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Gingerbread 1930s Waterproof Mascara

The Gingerbread 1930s Waterproof Mascara from Bésame Cosmetics is a great all natural make-up find, especially for those with make-up sensitivities.

Wallet

Ember Necessary Baggage is a company founded by one woman, Ellen M. Belanger, who creates personal bags – including handbags, totes, and wallets. Her artistry is seen in cleverly crafted designs and carefully stitched construction. Each and every bag is made by hand, often a one-of-a-kind piece.

Liddle Kiddle Embroidery Patterns (Artist Series #4)

I had never before attempted embroidery until I received Sublime Stitching’s Artist Series #4 embroidery patterns, “Liddle Kiddle” designs drawn by artist and illustrator Lisa Petrucci. The front of the packet promises “any skill level” and “EZ how 2,” and it’s true! By following the included instructions, I was embroidering immediately, even though I’m not a particularly gifted textile crafter.

Silk-Screened Bird Patch

Andy Eats Only Candy (also known as Finnish student, designer and textile maker Niina Katinka) is an incredibly Earth-friendly little outfit that specializes in silk-screening, one-inch buttons, and various clothing and purses. With a focus on squirrels, rabbits and birds, the designs are cute and a tad whimsical, without being too precious.

Green Apple Soap

Green Apple Soap comes in a plain package with information about the product and the maker, Karina. There are no logos, and you won’t find any fillers or chemicals in the soap either. The little, translucent green soap bar has a very pleasant smell to it. When it’s wet, it smells a bit stronger than dry (or so I’ve noticed), and as an interesting aside, when the light shines through the wet bar, it’s nice to look at.

Six Radical Politics Buttons

Making nice is not the focus of Bitter Pie’s products. Instead, with such loudmouth, all-CAPS statements as “Shut Your Pie Hole” and “You’re the Reason for the Jihad,” these buttons are certainly radical and proud with their politics. These buttons are small enough to place on a bag strap or on a lapel, and grouped together, they could be quite stunning, especially for the politically conscious. The one downfall to these pieces is that the images are not always crisp and the font is not always clear.

Kasia Perfume Oil

Vanilla-infused Kasia is musky, warm, sweet, and sensual. What’s not to like? It’s the perfect understated scent to wear with jeans or to dab on a drop or two before leaving for work. You’ll smell spiffy for a few hours, and it won’t send people fleeing from the elevator like the heavier, “old lady” perfumes. Vanilla scents are highly popular and when you take a whiff of Kasia it’s likely that you’ll think, “I’ve smelled this scent somewhere before.” Wearing it won’t make you smell unique and special, but it’s a nice and elegant scent for daily use. It’s also a bit pricy.

Chai Tea Party Sugared Frosting Scrub

http://www.bevperdue.com/ stands for "beyond ordinary bath essentials"—fitting as this product is quite extraordinary and, after trying it, has become an essential addition. The Sugared Frosting Scrub's chai smell is so natural that it would be impossible to tell the difference between it and the real thing, the thick sugar grains melted on my face and body and I came out of the bath glowing and fragrant.

Nyx Eau de Parfum

When I first received this vial of scent, I was disappointed. It was a tiny little pamphlet with a small vial of the scent attached. The vial itself wasn’t even full. The pamphlet's cover lacked interest, and on the inside were the contents of the vial in great detail. I recognized some ingredients—like jasmine and ylang ylang, black pepper and grapefruit—but when it came to the last ingredients, I was confused? What were ecstatic dance, intoxication, and prophetic sleep? Was this the fantasy aspect of this concoction? On the following page was a description of the perfume.

Bunny Love Kit

There’s something to be said for a sex toy that intimidates your boyfriend. Upon seeing the Rabbit Habit in the Bunny Love Kit, my partner looked at me and said, “Well, it’s finally happened. I’m officially outdated and have been replaced by technology. There’s no way I can do all of that.” Luckily for him, I don't expect him to. Technology has come a long way, indeed, and the Bunny Love Kit has all of the makings for a night (or day… or weekend… or…) of intense and mind-blowing self-satisfaction.

Blossom Sleeve

Billed as ‘The Personal Choice of The Wicked™ Girls’ (though what they would do with it is far from obvious), the Blossom Sleeve is a ‘deep penetrating’ four-inch, ribbed tunnel made of Senso® material. Remember those twenty-five cent rubberish spiders that stuck to the wall it was thrown against, and subsequently 'walked' down? That's the stuff this is made of. Who ever said squishy toy spiders don’t feel anything like vaginas? The Blossom Sleeve even has eight little petals standing in for labia minora. But I’m making this all sound less appealing than it actually is.

