Rose VoxBox

I just got my second VoxBox from Influenster!! If you all remember I received the SunKissed VoxBox over the summer (I will provide links to those adventures below). The items included in this box are from the brands: Rimmel London, Dr. Scholl's for Her, belVita, Kiss, and Lind LINDOR chocolate. And for your viewing pleasure here is a photo:

 

 

All of these items were provided complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes!

 

And now for the first impressions:

 

Rimmel London Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara: I love the original Scandaleyes and I am a huge fan of mascara in general so I am über excited to try this out.

 

Dr. Scholl's for Her Cozy Cushions: OMG you guys these are sooooo soft! I just want to use them for a pillow...that's not weird right??

 

belVita crunchy Breakfast Biscuits: Confession time -- I NEVER eat breakfast (I know, I know...). These however look really yummy and are convenient so maybe they will make me a breakfast eater.

 

Kiss Gradation Polishes: I received the set in Exposure. Nail Polish is my obsession. Enough said.

 

Lindt  LINDOR Milk Chocolate Truffles:  CHOCOLATE!!!!

 

Keep an eye out for other posts, I did individual posts the last time but I may combine this time around...also check out my Instagram (@Anniedannie) and Twitter (@lilannietweets) for updates. Click the links below to read the posts from my first VoxBox:

 

 

 My First VoxBox

Dr. Scholl's for Her High Heels

Sinfulcolors Review

Goody Hair Elastic Hair Ribbons


Olay Fresh Effects Bb Cream

Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream and the Great BB Cream Showdown!

It is now time for my final Influenster Review (I will have links to all other Influenster related things below)! I feel like I really saved the best for last on this one. I have tried different BB Creams but hadn’t really found one that I liked until I tried the Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector B.B. Cream (really can the name be any longer!!). I really liked it and was pretty committed to it until I received my Influenster Sunkissed VoxBox and got the opportunity to try the Olay Fresh Effects (BB Cream!) Skin Perfecting Moisturizer SPF 15. That is when the Great BB Cream Showdown began **PAUSE FOR DRAMATIC MUSIC**

Before we begin a few reminders: I received the Olay BB Cream for FREE from Influenster for testing purposes. The Garnier BB Cream I purchased with my own $$. HOWEVER, all opinions and thoughts are my own!

The showdown will consist of 3 main categories: Packaging, Texture and Feel, and Appearance. Let the Showdown Begin!

PACKAGING:

OLAY

The packaging for this is really adorable and young looking. I like that it appeals to a wide range of ages from pre-teens who may be trying out makeup for the first time up to someone in their 20s like me. I’m not sure if it would pack the greatest appeal for someone older just because it is so young looking and an older woman may not want such young packaging hanging around their makeup bag.

GARNIER:

This packaging is much more sleek and sophisticated looking to me and the grown up in me really likes this one too. This packaging was definitely made for women in their 20s and older.

TEXTURE AND FEEL

OLAY:

This BB Cream is incredibly light weight. It really doesn’t feel like you’re putting makeup on and feels more like a nice moisturizer. Once on your skin it feels like it just melts into it and doesn’t feel at all greasy. These facts make me love this even more!

GARNIER:

This BB Cream is a little more heavy duty than the Olay cream. It feels thicker coming out of the bottle and takes a little more effort to get it to “melt” into your skin. It also has a more greasy feeling that I’m not a huge fan of. A little definitely goes a long way with the Garnier BB Cream.

APPEARANCE:

**I kept all other makeup items the same for these pictures. I tried to take the pictures in the same location unfortunately after the OLAY picture we had a rash of cloudy/rainy days and I had to take my GARNIER picture inside.**

OLAY:

Look at how bright my skin looks!! I LOVE IT!! This BB Cream takes absolutely no extra nonsense to make you look glowy. If you needed to rush and only had time for some BB cream and mascara this won’t let you down. Better yet, the glowy-ness lasts ALL DAY!

GARNIER:

Oh, Garnier BB Cream, I love you but you take a lot of work. This just doesn’t have the glowy-ness of OLAY. But I will say with a little effort (mostly well placed highlighter and some bronzer) it can give a very nice “Oh I just got back from a tropical vacay” effect.

FINAL WORD:

I do really like both BB Creams, but if I could only buy one I would definitely go for the Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream. It’s lightweight, non greasy, and gives instaglow like crazy! I do think I may find myself reaching for the GARNIER cream during the winter months only because it is a little thicker and I tend to like thicker for the colder months (I don’t know why I just do...). Now tell me! Have you tried either of these BBs? Which ones do you like the best?

You can find both BB Creams wherever Olay and Garnier products are sold!

