sstich79's Summerswap List

So I decided to sorta-kinda hijack someone else's questionnaire in order to have a jumping-off point. Here we go! Hope I cover enough bases for you.

My style:

• Makeup: Always at least a tinted moisturizer or my Time Balm foundation (and I owe this site BIG-TIME for turning me on to the Beauty Blender), blush (I love ALL the blushes and am always looking for the HG that's not too pale pink for my tan skin), generally minimal/neutral eyeshadow with a pop of color from eyeliner (I really like liquid eyeliners, but am trying to show pencils some more love), mascara, and I have to have brow products because my brows have decided that falling out and getting thin is the thing to do. I am trying to branch out in the eyeshadow department, but it's a learning curve! Lips vary from sheer gloss/balm to ombre with a fuchsia jumbo lip pencil and orange lipstick, depending on my mood.
• Hair: Dark brown, and usually in a ponytail because I'm in the process of growing it out and it's in that awful in-between phase. It's generally flat and dry as hell, used to be wavy/curly but is now just frizzy-ish unless I beat it into submission with an iron of some sort. I have a hard time finding products that do me any good without just weighing my hair down or looking gunky... maybe you've got some miracle product up your sleeve? (Hey, a girl can dream...)
• Nails: Short, brittle, and stumpy, but that doesn't stop me from polishing them ALL the colors... except most shades of blue, for some reason, although lately I've been on a mission to find the perfect robin's-egg/Tiffany blue.
• Skincare: Just spent WAY too much on several Skyn Iceland products... I currently look a good bit younger than my 35 years, and I plan to keep it that way as long as possible, so I'm all about finding really good, nourishing anti-aging products. I exfoliate regularly, and right now I'm grooving on the Derma E microdermabrasion product that Ipsy sent out in May. I also like to do masks, but preferably the muddy kind, not the peely kind.
• Body products: I LOVE me some smelly-good body stuff! Ipsy got me hooked on Pacifica's body butters, so I've bought quite a few of their fragrances. I tend to prefer citrus scents over floral scents, and I'm not down with musky/incense sorts of scents. I've also got a skin condition called keratosis pilaris that makes the skin on the backs of my arms bumpy and spotty-looking, so I use sugar scrubs regularly... Tree Hut's sugar scrub is in my bathtub right now. I cherish my relaxing bath time, so I'm always looking for awesome bath products.
• Accessories: Usually minimal and simple, almost exclusively silver. I love finding fun, unique tiny post earrings to wear to work (I'm a nurse, and you don't want earrings that a confused patient can get ahold of to rip out of your earlobe)... right now my favorites are tiny colorful sea turtles, seashells, crabs, and hummingbirds. (If you can't tell from that little list, I LOVE most things beach/ocean related... I have a special love for octopuses and jellyfish.) I love big obnoxious costume-jewelry rings for some reason.

General cosmetics info:

• What one product can you just not get enough of? Lippies! All the bright, pretty lippies, please. Right now I'm loving orange-leaning colors for summer. Also powder blushes.
• What items (makeup/skincare/tool) do you feel are missing from your routine? Good eyeshadow brushes... well, brushes in general, really, but especially for eyes. Ooh, and a good blush brush. My current ones are TJ Maxx-style, since I'm pretty new to wearing eyeshadow other than the sweep of bronzer I'd been doing for the past decade or so!
• What beauty-related product(s) do you just not want to receive? I have zero use for self-tanning products, because I am already olive-skinned. And I would prefer not to receive perfume because most perfumes react badly with my body chemistry and create a migraine-inducing funk, so I don't stray from the path with those. (I have discovered lately that Demeter colognes seem to be a universal exception to this rule, though.) I'm not big on cream blushes and eyeshadows... they just don't seem to stay put on me nearly as well as powders. No false lashes, please! Can't do 'em, don't have any use for 'em.
• What brand do you have more products from than any other? Any particular reason? NYX, because I find it easier to experiment with things like bright colors if I don't spend much on them, plus the quality is generally really solid.
• What brand(s) have you been wanting to try but haven't gotten around to? Benefit, Tarte, Sleek, Stila, anything Urban Decay other than eyeliner.
• What brand(s) do you not want? I personally tend to skip the drugstore makeup aisle in general just because that's what I used for soooooo long and it's been so much fun discovering new things in the rest of the world of makeup... but if you know of some amazing drugstore product, I wouldn't protest! Oh, and I'm not a fan of Pop after that whole Ipsy stinky-gloss fiasco.
• Favorite color? Purple to wear, happy yellow to look at.
• Color(s) to avoid? Anything in the royal blue vicinity.
• What's your favorite perfume/wearable scent of all time? What's your favorite perfume/wearable scent to wear in the summer? The original Juicy Couture perfume is my HG scent. Right now I'm loving Demeter Jasmine and Honeysuckle for summer, even though florals usually aren't my jam.
• What is the fragrance of your favorite home fragrance (e.g., candle, diffuser)? Tropical scented candles / plug-ins, usually. My favorite candle EVER was by Our Own Candle Company (the ones in the mason jars with handles) and had the most amazing "Almond Biscotti" amaretto type of scent, but it was tragically discontinued, and I also LOVE a Yankee candle called "Peach and Sweet Berries."
• Describe your favorite scents/notes, without naming a specific perfume or fragrance. Citrus, honeysuckle, jasmine, coconut, amaretto, peach, pretty much anything fruity/tropical that will send me on an olfactory beach vacation!
• Scent(s)/notes(s) to avoid? Musk, incense, woody smells, heavy florals.

