Jord Wood Watch Review + Giveaway!

We all have our go-to accessories. Some people collect purses, some love hats, and others like jewelry. I'm not a watch person. As much as I try to wear a watch, I dislike the design and size of most watches and wind up using my phone to tell time.

Enter: Jord wood watches.

Pictured with my power mini bracelets.

Jord contacted me about their product and I was immediately curious. A watch made of wood? As beautiful as they seemed on the website, I wondered if they'd seem flimsy in real life.

I chose an Ely watch in Maple and received it quickly. The packaging was beautiful and luxurious -- I immediately thought about how one of these watches would make an impressive gift. As for my concerns about quality, they were immediately dismissed. My Ely feels sturdy and well-crafted. The wood is such an interesting design choice and when I wear my watch around, people always comment on the unique design.

The band was initially too big for my wrist, but it was simple to resize it myself by taking out an extra link. Now it fits perfect! The only minor complaint I have about this watch is the size. While the Ely is the smallest Jord Watch design, it is still larger than I would have liked. I think these watches would be excellent for people with bigger wrists or those who are used to wearing a watch, but for me personally, it did feel a little large. After chatting with people who wear watches regularly, they thought the size was fine, so it's probably just me!

Overall, I love my Jord watch and I'm glad to have a real wristwatch of my own. It feels like something every adult should have!

Jord is going to give a watch away to a lucky reader! Just fill out the widget below for your chance to win.

Jord was kind enough to provide me with a watch to review. All thoughts are my own.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Cosplay Deviants: Undressing the Art of Playing Dress Up

One of my favorite sets! It's in character and has cute little nods to the source material.

After writing about Cosplay Deviants: Undressing the Art of Playing Dress Up in a round up of photo books about cosplay, Cosplay Deviants offered to send me a copy to review for you guys! While I received a free copy, my opinions are honest. Everything in this review is safe for work. There is no full nudity, but the photos are suggestive. The book itself contains full frontal nudity.

Of course Princess Peach would wear the frilliest of underthings.  

As someone who is into the intersection of geeky and sexy (I loved seeing a nerdy burlesque show at Dragon Con!) I was immediately excited to receive my copy. In case you aren't familiar, Cosplay Deviants (link NSFW!) is a cosplayer submission-run image site featuring sexy stripped-down versions of your favorite characters -- think Suicide Girls, but with cosplayers. The website prides itself on featuring cosplayers and geeks rather than hired models. The book is an extension of the site, with tasteful nudity of characters from video games, anime, comic books, and other media.

The book cover -- gorgeous!

The book itself is extremely high quality; it's a large hardcover book with a dust cover, with full color pages throughout. Each character is given a page or two, first featuring the full costume, then various stages of undress. The result is a beautiful collection of artistic photos of a wide range of characters.

I really enjoy the concept of this book and the execution -- to me, this book is a work of art. I do, however, have a few minor complaints. First, the quality varies from cosplayer to cosplayer. While some photoshoots make you feel like you've entered the fictional world, some seem more random than realistic. The photo sets where the model is wearing in-character underthings and where the location is spot on are fantastic! The sets that are a little lower quality brought me out of the experience. Overall, I felt the sets were more often high quality than not, so it's a minor complaint.

Mad Moxxi is a sexy character, so seeing her brought to life is a treat.

Next, the book doesn't have a ton of different body types. Now, I don't really blame Cosplay Deviants for this since it relies on submissions, but it would be nice to have a few plus size ladies, women of color, or even men featured. After searching through the Cosplay Deviants site, it seems like there is more diversity on the site itself. Perhaps we can look forward to a second Cosplay Deviants book featuring lots of different cosplayers!

A few more of my favorite sets with carefully thought out character references.

Overall, I am highly pleased with this book! I'm proud to have it on my bookshelf and it provides plenty of fictional character inspiration. If you're into artistic nudity, mixing geekery with sexiness, or hobbies like burlesque or cosplay, Cosplay Deviants: Undressing the Art of Playing Dress Up will be a wonderful addition to your collection.

