Influenster: Spring Beauty VoxBox May 2012

I was picked a few months ago to receive a free Influenster VoxBox. It was my first opportunity for a VoxBox since I joined Infleunster so I was super excited that it was a beauty box. 

What is Influenster? Influenster is a free community of 'trendsetters' that have the opportunity to test out products that are relevant to them. Each member unlocks badges that help the people behind Infleunster get to know you and your lifestyle. Unlocking badges allows you to be part of many different markets (beauty, moms, health-nuts, etc). As a member you may have the opportunity to try out new products,  receive free VoxBoxes (packages of products to test), and bonus rewards and deals after you give feedback. Influenster is not a one sided relationship, you have to share your opinions/reviews with others on social media and their website. The more you share, the more opportunities you have to receive free products! Anyone can sign up!

Click here to join Influenster.

Influenster: Spring Beauty VoxBox May 2012

I had no idea what Influenster was until I saw some other girls posting blog posts about it. I thought it was a paid membership subscription box or at least a paid community. Nope! In one day I unlocked all the badges that relate to me. And there were a ton! I have a technie badge, beauty badge, health-nut, green badge, a cosmo badge, and many many more. I was so pleased that I was picked to receive the Spring Beauty Box! I knew before I got it that there would be a few products that I wouldn't be able to try out, but that is what happens when you live a vegan and cruelty-free lifestyle. Sadly, the majority of the products I couldn't use.

Information Card:

Products:

ChapStick: Lip Shield 365

This new product offers all season protection & moisturization for year-round exposure to the sun, wind, & cold. With SPF 50+ it helps to protect from the sun's damaging UVA/UVB rays.

Full Size: 0.15 oz ($1.89)

Size Received: Full-size 0.15 oz ($1.89)

Although I am all about sun protection and moisturizing my lips, this product is not cruelty-free. ChapStick is owned by Pfizer and all products are tested on animals. No thanks. There are so many cruelty-free options with lip care, I'll be choosing one of those.

Sheer Cover: Duo Concealer in Light/Medium

Ideal for hiding blemishes, age spots, redness, scars, and other imperfections without heavy, cakey coverage. Duo shades can be blended to perfectly match your skin tone. 

Full Size: 0.1 oz ($29.00)

Size Received: 0.05 oz ($14.50)

I received the full-size of this product in my very first MyGlam bag. To this day it is still my favorite product I received from MyGlam. It is a very moist, creamy mineral concealer that does a great job of masking away my under eye circles and hiding imperfections. I use this product every single day. I use the light side to dab onto my under eye circles and I use the darker shade to cover up blemishes and redness around my nose. You can see this in action in the photo I reposted from the MyGlam post. My left eye is free of aby makeup whereas my right has the concealer on. It does a great job! I don't think it lasts all day but I have yet to find a concealer I like better. I would never rebuy it since you can't really buy it alone, you have to get a full-set of products within a monthly kit. Well I shouldn't say you can't buy it alone, you can, but waaay marked up.

Aveeno: Daily Moisturizing Body Wash

This body wash cleanses and moisturizes for visibly healthier skin every time you shower. It's light fragrances, soap free, dye-free, & hypoallergenic so it's gentle enough for sensitive skin. 

Full Size: 12.0 oz ($6.99)

Size Received: 2.0 oz ($1.17)

Aveeno may look to be a purely green and sweet company, but they are owned by animal testing powerhouse Johnson & Johnson. I'm not sure if they were ever a smaller company that at one time had ethical practices that was bought out by J&J or a creation of some marketing executives that knew 'green' would sell. Sometimes with buy outs the brands stay true to their routes and refuse to test on animals (St Ives, OPI) but either way Aveeno is not cruelty-free and they do test their products on animals. The formula itself is actually vegan by chance, too bad...

Sally Hansen: Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips

Real Nail Polish Strips? This product wears like nail polish because it IS nail polish (with no drying time). Apply and you're ready to go.

Full Size: 1 pack of 16 strips ($9.99)

Size Received: Full-size! 1 pack of 16 strips ($9.99)

Aside from the fact that Sally Hansen is not cruelty-free I got sent some hideous nail strips. The strips are called 'Animal Instinct,' but would be more aptly named 'Lyk Oh em Gee I'm a Gurl!' These bright pink and black zebra print strips complete with glitter may have pleased my 12-year old self but not this old gal. I was horrified and couldn't even imagine wearing this. I think my friends would make fun of me or think I was having some sort of crisis. I love the idea of nail polish strips, but I won't be trying these out.

Bath & Body Works: Fine Fragrance Mist in Sweet Pea

Discover a better, more delicate fragrance experience with the NEW Fragrance Mist Collection. with over 20 Signature fragrances to choose from, it's love at first mist!

