2012 Naturals VoxBox from Influenster

Happy Saturday!  I recently received my first VoxBox from Influenster and I am so excited! :-)

Basically, once you sign up for Influenster, you have various opportunities to earn a VoxBox. A VoxBox contains products for you to try and then provide Influenster with feedback.  If you'd like to know more or think you might want to sign up, go straight to the source: www.influenster.com


Here is a view of all the goodies in the box:

This VoxBox was themed a "Naturals" box, so the products are supposed to be based upon "green" or natural ingredients.  You can see the dish drying mat in the corner.  I wasn't expecting to receive something like that, but it looks pretty cool! What's great is that half of the products in the box are full-sized products, which means that I can use them over a substantial amount of time to see how well they work (plus, it is nice to get a full-sized product for free; I was really expecting to receive mostly sample sizes).

Here are close-up pics of the rest of products (not including the dish drying mat mentioned above):

GeoDeo deodorant

LypSyl Intense Protection Lip Moisturizer

Sample of Nectresse natural sweetener

Inside of the Nectresse sample pack

EBoost Daily Health Booster - Orange Flavor

A CleanWell sanitizing wipe

Desert Essence Coconut Shine and Refine Hair Lotion

Influenster also sent a card detailing the contents of the box (which indicates the retail prices for each product) and included a drugstore.com coupon for the GeoDeo deodorant, along with an info/instruction sheet for the dish drying mat.  Nice job, Influenster!

I think I am most excited to test the hair lotion, the deodorant, and yes, the dish mat :-) !  Be on the lookout for upcoming reviews on these products after I have tested them out for a few weeks.  I also plan to study the ingredients of each product in more detail to see how "natural" and "green" they really are.



Disclaimer:  I received these complimentary products from Influenster for testing and review purposes.

Until Next Time,

AllAboutGoo

EOS Alice in Wonderland Limited Edition Lip Balm Set

Yay!  I bought it yesterday at Target:

Mickey Mouse imprint on the balms. Flavors are:   Sweet Vanilla Nonsense, Blueberry Potion, and Watermelon Wonderland.

Here is the inner packaging. The writing: "Very few things indeed were really impossible." I love it!

I will admit that the packaging seemed boring to me at first.  There really wasn't much that screamed "Alice in Wonderland".  Once I opened the packaging and saw the inside of the box, I was a bit more pleased. :-)

All three of the balms smell SOOO GOOOD!  It's like ice cream, sherbert and cupcakes. Yum.

The set is selling for $7.99 at Target. That's not bad, since one of these lip balms is normally $3.

If you like EOS balms, I think this is worth buying.

Later!

AllAboutGoo

Review: CLEAR Total Care Shampoo & Conditioner

About three months ago, I picked up two travel-size bottles of the Clear Total Care Shampoo and conditioner from Target.  Based on the advertisements I have seen, this shampoo and conditioner are supposed to make your scalp healthier, thereby making your hair healthier. The tagline on the front of the bottle reads, "nourishes scalp for strong, beautiful hair". Here is how it worked for me:

Overall, the shampoo and conditioner are just okay.  I love the smell of the products; it reminds me of how old-school Herbal Essences smelled.  The shampoo has a creamier consistency than a standard shampoo, and the conditioner is also nice and creamy.  After using both products a number of times, I didn't notice a major difference in the condition of my scalp (I do deal with flakiness).  For me, the Clear shampoo and conditioner seemed to work just like any other. I like the smell enough that I might repurchase full sizes of these products IF I run out of shampoo AND conditioner AND there is a BOGO sale (not likely to happen anytime soon; it's sad, actually, how many shampoos and conditioners I currently have!).

Have you tried any Clear products?  Let me know how you liked/disliked them.


Later!

AllAboutGoo

Awesome Haul: Body Shop Lily Cole Collection

I had to take these pictures with my phone's camera :-(.  I tried adjusting the pictures to give you a better sense of the colors. What you see in this photo is pretty true to color, especially the glosses.

With the sweltering heat wave we've been having, I decided to hit the mall after work to stay cool (no AC at home).  I decided to take a peek in the Body Shop to see what they had, and I saw that the Lily Cole makeup collection was on sale...wait for it...

Buy One, Get One FREE! *jaw drop*.

I became interested in this collection after reading announcements on Nouveaucheap and Musingsofamuse. The packaging is too cute, and the fact that it is cruelty-free is also a bonus.  I thought that this was a collection that I was going to have to pass on (or end up buying only one or two items from it), but because of this sale, I was able to indulge in a bunch of goodies!

Here are some more photos, adjusted to the best of my ability (I really should take a class on digital photo editing).  After I have tried these products out for a little while, I plan to fix my real digital camera and post some swatches along with my review.

I got four glosses.  They retail for $5 each:

In order from left to right: Go Pink, Go Wild, Go Play, and Go Naked (tee hee!)

