Influenster Wellness Voxbox

I was happily surprised to receive another VoxBox from Influenster last month! There is nothing more exciting than receiving a box filled with free goodies at your doorstop. Life around my house has been true madness and I haven't blogged in forever since time seems to just escape me completely. Sitting down to really think through reviews, write them, edit them and then have someone else read and edit takes way more time than I ever thought possible! Trying to get dinner on the table so I am posting this without an extra read through - scary - so I apologize for any typos!! It would be so much easier to just say I love everything, but I really like to try things out and see if they are actually worth repurchasing.

So let's check out the breakdown of the goodies (I have included links to all the product pages as well):

Olay Active Botanicals Refreshing Gel Cleanser - I am always hesitant on trying new cleansers because my skin is so sensitive and can easily react. Olay is a respected brand, so I was willing to give it a chance. The bottle touts the cleanser to be formulated with "Snow Mushroom" - really? I feel like all of these companies go in search of fun plant names so they can try to ooooo and ahhhhhh us into buying them for the natural properties. I have no idea if snow mushrooms are a magical answer, but according to a little research this particular fungus is used in China & Japan for its anti-aging properties. I do not see any immediate changes in my skin, nor would I expect to. I don't have a ton of fine lines, yet, so I would assume if I used it for awhile I would be a better judge of its effectiveness. It also supposedly helps the skin retain moisture, but since I use a moisturizer aside from this I don't know how effective it is alone. There is little to no scent - which is MUCH appreciated!

Verdict: Either way it is a cleanser, it cleanses. My skin had no reactions that I noticed and it felt soft and clean, with no weird residue like some cleansers can leave. I recommend it if you have normal or sensitive skin.  

Jergens Wet Skin Moisturizer - Jergens has been a family favorite for a long time - I think I will always be a fan of the original cherry-almond scent! It reminds me of my dad - he always kept a bottle in the kitchen and would lotion his hands each day. He always knew the best things to use from kitchens to cars and some things never change! 

This particular lotion is different though... and I have to say it weirds me out a little bit. The idea of applying while my skin is still wet is just odd. I don't like the scent at all - too floral - this is the Monoi Oil scent. It is heavy and lingering. It sticks to my towel and competes with my perfume. For that reason I would never re-purchase it. If you don't wear perfume then it shouldn't bother you. I believe there is a coconut one which I would rather try since I love coconut and think it would be great for summer. If it is as strong as this one, then I would wear it in lieu of perfume. The process is odd as it is not natural for me to stand soaking wet slathering on lotion and THEN toweling off.  It is easy to forget since I have been showering and getting ready for a few decades. It would be possible to retrain myself - for the right scent that is. My skin feels SERIOUSLY soft and VERY moisturized! It does what it advertises, but in an odd way. I am also not sure it takes me any less time to put this on vs. other lotion - it just happens in a different order. I was absolutely washing my towels more frequently since the scent was overpowering. I have a super smeller, aromas that bother me are extreme compared to other people. 

Verdict: Yes, extremely moisturizing, easy to use - if in an odd and out of process way for me, Monoi Oil STINKS! Ack! But I don't like floral scents in general, so take that with a grain of salt. I say it is worth a shot for another scent. Coconut is my jam, so I may try that one instead!

Attitude Hair Care - Made in Canada! I don't think I have ever seen that on a product I have purchased. Canadians are so sweet and nice - clearly they have to make something good. Right?! Right!! This is a nice shampoo. It is totally clear, I don't think I have used a shampoo that didn't have some color to it before so this was interesting. I was worried that it wouldn't lather well since I have found a lot of the paraben-free soap products to not lather enough, but this had no issue lathering up. Little to no scent - MUCH appreciated! I have A LOT of hair - a mane, if you will - so this perspective may be different than some people, but I seemed to use more of this than regular shampoo to get it throughout my locks. This isn't necessarily bad, jut means I will go through it faster. I like that they say their motivation is providing safe, toxin free products for the well being of everyone. They talk a good game and this chicky is buying it!

