SlimFast VoxBox #ItsYourThing

I just love Influenster! I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but out of all the sample/review sites I've joined, they're my favorite. Not only do the products seem a little more in-tune with my life, but you tend to get bigger sized products. The catch (and this is what frustrates a lot of people), is that in order to get these samples, you have to qualify for VoxBoxes. Its hard to get them, and I went almost a year without getting anything from them, then I got the Pumpkin VoxBox and the one I'm about to tell you about, the SlimFast Advanced Nutrition VoxBox, within about a month and a half of each other.

Pictured above are the items that were included in my SlimFast Advanced Nutrition VoxBox. I've always found SlimFast products to be tasty, almost to the point where eating them in moderation was tough, and these are no exception. The drink is my favorite, I consider myself a fairly liquid person, and SlimFast shakes have always been my favorite when I'm trying to lose weight. The problem I run into though, is that I have a hard time feeling full after drinking one, so that often leaves me roaming for food almost immediately, defeating the purpose of the shake (and adding on extra calories, womp womp).

The SlimFast plan is to replace two meals a day with their shakes/smoothies/nutritious bars, enjoy one healthy 500 calorie meal, and indulge in three of their 100 calorie snacks. I don't have the willpower for this, but you might, and the SlimFast Advanced Nutrition line are pretty tasty if you're looking for a plan to try.

*I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. All opinions in this blog post are my own.*

#JadoreDessange from Influenster

Out of all the product testing sites I've tried, Influenster never ceases to amaze me. This time, I'm taking part in their #JadoreDessange VoxBox, which was just three products. I received the Oleo Miracle Replenishing Shampoo, Conditioner and Oil by Dessange. Other testers received items from the brand's California Blonde Illuminating Collection.

I took the picture of my products after I used them because I was so excited to use them that I totally forgot that I needed to be a good blogger and take photos first :) The thing I noticed right away was the packaging, of course. The orange had a bit of a summer feel, and the gold accents felt very expensive. It reminded me of the bottles of product at salons, where everything comes from France and Italy and costs a lot.

Since I'm not a huge makeup wearer (lip gloss and nail polish being my only makeup-esque things), I tend to gravitate towards shampoos and conditioners as my beauty splurges. I love to try the next new thing, but I'm also very picky about them because I have allergies and some fragrances are just too much for me. Sadly, this was the case for the Dessange Oleo Miracle Replenishing collection. I did a sniff test before using it, and in the bottle, the scent was fine. It smelled a bit floral, but it wasn't anything that I didn't think I could handle. Even pouring it out into my hand to use it wasn't overly powerful. But once I started lathering on my hair, wow! It was strong. So, so strong. I started sneezing almost immediately, and a headache soon followed. I actually had to rewash my hair later because I just couldn't deal with the smell. Now, before you run off thinking that this product is horrible, it really isn't. It left my hair feeling really soft and I am so sad that I can't use it again. If I didn't have allergies, I would be all over this stuff! Since I dye my hair a lot, it gets damaged, and I am always looking for ways to make it look a little healthier and shinier in between dye jobs.

If you aren't scent sensitive like I am, and have overly processed hair, or just a little hair damage you're looking to correct, I would totally recommend this product to you. And, its available at my favorite store- Target!! Find out what other reviewers are saying, plus other fun stuff by following Influenster and Dessange on Twitter (@Influenster and @Dessange respectively) or searching #JadoreDessange.

**I have received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. While I received these for free, the opinions stated are my own.**

#FrostyVoxBox from Influenster

I love Influenster, I really do. I have gotten to sample some really great things from them. The last box I received from them was the Frosty Vox Box, and yes, it came around the holidays and I have been so lagging in posting about it.

Pika loves Influenster too!

Included in the box was:

*Celestial Seasonings Tea in Candy Cane Lane

*EcoTools Sleek and Shine Finisher Hair Brush

*Fruit Vines Bites

*NYC Expert Last Lip Color in Sugar Plum

*McCormick Gourmet All Natural Thyme

*Rimmel London Just Let It Go Eye Make Up Remover 

*Rimmel London Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eyeliner

*Boots No.7 Protect and Perfect Intense Advanced Serum

Plus coupons for Celestial Seasoning tea and Boots No 7 Serum.

A cat free look at the box.