Go Pink

Go Wild

Go Play

Go Nake

I also picked up the two Lip and Cheek Domes:

Here's a side view of the case.

Crazy for Coral

Pinch Me Pink

Here is the link to the Body Shop's web page for the collection:  Lily-Cole Cruelty-Free Makeup

There collection also includes a primer, highlighter, eyeshadow quad, and eyeliner. I figured I would get the most use out of the glosses (gloss addict over here!) and the creme blushes, but the primer looks pretty tempting.

The best part about this haul (besides the amazing sale) is that I got a few samples to take home! *yay* I don't recall ever getting samples with any prior Body Shop purchases:

Two samples of the Pink Grapefruit body lotion and one sample of the Pear Lemongrass shower gel

The Pink Grapefruit lotion smells soooo gooood, and I think it will pair nicely with the scent of my Hello Kitty body wash (my review here) .



So, that's all for now, folks!  Keep cool! :-)

Review: Dial Hello Kitty Moisturizing Body Wash

Happy Friday!  Earlier this week, I came across the Dial Hello Kitty Body Wash at my local Target. Two things caused me to buy it:

1. Hello Kitty cuteness. :-)
2. It was on clearance for $2.08 and you get 16 fluid ounces of product.  That sounded like a sweet deal to me. 

I've been using this body wash for about a week now and I must say that I like it.  It is a great choice for the summer due to its "fresh, fruity-scented lather" (as noted on the packaging).  At first, I was concerned that the scent might be too sickeningly sweet for my tastes (when sniffing straight from the bottle); however, after it lathers up, you get this burst of the pink grapefruit in the scent. It is quite lovely and keeps the overall fragrance from being too bubblegum.

How cute!

The body wash is labeled as a moisturizing body wash, but I really haven't noticed that my skin is any more or less moisturized after using this product.  It certainly wasn't drying.  It does produce a good amount of fragrant lather when used with one of those mesh loofahs.

The verdict:  If you like citrus-fruit scents (and/or Hello Kitty ;-D ) and can find this on clearance at your Target store, I say go for it.  It's a fun, refreshing body wash to have on hand during these hot days.

Rimmel Glosses

The Bed Bath & Beyond in my area had a 50% off sale on all Rimmel products. The shelves were pretty much picked clean except for a few items. I pretty much grabbed the last of the Vinyl Glosses and the last Shock Gloss. Other than that, there were literally two nail polishes, about five foundations, and three eye shadows remaining. As I said, picked clean.

However, I was able to find some items that I liked. They are listed as shown in the picture, top to bottom:

• Vinyl Gloss in "Delirious"
• Vinyl Gloss in "MMMM"
• Shock Gloss in "Indecent"
• Kiss Off Lip Lacquer in "Wild at Heart"

I LOVE the Vinyl Glosses and I am pretty sure these two shades have been discontinued, at least in the U.S. This was my first time trying the Shock Gloss and Kiss Off gloss.


Now, swatches:


From left to right: Wild at Heart, Indecent, MMMM!, and Delirious

Wild at Heart and Indecent do not provide a lot of color payoff. They mostly function to produce shine. The formula for Wild at Heart was a bit thinner than what I was expecting. I wasn't going to get it at first because it was loaded with shimmer and I thought it would be far too loud for my tastes. On the lips, however, it turned out to be quite subtle and wearable, like a bright sheer lip tint. The shimmer is noticeable but not so over-the-top that it can't be used as a daily gloss (just not for work, hehe). If you are looking for a very bold outcome, this gloss might disappoint unless you wear it over a complimentary lipstick.

Indecent is supposed to provide a 3D shine effect, and I would say that it does quite well. The odd orange tint actually shows up a bit on the lips, but in a good way. I felt that it enhanced my lip tone and provided a nice patent shine. The formula is a bit thick and goopy, and it smells ever so faintly like DooWop Lip Venom, which leads me to think they added some plumping ingredients as well. The applicator is one of the flat, plastic spatulas similar to the applicator for the Tokidoki glosses. Once you get used to it, I think it works quite well and it is much easier to clean off than a brush or sponge tip.

MMMM! is a lovely neutral shade. The formula is light and smooth and not at all sticky (for me). It comes off as a pinky-brown nude. There is the slightest of shimmer visible in the tube, but the color comes off wonderfully opaque and creamy on lips with no shimmer. This is a new favorite. :-)

Delirious is a pretty wine shade with soft shimmer. It looks absolutely lovely on lips. I think it is a color that can work for all occasions if you want a deeper tone to your lips without lipstick. It is also a perfect Fall shade for me.


Here ends my first review on Rimmel lip glosses. I look forward to enjoying these shades in the coming weeks. If you have these or any other Rimmel glosses, let me know what you think.

Later!

"Gee"