CoulorPop The Mandalorian "The Child" Pallet

One of the eye shadow pallets I am most excited for arrived in the mail today! The ColourPop "The Child" pallet. I was so excited when they announced this pallet on Oct. 26th. Colourpop has been killing it with their collabs recently, their Sailor Moon, Hocus Pocus and even their Mulan lines have been so nice! HOWEVER, The Child pallet is filled with Greens and browns, which are some of my favorite colors to wear, so I had to have this one!

The Child Pallet has a great mixture of Greens, Whites, and Brown shades in it. They range from Matte to Glittery, and all look amazing! They also have themed names like; Precious Cargo, a sheer glittery white. Just Like A Tatooine, a sandy brown color. As well as Baby Face, a green, Baby Yoda color.

This pallet puts a huge smile on my face, I mean look how cute Baby Yoda is on the front of it, and the mirror inside of it as well (pictured above) also shows that he truly is "The Cutest in the Galaxy!"

I have a full video review and swatches on my YouTube channel, so head there and check it out! (It's around 6 minutes long, so a quick watch to see all the cuteness!) The Child Pallet retails for $16 and can be found on COLOURPOPS webpage here

Los Angeles Comic Con 2019

So I had the opportunity of attending LACC on Friday and Sunday. This is my third time getting to attend this con (however last year I worked the entire show, so different experience all-together), and it was a fun time. This year did seem less crowded than the previous years, but there were still some great costumes, wonderful artist and vendors, and lots of panels to attends and events to watch, many you could watch in the dealers hall, because their main stage is located in the center back of it.

I was mostly in the dealers hall/ Artist alley. so I can write most about that. There were a good variety of artist in the artist alley from old school comic artist, to stylistic artist with cute characters and renditions of already known ones. They also had the Lightsaber contests, costume contests and such in the hall as well on their main stage, so being able to look around at the vendors and check out the big events during the day is nice!

There were also a lot of fun photo experiences at many different booths, you could have Maleficent Wings, or sit around some Pumpkins at the Hot Topic booth, or chill out in the woods with The Birch. So those were very fun to see as well. There were even photo-ops with some of the local female Wow wrestlers in their ring.

Overall LA Comic Con was very fun to attend for the two days I was able to make it. Last year I worked for FFBF so I was stuck at the booth all weekend without really getting to look around the con, so it is always nice to get to experience cons from the not working point of view every once in awhile.

New Episode of ESO!

A new episode of the Earth Station One Podcast is out! My Segment "A Geek Girls Take" can be found at 1:45:06. Check out this awesome podcast! I love doing this segment, and am so happy I am able to continue to do this segment for ESO after so many years! Check it out by clicking here!

[Influenster] Feast Vox box

Influenster keeps sending me VoxBoxes, so I get to share lots of new stuff with you all! This one had lots of food items in it, and we all know I love food, so I was happy to try them all out! I received this for free to try, but I am always honest when it comes to food. My two favorite items in this one were the TimTams and the Bigelow Tea (Because we all know I love Tea!)

Overall, all the items in this box were good. (I mean one of them is a can of corn, so you can't be too unhappy with a can of corn...) Im not a huge fan of crunchy toppers, but still enjoyed the Frenches. 

Influenster is a program where you can sign up and try out items for free. I have gotten a lot of food items and hair care products from them. If you like this type of stuff, you should check it out!

New Ukulele Music Video and Concert coming up!

Hi everyone! I hope you are doing great! I have been super busy recently (I spent a month in Los Angeles for June!) But I have two new videos out and a concert coming up this Sunday in High Point NC! After that I get on a plane and head to SDCC! ( which I am super excited about working since I have never gotten to go!) Come check me out at ConGregate in High Point NC at Noon on Sunday and hear me play some awesome Ukulele music!

New Ukulele Video on YouTube!

So while I have music videos in post production for the Youtube Channel I have a fun video I just posted over on Angela Plays Ukulele introducing all my Ukulele's! First up is my Luna Guitars Mermaid Aurora Soprano Ukulele! I talk about the Ukulele, tell why I named it how I did and tell you a little about the instrument itself! Check out the video below! Also subscribe to my channel, I have some really fun music videos from movie, video game and even one classical song, that are being finished at the moment that will be up over the next couple month! 

