Influenster Palmolive Fresh Infusions!

   
   I don't know about all of you, but I can't even begin to focus on my beauty regimen or anything makeup related when I'm surrounded by a mess or when there's a pile of dishes in my sink! I live in an odd household, and unfortunately no one one is a team player when it comes to chores, especially dishes!

   Luckily, the people at Influenster set me up with another Voxbox, this time for Palmolive's new Fresh Infusions dish soap! They had done a campaign for this before, and they received such positive feedback they brought it back for more of us to try! The cool thing was that anyone picked for this go around didn't just receive one bottle like last time, we received three! 
   I have been using Palmolive since I was a kid. My sisters and I used to take turns with the dish washing or we'd split the job, one would wash, one would dry, and one would put away. I always loved the lemon scented one, and growing up Palmolive was my family's go-to dish soap. Now they've revamped their scents and created some new scent fusions that are great! I received Scent Infusions in three scents, Lemon Thyme, White Tea and Ginger, and Lime Basil. My favorite is the White Tea and Ginger, I love how fresh it smells, and it still cleans just as well! 
   The formula seems to have been boosted too! You don't need a lot at all, I used a about a gold dollar sized amount and it washed several dishes before I added a bit more to my sponge. 
   This awesome dish soap is available at Walmart, so get your hands on a bottle and experience the cleaning power of Fresh Infusions for yourself!

Julep December Mystery Box!

   I know this post is pretty late, these past couple of weeks have been crazy! But I wanted to take the time to tell you about the mystery box Julep offered in December!

   Julep rang in the new year with a special mystery box, each one was valued between $100 and $500! Usually the range is between $60 and $200 so I was really excited! My box only came out to $100 but I still got some really nice products! My mystery box came with 5 nail polishes, 3 polish remover pads (which I used right out of the box before taking a pic), a silver glitter pot, and a bottle of hand brightener (plus 2 samples of the brightener). I loved all the polishes, I even got a glitter polish that doesn't have a name yet!




Mischa ($14.00)

   A cherry micro-shimmer. It doesn't apply as evenly as I had expected, so a second coat is a good idea. The color is vibrant and dries quickly. I love it!




Chelsea ($14.00)

   A violet, silver and purple glitter polish. You may need 2 or 3 coats to get full coverage, but it is very pretty and dries quickly.




Sienna ($14.00)

    A champagne gold shimmer. This was my New Year's Eve nail color, with Nailtini's Millionaire on top. It was gorgeous! It applies evenly and you should only need one coat, it also dries quickly. This was my favorite polish in the box!




Boris and Nicole ($14.00)

   An autumn red frost. This is a gorgeous color! It applies evenly and dries quickly. You should only need one coat.




Mystery Polish ($14.00)

   A multicolor glitter polish. I tried to see if maybe they had this on the website, but could not match it to any of the existing glitters. It is very pretty and dries quickly. You will need at least a second coat for this polish, but besides that it's great!




Glow On Age Defying Hand Brightener ($32.00)

   This hand brightener is made to reduce the appearance of fine lines and age spots on your hands. It smells really nice, and it absorbs very well into skin. They recommend using this with their hand scrub, which brought me to think, "well why not give me a sample to try it?" I received a full size bottle and two sample packets of the same hand brightener, couldn't the two sample packets have been the scrub so I can get have the optimum sampling experience? Nevertheless, I do not have any fine lines or age spots on my hands, so this is geared more towards older women. But it never hurts to start fighting aging early! 




 
   If you would like to join Julep you can sign up here! Use the promo code PENNY to get your intro box for a penny!

 

Look Bag Discontinued

   So a little while ago, I received this email:



Dear Look Bag Member,

We regret to inform you after this month we will be discontinuing the Look Bag. You've all been great to us and we're sorry to disappoint you. We will be processing full refunds for those who paid in advance and also those not receiving January bags in the next week so just hold on tight and keep an eye on your inbox. You'll get a full transaction receipt there. We wish you all the best and happy beauty box endeavors.