INFLUENSTER POST LINKS

My First VoxBox

Dr. Scholl’s For Her High Heel Insoles Review

SinfulColors SinfulShine Review

Goody Hair Ouchless Ribbon Elastics Review

Goody Hair Ouchless Ribbon Elastics Review and Tips

At the beginning of July I received the Sunkissed VoxBox from Influenster (you can read my initial reactions here). One of the items I was excited to try out were the Goody Hair Ouchless Ribbon Elastics.  This post will include a mini review (there isn’t much to say -- they’re pretty amazing) and a few unique tips for using them beyond doing your hair.

"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes." -- Just in case you forgot.

MINI REVIEW

I honestly really really like these. I know a lot of people have problems with the whole Ribbon Elastic thing because you could easily run to a craft store and by your own ribbon elastic and whip up your own. But honestly, who has time for that!? AND by the time you buy the material you need you could have just as easily gone and bought a package of these bad boys....Sorry...I apologize for the rant...kind of...

I typically wear my hair in a bun to keep it up out of the way and under control (my hair has a mind of its own...) I was originally going to post some pictures of how I style it but a lot of people have already done that so....

The only downfall is that like any other hair tie they do tend to stretch out and I did have a casualty when my navy blue elastic snapped (no worries I gave it a proper burial). You can find these at any major retailer that sells Goody hair products and they retail for around $3.97.

OTHER USES

OK, so I’ve figured the easiest way to do this would be to just make a list.... This post is seriously lacking in photos...sorry..

**The bonus to these tips is that you will for the most part always have a hair tie close by if you need it!!**

Wear it as a bracelet

Tie it around the handle of your luggage bag so you can easily identify it on the carousel at the airport

Tie it around makeup brushes and throw them in your makeup bag

Tie them around loose pens in your purse

Use it to keep all of your rewards cards together inside your handbag

Is your shirt too long? Use it to tie it up, 90’s style!

A wine glass marker -- tie around the stem of wine glasses so guests can identify their glass.**This would be really cute for a girls night! Then they get an added gift -- just make sure you use a new set of ties, obviously!**

A slingshot -- because you know sometimes people just need to be hit with a hair tie...

You could also used your stretched out ones that are on their last leg to tie up some white T-shirts and throw yourself a tie-dye party!!

These are just a few fun ideas for out of the box uses for these ties, but of course the best way to use them is to make yourself a cute hairdo!!

Also be sure to check out my review of the Dr. Scholl’s Inserts for Her (here) and the SinfulColors SinfulShine Nail Polish (here) I recieved!!

SinfulColors SinfulShine Review and Haul

As you all may know I was chosen to receive the Influenster Sunkissed VoxBox (you can read my excitement here). One of the products I received, and by far one I was most excited for, was nail polish!! I am an admitted nail polish collector (some of you may call us hoarders) and so any new color is a welcome addition to the nail polish family.

SinfulColors is an extremely affordable nail polish brand that you can pick up at Walgreens and they have a HUGE range of colors to choose from. I have quite a few of them myself but I had yet to pick up some of the new SinfulShine formulation, so to receive one in my VoxBox was quite exciting! Here is a rundown of my thoughts and a mini haul of colors that I just had to run out and get after trying them out!!

Before we begin I mustn’t forget: "I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

THE PACKAGING

You would never know that this polish was only $2.99 by looking at the packaging! The chrome colored lid makes it look very expensive and the shape is kind of classic. I think SinfulColors packaging is one of the reasons I love buying it at Walgreens. Some drugstore brands just look really cheap and it makes me question the formula inside the cheap looking bottle.

THE COLOR

I received the color “Steel Reserve” which is a pretty accurate description of the color. It’s a deep steel gray color that is absolutely gorgeous on. I would probably reserve this color more for the fall and winter months as I tend to like bright colors for summer.

STAYING POWER

This polish lasts!! I painted my nails on Sunday (my usual paint day) and used a base coat and topcoat of Nail Envy by OPI and by the following Sunday there was barely a chip to be seen!

To prove my point here is a midweek shot of my nails:

Seriously this shot was taken on Wednesday!!

OVERALL

I would totally give SinfulShine 5 out 5 stars! Everything is wonderful about this polish from the color selection to the packaging to the formula to the price!

Now for the mini haul portion:

I obviously really liked these polishes so I had to run out and grab some more. I’ve only picked up 3 more so far but I’ve scouting out other members of the Influenster Nation to see what other colors I might add. The three newbies are: Bananappeal, Skinny Dipping, and My Kryptonite. **How cute are those names!?** Naturally when I brought them home I had to take a family photo with the newbies (which I paid for with my own money!) and Steel Reserve.

