Woo-hoo! My first ever VoxBox review! :)
I just started with Influenster about 2 months ago and quickly qualified for their Holiday VoxBox.
What is Influenster? Basically it is a site where you share reviews of products you love (or maybe don't love so much), take lifestyle and shopping history surveys, answer questions posed by other Influenster members about certain products, and earn badges while doing all of this. The more you do, the more badges you earn, and the more points you earn. The more points you earn, the more opportunities become available to you to try and review new free products. Fun, right? :)
I will admit. I was a naysayer and pretty skeptical of Influenster at first. My first impression of the program was that it seemed like quite a bit of work for the chance to maybe get to try a few new products. But once I got started, I was hooked. It doesn't take very long or too many reviews and surveys to gain points on your Influenster badge.
If you are interested in joining Influenster, I have a few invites left. Just email me at thefrugalfoodiemama (at) yahoo.com, and I will try and send one your way! :)
Okay, so let's get to the goodies I got in the Holiday VoxBox '12...
Kiss Nail Dress (retails around $6.99)
Initially I was not too thrilled about the design I got, but it has definitely grown on me. I am not one to wear animal prints too often. I have to say as a busy stay-at-home mom who rarely has enough down time to paint my nails and then actually let them dry, I loved these. These may have been my favorite thing in my VoxBox. I opted to use them on my toenails because it has been probably over 6 months since I have painted my toes, and I was dying for some pretty feet for New Year's Eve. The only complaint that I have is that I was not able to fold the excess over and file it down like the packaging claimed that I could. I filed and filed and nothing happened. So I resorted to cuticle scissors to trim the excess and that worked perfectly.
Other than having one of the pinky toe nail stickers fall off the first night, these have held up very well. I am on day 8, and they are still applied and looking pretty! Even through showers, sweaty socks, a baby girl's curious little fingers, and foot lotion. :)
I have enough leftover to do my toenails once, maybe twice more. I definitely see myself purchasing these in the near future... only in a different design. ;)
NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine (retails around $2.49)
I received the Liquid Lipshine in Nude York City, and I LOVE the color. Very sheer, very pretty, with just the right amount of shimmer and shine. For the past week, this has become my go-to lip gloss when out... you know, grocery shopping and going to the mall. ;) It isn't sticky, and I like the taste... reminds me of pineapple? And I am connoisseur of lip glosses. I will definitely be buying this in other shades VERY soon. At less than 3 bucks a piece, this frugal mama can afford them!
Quaker Real Medleys Oatmeal+ (retails around $1.79)
I love oatmeal. During the winter months, oatmeal is my breakfast of choice- instant or not. I am usually more of a spice & nuts gal, so I wasn't too sure about the Summer Berry flavor I received in my VoxBox. But you know what? I was pleasantly surprised! I actually really liked it. And I only had to add water to it. I usually find myself adding more sugar because it never seems to be sweet enough for me, but the berries added just enough sweetness. I would love to say that I will be buying these up at the grocery store, but the price is a huge deterrent for me. I can pay maybe 50 cents more and get an entire box of instant oatmeal packets.
EBOOST (retails around $28 for a box of 20 powder packets)
I am not a huge fan of any kind of energy drinks or boosters. If I need caffeine, I go for the java. But this past weekend when I was really dragging by dinner time and had been suffering from a headache since I had woke up that morning, I decided to give my EBOOST packet a go. I received the Pink Lemonade flavor. Taste wise, it was not too bad. The aftertaste left much to be desired. But I can say that I did notice a temporary cease fire from that awful headache I had most of the day. I didn't drink the entire glass for fear of what it might do to baby girl since she is still nursing.
Goody Quikstyle Brush- Paddle style (retails around $11.99)
Having naturally curly hair, I rarely actually run a brush through my hair. My usual daily hairstyling routine consist of towel drying my hair as much as possible, then using an anti-frizz product and a bit of gel in it, and letting my hair about 95% air dry. I occasionally straighten my hair (occasionally, as in once every 3 months maybe?), so I could see this coming in handy when I do that. The quicker you can get naturally curly hair dry as you are straightening it, the better so the microfiber bristles would probably help tremendously with that.
Sole Society
I am kind of loving this shoe shopping site. It is making me wish I had a WAY larger shoe budget! ;) Probably the only time I would be able to afford a pair of their shoes is if I would use the $25 off coupon code they sent me in my VoxBox. Most of their shoes are priced around $50 (too rich for me...). But hey, since I probably won't be using it, I can pass it on to you all. Just use coupon code INFLUENSTER25 at checkout and you will get $25 off your entire order IF you are a first time customer! Plus, they do free shipping and free shipping back if you need to return them. Visit Sole Society to see their entire selection. (And I don't get anything if you do order a couple of pairs of shoes. I just wanted to pass the deal on to you all.)
Are you an Influenster? Did you receive the Holiday VoxBox? What was YOUR favorite thing? :)
*The opinions above are strictly my own. Yep, all 100% me, myself, and I. I was provided a product, but was not obligated in any way to provide a review or compensated in any other way. I am reviewing these items of my own accord. If you are interested in having me review an item, please see my Sponsor Page for contact information.
