shadow in Intense Stargasm

SL Miss Glam Website

Leave a comment
by moonleopard85 on May 15, 2020  •  Link  •  Permalink
Posted in beauty
Tagged , , , , ,

Posted by moonleopard85 on May 15, 2020

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2020/05/15/subscription-satelite-ipsy-glam-bag-may-2020/

The Book Quadrant: Relating to Molly Berk’s Book

Hello to all of you beautiful nerds and welcome back from traveling the vast nerd universe. I am back with a new post!

Thoughts on It’s Not What It Looks Like by. Molly Berk

Disclaimer: This post is based on thoughts and opinions of the lead writer of this blog. Please respect her thoughts and how she relates to the material being presented. Thank you!

So, I am holding off the post on adaptive controllers since I had questions but am doing this one instead. Recently, at the beginning of May I bought myself a Kindle. I was asked by a co-worker if I knew about accessibility with the Kindle readers since the closest thing I had at the time was the Amazon Fire Tablet. Even though the accessibility is pretty good on that but after getting the Kindle it was slightly different. I am knowing you’re wondering how so? Well, you don’t get Voice View right away you need a Bluetooth device in order to have it to work whether through an earphone set or a speaker it will work with those. I would rather use headphones because some of the stuff I read is 21+ due to most of the material on NetGalley is not safe for the little ears or maybe family or spouse doesn’t want to know what stuff you’re reading so I like the privacy of doing it with headphones. Anyways, one thing I decided to try was of course Audible due to how everyone on my YouTube subscription feed raves about it and wanted to read one book in particular for a while now and that is It’s Not What It Looks Like by Molly Berk.

As you know that I have Retinitis Pigmentosa myself and I can relate to her minus the guide dog bit since I am not a dog person. I’m glad that at work it can be a choice if it’s something the person who has pretty good mobility like I do wants or doesn’t want. I will go into detail with that with why I didn’t want one since Molly touches upon that. As a YouTuber and makeup lover and I do love buying my nerd shirts and music tees from Hot Topic, conventions, House of Blues shows from my favorite bands and so on I am just me like her. I do have to say that this book was a good read and it’s something I recommend and I will touch on some points and have experienced some of these like she has. Let’s get to it shall we?

Being Diagnosed At A Young Age: The first thing I relate to this is that I was diagnosed at age fifteen which was the start of my high school years. Even though I was older than Molly when she was diagnosed but it was still a wall that I hit and just stopped me from getting my driving permit. Here in Florida you would get your permit at fifteen and get your license a year later which is sixteen and I was hoping to get myself a VW Beetle in a nice shade of blue. As you can tell blue is my favorite color due to how my nails was always was painted in every shade of it. Still my favorite shade is Midnight Blue from Sinful. Anyways, when Molly had her vision changes noticed was through her grandpa and how her eyes shook in her head and was taken to a lot of doctors and she found out that she also had Nystagmus which you probably have seen my interview with Apl DeAp since he has that same condition too alongside Steve Saylor the Blind Gamer. Unlike me, doctors thought I was fine when my mom kept on telling that I was always running into walls, tapping for things that fell and reaching around things that are in front of me. One good instance was when we were visiting family in Puerto Rico she tried handing me a glass of water while we were at a hotel and I reached around it not for it. She knew something’s up and doctors ignored her until one specialist at one office near us yelled at his assistant in front of everyone in the waiting area, “What do you mean there’s nothing wrong her!? There is something wrong with her!” After that visit, despite his attitude earlier that morning he did refer us to Miami and that was when I found out I had RP. It was like the floor collapsed underneath me at that second because it was devastating since like Molly I didn’t know anyone in my family that may have had it. My mom thinks it was from my dad’s side since some of my cousins are disabled from other types of disabilities. I didn’t know even when we had some genetic testing where we had blood taken and had to pay for results and it was way out of our usual budget. We will never know.
The Bullying: During the book, Molly talked about hose she was bullied during her time in school and knowing with having been bullied myself and looking back on it is that kids are mean! Even mean towards kids that are disabled. I was surprised that even adults were bribing kids to be with her by helping her out. I know it’s sad to hear that but I remembered how years before being diagnosed I was seen as someone who wasn’t smart, I was special yes and yes I did weird things like talk to my dolls by having conversations with them but most of the time the next door neighbor kids were either out with their families or don’t want to hang with me. They even chased me off by doing extremely mean things. The most I was bullied was middle school, especially in band class since this one guy always stole my music stand and I took his one day and he tried to get it since I knew it was in my space and held onto it with all my life. I think karma got back at him when one this one kid heavier than him punched him in the nose for taking his seat on the bus. I know ouch but it happened. My mom and I got back at him during my Freshmen year when he was still bullying me and calling me, pardon my French, a bitch, we went to his home and told his dad what he was doing and he left me alone after that. There were many more moments but I did like how Molly said when she mentioned that some kids tried to put a tray of ketchup in front of her to see if she steps in it and this was when her mother was picking her up, which by the way I love her mom, she told her mom after being asked if she knows what they are doing to her, “I know what they’re doing but it’s life! I am going somewhere where they are not.” Which I will be talking about that with my own life since looking back on that I did go somewhere else and it is great to hear that when she read it in her book.
Guide Dogs: As I said above is that I am a cane user not a guide dog user. Reason being is that I am not really a dog person. Yes, they are great and nice and dogs sometimes do gravitate towards me but I prefer cats. I do work with guide dog users but understand that it can be hard. Molly talked about how they are expensive, which is true since I knew a user from a blind support group that he mentioned that he has to get his dog groomed and give him an expensive pill and so on, which I think I would stick with a cane and it’s my choice. I do admit I did like Molly’s stories with Gypsy and Gallop and don’t mind meeting Gallop and I understand her frustrations too. I was surprised that so many people are making it harder for her and others to bring their service animals onto airlines and into other places and being asked for paperwork and certificates which there is no certificate, which the tell is the vest but now anyone can buy those things for their animals. I understand emotional support animals, heck a peacock, which also makes the allowances hard. If I had a guide dog myself and going anywhere I would go through the same thing. I even saw the NFB fight one of the airlines against paperwork requirements two years ago due to how people are bringing their pets onto these planes with these vests. Still makes me face palm.
Mental Health: One thing she did point out throughout this book and is a big one and that is mental health. She has gone through depression and anxiety due to her own disability and yes it is painful and glad she got through it in order to be her positive self. I admit here I have had depression and still have anxiety myself but live through it. My depression really came around when I graduated from college and knew that my routine of going to class and seeing my friends and reading my books while I was at it was coming to an end. Also, I was having a bit of a tear down in partying and that kind of made me lonely and that was also when I realized I was an extroverted person. I didn’t go to MegaCon during the last year of college and felt major burn out by the end of my studying. Also didn’t help having family and my counselor at the time judging me. I had to go through therapy to help me get over things, heck when I had one therapist over the phone I had to end it with her because I saw how negative she sounded and felt she wasn’t helping. This was my choice since I felt like I wasn’t having my career choice supported and my ways of getting to it was being supported. She was surprised I wanted to read in Braille to kids and thought it was bad. Imagine the record scratch right here! Even though that didn’t happen but I felt like I would have had some fun like my volunteering in my home school district since the middle school students were great when I worked with them. Now that is done, yes I do have some anxiety but it doesn’t rule my life due to how much I have changed it after I started working and have that routine again and get to do it with adaptive tech which I use every day in my life. Also, getting to live in an apartment and taking on my own responsibilities and being more creative with this website and the channel, so now I just keep myself in check.
Job Searching Being Tough: One last thing I do relate and that is job searching. She had a hard time with it as much as I had except I lived in Orlando where competition was stiff especially at the theme parks! It took me three years before I got the job I have now and here is the thing and knew from first glance is that my blind cane was the reason for being turned down. I know it sounds bad but I can tell since some people wonder how can I do the job being blind and I remembered the final job interview I had since I was told to look for jobs if the one I have now falls through and how I was in the interview I felt a bit of discomfort. It was not from the HR Manager, it was from her assistant. There were times when I tend to have conversations with both but this one she just wrote things down not communicating with me, she just let her boss talk and when I left I thought, I am not getting the call back aren’t I? So, I just waited until I got the call saying I was hired from my job. What I did find that was a bit jerkish was that Molly did have one company contact her and told her the reason she wasn’t hired and that was due to being blind and apparently that was against ADA which is pretty bad and rude. I guess I’m glad to get the job I have now since I wanted to do adaptive technology for the longest time and finding a writing job is not easy. Heck, I even felt I wasn’t good for customer service after doing a basics class on it. I’m happy for Molly being able to have her own business since she did start doing public speaking and being that advocate for us and that’s what we need and of course it shows that we’re not afraid speaking our minds. I was even happy to start the Nerdy SHique Universe YouTube to put our convention stuff on it and even interviews with people since it felt good to have that conversation with them.

