An Edible Review

Influenster has done it again! Lots of yummy things in my most recent Bloom Voxbox. I did an unboxing video that you can see here. So, before we go on to the deliciousness that hit my mouth!, a little disclosure because - yah know..... FTC. 

Didn't buy it. Not being paid for this (unless you count payment in the form of delicious granola!). Not being swayed, coerced, or in any other way, shape or form bribe for my opinion. I just like eating things. 

Phew. Ok. Legalities out of the way! Now we can get onto the ever delicious granola that arrived at my door!

 

The Sunbelt Bakery raves that it uses no preservatives & is made/shipped daily to your local stores & comes in 3 flavored (did I mention one was chocolate?!). They retail for about 50c on their own & about $2-$3 for a box (I think there's 6 to a box? I've never actually found a box! Help a sister out because these things are delish!)

 

 

The calorie intake on one granola bar, while isn't the healthiest thing on the market, it could be a lot worse. One bar has 180 calories with 50 of it being from fat. So far so good, right? Lets take a look at everything else!

• Total fat; 6g (9% daily serving)
• Saturated fat; 3.5g (18% daily serving)
• Sodium; 75mg (3% daily serving)
• Total carbs; 29g (10% daily serving)
• Dietary Fiber; 1g (4% daily serving)
• Sugar; 12g
• Protein; 2g

Like I said, could be worse! This would make a great pre workout or an on-the-go snack for those trying to watch that they eat. 

The bar itself was nice & chewy, very soft with no weird texture or aftertaste. It's so soft I accidentally broke it while it was in the package prior to eating it. Oops! 

(Check out the video linked above to hear my rant on broken packaged food. Even though this was totally my fault!)

  

Im dying to get my hands on a box of these because they truly are delicious. HOWEVER! For those of you with allergies this may not be the bar for you. There are a ton of allergen triggers on here such as; coconut, soy, peanuts, almonds, eggs, milk, & wheat. The label also says other tree-nuts may be present in this bar. It's so sad that there's sooooooo many allergies in this one little bar. 

Top 5 | Fall Lippies 2015

Hello cupcakes!

Welcome to a brand new series called "Top Five"! T5 is exactly as it sounds; depending on the topic of the video I will show you my top 5 favorite products. This installment (the first ever!) is all about my top five FALL lippies! With fall "officially" a week away, what a great way to go through my collection & showcase which 5 will be gracing my lips more often that not during the upcoming season.

L'Oreal Freida's Nude

My first pick for the fall season is "Freida's Nude" by L'Oreal. This color is an amazing color & is one that looks good on everyone! It is a taupe-greige with a purple undertone but it's not too over the top! This was an exclusive so I suggest if you can find it, snag it!

Covergirl Rush

My next pick is an old class: Covergirl's "Rush". Its a beautiful, dusty rose (& for some reason in the video - linked below - I was having a hard time remember the color & kept referring to it as "brownish pink". Forgive me for my brain fog hahah). The color payoff is super pigmented & is not sticky at all. This color was part of their LipPerfection line & has since been discontinued. You can purchase a similar shade (according to CG's website) called "Sweetheart Blush".

Milani Naturally Chic

My final drugstore pick is Milani's "Naturally Chic". This color is more pink than a dusty rose but it is still a gorgeous fall color. I use to wear this one all the time when I worked in an insurance office & it has uh-maze-ing staying power for a drugstore product. The color pigmentation is also to die for! Milani products are definitely ones that I try to stock up on whenever I find them at the store because their lipsticks are just that amazing.

BareMinerals Get Ready

My first "high end" pick for fall is from BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie line called "Get Ready". The pinker of the 5, this color would be great to transition from late summer into early fall & still be classically chich.

Estee Lauder Berry Truffle
Estee Lauder's Berry Truffle looks super intimidating in the tube with its dark purple-brown coloring but when applied, it really isn't all that horrifying. It is a dark color which is perfect for fall without being so scary looking. This color has a nice purple sheen to it that's subtle enough for you to wear to work.

Here you can see all of my favorite fall colors side by side. Rush, Naturally Chic, & Get Ready are all very similar but their undertones & shades of pink that's infused in them is at different degree levels. Freida's Nude is probably by far my all time favorite out of the five; even with it's lilac undertones.

What colors are you guys loving for fall or are you excited to start rolling out? I love fall & all the rich colors they bring out.