What I liked:

Celestial Seasonings Tea- I am a huge fan of their tea to start with. Seriously, if you open my cupboard, I have a Ramona Flowers worthy stash of Celestial Seasonings tea. I even had a box of Candy Cane Lane already in there! I love the flavor, its not overly mintly at all. I don't use sweeteners in mine, only because I drink this tea when I'm trying to get my gastrointestinals to calm down and sugars can counteract it sometimes.

source

Fruit Vines Bites- These are made by Red Vines (which I love!), so I thought I would more than likely like these too. Yes, I do. They are soft, little bites of cherry goodness. They remind me almost of a fruit snack, but a little more grown up. 

EcoTools Hair Brush- This was a surprising like for me, and thats because I am incredibly picky about my hair brushes. My hair tangles really bad, so certain brushes don't work in my hair. This one did just fine, and its lightweight, yet sturdy. 

What Was Meh:

These aren't things that are terrible, but they weren't too super high on my excitability scale either.

McCormick Gourmet Thyme- The only reason this is down here is because I haven't had the occasion to use it yet! I love McCormick, and almost all of their other basic branded seasonings are in my pantry, I just don't cook many recipes that call for things other than salt and pepper. 

Rimmel London Eye Makeup Remover and Scandaleyes Eyeliner- I don't wear makeup. This is something that bugs the hell out of my husband and mother-in-law. I never have though, and I'm not sure I ever really will. So I didn't really have the know-how to apply the eyeliner (it looked like I got beat up by a piece of charcoal), but the makeup remover was good at helping me not look like a panda anymore. These are meh only because I lack makeup knowledge and know-how, not because they're bad products.

NYC Lip Color in Sugar Plum- Again, not a makeup person. However, I do like lip glosses, stains, things like that. So this one I was interested in trying out. I didn't like it though. The color didn't really suit me, and it had the sticky lipstick thing going on that I can't stand. It was also a pain to remove from my lips, which is a bonus if you want the color to last you for a long time, but since it wasn't for me, that was a negative.

Boots No. 7 Protect and Perfect Intense Advanced Serum- I love the word serum. It makes sound so fancy. The purpose of this product is to reduce your wrinkles' visibility, and while I have a multitude of gray hair like the old lady I am, I still don't have wrinkles yet. So I didn't see the product work in the way it was supposed to. But it was nice because its hypoallergenic, so it didn't irritate my skin like some skin care products can.

So there's my review! I really enjoyed the box, even though it seems like more items are on the meh side. Are you guys part of Influenster yet? If you want to join, sign up here! Also, I need to let you know that I received these products complementary from Influenster for testing purposes. While these were given to me to review, all opinions are my own. 

#BraunTherm from Influenster

When you become a mother, people love to throw out cliches and unsolicited advice at you. One of the things you hear most often is that your life will never be the same again.  Depending on old you are when you're pregnant with that child,  hearing that can evoke a lot of things. The first time I was pregnant, I was 21 years old. When people told me that, I thought "duh" because of course having a child is life changing. And then it also terrified me. Would I not get to do things I loved anymore? Listen to my favorite music? I had my son, still did what I wanted to do (within reason), still listened to my favorite music, life moved one. Same thing happened when I had my daughter at 26, I had momentary panic, but not nearly as much. By then, I felt like a pro at having children, and didn't really think I'd changed all that much. I still listened to my music. Still wore my band shirts and jeans. Even knew what teevee shows the kids thought were cool. So what does this have to do with a thermometer, you ask? Everything.

Because I have changed, and I hadn't really realized it until Influenster sent me this thermometer. Sure, I still wear my Converse and watch The Simpsons. But when I go to the bookstore, I get more excited over Better Homes and Gardens then I do over Cosmo. That wasn't me at 21. And if you had sent me this thermometer at 21, I would have rolled my eyes, left it in its box, and never given it a second chance. But today, at 30 years old, when I found that black box that said #BraunTherms in my mailbox, I got super excited.

My kids hate having their temperature taken at home because I use the ones that you stick under the tongue or under the arm. They have to sit still for minutes sometimes for the thermometer to read properly, and they just don't have the patience for it. With this one from Braun, all that goes away. You just touch it right in the middle of the forehead, and within seconds it gives you a temperature reading. Super, super easy. You can even use it as a no touch thermometer, placing the thermometer a few inches away from the center of the forehead, but I will say that there is a four degree difference. I tried it a few different times (both of my kids and my husband got sick right after I received this, great timing!), and the no touch option always read four degrees cooler than when I placed it directly on their forehead.