Sincerely,

Team Look Bag


   Well, there you have it. It started out as a great idea, but members like myself wound up disappointed. I am sorry that they are stopping, but I am glad that they realized their product was not appeasing for members. I really hope that if they choose to relaunch in the future that they really step up their game and reevaluate their system. 

Look Bag December

   Oh Look Bag, why!? You were so promising and I wanted to love you, but you just keep dropping the ball! December's bag was really lackluster and disappointing. I was optimistic since November's bag was a step in the right direction. So for a minute I regained faith in them, I get my December bag

   What the hell man!? First off, Rather than the pink envelope it usually comes in I got a boring white envelope. Was it really that difficult to keep up with appearances? Then on top of that I looked through the Makeuptalk forum and found that one of the items is almost expired. Here's what I got:

    I wasn't immediately turned off, mind you. I was like eh, but the eyeshadow and the glitter seem nice. Then I saw the tea light candles and I was like

   This is a beauty subscription, and I can buy tea lights anytime for dirt cheap. Why include something completely irrelevant to beauty? This is a subscription service that apparently offers luxury products to sample, sooooooo.....yeah......
   Anyways, on to the review.




Befine Food Skin Care Exfoliating Cleanser ($24.00 for full size)

   I wasn't sure I should even try this. I had heard that Befine has a really bad history of giving out expired samples, so it left me conflicted. I couldn't find a batch code on this packet so I tried it and hoped for the best. This exfoliator has brown sugar, almonds and oats. It smelled ok, it didn't smell old but it smelled different. My skin wasn't irritated afterwards so I guess that's a good sign. This is supposed to be a single serve packet, but I actually got two uses out of it since it lathers very well and spreads easily. This cleanser left my face feeling very clean and soft, and I have to say I found this to exfoliate a little better than my St. Ives. I will be purchasing a full size bottle of this for sure, this may have been the only thing I genuinely enjoyed in this bag.




LA Splash Nail Art Glitter, Hazardous ($4.99)

   This was ok, it's just some red nail glitter. I could always use some more for my designs. At least I didn't have to worry about expiration.




Frederic Fekkai Technician Conditioner (prices vary)

   I was very unsure of whether to try this or not. This bottle looked nothing like the ones I'm used to seeing.

   After some intense Googling it turned out that this was legit, just an older bottle design. This conditioner was alright, not amazing but alright. It smells nice and is easy to work into hair. It washes out well, and leaves no residue or greasy feeling behind. I always wondered about this hair brand, and while it is nice I can stick to my Head and Shoulders (thanks to Influenster!) 

L' Oreal Wear Infinite Pressed Eyeshadow, Sweet Chemise ($14.00)

   At first I was very excited to try this, the color is pretty. Then I saw on Makeuptalk that this eyeshadow expires in 19 months. I also read that this exact same eyeshadow was included in their May Look Bag! What happened here? They seemed to have gotten lazy since their relaunch! And the excuse they gave for this was that this eyeshadow was so popular they decided to include it in December's bag as an extra. Mind you, the packaging on the eyeshadow said limited edition, so either they convinced L'oreal to bring this shadow back or they were trying to get rid of excess stock. My money's on the latter.

   Anyways besides that nonsense, it's not a bad shadow, it's a little chalky but that could be due to its looming expiration date. The color looks like a very light champagne shimmer and is nicely pigmented. It is a pretty color, and it's a nice addition to my collection, but I'm really disappointed in this being passed off as some amazing gift.

  

Clean Fresh Laundry Tea Lights (prices vary)

   This isn't an awful product, but I found this to be a cheap addition to this so called "luxury" sampling program. On Google this 3 pack of tea lights were about 3 to 5 dollars depending on the site, and these lights aren't even sold on the Clean website. I can buy tea lights at my local drugstore by the bunch so I think this was a real shoddy attempt at "luxury". Despite that they are nice candles, and they smell good. They serve their purpose. 

