Tag Archives: birthday gift

May23

Tim Misny: A Hometown Hero

Posted on May 23, 2023 by lifewithlilred

Hello!! Every major city seems to have a lawyer who specializes in amazing marketing. In the greater Akron/Cleveland area, this honor goes to none other than a one mister Tim Misny. He is a personal injury lawyer who literally everyone knows from his billboards and commercials featuring his signature eyebrow arch and catchphrase of “I’ll make them pay”. His billboards are absolutely everywhere, sometimes they are one on top of the other! In fact, on the way to the Cleveland Clinic, I see at minimum five Tim Misny billboards and it never ceases to make me smile.

Recently, Tim Misny opened up a merch shop called Misny Merch and proceeds from every sale goes to the Cleveland City Mission, a charity close to Tim’s heart. Because my dad and I always get a laugh at the omnipresent Tim as we frequent the Cleveland Clinic throughout the week, he let me go on a Misny Merch shopping spree for my birthday! Check it out:

^^^ How can anyone say no to a Misny To The Max baseball cap?!

With this purchase from my father, there was a catch. Tim Misny is currently hosting a contest for the grand opening of his shop and I am desperate to win. The prize? A lunch with Tim at “Misnyland”!! I am not sure what Misnyland is, but I guess I’ll find out when I win lol. Cocky? No. Just confident because the contest parameters are one that I specialize in: Pictures showcasing your Misny Merch swag! And you all know what that means: An OOTD featuring my fabulous new cap and T-shirt that Tim Misny made me pay for. 😀

You can peep my Misny To The Max OOTD coming soon on lifewithlilred. Winner or no, this purchase went towards a wonderful charity that is dedicated to helping people out of a tough time and that is good enough for me. Cross your fingers and toes that Tim Misny picks yours truly as the winner so I can make him pay for lunch!!! ❤

Who is a local celebrity in your neck of the woods? Have you ever won a contest before? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun26

Ilia Lip Wrap Hydrating Mask Review

Posted on June 26, 2022 by lifewithlilred

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Hey! I had a fantastic little three dollar haul from Sephora so that I could get my Beauty Insider birthday gift. I made the most of their free shipping at the time and ordered a pack of makeup wipes and lots of freebies. For my birthday gift, I chose the Ilia makeup set and have been so pleased with everything in it. I’m obsessed with the tinted lip oil, I gave my sister the mascara, and I just started using the Lip Wrap Hydrating Mask:

I love the idea of a lip mask but they never seem to love me. I have never been blown away by any of the ones that I have tried and always find that the chapstick that I normally put on before bed is more effective. I was expecting similar results of “fine but not impressed” by the Ilia Lip Wrap Hydrating Mask and was so happy that I was wrong! 😀

The packaging on the lip mask promises “fuller and softer lips” and it definitely delivered. Upon waking up after one use, my lips felt ultra hydrated and even looked more supple. My bottom lip is fuller than my top one and I noticed a huge difference in my top lip’s size which I was shocked by. It looked much better portioned in comparison to my bottom lip and I have never had results like that after one or several uses of a lip mask.

Although I did really like the Ilia Lip Wrap Hydrating Mask, I don’t know if I can justify its twenty-six dollar price tag from Sephora. I was also surprised by a lot of negative reviews for it, one of which being that it had a gritty texture. I noticed that too but it was overall very creamy with a little grit that I just wiped off.

If you can snag this product as a freebie, then I say go for it. I know that I will be doing the same. However, twenty-six dollars is steep for a little jar of lip mask and no matter how impressed I was by it, I would never spend that much!

What is your favorite lip product? Which birthday gift did you choose if you are a Beauty Insider? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun23

Paint By Numbers Misfortune

Posted on June 23, 2022 by lifewithlilred

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Hello! My best friend, Lea, gifted me with everything that I needed for my own personal wine and paint night for my birthday. She got me a paint by numbers kit, which I have heard of before but never tried and was eager to give it a shot. This past weekend, I decided that I would get started on my project before a friend showed up for a game night. Unfortunately, it was way harder than I could have ever imagined:

After unboxing the paint by numbers kit, I was surprised by how difficult it looked but was hopeful that I would be able to complete it. The kit included the canvas, three paint brushes of various sizes, numbered paints, and supplies for hanging it up. With everything that I needed provided, I was still under the impression that once I got the hang of it, it would be easy. That was, however, far from the case.

I had a few hours to kill and I thought that I would start with the biggest task on the canvas first, painting the background and small details white. I began working on one of the vases and even with the smallest paint brush available, I was getting paint in the wrong places and covering up numbers I would need later left and right. After the epic failure of attempting one color on a vase, I started painting the background because that should be easy, right?

WRONG!!!!

The biggest paint brush that the kit had was hardly making a dent in the vast spaces on the canvas that needed covered up. Not to mention that you had to perfectly outline the vases and flowers with the white paint too. I switched back and forth between the biggest and smallest brush to accomplish this and was constantly covering up other spaces that needed painted. You seriously almost needed a toothpick small brush to get into all of the tiny nooks and crannies and the smallest brush was way too big for the task.

Of course, I am so thankful to Lea for her super thoughtful gift but I can’t say that this project is one that I plan on finishing. After my first effort, I essentially shot myself in the foot since so many areas got painted over. I am sure that other easier paint by numbers kits are a lot of fun and would happily try one of them. I just don’t have the surgeon steady hands to successfully complete this canvas!

