Friday, March 29, 2013

It's Friday!

Hey Everyone! This isn't going to be one of my normal posts, but these pictures are so pretty I had to share them with you! So, last week I went back home to Virginia Beach for Spring Break! Such a nice change from the still cold temps of the Midwest. Anyways, while I was home, we took a day trip to the Outer Banks. It was a bit of a cloudy day, but the temperature was nice and with almost no one on the beach, it was very peaceful.


The area is still suffering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy. You can see piles of sand shoveled up in people's front yards. The house pictured above and below is one of the few houses still standing so close to the beach. Most of the others were destroyed during the hurricane.


The beach also had so many beautiful seashells. I collected quite a bit and am planning on using them for decorations for the apartment!


And finally, I had to include this picture. I saw this and I thought it was the cutest thing ever. I mean come on, a "baby dune," how is that not picture worthy?



I'm also linking up with Whitney for #backthatazzup Friday

 
 
Taking it back to the 90's this week. I love this song

Hey Jealousy by Gin Blossoms on Grooveshark

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Sugar 'n Spice VoxBox First Impressions



  

 I finally got my Sugar 'n Spice VoxBox! I am so excited to try out all of these products and to let you all know what I think. As always, I did receive these products free from Influenster for testing and review purposes, but of course all opinions are my own and I am not being compensated in any way. Here is what I received in my box.


The first two items I received are the Vaseline Spray and Go Moisturizer Total Moisture and the BelVita Breakfast Biscuits.I think the spray moisturizer is such an interesting idea and definitely am looking forward to trying it out. I'm just hoping that it stays true to its claims and it easily soaks in and isn't greasy. Now, I've heard great things about the BelVita breakfast crackers, and think they would be great as a grab and go breakfast to school or to work. You know, one of those days you sleep in too long to make yourself a nice breakfast!


These next three products are the ones I am most excited for! With spring and summer coming up, I am definitely looking for products that are going to give me a whiter smile. These three products together are suppose to give you whiter teeth in five days! This would be awesome since I don't really want to spend a ton of money, so I do have high hopes for this bunch.


Next is the Nectresse natural no calorie sweetener. I am definitely a sugar girl. I have never liked the taste of artificial sweeteners like Splenda or Sweet n Low, but I will definitely be giving this a try. This sweetener is suppose to taste exactly like sugar, as it is made primarily from monk fruit. It's also zero calories per serving!


The final product in the box is the Dickinson's Original Witch Hazel Oil Controlling Towelettes. I normally have to be very cautious with skin care products because I do have extremely sensitive skin. These towelettes have a blend of witch hazel and aloe and are intended to rejuvenate skin by gently lifting off dirt while nourishing even the most sensitive skin. I'll probably put these in my purse and use them at times when my skin feels oily or needs a little pick me up.

Overall, I am very excited to try out all of these products. I will be posting reviews of the products separately after I have used them for a little while, so check back to see how I end up liking all of these items!



March PopSugar Box

Spring is here and PopSugar is providing all of its subscribers with this season's most essential products, including the trendiest beauty and fashion items, along with other home goodies sure to get us in the warmer weather mood! Keep reading to see what I received and what I thought about the products!


Must Have Fashion
          Heather Belle Signature Tassle Necklace ($70)
          Hollywood Fashion Secrets Sweater Saver ($5.99)

Must Have Home
          The Laundress Specialty Washes ($19)
          Corkatoo Corkscrew ($15.99)

Must Have Beauty
          Buxom Sculpted Lash Mascara ($19)
          The New Black Nail Polish ($10)

Special Extras
          Marshmallow Peeps ($1.99)
          Hollywood Fashion Secrets Fashion Tape Assortment Pack ($8.99)

Total Retail Value: $150.96


While I was at the hair salon the other day browsing through the beauty magazines, I read that one of the hottest trends for the Spring is tassle necklaces. Now I have to admit, being a lot on the shorter side, it's hard to find a necklace of this style that hits perfectly. The Heather Belle necklace is a little too long, but I think I can make it work!


The next product is The Laundress Delicate Wash in Lady. I was so excited to have gotten this because I have been eyeing it at Nordstroms for months! It will be really nice to have a laundry wash specifically designed to clean my delicates and the smell is amazing!


Okay, first off can we talk about how amazingly cute this is! This might just be the most innovative and creative idea I have ever seen. This is great too because I have been desperately needing a corkscrew, and now I can finally stop using and ruining my knifes. Again, this might just be the best item in the box. I'm such a sucker for cute, unique products.


I also received two nail polishes from The New Black, mine were in a light blue and a light green color. I have never heard of this brand before, and was not too impressed with the quality when I tried out the polish. I also received the Buxom Mascara, which looks really cool. It has an interesting "s" shaped applicator, which I hope really helps to lengthen and volumize my lashes.


