To Try: Influenster's Bloom VoxBox!

Howdy, folks! I'm here to review Influenster's Bloom VoxBox! I am so glad I got chosen for this box, it's a good one! Let's just into it!

The box is a nice light orange color this time around.

The card with the box's contents. Pretty!

The goodies! Lots of bath and body and beauty products in this one!

First up, Cutex's Advanced Revival  nail polish remover pads. I LOVE these things. They work so ridiculously well! I don't feel like I'm wasting cotton balls or Q-tips or paper towels, plus extra polish remover. I found these worked best on manicures without glitter, which is both good and bad because more often than not, I am wearing a sparkly/glitter top coat. These works very well, and I found that, unlike advertised, one pad did not get all 10 nails, but it sure was close! I'd totally buy these.

I go back and forth of deodorant. I've used my favorite kind for nearly a decade, but the aluminum in it has me worried about the risks. Secret's Outlast Xtend does have aluminium in it, so steer clear if you watch that kind of thing. I used this deodorant twice. The smell is very nice, though I didn't find it outlasting my current products. In fact, no deodorant feels to me like it lasts, even the one I wear. I liked this though, and I might buy a full size stick just to see how it compares to the tiny one. On the third application, the entire deodorant part went flying off the mini stick and onto the lint-and-hair-and-life-littered carpet...needless to say, I tossed it.

Sinful Colors is a big brand in nail polish, mostly because of their super cheap prices. I tend to stick to OPI and KBShimmer, but I do have a few Sinfuls in my collection. This is VIP, it's a really nice light, sort of pastel sort of neon pink. No shimmer, no glitz, nothing. I love this! The formula is a little thick and the brush is a little flimsy, but I really enjoyed this. I need to paint my nails again, but I've been having some peeling problems and I cut them to minuscule nubs. It looks like one of the awful Kardashians made this color, so I'd never pick it for myself just based on knowing that.

If it makes me sound dumb, I'm fully prepared, but WUT IS HAIR OIL??? I am a no frills person when it comes to my hair, but before my birthday, I got it cut, and IT'S SO SHORT NOW. I'm still getting used to it. I put this in my hair a few times, but honestly, I don't know what the hell it's for. It also said it's for the face, but I'm not sure how I feel about putting oil on my face. I may try this on my nails instead.

Not Your Mothers seems to be a popular brand of products at the moment. This Plump For Joy stuff smells amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing. I've used it 4-5 times and I like it just because it makes my hair smell good. I know it adds some curls, but as far as plumping goes? Nah, not on me.

Sunbelt Bakery is a brand I've never tried before. If this fudge dipped chocolate chip granola bar is any indication, I may need to get acquainted with their other products. YUM!!!!!!!!!!! This was awesome! I saw on Pinterest that other people got an oats and honey variety of this product, so I'll be on the lookout for that one. TRY THIS ASAP!!!

So, this was a fantastic little box. As always, I got it for free from Influenster, but all thoughts and opinions are my own!

To Try: Influenster's L'oreal Paris Ultimate Straight VoxBox!

I was selected by Influenster to try their Loreal Paris Ultimate Straight box, filled with tons of hair products. Let's dive right into this!

The front of the box!

Inside the box, upon first opening it!

The loot!! Look at the shiiiiny packaging. I had no idea there would be this much stuff in the box and I have never done more than a 2 step hair process (shampoo and conditioner).

Step #1, as expected, is shampoo. This shampoo smells really good. It also has a good consistency. When I applied it, it went on just fine. After following the instructions (leaving it in more than I usually do), I rinsed it out and was surprised by how smooth my hair was after only shampooing. This changes in a bit...

Step #2 is a pre-conditioner. PRE-conditioner? I have never even thought to try such a thing. This was pretty thick, like a conditioner, only milkier, in my opinion. I honestly couldn't feel a different when using this before the shampoo, even with multiple uses. It did smell nice, though.

Step 3? Conditioner. I am used to this and it's really no different than any other conditioner I have tried. It applied nice, and left my hair feeling smooth each time. When using JUST the shampoo and conditioner together as an experiment, I liked this combo waaaay more than I did with steps #2 and #4 involved. Much less greasy, and no more or less straightened. Hmmm...

