Influenster Kiss Lashes Review

So, I'm a klutz.  It's pretty well known.  So when Influenster sends me out fake lashes, of all things to try, I'm like "Yay, free stuff!"  But I'm also kind of like "I'm gonna poke my eyes out!"

I decided to make this quick and dirty.  I slapped on a bit of makeup, didn't even do my brows (and they desperately need to be done!) and did my best.  I'm going to share some photos, then give my opinion on the pros and cons of these lashes.

The lashes:

No lashes:

One lash on:

Both lashes on:

First of all, the good - these are a much more natural look than the lashes I tried last time.  If I had managed to get them on straight, they would have looked lovely!  Also, the glue WAS IRIDESCENT.  Which brought out my inner three-year-old screaming PRETTY!!!  Haha so that was actually a bit distracting, but I really liked it.

The bad - despite the glue being pretty, I felt like it did not hold the lashes securely.  I had a really hard time placing them and getting them to just STAY PUT.  The corners kept popping up no matter how much I pressed and held them to where they needed to be.  Blah.

So if I had to grade these, I'd give them a solid B.  If I used a different glue, and took a bit more time, I really think these guys could work!

And just cause I don't want to leave you with random shots of my eyes, I did take a smexy selfie for Instagram before I took 'em off:

Hey there.  Hey.

Hoping you guys are having the loveliest of days!

Influenster J'Adore Voxbox 2014

J'Adore Influenster.  And J'Adore the Voxbox they just sent me! In fact, it's called the J'Adore Voxbox, and let me show you all the goodies they sent!

Of course, first I should explain what Influenster is.   They are an awesome company that sends out free stuff (Yay!) for myself and other Influensters to review on my blog and other social media.  They don't want us to lie, they value our honest opinions, and they want us to spread news of our free stuff far and wide!  In fact, if you'd like to be a part of Influenster, post a comment below, and I'll send an invite.  The more active you are on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.), the more chances you get to review things.

So let me get started with reviewing!  Here's the box when I opened it, in all its glory:

So many pretties, I don't know where to start!

Look at all that!  A face mask!  Flat-iron spray!  Chocolate! Tea!  Lashes!  And lotion!  Does this not just make you want an at-home spa day?  I just wanted to grab a blanket and a book and curl up with this whole box!  Just in case you can't pick out all the items, I'll go over each one individually.  Starting with...

Kisses!  Mwah!

Oooh, a FAMILY-SIZED bag of Hershey's Kisses!  Which means it's the perfect size for me!  (The rest of the family can find its own chocolate, thankyouverymuch!)  I've been hitting these hard lately... they are the perfect classic "I need some chocolate" treat!  I haven't had them in quite awhile, so it was quite wonderful to receive them!

Lashes!  They're in EVERYTHING lately!

Ha!  It seems like eyelashes are all around us... well, all around ME, anyway.  I've gotten several pairs in sub boxes recently, but I am excited to try Kiss Natural Lashes!  I've successfully managed to wear falsies all of ONE time, and those were the super-dramatic lashes from my December Ipsy bag.  I'm excited to try a more natural look, and I'm hoping I'll look less drag-queen-ish, and more... natural! (ta-dah!)  So look out for an upcoming post/tutorial on how to apply these bad boys.

A clay mask!  More specifically, Boots No 7 Botanicals Shine Away clay mask.  I LOVE a good mask.  I also love mattifying products (hellooooo, shiny forehead!). Combining the two seems like a match made in heaven.  The online reviews I've read seem overwhelmingly positive, so I have high hopes that this will play well with my sensitive skin!

3 days?  I must test this... for SCIENCE!

Confession time, I haven't been flat-ironing my hair lately.  Mainly because it makes my hair super-fried!  So I'm excited to try the Frizz Ease 3-Day Straight Flat Iron Spray!  I really want to see if it will keep my hair looking good for three whole days!  I've had success with the Frizz Ease brand before, this should be good!

Spray lotion! Time to get CRAZY!

