Product Review: NYC Individual Eyes Palette

I received this NYC Individual Eyes Palette from Influenster, and it's one of the many amazing products inside the Beauty Bloggers Voxbox 2012. It was a pretty interesting kit, because it had all the essential eye products that you’ll need in one compact palette.

I have always been loyal to my favorite high end brands - so naturally, I didn't know if I'd like this product/brand or not. Also, some of the product were all over the palette (may have been caused by shipping), so I did not know what to expect as far as the quality goes. I have never used this brand before so I was also very interested in the pigmentation of each individual eye shadow color.

Pros and Product Highlights:

• The suggested retail price for this palette is $4.99 – very affordable!


• It has 4 eye shadows that were respectively labeled (contouring, highlight, crease) according to how/where they should be used which makes it ideal for pros and beginners alike.


• This little palette also comes with an eye base/primer and an illuminator. I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised at how these two components work – the quality is good! I have been using the illuminator on my face as well, as part of my “contouring” routine. I really like it!


• The eye shadows are highly pigmented – what you see is what you get.

Cons:

• The colors don’t flake or bleed around the eye area when used in conjunction with the eye base/primer and MAC’s Fix Plus. It smudges/bleeds under the eyes a wee bit (where I like putting extra color before using a kohl pencil to line my lower lash area – hope I made sense!) if you don’t use setting sprays like Fix Plus or Skindinavia.

DISCLAIMER: I did not purchase any of these products. They were sent to me by Influenster for review and blogging purposes. I’m just a regular consumer and I appreciate honest feedback about products that regular people like me use on a daily basis or consider buying. My views and opinions are from a customer/end user’s standpoint.

Product Review : Bath and Body Works Candles

How much do I love candles?! Let me count the ways…

Kidding aside…I have always loved “smell good stuff” in my home. I think I have them all – plug ins, oil warmers, sprays and my personal favorite – candles! There’s just something soothing and romantic about lighting candles. It instantly transforms the atmosphere in any room – which is why I have always been a candle fanatic!

I love “matching” my candles to what season it is but I have to say that my favorite ones are the fall and winter scents from Bath and Body Works. When I saw that this “colder season” staple of mine was included in my Influenster's Beauty Bloggers Voxbox 2012, I was in “smell good heaven” because not only did they give me a mini candle for free…they also included a coupon that I could use to purchase up to 5 candles at a discounted rate.

Hurray for the candle aficionado in me!

PHOTO ABOVE: I was supposed to use these in December - in time for the Christmas Season. However, I love these scents so much and couldn't help but light them - which explains why they're all used up now! "Sparkling Icicles" has that clean, winter smell that I am absolutely in love with. When I have this scent lit up, I am reminded of pine trees, snow...and Christmas!  "Frosted Cranberry", on the other hand, has that fun/festive berry scent that I really like. It has the right amount of tang and does not smell overly sweet - it's definitely worth checking out, y'all!

PHOTO ABOVE: "Nutmeg and Spice" was the mini candle that Influenster included in my Voxbox. Most of the candles that I purchase from BBW are made by Slatkin & Co. but this one is by White Barn. The smell of this candle is absolutely divine - it smells like pastries, cakes and desserts. It has the same undertones as Vanilla Snowflake (another winter favorite of mine)...with hints of its namesake coming through (nutmeg and spice).

PROS AND PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS:

• The packaging of these candles are awesome. They look like home décor even without candle sleeves!
  
• The quality of the candles are stellar. The smell is great from the first time you light it up ‘til the very last drop of wax in the container.
• There’s no “candle wax smell” when you light these babies up. That’s probably one of the reasons why I prefer BBW Candles over the less expensive ones that you normally find in stores or groceries.
  
• Bath and Body Works offers good customer service – and on those rare occasions that you don’t like how a candle you picked out smells like, you can always go back and get it replaced with another scent. It happened to me when I picked out the “Pineapple and Mango” scent. It just didn’t work out for my smellers so I took it back and had it replaced hassle-free. Customer Service can make or break a product – so kudos to BBW coz y’all are doing a wonderful job on keeping your customers happy and satisfied!

CONS:

• It is pricier than some candle brands out in the market – but BBW always has great sales and coupons! Also, the price is at par with the quality that you’re getting…so I’m a happy customer, regardless.

WOULD I PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT AGAIN?

I’ve been a Bath and Body Works gal for years on end…and their candles are one (out of many) of my favorite items from their store. So without a shadow of a doubt…I will buy their candles again…and again…and again. I’m sure y’all get the point – lol!

