I'm Making My Own Extracts & You Can Too!

I've had a big bottle of cheapo vodka burning a hole in my cabinets for quite some time now!  My plan was to (a) make my own extracts, (b) make my own essential oils, and (c) make my own perfume.  I've had perfume-related fails before, as you may know, so I'm still trying to figure out how I want to do that.

Months ago, I bought some dried juniper berries which I've been wanting to turn into extract and essential oil, so that's my plan at this point.  Rather than sit around waiting for shit to happen and THEN blog about it, I decided to start now and do this entry in realtime.

Looks like a lot more than it actually is.

I used about an ounce of dried food-grade juniper berries for this little experiment, and about 8 ounces of vodka.  (Yeah, I'm making a lot!  I guess it'll be kind of like fake gin.)  The research I've done suggests using a bottle or jar with dark-colored glass as light can interfere with the integrity of the extract, but I've decided to settle for a family-sized plastic Ragu jar which I'll be keeping away from light.

The juniper berries will be absorbing the alcohol, which will then absorb all of the delicious juniper essence from the berries.  Juniper berries have a somewhat oily consistency on the inside, so they should yield a very nice extract in a relatively short amount of time.  I'll probably keep these marinating for about a week or two.  I may give the berries a good squish after about a week, but when the extract is finished, I will drain it and bottle it.  And don't worry, I won't forget to take pictures! :)

Arrrgh, Matey!

My pirate name is:

Dread Pirate Rackham

Like the famous Dread Pirate Roberts, you have a keen head for how to make a profit. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
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November 2012 Look Bag Review

In direct contrast to my "Fine and Illustrious Art of Using Shit Up" movement, I subscribed to The Look Bag a few months ago.  It's a fun subscription service which, for $12.95 a month, sends you a monthly bag of beauty samples.  Actually, they're not all samples; usually you get a couple of full-sized products, and a few sample-sized items as well.  I thought it'd be nice to have something to look forward to in the mail aside from bills, so in October, I subscribed.

My October Look Bag was cool.  (I should've reviewed that one!  It had a black crackle nail polish!)  In November, I got a vague email stating that because of Hurricane Sandy, the bags would be arriving late.  And then at the very end of December, I got another email suggesting that I tell my friends about how awesome The Look Bag was; I wrote back and said it'd be even more awesome if I got my November and December bags!  (A lot of folks around the internet seem to be rather pissed with the Look Bag's lack of customer service, but I can't fault someone for screwing up in the wake of a ruinous hurricane.)

Anyway... That's my little explanation for why the Look Bag review for November is happening in January.  (I'll do December's later.) Now, onto the review!

 This month's package came in a pretty pink bag (just like last month's), and contained the following:

1.  Sally Hansen La Cross round tweezers.  My first thought when I saw the tweezers was "WTF??"  I guess they're useful and all, but it seemed like a real waste of bag space, not to mention the fact that most beautyphiles already have as many tweezers as they probably need.  I'll put these in my "treasure trove" for now.

2.  Pixi by Petra Lip & Line in "Petal Pink."  I got one of these in October as well, so it was disappointing to see another one.  It was in a different color, though, and my last one was given to Dax 'cause she thought it was cool.  So I guess this one is for meeeee!  It's a lip liner and lipstick 2-in-1 that's the exact same shade, so no need to look for matching shades.  The concept is cool.  I haven't tried it yet, but am looking forward to seeing how it does.

3.  June Jacobs Spa Collection Green Tea & Cucumber Body Bar.  This looks like a creamy, smooth bar of soap that smells so amazing!  June Jacobs stuff is kind of fancy-schmancy.  I may be stingy on myself and gift this to someone I like, 'cause it's so awesome.

4.  "Lola" by Marc Jacobs sample.  Are Marc Jacobs and June Jacobs related?  I have no idea!  This sample came in a convenient little spray.  I've heard of "Lola" before, but never smelled it.  Tried a bit on my neck, and A Boy I Like said it was "very nice," which is high praise indeed!  Another comment: "It's there, but not in your face.  Smells very sweet and flowery."  That's probably some of the nicest things I've heard about my scent choices.  I am wearing my "Lola" sample today, and I am enjoying it.  Probably won't purchase more, since there are a lot of other scents on my stuff-to-get list once I've used up what I currently have.

5.  Pop Beauty "Eye Magnet Shade" shadow in "Tantalizing Teal."  Nice full-sized item!  I've got my Pop Beauty crackle nail polish from October, and I adore that.  The eyeshadow looks interesting, but I'm not a blue-based eyeshadow person.  So it'll go into my Treasure Trove and my nieces will probably love it. :)

6.  Korres Liquid Lipstick in "Raspberry."  It doesn't smell like a raspberry, and I think it looks more like a cherry.  The color is dense and lovely, with some sparkles to jazz things up a bit.  I think we have a winner!

7.  Scarlett & Greene "Young Skin" sampler pack.  I don't have young skin -- haven't in years. ;)  The pack features three sample products, including a cleanser, moisturizer, and spf creme.  I think this would be fun to try if you're part of their target audience, and the packaging is like a cute little booklet.  I'll put this in the Treasure Trove.