Tour Tote

Is it possible to have a bag that’s cooler than you are? My street cred increased substantially when I started carrying around the Tour Tote by SNAP design. You see, I live in New York City, but I’m a Southern girl (Athens, GA, baby!) at my core, so I constantly have to negotiate the internal tug-of-war between my current persona (Big City Trendsetting Fashionista) and the persona of my upbringing (Small Town Working Class Thrifter).

Whipped Edible Massage Cream

I was very happy to receive this product. This is a great way to spark a couple’s lackluster love life by giving each other a sensual massage. The product came in the flavor of strawberry cheesecake, which is definitely one of my favorite desserts. I loved the tube that the pink cream came in, as well as the black classy writing on the front. It definitely depicted romance. It has a flip top that makes it easy to use, even with creamy hands. It contains softening moisturizers, which is also a plus. When first trying this rich lotion, I was happily surprised by the smell.

Reflective Girl Tee

Boasting funky girl tees, Furlesque certainly delivers with the beautiful "Reflective Girl." Featuring a lovely drawing of a sorrowful (or the obvious "reflective") girl adorned with roses on the front of the shirt, this is one of the most original designs that I've seen to date. And I wasn't the only one to think so—I've never received so many compliments on a t-shirt in my life! Sheer and lightweight, this tee was a grand slam in comfort. A funky and beautiful mauve color (called "cherry") was something that stood out to me.

Kiss Refreshing Body Splash

Kiss is a pheromone-based body splash, used to enhance a woman’s natural sexual scent. Pheromones are specific compounds within our body that can potentially affect the physiology and behavior of others. Infused with an erotic blend of green and white tea extracts these sprays are pure bliss in a bottle! Kiss from Pure Romance may have just become this woman’s favorite scent of all time. Sent the Plumeria for review, it is delicious and has turned more than one head!

Kick Ass Rubber Stamps

The padded manila mailer arrived and was opened to disclose a sticker reading “San Diego Craft Mafia,” three rubber stamps, and four small inkpads. The stamps are of a skull, rose and couple inches of barbed wire. All Asta Arts designs are drawn from old-timey tattoos and other gritty sources: the full-blown rose, snakes wrapped swords, nautical stars. The four ink pads—green, red, yellow, and black—are small enough that I needed to ink them by inverting the pad and placing the stamps on the carved rubber.

Pulsa Bath Ball

The Pulsa Bath Ball by Pure Romance, the company best known for taking Tupperware parties to the next level, is your basic, no frills massager. Consisting of a grapefruit-sized loofah with a vibrating motor in its center, the Pulsa Bath is a massager intended for use in the bath or shower. Given how annoyingly loud the massager is when turned on, I would opt for the shower since the running water does a pretty good job of masking the motor’s whirl.

Solo Girl Tee

The face that launched a thousand shirts. Okay, don’t quote me on the numbers. But believe me when I say this Solo Girl tee – the first in a line of edgy tops – rocks. How many positive thoughts can one shirt induce? Let’s see. One: soft. There’s nothing better than a truly touchable tee, and this one delivers. Two: work of art. The shirt’s understated dusty green hue and baby pink trim perfectly complements the Solo Girl centerpiece. Her pensive demeanor, oversized head, and anorexic body evoke compassion, pity, discomfort, and familiarity all in one shot. Three: flattering.

Lighten Up Sensual Candle

This candle brings thoughts of all things sensual. The flicker of flame and the widening pool of melted wax offer the quiet motion of calm. Slipping into that dreamy world where beauty is a friend and logic says its time to take a day. It’s the music you’ve wanted to hear, and the whoosh of cars passing by outside becomes that of ocean waves washing over you. Somehow it all flows better under water, and you are in deep now with only this flickering beacon to light your path away from the humdrum and into a world of the senses.

Distressed Goth Girl Tee

So the Goth phase passed with the nineties, but that doesn’t mean you can't still wear a distressed little Goth girl on your tee to reflect your inner darkness. Furlesque’s tees look handmade, and there is no reason to doubt that they came from a hand-painted watercolor design. Their tees are soft to the touch and a little see through, but not too pleasing on the eye. Either the design of the little Goth girl in the middle is too small or there just isn’t enough to make this tee shirt feel like more than a fashion victim of a Goth trend.