DISCLAIMER: I did not purchase all of these products. Some were sent to me by Influenster for review and blogging purposes. The other candles were purchased at a very discounted rate using coupons sent by Influenster. I’m just a regular consumer and I appreciate honest feedback about products that regular people like me use on a daily basis or consider buying.  My views and opinions are from a customer/end user’s standpoint.

Product Review: Palmolive Fresh Infusions

I was stoked that I got picked to review a second Voxbox from Influenster. This time, the box I received was called "The Newest Premium Dish Soap Voxbox" and it had 3 big/full sized bottles of Palmolive Fresh Fusions Dish Washing Liquid - one of which is meant to be shared with a friend. Palmolive and Influenster were also very generous because they included 5 coupons in the box, that my friends/loved ones can use.

Here's a few photos of the box and goodies that I got:

 

I do rely on my dishwasher to do all the "washing" for me - but then I have pots, pans and delicate stuff that I prefer to wash by hand. Regular stuff goes in the dishwasher and some stuff goes in the sink for hand washing - pretty simple chore repertoire, right? Add sensitive skin/contact dermatitis in the equation...and simple chores aren't that simple anymore. Gloves don't really help my plight, because it only aggravates my skin. So I am left with no other recourse but to pick mild products that will play nice with my hands - so to speak.

PROS AND PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS:

• This dish washing liquid is surprisingly mild to my ultra sensitive hands and that's always a big plus in my book!
  
• It comes in 3 sophisticated smelling variants: Ginger White Tea, Lime Basil, Lemon Thyme. As far as my nose is concerned...these dish washing liquids almost has that spa quality to it - specially when I used it to soak some of my pans in hot water. It just smells so soothing...so Zen.
  
• It may be gentle to my hands but it's really tough on any kind of "gunk" left on my pots and pans - which was a very pleasant surprise to me.

CONS:

• It costs more than your cheaper/regular dish washing liquid - anywhere from 50 cents to a dollar  more. I mean, the extra cost is not enough to make you cringe but there is the glaring fact that it's slightly more expensive than your regular dish washing liquid. My hands love it tho - so I will probably buy more when I run out...with coupons of course. *wink*

DISCLAIMER: I did not purchase any of these products. They were sent to me by Influenster for review and blogging purposes. I’m just a regular consumer and I appreciate honest feedback about products that regular people like me use on a daily basis or consider buying. That is why I am paying it forward and giving reviews/opinions of my own on products that I have bought and used. My views and opinions are from a customer/end user’s standpoint.

Product Review: Not Your Mother's Curl Defining Cream

 

As I mentioned in my Influenster’s Beauty Bloggers Voxbox 2012 blog post, my hair is very confused. It can go from perfectly shiny and wavy/curly one minute...to poofy and dry or limp and straight the next. I'm pretty sure that the weather and humidity level (or lack thereof) here in Texas plays a major role in my hair's mood swings, so I am always on the lookout for products that can fix this dilemma.

"Not Your Mother's Kinky Moves Curl Defining Hair Cream" (it's quite a mouthful, i know...) is part of the Beauty Voxbox 2012 that Influenster sent to me for product review. I was so excited to see this product in my box, because I have never used it before and I am always very eager to try hair products that can potentially tame the wild and moody beast that I fondly call "my hair".

Photo Above: My husband trying to take a snapshot of my long hair. We used a smartphone - which explains why my curls weren't really captured in this snapshot. But anyway...I was very happy about how my hair looked like after using "Not Your Mother's Kinky Moves Curl Defining Cream". I thought it had more body and definition.

PROS AND PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS:

• This product provides just the right amount of moisture. It doesn't leave that overly greasy residue behind like some other curl shaping products do.


• It is so delicious smelling. This hair product is infused with Grapeseed and Jasmine...and it doesn't have a tacky/overpowering scent. Instead, it has fruity undertones - I love it!


• It does what it's supposed to do - and then some. After using this product, I find that it's all I really need to have my hair's waves looking the way I want them to look the whole day. I'm too lazy to use curling irons and blow dryers - so this product is perfect for me. I normally take bubble baths or showers at night...and I am happy that even after a rendezvous with my sheets and pillows, my hair still looks good the next morning.


