Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream Review - video post

Lately I have been hearing about BB creams. BB creams became famous in Asia and this skincare product has made it to the United States. Maybelline recently launched its own BB cream - Dream Fresh BB. It is touted as the "1-Step wonder for good skin, every day." I was sent a sample of the BB cream by Walmart and in my video I give my opinion about the product.

I liken BB creams to tinted moisturizers. The Maybelline line of BB creams is available in 5 different shades and provides light coverage. Aside from the coverage, BB creams are also supposed to perfect your skin.

Maybelline's BB Cream is supposed to do 8 things:

Blur Imperfections
Brighten skin
Even skin tone
Smooth
Hydrate
Enhance
Protect with SPF30
and has 0% oils and heavy ingredients

For the purpose of this review I simply tried the product right out of the box so I am unable to provide my opinion about the effectiveness of this BB cream as a skin perfector. However, I will say that I am attracted to the light weight of the product, I love the SPF for protection and the color Deep works well for my skin tone.

Deep is on the bottom and medium/deep is on the top. Obviously deep is for me.

Like other BB creams that I've tried, I do wish that there were more color options for people with darker skin tones. This product is not likely to work well for you if you are much darker than I am. I suppose that it could be used as a primer and you could mix your foundation on top which is what many people do when they want more coverage.

For the price, $7.44 at Walmart, I think this is a good product. Again, I don't have a six week period to truly evaluate the effectiveness of it as a skin brightener and the other benefits it is supposed to provide, however I like it as a BB cream for light coverage out of the box. This is something that I will keep in my make-up kit and wear on a daily basis with no problem.

Disclosure: I am a Walmart mom and have been sent product and/or been compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.

Howl-o-ween costume parade

Welcome back everyone, and happy Howl-o-ween! The LBR dogs are strutting their stuff for you in a totally pawsome costume parade. We started up yesterday, so go back to check out those fangtastic costumes if you haven't seen them already!

Okay, bring on the first entry! I see another cute li'l pumpkin, LBR alum Nike!

Coming up behind her is a hunka hunka burning love, Elvis! I mean Bogey!

Gentlemen, hold on to your hats for this one! Presenting the lovely Marilyn Monroe, aka Harley.

Coming up next is a cute li'l devil, Barclay!

Following up behind him is his kid brother, LBR alum Hooch!

Barclay and Hooch are giving their foster sissy Milka some advice for how to wear the costume for maximum cuteness. Grreat job, guys!

Aww, and here's the sweetest witch I know, LBR foster Schumie!

Are you ready for some cuteness? Here's our favorite little angel, LBR foster Ducky!

 Here's a cute little frog, Fox!

That looks like about it for today, folks.  Wait! We have two celebrities surprising us all by showing up to close out the parade! Take a look at the beeYOUtiful Miss Cinderella, the prettiest (and jingliest) bellydancer in the world!

And lastly, here's Mr. Legacy Chronicles himself, the fangtastic Casey O'Casey, the handsomest Scotsdog anywhere.

(By the way, if you have Facebook, Cinderella and I would appreciate it if you would go to our totally pawsome vet's Facebook page and vote for either or both of us in their costume contest! We love Perky Paws Animal Hospital!!)

That's it for us, folks. Stop by tomorrow for our closing number, with mine and Cinderella's costumes for trick-or-treating tonight. Be sure to have lots of fun tonight with all the little humans stopping by. Oh, and my black kitty furiends out there, please stay inside and stay safe, okay? There are some humans with really evil ideas of what makes a fun Howl-o-ween.

LBR dogs on parade!

Okay, so it's not a real parade, but it's a bloggy parade. :)  I promised y'all pictures of pawsome LBR dogs in costume, and I always deliver! I think I see the first contestant now...

Yes, it's adorable LBR foster Aspen the kittycat!

Following close behind is her foster brother. We all know and love him... yes, it's Baby Austin the pumpkin!

Uh-oh, everybody better watch out, or LBR alum Baxter the Warlock will put a spell on you!

Coming up behind him with a mighty RAWR is LBR alum Bonsai the dinosaur. Grr!

Okay, folks, hold on to your squees. It's LBR foster Brooke, aka Lady Liberty! Isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen??

Oh, and guess what? It's her littermate, pretty little foster gal Molina the bumblebee!

 All right, speaking of too cute for words, here's LBR foster Lolly Pop, the pretty pumpkin!

Ooh, we have some skeery monsters coming up next! First is LBR alum Dexter, stumbling along as Frankenstein's monster!

And close on his heels is his lovely Bride (of Frankenstein), Zoe!

Wait, I think we may have some confusion on the parade route. Is that a boxer?? 

Nope, it's Willow the Boston terrier! But it's okay, this cute little hippo is a foster sissy to lots of LBR dogs, so she's allowed in the parade.

