Nature In A Jar – Philosophy

Happy New Year! Since my last post, I have gotten engaged, received my MBA, planned my wedding, and a million other things in between! A whirlwind to say the least 🙂 With my wedding less than a year away (OMG lol) I have been trying to start my skincare routine as far in advance as possible. Last month I got a facial for the first time in a LOOOONG time. It was recommended that I go monthly, so I have about ten other tabs open trying to figure out which one I should do next!

I do know that there are so many other variables that go into skincare though – diet, stress, exercise, water consumption, and of course products! I have been transitioning my products to all natural, or as natural as I can get for all of them. It’s definitely been a lot of trial and error hahah. I was lucky enough to test out some product’s from philosophy – one of the highest rated skincare lines out there. Their new collection, nature in a jar is full of amazing products that help restore, rejuvenate, and recover skin. These formulas are natural, clean, and vegan! So triple the YES factor.

I tried the cica complex recovery moisturizer and the nourishing in-shower oil and just wow!

The moisturizer is nice and thick yet goes on very lightweight and is absorbed quickly. It feels sooo velvety and smooth and in turn, makes your skin velvety and smooth! Most times I don’t even wear primer. I put this on every PM and usually in the AM, especially on colder days. My skin looks so much more hydrated and dewy. The key ingredients are: cica, prickly pear fruit extract, shea butter, and agave. It retails for $49.00 – totally worth it.

Next is the in-shower oil, a must have for your shower routine!

The oil is so luxurious. It seals in moisture without the whole greasy feel and residue that most other oils leave. I saw some reviews that mentioned the smell, but honestly I couldn’t really smell anything strong or strange about it, I thought it had a very subtle smell to it. What we all can agree on though, is that our skin definitely felt more nourished and moisturized! The main ingredients in the oil are hemp-derived cannabis sativa seed oil, soybean oil, and olive fruit oil. It retails for $32.

Check it out and let me know what you think of this new collection!

XO,

Create FREE Instagram Highlight Covers + Icons

Soo time is flying and severely got ahead of me! I can’t believe my last post was so long ago, oops! If you follow me on Instagram (which 87% of you do since this is probably what you led you here lol), you’d have noticed that I recently revamped my story highlights! As a Virgo, I *love* order and neatness, so I wanted to clean up my highlights and make them more uniform. When I did a little research on how to get these highlight covers, I was shocked to see bloggers and sites actually charge for them! Since I’ve been living everyday like Christmas, I figured let me see how I can create my own. I am so glad I did! I was able to customize the covers exactly to my taste and couldn’t be happier. I def plan on creating more and switch them up in the future.

Here is a step by step guide on how to make your own covers in literally ten minutes from ANYWHERE – phone or desktop!

Go to canva.com. You do not need to create an account, but if you do it is still free.
In the left hand corner, hit create design.
- Select Instagram story (1080×1920 px)

Now comes the fun part, the designing!

For the background of your cover, you can choose ones that Canva already has uploaded, or you can upload your own!
Next you can add text or search for various icons for whatever highlight you are trying to make.

Here is an example of the ones I made! To make more, you can simply just click on “copy page”. This will copy the exact page and you can just change the wording/icon. If you want to create a completely different theme or background, you would hit “add new page” at the bottom.

When you are all done, all you have to do is save! The app interface is still the same so from your phone you’d just download. On desktop, you’d download and then email to yourself and save from there. You can download all at once, or one at a time.

I hope this helps, I can’t wait to see some of your designs!

BRRRMONT

I recently did a little getaway with my sister to Burlington, Vermont, where we were able to escape the hustle and bustle of NYC and take in the fresh air and relaxing lifestyle of Vermonters. It was certainly much needed and long overdue (our last sister trip was Italy!). We were a bit boujee and decided to fly because 5 hours in the car with each other may have turned the trip sour before we even arrived…just kidding! Below are some of our must-sees, must-dos, and must-haves in Burlington. I also should note that going in the Fall would be ideal because you get to see incredible foliage everywhere you turn.

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First things first – highly recommend renting a car for a few days. There are a ton of super cute towns and things to do outside of Burlington and its a great opp to see the mountains and trees and just how green (or colorful depending on when you go) Vermont really is. A fun little fact – billboards are illegal in Vermont! So just picture completely unobstructed, clear visibility to the beautiful scenery!