ESO Podcast Gaurdians of the Galaxy

New episode of the ESO Podcast is out! My segment "A Geek Girls Take" can be heard on it. This week I talk about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2!

You can listen to it here!

You can also find older episodes of the show there as well! 

Also check out the ESW podcast live from WhoLanta! I was on this one as well. It was recorded live at WhoLanta last weekend! 

You can find it here!

I'm a little under the weather this week, so once I feel better I'll do a write up on WhoLanta! 

[Tea Review] Kusmi Tea "Blue Detox"

Now if you read my tea blog you are familar with the French tea company Kusmi. I have reviewed a lot of their teas in the past. This time I decided to try one of their newer teas "Blue Detox". I generally do not buy "detox" teas, but this one sounded like it would be really good, so I decided to give it a try

Blue Detox is a green tea with mint and pineapple flavors added to it. From the box it has an amazing pineapple smell to it. Once steeped it has a great mint smell with hints of fruity pineapple. The taste is a light green tea taste with a hint of mint, and a subtle pineapple aftertaste. Not overpowering while still having a great flavor. 

Kusmi sells their teas in a variety of different ways from loose leaf (in different sized containers) to tea bags to individually wrapped tea bags. I normally buy the loose or the muslin tea bags (since I travel a lot and it is easier on the mess.) This time I got the muslin tea bags, however in the box they weren't muslin, which was interesting, since I am so used to them. Still tasted great and am really happy I tried this one out! The box I purchased retailed for $17.40, and you can find all the purchasing ways on their webpage here.

Why So Few Posts?!

Hello everyone! Sorry for the lack of posts since the new year! Late Jan-Early Feb. I had surgery on my ankle, I had to have two ligaments reattached, and have been recovering since. So very few blog posts because I have been spacey and haven't had the energy to do much past what little work I was allowed to do. I spent the three weeks after the surgery not allowed to walk, and have since been in a boot hobbling around. Now that I am feeling a little better (still in the boot until May though.) I am going to try and get back on my blog writing schedule! So please bear with me for now as I get back into the hang of doing weekly tea posts and other fun geeky stuff on here!

[Influenster] Brita Stream Vox Box

I love all the stuff Influenster sends me. This time I was lucky enough to get into their Brita Stream Vox Box. I have needed to new water filter container for awhile and getting one for free is even better. I was also super happy out of all the colors they sent I got the green one. 

This filter pitcher works the same as all of Brita's others. It has a slot of the filter, you fill it with water and then you have filtered water to use! Super easy and doesn't take up any time! I did receive this for free through Influenster, but as always you all know if I do not like something I will give an honesty opinion. If you like reviewing stuff then you should check out Influenster. 

Plan 9 is out at Wal-Mart!

About 5 or 6 years ago I worked on a huge film project! The remake of Plan 9 from Outer Space, simply called Plan 9. It stared Brian Krause, Camille Keaton and Matthew Ewald. I was lucky enough to be cast as Tanna in the film as well as doing a lot of the makeup fx with Bio Duck films. The film has now been released on amazon and in 2600 Wal-Marts all over the US! If you love indie horror and awesome practical effects in them, then definitely give this film a shot! 

You can find the film online here:

Amazon

Wal-Mart

[Tea Review] Tin Roof Teas "Festivus" Tea

I love local tea shops! Tin Roof Teas has been one of my favorites for years! I stumbled across them in 2013 while in Raleigh, NC for a sci-fi con and have made it a point to visit them every time I am in Raleigh since. 

This year they did a whole line of Holiday teas, I went in for their Nutcracker tea, but sadly they were out, after smelling all of the ones available I decided on the "Festivus" tea because it smelled and sounded amazing! This tea has strong smells of apple, orange and cinnamon in it, which are things I love, so of course this stuff has to taste amazing. Also look at how beautiful the tea looks!