Step 4 was the Perfecting Balm, something I have never heard of. I did notice a tiny bit of difference after using this a couple of times, but honestly, it weighed my hair down to the point where it felt greasy, instead of light and bouncy like the photo below. I really couldn't feel it being any shinier or softer than my normal shampoo. It just felt heavy and I was annoyed with how frizzy it felt in my scalp. Most of the time, I did steps 1-3 and didn't bother with this because I *think* it's the culprit.

Overall, though all of these products smell good, I am not convinced about making the switch to a 4-step series of shampooing and conditioning hair care. The differences in straightening that I noticed were too minuscule to continue using past this set of bottles. My hair is also not wavy enough to continue using. I will be sticking of my normal Pantene shampoo and conditioner, which isn't super expensive but does just fine for me.

To Try: Influenster's NYC New York Color VoxBox!

I was selected by Influenster to try out the new NYC New York Color Big Bold line of mascara (Angel Lash) and liquid eyeliner (Big Bold & Precise felt tip liner). I got these products for free to try from Influenster and anyone can sign up for a free account! Let's take a look at these products!

The products fresh in the package! I really like the pictures on the sides to display how each should look when being used.

And here's the card that came in the package explaining what each task will be for the Influenster portion of the trial. Apparently Demi Lovato sponsors this product? Well, she has questionable taste. Each product has a specific promise: the mascara will be bold and light, 7 times more volume with 16 hours of wear and no weight, and the felt liner will have a 2-in-1 felt tip with 10 hour long lasting wear formula. Bold promises, amirite?

The mascara package up close and the back information.

Eyeliner packaging and back information.

Both products out of their packaging. I am a sucker for purple, so I wouldn't hate carrying around this mascara, only the tube is HUGE. I don't think the photo does it justice. The eyeliner is your typical type of container for such a product, nothing special.

Out of 5, I give this mascara a 3.5. It does add a lot of volume in one layer, but once I upped it to 2-3 layers, it got SO clumpy! I had to remove this at least twice with 2-3 layers and once with one layer. I don't get why mascara can be so clumping. I really liked the feel of this on my lashes and it didn't feel heavy, but the clumpiness knocks it down a couple pegs.

Out of 5, I have to give this eyeliner a 1. This stuff sucks! Not only was it streaky when applied to a fresh face, but it was clumpy and clumsy to apply because of this HUMONGOUS tip! Here's the swatch of it on my wrist:

LOOK at that thing! It's so weird! It was like a sharpie on my eyes. On top of this, it had a very weird and chemically smell, something I've never smelled before from any of the other eyeliners I have tried. Yikes! This stuff was a disaster of epic proportions. Needless to say, I am glad this was free to try from Influenster because I would not buy this.

Thanks to Influenster for letting me be part of this trial, even though I didn't care for the eyeliner! And again, I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. Check out the hashtag #NYCBigBold on Twitter and Instagram for more reviews and thoughts!

Subscription Box Corner: February 2015 OrangeGlad Sweet Box Review!

A little while ago, OrangeGlad put out a message on their Instagram saying they were looking for bloggers who wanted to write about their Sweet Box subscription box. I jumped at the chance and after a quick email exchange with Matt from OrangeGlad, a few weeks later, this box of goodies showed up at my doorstep!

*Now, I did receive this box for free, but as you know, I will be 100% honest and all of the photos, thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own. So, please enjoy my thoughts on this subscription box!

This is the box that housed my goodies! I like the orange theme in the font and photos on the outside of the box, which I'm assuming is standard. The donut graphic is also super cute!

Upon opening the box, this is what greeted me! I really enjoy when subscription boxes take extra precautions with shredded tissue paper to ensure (or at least attempt to make sure) things don't get broken or smashed.

As with most subscription boxes now, there are cards right on top detailing each item in the box. I always save this for when I pull the items out of the box one by one and read them to Josh so we know what's what! I really, really like how OrangeGlad puts a "best buy" date of sorts at the end of each description letting the consumer know when the product will be at its best. Of course, it didn't matter to me because we ate everything in one sitting. #DontJudgeUs

The flip side of the card! Very cute Valentine's day appeal with messages on how to save 15% and earn free boxes by using Instagram!

