Prepare for War! San Diego Comic-Con 2 Month Checklist

Less than 2 months to SDCC! Am I ready? Not in the slightest. And for those of you who are on the same page, here’s a list of things that you may want to include in preparation for the event.

Crazy 4 Comic Con

A war is brewing- a battle of preparation. Which side are you on? Tension is mounting and the past 10 months have been filled with many ups and downs and twists and turns. With badges, hotels, and parking mostly down, we can concentrate on the battle plan going into San Diego. In just two months, we’ll be heading into the battlefield of SDCC- so let’s review this checklist to make sure you will be ready:

1. JARVIS, make a list…
Too bad we each don’t have our personal JARVIS to take care of all the details leading up to the con. The best way to think of Comic-Con is like going camping. You wouldn’t want to be stuck camping without matches or batteries, so make sure not to forget anything essential. Start making a master list of all the things to order, buy, pack, or create. I know, this sounds kinda…

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Case of the Empties – May 2016

Been noticing a pattern with my empties. I tend to only finish up 2-3 at a time. That’s what happens when you have so much stuff! Still in the process of tapering down my “collection”.

 

Shiseido Facial Cotton – At close to $10 a pack (165 pieces), some would think it’s a rip-off. In my opinion, it’s actually not too bad considering the quality. I only go through 4 of these a day, so it’s lasted me a while. This is as good as it gets to being “fancy” about my face care routine. Currently going through my second pack of these.

Clean & Clear Morning Burst Facial Scrub, travel sized – I use this once in a while and often have a tube of it in my travel bag. It exfoliates and leaves a cooling sensation after I rinse it off. I’ve probably gone through at least 5 of these.

St. Ives Purifying Sea Salt Exfoliating Body Wash – It’s recently been renamed to Renew & Purify, but still contains the same ingredients. I’ve been using this for years now. The scent is fresh and not overpowering. And I can always use extra scrub power thanks to the sea salt, which isn’t highly abrasive.

Bath & Body Works Georgia Peach Gentle Foaming Hand Soap – I have a love/hate relationship with BBW. The hate part mainly comes from them having a frequent rotation with their hand soaps. I get it, seasons change and so will those. But I often find 1 or 2 out of those collections that I love and never stock up on them. And before you know it, they’re gone. *sigh* This one smelled slightly sweeter than their Peach Bellini. Loved it! Maybe they’ll bring it back next year. Hey, if they can bring back the old school scents (Hello, Country Apple!), the possibility is there.

Project Life – April 2016

Lots of fun events occurred last month. Glad I have Project Life to use to document them. The pages were made using Studio Calico’s Film Club Documenter Kit, Simple Stories Day to Day cards, and other miscellaneous elements.

Highlights:

Miami bachelorette trip

Star Wars Tsum Tsum prize

Best friend’s birthday dinner

Shower month for bride and baby

Hello Kitty Cafe Truck stop in San Jose

RCubed eats –  Little Mad Fish and Poke Bar

Urban Decay Vice Lipstick: Holy Shh…

On June 7th, Urban Decay is launching their Vice Lipstick collection. With 100 shades, plus 20 exclusive to Sephora, this is the biggest lip product drop I’ve seen in my lifetime.

 

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Arm yourself. Follow #LipstickIsMyVice for updates on all things Vice Lipstick. #UrbanDecay

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Since I follow UD on social media, there was no way I’d be able to avoid the news. The excitement has been snowballing ever since I saw their promo video on YouTube (Hello, Ruby Rose!)

And then I saw this post on Temptalia with color swatches of every color in the line.  Best believe I have a list written down of what I want!

My exact reaction after skimming through the colors.

I’m still debating on whether I should try them out in person before purchasing, or just jump the gun and buy them and hope for the best. Anyone else excited about this launch? Let me know what your favorite shade(s) are from this collection.

Japan Crate Mini, Volume 10

April’s crate was filled with fun shaped candy and 1 savory item. I kind of wish there was more of a balance in what they include in their boxes, but despite that, everything was good.

What’s inside:

Chip Star Ebikoubashi – I’ve previously tried these chips, which are similar to Pringles, in another flavor. The shrimp flavor was good, yet a bit on the salty side. I still prefer these and these when it comes to shrimp flavored chips.

Fruit Shop Gummy – The shapes reminded me of fruit snacks, but with much better flavor. Very easy to finish in one sitting.

Fue Ramune – This Life Saver looking candy tastes like the popular Ramune soda. Each piece has a small hole in the middle that makes a whistling sound when you blow through it.