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn – I would certainly recommend since its location was perfect. Just a few minutes walk from Church Street, two minutes from Lake Champlain (the hotel actually overlooks the lake), and about a 10-15 minute walk to the campus. Parking was $15 a night if you do decide to rent a car and keep it there.

Below are my recommendations!

EATS!

Farmhouse Tap + Grill – AMAZING food. The biscuits were incredible. We split a cheese plate, a fresh, crisp salad, and a savory burger. Highly recommend.

Penny Cluse – absolutely heavenly breakfast – we actually went back TWICE. Definitely get the bucket of spuds…or two. My sister had the special maple french toast and couldn’t say enough good things about it! I loved that I was able to kind of mix and match my breakfast to make my own platter. Gingerbread pancakes are a must! Below is the bucket of spuds and one of my breakfasts.

August First – the cutest little bakery/cafe EVER. We actually came here multiple times because everything was just so satisfying and palatable. The maple biscuit was so flaky and light it honestly didn’t even need butter. I also had a skillet which was delicious – you can really taste the freshness. My sister had the huevos ranchero and for lunch one day she also had the turkey and brie sandwich. They also had really great sweets, such as doughnuts, cookies, brownies, etc. I’m salivating just thinking about them.

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Hen of the Wood – great little restaurant and bar. Very eclectic drinks and a pretty unique menu. We were not too hungry so instead of full on meals we split some appetizers and split the pasta special. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it, but I must say I finished it in seconds it was that good! Below we tried a cheese, split a salad, calamari, and this super appetizing mushroom flatbread with an egg and a big thick chunk of bacon.

We also enjoyed creemees, Ben + Jerry’s (duh), Skinny Pancake for some late night crepes and American flatbread. I would also recommend checking out some of the breweries. We are not big beer drinkers but Foam Brewers was super close to our hotel so we walked over to see it.

El Cortijo – SKIP at all costs. Totally not worth it at all. The food was sub par at best – I mean have you ever had shrimp that tasted like dirty fish water? We both had gotten sick after our meal. The service was also rude and irritable – as if they didn’t want our money. The atmosphere was drab and dingy. I don’t know if I have just been spoiled with great Mexican restaurants around me, but for them to pass this off as Mexican cuisine is just insulting.

ACTIVITIES!

Cheese Making/Farm Tour at Bread and Butter Farm
- This was $75 per person and absolutely worth every single penny. We had a private class where we got to make our very own mozzarella. We also got to tour the farm – and play with the pigs, obviously our favorite part! We were able to pair our cheese with house made bread and farm fresh tomatoes and herbs. A wonderful experience and would recommend to everyone who goes to Vermont!

Ben + Jerry’s Factory
- AKA home. For only a few bucks it was pretty cool to be able to get a little tour of the factory and see how this *God sent* food is created. They have a cute little gift shop and of course an entire section dedicated to where you can buy ice cream. A little walk up the hill, and you will see a park, the Flavor Graveyard, as well as some cows!

Horse back riding at Lajoie Stables
- This was what I was looking forward to the entire trip! I love horses and I love horse back riding. This was about 45 minutes away form Burlington but I am so glad we decided to do it. We received a private hour long tour through the whopping 300 acres of land. We were able to see unbelievable mountain views and see some of the 55 horses they have! The ladies who ran it were so sweet and allowed us to stay longer and pet all of the horses.

Lake Champlain
- Lake Champlain is absolutely stunning. We were able to see it from our room so it was a short distance to walk. We did evening “hikes” (we walked a path lol) along the lake. They had great little bench swings we sat on and people watched…I mean watched the sunset. It was also pretty cool along the trail they had a skateboard park and little random exercise platforms with some equipment. There are also a ton of activities you can do on the water – from sports, to sunset booze cruises. Whistling Man Schooner Co. came highly recommended to us.

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Church Street Marketplace + Farmer’s Market
- Church Street is a bustling marketplace that spans a few streets long. It is blocked off so you are free to walk in the middle of it. They have a ton of restaurants, bars, boutique clothing stores, book stores, you name it they got it. It was a neat little spot and we took strolls down it every night. They also had the absolute #goals of Farmer’s Markets – we checked it out Saturday before we left – highly suggest you make a point of going to it and getting some specialty foods and goods! We also loved Bennington Potters – it was like the Anthropologie of Vermont!

