My ClearlyContacts.ca Experience-Review

Hey Dolls,

My First Free Pair of Glasses

      I am going to write a short review of this amazing website called Clearly Contacts. First off, I would like to say, I am not in anyway affiliated with the company Clearly Contacts. This is based upon my personal experience with the company. Now that, that is said and done, let's move on. I work a very part-time retail job and have absolutely no benefits which leaves me with cavities and no eye glass coverage either. I needed a new pair of glasses for sometime and decided to give Clearly Contacts a try. I had seen many commercials and it seemed too good to be true. There main claim was 'First Pair Free'. This ofcourse would seem like a scam but to my surprise after searching through a wide array of glasses both designer and generic, I found that after entering a special code that my frames and lenses were deducted from my bills. This left me with a $14 shipping and handling fee. I couldn't have been more thrilled. Let me explain a few more details before you jump on this site right now! First thing is first, most optical retails shops sell frames and lenses at a separate cost. Clearly Contacts includes the price of basic lenses in your total bill. The only time you pay extra for lenses if you choose specialty lenses, for instances, anti-glare or transitions. I personally just took the basics.

I loved the selection of classes I saw. There was page after page and they have even more recently added Ray Bands to their line up. Pretty impressive if you ask little ol' moi. My favorite brand thus far has been a brand called 'Love'. Almost all their frames feature cute little hearts on the frames. Super cute and I have purchased two pairs so far.

The ordering process is pretty general  but one thing got me. Most optometrist have no probably giving you a copy of your prescription but as a rule they do not give you a PD reading (pupil distance). This is something needed to get glasses so you must calculate it on your own. The website does feature a how-to video and I found Youtube pretty helpful as well. This would be my only con as it was a little complicated.

I have purchased two pairs of glasses since I first found out about this site and my first pair was indeed free (except shipping and handling) and my second pair was on sale for $38. I suggest signing up for their emails because they always have some great deals going on. (On Valentines Day, all the Love brand glasses were a mere $14!!!)

Alright, you can go get your free pair now...:) Your Welcome!

Please tell me about your experiences with Clearly Contacts!!! I would love to hear whether you loved it as much as I did.

Thanx for reading

Love Sarah

What Does This Comb Do? A List of Basic Combs and What Each One Does.

Hey Dolls,

        How is everyone doing on this fine hump day? Good I hope. Hump day is usually the light at the end of the tunnel when we realize that the weekend is near so that usually settles it as a 'happy' day. I had a big day and I must say I am exhausted! Yawn. But I am trying to be more consistent with my blog post so here I am, plugging through to write this blog post for y'all! ;)

So, let me set the mood for you. You walk into your favorite beauty supply store to grab a comb for your purse. You walk by tons of glorious nail polish and drool. Then comes the hair color and you find yourself thinking of what do color your hair next. Moving on you catch a whiff of a lovely smelling shampoo and then you finally hit the combs section. All you want is a small pocket comb but you are confronted with comb after comb and you have no idea what each one does. That's why I'm here! Here is a few of the most common combs and what each one does.

Wide Tooth Comb

 This comb can come with or without a handle and usually sports long quite spaced out teeth. These usually come in plastic and sometimes wood. This comb is usually used to free large loose tangles. Another common use is for distributing conditioners or other treatments through out the hair. Alot of people use this comb to detangle while in the shower or use it to comb through wet hair. This comb can be used on pretty much any hair type.

Detangler

 This comb usually features two rows of teeth. The teeth are close together so that little hair gets through without detangling a knot. This kind of comb is usually used to detangle tighter knots and usually causes less damage. This comb is best used in wet hair in combination with a detangling spray. This comb is best used in thicker hair types.




Tail Comb or Rat Tail Comb

 This combs usually feature close together, fine teeth with a long tapered pick on the end. These combs are used to smooth and part hair when styling. The comb side can be used to smooth and tease hair. The pick is used for anything from parting hair to foil highlights. Some tail comes feature a metal pick for highlights. This comb can be used on all hair types.








