Jadience review & GIVEAWAY-hydrating gel mask w/ green tea ($58 value)

Photo Source - JADIENCE website

I'm going to start this review / giveaway with absolutely no suspense. I LOVE this mask!

First, I just love this company. As per their site-

" Jadience™ Herbal Formulas has combined the powerful properties of jade powder with our exclusive East Asian Herbal formulas to bring you our renowned skin and body care collections. Our skin and body care collections are noted for their powerful effects of detoxifying, regenerating, and revitalizing the skin. Additionally, our all-natural skincare products also have the power to heal and correct existing damage, protect against future damage, and rejuvenate the skin’s tone and quality, leading to skin that will become dramatically softer, smoother, and more radiant with consistent use. "

When I looked through the Jadience skincare collection, I was like a kid in a candy store. Everything looked so unique, so appealing and I just wanted to try them all! Those of you that know me know I am somewhat of a skincare "guru" of sorts. I couldn't love anything more than opening a new skincare product and running to the bathroom to try it, all excited about experimenting with my new goodies. This particular Jadience product, the "Hydrating gel mask with green tea" sounded so intriguing, I was sure it was calling my name when I browsed through their site.

-about the product, from the Jadience website -

" Green Tea, White Peony and Goji Berry are known to hydrate, nourish, and firm the skin, while stimulating cellular regeneration. Hyaluronic Acid and active herbal ingredients immediately improve the appearance of lines and wrinkles, promote new and healthy collagen, and protect skin from environmental damage.

Key Ingredients:

Green Tea – Contains powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties. Studies have shown that topical green tea polyphenols slow down the development of some signs of aging, neutralize UV light, rejuvenate skin cells, fight free radical damage and inflammation, soothe acne, and lighten skin.

White Peony & Goji Berry – Penetrate deep into the dermal layers to tone and firm the skin, leaving skin looking absolutely radiant and youthful!

Hyaluronic Acid – Dramatically increases cell renewal and supports collagen fibers to immediately correct and reduce signs of aging. "
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The first thing I noticed after applying the mask is how nice it felt. Not too sticky, not too thick like some masks, so you feel like you have to use half the bottle for a single use. Don't you just hate that? So I was pleased with the feel, and I immediately loved the scent. It smells very subtle and bakery-ish. It reminded me of a gingerbread cookie. I almost wanted to taste it! Yum.

After applying the mask, I got ready to put my feet up and sit back for a relaxing mask wearing, "Big Brother" watching time. Right away I was pleasantly surprised by the very light tingly sensation, that actually felt quite soothing and delicious.
The best part of all was when I rinsed the mask off, 20 minutes later. When I looked in the mirror, I grinned. My skin was positively glowing. I am lucky enough to not have wrinkles or lines yet, but I guess I hadnt realized that my forehead area hadn't been looking as young as it could have. After using this mask, it looked 100% better, and my whole face was as smooth as a baby's booty. Love it!!

Here is the site where you can purchase Jadience products :-)
http://www.naturalskinrx.com/


Now for the REALLY exciting part. Jadience is going to give a full size Hydrating Gel Mask with green tea, to one of you. $58 value!

There are several different ways to earn entries. Leave a separate comment for each one that you do. Your comment is your entry. The more you do, the more chances you have!)
Don't forget to include your email! If I can't contact you, you can't win!
Giveaway ends Sept 25, 11:59pm

Here is how you can win:

Mandatory entry, this must be done for all others to count!

*visit the Jadience site and tell me in a comment what other product you would like to try
http://www.jadience.com/products

***Extra entries***
( leave one comment for each. They will all be verified)

* become a public "follower" of this blog. (2 entries. Leave 2 comments)

* follow me on twitter @artistic0mystic (1 entry)

* "like" Jadience on Facebook. (1 entry)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jadience-Herbal-Formulas/194068133969183

* follow Jadience on twitter (1 entry)
http://twitter.com/#%21/Jadience

* share this giveaway on Facebook & leave link
(2 entries)

* tweet about this giveaway comment with the link ( may be done once daily for 1 entry each day)

* leave a comment on Jadience Facebook wall telling them - Melanie of the Artistic Mystic blog sent me, thanks for the giveaway!
(2 entries)

* subscribe to the Jadience "consumer" newsletter on their site
(2 entries)
http://www.NaturalSkinRx.com/

*blog about this giveaway and leave link in comment
(4 entries)



Good luck!

http://www.naturalskinrx.com/





Disclaimer
I was not compensated for giving my opinions. I was provided the above product by the company for review purposes. The opinions expressed are my own

Special thanks to
http://www.online-sweepstakes.com/

PonyUP! Kentucky review

Have you heard of this handbag company, PonyUP! Kentucky? Well, I had heard a few things about their bags, and how their shoulder straps were made of genuine horse halters, with the brass fittings and everything. Of course I just love unique things, and I love handbags, so I knew I had to have my own PonyUP! Kentucky bag.

When I went to the site and looked through their catalog, I had a blast. The designs and styles are so varied and so interesting, there's probably a style perfectly suited to anyone who is compelled to have a PonyUP! Kentucky bag of their own. One of the coolest things about them (at least to me) is that they make very few bags with each design and fabric. Sometimes as few as 1 or 2 each. I LOVE that! I had a hard time choosing from all of the cute and quirky designs, I had a list of about 5 that i wanted. I ended up picking the "Blue Lagoon" because it just felt right to me and reminded me of the water..(hence the name i suppose). Being a waterbaby since birth, I felt it suited me perfectly. I think the right bag for each person will just 'speak' to them. It showed how few they make of each when I saw a note by the one I chose saying there were only 2 left in that style! So I feel pretty good knowing that I very nearly have a one of a kind bag, and the chances of meeting someone else with the same PonyUP! Kentucky handbag are almost nil.