Other random tidbits about me:

• Current subscription boxes? Ipsy, Graze, and I just signed up for a new one called Charleston Epicurean because I love to cook and Charleston is one of my favorite places on the planet. I've also bought the May and June Rainbow Honey mini mystery bags, but haven't quite convinced myself to signup for an actual subscription.
• What do you do in your spare time? Are there any hobby-related items you would like? I love to cook, so if you've got some awesome favorite spice or seasoning blend or something foodie-related, that could be cool! I dabble in all types of arts and crafts, but I'm generally pretty finicky about what supplies I use.
• Describe three things decorating your living space: seashells I've collected, a vintage White Star Line advertisement for the Titanic, an old library card catalog that I bought and am in the process of refinishing!
• What non-beauty item(s) would send you over the moon? It's a stretch at this time of the year, but I love collecting Christmas ornaments, especially ones that are unique to a certain place (I try to buy one from every vacation destination). My favorites are the "Old World" style blown-glass ones, but I love 'em all!

Quick yes/no:

• Foils: yes
• Deluxe samples: yes
• Hand-made items: yes
• Candles: yes
• Tarts: no
• Reed diffusers: no
• Incense: no
• Local items: definitely! I think it would be very cool if you've got some favorite things from your hometown.
• Mix CD: why not? Could be a fun way to discover some new summer jams.
• Home items: maybe? I'm not really much of a knick-knack person, but going back to the "local items" question, sometimes I like cool random little things.
• Food items: sure! I'm pretty open food-wise, the only things I really don't like (that I could imagine someone sending) are BBQ-flavored things, rosemary, and olives. Oh, and I would totally love a copy of your favorite recipe if you've got one... my recipe book can always use a new addition!
• Beverages: maybe? I don't really drink tea, although I like some herbal teas and I love chai, and I have a Keurig, so I only use K-cups and don't really use loose coffee.
• Puzzle books: no

A sampling of things I'm interested in:

• Pretty colored eyeliners! Love liquid especially, all kinds of colors except royal/electric blues, preferably not glittery because it always winds up in my eyes, currently searching for the perfect lime green and true emerald green (too many "greens" lean teal. I'm talking I want legit leprechaun green). Ooh, the Lime Crime liquid liner in orange...
• Also curious about Stila Smudge Sticks, especially the happy colors like Canary, Mint Julep, and Turquoise.
• As mentioned above... good eyeshadow brushes would be great.
• Even though I'm an eyeshadow newbie, I am grooving on the happy bright matte colors in the Coastal Scents Creative Me #1 palette!
• I've been itching to try Lush things, like the bath bombs and the Lemony Flutter cuticle cream. (Although I hear the Burt's Bees lemon cuticle cream is pretty badass too...) Bath bombs / bath products in general are always awesome.
• I'd love to try out Sleek blushes and eyeshadow palettes... I've seen some pretty awesome swatches!
• I randomly really adore the Violent Lips red and white polka-dot lip tattoos, even though I have no idea where I would ever wear them. So fun!!!
• I have gotten hooked on indie glitter polishes, and I would just about murder for a bottle of Happy Hands Nail Polish in There's Always Money in the Banana Stand! It's discontinued, so the odds are stacked against me, but maybe you are a nail polish ninja who knows about epic top-secret nail polish blog sales or something.
• There's some other stuff in a wishlist on my swap thread, if you're bored and need more to read!

But the most important thing you should know is that I'm sure I'll be thrilled with whatever you choose for me! All of the above = just a framework to give you an idea of what I'm about, but you can build whatever you want and I'll think it's awesome. Thanks in advance for being my person!

As discussed on the Summerswap forum, here's a little Birchbox wishlist, if you're one of those BB points-having ladies:

• Derma E Microdermabrasion Scrub... LOVED my Ipsy sample, and it's almost gone!
• Cargo Water Resistant Blush in Los Cabos... did I mention I am addicted to blush?
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Dark Brown... my pitiful brows need all the help they can get!
• Rosanna Portico Rectangle Tray... if we're talking non-makeup things, I LOVE this! It would make such a beautiful catch-all for my dresser.
• Stephanie Johnson Mermaid Round Snap Mirror (from "Modern Mermaid" box)... so frivolous, SO gorgeous.
• BeautyBlender / BlenderCleanser... could always use back-ups for my current one!
• Ahmad Tea Explore London Teabag Caddy... these are SO adorable! I didn't even know how much I needed a teensy red phone booth on my counter until just now.
• Beauty Protector anything! Love.