Vaseline for Men Spray Lotion - as some of you may have noticed, I'm not a man.  Influenster threw these into boxes where we indicated (in the preliminary quiz) that we 1) had a significant other and 2) were willing to share a moisturizing product.  Because I am wonderfully magnanimous and an amazing wife (heh), I got one in my box.  I previously received a regular Vaseline Spray Lotion in another Voxbox, and I absolutely loved using it on my youngest child.  Totally helped his scaly winter skin (My kiddos turn into lizards during the winter!  Poor things!).  I'm hoping it will also help my hubby, he spends a lot of time outdoors in the winter and his skin could use some TLC!

TEA.

And last, but NEVER least, TEA!!!!  My anglophile drink of choice!  I've had Red Rose's Creme Caramel before, and absolutely loved it!  I have yet to try the Lemon Chiffon, but I'm sure it's just as delicious!  I do find the tea on its own to be a bit strongly flavored, so I usually make a pot with two regular Red Rose teabags, and one of the Creme Caramel.  The card in the middle is a coupon for $2 off my next box of Creme Caramel (or any other flavor, but my taste buds have already decided for me).

So, huge thanks to Influenster for the beautiful box of items guaranteed to relax, hydrate, and beautify me!  I look forward to doing individual reviews on all the products!  And if you're reading this, I hope you have a lovely day!  Cheers!

Lifeway Kefir Review (Influenster)

How are you beating the summer heat?  A/C? Fans?  Lots and lots of ice cream?  I tend to go for the last option, even though it packs on those pounds!

Thankfully, Influenster (love those guys!) helped me find a better frozen treat this summer... Lifeway Kefir!  What is kefir, you say?  (Don't worry, I had the same question!)  It's a lot like yogurt, but there's a different fermentation process, and kefir has an increased amount of probiotics.  For more information, check out this explanation from Oprah's website... apparently it's a superfood!

Oh, and for what it's worth, here's the definition from the back of one of Lifeway's product boxes:  "What is Kefir?  With an army of good bugs to kick the bad bugs out of your belly, Kefir is a supercharged cousin of yogurt.  Creamy and tart, it makes a delicious drink or frozen snack.  Try some today and see why folks have been enjoying Kefir for thousands of years!"

Kefir comes in many different forms, and I've actually tried their kefir that comes in pouches - it's marketed towards kids, and it's called ProBugs.  We got the Orange Creamy Crawler flavor.  My kids weren't too fond of it - they didn't like the tangy flavor.  However my husband was happy to suck down the rest of the pouches!

I really liked the health benefits, and decided to find a form of kefir that my kids would eat!  And that's where Influenster stepped in, by offering me a coupon for a free Lifeway product of my choice!  Well, sure!  And thanks!

So off I went to the grocery store, and devoted myself towards finding the perfect kefir snack.  I decided to stick with their ProBugs line (marketed towards children) so out went most of the kefir drinks, pouches, and frozen items - although the frozen Tart and Tangy Kefir in Pumpkin is ON MY LIST.  And then it hit me - FROZEN KEFIR!  It's like ice cream!  And sure enough, they had ProBugs Frozen Kefir in Strawnana Split!

*Cue the Trumpets of Victory!*

For Knight, it was love at first lick.  He will eat these things all day!  And guess what?  My picky eater... my won't touch veggies, hates fresh fruit, would happily survive on chicken nuggets and goldfish crackers, Mr. Dragon himself?  He likes it!  He really likes it!  Ok, he'll eat about half of a kefir pop (and then I get the rest!).  Which makes me so happy.  This crazy kid will rarely touch anything healthy, so it's a total win if he'll try something new.

Kefir pop for one, madame?

And of course, being a good mom, I checked out the nutrition panel.  Only half a gram of fat, 70 calories, and 13g of carbs per pop.  It also has 3g protein and 10% of the daily calcium recommendation.  I will be putting the "good tummy bugs" part to the test once the kids go back to school.  I know that school is just a giant petri dish of germs, and Dragon is particularly susceptible to tummy bugs.  If these little tubes of awesome get me through a school year without me having to pick up a pukey kid, they will be officially worth their weight in gold!

Give Dragon ALL THE KEFIR!