Verdict: Good shampoo. Good company. Good Motivation. Trying something new and pick it up the next time you are in Target.

Attitude Dishwashing Liquid - Oh Canada - I love you! Apple Basil dish detergent?! Yes - YESSSS!! Apple is my favorite scent in my kitchen. I buy it regularly! Now they want to combine that with non-toxic ingredients so I can wash my dishes without worrying about WHAT I am washing them with - YES! 

Verdict:  Clean your dishes with confidence! The scent is awesome, the toxin-free detergent will make you and your dishes happy!

Colgate Enamel Health Mouthwash - My husband is obsessed with mouthwash. He loves the stuff! It figures into his routine a couple of times a day. Maybe this is one of the reasons the dentist says he has the Cadillac of teeth! Haha! I on the other hand do not use it but so often as it immediately precedes coffee and I have to have loyalties in life and pretty much everything fails when placed next to coffee. This is alcohol free and indicates that it helps to fight cavities. I haven't had a cavity in over a decade and my husband has only had 2 in over two decades. So we are pretty lucky on the cavity front. So basically does it taste good and does it freshen breath?? It's mouthwash - of course it does! Haha! 

Verdict: It's mouthwash - it is pretty straightforward, minty, strong and good for a kissable mouth! Two thumbs up for kissable mouths - Colgate can help you get there!

Urgent RX Ache and Pain Relief To-Go - I am a big fan of products like this. I used one like it many years ago, thanks to a friend, and it was very helpful! I haven't been able to find it in awhile so I am guessing it was discontinued. I don't often use medication like this, I try to limit my intake for only desperate times/measures, so I have not had an opportunity to use it. However, I am happy that it is small and easily kept in my wallet for any emergency when I may need it. I don't look forward to using it since that means I will be all ouchy and stuff, but I am grateful to have something within reach that will hopefully fast acting and easy to use in any situation!

Verdict: TBD... However, I see on their website they have several varieties so I think I may try the allergy version or the upset stomach (I have the weakest stomach of life!!) since those are more likely things I would use a little more often instead of pain reliever. 

Yaye: Group Fitness Motivation and Connection - I did not download this app and test it out. I feel like there are already so many fitness apps out there that connect people already. I have two on my phone and, in all fairness, I don't use those as often as I should so trying another one is just not something I have time for or interest in. 

Here is an overview - per their website: 

"It’s getting harder to be active these days. You’re busy and it’s not so easy to exercise as much as you’d like. You wish you had the motivation, the energy to get moving.

Maybe if you were meeting your sister or your best friend you’d make it to the gym. You wouldn’t want to let them down. And it’s way more fun when you’re together.

Your sister can’t always be there with you. And your best friend might live on the other side of the country. But you can still get moving with them. And benefit from their energy, motivation and fun.

Yaye bring families and friends together to get fit and healthy, wherever, whenever."

Burried Baubles?! Yes, please!!

I recently stumbled across BaubleBar, a site that I see friends of mine have liked or followed across social media. Since I am an accessory fan addict I thought what the hell - let's see what they have! It is a wide variety of simple and statement pieces that are mostly trendy in style. They have three color tones gold, rose gold and silver and depending on the piece different finishes smooth, shiny or matte. The prices are a little high for some of the pieces (for me) and on point for others. I am pretty picky about how much I will spend on "fun" (fashion) jewelry. A lot of the pieces are a bit much, too much statement for me, but they are still pretty and very on point in terms of the current trends. I prefer their more simple pieces, but I am unsure if I would pay full price for those items. 