• It works for sensitive scalps too.  I have very sensitive skin and when I use a product that's too harsh or greasy - my scalp lets me know right away. I was hesitant to use "Not Your Mother's Kinky Moves Curl Defining Hair Cream" at first because of my sensitive skin. I didn't want my scalp to flake up...or itch...but I wouldn't know if this product would work for me if I won't give it a chance, right? The good news is...my scalp loves this hair cream too. *big happy sigh of relief*


• It's affordable. A 120 ml bottle costs around $5.99 at Ulta...so I'm guessing it's around the 5 to 6 dollar range in other stores (e.g. Walmart, Target, Drug Stores, etc.).

CONS:

• For people with long hair like myself, a 120 ml bottle won't go a long way. You have to saturate your hair with the product, so you can get your desired effect. Ergo, that's a lot of $5.99's along the way.

WOULD I PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT AGAIN?

I like how the product smells like. I like how it makes my hair look like. So in all honesty...I would probably buy it again. Low maintenance hair = priceless.

DISCLAIMER: I did not purchase any of these products. They were sent to me by Influenster for review and blogging purposes. I’m just a regular consumer and I appreciate honest feedback about products that regular people like me use on a daily basis or consider buying. That is why I am paying it forward and giving reviews/opinions of my own on products that I have bought and used. My views and opinions are from a customer/end user’s standpoint.

Influenster’s Beauty Bloggers Voxbox 2012

I finally got my first Voxbox from Influenster. Needless to say, I was pretty excited because not only do I get to try a couple of new items for free so I can decide if I want to purchase them again in the future – but I also get to share my insights with my blog readers as well!

One thing that I want to commend Influenster on, is the fact that they have a very “well-rounded” mindset when it comes to mixing and matching products that they send out to their product reviewers. As you can see from the photos that I posted below, they sent a couple of products that complement one another (e.g. cosmetics, hair products, candles, etc.).

Without further ado…here are the things that Influenster sent to me for review:

This NYC Palette's pretty interesting. It has 4 eye shadows that were respectively labeled (contouring, highlight, crease) according to how/where they should be used. This little palette also comes with an eye base/primer and an illuminator. I must admit...I have never used this brand before so I am very interested about the quality and pigmentation.

I rarely use fake lashes because I'm lazy (lol...hey, at least I'm honest about it, right!) and I have read so many "eye articles" that discourage the use of falsies. I am willing to give this baby a try tho...because if it doesn't irritate my eyes (and that happens a lot), then I just might jump into the false eyelashes bandwagon!

I am a complete and utter failure as far as fixing my hair goes. So when I saw this tiny hair contraption at Walmart....I had all kinds of questions running like athletes on a caffeine high in my brain. I would always hover, inspect and read the instructions at the back of the boxes but I never bought any...because I was too skeptical about the product.

When I found this in my Voxbox, all I could do was look at my husband and give him the goofiest smile I could muster. I am so excited to try it...and I will let y'all know how my adventure with Goody's Spin Pin goes in a more detailed product review!

I have wavy hair that can get extremely curly on some days and straight/flat/icky/lifeless on others. I guess it all depends upon the weather and humidity...but there are those days when my hair makes me wonder if it has a separate working brain that was genetically engineered to irritate the living bejezzuz out of me. My hair just randomly goes on zombie mode sometimes (or so I've noticed)...too much "The Walking Dead", perhaps?!

I am joking of course. Lol. Not about my hair tho...just about the tv show.

I always switch from one brand to another to tame/shape my curls and to keep the curls err...curly?! Wait...what?! Lol. I know...I don't make sense sometimes but neither does my hair *dramatic sigh*. Anyway, I am very thrilled to get this in my voxbox because if it works...then I have another hair product to turn to when my hair's being evil to me. *crosses fingers*

I am a big Emergen-C fan...so I was pleasantly surprised to find this in my box. Beauty should always go hand in hand with health - so I love the fact that on top of the other cool things that I got for product review, I got this too!

I am of the opinion that prevention is always better than cure. A healthy person... is a happy person... is a beautiful person.

Candles and "Smell Good" Stuff - I have all kinds of room in my heart of hearts for these things! I like keeping my home neat and organized - and smelling good all year round! I love plug-ins, diffusers...but candles are my absolute favorites because there is just something sexy and relaxing about lighting them.

This candle from Bath and Body Works is my nose's idea of heaven - more like baked goods heaven. It is just so YUMMY smelling! I cannot wait to get the full-sized jar with the coupon that came with the candle! Hooray for me and my nose!

 I wanted to share the lovely items that came in the voxbox that Influenster sent to me for review purposes. I will do further product reviews with more information on the quality and price of each individual product - so stay tuned!

DISCLAIMER: I did not purchase any of these products. They were sent to me by Influenster for review and blogging purposes.