NYC New York Color IndividualEyes Custom Compact

In my Influenster Beauty Bloggers Vox Box I was very happy to receive the NYC New York Color IndividualEyes Custom Compact in Dark Shadows. The compact has 4 beautiful grey shades that range from a light ivory highlighter to a dark greyish/black that can be used as a liner. The kit sells for $4.99 at drugstores nationwide and comes in a variety of shades. NYC New York Color's all-in-one compact gives you everything you need for a complete eye look: primer, illuminator, applicator and complementing shadows.

I used the primer first, it goes on very smooth and dries quickly. I found that as the day went on the primer did not hold up very well causing the colors to fade. However, the colors did stay on all day when I used them with my premimum brand of primer. Also in the kit is a cream illuminator that I really liked, I applied this on my brow bone under the lightest shade as a highlighter. I applied the lightest grey shade on my lid and the darker grey as the contour shade. I loved the darkest grey/almost black shade and applied this as a liner just above my lashline. It also works great wet as a liner too. I found the colors very pigmented and easy to blend. There was a bit of fallout with the darker color but it was easy to clean up. For a drugstore brand of shadow I found it to be well worth the $4.99 and I am definitely going to buy more shades for that price.

On the back of the package, under the product label there is also a tips guide which was very useful. A lot of care has gone into the production of this product. I have used NYC nail polish in the past and have not been disappointed so I will be checking out their other products as well!

Check out the New York Color Website for additional products and tips, they have an excellent page with a lot to see: http://newyorkcolor.com/
Straight from the city that never sleeps, NYC New York Color offers products with uptown style at down-to-earth prices, from $.99 - $4.99. The energy, style, and color of New York City shines through the wide range of shades, textures and innovative products. NYC always delivers the most on-trend products & shades hot off the runway!

 Disclaimer: I received this product complimentary for testing and review purposes from Influenster.

Influenster Beauty Blogger 2012 Vox Box-Drum Roll Please, Here's What's In the Box!

My last post told you all about the relaunch of Influenster's website and I told you all about how I was picked for the Beauty Blogger's Vox Box. After receiving and completing a brief survey about my beauty habits I patiently, okay not so patiently, waited for the confirmation e-mail notifying me that I would be receiving this much anticipated Vox Box. A few days later I received my shipping notification and as it turns out we were at Legoland for the day when it did arrived in my mailbox. As fun as Legoland was I wanted to get home and find out what was in that darn box!!!

So you are asking, what was in the box?!!! Here is the array of awesome products that I received: First on the list was NYC New York Colors Individual Eyes Custom Compact in Dark Shadows. It retails for $4.99 and I love NYC's products so I am excited to try this "limited edition" kit. The colors are smokey greys and they are perfect for my dark brown, almost black eye color. In addition to this eyeshadow set I received Kiss Ever Pro Lashes Starter Kit which retails for $5.99. I haven't worn fake lashes since college but I absolutely love them. Once you get used to applying them it is super easy to do and I can't wait to try these out.

I also received a Bath and Body Works Mini Candle in Cider Lane fragrance which retails for $3.50. It smells like Pumpkin Pie which is one of my favorite candles scents and I also receives a $10 off coupon for a full size 3 wick candle which I will be using to purchase some holiday gifts with. I love how long lasting BB&W candles are and the scents are so delicious.

Next in the box was a product called EBOOST which is a powder that you mix with water to help boost your mood, focus and immunity. It has all natural ingredients and it claims "no crash". The retail varies from $28 for a box of 20 powders to $39 for a box of 12 shots. Now being diabetic I am a bit wary of anything that is a "mood booster" or "energy booster" but it I will still try it to see what it is like. It is orange flavor, not my favorite, but comes in other flavors like Super Berry and Pink Lemonade which I wouldn't mind trying.

The last two items were hair items that I was super excited to receive. The first was Goody Simple Styles Spin Pin which retails for $7.29. You receive 2 in the pack and I have wanted to try these for some time now but didn't want to spend the money. I have super thick, curly hair and I heard the Spin Pins are awesome for making buns. The second hair item I received was a sample size of Not Your Mother's Kinky Moves Curl Defining Hair Cream, the full size retails for $6.00. I used this product yesterday and today and I love it. The product I normally use in my hair makes it really crunchy but not this product. It smells so good, gives me awesome curls and leaves my hair super soft. I loved how my hair looks and now I have to get a full size bottle!

In addition to the items above I also qualified for a bonus product of Vitabath Fragrance Mist in Lavender Chamomile. I also used this yesterday and it is so long lasting but not overpowering, there are 16 scents in all and I am definitely going to check out some of the others. I am really loving this fragrance for the weekends when I just want something light and refreshing!

So that is the rundown of all my items, I look forward to blogging about each individual one as they are all pretty awesome! Feel free to leave me any comments or questions and please keep following me for updates, see you all soon.

Disclaimer-I was given all the products listed above as complimentary items for testing purposes via Influenster.

Influenster Relaunch-Free Stuff, For Your Opinions!

