March Round-Up

I received these products for free to try and review. All opinions are my own. 

So I've had the opportunity to try some pretty awesome products this month! I thought I would share about my favorites all in one post. Here's the scoop:

Dessange Paris Vox Box:

(Received from Influenster)

So this was a hair care set, it came with the Oleo Miracle Replenishing Shampoo, Oleo Miracle Replenishing Conditioner, and Oleo Miracle Replenishing Oil. They are specifically made to restore damaged hair, and since I've been known to be a little overzealous with the flat iron on my wavy locks, I was interested to try this. I was also a little skeptical, the shampoo and conditioner contain 3 types of oils (argan, camellia, and pracaxi), and while I have heard good things about oils for your hair, I had never used them and figured they would probably weigh my hair down or make it feel oily and dirty more quickly.

Plus there is the oil you are putting straight on your hair as part of the process and I was really skeptical about that! But I tried it anyway and was very pleasantly surprised! The first thing I noticed was the scent, at first I wasn't a fan. It's a fairly strong Gardenia type smell, which I have never cared for. However I noticed the next day when I would smell it in my hair it really wasn't cloying or overpowering, it mellows to a nice, pleasant scent.

I used all three products, as I said I had never used an oil in my hair so that was kind of weird! But the next day when my hair was dry and styled I noticed it looked very shiny and healthy! And it didn't weigh my hair down or make it feel or look dirty.

The only negative I would have to say about it is that it has Sodium Laurel Sulfates. I have some thinning issues with my hair and SLS is not great for that, so I prefer SLS free shampoos.

SweeTARTS Soft and Chewy Ropes:

(Received from Smiley360)

We might have eaten these in record time, hence the empty package before I could get a picture.
SweeTARTS Soft and Chewy Ropes

Adam LOVES chewy and/or gummy candies, AND he loves SweeTARTS, so I was excited to get this and have him try it! I handed it to him to try first, since he's the connoisseur, and he approves! I tried them too, of course, and they are so yummy! I love the flavor and the soft texture, they didn't stick to my teeth as badly as some other gummy candy I've tried. These would be a perfect movie snack.

Arnott's Tim Tam:

(Received from BzzAgent)

OMG. You guys. Do not buy these. Or, ok do buy them. But just be warned, they are addictive and you will eat the whole package in one sitting. When I first received these I was like "Hmmm, what's a Tim Tam?" and wasn't sure what to expect. Just think chocolaty and crunchy and creamy and delicious, that's a Tim Tam. I ate my last one this past weekend and I has a sads.

Tim Tams are from Australia, and before now you couldn't get them Stateside, but they have come to the USA and you can find them at our favorite place, Target (And oh my I just realized they have caramel Tim Tams too). So pretty much if you need me this weekend I'll be wandering around the aisles of Target drinking Starbucks and eating Tim Tams.

Suja Essentials:

(Received from BzzAgent)

Suja is a new all natural juice, 100% fruit, no added sugar or other weird ingredients! It's GMO free, organic, and cold-pressured, which apparently means you get a lot more of the good stuff with your juice than when they use heat to pasteurize it. And they are delicious! They're similar to Naked juices, but they really are all natural and I definitely preferred the taste and texture of Suja. With Naked and some other brands I've tried, the flavor was kind of weird and I honestly felt like I was drinking fruit sludge or something, they're so thick. Suja has a much smoother texture and the flavor is not cloyingly sweet like some juices.

Ok, now that I've typed a small novel, I will be done now. Have you tried any of these products? What did you think?

If you would like to sign up with any of these sites and receive some awesome free samples to try, I would love if you could sign up under my link! Thank you! 

Influenster

BzzAgent

Smiley360

Influenster Frosty Vox Box: My Thoughts

*I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.*

I was so excited to receive the Frosty Vox Box from Influenster! I had seen some sneak peeks of what was in it so I knew there would be some goodies I would love to try! 

 Celestial Seasonings Candy Cane Lane Green Tea

I LOVE peppermint tea so I knew I would like this, but what took it over the top was the yummy vanilla spiced flavor it had. SO good, I wish it was available all year! 

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eyeliner

This is a great eyeliner! It goes on really smooth so it was much easier to apply than some of my other liners and is a nice, true black. It's supposed to be waterproof, but it does smudge pretty easily so you have to be careful with that. I do like to smudge my liner a little for the smoky look sometimes, so it works great for that! 

Rimmel Gentle Eye Makeup Remover

This was not my favorite. It took a lot more scrubbing with this to get my eye makeup off than it does with my usual remover. It also kind of stung my eyes which is strange considering it's supposed to be gentle, and again, my usual remover doesn't sting. I'll still use it because it does work, just not as well as my usual. I wouldn't purchase this one. 

NYC New York Color Expert Last Lip Color in Sugar Plum

I LOVE this lip color! It goes on really smooth and has just enough moisture to not dry out my lips or feel cakey, but not so much that it's tacky or sticky. Plus the color is so pretty! On me it looks like a slightly more pigmented nude, so it looks like my natural color but with a boost.

Fruit Vines Bites Cherry

These are yummy! Not my favorite candy ever, but I like them! I don't like a lot of cherry candies, they almost taste like cough syrup to me sometimes, but this one had a nice, not overwhelming cherry flavor and a good soft, chewy consistency. And I like that they are bite sized, perfect for a movie snack! 

McCormick Gourmet All Natural Thyme

I actually haven't had a chance to try this one yet, I hope to have a recipe that calls for thyme soon! But I always love McCormick products, so I have no concerns. 

