Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Influenster Beauty Blogger Voxbox 2012

I am SO very excited today as my first Voxbox from Influenster came in the mail!! As mentioned in my previous post Influenster is a website where you can sign up to be sent sample boxes for free! All you do is fill out some surveys, and hope to qualify for one of the boxes they send out. I qualified for the Beauty Blogger Voxbox and am thrilled. It really is amazing that a company would send me all these things for free. Now that I got the box I just have to tell them I received it on my account, and give feedback on the products via a survey they should have up soon. Easy as pie!

Look what was in my box!!!! :

As you can see the box was jam packet with free "samples". Most of these products are full size which is just so crazy awesome!! Inside the box was a card similar to that in Birchbox which listed all the products included, a description of them, and the price of the full sized product.

Here is a list of the goods:

  • NYC New York Color IndividualEyes Custom Compact: $4.99
This gorgeous eyeshadow compact came with a primer, illuminator, and four colors- two crease shadows, and all over lid shadow and a highlighter shadow. The little card says they are specifically coordinated to intensify and enhance your eye color. Hmm, the package does not say what color eyes this set is for, but the colors are dark to light grey- black. They look very pretty and slightly shimmery. I am excited to try them out especially with the primer! I haven't tried a primer before, and usually do not use eyeshadow so this is an excuse to experiment :) The box also says this is a limited edition product.

  • Kiss Ever Pro Lashes Starter Kit: $5.99
I have never tried out fake eyelashes before, and am hesitant, yet kind of excited to try these. The kit includes a pair of fake lashes, latex free glue, and an applicator.  It says they last up to 24 hours so I suppose I will have to put them to the test soon!
 
  • Bath & Body Works Mini Candles: $3.50/ Coupon for a 3 Wick Candle for $10
The candle I received is called Black Pepper Bergamot. I have no idea how to pronounce Bergamot, and had no clue what it was so I looked it up. Apparently it is some kind of orange? I am just going off goggle info for that though so I could be wrong. Anyways it smells decent. I love, love, love the most recent candle I purchased from Bath and Body Works which is the Pumpkin Cupcake candle. I am interested to try this one out. The coupon was for sure a nice extra touch as well!


  • EBOOST- $28 for a box of 20 powders, $39 for a box of 30, and $39 for a box of 12 shots
Apparently this powder is supposed to boost your mood, focus and immunity. I got mine in an orange flavor. I wonder how it taste, and if it really works?? Interestinggg.



  •  Goody Simple Styles Spin Pin: $7.29
I am not sure if I will be able to figure out how to use these little guys haha. They are spiral bobby pins you are supposed to spin into an updo to hold it. I put them in before I started this post and so far so good with the simple bun I did. A few pieces of hair are slipping out so I curious as to whether these will hold my thick hair. I will keep you posted- no pun intended!

 

  • Not Your Mother's Smooth Moves Frizz Control Hair Cream: $6.00
My friend recently bought shampoo and conditioner from this brand while we were at Ulta so I am familiar with it, but have never used it out. I tend to get frizzy hair- I think from the damage I have created with my straightener, so I am excited to use this out. It has a strong coconut scent even with the wrapper on so maybe it will make my hair smell nice as well as hopefully fighting frizz?


So, overall this is an amazing box, and even more incredible because it was free!! Please let me know if you would like to sign up for Influenster- I have a few invites left. I would also love any comments about Voxboxes you have received/ if you got this one, as well as what you think of these products!! I will update this post once I have a chance to try out my new things :) so stay tuned!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Influenster/ Voxbox

Source- http://www.influenster.com/about
Hello everyone :) I am very excited for my mini post today! In a couple days I hope to do a better review of a website I first saw mentioned in a Youtube video quite a few months ago. Influenster is a site both men and women can use to look up new products out there on the market and then give their feedback. You can even ask other consumers of the products questions you may have.  What drew me in to Influenster though was the mention of FREE stuff!!

http://www.influenster.com (Here is the link)

That is right FREE STUFF! I signed up for an account thinking it must be too good to be true. I figured the girl on Youtube was lucky enough to get a Voxbox- more on this in a bit- because she did so many videos and the company wanted her to spread the word so they could get more business. I have since found out this really is not a scam- it is an amazing way to try new things and get your opinions out about products as well! Last week my friend who signed up at the same time as me got an e-mail saying she had qualified for the Bride-To-Be Voxbox and should be expecting it in the mail soon!

Now, what is a Voxbox you ask? A Voxbox is a box shipped to your house with lots of various products in it that you get to keep for free!! On the Influenster site there are many surveys you can take once you sign up for an account. You can earn badges by taking the surveys, and then Influenster will keep track of your answers on there and let you know if you qualify for one of their upcoming Voxboxes. There are surveys on there for everyone from people who are all about living a healthy lifestyle, moms, men, dog and cat lovers to college students, and travelers. You are sure to find something on there that applies to you in some way!