Next, I received the Hollywood Fashion Secrets Sweater Saver. This is suppose to help get rid of piling on sweaters. I don't really notice that problem on my sweaters, but it will be nice to have for that one time I desperately need it. Finally, I received a sample pack of the Hollywood Fashion Secrets Fashion Tape. This will be nice to keep in my purse because of all its uses.

Oh, and I also received peeps, but my boyfriend ate them right after I took the picture of my box! Oh well, at least he enjoyed them.

Overall, I really enjoyed my box this month. If you are interested in signing up for PopSugar Must Have or want to learn more, you can click here. The box costs $35 a month, and as you can see, I got well over double the cost this month!

Monday, March 18, 2013

Sephora Jasmine Collection Giveaway ENDING SOON!

Hey Everyone! This is just a quick reminder that my Jasmine Sephora Collection Giveaway will be ending this Wednesday at 11:59 pm Eastern Time. Don't forget, this is a LIMITED EDITION collection and several of the products are already sold out online. Make sure to get all your entries in before the approaching deadline. Good Luck!

To enter the giveaway click here!



Sunday, March 17, 2013

Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge

I have always suffered from dry hair and split ends. Blame it on my thick curly hair or even my sometimes excessive use of heat products. Either way, this is definitely my number one hair concern. I've tried so many products over the years, and I do have several tried and true products that I always come back to. But of course, I'm always looking for new products that can help me achieve my desired look of silky, smooth, shiny locks. So when I received the Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge system for free to review for BzzAgent, I was thrilled.


The Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge system is an innovative new hair care system designed to bring life back to tired, dry locks. I received three full-size products from BzzAgent: the fortifying shampoo, fortifying conditioner, and the 1-minute moisture-plenish treatment. I've now used the products for  two weeks, and here is my official review.


Fortifying Shampoo: First off, I have to say that all three of these products smell amazing! They all contain Goji Berry, Passion Fruit, and Kiwi and have a very delightful fruity scent. The really cool thing about this shampoo is that it contains superfruit beads, which are the blue dots in the picture above. These beads are supposed to burst on impact and deliver intense moisture and hydration to the hair. When I first used the shampoo, I could still feel the beads and was a little concerned that when I got out of the shower I would find them scattered in my hair. Thankfully, they washed out very well! I also noticed that the shampoo did not lather very well, but that wasn't a problem because it definitely got my hair clean, and by clean, I mean squeaky clean. I normally don't like it when shampoos leave that really squeaky feeling in my hair. Usually when this happens, it's because the shampoo is too drying. In this case, that's where the conditioner and moisture treatment come in.

Fortifying Conditioner: I'll admit it, I hardly ever use conditioner. I know that might not be the best thing, but honestly all I'm ever left with when I do include conditioner is a greasy looking scalp and limp hair. So for this product, all I did was apply it to the bottom of my hair, from about my ears down. And let me say, when I did this I did not have a greasy scalp! My hair definitely felt much softer after washing out this product, and it also really helped to detangle it as well.



One Minute Moisture-Plenish Treatment: I've tried a lot of hair treatments and masks, and I have to say I was a little disappointed with this one. I feel that the consistency of the product is thin and somewhat runny and I had a hard time feeling like it was really in my hair. For these types of products, I prefer the consistency to be thick and to really be able to feel it soaking into my hair. I also did not feel, nor see, any noticeable difference in my hair from when I used the conditioner and when I washed out the moisture treatment.

Overall Impression: In my opinion, this system is good, but not great. It did leave my hair clean and oil free for up to two days as they claim, which was definitely a benefit. I really do like the shampoo and will most likely continue to use it with other conditioning products that have proven to work well with my hair. Overall, if you don't already have your tried and true go-to products and you're looking for an affordable cleaning/moisturizing system, these products are definitely worth a try!

Prices and Where to Buy:
Both the shampoo and conditioner retail for $2.99
One Minute Moisture-Plenish retails for $4.99
You can find these products at any local retailer such as Target, Walmart, or Drug Stores.


Wednesday, March 13, 2013

March Ipsy Bag!


The theme for this month's Ipsy Bag was The Great Escape. I was especially excited to see this nautical theme because I am so ready for spring and summer! After being somewhat disappointed with the last couple of bags, I thought this month's was super cute. Definitely a nice small bag to put in your beach bag!


The first two items are the Glam RX palette, which is a super small, easily totable, z-palette and two Yaby eyeshadows. I really like both of these items! I think I accidentally got two of the same color eyeshadow, since all the other reviews I've seen have had two different colors. Either way, I am really pleased with the color of the eyeshadow and since I primarily wear neutrals, this is perfect for me!


The last two items are the La Fresh makeup remover wipes and the Juice Beauty hydrating mist. I love the size of the remover wipes, perfect for travel and since I am getting ready to leave for spring break, this will definitely be coming with me! The hydrating mist claims that it will give you a fresh, radiant complexion and who wouldn't want that? I'll definitely be trying this product!

Overall, I thought this was a really good bag, one of the better ones in recent months, but it makes me want summer so bad! Let me know what you thought of this month's Ipsy bag! Which item are you dying to try?