Influenster Mom VoxBox Review

I was lucky enough to receive a Mom VoxBox from Influenster this month.  Influenster is a program where you sign up and if you meet the requirements for that month's box they will send you a selection of products to test.  To see a description of all of the products check out my post here: http://buttercupsobsession.blogspot.com/2012/06/influenster-mom-voxbox.html

I got a Quaker Soft Baked Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, which was delicious and didn't last very long.  It was a large sized cookie, and not overly sweet.  As a working mom of 2 toddlers in daycare I'm always looking for single serve items to throw in a lunch box or to give my boys as a snack on the go.  I personally love oatmeal raisin cookies and the Quaker Oatmeal Recipe is the only one I bake with, but I don't have the time to bake, and when I do the request is always for chocolate chip.  I bought more Oatmeal Raising and Apple Cinnamon at my local store to share with my family.  My husband didn't care for the texture, but he's very picky about his cookies.  My kids and I loved them.

A whole box of Stash Tea Super Fruits Sampler.  It contains 18 tea bags in 6 different flavors.  I've been a Stash Tea fan for years, so I was thrilled to to get a whole box to test.  In the box are 3 herbal caffeine free teas and 3 green teas.  Stash Fruit Teas can be enjoyed hot or cold, which I love becuase I often don't get to enjoy my tea hot with 2 toddlers running around.  Stash Fruit Teas are wonderful and they've outdone themselves with the Super Fruits.  The Yumberry was my favorite, but they were all delicious.  My only complaint is they were gone too fast.  I would buy a box of each flavor or the sampler again.  I hope my store starts to carry these flavors, if not I'll order these from www.stashtea.com.  They included a $1 off 2 boxes coupon for instore purchase and a 15% off online purchase coupon in the VoxBox.

To go with the teas I also got 2 packets of Nektar Honey Crystals.  I don't usually use honey in my tea unless I have a sore throat because it's not sweet enough for me.  The crystals taste like honey, and again aren't sweet enough for me, but if you like honey provide the sweetness of honey in the convenience of a packet.  They don't leave the sticky honey mess in the bottom of the cup like honey does, and flavor the tea much better because they actually dissolve like sweetener.  I would buy these if I saw them in the store.

I got a set of Impress Nails Press On Manicure.  These are super easy to apply and removed.  The color and shine was nice.  They fit well and weren't too long.  I didin't keep them on very long because they were really rough on the free edge.  It was like they didn't file them down after they broke them out of the molding when they were made.  They kept catching on my clothes and scratching me.  I didn't want to scratch my kids so I took them off after a few hours.  I tried to file them down but didn't have much luck.  If it hadn't been for the rough edges I would have left these on for a few days.

Ivory Bar Soap I'm strictly a body wash girl, but I before the days of body wash and body gels I only used bar soap.  I used the Ivory to clean my makeup brushes, which really needed a good cleaning.  I got a travel soap holder and have left the soap on my bathroom sink and have been using it to wash my face at night before bed as well as to clean my make-up brushes more regularly.  I'll be keeping a lookout for the Ivory body wash in stores.

For myself and my boys we got a pack each of Dentek Dental flossers.  I hate flossing my teeth.  It's a pain.  I have sensitive gums so it literally hurts me to do it, plus I hate sticking my hands in my mouth.  The invention of flossers is a great solution for me.  My teeth are really close together so any floss or flosser with thin floss tends to shred.  I've used the DenTek flossers before and will continue to use them.  Perfect for travel or to keep in your purse.  They come in a zip top bag or I like to put them in snack sized bags and take them with me when I go somewhere.

The ones for the kids are brightly colored.  It is easier to use these on my boys than regular floss since they don't stand still for more than 2 minutes and you can get their back teeth without sticking your whole hand in their mouth.  On the sample bag was a coupon for $1 off.  I bought a bag because my kids complained that they couldn't floss when the pack was empty.  They are perfect for travel and we took them on vacation.  My boys liked the fruit flavor.

The Many Uses of Ivory

I received a bar of Ivory in my Mom VoxBox from Influenster to try out.  