Boots No7 Protect and Perfect Intense Advanced Serum

This product claims to give you younger looking skin with fewer lines and wrinkles in one month or less. Since I only had enough to try it for about a week it was hard to tell if there was really much of a difference. I did enjoy how it felt on my skin, it was lightweight and silky smooth, and didn't feel heavy or oily at all. I would definitely be interested in buying a whole bottle and using it more long term to see how it works! 

EcoTools Sleek + Shine

I really liked this brush! At first I wasn't sure what to think of it because I don't usually use brushes with the softer bristles like these. I thought it might not really get through my hair and detangle it. But it definitely did! It's great to use while drying your hair, the bristle pattern and holes in the middle help the air to flow better and I definitely noticed my hair dried faster than it usually does. And when I use it to brush my hair when it's dry, it gives it a nice shine and cuts down on the frizz. 

Well, that's everything in the Frosty Vox Box! If you would like to be an Influenster and receive free products to review, sign up here! 

How do you Do More?

So I had the craziest day last Tuesday. It was non-stop from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed. Work was crazy, I had to go grocery shopping after work (worst time ever to go to the grocery store, by the way), then I had to cook dinner when I got home. I'm actually kind of impressed with myself that I still cooked dinner. Usually after a grocery trip after work I'm starving and I just want to eat, so we grab fast food. Budget and nutrition win!

Next I had to go by a friend's house to get their mail and water their plants, and go by Target to pick up a few things there. Then when I got home I still had to do my workout and get a blog post written. Phew!

And it seemed like the more I tried to hurry through everything I needed to do, the more I was slowed down by silly little things. Like I stopped to get gas and had to go to 3 different pumps until I got one that worked. Really??

Also it's still approximately 99 degrees here during the day, so you start not to feel so fresh after a whole day of running around like a crazy person. Enter new Degree with MotionSense with 48-hour protection. I got the opportunity to try this new antiperspirant for the first time last week, so I tried it on the day that wouldn't end. It has a nice clean scent (I got to try the Fresh Energy scent), not too overpowering, which is always nice!

Degree claims that you can DoMore with MotionSense because the more you move, the better it protects. Let's see about that!

So I get to the end of this crazy day, and it's time for my workout. This was definitely one of my more intense workouts, Total Body Cardio. It's 30 minutes of nonstop cardio with weights, which makes for quite a sweat session. Even after being punished for 30 minutes by Autumn Calabrese, I smelled good! It's a miracle!

After workout pic- excuse the gross hair

I wasn't quite committed enough to test it for 48 hours (which would have required no shower after that workout, eew), but it definitely lasted me all day and stayed strong.

So I'm putting my stamp of approval on this stuff, it totally works!

What keeps you going on crazy days?

Disclaimer: I received this product complimentary from Influenster to test and review, but all opinions are my own.

'Fess up

Hooray for hump day! This week is going pretty quickly for me so I'm cool with it.

I keep forgetting to say this, but I feel like I should clarify that I do respond to all of the comments you lovely ladies are leaving on this little bloggity blog of mine! I know I started out replying on the post but then I was concerned the people who commented would never see my response if they didn't come back to the post. So I started replying by email, but then I got worried that it looked like I'm a snob and never respond to all of the sweet comments y'all leave (which totally make my day, by the way!) since they don't show up on the post! (Clearly I overthink things) So I just wanted to make sure you all know that I greatly appreciate your comments and reply to all of them, and if you don't get a response either I've totally spaced somehow and not seen the email OR you're a no reply blogger so I can't email you! Phew!

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, here's a few more...

I know this makes me a very bad fan but I honestly do not have high hopes for my Gators this Saturday. I mean I love them and I obviously want them to win, but seriously, it's Alabama. Let's not kid ourselves.

I signed up for Influenster about a month ago, and I got my first VoxBox yesterday! I got the email that they were sending it on Friday and I was kind of ridiculously excited about it. I think Adam was thinking, wow, you're easily amused. But I mean FREE stuff! It really doesn't take much to excite me, obviously.

Now that I've gotten it, I feel like I need to take the whole "Share it on social media, blog about it, take pics" thing VERY seriously and do a really good job or I'm afraid they won't like me and won't send me another one! ::bitesnails::

 

I had a PB&J for lunch yesterday. Hi, I'm five years old.

There's a lady in my building (she doesn't work in my office, just in the same building we're in) that is usually coming in the door in the morning the same time I am, and when I see her I try to run ahead and avoid having to talk to her because it's always just weird and super awkward- she seems to feel the need to fill the silence with a constant stream of uncomfortable small talk. I'm awkward enough all on my own, and I can't do small talk in the morning.

 

I really am a nice person, I swear.

I know planning out my grocery shopping to take advantage of sales and clipping coupons is great and can save you a lot of money, but it always feels like SO much work. It literally took me most of the evening after dinner last night to make my list, look for the sales, and print and clip coupons. Probably because I'm bad at it and I've never been able to do as well as these women who can get $100 worth of groceries for 50 cents.

I have to do said grocery shopping after work today (because I was too lazy to get it together and do it over the weekend, shhh!) and I just know after I get done spending money on all that food I'm not going to feel like cooking any of it.

I'm really sorry, but I don't understand the no 'poo craze. I'm not talking about going a few days without washing your hair. I'm talking about the people who swear off shampoo completely. I mean, I know they say your hair eventually stops overproducing oil so your head eventually stops looking like an oil slick, and it's so much healthier and blah, blah, blah, but all I can think is eeeeewwww. I just don't think I could do it. Plus my hair would probably end up looking something like this:

That's all I got today! Link it up!