And following up behind her to end the parade with a wave of "awwwws" is her foster sissy, LBR foster Napoli, the cutest little piggy you've ever seen!

That's it for today, folks, but tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion to our costume parade!

Vintage Halloween Paper Crafts

These Vintage Holiday Party Favors are the "Cat's Meow"!
Have a Happy and Safe Halloween,
Marjorie

Bark in the Park

Yesterday Momma and I went to a "Bark in the Park" Howl-o-ween festival. It was so much fun! They had totally pawsome doggy demonstrations, like agility dogs, Frisbee dogs, and police dogs. There were lots of booths with information about rescue groups and doggie services. All of them, of course, gushed over yours truly. And why wouldn't they? Look at how hawt I am.

Yes, ladies, I'm a completely authentic Scot. Nothing under my kilt but my furs!

Thanks to everyone for voting for my costume. The Scotsman won paws down! I had a lot of folks fussing over me, but I learned that the hat (it's called a "tam") is essential for the costume. When I wasn't wearing it, people kept asking if I was supposed to be a Catholic schoolgirl!! Momma said "it's a kilt, not a skirt" about a million times. But as soon as the tam went back on, everyone knew I was Scottish again. Go figure. But I won THIRD PLACE in the costume contest (I totally should've won), so that was fun!

Even better was getting to meet other dogs. I met lots of new furiends!

"Hi deres! Will you be my furiends?"

Puggy playtime

Let's play, okay?

But the best part of the whole day?? Look who I met at the LBR table!

"Hi dere, Casey! Want to join my snack?"

"I'm a gentleman pirate!"

 That's right, Miss Aspen and BABY AUSTIN!! I finally gots to meet Baby Austin in da furs at last!

 "This is so much better than Momma passing on smell mail, right Baby Austin?"

"How do you stand that flashy beast following you everywhere, Casey?"

What a fun day! I'm so glad Momma and I were able to go. After we got back, both of us curled up on the couch for a long nap. I think that might've been my favorite part of all. 

It's almost Howl-o-ween!

It's almost Howl-o-ween! I hope you're excited. I know I am!! It's the mostest fun time of the year. Here in Texas, it's only just FINALLY gotten cool enough that Cinderella and I could break out our pawsome Howl-o-ween sweaters.

We match, 'cause we're brudder and sissy. We're both tough pirates, so we have skulls and crossbones. See, Cinderella has the girlie one with a blingy bow and eyelashes. (How does a skull have eyelashes??) Mine is the very manly gray and green, and it looks like my skull has a nose ring! (But that's just my leash ring poking through, BOL!)

Today Momma and I are going to a cool Howl-o-ween "Bark in the Park" festival to represent LBR. It'll be so much fun! The best part is there's gonna be a costume contest. I took everyone's vote, and I'll be going as...

A Scotsman! Everyone wish me luck in the contest!

We practiced yesterday at my pawsome V-E-T's Howl-o-ween party. Everyone adored me, of course, but I'll give a little time to my sissy Cinderella. She wore her bellydancer costume, and everyone loved how she made it jingle!


This week I'll be posting pictures of LBR fosters and alums in their pawsome Howl-o-ween costumes, so stay tuned!

Foster Friday: Meet Alexandria!

Heya, pups and kits! It's Friday, and you know what that means! Yup, it's FOSTER FRIDAY! That means I get to tell all of you folks about one of the totally pawsome dogs currently available for adoption from Legacy Boxer Rescue! Today's dog of the day is the very special....

ALEXANDRIA!

Isn't she pretty? I guess I have a thing for white boxers lately. :)  Alexandria is a beeYOUtiful white boxer babe of about 1-2 years old. She loves loves loves people, especially the boys. Whenever her foster momma's friends come over, she wiggles and kidney beans and plays rough and tumble with them. She loves it! She also likes the older kids that she can play crazy with, but little ones she could knock over aren't the best idea.

Alex lives with two foster fur siblings now, but she really needs to be an only dog in her furever home. She wasn't socialized at all as a puppy and gets really skeered of other dogs. Her foster momma has been working soooooo hard with her, and she's made HOOOOOOOGE strides. She likes to go on walks and play with her toys and run around her backyard. But what would make her happiest of all would be to do all that in her own furever home!

Alex is just waiting to meet that perfect family! Is it you? Go check out Alexandria's bio page to learn more about her, then fill out your application today!

Video post: Sally Hansen's Gel Polish kit and Insta Gel Strips Review

When I was younger I used to have my nails professionally done on a weekly basis. That was before I worked full time, had a child and household responsibilities! Now a manicure is something that I do at home or have done professionally on special occasions. Because of my active lifestyle, my manicures rarely last very long and I can't justify the expense. But now, there is an at home alternative that is quick and long lasting - Sally Hansen's Gel Polish and Insta Gel Stripsnails kits.