#ManiMonday

Hey cupcakes! So, do you ever notice that Mani Monday always ends up being posted on Tuesdays? I think I should rename it TipsTuesday? haha. Totally kididng! Anyhow! This weeks Mani Monday is actually divided into two parts. This post & then the post that will be posted next week. Why? Because I am wearing JAMBERRY NAIL WRAPS. This is something that I have never tried before & my cousin just started selling them so I wanted to try them out before my party with her in September (I will do a blog post as it gets closer to the party date for all you loverlies to join in on the fun!). 

*DISCLAIMER: I bought all of the Jams by myself. My cousin did not provide any of these to me. My reviews are all my own. Seriously. Cousin or not - the following is how I feel about these nail stickers.

First things first, Jamberry's cost $15 per sheet & most people get about 3-4 manicures (& 1 pedicure) from the sheet... that estimates about $3 a manicure - you can't even find a good nail salon for that price! I was at first skeptical because of the price but my cousin (who I trust very much... especially when it comes to anything nail related because she's sort of a snob when it comes to her manis. hahaha. Sorry Cryss, it's true!) swore by these little things.

Jamberry Nail Wraps are marketed as the no-dry, long wearing sticker wrap that is safe for the environment & your nails. With no harsh chemicals, I have seen people use them on their babies (my cousin saw a fellow consultant use them on their 10 month old!) & even their DOGS. The average jamicure is said to last between 10-14 days; depending on how fast your invisible cuticle grows back. So, I guess we will all see how it holds up when next Mani Monday rolls around.

I ended up buying 4 sheets & the little mini heater... It set me back about $62 & one of those Jam-sheets were FREE.

My first order.

On my tips this week is the Mermaid Tails which are a gorgeous ombre silvery-nude to a gorgeous sea green that then reflect like fish scales. &, while we're on the subject of scales, the wrap has a mermaid tail design on them. Simply gorg!

I had my cousin put on my Jamicure since I had never used them before & I wanted to make sure that they were being applied properly so I could give you guys an honest run down of how these actually are. I have also include the How-To video my cousin & I recorded while she was doing my nails. I do want to apologize in advance for the intense background noise. My cousin-in-laws & uncles were fixing my cousin deck outside the kitchen window. & the kiddos didn't want to stay quiet through a majority of the video.

Have you guys used Jamberry before? What are your thoughts? If you are interested in purchasing your own set of Jams, you can do so through my cousins link: here. & don't forget to show me your tips using the hashtag: #ManiMonday 

Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs | A Review

Hello cupcakes!

So there's this new innovative product on the market (ER... Well, it's new to me but I don't know how long it's actually been out) from Sally Hansen - MAKEUP FOR YOUR LEGS! At first I thought this product was a self tanner, but upon closer inspection (read: when I was getting ready to use the product) it's a very liquidy, powdery soft foundation substance. It honestly felt like the Revlon airbrush foundation; except this sets in 60 seconds & doesn't budget or melt until you wash it off. 

The price tag is a bit up there (if you shop at Walgreens/CVS). I originally spotted this product at Walmart for about $11 but they didn't have my shade so I ran to Walgreens (hoping they would have some sort of sale or give me points for my purchase) & shelled out $15! ...well, minus a $2 coupon kindly provided to me from Influenster, so I really paid $13, but still - if you don't have a coupon or a really good sale it can be quite up there for leg makeup. 

Here are my natural, untanned, fish belly white legs. 

Yep. I'm whiter than white on my legs but my arms/shoulders/face are a soft tan. I wear pants too much. Per the products directions printed on the aresol can: Shake well. Spray directly into hands then rub on legs to blend. Allow 60 seconds to set. Wash off with soap, water, & a washcloth. So I did just that. I spray the insta-tanning product into one hand, rubbed them together then massaged it all over my legs. It's super liquidy & too much can leave uneven clumps of color on your legs so be sure to start with a little product at a time & add more as needed. It felt very feathery & soft when applying & instantly you can tell the difference between a leg that has product on it & a leg that doesn't. 

It's a subtle difference when looking at them side by side but that's great, in my opinion. I don't want my legs to be so much darker than my arms. Upon first inspection, I honestly thought it looked like I just slathered makeup onto my legs & went on my merry little way. As it sank more & more into my skin (we're talking over the next couple of hours of wear), it seemed to blend nicely as if I had been working on my tan. 