Full Size: 8 oz ($14.00)

Size Received: Full-size! 8 oz ($14.00)

My favorite product in the box!! I grew up in the 90s, meaning every birthday I would be bombarded with 20 different sets of Bath & Body Works kits. I never used the lotions, but always used up the fragrances and the body washes. I just finally finished my last bottle of Bath & Body Works body spray from my childhood a few months ago. Strangely enough it was Sweet Pea. I recognized the scent immediately, even though the bottle has been upgraded. I'm definitely happy with what I received, although I think I would have been happy with any of the scents from their new collection (Paris Amour, Malibu Heat, Wild Apple Daffodil, yum!). This feels like an adult version of what I used to have. A finer mister means a more complex scent. Sweet Pea is a fruity floral laced with raspberry, rhubarb, of course sweet pea, pear, freesia, and musk. I've been using it when I am just going around town and don't want to waste any of my expensive perfumes. It smells lovely and fresh! I'm in love all over again!

Soyjoy: Fruit Bar in Strawberry

Enjoy SOYJOY with all-natural real ingredients like real fruit and whole soy! Simply baked in their Souther California bakery into SOYJOY bars for REAL energy-sustaining deliciousness.

Full Size: 1 bar ($1.29)

Size Received: Full-size! 8 oz ($1.29)

I sure love my granola/fruit bars, well I should rephrase that...I eat Clif bars like candy. I was excited to try a SoyJoy bar until I flipped over and took a look at the ingredients. This bar had butter, egg, and dehydrated milk powder. Yuck. The company has so much marketing toward the fact that they are all-natural and geared to so many different diets and lifestyles. Apparently, they forgot us vegans. We may be a small community, but we are LOUD. You make us happy, we will promote and share with everybody we know. Veganism aside, I would never consider butter or cheese healthy options for an energy bar. It may be low caloric, but that means nothing. I want pure, raw energy!

Dr. Scholl's: Ball of Foot Cushions

Full Size: 1 pair ($6.99)

Size Received: Full-size! 1 pair ($6.99)

This was not listed on the product information card. I heard it was added at the last minute. These ball of foot cushions are meant to prevent high heel pain. It uses their gel technology to comfort your feet, prevent your feet from sliding forward, and massage your foot with every step. When I'm wearing high heels most of the pain I have is in the ball of my foot. I'll feel it after a few hours and be miserable! I got my VoxBox the day before graduation, so I used these in my pumps for the ceremony. I wore the same shoes for my undergraduate ceremony so I knew they were comfy, but these made them even better. I never once felt uncomfortable or any pain while wearing this. But I will say that once I finally took my shoes off and landed on flat ground I still got that massive wave of my feet screaming. These aren't the solution, but they sure make heels a bit more comfy.

Total value of my May 2012 Beauty VoxBox:$49.83

It's too bad that more than half the products were unusable to me. The ones I did get to use I knew I loved (Sheer Cover Concealer) or I fell back in love with (Bath & Body Works Fragrance Mist). The process after getting the VoxBox is very time consuming. Each product has separate badges to unlock and those badges include tweeting using specific hash tags, reviewing the products on their site, uploading photos, writing separate blog/video entries about specific products, and more. There are opportunities to win more prizes by completing them so there is some incentive. I'm only going to try and unlock the badges for the two products that I loved.

What did you think of the Influenster Spring Beauty VoxBox? Did you get a box too? What is your favorite product? Let me know in the comments below! If you aren't a member of Influenster, click here to join!

MyGlam: January 2012

MyGlam in its second month has many 'Glammies' around the country excited for round two. I missed out on December's, but heard amazing things. Here we gooo.


Don't know what MyGlam is? MyGlam is a once a month beauty subscription service that delivers premium beauty samples to your door. The creator of MyGlam, Michelle Phan, is a YouTube beauty expert that wants to share her favorite items with the world. The bags are delivered in the cutest reusable beauty bags. Once you join you will take a beauty/preference quiz that will help the girls choose the best products for you. The products range from beauty, skincare, hair, body, nails, and more. Every month you should also expect to receive full-sized products. MyGlam costs $10 a month, and your bag will always be valued above!
Click here to join MyGlam.

January 2012, MyGlam Back To Nature Bag

The January bag is all about brands that are cruelty-free, organic, all-natural, and earthy. Even the bag is part of the theme! I wouldn't have figured out the theme if it wasn't stated on the card and bag because none of the products have any certifications or even organic products listed. I also noticed that two of the products are made my infommercial queen Guthy Renker (Wen and Sheer Cover). I was expecting more make-up products because the December bag was ALL make-up and amazing brands, which is why I was so excited for my bag. Hopefully the quality won't trickle away but get better with customer reviews. I did not like that none of the products were wrapped. I read someone's nail polish broke in-route and ruined all her products! MyGlam has some kinks to work out, but for a start out, they are on the right track.