Then I made a phenomenal discovery! They have a bit they run on Friday's and Monday's (I believe) called "the buried bauble". Basically you "hunt" through the necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings to find the buried bauble - a treasure hunt if you will. These items are on sale that day for $10 or $20. SCORE! Mama loves a good deal! On the hunt I found a few pieces that I liked and spent only $10 per item. Who couldn't get behind that - ESPECIALLY since U.S. shipping is always free - what, WHAT?! FREE! Be still my beating heart - no limits, no requirements - just straight up free! SOLD! Notably they seem to also have good sales - I purchased the earrings on sale vs. the buried bauble method. They have a couple of pieces right now that it is taking wild horses (aka: my husband) to hold me back from grabbing as well! :)

The packaging is awesome! The box is easy to open - no scissors, pull tab - love it. Everything is wrapped very snugly in little bags, then in bubble wrap (yes, I annoyed my husband for a good 5 minutes just *pop-pop-popping* away!) and then in tissue paper. All this wrap is good to save for gifting, swap sites and mailing anything at all. Reuse, recycle you will feel good about it - I promise :)

The necklaces are more my speed - simple and go with everything for my current day-to-day life. I admit the gold tag is my favorite because it is the longest and easy to layer with other pieces I already have. A girl's gotta layer! Looking at these pics I realize that I really did go plain-Jane with the pieces I selected. I may try to do something a little more bold next time - that usually falls into the $20 range for the buried bauble, I believe.

The earrings were my attempt at something "trendy" for only $10 - these are the 360 stud style where the backing is larger and part of the "earring". I like them, surprisingly; my husband hates them, not surprisingly. It was something fun and very different for me, glad I picked them up. 

I am not sure how long the pieces will wear - i.e. when the finish starts wearing away, but they do remind you to keep them away from moisture and to not wear them every day in order to prolong their life. For $10 I am not worried about it, but if you buy one of the more expensive full priced pieces I would definitely be more careful. It is nice that they give you little baggies to store/transport your jewelry - very handy!

Are they the final say in fashion jewelry? Not sure about that. Do they have a voice for a specific audience - absolutely! I think a lot of pieces would be fun presents for friends, bridesmaids or anyone you know between the ages of 15 and 150 in your life that loves shiny things. I believe there really is something for every taste/style preference on this site.

 I will regularly pop in on a Friday or a Monday to see if my $10 is theirs or mine to keep - that is a gamble I can afford!

City Color Cosmetics at Five Below

Recently I popped into Five Below to pick up some beach gear as we are readying ourselves for vacation. I love buying cheap, fun stuff for the pool and the beach that we don't have to worry about losing or breaking or leaving behind with the kiddos. Because I am a makeupaholic I walked through the beauty aisle to see what kinds of things they have and was pleasantly surprised to find a one of my favorite products - a blush/bronzer/highlighter palette from City Color Cosmetics for only $4. Um, YESSSSS PLEASE! SOLD! I also decided to pick up one of their matte blushes ($3) and two of their matte/gloss lipsticks ($3). (I also picked up two Wet 'n Wild lipsticks ($2) that were dramatically vampy, but I did not know that... not sure if those will make an appearance in my real life or not - haha!) I apologize my swatches of everything are a bit messy - I was just so excited!!

First the palette - love it! It comes in three colors at the store (online there are four colors, but one is currently sold out), I chose the Skinkissed Trio in "Golden" as I don't have a lot of peachy type blushes in my life and clearly I needed to change that! This is $4 at Five Below and $6.99 on City Color's website - score for me! I think all three products are so pretty! The blush is a beautiful peachy tone and has a fair amount of shimmer in it, so I did need to be careful with the amount of highlight I added. Also, the bronzer also has a light shimmer so you cannot contour this product, which is no biggie for me. It is important to note since all of them are shimmery if you don't care for a glowy look this may not be for you or maybe just not an all-in-one for you. The bronzer is the quite powdery with a fair amount of fallout if you don't tap off your brush, followed by the blush and none at all with the highlighter. I think the wear is great for normal daily activities and I am likely going to go back and grab another color to try. (Notably: I love this one as much as I love my "ride or die" Naked Flushed palette from Urban Decay, the wear is definitely longer with the UD, but the colors are equally beautiful and creamy in both.)