Lovely shade on tan. 💖

While doing my errands, I did notice there's a glittery-shimmer to the product. This could go one way or the other. I honestly would've preferred it without the glitter/shimmer but overall it's not a bad product. I got it in the shade Light Glow so that could've been why it's loaded with shimmer... Or it could be all their products have the same effect. I'm not entirely sure. 

I do still love my Jergens Natural Glow gradual self tanner lotion but for a quick tan, this is a great product. I have not tried to wash it off my legs as of yet, but it seemed to come off my hands fairly easily with some soap & water. 

 

Influenster & Sally Hansen were kind enough to offer you a $2 off coupon on any Airbrush Legs product of $8 or more. Click here to print your copy & head over to your nearest retailer.

 

Have you guys tried any of these products in this line? What are your thoughts? I'm kind of sad it washes right off because I can't go in the pool at our family gatherings if I decide to apply this so I don't look like a ghost on the deck. I will say that it holds up really well with all my running around today. 

**I received a coupon for this product from Influenster for my honest & true opinion. Receiving this coupon did not sway my opinion. For more information on my disclosure policy, click here. If you would like to start receiving promotional items for you opinion from Influenster, click here**

Shop Spotlight: Sponsored by Coffee

Welcome, cupcakes, to my first ever Shop Spotlight! I am so excited to provide this service to you loverlies to get not-so-well-known companies names out there. Most products I am featuring are all with products I bought with my own money (unless otherwise stated). Todays company is a sticker shop (go figure!) on Etsy called Sponsored by Coffee. First, can we just start by how amazingly cute her name is?! I support anyone who is fueled with the same amount of love for coffee as I am! But I know you didnt hop all the way over here from your side of the interwebz to hear my prattle on about my love affair with coffee (which, ironically I didnt start liking until somewhat recently; read: within the last 2-3 years).

So the packaging in itself screams sophistication... & girly! Black & white stripes, gold, & pink. Now, Im not sure if the envelopes are always pink or not; but my original order & my replacement (we will get into that later) were both the same yummy shade of pink. Yes, pink is apparently yummy. & while we are on the topic of shipping: I ordered late one night (it was either a Friday or Saturday) & the next morning I was getting a notification about my order being ready to ship! Definitely a plus in my book. However, after the notification that it shipped, all updates stopped because SBC does not offer tracking. This is definitely something I hope Connie offers in the future, even as an add on. Upon opening the envelope I was greeted by more pink (& I totally forgot to take a picture, Im sorry -.- ) but this time in the form of a lighter cellophane bag holding my precious stickers hostage.

  

   Tada! My wonderful, super colorful order! The order also came with a white/cream & gold foil thank you card as well as a little pack that she likes to call her  "Freebies, Oopsies, & Try Mes". They were wrapped in a white, silky type of paper (parchment, maybe?) & the sticker was - you guessed it! - pink! I am assuming each freebie set is different, so if you want to see what I got, look at the picture above... on the far right are 3 little single pieces. Its those. (:

On my first order, I received the following:

» Item Boxes - Summer Fun Color Scheme

» Important Category Stickers

» Money Tracker Stickers - Pink & Mint

» Color Blocking Pack

» Item Boxes - Blushing

Everything arrived on glossy paper, which I have never had before (not even in my own shop... yet!). They feel so weird! Hahah. I did, however test out some writing on them in my planner for this week & I used both a ball point pen & an ink type pen (not a ball point, not a gel... its hard to describe, its a Korean pen). No smearing & took the colors like a champ! Everything arrived in beautiful condition except for my important stickers. ):

Not entirely sure what happened but they look like they had gotten wet. ): I immediately contact Connie on Instagram (her IG is: OfficialSponsoredbyCoffee -- follow herrrr! ) Instantly she apologized & offered to send me a new one free of charge. I even offered to send back the damaged ones (because with big box companies you have to return the damaged products for anything to happen... ie: my Erin Condren disaster). Connie insisted that I keep the booboo & she would just mail me a new one. & sure enough, a few days after contacting her a new sheet was in my hands - Good as new!

The customer service of SBC is superb! I honestly recommend this shop to anyone looking to start their planning journey.

Do any of you have any etsy shops you recommend? I would love to hear about them. Any that I should stay away from?