Too Faced Lip Injection Extreme ($24.00 for full size)

   I was actually very interested in trying this when I saw that this would help plump my lips a bit. My lips are kind of small, so any help with my pout is welcome! I swiped a little on my lips, and I cannot begin to explain the pain I felt. People who have tried this say you get a tingly feeling, but my lips burned! It was ok for a few seconds, and then when it kicked in the pain was unbearable. I ran to remove this evil concoction from my lips and I had to douse my lips in cold water to relieve some of the burning. Even after I removed it my lips still burned a bit, and the result was my lips swelling and turning red. I couldn't touch my lips without pain for the next 20 minutes. Maybe this was an expired sample, I don't care. All I know is that I will not put my poor lips through that kind of torture ever again.

   I'm pretty sure I'm going to be cancelling at this point. I tried to hold out, I really did. But they are nothing like what I thought they'd be. I am disappointed and I feel cheated, but it is what it is. I can no longer recommend this subscription service, and I would honestly advise anyone interested to steer clear. 

Green Grab Bag December

   December's Green Grab Bag was pretty impressive, I found a few new favorites!

   In this month's bag I received a facial mask from Zosimos Botanicals, some body lotion from Nature Balance Wellness, a botlle of facial toner from Pangea Organics, an eyeshadow from Elegant Minerals, a tinted lip balm from Elemental Herbs, and some charcoal soap from Destiny Boutique.




Zosimos Botanicals Facial Mask ($8.00-$28.00 for full size)

    This mask was really cool! This was a one time use packet, I had to mix the mask myself which I didn't mind. It has a really soft rose scent that I just loved! The mask becomes a creamy paste that is really easy to apply. It doesn't dry out on your face so there is no flaking. After about 15 minutes I washed it off with warm water and revealed supple and great smelling skin! I adore this facial mask and I plan to get more!




Nature Balance Wellness Body Lotion, Love Me Lavender and Marigold Magic ($16.99 for full size)

    This body butter is very rich and creamy. It actually feels like a frosting when you touch it which I thought was nice. My favorite of the two of course was the Love Me Lavender, it smelled great and made my skin feel very nice. It doesn't feel greasy and it doesn't sit on top of the skin. The Marigold Magic was nice too, this one is apparently for eczema, dry skin, sun burns and stretch marks! I used this one on my legs since the winter is harsh on them, and it did help a bit. My legs looked and felt much better. Due to my legs being dry in the winter, I scratch and it irritates the skin even more. This body butter helped to alleviate the irritation and restore some moisture to them. Would I buy this? Maybe, this was really nice but I have other lotions that can do the same thing and don't cost as much. It was still nice to try though, I may buy some another time.




Pangea Organics Facial Toner, Argentinean Tangerine and Thyme ($12.00-$26.00 for full size)

    I love this toner! It smells amazing and it feels so refreshing on my skin! All I have to do is mist it on my face and neck a few times after cleansing. This toner removes any oil and dirt left after cleansing. My skin felt super clean and refreshed after using this! So far my experience with Pangea Organics has been very positive, and now I got to try something I think I must have!




Elegant Minerals Eyeshadow, Poinsettia ($6.00-$12.00 for full size)

   I immediately fell in love with this eyeshadow! This is a soft red, it is nicely pigmented and there is no fallout. It blends really well too! I wore this for Christmas, since the color is Poinsettia I thought it fitting, and the fact that it was also SPF15 was awesome!




Elemental Herbs All Good Lips Organic Tinted Lip Balm, Maroon Creek ($4.99)

   This lip balm is very nice! It tingles on my lips, and the tint is really pretty! I had to swatch it on my hand since it was difficult to see on my lips. The color is a sheer deep red, it nourishes my lips and gives a nice hint of color. This is great for those days when you feel like wearing sweatpants but want a little bit of glam without the full makeover!




Destiny Boutique Charcoal Facial Soap Detox and Charcoal Facial Wash Detox ($8.95 for full size soap, $12.50 for full size wash)

   This soap, omg! Omg this soap, omg! I loooooooove this soap! This soap made my face feel so clean and refreshed! It doesn't lather like normal soap, but you don't need to use a lot. It didn't dry out my skin, and it is absolutely great for removing makeup! Whether you use the wash or the bar you're gonna love this soap! 



