ZzzQuil Review

Time for a quick Influenster review of ZzzQuil Nighttime sleep aid. First off let me say that this review is based on only my personal use and my results will not be the norm (I'll explain more in a moment). To start I love the idea of ZzzQuil. A none habit forming sleep aid that puts you to sleep and helps you stay that way sounds like heaven. The problem comes when you suffer from anxiety and your brain chemistry keeps the wonder drug from working right. In my case ZzzQuil only helped me fall into deep sleep faster. It did not make me feel sleepy and it did not keep me asleep. I woke up half way through the night in a jolt and could not get back to sleep. I can't say how this does or does not work for those with "proper" brain chemistry but for those like myself who suffer from anxiety or panic attacks I would have to suggest that it not be used.

I received all products complimentary from Influenster.

The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.

Super January Reviews

Kicking 2016 off with a review mega post. We received two PinchMe boxes and the Influenster Jingle VoxBox all filled with great samples to test and share. Lots of good stuff, so lets dive in.

Inside the Influenster Jingle VoxBox:

Cetaphil® Moisturizing Cream

Hallmark itty bittys®

Pure Ice nail polish

KISS lashes

NYC New York Color eye liner

Ore-Ida® coupon

Biscoff cookies

Inside the PINCHme boxes:

Beyond® Grain-Free White Meat Chicken & Egg Recipe Dry Cat Food

Beyond® Grain Free Wild Salmon Recipe Wet Cat Food

Align® Probiotic Supplement

Breathe Right® Nasal Strips

Purina Pro Plan Savor Shredded Blend Chicken and Rice Formula

Secret Clinical Strength Invisible Solid Completely Clean

Nexcare™ Tegaderm™ Waterproof Transparent Dressings

Will do these reviews quick and dirty since there is a lot to cover.

Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream (#Cheerphil). What's not to love. This is just one of these best moisturizers out there. It goes on smooth, heals dry skin, and leaves skin feeling hydrated.

Hallmark itty bittys (#ittybittys). We received the Olaf itty bitty and he is the cutest thing ever. Soft and squeezable but also well made and durable. The entire line of itty bittys are darling!

Pure Ice nail polish. As much as I loved this color it just wasn't the best nail polish. I need polish that is pretty forgiving and easy to apply and this left streaks. If I can figure out how to apply in fewer swipes this may be a favorite color.

KISS false lashes and glue. The adhesive is good, not too runny, and the lashes look nice on.

NYC New York Color waterproof eye pencil. Love the idea of waterproof eye liner pencil. You have to wear liquid to get that sort of staying power normally. It goes on like a pencil but wears like liquid.

Ore-Ida tatter tots. We love us some tots and these were tasty!

Biscoff cookies. I did not share, these were mine. I enjoyed every last one with my morning coffee. Mmmmmm! Need I say more?

Beyond Grain-Free White Meat Chicken & Egg Recipe dry cat food and Wild Salmon Recipe wet cat food and Purina Pro Plan Savor Shredded Blend Chicken and Rice Formula dry cat food. I have to interpret our in house reviewers opinion, but considering he scarfed all of these down as fast as he could, I would dare say he enjoyed them all.

Align Probiotic Supplement. This was not a pleasant sample the first two days of use, but after the unfortunate bout of "bubbles", things appeared to be working well. 

Breathe Right Nasal Strips. I get to review the person they were used on as the person trying to sleep next to him. These do not help snoring but at least they aren't painful to take off and they stay in place all night. 

Secret Clinical Strength Invisible Solid Completely Clean. This is a very strong scent, clean, but strong. Protects very well, no marks on clothes, and it lasts all day.

Nexcare Tegaderm Waterproof Transparent Dressings. We always have the unfortunate need for first aid so these came in handy. They go on well, stay on, and cover wounds nicely so they can heal.

I received all products complimentary from Influenster and PINCHme.

The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.

Reese's Spreads Review

As if reading my mind, Influenster sent us the NEW Reese's spreads peanut butter and chocolate to try. I'm a complete peanut butter and chocolate fanatic. Every time a new one of these combination spreads come out, I scoop it up.

We popped this jar open the seconded it arrived and it quickly got passed around so everyone could try a spoonful. I have to note that it smells EXACTLY like a peanut butter cup.