I love gel nail polish, it is a longer lasting manicure - usually up to two weeks. I've only had it done professionally once and that was a gift. One that I could not keep up with. When I was given the opportunity to try at home kits by Walmart I jumped on it. Perhaps this is the solution to my manicure-less nails!

I tried out both products and here is the video of my full experience.

 Here are some photos of the process.

Insta-Gel Strips Kit

This kit comes with a small LED lamp that has a 30 second auto shut-off so you know exactly how long to keep your nail under the lamp. The kit also comes with enough strips for one manicure. You choose the strips that fit your nail, place on your nail and file to appropriate size. One coat of the gel is applied and then you place your nail under the lamp. This is done until the entire manicure is complete. The wipes are used to set the manicure after using the lamp, simply wipe your nail and the manicure is complete.

This is the Gel polish started kit. As you can see it is more elaborate than the insta-strips. I really liked the packaging, once you opened the flap you were able to see all of the contents of the kit. The full-sized bottle of nail polish remover is also one of the things that I really like about the kit. It is the total package and has everything to both apply and remove the manicure. 

The manicure steps are clearly labeled to ensure no confusion during the application process. For my manicure I chose not to use color but the wine color that came with this kit looks very pretty and certainly appropriate for the season. I look forward to trying it soon. 

With the enclosed nail file I shaped and buffed my nails in preparation for the product application. I cleaned the nails with the included wipes and applied the base coat. After applying to all of the nails, I put my four fingers under the lamp with auto-timer for 30 seconds and then followed with my thumb. Next I applied the topcoat since I decided to forego color - I didn't want mismatched hands and ruin a perfectly good manicure by reapplying! And here is the final product.

I found both of the products easy to use. As I mention in my video, my personal preference is for the Gel polish. After wearing both for a week, it is clear to me that the polish is a much sturdier product.  I have not worn gloves for my normal housework routine and with normal wear and tear my polish has lasted longer than the strips. However, the strips are on my right hand and I am a righty so that should be taken into consideration. I personally will be sticking with the polish but for a quick manicure,  the insta-gel strips are the best bet.

Both of these products are available at Walmart. The insta-gel strips are $13.97 and the Gel Polish starter kit is $27.99. I think these prices are great for a long lasting gel manicure with no drying time. If you try it out please let me know what you think!

Disclosure: I am a Walmart mom and have been compensated for my time and sent products for this review. 

Sooner Update!

Sooner wanted me to thank everyone for the amazing Power of the Paw they've been sending out for him. He said he can really feel it! He's still feeling pretty miserable, but he's fighting through it. He got to go out into the potty yard a little yesterday when his foster momma visited.

We got his blood test results back and are cautiously optimistic. The distemper test is NOT 100% reliable, but it came back negative so we're happy about that. It's still a possibility. But he also got positive results on three other diseases that explain his symptoms AND are curable! So we're hoping that those are the cause of his sickies and he will be better after we've treated them. His tests showed positive for Corona, Mycoplasma, and Parainfluenza. Like I said, they're all curable, so we're treating him for those and hopefully he'll be doing a LOT better soon!! Keep your paws crossed for him. Fight, Sooner Bear!

Sometimes I'm Scared of ZOMBIES

Okay, not really! I've talked about my love of The Walking Dead before and I can rattle off numerous zombie films that I love but I'll spare you the details (Night of the Living Dead anyone?). Well, my interest in the horror genre has trickled down to my son. He has been a zombie fan for at least the last three years because he started playing Plants vs. Zombies on my iPad. I think the game is responsible for him not being afraid and I certainly don't let him watch my zombie films. 

However, there are many children who are not fans of horror and see images that scare them senseless. I admit that when we attended the Halloween parade this weekend, my son was fine with the zombies that were walking  - as long as they didn't get too close! And he immediately said "they aren't real mommy" so no worries about nightmares in my house! 

The new book, Sometimes I am scared of zombies, by Rob Fox addresses the fears a little boy faces after watching a zombie film with his parents. This whimsically illustrated book follows the young boy as his fears are alleviated by the adults in his life. Zombie under the bed? Nope! Just shoes. Something in the closet? Only clothes. 

Not only does the book address the fears of the main character, but it is interactive. There are pages for children to draw pictures of things they fear, favorite pets and several other examples enabling the reader to address their own fears. 

This book would make a lovely Halloween gift, I know my son is going to love it. I think by introducing children to "horror" not in a horrific manner but with fun and explanations they can grow up like me and my son! We love the genre without fear of things that go bump in the night! 

Sometimes I am scared of Zombies is currently available at amazon.com 

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of the book for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.