Thursday, December 19, 2013

Jolly VoxBox ~ Influenster

Oh, man I was super excited when I first heard about +Influenster . A place where you can share reviews on pretty much anything, and with the added bonus of sometimes receiving items to review? Sign me up! My experience thus far with them has been awesome. Quick, easy and amazing service. My Jolly VoxBox arrived within a day of them telling me it had even been processed! Super fast, seriously! (Please read the entire blog post for your chance to join +Influenster too!)

So, what did they send me?


What looks to be a full sized box of Skinny Cow Divine filled Chocolates in peanut butter and crème, travel pack of Puff's Plus Lotion Tissues, full sized NYC HD Color  Trio Eye Shadow in 781 Long Beach Sands, Rimmel London Show Off Lip Lacquer in Stargazer and an adorable Duck Tape Brand Duct Tape mini roll NOT pictured!

Let's start the reviews....

Skinny Cow Divine filled Chocolates in peanut butter and crème- I believe the name says it all! With 130 calories per pouch and three chocolate pieces per wrapper, they are pure heaven. I love peanut butter too, and this flavor does not disappoint! It's smooth, creamy and decadent. Makes me wonder how something so good is only a measly 130 calories? But, I don't care. I ate mine with some popcorn and it was so good! I've seen Skinny Cow in the store, but every time I've thought about buying it, I resisted because I thought there was no way something with limited calories could taste good. Boy, was I wrong! I will definitely be picking up more of Skinny Cow, when this box is gone. Now I just have to hide it from my son and husband!


Puff's Plus Lotion Tissues- I've been a lover of this brand of facial tissue for years. I love the softness, especially with the added bonus of the lotion. It's so comforting to use, and never make the sensitive skin around my nose hurt or chafe. I'll admit I used these bad boys up fast! I've had bronchitis and I've used these, plus a brand new box I went out and bought. I love these guys and I will always use them!

NYC HD Color Trio Eye Shadow 781 Long Beach Sands- Let me start by saying I was super impressed with the colors of the trio. Sometimes when you receive something to test, you don't always get the right shade or color that suites you. However, thankfully this time I did. I love the creamy texture and color payoff these shadows offer. The highlighter is a beautiful shimmery peachy/pinky shade, works great as a brow highlighter or in the inner eye area. The middle shade is a muted, brown shade with hints of gold. The crease color is a lovely taupe color with accents of pink in it. Over all the trio is super flattering to all eye colors and looked so warm and inviting with my brown eyes. I love this eye shadow and will definitely be looking at more NYC shadows in the future! (The pictures do not do this trio justice!)




Rimmel London Show Off Lip Lacquer in Stargazer- I'm a fan of Rimmel, I've used their lip glosses a lot of the years as well as their mascaras so I had no issues trying out this product, other than cringing at the color. I'm light skinned, with cool undertones. This shade called Stargazer is not complementary for someone like me. I applied it and it looked garish on me. I looked sick (well, sicker) and it totally washed me out. However, the texture was really nice and I honestly think if I had been given a pink or berry shade, I would have been in love with it. That being said while I didn't like the color, I felt the color payoff and texture was very nice. It held up fairly well through lunch, though I did have to reapply to freshen it up, but that's kind of normal for me.  So, I think I will be looking at other colors from the Show Off line!



Duck Tape Brand Duct Tape mini roll- This little guy is so freakin' cute! The one I was sent looks like a Hawaiian themed print, with flowers in blue and white. I've seen these guys in the store in different colors and prints, but never thought of buying one. Since they sent this to me I decided to let my son use it to wrap a present for his Grandpa and it turned out so cute! (I don't have a pic unfortunately!) I think it's a great way to dress up a present, art project or just to use around the house. I'll admit the gray/silver color is a bit dated. My husband uses Duct tape for EVERYTHING around the house. Seriously, right now my son's blinds are being held up by Duct tape! So, this product was meant for my household. I love the variety of colors and will most certainly be buying more of this and experimenting with new colors 




The Verdict?

I'm super impressed with the items I received from +Influenster! The quality and brands are superior! There was not a dud in the entire Jolly VoxBox. Everything included was something I was able to use and would without a doubt purchase on my own again and again! Thank you +Influenster for giving me the opportunity to test these products out!!!

Wanna join Influenster? Send me a line with your name and email address and I will send you an invitation! Only the first 5 people who respond will get the opportunity, so hurry! Email me at anonmom07@gmail.com
 

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Tarte's Bow & Go Holiday Gift Collection




Tarte's Bow & Go Holiday Gift Collection arrived a few weeks ago, and I've had some time to play around with all the products. It's probably kind of obvious how much of a Tarte lover I am, and my satisfaction with this collection is high. I am very happy with my TSV purchase from QVC.


 
With sixteen shades and a great amount of those matte, I am loving this palette. The colors (don't show well in the photo!) are all super wearable and the pigment and color payoff is good, but even better if you use a primer first. For some reason Tarte loves using shimmer in their eye shadows. I am not a lover of it. So, I was very pleased to see that this collection had quite a few matte shades!


The LipSurgence sticks are all lovely. However, as you can see they are mostly in the pink color family and that's something many have complained about. It doesn't really bother me, I don't like reds or browns too much, so this selection is fine by me. The first one of the far left is probably my favorite, (I think the name is precious). They are pretty long lasting and I don't feel robbed of moisture. Overall I feel these are very good.


 
The eyeliners in shades brown and fig are both colors I have in double. I've collected them over the past few years, and while I love them and think they color and pigment is lovely, I don't really need more. Same goes with the mascara. I like it, but I have a few already, so more than likely these will be given out as presents. The Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara is really good. Like close to being my favorite. Not THE favorite, but almost. What I love is how gentle this formula is on my lashes. I've noticed when I've used chemical laden drug store and high end mascaras, my lashes tend to fall off a lot. But, when I use more natural mascaras (not 100% natural, but close!) my lashes thrive. They do not fall off as much and they grow and look so much healthier.
 
Overall I am very pleased with this collection. While there are some items I already own, the eye shadow palette is the stand out item. Whether you keep the entire collection for yourself, or gift part or all out, it's a smart investment!