Last January while I was liking a page on Facebook that a friend of mine had won a contest on, I noticed a lot of posts from people thanking a company named "Influenster" for their free item and talking about something called a "Vox Box". Well I was intrigued, so I first went to their Facebook page and liked it and then went to their website to see what they were all about. I have been a member every since.

Influenster is a website that you can join to test out new and upcoming products from popular companies such as Kiss Products, Palmolive, Bath and Body Works and Goody to name a few. It's not just beauty products but also healthcare, home products, pet products, green products, etc. When I first joined you earned badges based on your interests, took surveys and waited patiently to either get picked for a "Vox Box" or be selected for a particular brand item that would later qualify you for a "Vox Box" that met your profile. So what is a "Vox Box" you are asking? Well it is a selection of 6-8 full size or large samples of items that match you the badges you qualify for. When I first joined I acquired the "Beauty" badge, the "Mom" badge, the "Cat Lover" badge and a few others. Originally there were only about 9 badges that you could qualify for and the Vox Boxes were not very frequent, but all that has changed with Influenster's relaunch!

Several weeks ago Influenster relaunched their site and gave their existing members many more opportunities to get many more badges and it gave members more chances to qualify for a Vox Box. I was able to get the "Fashionista" badge, the "Gadgeteer" badge and the "Sweet Tooth" badge in addition to two others. Influenster is now by invitation only so you need to know a current member to get an invite, more about this later! A few days after the relaunch they started sending invites for several Vox Boxes and I was sent a survey and quickly qualified for the "Beauty Blogger" Vox Box which I received, love, and will be blogging about soon. You could also qualify for additional Vox Boxes depending on how much you did to promote Influenster.

I know you are asking, "What's the catch?". There is none, all you need to do is try the products and give your honest opinions about them through social media such as Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, InstaGram and Pinterest and you also need to blog. It sounds like a lot of work but the expectation is that you are influencing others with your same interests to try products that you have tried and loved or didn't love. They expect you to be honest, you aren't going to love everything you try and that is fine. When I research products I expect people to be honest about them and tell the pros and the cons as well. Influenster also rewards you for completing the tasks by having contests where you can win additional items and prizes and also allowing you to qualify for upcoming Vox Boxes. I am a very busy, working mom and it doesn't take a lot of time or energy to get the tasks completed, once you get use to what you are doing it takes very little time to record and upload a video or update a blog. I am on Facebook a lot and it just takes a few seconds to leave a comment on a product's page.

Having said all this, I hope you will check out Influenster! http://www.influenster.com/ I think you will love it as much as I do. If you want an invite just leave me a message and I will send you one, I currently have 5 up for grabs!! Let me know if you have any questions and I will be happy to answer them for you.
<a href="http://www.influenster.com/profile/Missy52666"><img src="http://widget.influenster.com/647b76ceb95a5f5f81eb183db95290e2.png"></a>

Learning Zone Express-Win It Wednesday Giveaway!

Learning Zone Express is a great educational website. I have purchased a lot of fantastic items for my classroom from their site. They are giving away (2) MyPlate Prize Boxes worth $64.95. Check out their site, like them on FB and share their post!

Here are the details:
Win It Wednesday Promo! We are giving away our MyPlate Prize Box. To enter, simply like our page (if you haven't already) and share this post! Good Luck! 

MyPlate Prize Box

www.learningzonexpress.com

Over 800 Prizes Including MyPlate Bookmarks, Temporary Tattoos, and Stickers That Encourage Healthy Eating

YSL's Baby Doll Eau de Toilette-My Favorite Fragrance

I wear fragrance ever single day, it's just one of those things that I can't live without. My all time favorite fragrance is from Yves St. Laurent and is called "Baby Doll". It is a light fragrance, that is great for late spring and throughout the summer, but not so light that it wears off in a few hours. I first discovered Baby Doll in a duty free shop in Barbados when we flew in there for our honeymoon back in 2000 and have worn it ever since.

For the first few years that I wore it, it was easy to find but now it can only be purchased on YSL's website. Luckily, they always offer free shipping and other special deals through their site so it is worth checking out. I also wear their newer fragrance "Parisienne" which is widely available but I still buy it directly from YSL's site as well.



The bottle is a faceted spinning top!

So a little about Baby Doll, it is described on YSL's site as follows: " Flirty, fun, forever young… a happy-go-lucky fragrance that lives in the moment. Like a top spinning, the opening accord amuses with newly ripened grapefruit, then teases with witty turns of wild rose and spicy red currant. The base notes that follow--cedar, grenadine and new peach--linger momentarily, only to whirl anew. In a faceted crystal flacon reminiscent of a spinning top." Baby Doll retails for $39 for the 1.0 ounce bottle, $58 for the 1.6 ounce bottle and $85 for the 3.3 ounce bottle.

Everytime I wear it I get so many complements and it is fun when people ask , "what perfume are your wearing?" and I get to answer, "Baby Doll!". I usually get some strange looks but people say it smells really nice.