The taste also did not let me down. It is a black tea, but has an amazing fruity taste to it, you can really taste the apple in it, but it is not sweet fruity, it has a great balance to it. I would highly recommend this tea to anyone who wants a tea that has a fruity taste to it, but while not being too sweet. However adding some honey would definitely help anyone who wants something sweeter.

Here is an entire list of Tin Roof Teas Holiday teas along with the pricing for them as well. You can check them out in the Cameron Village shops in Raleigh or on their webpage here!

[Tea Review] Lupicia Tea's "Soleil Levant" Holiday Tea

Lupicia sent out samples of their "Soleil Levant" tea in their monthly tea newsletter that they send out to customers who purchase more than $30 with them. I was really excited to get to try one of their holiday teas since I haven't gotten to purchase a lot of teas recently. Since I try to review holiday teas each December!

Soleil Levant is a green tea, the name means "The Rising Sun" in French. The tea has grapes and citrus flavors with matcha. You can really smell the matcha and the grape and citrus when you smell the tea bag. This tea smells amazing! Once it has been steeped you can really smell the matcha. 

Art from Lupicia's packing for Soleil Levant

The taste of this tea was really surprising. It has a matcha taste with a grape taste as well. It is really refreshing. I did not expect it to have such a wonderful grape taste to it. I would highly recomemd getting some of this green tea before Lupicia sells out of it, since it is a limited release. You can find it online here. Also I really want to comment on the super cute package design for all of Lupicia's holiday teas! The deer and hedgehogs knitting is super cute and random!

[Tea Review] Tea Hugger's Organic Eggnog Chai

Tea Hugger is a small tea company located in Greensboro, NC. I stumbled across tins of their tea at the Spice Shop at Friendly Center in Greensboro NC and then did some snooping to find out more about them. They have a small booth at the Greensboro Original Farmers Curb Market, where they sell cups of tea and their blends. I made my way up there on Saturday so I could check out their teas and picked up a lovely Holiday Tea set with 5 winter tea blends in it! The first one I'll be reviewing is their "Organic Eggnog Chai", an Assam black tea with lots of other goodies added into it!

This tea has an amazing look to it. It has lovely tea leaves and lots of cloves, cinnamon and vanilla from the smell of it. This stuff smells amazing.  I was a bit worried because I am not a huge fan of eggnog as a drink but I was really excited to drink this tea based on the smell alone.

After steeping this tea does have a slight smell reminiscing of Eggnog. It also has cinnamon and cloves and vanilla scents to it. The taste is spicy and nice, not in your face, you can taste the cinnamon and cloves in it and its very refreshing. I was pleasantly surprised since the name "Eggnog Chai" scared me at first, but I really like the taste of this tea.

You can check out Tea Hugger every Wednesday (8am-1pm) and Saturday (7am-12pm) at the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market. Or if you are not local to Greensboro, NC you can check them out here online to order their teas! 

[Influenster] E.L.F. Vox box

I have been doing Influenster for almost two years and love it. I get to try out all types of different products and occasionally get stuff that I really like! I was THRILLED to find out I got in on the E.L.F. vox box and was getting to try out a bunch of really cool products in it! This box came with 5 full sized items to try and I am absolutely ecstatic about some of them!

First item up is the e.l.f. Hydrating Bubble Mask. This stuff was so fun! It comes out as a gel and you rub it on your face, and it bubbles/foams up, It has that tingling feel to it. You keep it on for 10 minutes, or however long it takes the bubbles to go away, and then wash the access off with a warm wash cloth. This stuff left my face feeling clean and soft. 

e.l.f. Mineral Infused Facial Primer. This clear gel goes onto the skin before you apply makeup as a barrier on your skin to help foundation and powder go on smooth. It has a silky feel once you have rubbed it into your skin and feels great. The feel reminds me of the Smashbox face primer I normally use. There is also a lot in this little bottle to last you for many makeup applications!

e.l.f. Baked Highlighter and Bronzer in "Bronzed Glow". I love highlighters so much, this one was ok, At first you have to rub a lot off to get it to come off, but after that it worked great. The colors tones were great for my pale skin and the bronzer wasn't crazy dark on me, which is always a problem I have with bronzers. Not sure if I would continue using this like the other products I received but it would be a good, in a crunch item, if i absolutely needed a bronzer and highlighter.

e.l.f. Lip Color in "Wine". This color is lovely and the lip color went on very smooth and had great coverage. I love the pencil style tips on a lot of these lip colors and it makes them so easy to apply. This wasnt a color I would wear all the time, but i would definitely be interested in seeing the other colors offered since this was a nice quality lip color. 

