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.

Celebrating the Twin's 10th Birthday with Pillsbury's Funfetti Cake Mix

The boys turned 10 the other day, and since it was on a Thursday we decided to postpone the cake eating until the weekend when we could have everyone together to celebrate.
In my house, we all enjoy Pillsbury's Funfetti cake mix and Funfetti fudge frosting. I love Pillsbury products in general and use them all the time in my Pre-Culinary classes. My students love to make Funfetti cake cookies and I always share with them the recipe for "cake cookies" and explain how they can use the same recipe for any flavor of cake mix. As I type this the, cake is baking and the boys can't wait to have a slice of that yummy Funfetti cake!
In case you have never made cake cookies and would like to try the recipe, here it is:

Funfetti Cake Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 (18.9-oz.) pkg. Pillsbury® Moist Supreme® Funfetti® Cake Mix (or any other Pillsbury cake mix of your choosing)

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs

1/2 (15.6-oz.) can Pillsbury® Creamy Supreme® Funfetti® Vanilla Frosting (or any other Pillsbury frosting of your choosing)

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs; stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. With bottom of glass dipped in flour, flatten to 1/4-inch thickness.

2. Bake at 375°F. for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.

3. Spread frosting over warm cookies. Immediately sprinkle each with candy bits from frosting. Let frosting set before storing. Store in tightly covered container.

Yield: Approximately 3 doz. cookies

So yummy, you will see them disappear before your eyes!

Funfetti Cake Mix-It's so good!!

 Disclaimer: All views and opinions are my own, this is an independent review of Pillsbury's products and no compensation was given for my opinions.

Trying Out Palmolive's Fresh Sponge via Influenster

Recently I joined Influentster, which is a site where you collect "badges" that allow you to get picked to try out new products. I was recently picked to participate in their dish washing challenge and earlier in the week I received a full size bottle of Palmolive's Fresh Sponge dish soap, a new sponge, and several coupons to give to my friends and family.
I am very particular when it comes to the scents I use for any type of soap, and I have to say the scent on this dish soap is phenomenal. It smells like a combination of pomegranate/cherry, which are two of my favorite scents, so this immediately won me over.
Second, I am concerned about how dish soaps affect my nails. I take really good care of my nails, more of that to come in later blogs, and I have finally grown them back after they were badly damaged from doing gel nails. Most dish soaps are very drying on hands and nails, but after I use this, my hands feel really soft and my nails are still looking great.
Probably the most important thing about Fresh Sponge, as the name indicates, is the fact that it keeps your sponge smelling fresh. Usually when I use a sponge, even a new one, it will start to smell "funky" after a few days. So far, after 5 days of use my fresh still smells clean. As for my dishes they are very clean, this soap makes a lot of lather because it is ultra concentrated and a little goes a long way.
I highly recommend Palmolive's Fresh Sponge, dare to compare and I think you will switch, I know that I now have a new soap that I will be using!

Disclaimer-I was given this product complimentary for testing purposes from Colgate-Palmolive via Influenster.