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Welcome to my blog. There will be no rhyme or reason to the content…just a bit of things I like that I feel like writing about. Hope you enjoy.

Schwarzkopf Professional OSIS+

Recently I received the Spring Fever VoxBox from Influenster and my favorite product in the voxbox was the new Schwarzkopf professional product that I received.  Schwarzkopf Professional OSIS+ Gelastic was the one that I received. Let me start by saying, I LOVE this product!

The Schwarzkopf professional line includes several products, three of which are: Gelastic, Rough Rubber and Dust It, and one of the three was included with each voxbox.  I was really happy to receive the Gelastic as it was the one of the three that I was most interested in trying.  As stated on the bottle, Gelastic is “ultra strong flex gel” for “ultra strong control”.  Also stated on the bottle, “ultra strong flex gel = texture + ultra strong definition all day long + gives minutes of flexibility to mould the style + dries in a firm strong grip”.  

This salon exclusive formula provides the ultimate strong control and can be used on damp or dry hair to get that look you are after.  This is a great product.  You barely have to use any to get the results you desire and unlike many gel products that I have tried in the past, this provides a great hold without leaving your hair sticky and hard as a board.  I love that your hair, while remaining fully controlled has a flexible salon quality look and feel to it.  

I love how easy this product is to use.  You only have to use a little of it and it gives you time to mould your style before the product completely dries which is great.  This product is far superior to other gel products I have used in the past and I liked it so much that I am going to be trying out some of the other products from the Schwarzkopf Professional OSIS+ line.  I really enjoyed the opportunity to try the Schwarzkopf Professional OSIS+ Gelastic as part of my Spring Fever voxbox from Influenster.  For in depth product information as well as lots of other information, check out the Schwarzkopf professional website at http://www.schwarzkopf-professionalusa.com/ 

And a few hair styling tips to make your hair look its best:

• Keep your hair clean with a good moisturizing shampoo, which will help keep your hair from drying out. Dry hair tends to frizz so keeping it moist will help combat this problem
• Use leave in Conditioner, especially if you have thick hair.  This is a great way to moisturize your hair.
• Never wash your hair with hot water.  Use lukewarm to cool water, the coolest possible is best.  Also, it is best to wash your hair every two to three days, rather than every day, always rinsing with cool water.  
• Dont be afraid to try a wide variety of hair products.  Not every product works for every type of hair and sometimes you have to try a lot of different products to find the ones that work best for your hair length and type.  
• To change the look of an old hairstyle, simply change the line you use to part it
• To detangle your hair easily and with less breakage, use a wide tooth comb while in the shower and comb out your hair while conditioner is still in it.
• If you blow dry your hair, always use a heat protectant on your hair beforehand and always keep the dryer 6-8 inches from your hair and keep the dryer moving to avoid heat damaging your hair.

 

Tastykake Kandy Bar Kakes

Recently, I received the Spring Fever voxBox from Influenster.  Included in my voxbox was a sample from Tastykake’s newest Kandy Bar Kake line.  I received the Reese Kandy Bar Kake to try.  Reeses is my favorite candy bar and I love Tastykake products so I was very excited to try this out. 

As their website states, the new Kandy Bar Kakes are the best of both worlds, the taste of a candy bar and the freshness of a tastykake.  They are available in three yummy flavors, Smores which features Hershey’s chocolate, Reeses peanut butter which is the one i received and Peppermint which is made with real York Peppermint flavor.  

These cakes are a light fluffy chocolate cake formed in the shape of a candy bar with a delicious creme filling featuring either smores, peanut butter or peppermint, depending on which one you get.  Now….my opinion of the kandy bar kake that I tried.  As I already said, Reeses is my all time favorite candy bar, so my expectations were fairly high for the Peanut Butter Kandy Bar Kake.  The cake was very soft and moist and it had a good overall flavor. However, honestly, I felt like the cake itself overpowered the Reeses peanut butter creme filling.  I felt like it needed more of the peanut butter creme filling in order to be really good. Its not terrible as is, but there is not nearly enough peanut butter there for the amount of cake.  I do like the candy bar shape though and I will be purchasing the Smores variety to try as it looks and sounds great.  