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Explore Farms
- There are a ton of farms that are family friendly. A lot of them offer cheese making demonstrations, some even have wine tasting and such. I highly recommend exploring local farms and seeing the animals and if they have any events going on!

UVM
- After got settled into the hotel, we went up to UVM and explored campus. We stocked up on shirts, hats, and sweatshirts. Very beautiful campus with beautiful buildings and tons of gorgeous flowers!

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Burlington is a wonderful little city with welcoming and neighborly people. They have absolutely amazing fresh food, and the scenery is unmatched! For a short little inexpensive getaway, I totally suggest Vermont!

OH MY GAL – CANARY CLOTHING

First things first, there is a sweet discount code somewhere in this post ;). Secondly, if you follow me on social media, then you know I’ve recently worked with Canary Clothing on their latest and greatest collection, Oh My Gal. I’ve worked with them before on their other stunning collections, like the Lolita collection where I got to channel my inner Jenny from the block ;). Honestly, every piece in their various collections are so unique yet classic, it is hard to refrain from buying them all. On top of the pieces being chic, the quality is phenomenal. While the pieces are in line with the latest fashion trends, Canary has a unique touch and flair to their pieces that make them stand out. I love that they aren’t the cookie cutter version of the same old styles that I can found just by walking past five stores in the mall. They keep the in-style look but enhance it just right.

The Oh My Gal collection is 1950s inspired – if you know me, then you know I LOVE the 50s, so you can imagine my excitement. Aside from the details put into the looks and pieces, the detail put in behind the scenes is honestly unmatched. The devil is in the details and Canary Clothing slays all of them every single time. From photo shoots to packaging, they have all their bases covered and then some.

Here are some of my favorite pieces I got to model from the Oh My Gal collection. Check out their pieces and the rest of their collections! Oh and for a sweet 15% discount, use CDLauren15 at checkout!

Cherry Pie Gingham Dress: $63.95

Mary Joe Gingham Ruffle Top: $43.95

Going Steady Heart Shaped Cateye Sunglasses: $18.00

My Gal Cayete Sunglasses: $12.00

Peggy Sue Gingham Floral Top: $38.95

Peanut Butter Protein Energy Balls – NO BAKE

It’s summer and even though I want to eat gelato and ice cream every day, I know that would sabotage my weekly workouts. Eating healthy has always been the hardest part for me especially because I have a MAJOR sweet tooth. I’d rather eat cake as opposed to dinner lol. Below is a recipe I have been using for ages that helps satisfy my sweet tooth but doesn’t take away from my “gains” (idk why I can’t take that word seriously). There is a lot of variety you can add to these – if you don’t like chocolate chips, add caramel or butterscotch chips, even some pretzels…it completely transforms the flavor to whatever it is you like! See my version below!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup peanut or almond butter
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
**1 scoop of vanilla or chocolate protein powder (if you don’t have this then just add 1/4 cup of oats)
1/3 cup honey
3 TBSP maple syrup
2 TBSP chia seeds
1TBSP flaxseed
1 TBSP vanilla extract
1/3 chocolate chips (I used these amazing dairy/nut/soy free mini chips from Enjoy Life)

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a bowl + mix!
Shape into balls + refrigerate.
ENJOY 🙂

*Super old video as I wanted to write this post AGES ago* Hahaha

FAB FIT FUN – REVIEW

I have been seeing Fab Fit Fun everywhere, so I took the plunge and first ordered the Editor’s box, which I received for only $20 or so. Truthfully, I forgot I kept the subscription, so when I was charged the $50 bucks for the summer box, I figured why not, let’s see what the hype is all about! For the $50 seasonal subscription, you receive a box of goodies ranging from beauty to fashion to fitness. The value of the box is worth more than $200, what a steal!

When you initially subscribe, you fill out a survey, which is to help the FabFitFun team select products that are more in tune with your personal tastes. This does not mean the box is personalized however!

To start, I LOVED the Editor’s Box! Check it out below!

