Tag Archives: disappointed

Green Day Concert

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Green Day Concert

Hellooo everyone and happy Hump Day! This past Monday, I went to see Green Day at the Blossom Music Center in good ol’ Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Unfortunately, I was (and still am) feeling pretty under the weather, so I can’t say that I enjoyed myself as much as I would have liked to. I would by no means say that Green Day is one of my favorite bands or anything, but I don’t dislike them at all. I actually like them quite a bit, but their concert really just missed the mark for me. Let’s discuss:

I will say that the set list for the Revolution Radio tour was excellent. They focused on some old and new favorites that really took you through the thirty years of Green Day’s existence. Opening with newer heavy hitters like “Know Your Enemy”, “Bang Bang”, and “Revolution Radio” then transitioned seamlessly into older jams like “Holiday”, “Hitchin’ a Ride”, and “Minority”. Like I said, the set list really was good. BUT…

The major BUT(T) is the pure bullshit that happened throughout the show. Literally after EVERY SONG there was at least five minutes of dicking around that ranged from Billie Joe making strange noises into the microphone, encouraging everyone to get “fucking crazy”, or making the audience repeat “hey-oooooo” back at him for the thousandth time.

At the beginning, this was funny and entertaining. But, rest assured, that it got very old, very very quickly. I kept wondering if I would have had a better time if I wasn’t feeling so poorly, but I genuinely don’t think that I would have. The constant silliness of what was happening between the songs was just too much.

All of the bullshitting took away from how wonderful the band sounded live, and that’s sad that I’m just now bringing up how amazing they sounded. Everything about their playing was just perfect, even better than on the albums, really. BUT(T), their live performance turned into well over two hours of tom foolery peppered with good music. It was a shame.

It actually pains me to write such a poor review because I was looking forward to this concert so much. Don’t get me wrong, I have mad respect for Green Day. Thirty years of making music is something that should be celebrated. And maybe what they were doing during their show on Monday would have worked twenty years ago…but, sadly, it fell incredibly short of the high expectations that I had.

Am I glad that I went? I guess. Would I recommend seeing them live? If you’re a hardcore fan, then sure. But I can’t say that I would want to see them play again in the future. Whomp whomp.

So there you have it, my review of the Green Day Concert! Who of my readers are Green Day fans? Have you ever been to a concert that disappointed you? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

PS: Sorry for the lack of pictures! We were quite far away from the stage, so getting a good quality shot was impossible.

Featured Image By: NME

Bath Bomb Blitz: Lush Edition

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Bath Bomb Blitz: Lush Edition

Hi everyone and happy weekend! When my sister, mom, and I hit up Beachwood Mall in Cleveland last week, we had our very first Lush shopping trip. Throughout the years of blogging, I’ve seen posts about Lush products almost daily so, of course, I was eager to finally be able to try them out for myself.

To be honest, the entire experience was a bit underwhelming. The store was small and crowded, the products seemed to be outrageously overpriced, and everything there just seemed…unnecessary. I don’t know, I’m all for treating yourself and I’m happy that I bought some goodies just to try them out but I don’t think that I would ever purchase anything from there again. I guess I fail to see the point of becoming a Lush patron when there are countless stores that have better prices, products, and an overall shopping experience. This was a disappointing realization, to say the least, since I was pretty excited to give them a go.

But all of this is neither here nor there because the products have been bought and I have every intention of enjoying them when I have a pampering party. I started my Lush experience with their “DAD” bath bomb, which I thought was a hilarious purchase. Lol, like why? Haha, I saw it and, because I pride myself on my offbeat sense of humor, I just had to add this to my purchase pile. Take a look at my DAD bomb work its magic:

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So this bath bomb didn’t really smell like anything. Its scent was neither bad nor good so there wasn’t much of an aromatic atmosphere happening in the tub. However, it was pretty fun to watch the bath bomb explode into an array of blues, whites, and oranges. It fizzled for a fairly long time, too – at least twelve to fifteen minutes and by the time I eased into the tub, it still wasn’t done.