Overall, I really enjoyed getting to try the Reeses peanut butter Tastykake Kandy Bar Kake in my Influenster voxbox, but I doubt i would buy more of this particular flavor unless they change them and add more peanut butter.  For more information on all three varieties and also to see where they are available near you, go to the Tastykake website at http://www.tastykake.com  There  are even fun recipies there featuring the various Tastykake products!

Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-on Manicure

I recently received the Spring Fever voxBox from Influenster and one of the items that my voxBox contained was the Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-On Manicure.  I received the design named “Get Into It” from the Nicole Scherzinger limited edition collection.  For those of you unfamiliar, Nicole Scherzinger was the tenth season winner of Dancing With The Stars mirror ball trophy.

Impress Nails come in a huge variety of styles and colors, six patterns and four colors.    There is something there for everyone and the limited edition Nicole Scherzinger collection nails contain some very cute styles.  These nails are extremely easy to apply.  They have a sticky substance on the back  of them which simply adheres to your natural nail.  All you do is select the size that best fits your natural nail, peel back the paper covering the sticky adhesive, apply to your nail, hold for a few moments to adhere completely and viola!  You are now sporting a fabulous manicure without the work of shaping and painting your nails.  Fast & Easy, your imPRESS manicure is Instant, there is no drying time, they have a lasting shine and they are easy to remove.  And they last up to a week.  

Although I’ve never been a huge fan of artificial nails in the past for various reasons, including the fact that they just looked awful, they didnt stay on well, they had to be applied with glue which damaged your natural nails, and many other assorted reasons, the imPRESS nails seemed to have come a long way since the artificial nails that I remember.  For one thing, the length of these is a very natural length that doesnt immediately say fake.  Also, no glue is needed, and they are easy to apply.  I think these nails would be great to use when you are traveling or anytime where you dont have time to give yourself or get a full manicure.  They are cute, easy to use, and last up to a week, so anytime you want your nails to look nice but either dont feel like breaking out the files and polish or going to a salon, imPRESS Press-on Manicure are a great affordable solution to nice looking nails.  With the wide variety of colors and styles, there is something available for everyone.  So, for a fast fix or to try out various manicure styles without the time and work and without the investment, check out imPRESS Press-on Manicure.  

They are available at various retailers such as CVS, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, Walmart and KMart.  Suggested Retail Price is $5.99 for colors and $7.99 for patterns.  For more information and to see the full collection, visit the imPRESS website at http://www.impressmanicure.com  Also, go to http://www.influenster.com/review/impress-press-on-manicure for more product information and also a great coupon if you are interested in purchasing them.  

 

Secret Outlast Clear Gel

I recently received the Spring Fever VoxBox from Influenster and one of the products contained in this great voxbox was the new Secret Outlast Clear Gel Deodorant.  Ive been a user of Secret products for many years now.  Over the years, I’ve tried just about every new product they have added to their lineup, some of which i have absolutely loved, so I was excited to see this new Secret product in my voxBox since I had not yet tried it.  

The first thing that I noticed about the Secret Outlast Clear Gel is that the container is not filled completely.  Honestly, it only appears to be about half full.  This is disappointing to note, but since many of the containers are NOT see through, this may be the way all of their products are, and you just dont know because you cant see it.  And since its a product sold by weight, and not volume, this may be why.  However, it seems that they would make it smaller if they were only partially filling it.  That small complaint aside, I was very excited to try a deodorant that promised no white marks.  I know that more times than i care to admit, ive put deodorant on upon getting out of the shower and then gotten dressed, only to slip a dark fitted shirt or a dress over my head and have to remove it in favor of something else because i had deodorant lines on my article of clothing, which is very frustrating.  I’ve taken to getting dressed first and then applying my deodorant to avoid this calamity, but that isnt always possible, such as times when im changing clothes after my deodorant has already been applied or another case which is unavoidable is when trying on clothes at the store.  When trying on shirts or dresses at the store, the last thing i want to do is get deodorant lines on the clothes im putting back on or on the stores items.  I have even purchased an article of clothing that i didnt plan on buying because i got a deodorant mark on it and didnt want to put it back on the shelf for someone else to buy like that as Ive seen that many times and always hated seeing marks from other peoples deodorant on clothes that i was interested in buying.  