Information Card:

Products:

Freeman: Cucumber Facial Peel-Off Mask in Cucumber

Nourish, hydrate, and replenish with these peel-off masks that leave skin with a gorgeous glow.

Full Size: 6 oz (they list for $8, found online for $3.99)

Size Received: Full-size! 6 oz ($3.99)

This product was given away on the Myglam facebook page a few weeks ago. Many people were upset that it was a product that you can buy at Walmart or CVS. I dont mind since I do buy a lot of my beauty and skin products at CVS. But what I don't like is that it is listed being worth $8, when even on the Freeman website is listed as $3.99. Not cool. But the value aside, the product is a full-size product which is awesome.  The product has a nice, pleasant smell. It is pretty much a gel that sets up onto your face. I've never tried a peel-off mask, so Im excited to try it. It would be cool if you can see the impurities trapped onto the gel. There is also a 16% off coupon for a kit of 3 different Freeman masks. 

Wen: Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner

A single-step hair cleansing conditioner made with natural ingredients. It won't strip hair and scalp of natural oils and leaves hair thick and hydrated.

Full Size: 16 oz ($36.00)

Size Received: 2 oz ($4.50)

Since I just received a leave-in conditioning treatment in my January Beauty Army box that Im already obsessed with, I may not try this one right away. It says it is a sweet almond smell, but all I smell is the leaf extract, which is like minty grass. On the back of the bottle it says that a little dab can be added after the treatment is washed away as a leave-in treatment. Which is nice since my hair tangles often. But I do have very thin hair and an oily scalp, so we shall see how it works with my hair type. Ill add my thoughts on it once I try it. There is also a $20 off coupon for the Wen Healthy Hair Care System included in the bag.

theBalm Cosmetics: Hot Ticket Nail Polish in Orange You Glad You're Not Blue

Long lasting, eye-popping shades to flatter and transform your fingers and toes.

Full Size: 0.5 oz ($10.00)

Size Received: Full-size! 0.5 oz ($10.00)

Although some websites sell this for $8-9 dollars, theBalm website sells for $10, so I'll leave the value at what was written on the card. The color I received is so bright! It is really fun. Great color for summer and just brightening my day in winter. And orange is my favorite color. How did you know MyGlam? I never actually wear orange nail polish, so now is the time to try it out. Working in retail means that nail polish does not last a day without chipping. I wonder how long this will last for me. We shall see and I'll report back. Im terrible at doing my nails and highly impatient. I already messed up my tester nail before I got my top coat on.

Sheer Cover: Duo Concealer in Light/Medium

A unique pigment and mineral complex that provides full coverage with a sheer, flawless finish.

Full Size: 0.10 oz ($29.00)

Size Received: Full-size! 0.10 oz ($29.00)

A bit confused with the weight. My info card says that the full-size product is 0.05 oz at $29, but it looks like that size is sold for ~$15 and the 0.10 oz that I received is sold for the ~$30 price. A mistake? Not sure. This was the product that I was most excited for since I wanted to try out contouring and highlighting my face. At first I thought the product seemed oily, but I blended it in with a little powder and it set in well. Looking at my left eye with my eye make-up taken off and my right with the added concealer, it does a really nice job. Im impressed! The light color was perfect for under my eyes and looks natural not orange-y. The darker color will probably work well for me once I get my summer tan on. Well zombie white to white. There is also a coupon for a $19.95 + s/h Sheer Cover Makeup Kit, which is sold on their website for $29.95. Who knows I may go for that offer since it includes: foundation, bronzer, duo concealer, primer, mascara, eyeshadow/lip gloss/blush kit, and 2 brushes. 

Total Value of my January 2012 bag:$47.49

Not bad, not bad. I'd be ecstatic at the value if MyGlam's FB and info card didn't lead you a bit off.

What did you think of my bag? What was your favorite product this month? If you dont get Myglam, click here to join! Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Side note: I got a brand new camera. A Nikon S9100. I took photos for this review twice: one set with the new and one with my 5 year old Sony Cybershot DSC-W80. And over half the best photos used in this review were with my old camera! Even the photo of my face was blurry when I cropped into it with the Nikon, and it was double the MBs. How awful is that. A 5 year old camera out performs the new? New camera is being returned tomorrow morning. Back to the drawing boards. After another few hours of researching I ended up spending a major bit more and getting the Canon s95. I get it Monday and will use it once I get my GogoGirlfriend box. The last beauty kit for January.