Rock, Paper, Scissor Gummy – This cola flavored gummy candy comes with different hand shapes used in the Rock, Paper, Scissors game. I got the “paper” shaped one with an additional star shaped piece.  The taste is similar to the Haribo cola bottles, which I love.

Sakupan Giant Wafer – My favorite of the items from this box. It’s a panda head shaped wafer topped with cream and chocolate for the face. Delish!

*bonus item* Kawauso No Kotsume – The word kawauso means “otter” in Japanese, which is what this squeaky vinyl figure is. The expression it has looks like it’ll be fun to use in certain photo-ops. Might just post one to my IG in the near future.

This post comes on the heels of receiving the Volume 11 Mini crate. I’m really not moving (or in this case eating) through these goodies fast enough! First time subscribers to Japan Crate can receive $5 off of either their first Original or Premium crate using the code MSA5 (code provided courtesy of My Subscription Addiction).

SDCC Contest from Comic-Con HQ

New for this year’s SDCC, Comic-Con HQ is putting together an on-demand streaming service, which will include info and coverage for the big event. The beta of the service  began on Saturday May 7th. Those of you not yet signed up that do so between now and Friday May 13th will gain 1 entry for a chance to win a trip to the event in July. The prize includes flights, accommodations, 4-day badges, and VIP seating at the Her Universe Fashion show for the winner, plus 3 guests. Sign up for the Comic-Con HQ beta here, and full information for the contest can be found here.

Review – Captain America: Civil War

The latest in the Marvel movie lineup was released last week, but I waited until yesterday to finally see it. (I’ll be trying to take advantage of seeing movies shortly after their release dates until next month when all the schools let out for summer break. Until then, nearly empty theaters during weekdays, FTW!) I’ll disclose now that I’ve been a bit biased with the Marvel flicks. I say this because I’ve only watched bits and pieces of the Captain America movies; never saw them in the theater.  I should go back and view them in their entirety to get a clearer understanding of his back story. But I digress. Marvel does a great job once again with this movie, which puts the Avengers, and a few additional characters, against each other over the consequences of using their heroic efforts to help humanity.

 

I’ll stress his again if you’ve not been keeping up with how Marvel’s movies work, stay during the credits for hidden scenes. There are 2, so you don’t want to miss them! Have you watched Civil War yet? Feel free to share your thoughts (and if you’re Team Cap or Team Iron Man).

Case of the Empties/Beauty Shout Out – April 2016

“Sorry I’m late. I’m afraid I got lost on the path of life.”  – Kakashi Hatake

That quote is half true, but yes, life has been preventing me from posting as much as I’d like lately. This will most likely be my only post for the week since I’m headed out of town until the weekend. I do have some future ones brewing, so I’ll try my best to get those out once I’m back.

I’ve combined my empties and current loves for April into one post since I didn’t use up too many products that month.

 

The Empties

Clear Active Damage Resist Shampoo – I’ve been using the Clear brand for a while, and it does its job well. I believe the shampoo has helped prevent my ends from drying out. It’s been too long since I’ve gotten a trim, and usually around the time my hair reaches the middle of my back, it usually itches because of my ends. Not so much this time. I’ll be getting a new bottle of this soon.

Ban Total Refresh Cooling Body Cloths – I’ve gotten packs of these a few times for when I travel. They come in 3 scents, and I use them on areas where I perspire (e.g. back of neck, under arms, etc.). These have come in handy when I’m out in an area with warm weather.

Murad Clarifying Cleanser – This has always worked well on my face for the occasions when I experience a sudden break out, especially when I had a several week period of them late last year. This came as part of their Acne Starter Kit. Will most definitely be getting more of this!

The Loves

Fresh Soy Face Cleanser – This travel sized wonder was part of a birthday gift I received this year for being a Sephora Beauty Insider. Although it doesn’t foam like most cleansers I tend to use, it left my face clean with no residue.

Coastal Scents Classic Angled liner brush – I received this as part of a prize I won for a giveaway. I had long been a non-fan of angled brushes until I started using this. The bristles aren’t too dense, and it applies just the right amount of product. I also read a review on their site that this is also great to use on the brows.

Q-tips Precision Tip cotton swabs – I had seen this on a YouTube video several months ago and figured it couldn’t be any different from using regular cotton swabs. That would be a “yes” and “no”. But those pointed tips at the ends do help with correcting any makeup smudges. I have yet to use them on my nails since I don’t use polish very often. Just don’t use these in your ears!