Rachel Pally Reversible Clutch – $60

Two clutches in one? Yes, please! I received the blue/pink one. The vibrant color and fun summer pattern can add a pop to any outfit!

Free People Starry Eyed Sleep Mask – $25

I love that this had removable cooling inserts!

Kate Somerville ExfoliKate® Intensive Exfoliating Treatment – $75

Honestly have not tried yet, but only have heard amazing things. The papaya, pumpkin, + pineapple enzymes perfectly polish your face while the treatment also improves texture, pores, fine lines, and wrinkles.

Spongellé Body Wash Infused Buffer in French Lavender – $16

OKUR. The smell of this alone is just incomparable. I am OBSESSED with it. It exfoliates, cleans, and moisturizes! Love the way my skin feels after using it.

tarte Double Duty Beauty™ leave your mark eyeshadow palette – $30

tarte is my favorite makeup brand, so I was over the moon when I received this. Seven eye shadows and a white gold highlighter?! I love to create natural, everyday looks with this palette ❤ ❤

Homemade by Ayesha Curry Ceramic Mug – $16

Super cute, and perfectly fitting for my desk at work!

Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair!™ Deep Conditioning Mask – $30

Can’t wait to try this especially since summer has been hard on my hair between the heat, styling, salt water, sun, you name it! It certainly needs some hydrations and restoration.

MYTAGALONGS Hot & Cold Gel Pack – $15

A perfect hot and cold pack for soothing any muscle aches and pains! Freeze or heat to the desired temp, and place where you need relief. Always good to have!

And now for the Summer box! I also loved this one. I think they included the perfect necessities for summer!

Coola Sport Sunscreen SPF 50 – $36

I have recently tried making everything I put on my body organic, and during summer, when sunscreen is basically the first thing you put on everyday, I was so happy to receive this! It feels great on my skin!

tarte sex kitten eye liner + pro to go eye palette – $43

Like I mentioned before, I LOVE tarte products! I actually have this palette and already used two of the colors so I was thrilled to receive a replenished one!

Vasanti Brighten Up! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator – $34

First off, ONE bottle lasts SIX MONTHS. I am lucky if my face wash lasts me three weeks! This scrub brightens, cleanses, rejuvenates, and hydrates! Looks like I don’t have to leave mt house to feel like I went to the spa!

Foreo Luna Fofo – $90

This was the first thing I opened and tried. It was pretty cool to use and I was super happy to see that my skin age as my actual age! It is a silicone cleansing brush that features app-driven skin analysis. LUNA fofo analyzes the skin type and moisture level in each zone of the face to create a personalized skin profile.

Summer + Rose Beach towel – $55

I don’t know about you, but I feel like during summer I am always searching for a towel. One that is cute, clean, big, not hanging on by a thread, etc. Thank god I received this one. My woes are gone! This over-sized towel is so soft and just perfect for a day at the beach (sand won’t stick) or poolside! 🙂

Erth Pearl “Tu y Yo” Ring – $55

I am usually a strictly silver, simple jewelry person. Buuuut this has changed my views on pearls and gold. I love how unique it is. It has two certified natural cultured freshwater pearls and is 14K gold (real gold) plated!

Pier 1 imports Marble Ring Dish – $20

I love marble print, and I love this dish! The perfect addition to my vanity where I can place my rings and things, especially my new Erth ring!

Orlando Pita Play Atmos-Shield – $25

Following my organic preferences, this paraben free 10-in-1 thermal heat protection spray helps to fight potential damage caused by heat, UV rays, pollution etc. It helps protect hair, seal split ends, making hair shiny, soft, and smooth! Also, it smells amazing.

IMPORTANT: I also loved the reusable straw they sent to help gain awareness for the plastic crisis taking over the oceans. Save the turtles ❤

Overall, I would definitely recommend FabFitFun! They have awesome, unique, high quality products in their seasonal boxes – all for a price you couldn’t even dream of. Totally worth it, go get yours!

SPRING MUST HAVES <3

Spring is FINALLY here. Honestly I didn’t think it was going to show up here in NYC, but better late than never :). I’ve been shopping and dropping (money) on new spring/summer clothes and I kept coming across the same styles so I figured I would write about the top spring trends I am filling my closet with. I go more in depth and show some samples of outfits, but below is a basic overview ❤

Prints: Polka dots, floral, pastel colors.