Aside from using it to wash my face, I used my bar to clean my makeup brushes which really needed a good cleaning.  My skin isn't sensitive, but my face is sensitive.  It breaks out easily and I have to be very selective in the products I use on my face.  Certain cleansers have been known to dry out my face but the Ivory didn't.  I feel very comfortable cleaning my makeup brushes with the soap I use on my face, and I know it won't make me break out.

In testing my bar of soap, I was surprised to learn all of the other uses of Ivory other than just using it as soap.  I knew you could use bar soap as soap, and to get ring around the collar out of white shirts and to get rid of those ugly under arm stains from deodorant. What I didn't know is that you could make laundry soap from Ivory or you can carve it and make an art project.

I'm a body wash girl, so I'm looking forward to trying out the Ivory body washes, and I'll keep the bars around for keeping my face and makeup brushes clean.

Ivory Bar Soap

Free of dyes and heavy perfumes, Ivory provides a simple, yet effective clean for the entire family (without breaking the bank!).

Ivory bar soap is 99.44% pure (it floats!).  Beyond using it as a body cleanser, many of Ivory's loyal users – not to mention a few celebrities – swear by Ivory as their beauty secret. In fact, many consumers use Ivory bar soap as a facial cleanser.  It provides healthier, smoother and more even-looking skin. Also, its versatility makes it an effective laundry soap (just chip soap flakes into the washer) as well as a spot stain remover on your clothes (including delicate items). Ivory bars can even be used for a fun soap carving project with the family!  

When it comes to motherhood,  Ivory (the clean & simple soap) knows that being a mom has become more complex than ever, and that moms are looking for ways to simplify their lives. According to a survey of 1,000+ moms conducted by Wakefield Research on Ivory’s behalf in October 2011, 80% of American moms think motherhood is more complicated today than it was 20 years ago, despite the thousands of items supposedly designed to “simplify” their lives. But, while they may be more stressed out and busier than ever, almost 90% of moms think they’re doing a better job balancing it all than their mothers did. Some other interesting stats:

· 30% of moms surveyed found the most complicated aspect of motherhood was finding more "me" time, 66% confessed to hiding in their bathroom for some alone time.
· 75% feel the pressure to make every outing, playdate, or experience a "teachable moment," which can create great pressure

· 70% of moms feel they don’t have everything together, despite others thinking that they do.

As a result of these findings, Ivory created a Facebook community where everyday moms can share tips with one another on ways to simplify life for themselves and their families.   

Find your Ivory now at your nearest retailer, including stores such as Walmart and Target as well as any major grocery, dollar and drug store.  A 10-pack of Ivory bar soap retails for around  $4.49 (bath bar size).

Quaker Soft Baked Oatmeal Cookies

I got a Quaker Soft Baked Oatmeal Raisin Cookie to test and review in my Influenster Mom VoxBox.  It was delicious, so didn't last very long.  It was a large sized cookie, and not overly sweet which I like in an oatmeal cookie.  As a working mom of 2 toddlers in daycare I'm always looking for single serve items to throw in a lunch box or to give my boys as a snack on the go.  I personally love oatmeal raisin cookies and the Quaker Oatmeal Recipe is the only one I bake with.  I don't have the time to bake very often, and when I do the request is always for chocolate chip.  My kids were mad that I didn't let them eat the cookie so I had to buy a box of these as well as the Apple Cinnamon.

These cookies are 170 calories per cookie and 6 grams of fat, which for a cookie isn't that bad.  I'll be buying these again!

Quaker Soft Baked Oatmeal Cookies

Enjoy chewy, soft-baked cookies in a family-favorite flavor! With wholesome Quaker Oats and delicious raisins, you’ll never remember they came from our kitchen instead of yours.

-Made with Whole Grain Quaker Oats
-Individually packaged
-Provides a good source of fiber
-Contains 6 grams of total fat per serving

Where to Buy

You can find Quaker Soft Baked Oatmeal Cookies at most major retailers.

Suggested retail price: $2.69 for a box of 6 cookies