First impressions, my kids love it, but I found the texture a little odd for a spread. If you have ever melted a peanut butter cup on accident (or on purpose) you know that it retains the grit texture of the peanut butter portion. The spread is no different. There is an odd grit texture to the spread. It doesn't change the taste but it does feel a bit weird if you just eat it by the spoonful.

As for the taste, it tastes exactly like a peanut butter cup. It's tasty stuff! Dip in some apples, graham crackers, or anything else and enjoy. I'll just skip eating this one with a spoon, which may save me some calories if I have to find something to put it on!

I received all products complimentary from Influenster.

The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.

Braun® Thermometer Review

I'm back from my recent MIA with a great review of the Braun® No touch + forehead thermometer. This came in handy with my recent cold!

The Braun® No touch + forehead thermometer can be used two ways, touch or no touch. There is a guiding light to line up distance for no touch and a soft ring for resting the forehead for touch. The touch option is great for taking your own temp or when you have a small child who is wiggling too much to line up those little beams. The best feature is the changing color display. Green is a good temperature, yellow is a low grade fever, and red means your temperature is high. I hit 102 at the peak of my fever and it flashed red. The color alerts you to temperature range before you even read the numbers. The display is perfect for nighttime temperature taking. It is just bright enough to read without being so bright as to wake a child. The light beams are a little too bright for night time since they are directed straight at the sick persons face. All in all, this is a great product and will definitely be replacing our currently use thermometer.

**UPDATE** We discovered after more extensive use that this thermometer is highly inaccurate. It's off anywhere from 2 to 4 degrees which anyone with a sick child knows can be the difference between being sick and life threatening. Want to love it since it's one of the best designs I've seen but it just doesn't work right. I now use it as a dim flashlight when I need night temp readings on sleepy kids.

I received all products complimentary from Influenster.

The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.

Surfs Up VoxBox Review

Surfs Up! Time for another Influenster VoxBox filled with awesome stuff for us to review.




Here's what's inside:

Jamba Juice Smoothie Kit

Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration After Sun

First Aid Shot Therapy

SinfulColors Professional Nail Polish

COVERGIRL Bombshell Curvaceous by LashBlast Mascara

First up is the Jamba Juice Smoothie Kit. We had to make a special trip to another grocery store to pick these up. There are tons of options to pick from and with all the yummy choices it did take us awhile to agree on just one. We settled on Caribbean Passion with mangoes, strawberries, peaches and non-fat yorgut. The packs are pretty small, just enough to make two 8 oz glasses. You dump the contents in the blender with the recommended or your juice choice and mix. I was a pretty disappointed by the fruit content as the sum total of cut up strawberries would have made one strawberry. Not enough to add any flavor to the mix at all. In fact the only thing you could really taste when blended was the mango. Good fruit and flavor just not a good mix of either.

                                                                                                        Find the lacking strawberries---------->

Next up is Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration After Sun. This product combines lotion and aloe gel for a ribbon layered look. The scent is a nice sweet smell. Not overly scented but enough to enjoy. As far as moisturizing it seems to feel good at first but the moisture doesn't stay. On dry or sunburned skin it relieves the itching but the dryness lingers. I would use this more for the scent I think than the moisturizing.

Now on to First Aid shot Therapy. We had to wait for the opportune time to try this out. So one day after hiking and getting a bit too much sun and not enough water I had a seriously bad headache. Perfect testing time for this. A good shake and then bottoms up. I had to drink it in little sips. The taste is a little strange but not unpleasant. I did begin to feel some relief from my headache fairly fast but my stomach did not appreciate the shot at all. I had to sit still and close my eyes for about 10 minutes to keep from revisiting the shot for a second time on the trip out. So all in all I'm not sure that the time I had to wait for my stomach to settle justifies the benefit of quick pain relief.

Almost at the end is SinfulColors Professional Nail polish. We were sent the Aqua color. The polish is kind of thin so two coats are required. The finish has a metalic look to it and the color is awesome. There's some blue and green in different lights, it looks great! Deffinetly a color I would have picked for myself. Just wish it hadn't leaked a bit in the box when it came so I had more of it to use!