Out of the five items I received, the bubble mask and THIS RIGHT HERE were my absolute favorite items. The e.l.f "Mint Maniac" lip conditioner. This stuff is amazing! It conditions and exfoliates your lips and leaves them so smooth. It has a subtle mint scent and taste to it, but it is not overpowering at all. I absolutely love this stuff and will most likely purchase it again. I also noticed they had two other types, not sure if they are exactly the same just different scents/tastes but definitely something to check out if you like lip moisturizers.  

Influenster is a great program where you review products and occasionally get sent free stuff to review! I love it and if you like reviewing products then you should check it out. 

I received all these items free to try, but as always I write my honest opinion on products. So all written is my honest review of the items sent. 

[Beer Review] Boulevard Brewing Company – Funkier Pumpkin

A new Beer review from Josh! 

Election Night beer review, no really that's why I'm drinking a full bomber...for the review...

Yup, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

So this week I grabbed one of the bombers I bought. This is a sour pumpkin ale. That whole idea intrigued me. I like sour beers (hate sour candy, not sure why I like sour beers so much). I like pumpkin beers. A sour pumpkin beer? Sign me up. The added bonus of it being brewed by Boulevard? Let's do this.

I undid the muselet (the word for the wire thingy around a cork, it's French, thanks Google) and popped the cork. The first smell you get when it's opened is a waft of the yeasty aroma you get off a fresh ale. Letting the aroma waft and breath gave way to the pumpkin spice smell you get with many pumpkin beers.

The ale pours with a good head and a beautiful golden orange color. It's well carbonated and you can see the bubbles rising after you finish the pour. It has a light and fizzy mouthfeel that is easy to enjoy.

The first mouthful gives you a forefront taste of the sourness, that moves to an earthy flavor and then to strong nutmeg when you swallow. Then the cinnamon comes out and it lingers in your mouth. The earthy funk (it's a good thing, trust me) in the middle is likely due to the Brett yeast Boulevard grows in house. The taste of cinnamon, nutmeg and sour mix quite well and stays on your lips as you drink.

I like this beer, it's smooth and tasty. Lately I've grown fonder of sours and this one is a new favorite. If you aren't a huge fan of sour ales, give this one a try as the nutmeg and cinnamon lend a good balance to the sourness.

Boulevard Brewing Company – Funkier Pumpkin

8.5% ABV

15 IBUs

[Beer Review] South Street Brewery - Twisted Gourd

Hello all, it's been a week. How are you all? I know I'm ready for a beer. I have been looking forward to this one. The label caught my eye (yes I will buy a beer for a good label design and give it a shot) and then I saw the brewer.

I like South Street. When I first tried them the last huge blizzard hit, and the neighbors, my roommate and I dug each other out. Mine was the first car cleared so I ran to the store real quick and grabbed a six pack. Got back started helping more and handed out some beer. It was a good basic ale and it was a South Street, so I noted the name and now keep an eye out.

Enough of story time, let's get to this week's beer!

This beer pours with a good head (I poured it vigorously) and the aroma of pumpkin comes off of it. Not pumpkin spice mind you but actual pumpkin. The color of the beer is a muddy brown with a tinge of bronze.

The beer is lighter than I thought it would be for such a dark colored ale. The carbonation is good and I believe that is what made the mouthfeel so much lighter than I thought it would be.

The first sip gives a slight taste of chocolate with a bit of pumpkin that flows into the chai spice right before you get the tiny hit of the hops. The hops are bitter but not overly so and they do not in any way overpower the other flavors.