Final Thoughts: I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. It felt as though I got to see another person with my eye condition go through their own story and seeing that we go through similar things and different experiences. I love her personality and love how she shows her own ways of doing makeup and getting her hair dyed at salons, since she doesn’t see her hair dyed purple it doesn’t mean she can’t have it. Heck, I admit I had blue hair twice and I sometimes wear wigs for costumes and colored extensions, I even use a straightening iron sometimes. I am also about to get press on nails for my first time. Anyways, listening to her read it gave it a really amazing personal touch since I got to hear her tell it rather than someone else reading it.

Do I recommend? Yes! Yes! Yes! Do I need to say more? This was a great first Audible read for me since it gave me a new book to read and getting to hear her read this was even greater. She did mention in the video while recording it that she had to accommodate to have it fed to her from someone else since it was taking too long to read it on her Braille Display. Yes, reading Braille can be a little slow but speed does improve even mine has improved. I would also say check out her YouTube Channel since it shows what she goes through while living in L. A. and glad I get to see it on YouTube and get to hear her story. And like she said, she has gone somewhere and I have done it too with living on the coast and having a life with my fiancé and of course getting to work a great career. Let’s see how things go from here!

That is it guys for this post! Check out It’s Not What It Looks Like through Kindle or Audible because it is a great read. Also, if you’re a parent going through a child with a visual impairment I would say is read this because it would give you some pointers since Molly’s mom had to go through it too and if you’re struggling with your condition it can give you some help in how to get through it in a way by hearing her own story dealing with the depression. I will be talking about some of this in my next podcast episode since I want to give an auditory account too which I say listen for that sometime this week! I am waiting on answers about the game controllers and the good news is that my Ipsy and GB Plus are on their way! I am just waiting on my tracking for my BoxyCharm to begin. So stay tuned!

By the way guys…forgot to mention is that if you get this book there are some trigger warnings which I didn’t touch upon in this post. I don’t want to give any triggers on here. Fair warning!
It’s Not What It Looks Like by Molly Berk

Leave a comment
by moonleopard85 on May 13, 2020  •  Link  •  Permalink
Posted in Blindness, Books, Personal Experience
Tagged , , ,

Posted by moonleopard85 on May 13, 2020

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2020/05/13/the-book-quadrant-relating-to-molly-berks-book/