Thanks for listening, and putting up with my whacky photo captions.  As always, the products I receive from Influenster are complimentary.  My reviews are completely honest, and I receive no compensation for them from either Influenster or Lifeway Kefir.  If you've had any experience (good OR bad!) with kefir, please share in the comments below!

Stay awesome!

Thursday Thoughts

Whee, it's Thursday!  Time for my thoughts!  Linking up as always through the fantastic Jen from Ramblings of a Suburban Mom.  My thoughts should be much more coherent today, as it has FINALLY cooled down a bit around here!  And by a bit, I mean over 10 degrees.  Highs have been in the mid-to-low 90s lately, and a huge rainstorm last night cooled it off to about 76 for today.  And you can bet that EVERY window in the house is open, and every fan is on!  I'm a notorious cheapskate about our A/C, so getting the chance to cool the house down for *free* is making me quite ecstatic!  And it's making my thoughts so much clearer! So, what AM I thinking about today?  Well...

- It's hilarious how much Dragon looks like a little-boy version of Jim Morrison.  Of course it doesn't help that we let his brown, slightly curly hair grow long and shaggy.  I just sent my hubby a pic text of Dragon, shirtless, wearing a 70s-ish beaded necklace, with a somber expression on his face.  I captioned it "Jim Morrison says 'Hi!'"

- Thankfully, he doesn't act like Jim Morrison (...yet?).  He's currently running around the living room, pretending to be a chicken.  Flapping his arms, pecking at the floor, the walls, and (occasionally) his older brother.  So adorable!  Knight just tolerates it, rolls his eyes, and moves on.  He's almost 6, so he's starting to realize what "being cool" means, and that rolling around pecking at the floor is *not* cool!

- My hubby's foot is healed!  He had one of his last podiatry appointments yesterday, and they couldn't even find where it was originally broken on the X-ray!  He's been given the all-clear to go back to training as hard as he wants, which is awesome because his job is very physically demanding.  Also, because working out is his stress relief, he's been a total BEAR for the past few months while it heals.  Love you, babe!

- I'M A WINNAH!!! Just found out I'm one of the Brand Challenge Winners for Influenster's Palmolive Program.  So not only did I get to try 2 full size bottles of dish soap FOR FREE (ok, 1.5 bottles.  They had some shipping issues... feel free to check out my original post on it!) but now I'm getting more soap, Broadway Press-On Nails (tried these in the Spring Fever Voxbox and really liked them!) AND SinfulColors Nail Polish!  So stoked.  And I needed some good news, because...

- Our second car is in the shop.  It has pretty much not been functional for about a year now (it ran, just NOT WELL).  And when my hubby was away for his job for several months, I kind of just put off dealing with it.  Well, now that school is starting again soon, we absolutely need two working vehicles!  So... pray, send good karma, happy vibes, whatever, that the repair bill won't be *too* much (of course, it will be.  But I can hope).

So, that's what's on my mind today.  Next time I'll try to have some more upbeat and frivolous thoughts! Oh, and I will have a swatch post of fun eyeshadow pigments from Notoriously Morbid coming soon!

Have a fabulous day!

Secret Outlast Clear Gel Review (from Influenster!)

It's a hot, sweaty hump day.  (Wednesday.  Hump Day.  What did you think I was talking about?)  Perfect for a review of deodorant, right?  Because as hot and humid as it gets, not being stinky is an important part of the human experience.  So I was very thankful to see a Secret Outlast Deodorant in my complimentary  Spring Fever VoxBox from Influenster!

Here's the whole box:

And the Secret Outlast!

It's been awhile since I used a gel deodorant, the solids have been my mainstay since my teen years.  And since they've made great advances in the stick deodorants not getting everywhere on clothing, I've seen no reason to switch.  But I'll try anything once!

Unfortunately, once is about all I can do on the Outlast Clear Gel.  It's not you, Secret, I swear it's me.  Or this hot, hot summer weather.  Either way, I'm going back to my regular Secret deodorant.  Which I'm kind of sad about, because the gel smells amazing!  And for the few hours it works, I'm sure I smell amazing, too.  But after that?   But I need my deodorant to work all day.  I don't have time to reapply when chasing after the kiddos.  And I certainly need a product that works through playing outside, doing chalk drawings on the driveway, and T-Ball games!  I promise, I'll still use Secret (no one can make deodorant smell as good as you do!)