Since the palette was all shimmer I grabbed one of the Matte Blushes, I believe there were 6 or 8 in the store, but there are 12 online. In sticking with the peachy toned theme I bought the shade "Fresh Melon". This is $3 at Five Below and $4.99 on City Color's website, on sale at the moment for $3.49. Another good deal and my zero-to-2 peach blushes in one day was a hit! I think this color is so lovely and would likely work on light to fair to medium skin tones because it is buildable. Unlike the palette above, it was not at all powdery when I used it. The swatch on the left is one swipe and the swatch on the right is few - so clearly it can be built up. They have a nice range of shades so I may grab one (or two) more, BECAUSE $3!! 

Since I was already on a roll, two lip colors were a must. A MUST! On these Matte To Gloss lippies one end is a matte lipstick and the other end is a complimentary gloss. These two shades are Mauve Dazzle and Raspberry Dazzle, there are four other shades in total and the store had all of them. These are $3 at Five Below and $5.99, currently on sale for $3.99, on City Color's website. Sadly, these were a fail for me. First they smell funny - like old lipstick. I have a super smeller and scents really bother me if I don't like them and these do not seem to settle at all. The scent lingered and lingered. Second, there is the teeniest amount of product on the lipstick end, which is the side that I would use more often. Third, the glosses felt very wet. They didn't have the right balance of wet to sticky. The transfer was immediate and almost all the product wore away within an hour once the gloss was applied. I definitely will not repurchase and I am unsure if I will wear them due to the smell. I love the Raspberry color so much that I am going to attempt to use one of my delicious smelling Lorac glosses over it to see if that will mask the smell enough for me to enjoy the color. 

While I never thought I would ever purchase make up at a Five Below I could not be more thrilled about the palette and the matte blush - enough that I want MORE! The price point is amazing for the range of options, pigmentation and good day's wear of these products. The lippies I would say are not at all worth the money unless you just want some stinky lippies to blog about :)

Color Lock Lipstick - BH Cosmetics

I feel like I never hear anything about these lipsticks from BH Cosmetics, which is a total shame because they have to be some of my most favorite! On a whim I purchased one color last fall from HauteLook and ever since then it is a consistent go-to color for me and one that I often receive compliments on. These are most like the creamy matte lipsticks from Maybelline that everyone is gaga over - including myself, Touch of Spice is simply incredible (if you do not have it, climb out from under that rock and get thee to Target ASAP! :-)). However, while they do last longer than other lipsticks they are not super long lasting. Enter Color Lock from BH Cosmetics. They are not at all kidding - they lock on and last much longer than any lipstick I have ever purchased (even better than some of the liquid lipsticks I own), while still being super creamy in application and soft on the lips. I do not find them drying at all, but I do exfoliate my lips every other day and use heavy lip balm every night.

They are richly pigmented, apply evenly and last all day. While, I almost always use lip liners with any lip product these do not bleed so it isn't a requirement; old habits just die hard for me. I have no trouble whatsoever getting though the day (8-10+ hours chatting/eating/drinking) with minimal touch-up. The formula (on all colors) is very forgiving in how it wears away - very evenly - which makes it easy to do minor touch-ups without it getting gritty or cakey. At the end of the day I do use my trusty olive oil to remove them, as I do with most long-wear lip products; however, I think that most make-up removers will take them off. I just prefer the olive oil for lip products since it's faster, easier, no concerns about chemicals getting in my mouth (ICK) and earth friendly. 

Sadly, they were out of stock for a lot of the colors for several months, but I faithfully checked each month and FINALLY they have all returned and I purchased 5 more! There are only 12 colors in this particular line, but I own half of the colors and I love all of them. I hope that they will add more shades in the future! If you are looking for a seriously long-lasting creamy matte I would definitely recommend picking these up. Normally they are $8.95, but currently they are on sale for $5 - YAY for awesome pricing!! BH Cosmetics often has online sales and I recommend always checking back in case they aren't on sale at first glance. Also watch out for this brand to come around on HauteLook, they always have a good deal!

Another important thing to note about this company is that they do not test on animals.

From their website:

Lock in the color of your lipstick with this rich and creamy, long-wearing matte lipstick. Bold pigments stay in place all day while Shea Butter nourishes skin for soft and beautiful lips.

