Do I INFLUENSTER You?

I am so sorry for being away for so long.. I have had a lot of personal things pop up & now that it's the holiday season things are bound to take over my life more so; so! I am going to start off by saying I am so sorry things are slow going! Hopefully after the New Year I can start regularly updating the blog & YouTube channel. Now onto the reason of this blog!

On November 27th I got an email from Influenster stating that I had been selected to receive a Cosmo Voxbox! I will admit, I was bouncing around in my seat like a giddy little school girl because - c'mon now! - who doesn't love FREE stuff!? But Becca, what the heck is Influenster?? Uhh... yes! Hah hah. Influenster is a site where you, well, influence people. :p  It's a completely free website where you answer questions regarding various products, leave reviews, take survey's etc & they randomly choose people to receive a box {based on what you participate in}. When you receive the box you need to review it, take pictures, vlog/blog, whatever! They will send emails regarding what steps to take next.

So were you paid to do this? Heck no! I got this box by simply filling out reviews, surveys, & other random doo-dads on the site.

So how long were you on the site until you got a box? & does everyone get a box? Um.. I think I was on the site for about a month if not less when they selected me. Again, it's completely random - so no, not everyone gets a box. BUT! That's enough rambling! Let's take a look at what I got in my box, shall we?

I received my box December 4th - the day before my 24th birthday! Thank you for the early birthday gift, Influenster! I got the 2012 Cosmo Voxbox & in my box I got the following:

» 2 FriXion by Pilot Pens {a black & an orange}
» .25 fl oz of Bath & Body Works new perfume: Forever Red
» a full size bar of Ghirardelli Gourmet Milk Sea Salt Escape

» A Venus disposable razor with an extra replacement Venus & Olay head

First things first: those pens! I will be the first to admit, I am very picky with my pens. The casing of the pens are pretty cool - A solid color pen indicating the color of the ink & then a silver tribal type design. The pens do have those squishy-ish type of grips which are a lot softer than other pens I've seen; so nothing fancy there. I did write a little bit with the pen & while they write nice, I just don't like them. I love traditional ball point pens {especially the colored ones from Bic}. I'll probably end up giving the black one to my husband for work & just throwing the orange one in my purse as a "just in case" type thing.

According to the Influenster Card:

a 3 pack of these pens are $4.50 / $1.50 per pen ;; $11.00 for an 8 pack.

Box Total So far: $3.00

The next thing on the list is the New Bath & Body Works perfume: Forever Red. It is a very grown up-y smell. Not something I that I thought I would like but the more I smell it, the more it's growing on me. It is very potent so a little would go a long way. I have not tested it's staying power because, to me, this is the type of perfume you would wear out on a date night or something. According to the card, the notes are as follows: "a passionate blend of pomegranate & red osmanthus with a sexy surprise of vanilla rum". All I smell is a powdery floral & MAYBE a vanilla musk scent. Again, it's not a bad scent.. just definitely something I probably would've passed up in B&BW.

P.S.: It's husband approved. Hah Hah.

According to the Influenster Card:

.25 fl oz/7ml bottle is $10.00 ;; $44.50 for a full size

Box Total So far: $13.00

My next item was the Ghirardelli Gourmet Milk Sea Salt Escape bar &, to be honest, I was expecting to not like this at all. I mean, c'mon! Sea Salt & CHOCOLATE!? It just sounds gross. But! I am have munching on this bar since I started this review so that I could give an honest feel for this delictable confection. &, well, the consensus is.... *drum roll* I LOVE THIS BAR!  It is so freaking delicious! It is a slightly crispy bar {loaded with almonds! yumm!} & the "salt" taste is really only there is your looking for it. Not really sure what else to say expect: YOU NEED THIS BAR IN YOUR LIFE. Go. Now. Go on. I'll wait....

According to the Influenster Card:

a full size bar is $2.79

Box Total So far: $15.79

The above items.

My final product is the Venus razor with the Venus Embrace blade & the Venus&Olay blade refill. I've used Venus before & they are probably my favorite razor! I don't really have a favorite blade, but I've been loving the Olay for the winter time when I start to lose moisture in my legs. It gives a really close shave. Yayy!

According to the Influenster Card:
for a month of blad refills: $3.50 - $4.50
SIDE BAR: I don't remember them being that cheap. Hmm... Will definitely have to look into that.

Box Total: $19.29 - $20.29

It came with a $2/1 coupon! I am a happy happy girl!

So my box was worth about $20! How cool is that!? $20 worth of free stuff for just filling out surveys & reviewing products. You don't have to have a blog or YouTube, but it does help because it adds to your influenster score. So get on over to Influenster.com & sign up!

Have you tried any of the above products? What are your thoughts??

Until next time, loverlies!

♥ & all things vintage: Becca

You Fail, BirchBox.

Another month has passed & it is now time for my September Birchbox! As you can tell from the title, I was not at all pleased with this month's box. Not that there's anything wrong with the box, it's just that the products didn't appeal to me this month. :/  If you want to see my open box review {aka: my first impressions of this months box}, check my YouTube video here. Forwarning: this is a looooooooooooooooooooooong indepth post from my quick review on my channel.