Have you tried the gel?  What do you think?

And in closing, check out this deodorant dance from Jenni Pulos!  I have to admit, I've done some of these moves in my time.

Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-on Manicure Review

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Influenster?  They send products out for free for me to review and give my honest opinion about, and lately they've also had impeccable timing.  As part of my Spring Fever Voxbox, I got the Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-on Manicure - just in time to attend my brother-in-law's wedding!

Wheeee!!!

I will tell you, I was a bit apprehensive about trying press-on nails.  I don't think I've tried them since, oh... 8th grade?  But I read some good reviews, and decided to bust them out for a special occasion.  Especially because they matched the dress I had already bought for the wedding!  I received a design from the Nicole Scherzinger (of The Pussycat Dolls Fame) line, called "Sexy Fresh".  As you can see, there are actually two colors, thankfully I was able to get a full set using only the blue & purple.  Call me crazy, but if I'm already sporting a feathery/sparkly design on my fingers, I like to keep it within one color family.

Halfway there!

The best part about these little guys?  I only had about 10 minutes to get them done between my own hair and makeup, and getting my boys dressed (they still need some help with formalwear).  And I had time to spare!  I lined up the nails by size, matched them to my fingers, wiped my nails with the included alcohol wipe, peeled off the backings, and slapped them on!  Several people who reviewed these noted that it helped to just hang out and let the nails set for about half an hour, but seriously, ain't nobody got time fo' dat!

Over the next few days, I took these little guys on a whirlwind tour!  Of course, there was the wedding (amazing!), the reception (SO fun!), a Reds game the next day...

First MLB Game!  And I take pics of my nails...

Then there was the super-long drive home, catching up on housework, yardwork, allll the craziness!  Oh, and of course some mommy-son bonding time over our brand new jello molds!

And my nails STILL look great!

And guess what?  Five days later, and I'm typing this review... still wearing my nails!  They still look awesome (I just got another compliment on them today!), with minimal tip wear.  I am about to take them off, though.  Not because they're falling off or anything, just because I've reached the end of 1) my attention span and 2) my wardrobe's ability to match these nails.

However.  I have another full set in orange-pink, so I'm ready to go!  I will be buying more of these (and using the $1 off coupon from their website!), and I can't wait to try some different patterns, starting with Holla!  Bottom row... third from the left.  GORGEOUS!

Image Source

So, thanks very much, Influenster! I loved trying these, and I'm so happy to find out that press-on nails are now a great way to get some pretty nail art without paying an arm & a leg (they run about $6-7, patterns are slightly more than the plain ones).

Have you tried these nails?  What did you think?

Disclaimer:  As previously stated, I received these nails for free from Influenster.  I am not compensated for this review, and all opinions are my own!

Tastykake® Kandy Bar Kakes Review

First product review from my Spring Fever VoxBox from Influenster!  You all knew I'd dig into the food ASAP, right?  Well, the second I saw the Tastykake in there I threw aside any qualms I had about a business spelling their own product wrong, and dug right in!  Thankfully, I was able to control myself long enough to take a few pics (and to tell you that the Tastykake, along with the other items in the Voxbox, were provided to me for free for testing and review, and all opinions on these products are my own!).  Here's my first view of the deliciousness!

Yum!

I was just going to scarf that baby down, but then I remembered you, dear readers, and realized that a picture of an empty wrapper and me with chocolate crumbs on my face probably wouldn't be my best option.  So I decided to make it pretty!

So pretty!

Also, my kids were home sick yesterday, so Mommy decided to be nice and share (sigh).  Especially because once I unwrapped it, I was treated to a constant stream of questions from Knight.  "What is that? Is it chocolate? Can I have some? Can I watch another movie? Is that cake? What's a S'more? Is that what we had yesterday?" (and yes, we did have S'mores the day before at a Memorial Day cookout.)  There were more questions, but I'm not going to torture you with them.

So MANY more questions.