“Welcome to the family guys!!” -- Steel Reserve

Now tell me! Have you tried the SinfulColors SinfulShine polishes?? If so which ones would you recommend? And if you want to read more about my Sunkissed VoxBox adventures check out my post about Dr. Scholl’s Inserts for Her here! Posts on Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream and the Goody Ouchless Ribbon Elastics will be up soon!

Dr. Scholl's for Her High Heel Insoles Review

I recently received the Sunkissed Voxbox from Influenster (you can read my first impressions here) and I have been having TONS of fun testing out the products! One of the products I received was the Dr. Scholl’s for Her High Heel Insoles.

I don’t really wear heels all that much. I do own some but I only wear them on special occasions and even then I usually end up taking them off somewhere along the line. With this information in mind I will be reviewing them in the context of wearing them in flats and flip-flops (total summer essentials!)

Oh, and before we begin I need to mention that: "I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

First off I want to start out by saying that the packaging on these was a NIGHTMARE to open! I seriously had to butcher the plastic with a pair of scissors in order to get them out. I considered taking a picture once it was open but it was too gruesome to look at.

My first test run was in a pair of flip-flops:

(I have no idea what is going on with this picture I swear it didn’t look like that when it started out...)

During the summer I live in flip flops, so naturally I figured since those are what I wear most often they are what I should start this experiment out in. The day I slipped these on I was planning on doing some major shopping so I knew that I would be out and about all day and would really get a good feel for the inserts.

The initial feeling was...weird...they felt really squishy yet hard but once I got to walking they started to feel more normal. Like I said I spent ALL DAY out and about wandering through stores and pounding the pavement and my feet never really felt tired. Once I got home and took my flip flops off my feet felt a little achey but not terrible.

VERDICT: OK for flip flops but not wonderful.

The next time I tried out the inserts was in a pair of flats

These are a pair of my favorite flats but they can sometimes hurt my feet and give me blisters, so I figured what better pair to test them out in! And, I have to say that my feet felt AMAZING!! They were so comfortable that I didn’t even feel the need to change my shoes when I got home from church (which is normally the first thing I do).

VERDICT: Definitely a must for flats!

The only thing I’m interested to see is how many uses I can get out of this one set of insoles. They do have a sticky undercoating which is why I was able to switch them between shoes. I’m going to keep rotating them out to see how long it takes to lose the stick and will try to remember to update this post to let you know the results!

My overall view is that these are definitely a necessity for my beloved flats and I’m sure that they are equally as wonderful for high heels.

For more fun check out my dedicated pin board to Dr. Scholl’s for Her High Heel Insoles here!!

My First VoxBox!

Oh My goodness I am soo EXCITED! I got chosen by Influenster to receive their SunKissed Vox Box full of fun goodies from Dr. Scholls, Sinful Nail Colors, Olay Fresh Effects, and Goody! Here is a gorgeous picture of my lovely box:

"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes." Just so everyone knows ;)

I am really excited and here are my first impressions of my items:

Dr. Scholl’s For Her High Heel insoles:

Now I’m not really a high heel wearer. I have heels but I don’t wear them often, I just like the way they look all pretty in my room. However, after squishing these things (because they are squishy) I might have to fancy myself up and wear me some heels!

SinfulShine with Gel Tech (I received the color Steel Reserve):

This will totally be one of the first things I will try! I am a total nail polish addict and Sinful Colors are some of my favorites because they have great color and you can get them for a VERY reasonable price at Walgreens (seriously check them out here).

Olay Fresh Effects (BB Cream!) Skin Perfecting Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 15 (I received the shade Fair to Light):

I have tried quite a few BB Creams and currently have a favorite (more on that in my review/showdown post) but I have heard good things about the Olay Fresh Effects line and can’t wait to try this one out!

And last but certainly not least.....

Goody Ouchless Ribbon Elastics:

I like ribbon elastics because I have wavy hair and it gets easily snagged in regular hair ties. Unfortunately I can only find either really expensive ones or ones for little girls (which don’t work because not only do I have wavy hair but I have A LOT of it!) Now I know there are those Negative Nellies who think you should just make your own elastics but really who has time for that and by the time you buy the materials you could have just bought a package of these ($3.99-$4.99)!!

Those are just my first impressions, I haven’t decided if I’ll review EVERYTHING or just a select few....but I will be posting tasty tid bits on Twitter (@lilannietweets) and Instagram (@Anniedannie) so be sure to follow me on those! Also check out Influenster for information about them and how you can join the Influenster Nation (you can also message me here, on Twitter, or Instagram for an invite if you want!)

(isn't this the cutest little symbol -- you better love it you’ll be looking at it!)