I am a sucker for presentation, and well, this box/its wrapping is one of the cutest subscription boxes I have seen, honestly! Look at the cute bow! I don't know if this comes on every month's box, but it should because this little touch sent the packaging over the edge for me, So sweet!

The writing on the box. Again, really simple yet really informative and pretty!

Open the box and what do you see? Goodies! WOOHOO! This was obviously a Valentine's day box, even judging by the colors of the treats and the graphic on the card above! Let's take a look inside, shall we?

First, we have the Sugar Bowl Bakery Petite Palmiers. We have had palmiers many times and we like them just fine, but never think to buy them ourselves. They are sort of a more crispy, cookie-fied version of a croissant. This particular palmier didn't have as much "bite" as a like, but it was still quite tasty. I would have liked for there to be something else to this, maybe some more sugar crystals on top to make it interesting? Our rating: 3.5/5.

Next up, this intriguing box of cookies by Salem Baking: Moravian, a brand I am not familiar with at all. Anything chocolate dipped is good in my book. Just glance at the link above and browse their website...oh man, cookie heaven, amirite?

There were quite a few cookies in the silver package in the box! This was my favorite item from this month's subscription box. Though not stated on the ingredient label, these cookies had a nuttiness to them that took them over the edge. Love the color, love the crispy crunch of the cookie, and the chocolate...oooohhh, the chocolate. So delicious!! Our rating: 5/5.

Thirdly, we have this intriguing box of something! Another point to OrangeGlad for both presentation and packaging. Adorable!

Inside the box were two truffles from Annalisa Chocolates, another place I had never heard of, but one that look really interesting based on its website. That's the cool thing about subscription boxes, you get to learn about all sorts of different delicacies from all around the country and sometimes even the world!

On the left, we have the caramel sea salt truffle (*drooool*) and on the right, a raspberry truffle. Romantic! These are both all natural!

Here's a look at the cross-section of the salted caramel truffle. Nice, gooey inside topped with yummy salt crystals. Salty and sweet is a quintessential combination for desserts! Anything with salted caramel and we are there in a heartbeat. This truffle was pretty good! The "goo" inside was nice and velvety and the chocolate and salty outside combined really nicely with the texture of the inside. Our rating: 4/5.

Here's the cross-section of the raspberry truffle. While I am typically a fan of the raspberry/chocolate combo, for some reason, this truffle didn't do it for us. The raspberry was far too floral for our liking and the middle "goo" was an odd texture. What a bummer. The chocolate was still good, but the raspberry sort of ruined it. Our rating: 3/5.

Cheryl's Buttercream Valentine's cookie reminds me of a Lofthouse cookie, only smaller. Cute but simple packaging, lots of ingredient information.

The front and back of the cookie. Don't let looks deceive you, this cookie was much crunchier and more crumblier than we expected. By the looks of it, it's a soft, delicate cookie with ooey, gooey buttercream, but the red dye in the frosting ruined it for me. Red and black dye/food coloring often has a weird, bitter taste to it and this was no exception. The cookie was hard, the frosting was hard, the sprinkles did not fit. Maybe it just didn't transport well, but this was not very good. The one thing it had going for it was the flavor of the cookie, which was nice and buttery underneath all the crumbles. Our rating: 2/5.

 MINT! Mint anything is the way to my heart!

The coolest thing about this fudge, made by OrangeGlad themselves, is that it came in an adorable little mason jar that we get to keep! YAY!

Unfortunately, this fudge, which is a mix of chocolate, mint and Oreo's, was not the best thing, either. The Oreo's gave this a strange taste and texture, somewhat grainy or gritty. While the fudginess and mint flavoring were just right, they should have stopped there. Our rating: 2.5/5.
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Thanks to OrangeGlad for sending me this box for free, and as I mentioned above, all opinions, comments and photos are my own. The links provided are not affiliate links, but simply links to outside vendor websites!

While we didn't love everything in this box, I might even sign up for this box for next month so I can see what other treats they have up their sleeves! Have you heard of OrangeGlad? Does anything in this box sound interesting or tasty to you? Let me know!