Finally we have COVERGIRL Bombshell Curvaceous by LashBlast Mascara. This mascara is a great two wand, two formula product. The step one side separates and adds a little curve to the lashes and the second coats each lash for a dark accentuated lash. The end result is a nice full clean lash look. Very nice dual product. I like to use just step one on lower lashes for an accented but lighter lash.  



I received all products complimentary from Influenster.

The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.

TLC VoxBox Review

Here we go again. Another awesome VoxBox came our way from Influenster. This one is the TLC VoxBox and it was filled with all things Mommy!!

Here's what's inside:
Neosporin Neo To Go
Breyers Gelato Indulgences (coupon)
Ivory bar soap
AVON Anew Reversalist Express Wrinkle Smoother
Puffs To Go
Shell Fuel Rewards Network card



Starting at the top we tried out the Neosporin Neo To Go. I had the perfect chance to use this when one of the kids popped a blister on their foot playing outside. It wasn't bleeding but stung a lot and I couldn't get them to come inside to clean it off. So out came the Neo To Go and with a quick squirt the pain was gone. Worked really fast! It took a few tries to get it to spray the first use but once it came out it was easy to aim. It comes out looking like a frothy foam then dissolves away. I have added this to my purse first aid kit and it fits perfectly.



Next up Breyers Gelato. I had to go to a different store than normal to get this and then that store only had two flavors to pick from. I was nice and went for the kid friendly option of raspberry cheesecake. I want to say that I completely loved this because it was really good, but there was a huge negative in that it didn't taste like cheesecake at all. The raspberry sauce is very sweet, almost too sweet, and the gelato is very creamy. I don't think the graham crumble added anything to the flavor or texture so aside from the look of it when you open the package it really could have been left off. All in all it was very tasty just not how I expected it to taste.




On to the Ivory soap. Ivory has always been awesome. It floats, it explodes in the microwave, what more could you ask right?! Well unfortunately for me, I need a soap that doesn't strip you of moisture. I have dry sensitive skin and was itchy after one use. The rest of the family has used it just fine and I do enjoy the smell. So for those of us with skin issues, not so great, but for the average population this one gets a thumbs up.




Now for the AVON Anew Reversalist Express Wrinkle Smoother. First a How-To of opening this product because I seriously messed with the lid for several minutes before I figured it out. I felt pretty stupid but found out I'm not the only one! The lid slides open, like a slider phone. Okay, now on to the actual product. The texture of this is really nice. It goes on like a powder would and feels very similar. No need for blending and it can be used under or over makeup. You may notice there is no picture for this one and that's because I found no difference in my wrinkles to photo to share. Not to say this doesn't work but I don't have deep wrinkles. Not that I don't have my fair share of wrinkles just I'm still on the younger side of adulthood so not so many. So to give this a fair shake I passed it along to my mom to get her two cents. (She had trouble with the lid too!) She says that it does appear to smooth the deeper lines. We both like that the case is it's own mirror. Has a nice surface we may have to keep for later use after the product is gone.

Almost done we move to Puffs To Go (with lotion). I'm not sure if it's the lotion of just the tissue but these are extra thick. They are super soft and we tested them out a lot with both allergy season and a summer cold going through our house. Even after multiple uses they don't irritate the skin on the nose so you can keep right on being sick or allergic or crying and not have a bright red nose as well! One draw back to these is that the package opens at the top so you have to try and separate the folded tissue from the rest and pull it out the tiny opening. Much prefer front openings with pop up next tissue dispensing.

Finally we get to the Shell Fuel Rewards card. Normally I go out of my way to make sure I try out everything that comes in the VoxBox, but this one I just couldn't review. There is only one Shell station in my city and it's well out of my way to go to. On top of, we currently get our gas at Costco where we get both a lower price and earn basic simple cash back. I will pass the card on to someone who can use it, just unfortunately it will not work for us.




I received all products complimentary from Influenster.

The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.

Review Suave Family Products

We got another Influenster box! This is the VoxBox of Suave Family Products. We received Men's Body Wash, Sauve Naturals Lotion, and Sauve Kids Mousse. I claimed the lotion first thing, handed hubby the body wash and set to using the mousse in ABC's hair.