Due to all this, i was very intrigued to learn more about this clear gel that promised no white streaks!  In addition, it claimed to last for 48 hours!  Although i dont think i would go 48 hours without reapplying deodorant, the fact that its suppossed to give you protection for that long appeals to me.  There are a few times, like flying long transcontinental flights, or when out camping or hiking that it would be nice to have a deodorant that would work for 48 hours.  But, my primary interest was the promise of no white marks!

I noticed, the gel is definitely clear.  First i just did a little test by rubbing a little on my arm, to see how it applied, how long it took to dry and what it looked like when it dried.  It went on clear, and when dried, still appeared clear.  Due to the nature of gel deodorant, i did find that it took a little bit to dry completely.  This is normally not an issue, but sometimes i am in a hurry and i dont like to get dressed with still wet deodorant under my arms, so i would like to see either a faster drying gel or a different formula made for this reason.  But, from what i can tell, the no white marks is true.  I didnt notice any sort of white residue from the Secret Outlast Clear Gel.  Im not the type to go without putting on more deodorant for 48 hours so i cant say whether or not the 48 hour claim is true.  Perhaps someone else will test this out and let me know.  I will continue using this product and will definitely buy more of the Secret Outlast Clear Gel to use when i am worried about white marks on my clothes.  I will still continue to use my other favorite Secret products for when i dont want to use a gel deodorant and hopefully they will come up with other formulas of this great clear product!

I enjoyed getting to try the Secret Outlast Clear Gel from Influenster and love getting their great voxboxes!  Part of Secrets latest advertising campaign includes a funny video, they are calling the “Deo Dance” which stars Bravo’s Jenni Pulus.  Check it out, here! 

Sugar and Spice VoxBox from Influenster

Recently, I received my second voxbox from Influenster.  I received my first one a few months ago in December and you may have remember reading my post about it.  If you have not heard of Influenster, be sure to let me know and I’ll send you an invite to join them.  If you don’t know anything about Influenster, it is a site where people like you and I can go and share our opinion on brands.  You can write your own reviews, answer questions that people have about various products, ask your own questions, rate your favorite reviews and do other activities to let the brands know how you feel about their product.  And if a particular product that you have tried is not listed on the site, you can ad it and start your own product page about the particular item!  

Now, on to my voxbox.  Each voxbox has its own cute little name.  This was called the Sugar and Spice voxbox.  And if you are familiar with subscription boxes, you already have an idea what a voxbox is like.  Inside, there is a nice laminated card with a description of each product you will find inside your voxbox.  And just like always, almost every item is a full size item which I LOVE.  I only received one item in this voxbox that was not full size and that was the food item.  While it wasnt full size, it was a nice sample size as it was a full size packet which was plenty big enough to enjoy!

The items that I received were as follows:

THREE full size items from the Colgate Optic White line of products!

Colgate Optic White Toothpaste

Colgate Optic White Mouth Wash

Colgate Optic White toothbrush

I have been using the Optic White line for ten days now and have enjoyed it.  Im already seeing a noticeable change in the whiteness of my teeth and cant wait to see what they look like in another couple of weeks, as the package states that optimum results will be obtained in four weeks.

I also received a full size box of Dickinson’s Witch Hazel wipes.  

These wipes are great for on the go use to make your face feel fresh and clean.  They can be used anytime anywhere to remove dirt, oil, makeup and/or other impurities from your skin.  Im not particularly fond of the aroma of witch hazel and they left my skin feeling a bit tight and as if it was in need of a little moisturizer but i still can see the benefit of them, especially in a couple months during hot summer days.  Right now, my skin is a little dryer than it is during the summer months, but I will be keeping them in my purse for use when my skin is feeling grimy and gross as they do give an instantly fresh clean feeling to your skin!