I decided the fairest thing to do was cut it into three sections.  However, I'm not very good at cutting things equally.  So there was definitely a bigger piece.  And guess who got the biggest piece?

ME. That's who.

So we all got our snack on. Yum!  Definitely S'mores-like.  And while I'm sure that the marshmallow fluff and chocolate coating part was pretty easy to replicate in this bar, I have NO IDEA how they got the cake part to taste like graham crackers!  Basically, these are awesome, and I must hunt down more of them!  According to some other bloggers, there was also a Reese's peanut butter cup flavor sent, and I will find it if it's the last thing I do!

Have you ever tried a Tastykake?  And if not, would you?

Palmolive Soft Touch Review

Hello there!

I'm stuck at home with two sick (but still very loud) kids, so I thought while I had them distracted with a movie I'd go ahead and do a review for a product I received from Influenster recently.  May I first start by saying that I have long used dish soaps from the dollar store.  They did the job well enough, and I wasn't expecting much. Soap is soap, right?  Well, then I discovered Dawn - and it's amazing (but harsh) cleaning properties, and I was hooked.  I had found my soap!  It was strong and could cut through anything!  And since I don't do dishes by hand too often (the inventor of the dishwasher has my eternal adoration), the fact that it wrecked my hands didn't matter.  I have plenty of lotion.

Then Influenster sent me two bottles of Palmolive Soft Touch.  I want to say two FULL bottles, but (like many people) one of my bottles busted in the mail.  My package arrived in a plastic bag, packed with paper towels on the bottom.

Eeeeeyuuuwwwww!!!

Part of me wanted to just toss the whole thing, but then I was like well... all the gross gooey stuff is SOAP.  And it will wash off!  So I bit the bullet and opened it up from the relatively non-soaked end.

I did say "relatively", right?

Oh my gosh.  Then I pulled out several feet of soap-soaked bubble wrap.  Thankfully, the first bottle I grabbed (the cocoa butter one) was OK.  But the poor, pink Vitamin E...

That's just sad.

As you can see, between half and two-thirds of the soap is gone!  I'm sorry, I didn't think to take close-ups at the time, but if you look closely, you'll see that the cap part is smashed in on the pink bottle.  Like I said, many people had this issue (some people lost both bottles, other people lost just a bit out of one, and thankfully, most came intact!), and we were provided with an email address to report the issue.  Well, I did - on May 14th.  I'm honestly a bit surprised that I haven't received a reply in over 2 weeks, but I've just decided to do my best with what I've got.  I'm ok with testing the soap - but they did send coupons in the box (that were utterly soaked and destroyed... the barcode ink was blurred, which made them unusable) that I wish had gotten replaced.  But like I said... I'm working with what I've got.

I tried just keeping the smashed cap on the pink one - I unscrewed it and poured soap out when I needed it.  However, this meant I waaaay overpoured the soap when I tried to use it, and I was wasting it!  So I switched caps, thinking that the Cocoa Butter wouldn't be hurt by chilling in the cabinet with a mushed cap til I ran out.  Hopefully I remember to switch the caps back when I get rid of the empty pink bottle!

Ok, enough about the broken bottle, right?  You want to hear about the soap inside!  Well, I'm definitely buying more bottles of this stuff.  I finished washing a few dishes the other day and was both surprised and thrilled at how soft my hands were.  And I didn't lose any of the effectiveness on grease!  This stuff cleans like a champion!  The scent is awesome, too, very soft and floral.  (The cocoa butter is more rich and vanilla-y).  The two bottles are now living happily in my kitchen:

Besties!

I even made a little ad for their "Tough on Grease, Soft on Hands!" slogan!

Mad Men, here I come!

Bottom line is, I definitely recommend Palmolive Soft Touch!  I do advise that you pick it up in person, because if you order it online, you may just have to resign yourself to a soapy box! It's available at Walmart and other big box stores (and probably local grocery stores, too!) So go get yourself some Palmolive!  Don't let your hands get shredded by cheap or harsh soaps!

Have you tried Palmolive?  What's your favorite scent?