   If you would like to sign up for the Green Grab Bag you can do it here!

Mac Glamour Daze Lipstick, Dramatic Encounter

   First off I would like to say Happy New Year to everyone! May this year keep you beautiful and happy! And with that I would like to share with you a very pretty shade of lipstick from MAC!

   Dramatic Encounter is an opaque deep purple from the Glamour Daze Holiday Collection. It is very creamy and has great coverage. It is also long lasting. It looks more like a deep red in the tube, but when applied it looks more purple. 

   I love the vanilla scent of MAC lipsticks, and the vibrant color is amazing! I was so taken by this color I wore it nonstop for about two weeks! I feel it compliments my skin tone well, and purple happens to be my favorite color. It leaves my lips feeling moisturized too! I was actually stopped a few times and asked about this lipstick, and I started to gush about this shade and other MAC colors! 

   As of now this shade is sold out on their website, the new collections tend to sell out really fast! You can still find this color and the other colors in the collection on ebay and possibly on department store websites such as Nordstrom and Bloomingdales. 

Head and Shoulders Damage Rescue!

   I feel so lucky to have been given a chance to try this shampoo! Influenster teamed up with Head and Shoulders to showcase their new and improved Damage Rescue Shampoo! I have had a really crappy relationship with my hair, and while I've used Head and Shoulders before, it never gave me the results I needed. I have a very dry scalp, and because of it I had to use stronger shampoos such as T-Gel to eliminate dandruff and itching. The guys at Head and Shoulders seem to have revamped the formula though, because this stuff worked so well I didn't need the T-Gel!

   When I was emailed about trying this I was honestly kinda meh about it. Head and Shoulders used to work great for me, but either my dry scalp got worse or the formula changed because it was no longer working for me. As a result I had to torture my poor scalp with the harsh medicated shampoos that sometimes even made my scalp feel tender and like it was burning. On top of all that my hair was super dry, and medicated shampoos aren't really made to help that. But I figured it was worth a try, and Influenster was nice enough to choose me to try it, so who am I to say no?

   On a side note, this Voxbox I believe was geared toward latina beauties, the product information card was in spanish! Buuuuuuuut, since I can't speak a lick of spanish (though being latina myself) I felt like a jackass. I tried to translate it with the little bit I know, but got super frustrated when I couldn't.

and then that happened. 

   Anyways I got my bf to translate, and besides the info on the product they were having a contest. 19 finalists would receive this shampoo and an auto-qualification into the next beauty themed Voxbox. The grand prize winner would have their hair rescued and pampered by Head and Shoulders stylist Antonio Rosales, not too shabby! I wouldn't mind some hair pampering myself, but a beauty Voxbox is awesome too!
   This shampoo has worked wonders for my hair! It has a really nice peach scent and is very gentle on the scalp. It lathers very well, so you don't need much. If your hair is somewhat oily or dirty at the time of washing, just use the same amount twice. For me the first wash doesn't lather as well because of the dirt, but the second is just fine. My hair felt so clean and my scalp didn't feel itchy at all. Since using this my dandruff has been totally under control! The conditioner is amazing too! Again, you don't need much, but it works through hair very nicely and doesn't leave a slick or greasy feeling residue after rinsing out. 
   Since starting this new hair regimen I am happy to say that not only is my dandruff and itchy scalp under control, my hair looks much healthier, has more life and bounce, and I have way less hair fallout than before! My hair is very thick, and I usually have hair falling out all the time and everywhere. My hair can be found all over my house in the oddest places, and I usually hear about it every time! My hair is stronger and I'm not pulling as many strands of hair off of my clothes anymore! I'm very glad I gave Head and Shoulders another chance, I think this will be my new go to shampoo! 


   If you would like to be a part of Influenster and qualify for free goodies you can request an invite on their website! I still have 4 invites myself, so I would be happy to share with anyone interested!