Features & Benefits

• Shea Butter for Hydration
• Vitamin E for Anti-oxidant Protection
• Clinically Tested
• Non-Irritating
• Allergy Tested

 

Hello Fresh Subscription

Is it just me or do some weeks hardly have enough time to wash enough undies to make it through to Saturday, never mind enough time to finish a thousand other things on a "to-do" list that never seems to shrink? With all this insanity I try to look for short cuts here and there, because more time back in my life is a win! Thanks to the wave of subscription box mania there are several different fresh meal deliveries offered. So far I have only tried one, Hello Fresh, thanks to a very sweet Instagramer who gave me a coupon she was unable to use because she lives in Canada. We enjoyed it so much the first time that we decided to give it another try when they offered me a discount to come back and try again. I love a good deal so I couldn't resist!

Quick overview from their site:

Always Fresh & Healthy

Fresh is not only in our name, it's our promise to you. We bring you the freshest and healthiest food, with a dash of fun, a sprinkle of learning, and a dollop of deliciousness, all for a great price.

Always Experienced Chefs

We create delicious recipes from a variety of cuisines. Each one is reviewed by our in-house dietician to ensure it's balanced and nutritious. Our signature step-by-step recipes make cooking easy and quick, so you can get delicious meals on the table every day.

Always Trusted Suppliers

Seasonal, fresh, and the highest quality. We build close relationships with our small farmers, butchers, fish mongers and fellow culinary enthusiasts to ensure that only the best ingredients make it to your dinner table.

Pricing

3 Classic Meal Box for Two - $69 ($11.50 per person)

3 Classic Meal Box for Four - $129 ($10.75 per person)

3 Vegetarian Meal Box for Two - $59 ($9.83 per person)

3 Vegetarian Meal Box for Four - $109 ($9.08 per person)

 

This may sound a little high, but it gives back the time to your day/week that would otherwise be spent planning, shopping and prepping. The "service" you receive makes everything balance out - at least it does for us. They also make it super easy to stop and start your subscription multiple weeks at a time by just clicking on the week - green is deliver and red is to skip. Where is my "That Was Easy" button - yes, I actually have one.

You do get to customize a little based on dietary needs/preferences and they will let you swap out one of the three meals that week for two other provided options.

I believe shipping schedules are pretty standard (Friday's, I believe), however, if you have specific circumstance that need to be met for delivery they are very willing to work with you. It comes well packed in an insulated bag. Everything is packaged with several ice packs to ensure freshness. 

We made these meals over more than a week period because we had so much going on we couldn't make them each night. Everything stayed very fresh! If you get in a bind, because LIFE happens, throw the protein in the freezer, the fresh ingredients will last - at least they did for us.

The vegetables and seasonings are packaged in individual bags by recipe. I like that they think to pack them on top to protect them. I am unsure if these bags can be recycled. Everything is pretty much pre-measured so there is very little guess work to do.

The proteins and the ice packs are on the bottom, separated by a cardboard sheet. The shrimp was packaged in its own bag with a separate ice pack to ensure it would stay the appropriate temperature.You can definitely reuse the freezer packs too - which is a bonus as I always seem to be forever in need of them since I often leave them wherever I am going!

And finally, they include a nice booklet that outlines all of the recipe information: ingredients, preparation instructions, nutritional information and photos to go along with everything to help anyone feel confident in making these recipes.

I love that these are printed on sturdy card stock instead of plain paper. We saved the recipes from last time because we liked them so much and I don't have to worry about them getting torn or ruined in the kitchen.

(They also include an envelope containing other offers from other subscription companies that you may be interested in.)

This week we have Pan-Seared Chicken with Tomato-Barley Hash and Charred Broccoli, Argentine-Spiced Steak with Couscous Salad & Cilantro-Scallion Chimichurri and Coconut Shrimp Satay with Shaved Carrot & Cucumber Salad.

I can't wait to try these recipes!

 

And while I will continue to wish for a personal assistant and a private chef (and a  maid and a gardener and a trainer and a... the list goes on) the interim help from this delivery company is a little less expensive and a little more attainable now and then. Thank you Hello Fresh!