Flipside Comb

This has to be goofiest looking comb around but this thing is a one-tool wonder. It features teeth used to tease, smooth and detangle. The end features a pick comb which can be made of either dipped metal or plastic prongs. This is the ultimate styling comb!






Pick Comb or Afro Pick 

 This comb features a large vertical handle with long downward teeth. These are usually made of plastic. A common misconception on these bad boys is that they are meant for Afro type hair styles. WRONG! These can be used to add height to anyone's hair.














Teasing Comb

 These combs can have many different features. Most have a long tapered pick similar to that of a tail comb. They sometimes feature three rows of teeth that can either be made of plastic or boar. Sometimes the teeth just vary in height. These are used to tease the hair and add volume. Any form of teasing can cause breakage so only use these on healthy, strong hair.







So, there you have it. Some basic comb types and what they do. There are many variations of each comb so they may look different than the ones shown above. I will post a brush directory in a few days so stay tuned. If you have any questions about any of the combs shown or have a question about a comb not shown please leave a comment below and I will try my very best to answer your request.  Thank you all for reading and see you soon!


Love,

Sarah

Blog Name Change and My reason behind it

Hey Guys,

     Hope all of you beautiful people had a great hump day! We are officially 15 minutes from Thursday...Yay! Did you guys get a chance to read my last blog post about coconut oil? I have been using it and I will give you an update shortly! Anyways, if you haven't noticed already, the blog name has changed and I am not the Pretty Pauper rather than the Opinionated Beauty Queen. What is my reasoning behind it?

I have recently been on a budget, trying to save money and pay down some bills I have banging at my door. I have been avoiding Sephora like the plague! Their stuff is great, but their prices can be outrageous. I really want to focus on makeup and hair products for people like me who are on a budget but still want to look fabulous! That being said, I will still be splurging here and there and I will be sharing via my blog and youtube channel which will make the transition from the OBQ to the Pretty Pauper shortly! Thank you to all my loyal readers and see you all soon! XXO

Love,
Sarah

Coconut Oil Love

Hey Everyone,

           I know I have been MIA for a while and I am so sorry to all my subscribers and regular readers. Life has been exceptionally crazy this last little while but things have slowed down alot with work and such. My Dad was admitted into a long term care facility a while back and we have just been getting used to the idea and how to work our schedules around it and everything. Work was really crazy for a while but we hired a second worker and now my hours got sliced in half so I have a bit more time on my hands.

          Anyways, enough with my babbling and on to Coconut Oil. I have heard countless good things about this "miracle" oil through pinterest, television and other sources so I obviously needed to try it for myself. I went to a bulk store near my work and picked it up for about $7 CAD. Some of the claimed presented are:

-Hair Growth
-Skin Care
-Weight Management

These are the three categories with subcategories ranging from long hair  to moisturized hair, Blemish Control to eye makeup remover, Speeding metabolism to diabetes management. I only purchased the oil yesterday so I haven't really been able to give it a good try as of yet but I did get a chance to test a few things.

Last night I washed my hair but skipped the conditioner, then after towel drying my hair I took some of the solidified oil in my hand and ran it through my hair, scalp to end. After I was done distrubing the oil I wrapped my hair in a turban towel. Left it in for about an hour while I watched tv. I rinsed it out without shampoo before hitting the sack. When  I woke up my hair was a hot mess let me tell you. The oil was still clinging to my hair as in it looked wet. So, I jumped in the shower and washed with shampoo and it came out clean. My hair does seem alot shiner and lusty. I mainly bought it for the hair growth claims so I will let you know. I plan on doing things a bit differently next time though. Perhaps not washing my hair, putting the oil in and then washing it out with shampoo in the morning. This may work a bit better.

