June 2013 GLOSSYBOX USA

The June 2013 American Beauty GLOSSYBOX was curated by fashion illustrator Dallas Shaw.  The American Beauty GLOSSYBOX features some of Dallas' 'favorite new beauty products culled from beloved American brands, all manufactured in the United States.'

For this special edition GLOSSYBOX, Dallas created a fierce and gorgeous illustration of the "Glossy Girl" to grace the lid to this month's box.

My June 2013 GLOSSYBOX included the following items:

c. Booth - Honey Almond Nourishing Dry Oil Mist ($8.00/4 oz)
Elegant, nourishing oils absorb quickly into skin to smooth and soften while providing hydration.  This dramatically lightweight dry oil for face and body imparts a light, lasting glow for instant radiance.  Infused with a gentle, sweet blend of honey and almond, it's the ultimate aromatic indulgence for the skin and senses!

Sample size: 2 oz
Sample value: $4.00

With the first ingredient of this dry oil mist being a silicone and it containing a number of dyes and well as fragrance, this is certainly not a product I would ever use on my face.  The scent seems fairly mild and pleasant and it seems to dry fairly quickly on the skin.  I'll probably use this on my legs throughout the summer to hydrate them and add a little glow.

Oscar de la Renta - Essential Luxuries ($150.00/3.4 oz)
Inspired by the designer's mastery of fashion, Oscar de la Renta introduces a tailored line of six unique scents imbued with his love of beauty and luxury.  Comprised of specially sourced ingredients of the most exceptional quality, each fragrance echoes the lose connections to Oscar's vibrant life and loves, and perfectly speaks his language--find joy, be sparkling, feel gorgeous.

Sample size: unknown - maybe around 6 ml
Sample value: unknown - approximately $8.82

While I'm not crazy about receiving perfume samples, I think it was generous and clever for GLOSSYBOX to send a sample of each fragrance from Oscar de la Renta's Essential Luxuries line.  Each sample comes with a spray, which I prefer and find incredibly convenient.  I'm not sure how much product each of these samples contains since the packaging is opaque.  They don't feel or sound very full, but I imagine there is enough product in each sample for at least a couple of uses as these scents are very powerful.  Of the six samples, from a quick sniff, I think I may like 2 or 3 of them.  For the most part they are a little too overpowering for my taste and I can tell some of them would cause me a migraine if I wore them.

Philip B. - Styling Gel ($6.00/2 oz)
Philip B. products revitalize every type of hair while evoking a warming, cooling or refreshing sensation and delivering glossy, radiant hair.  The brand's botanical products cater to a broad range of hair types - dry/damages, colored/chemically treated, thinning/volumizing, wavy/curly/frizzy, flat/very fine, flaky scalp, oily and normal.  You will receive one Philip B. product in the box.

Sample size: 2 oz
Sample value: $6.00

I'm pretty bummed to have received the Styling Gel from this range as I absolutely never use gels on my fine, straight hair (that I prefer to be silky and touchable).  From the variety of products I've seen other subscribers receive, this is the one item that isn't something I would have used.

SpaRitual - Favorites Nail Polish ($12.00/15 ml)
SpaRitual offers a wide range of fun, sophisticated and modern shades to help you express the most colorful side of you.  The nail lacquers are crafted out of naturally formulated, vegan, certified-organic and fair-trade ingredients, resulting in superior texture and quality.  Colors will vary.

Sample size: 15 ml
Sample value: $12.00

I received the shade Whirlwind Romance, a sheer pink shimmer with a slight blue duo chrome.  Honestly, I hate sheer pink polishes.  I especially am not a fan of the blue duo chrome in Whirlwind Romance.  Something about this shade feels a little old and mature for my taste.  I'll probably pass this along to a friend who will get use out of it.

Tarte - Complexion Enhancing Lipstick ($14.50/0.12 oz)
Get total lip therapy in a beautiful nude shade that uniquely you!  These creamy lipsticks have a glossy, tinted core that gives the appearance of fuller-looking, luscious lips.  Thanks to complexion-enhancing pigments and emollient waxes, lips have never appeared more youthful.