First up is the body wash. We all liked the scent. In fact the kids used a little of it in their bath a few times to make the water smell good! The smell doesn't stay strong on you after showering, which is nice. Some body washes have a strong lingering smell that you don't always want. Only thing hubby didn't like about it was that it didn't lather up enough, so to work a good lather you have to use quite a bit of wash and with using so much each time the bottle doesn't last very long.
Next is the lotion. The Sweet Pea & Violet scent was soft and very pleasant. Unfortunately as with most scents I can't use a lot or it makes me sneeze. I have trouble with added fragrance unless they are natural additives. Even though this is in the Naturals line there are very few ingredients that aren't chemicals and the couple that are plant extracts are at the bottom of the list. It also doesn't hydrate for very long and needs to be reapplied often. Since that would mean layering more of the scent on I found it was best to use a little of this as the 'water' base for my favorite lotion bar instead.

Finally I used the kids mousse on all the kid's hair. A and B had performances around the holidays so I used it in their hair. This is not like regular mousse as it sets up a lot stiffer, more like a mousse and hair spray combination, which was great! We used a little and combed it through A's hair to slick it back and B's hair we used it to scrunch her natural curl up and give it some hold. C wanted his hair done too, so we gave him a quick side part with a touch of mousse for hold. It held up great for all their hair types and the scent (we got Cherry Vanilla Bop) was wonderful.

I received all products complimentary from Influenster.

The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.

REVIEW Dr. Scholl's Active Series Insoles

Influenster sent us another box. This month I got to review Dr. Scholl's Active Series Insoles. I wanted to love these because I've really been wanting to ease foot soreness and lessen my tendency to twist and sprain my ankles. Unfortunately these just didn't work for me for a couple of reasons.

First off these are super easy to cut to size, you just pull your current insole out, lay it on top, trace and cut. That part was easy, the trick is getting them to fit right back in your shoe. It takes a little adjusting but once in they fit well. Here's where my problems started.

The insoles are much thicker than what was in my shoe and when added to a nice snug fit athletic shoe your shoes becomes too tight. I didn't need to tighten my laces, I couldn't even if I'd wanted to they fit so tight. Then the arch was wrong. I only wear a size 6.5 so I'm on the small end of the sizes these were made for and the arch seems to be designed to suit larger feet better.

So with all that in mind if you had larger shoes, both in fit and foot size, these would probably work out really well.....just didn't make the cut for my shoes.

 

I received all products complimentary from Influenster.

The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.

Review Colgate Total Mouth Wash

I received a bottle of Colgate Total Mouth Wash for review in my most recent VoxBox.

Colgate has come out with a mouthwash to round out their family of products. As far as mouthwashes go this one is good. I didn't notice any change in the over all health or freshness of my mouth while I was using it twice a day for a week.

The best thing about this product is that you do not get the alcohol burn like with other brands. The mint flavor gives a strong tingle but it's mild enough, and without the alcohol, I feel safe letting my older kids use this. The girls have now claimed this bottle as their own!

The one negative I found with the mouth wash was that the dye used left a lingering blue tint on my teeth for about 10 minutes after each use. Doesn't seem like something I'm using to make my teeth clean should be turning them blue, but at least it fades away.



 

I received all products complimentary from Influenster.

The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.

Review Tastykake® Kandy Bar Kakes

I received S'Mores Tastykake® Kandy Bar Kakes for review in our Influenster Spring Fever VoxBox.

These are simply yummy! The inside of the S'mores flavor has this wonderful graham cracker cake that is the perfect amount of moist. The marshmallow cream layer is a nice creamy texture and not at all like the paste so commonly used in other treats. And the chocolate coating is a quality tasting Hershey's milk chocolate.

The only thing about this even semi negative would be that the chocolate coating crumbles making these very messy to eat!

Also, attempting to split this five ways (I was super nice and shared a piece with everyone) means you will be dieing for MORE. As soon as I figure out where to buy these near me I will be buying one, just for me!

 

Tastykake website

 

I received all products complimentary from Influenster.

The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.

Review Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-on Manicure

I received Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-on Manicure for review in our Influenster Spring Fever VoxBox.

These nails left me less than imPRESSed. I'm glad that I could only try them out on one finger of each hand because after a few hours I didn't want them on any more.

These nails were way too short to be used by anyone with actual nails. I had recently broken my thumb nail so it was filed very short and my finger nails still went right to the edge.


The instruction don't say to file off the little tab on the bottom of the nail, but if you don't it will dig into your cuticle, not to mention it looks terrible.