Here is a picture of what my friend received from the Influenster Facebook Page
From what I can tell there is at least one Voxbox every season, but Influenster seems to be sending out more now then they were in the beginning. My friend received a box with products such as shampoo, conditioner, fake eyelashes and beauty water in it for free! On the site there is not even a single spot for you to put your credit card information, and therefore no way for you to be charged :) All she has to do in return is fill out reviews on the products she received after trying them out!


I have even better news for you too! Influenster just re-did their entire website! I found the website hard to figure out when I first signed up, but now I really understand the "company" (I am not sure if that is what they would be called?), due to their new set up. It is much easier to figure out what you should do to move yourself closer to being chosen for a Voxbox. Influenster gives you a score based on how many surveys you have done, you influence through Youtube, Blogs, Facebook, and Twitter as well as product reviews. The more points you have the better!!

I am thrilled, because just the other day I found out a Beauty Blogger Voxbox is on it's way to me!! All I had to do was follow the simple task directions on my account page, and now I have surprise products being sent to me. I cannot wait to receive them and share with you what I got in a post soon!

I will have more details about this service once my first Voxbox comes, and if you have any questions feel free to ask! I believe they just changed the website to being by invitation only. I have four invitations left if any of you are interested so please let me know!! So many of you out there influence others in positive ways through social media, and I think this is a great way to be rewarded for all that you do! I will be sure to let you know when my Voxbox is here :) Thanks for reading!

Monday, October 1, 2012

October 2012 Julep Maven

Whew, it has been quite some time since I have been on here! I am so happy that I heard from some of my readers asking when I would be doing the next post (it always shocks me to find I actually have readers ;) ). I truly appreciate each and every one of you who takes the time to even scroll through the pictures on here, and apologize it has been so long. Summer was the perfect time for me to post as I am a teacher, and now that school is back in full swing grading papers and lesson planning are I use my computer for all day everyday it seems.

Anyways, today both my October Julep Maven box, and add-ons came in the mail! This month Julep went hardcore on the Halloween theme, and the polishes were labeled as simply bewitching. I was really torn as to which style to go with as the featured polishes this month were crackles. I have only had one experience with crackles in the past- my sisters bought a bottle and let me try it out- I thought the effect was really cool, but not something I could see myself wearing too often, and sadly the whole bottle dried up in less than a month. I was debating with a friend which box to go for since I had a free monthly referral left - THANK YOU!!! Then, just when I thought I had my mind made up Julep decided to be even more awesome and come out with a Maven's Choice box featuring zero crackles!  The same day I also found a black OPI crackle at Ulta for $3- yipee!! :) Now I can still do the orange with black crackle on top mani I was planning for my kiddos Halloween party, and get a Maven box with colors I will use on a much more regular basis! Oh happy day!

The Maven's Choice box included:

Maven's Choice

  • Eloise- Smokey indigo blue crème
  • Lisa-  Warm pebble grey crème
  • Keira-  Deep merlot red crème
 







I had my eye on the blue (of course) and the reddish Keira so I was quite happy with this box minus the fact that it did not come with the monthly product of quick dry drops, so naturally I had to add those on. . .and Leslie since I have been wanting a black, and don't forget Caroline the lovely shimmery red that reminds me of the song Sweet Caroline and takes me back to college hockey/ football games ;)

Here is what my Maven's Choice box looked like:

 Julep threw in two glitter pots- an orange, and black as well as candy corns!! Have I mentioned I LOVE Fall? It is the very best season, and I adore everything associated with it so cannot wait to eat up these candy corns haha. I like my Maven's Choice colors (Lisa is for sure more gray than it shows up in this picture- I apologize that I still do not have batteries for my good camera so used my phone).

I am most excited about my add-ons however :) 

 

  • Leslie- Black and silver specked shimmer
  • Caroline-  Darkest burgundy shimmer
  •  Quick Dry Drops


I felt the need to paint my nails with these right away. They are gorgeous in the bottle, and I wish you could see them better in my picture!! Both really shine, and Caroline does look, well, bewitching. 


Both polishes applied quite nicely and gave full coverage in one coat :) The shimmer in Leslie is very faint, but you can really see a silver shine as the light catches it. Caroline has more silver shimmer, but keeps the rich burgundy color you see in the bottle as well. I thought Leslie would be my favorite, but Caroline has trumped her. The quick dry polish drops were fun to use, and spread out nicely on my finger nail. I just had to put one small drop near the cuticle. My polish dried right away as promised. The smell reminds me of a bathroom cleaner scent, so is not so great, but it is also not turbo strong or nasty either. I can deal with it much more than the scent of my recent fast drying top coat from Julep.

Leslie, Caroline, Leslie
Here are my finished nails. Again, I apologize for the jankity picture taken on my phone!! You can see though that both colors are quite dark. My accent nail doesn't really pop like normal, but I like the suttle look. I can see myself using both of these colors frequently :) I am so happy they only take one coat per nail and will last me longer!

What did you think of Julep this month?? Did you get a box, and if so which style? I would love to hear from you below and also see what you do with your October colors!!

If you would like to try out Julep for a penny the offer is still on! Just go to http://julep.com/?r=21739311 and enter promo code COLOR2012 at checkout. I hope you enjoy it as much as me!! :)