Sample size: 0.12 oz
Sample value: $14.50

The Tarte Compexion Enhancing Lipstick comes in two shades: one for "Fair-to-Light" skin tones and one for "Medium-to-Tan" skin tones.  I'm a bit disappointed that I received the shade "Medium-to-Tan" considering I'm very fair.  GLOSSYBOX continues to disappoint me by clearly disregarding the information in my beauty profile.  Fortunately I do still like this lipstick shade and find it flattering on myself, despite it not being the shade I should have received based on my profile and the purpose of the product.

{A close up and swatch of the Tarte Complexion Enhancing Lipstick in Medium-to-Tan}

Total box value: $45.32

Overall, I'm pretty disappointed in this month's curated GLOSSYBOX.  While I do like the color and texture of the Tarte Lipstick, the other products were misses for me.  Had I received a different Philip B. product and a different shade of the SpaRitual polish, I probably would have been happier with my box.  The types of products sent out this month weren't bad, I just wasn't thrilled with the particular selection sent to me.

I'm curious to know, if you subscribe to GLOSSYBOX, do you find they send you appropriate products based on the information from you beauty profile?  I am constantly sent darker products than anyone with my fair skin tone should receive, which is utterly frustrating.

Grilled Naan Pizza

I have been increasingly curious about the grilled pizza trend.  I've been hesitant to try it with fresh pizza dough for a couple of reason.  First of all, I can only imagine how difficult it must be to try to manipulate fresh dough over the grates of a hot grill.  I'm pretty sure my pizza would end up severely disfigured.  Secondly, I'm very picky about what pizza dough I enjoy and the only ones I personally like are on the softer side (think Pizza Hut pan pizza style) and those I am almost certainly wouldn't survive the grill, unless baked on a stone.  So I haven't really ventured into the world of grilled pizzas... until now.

Recently I was pondering some ideas for fun and casual backyard dinner parties and one of the ideas that came to mind was to serve an assortment of small grilled pizzas.  To make things easier, I thought about using some sort of prepared dough.  Most of the already cooked pizzas doughs you pick up at the store are large and, honestly, a little 'blah' in texture.  Then I thought about using naan.  The hubby and I absolutely adore Trader Joe's Tandoori Garlic Naan and I thought it would be the perfect base for small grilled pizzas.  After a little Googling I discovered I wasn't the first to come up with the idea... and I was sold.  I had to try it.

I made these as a quick Thursday night post-work dinner and they were quick and satisfying.  I even whipped up (the world's easiest) homemade sauce for our pizzas.  Using the Trader Joe's naan makes these a great last-minute meal or appetizer as you don't have to wait for any dough to rise.  You can have these prepared (including sauce) start to finish in around 20 minutes.  I really do think these would make a perfect crust option if you're wanting to grill several pizzas with different toppings, as they're small and you can create a few pizza options without making a TON of food.  If you decide to serve these to guests, I'd suggest you allot 1-2 naan per person, depending on what sort of appetizers and/or sides you plan to serve them with.

I really loved the flavor and texture of the garlic naan crust and plan to keep these on hand (and homemade sauce in the freezer) all summer long for quick lunch and dinner options.

Grilled Naan Pizza

Trader Joe's Tandoori Garlic Naan (not the frozen kind)*
pizza sauce
freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
fresh basil, pepperoni, or other desired toppings

Preheat your grill to medium-high heat with lid closed.

Top each piece of naan with a couple heaping tablespoons of pizza sauce, approximately, 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, and any additional toppings that you desire.  Carefully place your prepared pizza(s) on the preheated grill, close the lid, and let cook for 5-8 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bottom is lightly browned.  Remove from heat, slice, and serve.

*I have also seen naan in the bakery section of my local Walmart and other chain grocery stores (for those who don't have access to a Trader Joe's).

(Easy) Homemade Pizza Sauce
adapted slightly from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
6 oz. can tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried fennel
pepper, to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until desire consistency is reached.  Taste and adjust seasonings as needed (I added a bit more garlic salt to mine and next time I may reduce the sugar to 1/2 teaspoon as I prefer my sauce more on the savory side).  Use immediately or store in the refrigerator (up to a week) or freezer (up to a month).