Here is the link to YSL's US site, check it out and check out their other fragrances and other beauty options as well when you are there: http://www.yslbeautyus.com/Baby-Doll-Eau-De-Toilette-Spray/288YSL,default,pd.html
I think you will love it as much as I do!

Please Note: This review is based on my own opinions. I was not compensated or given free product for this review and all items reviewed were purchased by me.

Red Carpet Manicure-If You Can Paint Your Nails, You Can Do Your Own Gels

Red Carpet Manicure's Pro Kit

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am a bit obsessed with my nails and keeping them looking nice.

This past December I discovered gel nails, actually I had heard about them awhile back but found out about an at home kit and had to check it out.

When I saw Red Carpet Manicure's at home Gel Polish Pro Kit in an Ulta circular I was intrigued, but worried it wasn't going to be as good as one of the salon brands my friends all get. I was so wrong, this product is awesome!!

I purchased the Pro Kit from Ulta and an extra polish to play around with. The starter kit comes with all the things you need to do the entire process, including the LED light and a bottle of "Red Carpet Ready" polish. I'm not really into red polish, so I picked up a funkier blue polish called "And the Winner Is". If you can paint your nails, you can do your own gels with RCM, just be careful when prepping your nails and do not over buff. I used the wrong number buffer the first few times I prepped them and I ended up weakening my nails, use a fine buffer (240 works great) to avoid this.

Since I have corrected that issue and my nails have grown in I am loving the ease and wear of RCM and especially how strong and long my nails are getting. Normally when I wear regular polish it lasts 2 days if I am lucky, but RCM can last 2 or more weeks. I get bored with my color so I also change it weekly, honestly, if I could let it go I would because it still looks just done when I go to remove it. I love how shiny it looks and how minimal the wear is, even with the amount of time I have my hands in soapy water in class.

The company recently added 18 new colors to their existing 36 color line and their colors are fantastic. Check it out, I think you will see how easy it is to have great looking nails!

"Haute Couture" one of my favorite RCM colors

Check out the offer they have going on and watch the video to learn all about this fantastic product! https://shopredcarpetmanicure.com/
You can also learn more about the product on their website: http://www.redcarpetmanicure.com/

Please Note: This review is based on my own opinions. I was not compensated or given free product for this review and all items reviewed were purchased by me.

StriVectin's Get Even Brightening Serum-I Love This Product and You Will Too!

I try to take really good care of my skin, this year I turn 45 and I have been told that I definitely don't look it!


Recently I had the opportunity to get a couple of samples of StriVectin's-EV Get Even Brightening Serum. During my pregnancy and shortly after the boys were born ten years ago I was yet again fighting adult acne. One break out in particular left me with a scar on my lower cheek the size of a Skittle. Then about three years ago I noticed that I had dark patches on my forehead, my upper lip and on my cheeks. Both the scar and the patches would darken when I went to the beach, even if I was wearing sunscreen. Around this time, I tried a product that had just come out on the market claiming to greatly diminish dark patches and scars and I went through several bottles with less than great results. Last summer I finally decided to go to a dermatologist who told me, as I had suspected, that I suffered from hyper-pigmentation and that it was treatable but I needed to add a daily sunscreen and stay out of the sun as much as possible. I was given a prescription serum containing hyrdoquinone, it worked quite well but I was worried about the side effects of hydroquinone and after I finished the six month regiment I decided that I wanted to look for something else.
Several months went by and the patches started to darken a bit, around this same time I was given a chance to try StriVectin's Get Even Brightening Serum through a two week sample from Sephora.


About two weeks later I won a giveaway from StriVectin and received another two week sample and had signed up on another FB page and they sent me one also. After trying my now six week supply I saw a definite improvement, the patches were fading again and the scar is again starting to fade. The most important thing is to stick with it and use it twice a day! I have been using it for about 10 weeks and I wish I had taken before and after pics because I can  notice a difference in my skin. Most importantly, wear a daily sunscreen!! I wear a 40 block every single day, even when I am only outside for a few minutes.

When my samples were all used up, I purchased a full size bottle from Strivectin's website and had also happened upon a 30% offer from Lucky magazine. I actually bought their bundle pack offer which is the Brightening Serum plus a full size Get Even Spot repair, a targeted spot treatment. I am seeing really great results from that item as well. The Get Even Brightening Serum retails for $89 and the Get Even Spot Repair retails for $49, the bundle offer is the best buy at $110.40 (20% off). My deal was even better because I got 30% off the $110.40 through Lucky Magazine's monthly deal, plus free shipping, plus a sunscreen sample and wrinkle cream in a zippered bag for the beach. That offer is no longer available but right now they are offering 25% off and free shipping so check it out!


Here is the link to StriVectin's website, check it out: http://www.strivectin.com/
I am so glad I stumbled upon this product, thank you StriVectin for helping me look so good!!!!

Please Note: This review is based on my own opinions. I was not compensated or given free product for this review and all items reviewed were purchased by me.