Have you tried a paint by numbers kit before? What did you think of it? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun21

Sephora Birthday Gift Unboxing & Tinted Lip Oil Swatch

Posted on June 21, 2022 by lifewithlilred

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Sephora Birthday Gift Unboxing & Tinted Lip Oil Swatch

Hello!! I had a great little mostly freebie haul from Sephora, which also included my birthday gift for being a Beauty Insider member. As a Beauty Insider, you get to pick one from three or four different gift options during your birth month and I look forward to it every year. The choices range from a set for skin care, hair care, makeup, or fragrance and I always opt for the makeup because I rarely try out new products in that regard.

For the makeup gift, I received a sample pack from Ilia that had a tinted lip oil, mascara, and a lip mask:

^^^ Lol, I had to swatch on my wrist because my hands are now occupied with tattoos!

I am a tried and true user of Too Faced’s Better Than Sex mascara so the travel sized one in this birthday gift will be going to my sister. What really sold me on the Ilia set was the lip mask and tinted lip oil. I love me a lip mask and am constantly on the hunt for a good one because the last several that I have tried have been duds. The tinted lip oil in Only You was also just too pretty to pass up!

I have so many lip colors from Sephora birthday gifts and they never disappoint. Only You by Ilia, however, might be my favorite one yet. It is the most lovely carnation pink hue and I love the texture. While it looks like a gloss, it feels like a balm and I think that everyone can get down with that… No one likes a sticky lip gloss! It makes my lips feel smooth, look supple, and provides the perfect touch of color. I know for a fact that I will be wearing it all summer long. 😀

Keep it posted on lifewithlilred for a review of the Ilia lip mask as well as one more birthday present surprise. Gotta love a birth month!!

What is your favorite makeup brand? What did you choose as your Beauty Insider birthday prezzie? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun19

Sephora Haul

Posted on June 19, 2022 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone!! Sephora always gives the best birthday gifts to their Beauty Insider members and, shockingly, it had all but slipped my mind until I got a reminder email. I didn’t feel like going to the mall just to pick up one thing, however, so I took care of it online. Although I have plenty of the couple of products that I purchase through Sephora, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to buy more to reach the fifty dollar free shipping mark.

Happily, I discovered that they were doing free shipping on all orders when I got on their website! Rather than get more stock pile products, I purchased one small item so that I could get all of my freebies. This haul costed me three dollars in total and it was money well spent! Check it out:

The Haul:

Sephora brand cleansing wipes
Ilia birthday gift – FREE
Tatcha water cream – FREE
Maison Margiela Replica sample – FREE
Sulwhasoo renewing cream sample – FREE

Prior to shopping Sephora online, I never quite understood people’s obsession with it. When shopping in store, you miss out on so many amazing deals and while I would make in store purchases, I never felt like I was getting a lot of bang for my buck. And, at over twenty five dollars for a tube of Better Than Sex mascara (Still worth it!) I couldn’t help but feel like I was getting ripped off.

Fast forward to my first online order and I was like “Oh… I get it now”. Sephora offers some of the best online deals that I have ever seen and I always feel good about what I bought because I get so many freebies. This little haul is a shining example of that and it costed literal pocket change. You just can’t beat that!

I got a sample jar of Tatcha moisturizer with my Beauty Insider points which I am excited to use. And when you shop online with Sephora, you are allowed to pick out two free samples to complete your order. I went for the Sulwhasoo cream as well as a fragrance sample. My best friend, Lea, and I recently had a conversation about wanting to try a more long lasting perfume so I couldn’t not get a new fragrance to test out. Unfortunately, Replica wasn’t a winner but, hey, it was worth a shot.

We will unbox the Ilia birthday gift after checking out my new nails tomorrow so keep it posted for that. In the meantime, give Sephora’s website a look through and see which freebies you can snag for yourself! 😀

What is your favorite fragrance? Which store offers the best in store or online deals? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr16

Newly Organized Jewelry Tower

Posted on April 16, 2022 by lifewithlilred

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Hello! Johnny and I are moving at the end of the month, which means that it has been a frenzy of packing and organizing in the apartment almost formerly known as ours. Every day, I have been trying to make a dent in the packing process during my times when I’m working from home and have a break. One task that I recently completed is one that I am particularly proud of because it’s something that I’ve meant to do for forever. And, that is to finally make good use of the makeup/jewelry organizer that Johnny got me for my birthday a few years ago:

When it comes to my bits and baubles, I am usually meticulously organized. So, don’t ask me why all of my most worn earrings and hair accessories ended up in a Dolls Kill box on my kitchen table… Especially when my jewelry container was literally sitting on the ground a few feet away from it! I knew that this simply wouldn’t do for the move for fear of my accessories getting lost and so I got to work.

The container that Johnny got me is marketed for makeup but I thought that putting my jewelry in it would be a much better option. I don’t have too much makeup but jewelry? That’s a totally different story! I don’t think I ever really realized how many accessories I had thrown into my makeshift jewelry box until I began sorting through it because, although it was shallow, it seemed never ending.

When I have the time for it, nothing pleases me more than an organizing sesh and as I began arranging my container, I felt so pleased with myself. It was so nice to make good use of a gift from Johnny and actually be able to see everything that I have in an organized fashion. In fact, I daresay that filling up my jewelry container felt even better than making a new and improved beauty stock pile and that’s really saying something because I love that too!

For fast access to your favorite accessories or makeup products, I can’t recommend a container like mine enough. I never would have known how great it was to be organized until I was running late and was able to find the pair of earrings I needed in record time! 😀

How do you keep your accessories organized? What about your beauty products? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

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