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Geek Girls, Let's Take Over Poshmark!

I have a confession: I am only a few steps away from being a hoarder. I have a hard time letting go of things that have sentimental value to me. I'm a generally sentimental person, which means literally everything I own has sentimental value, so I hate getting rid of anything!

I have recently decided to be ruthless and go through my belongings to make an upcoming move easier. I found that I have lots of clothes that are cute, but don't fit right, aren't my style, or are a less-good version of something I already own. While I donated a lot of clothes to Goodwill (between my partner and I? EIGHT garbage bags!), I didn't feel right getting rid of some of my nicer things. Enter: Poshmark.

Poshmark is a website and app where you can sell from your closet and shop from others' closets. For me, this means I feel better sending things I loved to a better home while recouping some of my losses. It's simple to upload a few photos, add a description, and bam, you're selling.

It's no secret that I'm trying to get more geek girls on Poshmark! Let's populate Poshmark and fill it with awesome geek girl stuff. If you decide to make an account, use the code BHHMX for a $5 credit.

Are you on Poshmark?

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Rose Tints My World

(Photo: Woodlawn Theatre)

Science Fiction, Double Feature

Rocky Horror is something near and dear to my heart. I've had an obsession with the show for years and years, and when I turned 18, I joined a shadowcast to live out my dreams of performing the show on stage. Even though I don't perform anymore, October just isn't complete without a trip to see Rocky live, and whenever I go to a convention, I HAVE to see Rocky or Repo!

I'm really not sure why Rocky Horror appeals to me so much. It's campy, it makes fun of B-grade science fiction, and the cult following means the show is still alive and well decades later. There's something unabashedly fun about dressing up, shouting, and throwing props. The movie itself is even great to me - I love the music unironically, and I've devoted a lot of brain space to memorizing call-outs, the dialogue, and choreography.

Performing at my first-ever Repo! The Genetic Opera show (left). (Photo: Smolder'n' Scully Sins)

Halloween Tradition

My Rocky Horror experience this year was the stage show, which differs from the movie in several important ways. The stage shows are rarely direct replicas of the movie - it stands on its own with a few musical additions, different costumes, and usually, a totally different feel.

This year's stage experience was special because it starred three ladies from RuPaul's Drag Race fame - Bianca del Rio, Courtney Act, and Michelle Visage. I love drag, I love RPDR, and seeing these ladies in person was like a dream come true! The small nods to the Drag Race fans were perfect and not overdone. In fact, although I mainly bought my tickets to see my favorite drag queens, the entire cast was super talented. And, as an added bonus, the entire show was circus-themed, with Frank-n-Furter as the ringmaster! As a lover of circus arts and a die-hard Rocky fan, I couldn't have been happier with how the show was staged.

It was great when it all began, I was a regular Franky fan!

Columbia Rose Tints My World

For the first time, I also had the opportunity to dress up as Columbia, my favorite character from the show. Costume Supercenter, an online costume shop, contacted me to try out a costume from their site, and I chose my favorite glitter monster!

Cosplay is for everyone, regardless of skill level, and I think this costume proves it! While I don't have the skills or confidence to sew my own sequinned jacket yet, I trust myself to modify pieces to my heart's content! The costume itself came with a hat, bowtie, jacket, top, and shorts. I purchased and modified the hat (more on that later), wig, fishnets, socks, and shoes.

The costume itself is not as high-quality as a professional seamstress, but it worked out perfectly for me. I really like the jacket -it's the right shape and color, and even has coattails! The shorts are not my favorite, so I would like to replace them with handmade shorts in the future, but they are comfortable and look great in photos. The top isn't the correct shape, but I love how sparkly it is!