Disclaimer - I received these soaps free through Influenster, and am not compensated for my reviews.  All opinions are my own!

Nectresse and the Wonderful World of Smoothies

Here's the latest in product review posts from my Sugar 'N Spice Influenster box!  Here's my standard disclaimer shill - I got the Nectresse free from Influenster! Yay me!  Influenster isn't paying me to write this review (I wish, right!?)  I'm sharing with you a Nectresse recipe that I found as part of my latest obsession. Smoothies!

Yum!

Colgate Optic White Review

Today I'm reviewing the Colgate Optic White line I received for free (that's right!  FREE!) from my Influenster Sugar N Spice Voxbox.  I was rather skeptical at first, but it's made a good first impression.  My teeth are squeaky clean, and my whole mouth is tingly!  So, first of all, here's what I got:

They make everything so white, the whole room GLOWS.

Pretty standard stuff:  mouthwash, toothbrush, and toothpaste.  Both the toothpaste and the mouthwash are "Sparkling Fresh Mint" flavor, and the toothbrush is supposed to be the NASA-level, super spectacular variety of whitening toothbrushes.  So, how did all these items make my happy little mouth feel?  Let's find out!

First, the Colgate Optic White Toothpaste.  It definitely has a gritty texture, but that's a plus for me.  The gel toothpastes just never feel like they get my teeth totally clean.  And it wasn't a harsh grit, just a polishing, this-feels-like-it's-working texture.  My teeth even had a refreshing cool feeling after brushing!  Definite win on the toothpaste!  I will have to update after a few weeks and let you all know how the whitening goes.

Next, the Colgate Optic White Toothbrush in Soft.  I'm sure it takes a larger surface to fit in all that awesome technology, but HOLY WOWZA this is a giant toothbrush!  It doesn't help that I'm pretty petite - I have a tiny head, and therefore, a little mouth.  I've been known to buy children's toothbrushes because they just feel better.  However, I held it up next to a regular size toothbrush (my hubby's) and it's still big.  I'd say at least 25-50% larger than a "normal" toothbrush.  HOWEVER.  Aside from the size issues, it's pretty great!  There are little cuppy thingies among the bristles that help clean between your teeth, and on the back of the toothbrush head is a scrubby surface, so the inside of your cheeks get cleaned, too!  (By the way, don't you love all my scientific descriptions?  Cuppy, scrubby, gritty... I'm so articulate).  If they made a toothbrush in a smaller size, I'd be all over it.  However, I'm gonna give this one a four-week trial, and if I can't get used to the size, I'll have to toss it. This one gets a B+, because I love the concept, but not the execution.

Lastly, we have the Colgate Optic White Mouthwash!  I'm gonna have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of mouthwash in general, but I'm willing to give this one a try.  It's alcohol-free, and is supposed to be formulated to both remove current stains and prevent new ones.  This morning I brushed with my new toothpaste and toothbrush, flossed (of course!) and threw back some mouthwash!  I started swishing it around and then... bubbles.  So many bubbles!  And tingling!  I couldn't tell if it was a Christmas miracle or a physics anomaly (seriously, matter should not expand like that! I felt like it was about to displace my teeth, not whiten them)!  I didn't last the recommended 60 seconds... more like 20.  So, I'll be building up my tolerance on that stuff.

After using the complete Optic White line, my mouth feels not just clean, but sandblasted.  But in a good way!  And now, many hours later, my mouth still feels pretty darn good.  I'm off to brush/floss/rinse again, and of course I'll be inspecting my teeth for any signs of whitening.  Cross your fingers for me!

Influenster Sugar N Spice Voxbox

Ohmigosh!  My first VoxBox!  I'm so excited... and so getting ahead of myself!  Late last year, I started hearing about this thing called "Influenster".  It's a site that rewards you for being influential in social media. You tell them about your interests and hobbies, and they ask you to review products, tweet about products they're promoting, and... occasionally, they partner with companies and send out boxes of FULL-SIZE items for Influensters to try! For free!  And I was one of the lucky ducks that got the Sweet 'N' Spicy box!

A few days ago, I opened up my front door to find...

It was so pretty I gave it a gold star!