On the upside these are easy to apply and the color was pretty and very bright. The adhesive holds in place but pulls the real nail to its shape and can be uncomfortable.



By the next day the plastic had thinned at the sides and the nails were catching in my hair and on things so I popped them off.

If you bite your nails and / or were seeking a fun manicure look for one night these would probably be fine, but don't expect them to hold up through any actual use.

imPRESS website

I received all products complimentary from Influenster.

The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.

Review Schwarzkopf Professional OSiS+

I received Schwarzkopf Professional OSiS+ Dust It for review in our Influenster Spring Fever VoxBox.

I was blessed with naturally thick hair and a lot of it, so when the Dust It product arrived with its claim to add volume I kind of figured this would be a product that wouldn't do much for me. So I set about trying it out without a hairstyle in mind but now have a few I'd like to try since trying it out and will be using it again.

The directions say to:

Sprinkle a small amount of powder into your palms and rub together Rake through dry hair and lift into style with matt effect For extra root volume apply directly to the roots For extra line separation apply more powder in small amounts where needed

I used a small amount at the roots just to see what it would do. You work it in just a little and like magic it adheres to the hairs and forms this neat texture. It feels similar to the texture you get when ratting your hair and spraying it with AquaNet. It feels so similar but unlike old fashion hair ratting you can still brush through this.

I played with the section I used product on and have decided this would be a great product to use when doing a bump hair-do. I'm also going to try this out on my daughter who has curly hair and see if we can't lift the hair around her part.

In salons you can buy this little container for about $20. Probably not something I'd splurge on myself but it was definitely fun to play with. I made everyone in my family feel my hair that day because it really does have a neat texture.

 

 Schwarzkopf Professional Website

 

I received all products complimentary from Influenster.

The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.

Review Secret Outlast Clear Gel Deodorant

I received Secret Outlast Clear Gel Deodorant for review in our Influenster Spring Fever VoxBox.

 

Let's start with the smell. There is no listed scent on the package so I'm not really sure what to call it, but it's strong. Not sure if it is more concentrated at the top of the tube or if I have just gotten used to it, but after a few days it doesn't seem quite as powerful a scent. It's a good smell but if you wear perfume it could compete with your chosen scent.

 

As for application, it's easy to use and goes on clean, without marks as advertised. You do have to wait a minute before putting your shirt on to let it dry or you get wet deodorant on your clothes. While you wait for it to dry it feels like you have been sweating and are wet. Then for about the first half hour of wear there is a slight sticky feeling. Both the wet and sticky go away as the deodorant dries and gets absorbed into the skin.

 

I personally try to wear mostly none antiperspirant deodorants or all organic but I'm not diligent with this and fall back to the cheaper versions more often than not. Of the regular types I do like gel deodorants, but I don't buy them for one very important reason, evaporation. Because of the extremely high water content of gel deodorants you can not store them for long and I buy stuff in bulk to save money. So if something is half gone when I get around to using it because it has a terrible shelf life them I'm not going to buy it whether it works or not.

 

Just for fun check out the funny ‘Deo Dance,’ starring Bravo star, Jenni Pulos, Here. It's a little play on the way we all try to 'dance' our way into our clothes to avoid getting white deodorant marks, and it's pretty funny!

 

I received all products complimentary from Influenster.

The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.

Review NYC Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm

I received the new NYC New York Color Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm in Big Apple Red for review in our Influenster Spring Fever VoxBox.

I love the little apple in the gloss design and the tube is solid so I don't have to worry that when I toss it in my bag the lid is going to break. I've crushed the lid on many a lip gloss tubes over the years and it's never pretty!

The fist thing I noticed was that this felt more like a shiny chap stick than a gloss. It's not sticky at all and has a nice shine and gloss look. The color is very subtle, just enough to tint your lips. Wouldn't change the color of any lipstick you were already wearing but adds a nice color to bare lips. The scent smells more like berries than apples to me but it's pleasant all the same and not at all strong. Finally it does feel like it adds a bit of moisture to your lips, but it is absorbed quickly and you loose that glossy shine really fast.

Want more info? Visit the NYC New York Color website: http://bit.ly/YZgw6g

 

I received all products complimentary from Influenster.

The views and opinions expressed are purely my own.