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.

Treat VoxBox Review

It's time for another Influenster VoxBox review. This months box is the Treat VoxBox, full of goodies for mom! Sure I could share with someone else, but why should I?!

What's in the box
Yum-V's Probiotic

Weleda Pomegranate Hand Cream
Yogi Tea Cinnamon Vanilla Healthy Skin & Skin DeTox

Hills Bros. Cappuccino Single Serve and K cups
Country Crock (coupon)

First up Yum-V's Probiotic. These little bears are a probiotic for children in a white chocolate flavor bear. We aren't big white chocolate fans but even so these were actually pretty good. Kids ate them happily and aside from a slight chalky after taste they were fine.

Now for the Weleda Pomegranate Hand Cream. It felt really nice going on, until the smell hit me. This was really a bad scent and I had to rush to wash it off, with lots of soap and water, to kill the smell. So lotion could be good, but this scent is a definite no.

On to the Yogi Tea. These teas smell amazing. I would be content to just sit and breathe these in. Actually that's really all I'd want to do with these since they are extremely weak teas. Beautiful color and smell but not taste at all.

Next is the Hills Bros. Cappuccino. I like my coffee fairly strong, which these are not, but the flavors are so good you don't care. These are a very yummy, sit and sip, breakfast treat. Skip to the evening and these are also wonderful with dessert, or maybe as dessert, when you want just a touch of sweet.

Finally the Country Crock coupon. We discovered at the store that the coupon value was not enough to cover the cost of a regular sized tub and they did not have the sticks or small tubs at our local stores. So we paid the extra and got the bigger one. I do not bake with tub butter or margarine, since it's a mess, so we just ate this our normal way on toast and bread. Tastes good, maybe a little sweeter than other brands we get.

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.