I liked the cyan color that the bath water ultimately turned in to and I also appreciated that it didn’t leave any crayon colored residue on the tub. The best part of my DAD bomb was how moisturized it made my body feel. I felt so silky smooth upon exiting my bath and my skin felt so nourished and well taken care of. This was a really nice touch, because the two bath bombs that I had used prior to this one didn’t leave my skin feeling any different.

Overall, I did enjoy using this Lush product. However, I can’t justify spending eight dollars plus on a bath bomb in the future. That shopping trip was fun and, like I said, I was okay with buying things because I had never been to Lush before. After I finish up my purchases, I’m beyond cool with sticking to buying random bath bombs at TJMaxx for three bucks a pop and face masks from The Body Shop, which I always manage to get excellent prices on either online or (once again) at TJs.

So there you have it, my first Bath Bomb Blitz: Lush Edition! How do you feel about Lush? What is your favorite product from there? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Anti Bath Bomb Blitz

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Anti Bath Bomb Blitz

Hi everyone and happy Sunday! The last of my TJMaxx haul ends on a bit of a sour note because the other bath bomb that I got sucked on ice. When I got the three dolla holla Chocolate Kisses bath bomb by the UK brand, Bomb Cosmetics, I thought that I was in for a treat. Even through the wrapper, the product smelled delicious and I thought that my bath water would turn into a frothy, aromatic delight. Boy, was I wrong. Check it out:

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When I put this bath bomb into the water, it initially smelled SO good. It was like opening a bag of Hershey Kisses and breathing it in before eating every single one of them. Unfortunately, after the two or so minutes that it took the bath bomb to fizz out, the smell disappeared completely. Major bummer.

The chocolatey aroma that I was left without would have almost been okay if anything cool happened to my bath water, but that wasn’t the case, either. The color didn’t change at all and the illusion of chocolate sprinkles seen in the last picture makes the water look more dirty than inviting. Whomp freaking WHOMP. -___-

I can’t say that I’m too upset about this bath bomb disappointment because I was still excited to try it and it was only a whole three dollars. BUT, if I do see more Bomb Cosmetics products at TJ’s, I don’t plan on wasting my money again. Are their other bath bombs better? Maybe. But I wouldn’t risk trying it again when my Chocolate Kisses one failed so miserably.

Although my haul ends with an Anti Bath Bomb Blitz, I still had a blast shopping and trying out my new goodies thanks to TJMaxx! Which bath bomb brand do you prefer? What is the coolest bath bomb that you have ever used? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Panty Problems

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Panty Problems

Helloooo everyone and happy Monday! I hope that all of you had a wonderful weekend and a lovely Mother’s Day if you celebrated! I have to tell you guys, I am having some MAJOR Panty Problems up in here, up in here. Your girl has needed some new panties for a while now and I decided that this was the weekend that I would make the panty purchase. My mom and I were going to go up to Belden Village, which is a mall about a  half an hour away from us in Canton so that I could shop at Aerie and I was really excited!

Unfortunately, no other malls near me have an Aerie, which is a damn shame considering it’s my normal panty stomping grounds. But that always has been okay with me because Belden Village is my favorite mall to shop at. Before my faithful sidekick – MY MOM and I left, she also treated me to an Aerie gift card as an early birthday present so that I could get my panty on. It was basically the sweetest thing ever and I was so ready to hit the road so that I could revamp my panty drawer ASAP.

SO, we got to the mall and we went to Aerie and it was essentially the most disappointing moment in my life because every single panty there was nowhere close to moving me on a spiritual level . Like, seriously? I have this here gift card and have made the trek to the mall and literally Not. One. Single. Panty. spoke to me. I couldn’t believe it.

I have never not had good luck at Aerie when it comes to panties, but here I was being surrounded by these…these…panty imposters with a gift card burning a hole in my pocket and NOTHING to spend it on. I was in shock. I was disappointed. And I was simply beside myself in mourning for the current uselessness of my gift card and the fact that my panty drawer would be none the better that night.