A full size bottle of Vaseline Spray and Go moisturizer

This was one of my favorite products from the box.  I love all sorts of lotions.  I have dry skin so I’m always much of the time, so im always using some sort of lotion or moisturizer.  I do not like the wait time between applying lotion and waiting for it to dry so i can put my clothes on easily and without worrying about my product getting all over my clothing.  I was very skeptical on how well this product would work, but was pleasantly surprised by it.  It sprays on very quickly, very easily and dries almost instantly.  Spray on, wipe in quickly and its dry and you can get dressed immediately without that weird feeling where your clothes are sticking to your skin due to the lotion.  You also don’t have to worry about product getting on your nice clothes as it dries instantly and there is no greasy residue.  I will not be replacing all my other non spray lotions as i love using lots of different ones, different brands, different scents, etc depending on what my mode is.  However, Vaseline Spray and Go will be my new go to moisturizer when i am in a hurry as i love the quick convenience of it.  

A full size box of Nectresse artificial sweetener

Unfortunately, I cannot use artificial sweetener products.  I can  only use real sugar.  So, i have not and will not be trying this particular product so do not have anything to really say about it.  I have read about it, and it does sound better than some of the other artificial sweeteners out there so if you are interested in this type of product, you may want to check it out.  I did find it interesting that it is made from the monk fruit, a fruit i was not familiar with prior to learning about nectresse.  Currently, if you visit their facebook page, you can request a sample to try if you are interested!

And my last item was my only non full size item, but was still one of my favorites as it was a package of BelVita breakfast cookies.  I love these cookies.  Ive been eating them daily since they first came out so was excited to see a package of them in my box.  Although not a full size package, it was a regular full size individual pack of 4 biscuits.  I received the Cinnamon Sugar flavor.  These are so good, and if you have not tried belVita breakfast cookies, i recommend you do so!  There is a wide variety of flavors, with the Golden Oat being my absolute favorite and this cinnamon sugar being really great too.  They also have several others including chocolate and blueberry and a couple others.

Overall, I was very happy with my second Influenster VoxBox.  It had some great products and I have enjoyed trying the Colgate Optic White products, the Dickinson’s Witch Hazel wipes and the Vaseline Spray and Go moisturizer.  I also loved getting the individual pack of BelVita breakfast cookies even though i had already tried them as belVita is a huge favorite with me, and i eat them every day.  I had a great time learning about and trying these products and look forward to using them all in the future.  Loved the Sugar and Spice vox box and can’t wait to see what it is in store for the next Vox Box.  Stay tuned to see what I get next and email me if you are interested and I will send you an Influenster invite so you can also get your own voxbox full of wonderful products!

Colgate Optic White Products

Recently, I received the Colgate Optic White line of products in my Sugar and Spice VoxBox from Influenster.  You may have read about Influenster and their awesome voxboxes in a previous post I wrote.  I cannot say enough positive about Influenster and I LOVE getting the vox boxes from them.  VoxBox is like a subscription box, but only better as its free, and always full of great products, most of them full size.  In the Sugar and Spice vox box, I received not one, not two, but THREE full size Colgate Optic White products to try and review.  I received a bottle of Colgate Optic White mouthwash, a tube of Colgate Optic White toothpaste and a Colgate Optic White toothbrush.  I was not familiar with the Optic White products but was excited to try them as I have been using Colgate brand products for years.

I used all three of these products concurrently and have loved the results.  According to the packaging, you will see noticeable whitening in one week with maximum results in about four weeks.  Ive been using these three products for ten days straight now and i am already seeing a noticeable difference and cant wait to see how much whiter they will be in another three weeks.

The toothpaste and mouthwash both have a strong minty flavor, especially the toothpaste. If  you are used to using a milder flavored toothpaste, it can be a little overwhelming at first.  However, if you can get past the strong minty flavor, it is worth it, as they leave your mouth feeling fresh and clean for hours.  One thing i really love about the mouthwash is that is does not contain alcohol.  I cannot use alcohol containing mouthwashes so was excited to see this one is alcohol free.  Another thing i liked is that it contains hydrogen peroxide which helps it bubble better as to reach all the little nooks and crannies and help clean your mouth better!  The toothbrush itself is great as well.  It has a nice easy to grip handle.  I would have liked to see a compact head on the brush because I have a smaller mouth, but I find that its sometimes hard to find compact head toothbrushes so this isn’t a big deal.  The only complaint i really have was a silly one.  I received a purple toothbrush in my voxbox and really dont like the color purple.  LOL  But, thats an easy fix!