Accessories: hoops earrings, chunky sneaks, cross body bags, low-block heels.

Denim: distressed/vintage, high rise, dark wash.

Tops: Bralettes, flowy tanks, bell sleeves, sheer.

Pants: wide-leg, colorful.

Sandals: less strappy, more blocky.

Check out some outfits!

Chunky sneakers!

Athleisure trend is still going strong and I LOVE it. I love pairing jeans and a cute top with some classic sneakers. Chunky sneakers are all the rage this spring. The springy colors and knit look are my favorite right now.

Wide-leg pants

Wide leg pants are here to stay! They offer such comfort, yet still provide a fashionable and laid back look. You can even dress them up with heels and blouses. I love pairing mine with crop tops and wedges. It is also a fun way to add a pop of color. For someone who always sticks with neutrals, it has allowed me to be a bit (aka ton) more open to colors.

Denim: Distressed, vintage, high-rise, fun crop

Jeans are obv never out of style, just the style of them fluctuates – remember flare jeans? Oh myyyy. Right now, distressed denim is in, along with the vintage look. Dark wash seems to be overpower and lighter acid wash jeans now. And of course we all know the come back high rise denim has made. What a god send that is.

Bralettes + flowy tanks

Lacy. Pastel. Bralettes. That is all I am going to say. I bought three bralettes and have been trying to pair them with EVERYTHING. Can’t go wrong with a flowy tank either. Obsessing over the TopShop one below 🙂

Open toe low block heels

These are my favorite shoes EVER. If I could wear them in winter I would…who am I kidding, of course I have. I love that you can dress them up or dress them down. The heel is the perfect size and I can wear them to a bar or to an event. Jeans? No problem. Dress? Perfect. Love. Love. Love. Go stock up on these!

Dresses + rompers

Maxi dresses paired with denim jackets = YES. Rompers with bell sleeves = YES. Shirt dresses = YES.

I can’t wait to see what trends Fall brings! ❤

AUTHENTIC DESIGNER PERFUME FOR CHEAP?!

Ok so there is noooothing better than smelling good buuut some of these amazing smelling perfumes cost an arm and a leg. My love for Creed cannot be satiated, even though it costs $425 a BOTTLE. Yes, you read that right. I am sure I can get it on some website for much cheaper, but honestly with perfumes, you do not want to mess around. A lot of those sites are not legit and are definitely not sending you the right stuff. The perfumes can smell sour or different over time, or are just water based – bottom line is do not buy off of those sites. There is no way they can sell a full sized $425 bottle for $30 bucks!

Okay, back to my Creed habit. It has such a distinctive, wonderful smell and I get compliments on it everywhere I go. No literally, everywhere I go. When they are done fainting over the price, I usually let them in on a little secret. That secret is…decants! After living like a Kardashian and buying a few bottles, I realized I was spending a car payment on a bottle of perfume. It was a wake up call to say the least. I did some research and came across ScentSplit.com. They are 100% authentic hand decants of the best perfumes and colognes around. They have the best (and most recent) selection of top notch perfumes and colognes from around the world. The cologne I was only able to find in France or Nordstrom (for another $400)? You bet they have it.

I was nervous at first because I guess the Italian in me is un-trusting of everything, so I bought a small decant of Creed as a test purchase. Since Creed has a very distinct smell, I knew I would be able to tell if it was real or fraud on the first spray. It was totally real and I was hooked, leading to my obsession with ScentSplit.

Everything is packaged very securely, and once you start buying a lot, they often send nice little discounts, always pulling me back in for more! I can also attest to their customer service. One of the bottles I had received had a finicky spray, so they sent me a shipping label to send it back and sent out a new one for free. They are based in Houston so there was a little bit of a time delay but overall I got the new bottle and life is good.

Now my perfume limits are nonexistent, I buy decants of all sizes from all designers and I love it – and so does my wallet! I love having that variety in my perfume collection without breaking the bank whatsoever. I feel like money and I smell like it too :P.

Seriously go check them out, you will forever thank me!