We walked out of Aerie and I felt dejected and defeated but I figured that we might as well look at Victoria’s Secret, since we were at the mall. I’m not a huge Vicky S fan when it comes to panties. Frankly, I think that they’re an absolute rip off – but at this point, I felt like I needed something and Victoria’s Secret beckoned me into their pink and black emblazoned store with the promise of severely overly priced panties. And like a sheep walking into the slaughter, I entered the store.

Oh, Victoria’s Secret. A store full of sexy little underthings for prices that you could probably buy a kidney with off of the black market. Don’t get me wrong – all of my bras are from Vicky S. I’m just a ballin on a budget kind of gal. I’m more than willing to shell out for a nice bra but panties are just a different story, which is why I’ve always shied away from purchasing them from Victoria’s Secret. But, there I was, Angel Card in hand and a whole store of panties to pick from…

And I hated all of them. Every single panty there that was on some type of a promotion did nothing for me. Similar to Aerie, they were all just blah. But guys…guys…I really felt like I needed to buy some freaking panties – so what did I do? I made my way to the most expensive table of panties which were three for thirty-five or something along those lines and began to hunt for the perfect pairs because it was the only table in the store that I even remotely liked.

After about five minutes, the deed was done and I made my way to the register. The total came close to forty dollars and I just had to stare at the price for a minute, like a cow looking on to an oncoming train. And, I swiped my card and exited the store…

Instantly, I felt like I had made a big fat mistake but didn’t say anything until we got into the car and were on the highway. I then made the announcement that “I have no idea why I just bought those”. It was obviously a moment of weakness because I genuinely see no justification in spending forty dollars for three pairs of panties and I ended up returning them at a nearby mall the next day.

Long story short, my Panty Problems have been a source of much grief and woe this past weekend and here I stand, STILL PANTY-LESS. G DMXCN SMZDNCDCLKSANCKMASJM AHHHHHHHHHHH. Okay. Wow, I really needed that. Anyways, I guess the moral of the story is to not buy something because you feel obligated to (ESPECIALLY expensive panties), patience is a virtue, yada yada yada. And I guess I’m just going to have to wait until Aerie’s panties don’t completely suck until I spend my gift card. *Patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue.*  Smh. The End.

So there you have it, my Panty Problems for the weekend, which is obvs enough to last a lifetime! Where do you get the cutest panties from? How about the best bras? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Monday Update: Worst Book Ever Edition

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Monday Update: Worst Book Ever Edition

Hi everyone and happy Monday! Welcome to another week here on lifewithlilred. If you’re a faithful reader of my blog, you might have gathered a few things about me throughout the years. Two of them being that I love to read and that I refuse to not finish something that I start. This second Lil Red Fun Fact rings especially true considering that I’m reading the literal Worst Book Ever. Let’s discuss:

My mom brought me home Maestra by L.S. Hilton from the library. I read through the synopsis on the jacket and inspected all of the rave reviews from authors and the like on the back of the book. Many were comparing it to Gone Girl and saying how the lead female character, Judith, was similar to Lisbeth Salander from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Lisbeth is one of my all time favorite fictional characters and TGWTDT will always remain one of my favorite book series, as well.

I knew that this Judith lady would never live up to the love that I have for Lisbeth but I was willing to give the book a shot. Unfortunately, after the first two pages of Maestra, I knew that I was in for the worst reading experience of my life. Even more unfortunately, those two pages read damned me into having to finish the entire three hundred page book. Fuck me, right?

The premise of the book – an art gallery employee gone rogue was nothing that impressed me. It seemed desperately unoriginal and you could tell that Hilton was trying really hard to channel her inner Gillian Flynn and Stieg Larsson to no avail. I could get past this bland story line if the writing was actually good but the novel didn’t even have that going for it. And there was also one major issue…

This book is legitimately like reading pornography. Judith is very in touch with her sexual side and spends her free time going to parties designed for people to have a romp with complete strangers. The writing goes into specific/explicit detail about sex, sex, sex and then falls into the dull lull of a high schooler’s attempt at writing something edgy.