I want to start off by saying that the employee who responded to my email at BB was quite nice. I emailed them on the 12th of September inquiring where my box was. The site {& my confirmation email} both said that the box shipped on the 8th & that it would take up to 10 days to reach the west coast. Well, I don't live on the west coast, I live in the smack dab middle of the country so I figured MAYBE by the 15th. I constantly check up on my tracking numbers {because I'm paranoid like that. Hah Hah} & kept finding my tracking number being marked as "Computer monsters have stolen this ID number & are refusing to let any information go" {totally joking!} not received by UPS/UPS Mail Innovations. Well, if it shipped on the 8th like the site & my confirmation said, shouldn't it have updated that it was at least at the origins sorting center? Mind you, BB is located in New York - my parents live in New Jersey. It takes a package from my parents approximately three days to get from their house to my house in Oklahoma; I'll give BB another day or 2 because it is UPS to USPS & that usually takes a bit longer so shouldn't my BB have been in my mail box by we'll say the 15th or 16th at the latest? Well, this day was the 12th & there was no update on where my box was.

Emails - nicely - ensued. They responded rather quickly saying that if I have not received my box by the 19th to contact them again & they shall send out another box. Two days later I checked my tracking number again & lo & behold! My number had updated that it had just left the New York UPS sorting center the FOURTEENTH. the FOURTEENTH PEOPLE! That's 6 days after they said it shipped. WTH!? All I was thinking was that this box better be worth it. It finally arrived on the 20th - 12 days after it allegedly shipped & 6 days after my tracking number updated that it actually left New York. Fishy. Hmmm..

Lets take a peek in the box to see if it was worth this odd wait time.

This month's outter box is a goregous hot pink box! I looooooooove pink! So far, so good on the wait. (:  Last month's box was a Tangerine Orange. Let peek inside, shall we?

This box came with the standard post card with information on what each product is & on the opposit side it tells you a little bit of information on why the articles that are in the box are, well, in the box. This box also came with a little magazine called "The Fall LookBook". It gives tips and tricks on how to wear your hair, different outfits, & makeup tricks for fall as well as current trends. It's cute. :3 After you do away with the reading material you are greeted with nice bright teal tissue paper. Then your eyes meet the goodies!

This looks like slim pickin's to me but I'm most excited about the ColorClub nail polish! I love nail polish. (: First item on the card is the Color Club Birchbox Custom Polish. I got the color #5786 Insta-This. The card says "We teamed up with Color Club to create this custom shade, inspired by the Fall 2012 collections" & that a full size is $8. I do believe the size I got {7ml} is full size - please correct me if I'm wrong. 

Side Note: I watched the "Sneak Peek" video & they gave a little snippet about these colors - they were designed & named after social networking. I just happened to get "Insta-This" which is based off of Instagram, of which I am obsessed. ^__^

Next item up for grabs is the Jouer Matte Moisture Tint. If I stopped swatching the gosh-darn thing it might be enough for a once or twice all over face application. "This SPF 15 oil-free tinted moisturizer blends in beautifully to even on skin & control shine" - a full size retails for $38. As you can see from the picture below {er.. just barely, but in person it's noticable!} you can tell that this color is like a shade or two darker than my natural ghostly white self.

The moisturizer is on the upper part of my hand {the side closest to the Jouer photo} & the bottom half has nothing on it.

This would be a great moisturizer when I get a tan {which only happens in the summer months & well, we just entered fall - kinda.}

The next item on the card is the Kate Spade New York Fragrance in Twirl. The card reads "A blend of fruity & floral notes, this modern classic feels joyful & carefree". It says the full size is anywhere from $18-$80! ...which is why I will probably only ever own a sample.  This sample has a nice little spray top instead of the usual ones where you have to pull a plunger & then dab the stick on your pressure points. I like that. ^__^ Inside the sample card is adorable. It says "She had a cocktail in her hand & confetti in her hair". How cute!! ^.^  I'm not too sure how I feel about this perfume; definitely smells more floral than fruity. It's not bad! Definitely a feminine-date-night scent {which I did wear on my date the day I got the box. Tehee! Husband approved.}

Next item up for bid is the Skin, An Apothecary Soy Body Whip in Poppy, "infused with vitamin C & soy proteins, this mousse-like lotion soothes dry skin without feeling greasy". It is a very floral scent! But a clean floral - does that make sense? I'm assuming since it said "in Poppy" it means the scent is Poppy. It's definitely not my cup of tea but it's a nice soft scent. It does stick with it's description of a non-greasy texture {which I like} & I feel a slight difference in skin feel after I applied it.  Still not too keen on the scent. Blehk. Full size is $27.

Final product in the box is a twistband Birchbox Custom Lace Hair Tie, "Designers went gaga for lace this season & we don't blame them. Get on board with these outch-free hair ties". A set of 6-12 is anywhere from $14-$22. Honestly? It's a rip off. It's a piece of decorative elastic. Total fail. 

Oh! At the bottom of the card is says Lifestyle Extra: Hollywood Fashion Secrets Hollywood Fashion Tape - aka: double sided sticky tape to hold your strap strap, hem, or blouse in place. Full size ranges from $4.99-$8.99; another fail, BB. & at the veeeeeeeeeeeery very bottom, there was a card they claim is a gift card. It's a COUPON code for $25 OFF an order of $75 or more off Madewell! Totally not worth it, at least in my opinion.

So overall, between the odd shipping fiasco & the lack luster box.. I'm not quite happy. Yeah, I got my $10 worth {MAYBE a bit more - not sure how much the size of the Skin lotion is worth} but last box was a million times better. Here's hoping October's box is so much better! & considering next month is Halloween, i hope they do something spooktacular! 

Did you get a box? What all did you get & what do you think? What color polish did you get? I'm dying to know!

HugsxoKisses