Another claim I was reading last night was that it can heal and prevent cavities. Now I do not have dental benefits and I will try anything to help me avoid going to the dentist. I know I have a few cavities and some bad ones that need to be pulled but I can't afford any extractions right now so I will try whatever I can. Anywho, I decided to do a dental pulling which basically consisted of my swishing melted coconut oil around my mouth for 10 minutes, spitting and then rinsing. I haven;t noticed the benefits yet because I have only attempted this once but I do plan on doing this atleast twice a week so we shall see what result come on it. So, far that is all I have had a chance to try but I will try some other stuff too and write an update blog in a few weeks. :)

Please give me any tips and tricks you may have involving coconut oil!

P.S- This stuff taste great and very pure. Make sure you get virgin coconut oil this stuff can be used for cooking and baking along with your beauty needs! Double Wammy! Also, Please take a moment to answer my poll about what you use coconut oil for! D Thanks in advance.

Curling Wands 101

Hey Everyone,

       I know that I have not posted in a while but I have been vlogging alot lately. Check out my latest video all about curling wands. Also share it with your friends! :D

JustFab.ca Review

Hello Ladies!

It's Friday's Eve and that means the weekend is at our finger tips. Over here in Canada we had a bit of a dribble of snow over night. Which is blah! Anyways, I have recently tried my hand at online shopping and thought I'd share my experience with you guys reading this.

So, on Monday night I was channel surfing and came across the commercial for JustFab.ca claiming that all the shoes on the website (Including Boots, flats, platform-any shoe really) was priced at $39.95.Another reason I was compelled to give it a try is that I have quite large feet, I'm a size 11 for heck's sake! I thought that if shoes were that cheap and they had a size 11 then it would be worth giving a try. So, I logged on!

The Experience
When you log on, the site is super trendy and fun looking. I am a sucker for advertising so this made the site way more desirable. When you log on, it doesn't allow you to search through the shoes unless you create a profile, which at first annoyed me, but later made sense. To create a profile, it asks you a few style preference questions which help to narrow down the styles you may be interested in. Almost immediately after I created my profile, I received an email from them saying that if I ordered my first pair of shoes today, i would get them for half price. Ofcourse, this appealed to me. And I ordered.

The Ordering Process
The ordering process is pretty clean and simple. Name, Mailing address, credit card info...yada yada yada!

Now comes the waiting game
After ordering, the expected deliverydate was about 10 days after my order was processed. They gave me a tracking number and just for fun I decided to enter the number last night and boom! They came today. Only 2 days after my order was processed! i did not pay extra for rush delievery, so I was naturally impressed.

The goods
So my shoes came! And here they are:

 Beautiful right? Since my shoe size flucuates I was quite nervouse over whether they would fit or not. I was pleasently suprised as they fit quite well but they do seem a bit snug. Nothing that alittle stretching can't fix.

READ THE FINE PRINT
Yes, although I do madly love my shoes, there is a con to this whole process. For some reason I felt like I should read up reviews regarding the company. You know, to see it people liked or disliked it and what not. Not sure why I decided to do this after creating a profile and ordering but that it beside the point. Alot of the complaint I saw were regarding people being charged on a monthly basis. People were saying they thought it was a one shot deal but it's a memebership. This kind of caught me off gaurd, because I honestly didnt want to purchase a pair of shoes a month! That's alot of shoes! If I was rich then I may consider it but seriously....I don't think I can handle to spend over $40 on a pair of shoes each and every month. I honestly am not a 'fine print' reader so I didn't bother. If it wasn't for reading reviews, I would have never know and I would have been charged every month for it. Now, on the website, they give you the fresh and easy option to cancel your account. NOT! Once you hit cancel, it advises you to call customer service to cancel your account. My guess is, to try and guilt you into keeping it. I called today but I was put on a solid hold and waited forever. In the meantime, I used their live chat, which also had a wait time. The girl on the other end said that in order to cancel I did infact need to call in. I decided to wait until later to call and cancel. I will update this when I do finally get through. Now, that being said, the website does give you the option to skip the month. Therefore, you aren't obligated to buy and will not be charged.