So we learn that Judith is a straight up sex junkie. This is all very well – if she were smart. This is where I start getting angry. Lisbeth Salander was able to overcome every obstacle in her way because she was intelligent as hell. Judith just uses the fact that she’s willing to have sex with anyone to get out of the troubles that she thrusts herself into.

See the difference? One is smart. One is a slut, for a lack of a better word (I know that I’m going to get some backlash for that!). So for people to compare this Judith character to Stieg Larsson’s genius Lisbeth just seems like a slap in the face to an amazing book series/character. Maestra has easily been the worst book that I’ve been essentially forcing myself to read in my life. You know that Hilton is a poor writer when her erotica is better than the actual story. -_-

If you’re in to reading a really shitty book with some porn thrown in for good measure – read this book. But if you’re in to reading about intelligent, cool, innovative, and truly edgy female heroins then do yourselves a favor and stay far away from Maestra. Crack open a copy of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, instead. You’ll thank me later.

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Worst Book Ever Edition! What is the worst book that you have ever read? What’s your favorite book? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

An Open Letter To DWTS

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An Open Letter To DWTS

I admit it. I freaking LOVE Dancing With The Stars. As often as I can, I’ll tune in for my “Middle Aged Monday” routine of watching the program. So far, I’ve loved season 22 and have been enamored by the hunky Nyle DiMarco who showcases an amazing talent for ballroom dancing and just so happens to be hearing impaired. His challenge leaves the judges and sometimes myself included wondering just how in the hell he can express such gorgeous musicality without being able to hear one note of the songs being played. Despite this incredible talent that Nyle possesses, I’ve been utterly disappointed by the interactions seen throughout the show between Nyle and cast mates. There is an apparent lack of person first speaking and complete disrespect…Most surprisingly from his partner, Peta Murgatroyd. Allow me to explain:

Throughout the season, I’ve noticed Peta’s continuous instinct to talk over Nyle as if he can’t answer for himself when being spoken to by the judges or hostess, Erin Andrews. This instinct to jump the gun and open her mouth before Nyle can even begin to start answering in ASL comes across as pushy and disrespectful. I was also completely disturbed by the ease of which she referred to her partner as “the deaf guy” on this Monday’s show. As soon as those words escaped from her mouth, my jaw dropped to the ground.

Excuse me? The deaf guy? You mean your partner? I couldn’t believe that she had the audacity to refer to her partner and supposed friend in such a degrading way simply based on if he can hear or not. I was also kind of disgusted by the fact that she said this while speaking alone to the cameras because that just leaves you to wonder if Nyle even knows that he’s being referred to in such a demeaning matter.

One of the first rules that you learn when you’re working with people with a challenge of any kind is to utilize “person first speaking”. IE: Not “the blind person” but “the person who has a visual impairment”. By referring to Nyle as “the deaf guy” was essentially letting the world know that she only sees her partner as being defined by his disability. Not by his personality, his staggering good looks (wink!), or his ability as a dancer.

I commend Peta for her hard work on teaching Nyle how to ballroom dance and her excellent choreography. However, all of her accomplishments as his partner is being dragged through the mud by her blatant insensitivity which is showcased in her constant need to speak over him and by degrading her so called friend. Before Dancing With The Stars chooses to bring on another celebrity with any kind of disability I suggest some major sensitivity training for all parties involved on the show. I’m honestly baffled that nothing has been done yet with such obvious cases this season and DWTS is definitely losing the respect of an avid fan.

Nail Polish Party

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Nail Polish Party

Hi everyone and happy Tuesday! Thanks to Influenster, I got to try out Sinful Colors’ limited edition Bling It On collection in Teal Midnight. Usually, I’m not fond of nail polish colors if they’re not black so I was a little ambivalent to paint my nails. Unfortunately, once the polish was on my gut reaction of “I’m not going to like this” was right because I really didn’t like it! Take a listen to a cute Lady Gaga song dedicated to the mani and then let’s discuss:

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It’s not that I don’t mind other colors so much as the fact that this was a glitter polish which is a big fat “no” in my book. Had this been a plain old deep teal sans the glitter, I probably would have liked it a lot but as a rule of thumb I really just don’t do glitter of any kind whether it be on lotion, nail polish, or clothing. It’s not my style and it never will be so in all honesty, I feel super weird having this polish on!