The thermometer itself is really lightweight and very easy to use. Press the power button, press the temperature button and you're done! Its also color coded for fever severity. I noticed that when my daughter's fever was 101, it added an extra beep in addition to the color on the screen being yellow and not green. It retails for about $40-50 in stores, depending on where you get it. That is pricey, I get that, but if you constantly fight your kids to take their temperature like I used to, the price might be worth it. Also, it seemed to take adult temperatures just fine too :)

I am very lucky to have received this product free from Influenster for testing purposes. While the product was free, the opinions here are my own. 

If you are interested in joining Influenster, leave your email in the comments below, or shoot me an email at jenarynkrystelle(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll invite you.

Fun With Ivory

Here is a fun little project to entertain your kids this summer. I wish I could take credit for it, but sadly I cannot. I found it here.

All you need for this project it a bar of Ivory soap, some wax or parchment paper, and a microwave.

Place the wax paper on the tray in your microwave, then place the bar of unwrapped soap on the wax paper. I set my microwave for five minutes, but stopped it a few times because the cloud got so big I had to readjust how it was sitting in my microwave. The soap will blow up as it sets in the microwave, but will deflate a little once you pull it out. This may be the only time you want to stand in front of the microwave, because the soap changes so quickly and its really neat to look at. 

This is what my bar of soap looked like after I pulled it out of the microwave. Please note, it will be hot when you first take it out, so give it a minute or two before you hand it to your children to play with. 

And that's it! It does get really flaky too, so either stick it in the bath with your kids, or have them play with it outside. Otherwise you will have soap flakes everywhere!

I received the bar of Ivory soap complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. I wrote this blog post as part of a brand challenge.

#TLCVoxBox from Influenster

I have been a member of  Influenster since October and it has been a lot of fun! For those of you who aren't familiar with the site, its basically a huge survey site for companies. You write product reviews, answer other members questions about products....its a pretty cool way to get your voice heard. You have an impact score that rises with each activity you do (it also rises by having social media linked to your account), and the higher your score, the more likely you are to qualify for a VoxBox. The VoxBoxes are the best part of Influenster because that's where you get really awesome samples! And receiving a VoxBox is like getting a present in the mail, it just makes your day a little more merry.

I wanted to share with you my most recent VoxBox, which is the TLC VoxBox. It was geared towards moms, so I got things that are relevant to my life.  In this box there was:

*Ivory Soap
*Neo to Go
*Shell Fuel Rewards Card
*Voucher for 1 Free Breyers Gelato
*Puffs to Go Tissues
*Avon Anew Reversalist Wrinkle Smoother

The things I enjoyed the most from this VoxBox: the Ivory soap, Neo to Go, Puffs pack and the Breyers gelato.

I grew up using Ivory soap, and it was nice to see that, aside from its packaging, it hasn't changed. I love Neo to Go because my children actually let me use it on them when they get hurt! They are so phobic about medicines, so this is a huge deal. And Neosporin in general is a good thing to have in your first aid kit. The Puffs pack reminds me of the tissue packs my grandma always used to carry around with her. I find myself carrying tissue packs with me in my car and my purse now that I'm a mom, and Puffs are nice because they are soft and don't rub our noses raw with constant use. I guess these things are all my favorites because I have sentimental attachments to a lot of them and they are familiar to me. But the Breyers gelato is new, and boy is it amazing! The Raspberry Cheesecake is my favorite flavor. I thought the Triple Chocolate one was really sweet (my mother in law had some in her freezer, what great timing!).

Things I enjoyed least in this VoxBox: the Shell Fuel Rewards card and Avon Anew Wrinkle Smoother.

The Shell card is a nice idea, I love me a good rewards/loyalty card. But this one wasn't fantastic for me because I don't go to Shell stations for my gas. I'm not sure if its like this around the rest of the country, but Shell has some of the highest gas prices in my town (almost beating Chevron for the highest). They're hovering at around $4.05 a gallon right now, and I just can't afford to pay that. The rewards card can be linked to your credit cards, debit card, and certain store loyalty cards, which is nice. But again, I don't get my gas there, so there isn't much incentive for me to do so.

As for Avon, I have nothing against the product other than I don't need it right now. At thirty years old, I am at that point where wrinkles should be appearing on my face. But so far *knock on wood* I have been so lucky that I don't have any. But even though I don't need it, I still played with it :) Its a very smooth cream to powder, and its translucent. I don't have much experience with makeup, but I like this product. It felt really soft and gave my face just a little smoothing out (even though there aren't any wrinkles for it to blur, which is what its meant for).

Interested in Influenster? Leave me your email in the comments below and I'll send you an invite!

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. The opinions are all my own.