Will I purchase again?
Like I said, if I could afford to purchase a pair of shoes every month, I totally would keep my membership. I do really like the selection of shoes and I like that they carry a varity of sizes from the smallest to largest (lthough they do not carry size 12). The website is easy to navigate and is pleasing to the eye. The price is right and you get your shoes in a matter of days. It also seems that they have a very good return policy. I also like that you get your first pair for 50% off. This made me very happy. Minus a few annoyances, I really do like the idea of this site. If you want to give it a whirl, I suggest really reading up on it to make sure it's the right choice for you.

Hope this review helps you out. I want to know, did you have a good experience with JustFab.ca? A bad one? The floor is yours, take it away!

Covergirl Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation Review

Woof! That was a mouthful! But yes, I shall quickly review the newest foundation to the covergirl line. I havent really been consistent with a foundation in a while but this one may have switched me. Let me explain...

Packaging:

This product comes in a 1 oz. glass bottle that sports a teal blue pump. Which makes it extra intriguing. I am defiantly a sucker for some good packaging and this defiantly caught my eye.

The Product:

I usually just pump a sufficient amount of product on my hand and then dip my buffing brush into it. The product isn't very thick but it isn't super runny either. It's is just right! Said the Mama bear. ha ha! I love the way that the product spreads and blends easily. Although I did find that I had to go in with a sponge in certain areas that seem to collect more product. That my friends...is my only complaint! :D

Coverage:

This product claims to be a primer, concealer and foundation all in one, hence the 3-in-1 part. And man oh man! Does it ever live up to it's name...This stuff covered everything. I have quite a bit of acne scarring and zits in general and this stuff really does live up to everything it says it will. I only have to use a little concealer under my eyes and I'm good to go. There are times that I need to cover a bit more so I just add more product where I need it. This also dries matte so there is almost no need for powder .

Would I buy this again? Heck yes! It is amazing and I say to give it a try!

Sidenote: Aztec Nails

Hey Beauties.

We are snowed in here in Toronto and the car is barricaded in snow. This means I have no where to go and I have to stay home and entertain myself. I decided to take advantage of the free time and gave myself a pedicure since I was in great need of one. Think what you will of the condition of my feet. Not pleasant, let me tell you. Anyways, since i was removing my toenail polish without gloves on, the acetone ruined my manicure. So, I decided to get artsy and give Aztec nails a run. If you don't know what Aztec nails are, you will in a minute. Another name for Aztec nails are tribal nails. Basically, it's a nail with a white base and different color strips and then fun abstract designs between the lines. Sounds a little complicated, I know. But here is a pic of my nails to give you an idea.

They are far from perfect but I have been wanting to give it a try for a while. Don't judge ha ha! Anyways, that it for me on this snowy Friday. Don't forget to check out my Youtube channel to see what's new and exciting. I post reviews, hauls and more. Check it out! Here is a link to my latest video.

 

Anyways, Thanks for reading/watching lovelies!

 



 



Nail Envy Review

Hey Beauties!

I am sorry that I have been MIA for a bit and if you watch my newest Youtube video you will get a little insight as to why. I will post a link at the end so you guys can watch it. But on to bigger and better things. I have for you all a review of OPI Nail Envy. Now, I know that this isn't a new product on the market but it is certainly new to me. What made me decide to give it a whirl is a post I saw on Pinterest showing a picture of the nail with and without Nail Envy. The first picture is the nail that is flat and easily broken, the second is a picture of the nail with a strong curve which makes it harder to break. This stamped an impression in my head.

So, this product is alittle on the pricier side for a nail strengthener. It retails for about $15 at local beauty supply stores. It has a milky color and is sported in a signature OPI bottle. After application, I noticed right away that it had strengthened my nail. My nail appeared thicker and harder to bend. After a few days my nails still stayed strong and my manicure lasted alot longer. So, my nails defiantly stayed strong and my mani lasted. I give this product an A+. I will be buying it again!