I had to put on three coats of the polish just to make it fully cover my nails and even then you can still see through the coat and onto my nails. I guess as a top coat this polish would be okay but you still would need at least two coats to fully cover your nail in glitter. I was actually a bit disappointed in the quality of this polish because I have seen glitter polish that works very well. Because this polish is so thin in comparison to other glitter polishes that I’ve seen it made the application more annoying than pampering.

As a top coat, I do recommend Sinful Colors’ “Teal Midnight” from their Bling It On collection but as a polish alone I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m very unhappy with how they look and even if glitter polish was my thing, I still would be disappointed over the polish quality. Thankfully, Influenster provided me with nail polish remover pads, too, so hopefully those will get the job of taking the polish off done!

It was a kind of sad Nail Polish Party to say the least but I do want to thank Influenster for allowing me to try the product! What is your go to shade of nail polish? What nail polish color would you not be caught dead in? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

iPoll Website Review

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iPoll Website Review

Hey everyone and TGIF! One of my ways to make an extra buck is participating on online survey websites. They’re a great way to earn money, gift cards, and various other rewards and deals. I recently just received a twenty-five dollar Amazon gift card from completing surveys on iPoll. Despite one major issue that I had with the website, I’m overall semi pleased with it, so let’s discuss:

The nice thing about iPoll is that they give you five dollars automatically just for signing up for the website. I love when survey sites do that because it gives you a great head start to getting bigger rewards. I also really appreciated the amount of money that completing each survey was worth. Some sites that I’ve used in the past were only paying pocket change for surveys. Not iPoll. Almost every survey on their site was a dollar or more so that made getting to the twenty-five dollar cash out goal a piece of cake.

Unfortunately, the quickness of completing the surveys did not translate at all to the receiving of monies. After you completed a survey, you then had to wait for what you submitted to pend. This could take one to over six weeks which just didn’t fly with me. The biggest pain in the ass was when I was one pending survey away from reaching the twenty-five dollar goal and it took the final survey EIGHT WEEKS to go through. At that point, it was easy to make the assumption that the website was just trying to hold on to the cash for as long as they possibly could before rewarding their participants. Not cool.

It took me sending an email to customer service for the final pending survey to go through but the waiting game was only just beginning. After I chose the Amazon gift card as my reward, I had to wait an additional six weeks to receive it. Frankly, I wasn’t thrilled with that, either. I finally got the email containing my e-gift card last week and now that I have it, I don’t plan on doing any more business with iPoll. I think that it’s a great site if you’re willing to wait around for months to receive your rewards but I’m just not that patient. It’s too bad, too, because up until those issues, iPoll was easily one of the better survey sites that I’ve used. Oh, well!

So there you have it, my iPoll Website Review! Who participates in taking online surveys? Which ones do you like the best? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nourish Organic Face Cleanser Review

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Nourish Organic Face Cleanser Review

Helloo everyone and happy weekend! I recently started using a new cleanser by Nourish Organic that I snagged from my skin care hoard and I have been nothing but disappointed with it. The worst part? That once I start a product, I completely refuse to not finish it. So now, I’m stuck with using one of the worst cleansers of all time until there’s none left. #FML. I desperately need a vent session about this cleanser so take a look at the packaging and then let’s discuss:

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Okay, first things first is the smell. The packaging claims that it’s fragrance free but it seriously smells like rotten sunflower seeds. That in itself completely turned me off from the cleanser because waking up and having to scrub that on your face is seriously hell. I’m okay with a fragrance free product if it truly is fragrance free or close to it but the marketing for the Nourish Organic Face Cleanser is a blatant lie. Not cool.

On top of the faulty marketing that Nourish Organic used, the packaging for it kind of sucks, too. The cleanser is so thin in texture that as soon as you pop the lid, the face wash starts pouring out. The first time I used the cleanser, I ended up with a substantial amount on my shower floor because I wasn’t prepared for the flood gates to burst free as soon as I opened it. Once again, not cool.