Intimacy Kit

I LOVED THIS!!! But before I start raving about how great this product is, let me get a few perfunctory criticisms out of the way: The non-phallic (and, hence, non-threatening) vibrator should come with AAA batteries... or the package should sport verbiage about how batteries are required. The cardboard insert did not hold the pleasantly fruit-scented products in place. When I opened the box, I found all of the bottles had slid out of their respective places and were clustered into a messy jumble in right-hand corner of the box. 3.

Waterproof Vibrating Body Scrunchie

This nylon mesh scrunchie from California Exotic Novelties appears, at first glance, to be a normal scrunchie. Its pastel pink plastic layers disguise a removable cylindrical micro-massager about two inches in length. This softcore scrunchie lightly vibrates at a single frequency with the turning dial situated at one end, requiring two hands to turn the device on and off. However, the scrunchie can easily be held in the palm of one hand if already set to vibrate. As the box advertises, the stimulator is waterproof, holding up well even when immersed.

Cupcake Charm

My six-year-old girl stole this charm out of the envelope before I got a good look at it.

"Screaming O" Vibrating Cock Ring

The "Screaming O" Vibrating Cock Ring seems like a great way to make safe sex fun. Disposable and designed to be used with a condom, the pink, jelly-like cock ring has a tiny vibrator that transmits decently powerful vibrations from the base of the phallus (penis or dildo—the packaging invites either option) to the vulva during penetration. While the vibe worked just fine, my partner found it too distracting to be much as much fun as it promised, claiming it detracted from the multiplicity of sensations he typically enjoys.

Amber Velvet Votive

Dark Candles may give the impression that it caters to an unconventional crowd, but these scented candles have broad appeal. The Amber Velvet Votive candle offers a pleasurable experience. The first impression, being the appearance, is favorable. The candle is a dark violet color, wrapped in plastic and topped off with a matching shiny, purple twisty tie. Upon opening the package you are immersed in the Amber Velvet scent. It is reminiscent of upscale department store perfume, a little musky while remaining feminine.

Snacktopus Stationary

These adorable notecards are printed on heavy weight, pale-colored paper and embossed with the playful image of a blue octopus clutching a tasty snack. Wrapped among his left tentacles is a weiner-snack that his mouth opens towards. The paper has a good density that lends to nice ink absorption and softly rounded corners further bespeak the whimsical intent of these correspondence-inducing notepapers. The company manifesto on the back sleeve declares, “We specialize in the sweet and humorous, cute and whimsical.

Furlesque T-Shirt

Fun, funky, and functional art. Who doesn’t love the sound of that? From the minute I saw the t-shirts created by Dion and Maggie, the founders of Furlesque, I was in love. Sheer and pretty, the t-shirt is form-fitting, but surprisingly warm. I wore it alone and was quite comfortable on a cool day here on a Central Californian beach. Come fall, it will look equally fantastic layered with my favorite strappy tank tops. Furlesque was launched in 2006 by Maggie.

Complexion Bar

I stumbled upon The Soap Factory in Longview, WA while exploring the downtown area nearly seven years ago. I fell in love with the shop and its products instantly, and have continued to order them online after leaving the job in Longview. The Soap Factory's Complexion Bar is a tried and true favorite of mine. While it's not cheap ($6.99), the four-ounce bar lasts a long, long time. (I just bought a new one, having purchased the previous bar in 2006.) With real avocado fruit, carrot juice, shea butter and a host of essential oils, it smells good enough to eat.

Transformation Candle

Aptly enough, I first lit my Werewolf Collection Transformation candle during a full moon. Fortunately, no silver bullets were needed, as this candle merely transformed my room with scent. A mixture of spicy woodland berries and red currant, this candle's deep, pleasant aroma reminds me of men's cologne. As with all of the other Dark Candles I have tried, Transformation's essence is subtle and soft, leaving a gentle aroma in its wake when lit. If you don't like being overwhelmed by aromatherapy, then you will enjoy the light fragrance in these candles.

Mineral Eye Shadow

Hypoallergenic: chemicals, preservatives and fragrance-free—this product was good to my oh-so-sensitive skin! As someone who likes to experiment with make-up, White Pearl Shimmer Eye Shadow by Jenulence was fun to try out. Especially on my brown complexion! “It looks great,” says a friend. Another agrees, “But it’s better if you wear it to a wedding or a party,” she tells me as we meet up for a morning coffee. “I know!

Elevate Difference

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