The hat that came with the costume was poor quality and too flat to even fit on my head! I knew from reading reviews on Costume Supercenter's website that it would probably not work out, and made plans to create my own hat. I bought a felt top hat online, purchased sequinned fabric and a ribbon, and glued the fabric onto the hat. I love the result and it was pretty easy - if a little tedious. I feel like the hat makes a huge difference in the costume overall!

One of my favorite parts of Columbia's original costume is her sequinned tap shoes. I bought some similar character shoes and added sequins myself.

The last step to this costume was Columbia's distinctive, over-the-top makeup! I'll go into more detail in a future post, but suffice to say that extreme makeup looks are my new favorite thing. It's hard to tell in these photos, but my blush and lipstick were BRIGHT! I also covered my eyebrows with glue for the first time.

Sneaky theater selfie! We weren't allowed to take photos of the show, sadly.

I had a fabulous time at the Woodlawn's Rocky Horror Show production, loved seeing some of my favorite queens, and had such a great time putting this Halloween costume together!

Do you have any Halloween traditions?

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Vegan Cuts Beauty and Snack Box Unboxing - September 2014

  I'm back on video! In this video, I go through the September versions of the Vegan Cuts Beauty Box and Snack Box! I'm still subscribing because I still love these boxes. The hardest part about going cruelty-free, when it comes to beauty, is simply doing the research. Some companies make it really difficult to tell if they test on animals or if certain ingredients are animal-derived. I love that Vegan Cuts does the hard part for me for me! I've learned about so many great brands and products through the monthly beauty box and snack box. (You might also notice my hair is different! I finally got the haircut I've been wanting for years!) Try your own beauty or snack box...

Have you tried a monthly subscription box?

Disclaimer: I am an affiliate for Vegan Cuts. All opinions and purchases are my own.

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June Vegan Cuts Beauty Box - Unboxing Video + Review

I've been wanting to work with video content for a while! I've made a few videos before, but none on my new channel (I had to switch around my G+ accounts when I changed emails... it's kind of a nightmare, I don't recommend it!). When I got my Vegan Cuts Beauty Box in the mail, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to try out video again.

A few things I learned from this video:

• Everything takes longer than you expect it to when you're learning a new skill. I'm pretty much a total newbie at video editing, finding audio tracks I can use, making YouTube outros, you name it!
• Nobody likes the sound of their own voice.
• Looking into the camera is hard!

Video are some of the hardest things to make since there are so many factors to try to get right in one take. Am I looking at the camera? Did I say something that makes sense? Was my face weird? At least when I take photos, I can take a billion until I know I got a good one. Video is a little bit different, but I know I'll get better with practice.

Anyway, on to the video! Here's my initial thoughts on all the items in the box.

Vegan Cuts Beauty Box Unboxing

June Vegan Cuts Beauty Box Review

Like I said in the video, I was very satisfied with my purchase. I've done a Vegan Cuts Beauty Box before, and this one was even better! This box was the perfect mix of items I know I'll love and items that will be fun to try. I also thought it was a fantastic value - $20 for 7 products, several of which are full-size. Rad!

(Not pictured: nyl Velvet Transformative Serum)

This box included...

• Parissa Warm Wax kit
• Superchic Lacquer in Figment of my Reality
• Pacifica eye pencil
• nyl Velvet Transformative Serum
• La Fresh nail polish remover pads
• Lip Glosserie Light Asian Pear Lip Balm
• Grasse Roots Perfumery in Geisha

One thing I didn't notice until I looked up these products is how many of these companies are indie or based on Etsy. Super cool! I'm always happy to support small businesses.

I'm most excited about the nail polish because I'm a huge fan of mint polish, but there's not a single product in this mix that I'm unhappy with. I can't wait to see what's in next month's box - and of course, I'll update you all!

Try your own beauty or snack box...

Have you ever tried a subscription box?

Disclaimer: I am an affiliate for Vegan Cuts. All opinions and purchases are my own.

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