And finally, the fact that this cleanser doesn’t lather in the slightest is a major issue. Because the texture of the face wash is so runny, it feels like you’re just rubbing slime on your face. The result? That your face feels tight, dehydrated, and not even clean. Every time I finish using my cleanser, I’m always so thankful that I use an exfoliator afterwards to pick up the slack. I would almost be okay with the horrid smell and the shitty packaging if the product actually made my skin feel good but if anything, it just leaves it feeling worse.

So how do I rate this product, you may ask? I’m so glad you did! I give the Nourish Organic Face Cleanser: negative one million billion stars and I would not recommend it to anyone. All I can hope for now is that I finish this cleanser quickly so I can use something different because anything is an upgrade from this!

So there you have it, my Nourish Organic Face Cleanser Review! Has anyone used a product lately that they’re completely disappointed in? What face wash are you currently using? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Garnier Makeup Removing Lotion Cleanser Review

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Garnier Makeup Removing Lotion Cleanser Review

Howdy! Okay, first off let me start by saying that I am a big fan of Garnier’s skin care line. I’ve used one of their cream cleansers and an exfoliater of theirs multiple times and I’ve always been really happy with them. After I finished my cleanser from Simple, I picked out the Garnier Makeup Removing Lotion Cleanser from my hoard drawer and had very high hopes for it. I was really excited to try this cleanser out because I’ve been so pleased with their products that I’ve used before – but unfortunately, this face wash really missed the mark. Review their packaging and then let’s discuss:

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I always start my product reviews out by talking about their smell but this cleanser doesn’t have any! I know a few of you have commented on my reviews before saying that you like when skin care doesn’t have a fragrance. That’s all very well, but that’s one thing that I can never get on board with. When I’m taking my morning showers, I love when a product has a really invigorating aroma because it helps wake me up. I don’t mind too much that Garnier’s cleanser is fragrance free because I use a lovely scented exfoliater in the morning, too. But the lack of smell definitely didn’t give this product any brownie points!

One of the reasons why I didn’t care for the Simple cleanser that I had finished before starting this one is that it barely removed any of my makeup. In fact, the only reason why I grabbed Garnier’s cleanser from the hoard drawer is because it spelled out for me right in its name that it was primarily a makeup remover. I like to think that I don’t wear a ton of makeup. I’m lucky enough that I don’t have to use any type of concealer and the only product that I use heavily is the mascara that I love to pile on so very much – which is also the toughest thing to remove. -_-

I didn’t doubt that Garnier’s face wash would do a good job of removing my makeup but I wasn’t blown away by it. Yes, it did get my eye makeup off BUT I’ve used so many cleansers that have done the exact same thing. In fact, Garnier’s other cream cleanser that I’ve used before removed all of my makeup and that bonus was barely even mentioned on their packaging!

The final thing that I discuss when reviewing a skin care or body wash product is if it lathers well. Nice and big suds while I’m scrubbing away are a must for me – I have a hard time feeling truly “clean” without it. This is where Garnier’s cleanser totally missed the mark. The packaging says that this product is for sensitive skin but that doesn’t mean it can’t lather just a little! The texture of the cleanser was thick and creamy but once you rubbed it on your face it literally just sat there and did nothing.

Every morning when I rinse the cleanser off, I’m always so happy that I have an exfoliater that I can use afterwards because the face wash simply does nothing for me. It doesn’t make my skin feel any cleaner and it certainly isn’t doing anything that another more effective cleanser can’t. I’m really disappointed in this product so I’m going to have to rate it with: no stars. There is absolutely nothing about this cleanser that I liked or that made my skin feel good. Now I’m just annoyed that I refuse to not finish products that I start because I’ll be stuck with this sucker for a long while. -__-

So there you have it, my Garnier Makeup Removing Lotion Cleanser Review. I will continue using Garnier products after I finish this face wash but you couldn’t pay me to use this one again! Have any of you used this product before? What are your thoughts on it? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

PS: Have a new picture of me for your troubles! I love the little wave that my boxer braids from this weekend left me with!

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