(the pic is of the handbag I chose. Isn't it cute?)

Another thing I love is that the shoulder strap, made from a genuine leather horse halter, is so comfortable! Having a great love for horses, this is one of the things that gave the company's founder the idea for this unique bag. One day on her way out to pasture to get her horses, she had slung a leather halter over her shoulder, which gave her the thought of how great a leather halter would be as a handbag shoulder strap! And so the PonyUP! Kentucky handbag was born. And the bags come with a brass nameplate on the strap that is engraved with whatever each person chooses, be it their horses name, farm name, their own name or a cool little phrase that means something special to them. Love it.

The cherry on the top is that a portion of each sale goes to help retired and rescued horses in need. Being an animal advocate myself, that means alot to me. Of course the bags aren't cheap, but you pay for unique-ness and for comfort, and the bags are well made. One nice thing is that after buying the first bag with a strap, you can then buy the bags without the strap, which is easily switched from one Ponyup kentucky bag to another. So that cuts down on the price considerably. The bags that intermittently go on sale are also good to keep an eye on. Deal alert!

In the end, I'm very happy with my PonyUP! Kentucky bag. I love that it feels like it was designed just for me. I love that buying them helps horses in need. And I love how my bag looks with jeans! So cool. And their customer service is impeccable, I appreciate how personable and helpful they are. Definitely the kind of company that helps you feel good about the whole experience after it's ended.. I'm already considering whether I should be planning my next bag..Hey, without needing a strap next time, it's almost a no brainer right?

http://www.ponyupkentucky.com/

Disclaimer:
I was not compensated for this review. The product was provided by the company for review purposes. The opinions are my own. Yours may differ.

Book Review - " Tales from the Crib" by Jennifer Coburn

Ok...first off, I am very discriminating as a reader. I have been an avid reader since I first learned how, 25 yrs ago, and there are, sadly, many many books that I stop reading a few chapters into them, for one reason or another. This book, tales from the crib, never even made me come close to putting it down. It quite simply is the best book I have read in some time. I immediately felt bonded with the main character...and truly felt her ups and downs. The pages just flew by, I almost cried a few times, and snickered or laughed out loud many many times. The author puts so many small things into this story that helped me, as a reader, to get more involved, care more, and remember the story as unique and standing out among so many other chick lit books and authors.

Jennifer Coburn does the most fantastic job of going between side splitting humor, heart touching moments, and a bit of poignancy here and there that just made me love it more and more with each page, and root for this woman more and more. It has the feeling throughout that she's a good friend of mine, so easy to relate to it appears deceptively simple. Outstanding. My fave authors right now are Jennifer Weiner and Jodi Picoult. Jennifer Coburn just joined them on my short list. I would buy this book again any day. The most important thing that this book has, and that is the test of a truly excellent read: you finish it feeling great, smiling, and yet sad that its over...wishing you could read it again fresh, or had a sequel you could hop right into. This book had that feeling.. i only wish she's written more books for me to read now! absolutely insanely wonderful... 5 stars

Book Review - " The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder" by Joanne Fluke

ok im going to make it short and sweet. the writing was bad. really, really bad. like a high school english project...but probably not as good as some of those. lol. im a discriminating reader, and i read a lot. so i just don't have time to waste on these kinds of books, especially with my kindle so full of really good books that im dying to get to. i did not read the whole book however. when my kindle said i was at about 15% through, i had mercy on myself and stopped. i would have given it 1 star instead of 2..if not for all the recipes she mixed in the book. there are 7 pretty good sounding cookie recipes in the book and another 9 in the bonus novella at the back. i paged quickly through the rest just to bookmark the recipes, and do plan on trying some, because they sound pretty good. it might be worth it to some people to buy this book for the recipes alone, but if you're buying it for a good read, compelling characters, an entertaining plot or to get happily lost in a page turning mystery... i'll do you a big favor. look elsewhere....- 2 stars

Book Review - " The Family Man" by Michael Patterson

I first started reading "The Family Man" on a cross country flight. It was my very first book read on my new kindle so i was very hopeful for a good read. I have to say i read it quite happily and was engrossed for the entire flight, and finished 2 days later. The first half of the book was better than i expected and virtually flew by. The plotting of the psychotic villain was well thought out, brilliant in its simplicity and was so realistic it was scary. The fact that any of this could happen easily to you or a loved one is apparent and adds to the suspense and intensity.

My main gripe is that it ended abit too cheesily and simply to be satisfying. There was a huge amount of build up that seemed to leave you hanging at the end...A cpl storylines went in ways that i didnt entirely like, a cpl things and people were talked about too much to be left without resolution...and i guess it just ended too abruptly for how much buildup was put into it. It left me with a feeling of a longer book that was edited down with too much taken out, so it feels anticlimactic at the end. I would still recommend it to a friend though..it was mostly satisfying and suspenseful reading. If the ending were abit better and a cpl of people/stories brought together at the end more, i would have given it 5 stars..as it is, i give it 4. Worth reading though for sure.. 4 stars

campin cookin

This iron cooker by rome pie irons for camp cooking is so cool!!! Sweeps4bloggers is giving one away here. http://sweeps4bloggers.com/?p=22680&cpage=5#comment-1111655

i can tan too!

Being so fair I can't tan...but I'd love to try these tanning gels from Hampton sun, the prize in this sweeps4bloggers giveaway!
http://sweeps4bloggers.com/?p=22722&cpage=3#comment-1111617