Friday, July 11, 2014

Influenster TCLVoxBox

I recently received a TLCVoxBox from Influenster to test some of the products seen in the picture below.  I'm always excited to get a VoxBox and test all of my products.  Overall, I'm very happy with this box.  Keep reading to see what I go and what I think of the products I received.


I received a coupon for a complementary package of Breyers Gelato in the flavor of my choice, I picked Vanilla Caramel.  Breyers Ice Cream is a frequent staple in our house and as an ice cream lover I was excited to try this.  It is creamier than regular ice cream.  If I had to describe it is is like whipped cream and ice cream combined into a frozen treat.  It isn't as hard as traditional ice cream.  This indulgent treat is very rich, and my whole family liked it.  The Gelato had about the same nutritional content as regular ice cream with caramel.  I will definitely try the other flavors, like triple chocolate.



The next item in my box was a bar of Ivory soap.  I use Ivory all the time to clean my makeup brushes and wash my face in addition to regular bath/shower soap.  It is a regular staple in my house.  It is affordable, easy to find, and a brand that I trust.  I love to clean my make-up brushes with it because I can tell when they are clean when I scrub the bristles over the bar of soap.  Since I wash my face with the soap, I know it isn't going to cause irritation.  There are lots of other things you can do with Ivory like making your own detergent and making bath crayons for your kids.



I received a sample pack of Puffs To Go tissues.  I have kids, that means I always need a tissue.  I usually have some napkins or tissues stashed in my bag, but they get dirty or ripped plus they are usually not the best quality.  The packaging is cute, and it is nice that the tissues stay clean in my bag or pocket when I'm on the go at a t-ball game or at the grocery store.  These are strong enough to wipe a runny nose or a dirty face, but soft enough not to irritate the skin.  I've used them to touch up my make up and wipe up spilled juice boxes.  I would definitely purchase these and keep them in my purse or carry them in my pocket.  These are perfect for a busy mom on the go.

Neosporin's Neo To Go is also a must for a bust mom.  I mentioned I have kids earlier, and both of my boys are very active in sports.  One or both of them always has a cut or bruise and I'm not always able to wash out whatever the injury of the day is.  This is the perfect solution.  It is compact and easy to keep in a purse, pocket, or car.  It is much easier to apply to an active kid than neosporin in a tube which I also use frequently.  Add a bandage of your choice and you are good to go and you know you are going to protected and the little ones are going to have some relief.  I'll be keeping this in the first aid kit I keep in my car from now on.


Also in my box was a Shell Fuel Rewards Card.  I wasn't really sure about this one, mainly because I couldn't think of a local Shell Station near where I live.  I went on the fuelrewards.com website and looked for a station near me and expanded to a 50 mile radius, and my suspicions were confirmed that there isn't a Shell Station within 50 miles of my location.  The program looks great though, you can earn various amounts of cents off of gallons of gas by shopping for groceries, online shopping, eating out, shopping at local retailers via e-coupons, and other promotions with your rewards card.  They have an online and mobile app so you can track your progress.  It would be a great way to earn savings off of your gas, but this isn't a great program for me as I don't have Shell Stations where I live.  The program looks like a great way to save, I'll be keeping a look out for Shell Stations popping up in my area.



The last item in my box was a sample of Avon Anew Reversalist Complete Renewal Express.  This products is a wrinkle blurring balm that claims to instantly blur wrinkles on the forehead and around the eyes.  You gently pat it on the skin over your moisturizer or over your makeup.  The product is very creamy and goes on invisibly.  You can't tell you are wearing anything.  The product feels really nice on the skin.  I didn't find it greasy or heavy.  I wore it over my moisturizer, as I don't wear make up everyday.  I am very lucky and don't have many wrinkles yet, but I do have some barely there fine lines on my forehead.  I didn't notice much of a difference when using this product.  I'm not sure if I had more defined wrinkles if that would make a difference.  I'll keep experimenting to see if I can find another use for this product or if I can notice a difference when combined with something else.  My only other caution to new users of this product is read the back of the package for the instructions on how to open the compact.  I did not flip it over and could not figure out how to open it for the life of me.  Eventually I figured out that the lid slides instead of the typical hinged compacts that we are all used to.  Now that I know how to open the box I actually prefer it because it prevents it from opening in your bag and making a mess.  The top is mirrored so you can apply the product with the compact open and use it as a mirror while applying other products with the compact closed which is a bonus.  The compact is quite large though, so it will take up a bit of room in your make up bag, but there is a nice amount of product in the pan.


Update:  I was posting my review on Avon's website, and I read a few other reviews from other users just seconds after posting this.  I found my use for this product.  So I said I don't have wrinkles, but other people said they used this under their eyes.  I do have dark circles and I always look tired, so I said what do I have to lose and I patted this under my eyes and within 5 minutes my eyes looked less puffy and tired.  I still had the darkness that I would normally cover up with concealer for a night out.  Less puffy and tired looking is a win for me.  

Are you an Influenster?  What do you think of these products?

All opinions are my own and all products were provided complementary by Influenster for testing purposes.


