Play! By Sephora | July 2017

As a sephora VIB member, I truly enjoy all of the perks associated with it. So when it popped up on my account that I was eligible for the Play by Sephora, I was actually excited and intrigued. I have never heard of this anywhere online, or from my any of my friends. Ipsy is the first and was the only monthly subscription anything I ever paid for, and most months I absolutely love what I received from them, but it started to get redundant, which gave me the perfect excuse to sign up for this.

How the Play! By Sephora works is exactly like a monthly subscription service. They charge you $10 and tax, then you create your profile and fill out the questionnaire to best suit your beauty/hair/skincare needs. The boxes ship out mid month. For me since I have the 2 day shipping it arrived immediately!

I'm a sucker for nice packaging, because to me...good packaging means that thought and care for the consumer was put into it. Not only for the products, but the appearance. My product arrived in my mailbox as shown, it was sealed with a black & white stripe tape for a seamless closure. When I opened the box up, there was a play card worth 50 beauty insider points when used at my local Sephora( no minimum purchase required).

Another great thing that I love about this monthly box is that it comes with a description pamphlet for every single product that is included. Unlike many other monthly boxes with similar price points, this is a plus that others do not include. The pamphlet includes; the brand, why it made the cut, how use it, and meet the brand. To me, especially with products that do not come in a box, it's some times difficult to know when or how to use the item you've received. This feature is great!

My July box came with 6 sample sizedproducts, the Play card, the Play pamphlet and a carrying pouch.

 Briogeo Rosarco Milk Reparative Leave-in Cond Spray 

         

   Tarte Rainforest of the Sea in Set Sail --> beautiful  peachy nude with a hint of rose 

     

 Bobbi Brown Eye Opening Mascara     

Fresh Rose Face Mask --> I've used this before and my skin goes crazy over it. Extremely hydrating.

Clean Reserve Sueded Oud

Caudalie Vin(activ) Glow Activating Anti-Wrinkle Serum

Overall, this was a great first experience, and I am excited to use up all of these products. This box allows me to use thing i wouldn't normally use, and also things that at full price, cost a pretty penny.

A New Yorker's Guide to Cuba Part 2: How To Get Around

So, now that you have your finances situated and know the basics about how money works in Cuba, the first thing that I want to mention is in regards to once you exit the airport.

Taxi/transportation to you hotel/home/Airbnb. This will be your first encounter with spending money, and this will be where you will spend a big amount at once. BARGAIN, BARGAIN, BARGAIN. Spending over $25 for a taxi is a ripoff so beware. Many taxi drivers will hike up the fare simply because you are a foreigner, or do not speak Spanish...we do not have the luxury of Lyft or Uber. The typical fare is $20. You need to bargain or you'll be taken advantage of.

Some Airbnb host will offer to pick you up from the airport like mine did for $30...again he overcharged us, but I did not know this at the time.

So, once you've reached your destination, and settled in, you're probably wondering how to get around. Unless you've go to Cuba to spend money as if your parents own an oil company, than your best bet is walking.

Make sure to download offline maps and certain apps that give you a lay of the land. There is no internet in Cuba without WIFI, and in order to use wifi you have to find a wifi spot- which can be hard to come across. Then, when you find a wifi that you can connect to and isn't shady, you'll need wifi cards. Beware of being overcharged for the wifi card. The max you should spend on one is $3 but you will find them for $1. A reliable (but not always) place to find wifi is El Malecon, which is the pier. Since many people know this is where to find reliable wifi, the signal can be very weak at times when there's a high volume of users.

Don't forget, if you'd like to take those typical tourist photos in the classic cars, it's about $30 to rent a car and get a tour of Habana Viejo and Habana. I say do it. If you're staying at an Airbnb and your host has a classic car, then thats more money in your pocket(for the photos, not the tour). Or if that doesn't interest you, then you can do the hop on- hop off buses for $10.

If you know someone who lives there, theres the option of taking "dollar vans". but Old haven is small enough that you can walk everywhere. Plan accordingly.

SO, you've seen all that can be seen, eaten all that can be consumed, danced, laughed, gone to the beach, explored, taken pictures, and now you are on your way back to the airport to face the realities of life back home. Make sure to buy some rum!

A New Yorker's Guide To Cuba Part I: Finances

I never thought in my wildest dream that I would be fortunate enough, and have the opportunity to visit Cuba. This post is not about how to go and get there, because those logistics are up to you to figure out, but it's really about how to survive once you step off of the plane. So this post is more of me sharing my experience there and giving you the reader(future traveler) some tips and information that I did not have prior to my arrival, and if I did, it was not enough. I am basically sharing things that I plan on doing the next time I travel to Cuba.

I will be doing a few posts in regards to different aspects of Cuba, this is Part I. Also, I will be linking my youtube channel where I have uploaded some videos I made during my stay, sort of like a video diary.

  The first thing is finances, unlike many of the islands in the Caribbean/West Indies, our currency does not trump theirs. Their dollar is worth more than ours, you lose some at the end of the day, similar to traveling to Europe. So for any Americans it is imperative to change your dollars into Euros(I recommend this more)/GBP/Canadian dollars, because US dollars are not accepted at the 'Banco de Cambio' (there are some people in the streets willing to change dollars into Cuban peso, but beware of scamming and unfair exchange rates). If this isn't your first time reading or hearing about Cuba, then you already know they use 2 separate currencies; CUC & CUP. CUC (Cuban Convertible Peso) is used for tourist & foreigners while CUP (Cuban Peso) is what the locals use.

    When I heard about this is was so confused, why cant I use CUP? This leads to my first tip. Do not be fooled or bamboozled, it is ok to convert some your foreign money to CUP. Why? Well unless you want to spend all of your money at overpriced & overrated places (not all of them are) then stick with CUC, but if you wouldn't mind getting fresh fruits from the street vendors, or eating where the locals eat, then I highly recommend converting about 5-10 CUC into CUP, you can always convert more as needed. The places you can afford to eat at, a majority of the locals cannot. So, if you truly would like a true culinary experience, than places like The Floridita isn't where you'd want to spend your money.

    When converting your foreign currency into CUC at the airport or the Banco de Cambio, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT accept pennies, unlike in the states, many to all of the places/vendors/stores/restaurants, DO NOT accept pennies. You literally will be walking around with money you cannot use. No you cannot change 5 pennies into 5 cents, 25 into 25 cents, 100 into 1 cuc. And they do deny your money if you pay with pennies.

                               Also, try to use your coins when paying versus the paper bills.

You'll be spending money on everything: Food, water, transportation, some excursions, sightseeing, sleeping, souvenir. Plan and budget accordingly. I say, pack snacks and water. Cuba sells mineral water so beware if you aren't a fan, and flat water is a bit pricey.

Essentially. If you'd like a cheaper vacation, use CUP. That is what I will be doing the next time I travel to Cuba