Overall, Im really enjoying using the Colgate Optic White products and look forward to using them more in the future.  I am really happy that they were included in my Influenster Vox Box as I enjoyed getting the opportunity to try these three Optic White products! To see what other people thought about these products and their reviews, check out the Influenster review page HERE. And for more information about the Colgate Optic White product line, go to the Colgate website HERE.

Global Green USA Green School Makeover Competition Presented by Pureology

Recently I learned about the Global Green USA Green School Mkeover Competition Presented by Pureology on Influensters website. I’ve been a member of influnster for a couple months ago but this task was very different from anything else I’d done for them. This was a contest to help schools become more green. The synopsis of this competition is that every Child deserves a learning environment that is safe, Healthy, free of harmful toxins and optimal for learning. The goal of the green school makeover competition is to provide these things to deserving schools. And to do this, they have opened it up so that everyone can nominate their school to win. This is an amazing opportunity for any school to win. Winners of the competition will receive the following incredible prizes: Grand prize winning school will receive 75,000$ to makeover their school as well as 65,000$ of technical assistance. But even if your school doesn’t win the grand prize, they still have a chance to win as there will also be Office depot gift cards ranging in value from 1,000$ to 5,000$ which will be awarded to the top ten schools.

This is incredible. I don’t know a single school around that couldn’t benefit from this contest. And for a school with a very small budget like my step daughter’s school, winning this contest would have an effect so large that every child would benefit now as well as many more children in years to come. Even winning a top ten award and being the recipient of one of the gift cards would help her school out so much. The possibilities of what they could do with this money are unlimited, from redoing the air conditioning to a more energy efficient system, to building a garden for the school, Installation of water conserving features, installing a green roof….etc, these are just a few of the many things that could be done! Green measures such as all these and more would help provide a safer environment by providing a healthier environment, facilitate better learning, Provide unique educational opportunities, and lower operating costs which would all Increase student performance.
It is important to me because my step daughter attends a school that needs a lot of help in this year. My own high school that I attended more than 15 years ago practiced more things that are considered green than her current high school which is very sad to me. I decided to participate in this competition and nominate her high school because I think it is very important for teachers and schools to teach children how to live more green and therefore protect our planet and also institute these same practices that they teach in the school system. For instance, my daughters school has receycle bins in the classrooms and also at various other places throughout the school. However, I have not only never seen a teacher or other faculty member encourage students to use them, but I’ve never seen them use them either… Another thing, they are allotted so much paper per teacher for the year….my daughters teachers ran out of this allotment months ago and this is only march. They do not conserve paper…. There are several other areas that concern me…a major concern being their air conditioning system. It is very old ANC outdated and therefore not at all energy efficient. The school has very little money as it is, they do not even have the funds to provide the students books for their classes and I feel that if they upgraded the air conditioning system, they could save a lot of wasted energy and money which they could turn around and put into the school and student.,…providing books for them would also help rather than photo copying everything for students….I could type for days all the ways that her school could stand to benefit from this green school competition…it’s a wonderful thing that Pureology is sponsoring and the schools that win will have an incredible chance To turn their schools around and make them so much better….
For more information on Pureology and the competition, visit the Pureology website at:
http://bit.ly/VzWAQh

Gillette Venus Embrace Razor

Recently, I received the Gillette Venus Embrace Razor in my cosmo VoxBox from Influenster. It was mentioned briefly in an earlier post about my VoxBox. This post is going to be all about this latest Venus product. I’ve been using the Gillette Venus razors for years since it first came out back when there was only one, the original 3 blade Venus razor. Now, there are so many different blades and different handles. One of the best things about the Venus razors is that any of their blades will fit any of the razor handles so you can test out any of the blades to find which you like best without buying a whole new shaving system. Or if you’re like me, you find the blade which suits you best, which is the Venus Embrace for me, and collect all the different colored handles and alternate between them! Unlike the days of just the original Venus razor, there are now many different Venus Razors and blades and even more disposable Venus products for when you are on the go.