Hope this helped you guys out and thanks for reading.

Stay tuned for more blogs soon.

Winter Hair Survival 101

I'm back ladies and gents,

                   It has been a crazy last couple of weeks! Between work, events, dinner and family life has been pretty cray cray. Let me fill you in on a few life details before we get started on our winter hair survival. First off, Work...let me tell you, when I chose retail as my "career" I obviously wasn't thinking about how xmas time would be...Holy moly! I think it was the craziest Ive seen it. One Sunday my self and co-worker couldn't get away from the cash register for two minutes. It was 5 hours straight of pure chaos! On top of a hectic work schedule, almost ever weekend i have had an invite somewhere (Not bragging, just saying because it never happens). I even had to turn a few invites down just because I need rest. I have work the last 5 Saturdays in a row so having today off is a treat. I thought I would take advantage and write a blog post since my post have been few in the last little while. So let's jump right into it...

WINTER HAIR SURVIVAL!!!!!! (read with a loud amplified voice)

Here are a few tips to keep your hair looking gorgeous through out the winter months.

1. Deep moisturize 1-2 times a week. This is my first tip because it's the most important. I always deep moisturize whether it's summer or winter because I am not very good to my hair. Not only is it all bleached underneath but there is always layers upon layers of hair color. Then there is heat styling. I do not blow dry my hair if I can help it but I am attached to my flat iron and curling tools. So, this is a crucial step for me. Doing so in the winter will help keep the elasticity in your hair and give it shine. The trick to deep moisturising is patience. You want your deep conditioner to really penetrate into the follicle. I leave my mask on for around 5-7 minutes, but that is the minimum. You can also leave it on for 20- 1hour. The longer the better!
2. Brush with a paddle brush or boar bristle brush. Making sure your hair is brushed it a good idea too. With the harsh winds in the winter time, cold hair dries out the hair causing more breakage. If you keep your hair tangle free, it's means let breakage when attempting to detangle hair. Alot of people opt for a boar bristle brush. Boar brushes usually sport softer, more dense bristles. These help polish the hair and have a less damaging effect. I do not recommend boar bristle brushes for people with fine hair, it will cause static electricity...buzzzzzzz!
3. Comb wet hair with a wide tooth comb. Alot of people like to brush through wet hair with a paddle brush. I do not recommend this because this causes more tangles and will break the hair. Using a wide tooth comb lets you gradually comb through the hair. If the hair is conditioned properly, this should be done with ease. If you must use a brush to detangle after a shower, I would opt for a small vent brush. These are brushed used for blow drying hair, so the bristles are more spaced out, having the same effect as a wide tooth comb.
4. Condition every time you wash. Alot of people like to skip the conditioner in the shower due to overly productive oil glands, etc. But I would still opt for conditioner during the winter months. I never condition my roots, but I always condition my ends. These take the most beating and I like to keep them well moisturized.
5. Wear a hat. Wearing a hat with protect your hair from all the harsh elements that can damage your hair further. There are so many cute styles out there...why not wear a hat?
6. Wear your hair up at night. It like to loosely tie my hair in a bun when I hit the sack at night. This helps keep my long locks tangle free and prevents spit ends.
7. Use a silk pillow case. I like to use a silk pillow case because it keeps my hair from splitting. I never used a silk pillow case before and now that I have for about 2 years now, I'm hooked. When I need to wash it and put on another pillow case, I notice the different right away. A silk pillow case allows the hair to glide across the case and doesn't tug or pull at the hair. Using a silk pillow case is also good for you skin because it doesn't tug or pull at the skin which can cause wrinkles to develop faster.

So that's it! Follow these tips for some luscious locks this winter.

A side note:
A couple of my friends have a band and they hosted an event last night which I attended. Here are two pics from the event.

 

 

 

So that's it. Had a blast and they did an amazing job. Have a fantabulous weekend and see u all soon!