Backyard Movie Nights: the Kickoff

Our little saga of summer entertaining continued last Friday as we hosted our first Backyard Movie Night of the season.  It was sort of a test run to see how well our visual/audio set up worked, etc.  Everything turned out great and we look forward to throwing these little movie nights every couple of weeks through the summer and early fall.

For those who are curious about our basic set up, we have this 120-Inch Portable Outdoor Movie Screen which provides a fantastic viewing experience yet is still quick to assemble and easy to store/transport.  It's definitely a splurge, but we've been really impressed and happy with the quality of the screen.  I certainly wouldn't suggest it if you're only planning on throwing a one-time backyard movie night, but since we plan to get a ton of use out of ours, we think it was a good investment.

We also purchased a high-quality projector to ensure great video quality.  Again, if you're only planning to throw a one-time movie night, I'd suggest perhaps looking into renting a projector or borrowing one from a friend.  Hubby had been wanting to purchase a projector for some time anyway, so we went ahead and invested in a nice one that we'll use for years to come.

Sound was our one concern when it came to throwing these movie nights.  As you can see in the photo, our home sits on a modest lot in a tight subdivision.  We knew we couldn't use any loud speakers to provide sound for our movies or we'd risk upsetting neighbors (and we're very cautious about being polite neighbors).  My hubby came up with the brilliant idea to purchase a radio transmitter and several small battery operated radios to pass out to guests.  These worked out great as there were several modest pockets of sound throughout the audience.  You could hear the movie perfectly, yet the sound didn't carry at all outside our yard to potentially disturb anyone.  There were a few folks a couple of houses away talking outside on their lawn and they were actually louder than our movie!  Other than the light of the projection on the screen (which was no brighter than a porch light), you wouldn't know there was any sort of party going on in our yard.  I'm really happy with how everything worked out... we were able to successfully enjoy our film while throwing a low-key gathering that wouldn't disturb our neighbors.

As for refreshments (which are just as important as the film itself), I set up a little assortment of the standard movie snacks.  In an effort to keep the event fairly low maintenance, I resisted the urge to overly style the setup.  I would definitely suggest taking a little more time to spruce things up if you're planning a backyard movie night as a special event; however, since these are going to be frequent gatherings at our home over the next few months, I wanted to keep things a little more simple.

I served an assortment of fun, fruity sodas in lidded cups with colorful straws.  I also purchased a slew of kraft food and drink trays for our movie nights.  If you're not interested in purchasing these in bulk like I did, there are several Etsy sellers who offer them in smaller quantities.  Since we're planning on hosting several movie nights and various other parties throughout the summer, I went ahead and stocked up on drinks, straws, trays, etc. in bulk to save money and to be prepared for the summer ahead.

For food we grilled up hot dogs, had a ton of popcorn with various seasonings, a big bowl of assorted fun size candy, Oreos, homemade cake batter ice cream, and some brownies (thanks to a friend who brought those).  There was a nice assortment of sweet and savory snacks befitting a movie viewing.  I plan to keep the snacks pretty low key for the showings, mostly popcorn, candy, and soda, making one or two homemade treats per showing.  It's my goal to get the food and decor for these movies down to a "science" so I can get everything set up for these movies in under an hour.

I really love how well the food and drink trays worked out.  I picked up some inexpensive popcorn bags from Sam's Club and some hot dog trays from the dollar section at Target.  Everything fit perfectly and had it's own place, making enjoying your snack in the dark a breeze.

I lined our fence with tea lights in my handmade mason jar lanterns and they provided a cute ambiance and a little guidance along the path to and from our backyard.

We ended up watching Ghostbusters for our first movie of the summer.  I thought something fun and little nostalgic would be cute for our first showing.  I think we'll end up watching a mixture of popular newer releases as well as old favorites.

Once fall approaches and it begins to get dark earlier, we're thinking it might be fun to have a few double feature nights.  I also am totally excited about the possibility of doing a Halloween themed showing or two in October, starting out the evening around the fire pit making homemade s'mores and roasting hot dogs.

Everyone loves a movie night and their is something so fun and special about throwing one in your own backyard.  You can go all out and have a chic styled event, or take a slightly more causal route like I did.  Either way, the backyard movie night is sure to be a hit with everyone!