As you drink the chocolaty flavor and a bit of the chai spices linger in your mouth.

It's a weird concept to combine these flavors, but it works and...I want more.

South Street Brewery's Twisted Gourd

8.37% ABV

31 IBUs

[Beauty] Ipsy October Bag

I have been doing Ipsy for almost two years now and really enjoy all the different makeup and facial products I get in it. October was a really awesome month for Ipsy, I was so excited to see that they did a themed bag for the month with ghosts, witches hats and crystal balls on it.

The "Theme" for this months is "Black Magic" and had a lot of darker colors in the bags. I was really happy with all I received this month, but I generally can use everything Ipsy sends me. 

I have received a few different tre'Stique products in Ipsy, from lip colors to eye shadow colors. They have all been great and I really liked the quality of them. This is a lip color called "Fig". It has a matte finish and the packaging turns so more product can come out when you need it too. This is a delux sample size. the full sizes retails for $28.00 on their webpage. 

Ciate' London flick eyeliner in black. I have seen Ciate' London's nail polishes before but have never tried their makeup line. I was really excited to get a black eyeliner in a format I really like. I love the felt tip liners because they are so wonderful to apply and stay on compared to the pencils in my opinion. This liner makes a nice smooth line and it goes on smooth. It retails for $19.00 on their webpage. 

Ipsy loves to send out natural and brown eye-shadows. I was happy with this set because the brown is almost a black color. but would love some variety in their eye-shadow shades... This is by Vintage by Jessica Liebskind. It has a creamy vanilla shade and a dark brown-black shade (colors are called Vanilla and Espresso). The shadow itself is easy to apply and has a decent amount of pigmentation. This is a sample size. the full size retails for $30.00 on their webpage. 

Patchology FlashPatch Eye Gels. I love getting face masks style products in my ipsy bags. I already get Mask Maven each month, but love face masks so much (especially during the winter when my skin gets dry.) These are gel eye patches that go under your eyes to help moisturize and make your skin look awesome! This company makes all types of masks for face, hands, and feet. This is a sample size for two uses a full size retails for $50.00 and can be found here. 

My last item is an item I already use in my regular makeup routine, Make Up Forever's Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation. I love this stuff, it goes on smooth and covers up blemishes, redness. It is one of the best foundations I have found in my journey to find something that works for my skin! This is a sample size, but fits great in my travel bag so I was really excited to get it. The shade is one darker than I would normally use, so will have to see how that works out for me since I generally use the lightest shade they make. This retails for $43.00. It can be purchased here.

I love how Ipsy is starting to do more themes with their bags. This months was awesome, and I am so happy with all the products I received. Ipsy is $10 a month and you can find out more here. 

[Teaware Review] David's Tea Nordic Mug Review

I have been wanting a Nordic mug from David's Tea for some time. I really wanted the Cat one they released a few months ago, but sadly missed it, So I grabbed the Haunted Castle Colour Changing one before it disappeared with the season. The Haunted Castle Nordic Mug changes colour when you put hot water in it, which is very fun.

All the Nordic mugs come in a very sturdy box that has all the pieces packaged wonderfully so nothing breaks. 

The mug itself comes with three parts. The lid, that also seconds as a saucer. A wonderful tea infuser, that has tiny holes for water to get through, so even if you are using teas like rooibos, the tea will have a harder time escaping. And then the mug itself, which is great, it is ceramic, so it is sturdy and holds a lot of liquid. 

The infuser is a wonderful size and fits right inside the mug. I have a lot of infusers where the holes in them are way too big for a lot of the tea I drink, so having one with tiny holes it works for all those teas with very small leaves.  (like you could probably put coffee in this thing.) 

The Nordic Mugs retail for $23.00 (they do have some designs on sale on their webpage and in stores.) I really like this mug, and for what you are getting (infuser, mug, lid.) you are getting your monies worth with the purchase. Cleaning is easy and all pieces ash up well. Want to check them out? Here is the link to the mugs on David's Tea webpage.