The Venus Embrace features five blades that individually adjust to give you the closest shave ever. It also has ribbons of moisture to help it glide over your skin. I am really happy that Gillete DID NOT add those annoying big bulky moisture bars to this razor as that is one of the main things that turned me off on some of other Venus razors. Ive tried all of the Venus razors and have used them since they first came out but often switched to another razor because I was never truely satisfied with the shave I was getting. That all changed with the Venus Embrace; it is my favorite out of all the Venus razors that have been made and I was excited to receive this razor in my Influenster VoxBox, even though I already had it as you can never have too many! I feel like I can get a closer and better shave using shaving cream and the Embrace blades than with any of the other Venus razors. Using shaving cream is essential in getting the closest possible shave and leaves your skin silky, soft and smooth!

For more information on all the Venus razor and refills, check out their website!

My First VoxBox! CosmoVoxBox

I received my first ever VoxBox from Influenster a couple days ago. It’s the CosmoVoxBox 2012. I was so excited when I found out it was on the way. The only issue I had was it took longer than expected to receive it from when I received the email that it had been sent out, And the tracking number that I was sent was invalid according to the USPS website, so I couldnt track to see where it was at so I would know when it would arrive….not complaining, I was just super excited for it to get here. Now, for the reveal….what was included in my VoxBox.

Pilot FriXion Pens
I received a black one and a red one. Ive been using these since they first came out so was happy to receive more of them as I really like these pens. FriXion pens are erasable, but they are not erasable like the old school ersseable pens that left smudges on your paper. These actually work and work well. They erase completely with no marks or tears to your paper as they work by removing the heat sensitive ink by friction. I do a lot of sewing so in addition to just writing with them, I use them for marking fabric as the ink will totally disappear with an iron…..they are so wonderful for sewing. The pens come in several different colors and they also have FriXion highlighters which I’ve also tried and also work great too.

Gillette Venus Embrace Razor & Venus Olay Refill Cartridge
Another product I currently use, but I hadn’t yet tried the Olay blades, so was excited to try the new blade…..another great Gillette Venus product. The Olay blades are great…the blade contains Olay moisturizer bars on the razor which help to give a really close super soft shave. And just like all the other Venus blades, any Venus blade fits and works with any Venus razor…so you can choose whatever color handle you like and still be able to use whichever blade you like best, which I really like as it comes in handy when new blades come out to not have to buy a new razor which also keeps more trash out of the landfills, too!

Ghirardelli Gourmet Milk Chocolate Sea Salt Escape
I’ve tried many of the Ghirardelli chocolates before. We absolutely love the milk chocolate/caramel bar they also offer so this new chocolate bar was intriguing. Chocolate and sea salt….hmmmm….well, I like chocolate and I like sea salt…so what about the combo. Oh, and I can’t forget…roasted almonds. I admit, I was a bit unsure about this chocolate as I’m not a huge fan of nuts & chocolate……I tend to like one or the other in most cases and not always the mix…. Well, Ghirardelli did something right when coming up with their latest flavor as rather than detracting from the fine milk chocolate, the seasalt and roasted almonds add to and compliment it perfectly. The salty bursts from the sea salt really bring out the rich flavor of the chocolate and the roasted almonds just add to it…. Yum. Will be buying more of these! My husband absolutely loved it too….he stole most of the bar! Lol

Last, but not least….

Forever Red by Bath & Body Works
Forever Red is B&BW latest scent. Loved the cute little solid red bottle this comes in. And since this is a small size bottle, it will be perfect to fit in my purse to use when I’m out and about. This latest fragrance is kind of hard to describe….it’s almost like a mixture of several of their other scents…. Its a little sweet, a little spicy, a little floral, all mixed up in one….like i said, almost like a combo of several of their other popular scents all mixed together. It’s very different from scents I normally purchase, but still nice. The scent is intense so a little will go a long way so this small size will last a good long time. I am interested in trying some of their other products in this scent, especially a bubble bath and lotion…and perhaps some of the other products as well.

All in all, a great little box of goodies….I was able to try a couple new items and receive extras of some of my current favorites. Since the products I had already tried that I received in this VoxBox were some that I really like, I was happy to have them included. I hope every future VoxBox is as good as this one, and full of products Of products I love. If you are interested in learning more about VoxBoxes and influenster check out the Cosmo VoxBox 2012 page. If you love trying new products and sharing your opinion with others, sign up with Influenster and maybe you can get a VoxBox, too!

Vocal point

Check it out.