Monday, February 17, 2014

Liquid Lacquer Ladie Eve

I've got one of my favorite indie polish makers today, Liquid Lacquer.  Unfortunately, the shop is closed and has been for a while.  I don't have a huge indie collection, but these were some of my first and the quality is excellent on all of the ones I have.


I have a thing for gray polish, so I grabbed this during a sale.  I am not a fan of pink, but love this combination.  It's a grey and pink version of one of the very first Liquid Lacquer polishes that I purchased Sexy Secretary (taupe and orange) which I absolutely love.  Ladie Eve is a cool gray jelly with magenta and baby pink circles, and smaller magenta glitters.  


I decided to layer this over Sinful Colors Cool Gray to save on coats.  Sexy Secretary took 4 coats to be opaque enough for my liking, so I knew this would take about the same as they are very similar in consistency.  I picked up Cool Gray at Walgreens for 99 cents and its application was perfect.  This is 2 coats of Cool Gray.


Cool Gray was the perfect match for the jelly base of Ladie Eve.  Two Coats of Ladie Eve and a top coat completed the look.  I've been using Out the Door top coat and I've been loving it.  It doesn't shrink on me and chips less than other fast dry top coats.


Do you love indie polish?  Who are your favorite makers?

All products purchased by me.

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Stamping Saturday

My birthday was last weekend and my husband asked me what I wanted.  He assumed I wanted polish, but I had been eyeing the new Pueen Buffet Stamping Plates that just came out.  They were sold out at Pueen, but Amazon had them.  The reviews from the other stampers have been nothing short of fantastic, so that's what he got me along with the Pueen Love Elements set.  I've done some test stamps with both sets and the quality is great.  Every image I've tried is etched perfectly and stamps cleanly and clearly.

I used plate 46 from the Love Elements set.  I stamped with my Winstonia squishy stamper.


I started with 2 coats of Can We Carol on from Different Dimensions which you can find here.  It is a pale lavender holographic shown on the wheel below.  



Then I stamped with Funky Fingers Keyan Sunset.  You can find Funky Fingers polish at Five Below stores, not sure if this one is still available. Kenyan Sunset is  thick making it perfect for stamping.  It is a holographic royal purple but the holo doesn't really show up on the wheel, it does sparkle in the sunlight though and the formula is really nice as a base color too.


Here is my final result.  I'm really happy with these plates and how my stamping skills have progressed over the last few weeks with some practice. 



Different Dimensions polish and Pueen plates were purchased by me, Kenyan Sunset was provided as a prize in a giveaway.

Adventures in Stamping - My First Success

I've recently taken up stamping.  I started out with a Salon Express set which you can get at Sally's, Walgreens, and various other places for $10 or less.  It comes with all the tools needed to get started with basic stamping.  I would recommend it for anyone who wants to try stamping before making a the investment in expensive plates and kits.  The plates are cute and decent quality.  I've had trouble with the stamper though.  I purchased some Bundle Monster plates but I couldn't get the Salon Express stamper to pick up any of the images.  I read some tutorials and got some tips from expert stampers and got a few of the images to pick up but I still wasn't having a lot of luck.  So I decided I needed to try a different stamper before completely giving up.  I picked up a double ended Konad from Amazon and a squishy silicone stamper from Winstonia, the first generation Winstonia plates jumped in my cart too.



After trying out both of my new stampers on the Bundle Monster images I had trouble with before, I was able to pick up the images right away on both new stampers.  I will caution that I had to "prep" the squishy stamper just a little before using it.  I washed it with dish soap (I use Ajax antibacterial).  You want something without moisturizers.  Then I swiped it with acetone just to get the sticky stuff of it until I could get an image to pick up.  Since then I've only used a lint roller to get excess polish off of it based on recommendations from other stampers out there.  From what I gather acetone can break down the silicone on the squishy stamper.


For this manicure, which I call my first successful stamping mani using my "grown up" stamping supplies.  I used OPI Schnapps Out of It as the base and stamped with OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons (both from the Germany Collection).  The image is Winstonia W111 from the first generation set.  These pictures are a few weeks old.  I've been practicing so I'm getting better.  These aren't perfect but for a first attempt, I'm really pleased.





All products purchased by me.

Zoya Tallulah and KB Shimmer I Got a Crush on Blue

OK so life has been crazy and my nails have been peeling like crazy but I've been doing maintenance and I've been taking pictures of the really good manicures.  Here is Zoya Tallulah.  I've had this for a while and picked it up during one of their many promos last year.  Its an awesome bright royal blue with a shimmer.  It is a nice bright blue for a dreary winter weather we've been having lately.


Application was perfect.  This is 2 coats with top coat.


Tallulah was the perfect underwear for KB Shimmer I Got a Crush on Blue!  Which is a blue jelly packed with various sizes of holographic glitter from micro to large hexes.  


This is 2 coats of I Got a Crush on Blue over Tallulah.  Despite being packed with glitter application was great.  


Zoya can be purchased at Zoya.com at Ulta and at various salons and retailers. KB Shimmer can be purchased from KBshimmer.com.  

All products purchased by me.