HOW TO WHITEN TEETH NATURALLY

Well my goal of writing weekly was good while it lasted! Here’s to getting back at it again! I recently got my teeth bleached for the second time in my life, and I got to thinking, I need to find a better, more comfortable (and affordable) way to upkeep these pearly whites, especially since coffee courses through my veins all day. If you’ve never had your teeth bleached, not only are you sitting with your mouth open uncomfortably for an hour, you can only eat white or clear foods for a few days after as the teeth absorb the bleach. Oh, AND no coffee for a week (I last about three days). So basically it is a week long process, and realistically, how many purely white foods are there without taking up residency in carb city?

As you know, I like to stay as natural as possible, and I am not one to buy into the social media gimmicks that are just a marketer’s dream, so I set out on ol’ reliable Google. I came across an interesting natural teeth whitening that called for coconut oil (ok good), baking soda (ok perfect), and…turmeric…?! The orange powder that literally stains EVERYTHING? Won’t that stain my teeth?! I already had visions of me having super yellow/orange teeth. At first I was like is this one of those “remedies” that actually sabotage?! I googled a bit more and found that it actually does work. So of course, I had to try it.

I know coconut oil is basically God’s gift and can cure anything, but it looks like turmeric is just a step behind it. Aside from turmerics’ multiple health benefits, and it’s ability to naturally whiten your teeth, it also can clean gums, ease cavity pain and sensitive teeth, remove plaque, and even relieve gingivitis and toothaches.

Since it has a mild abrasiveness to it, it will leave your teeth feeling nice and polished, as if you got them cleaned in the dentist’s chair! When used regularly, it can certainly help whiten your teeth, and boost your overall oral health. My goal is to brush my teeth once a day with the paste. Results surely to follow! Check it out below and try it for yourself. Don’t be afraid! 🙂

THE PASTE

2 parts turmeric powder
1 part coconut oil
1 part baking soda

In a small dish, mix together the three ingredients to form a paste. If you want to save some for the next day, cover and keep in a cool place. The coconut oil can melt if it is stored in too hot of a place.

Put a generous amount on the tootHbrush and brush normally for two minutes. Rinse VERY well with luke-warm water (honestly may have to rinse a few times – but well worth it).

A LITTLE BEFORE ACTION…

THE RESULTS AFTER!

SEPHORA PLAY! REVIEW

Happy Thursday! After a huuuge snowstorm yesterday, I was able to work from home. I thought what a great day to relax, I can even get a blog post up. That was not the case. I was basically glued to my computer all day, only to get up to get myself more pizza haha! ;). I have been meaning to do a review on the Sephora Play! monthly subscription box since February (my first month!). As you know, I have tried Birchbox before as well as Ricky’s, both which I loved. Since I spend a majority of my time (and paycheck) at Sephora, and their box is only $10/month, I decided to give it a go. I was certainly not let down!

What I love most about it is how personal it is compared to other ones. You answer a few questions to create your own personal profile. From the products they are going to include in the boxes, from makeup to hair care to skincare to fragrances, they use your answers to curate your own personalized box.

Each box includes:

Five samples AND a bonus! The samples range from makeup, skincare, and hair care.
A collectible makeup bag
PLAY! Book that gives you tips and tricks and how-tos for each sample
PLAY! Pass to redeem in store when you buy something full-size – worth 50 beauty insider points! ❤
Access to video tutorials for the items in the box
PLAY! Date – subscriber only even that allows you and a friend to come in the store and sample products and meet with beauty experts

Here is what the February box looked like! I am SO excited for March! Stay tuned 🙂

LOVE this little makeup bag. Adorable!

50 Bonus Points! #swoon

I have sensitive skin so this is right in line with my profile that I filled out 🙂

I put a lot of skincare in my profile so I am so glad they sent me top notch sample products!

LOVE this gloss. It reminds me of a NARS one I had way back when!

I have *no* idea how to apply eyeliner, so I am hoping this can help me a bit.

The BONUS! It smelled like summer in a bottle. Nice and light 🙂

Dope postcard that came with the perfume.

15/10 would recommend the PLAY! boxes. For only $10 you’re getting some top notch samples, and nice sizes. Plus extra bonus points at one of my favorite stores makes it all the more worth it. Go get yours!