INFLUENSTER Beauty Blogger VoxBox 2012 Review

Today I have something a little out of the norm of my blog. I've been part of Influenster for awhile now and I received an offer to receive a VoxBox for Beauty Bloggers - and I said "Suuuuuure why not!" haha. I guess I didn't think I could recieve other items than nail polish, although I provided my blog URL for review. So, there's no polish LOL!  And these are a few things that are ENTIRELY out of my realm of beauty experience or familiarity.

But, I thought it would be fun to review this on my blog instead of only Influenster's website :]

2012 Influenster Beauty Bloggers VoxBox

So, here. We. Go. Jump over and experience something... interesting. Honest reviews, as always!

Here's an overview of everything that was included in my 2012 Influenster Beauty Blogger VoxBox:

Top, L->R: Goody Simple Styles Spin Pin, Not Your Mother's Kinky
Moves Curl Defining Hair Cream, Kiss Ever Pro Lashes Starter Kit

Bottom L->R: NYC IndividualEyes Custom Compact, EBoost Daily Health Booster in orange,
Bath and Body Works mini candle in Pumpkin Cupcake,
Boots No. 7 Beautiful Skin - Cleansing Balm and Night Cream in Dry/Very Dry.

And here are my reviews of each product :

Goody Simple Styles Spin Pin $7.29
I'm not entirely sure why they sent me "light hair" haha, you have to input info about your features, and I for sure do not have blonde hair! Luckily, you can't really see these when they're inserted (aka, the point of this product lol).

I was really excited to see this in my box! I've been wanting to try these since they aired the commercial awhile ago. They are pretty simple to use. They give a few instructions of hairstyles you can try on the inside of the box.

I wear my hair up a lot. I have pretty long hair and it gets in the way, I really prefer my hair up when I'm sleeping or after a shower. I recently switched over to yoga hair ties because they don't leave creases. This is another hair style item that will not leave creases in your hair. YAY!

This is the quick hairstyle I created:

Hair bun using Goody Spin Pins

SHAZAM! Haha. I put my hair in a bun like I normally do: Pull all my hair into a pony tail on the top part of my head, twist it tightly and form a bun. Instead of wrapping a hair tie around the bun, I inserted the Goody Spin Pins - one through the top and one through the bottom. They're super easy to insert, all you do is stick it where you want it and spin. MAGICAL! If you've been thinking about trying Goody Spin Pins or you like easy hairstyles, like myself, I would give these a shot. I never bought them because I thought $8 was expensive, now I regret not buying these sooner. Worth it!

Next:

Not Your Mother's Kinky Moves Curl Defining Hair Cream $6.00

Can we just get this out of the way? This was my favorite item in the entire box. Dead serious. I have naturally wavy/semi-curly hair and I've tried a bunch of products to enhance curl and kill frizz. Over the years I've found items I love and items I'll neverrrrrrrrrrrrr try again haha. But, like base coats and top coats, the results from different hair products vary from person to person. And this is one that worked for me, let me just show you:

Results from Not Your Mother's Kinky Moves Curl Defining Hair Cream

Wham. Bam. Thank you ma'am. I normally use Herbal Essences Totally Twisted mousse (or gel, but I haven't used it in awhile), that is the only product I've found that works every time for me and doesn't make my hair crunchy. And even then, my waves only look like the "partially air dried" picture once my hair IS dry. I've only used one other hair cream (Marc Anthony brand) and the results were NO where near close to THAT. I was blown out of the water.

On the product it says to apply to towel dried hair from root to tip, scrunch hair, blow dry upside down or let air dry. I never use heat on my hair, except to straighten my bangs, so I let it air dry instead of bow drying. I did put my hair up with a yoga tie (which leaves no creases) and is not out of the norm of what I usually do with my hair after I let my hair dry or apply product.

I can guarantee you I will be buying a full size of Not Your Mother's Kinky Moves curling cream. I'm just shocked how great it worked. This is another product I've passed on previously, shouldn't of.

11/2 7PM EDIT: Everyone keeps asking me more about yoga ties and where I got them. Here is my general answer for that: "You can find the yoga ties pretty much anywhere now, they're becoming more common than they were a at the beginning of the year. I saw some at Ulta the other day! People really try to rip you off on them in the retail world though...You're better off on Etsy or somewhere like that. Here's the seller I got mine from.

1/2/13 4PM EDIT:  I have multiple people asking me about how I put my hair up when I use the hair ties and the NYM Kinky Moves. It's usually just a messy bun on the top of my head. However, IF I put it in a pony tail I get the same results. Even if I leave my hair down, I get the same results! You just gotta find what works for you and your hair :]

They hold just as well as regular hair ties. I have one in my hair right now in a bun and it's been up and tight since I went to bed last night around 10. Sometimes I have to put my hair up again, as with any hair tie. But for no creases? I'll try ANYTHING haha

(They do stretch out over time but it doesn't seem to effect them at all. Unlike when an elastic stretches out and it becomes useless)" Link to my review/write up on yoga hair ties.

4/18/13 12PM EDIT: I have had repeated questions about how exactly I apply the product and how I put my hair up. Hopefully this answers those questions:

PS: THANK YOU for all the repins <3
Here's where it gets kind unfamiliar LOL:

Kiss Ever Pro Lashes Starter Kit $5.99

I've only worn false lashes 2 times in my life: 1) my wedding 2) a friend's wedding. And I've only applied them once soooo this was a little intimidating. I know this isn't a complicated process or anything but, if it involves anything that belongs my face (minus my eyebrows surprisingly) I suck at it haha. 

What I liked most about this was the glue applicator, the last lash kit I bought had a squeeze tube and this was a LOT less messy and easier to control. Plus, if I want to use  it on other lashes, I don't have to worry about it drying up as fast as the tube did. I didn't use the tweezer thingies to apply the lashes, they always seem to get in the way. The glue dried fast and stayed on a good chunk of the day, I ended up having to take them off because it just felt strange hahaha. 

Here's what it looks like on my face:

Applied Kiss Ever Pro Lashes Starter Kit

When I took the picture I don't think the glue dried entirely on the inside of my left eye but, it later was clear. My b. LOL are they crooked too? Oh, Lacey. I do like how they make my eyes look and I plan on using these again for a wedding I am attending in December :] I will keep the Kiss brand in mind if I ever purchase lashes again now that I've used them and didn't have any issues!

Here's where the territory gets VERY unfamiliar:

NYC IndividualEyes Custom Compact $4.99

NYC IndividualEyes Custom Compact $4.99
Eye make up is probably the one thing I tend to fail at OVER and OVER again. It's really sad actually haha. I don't know what to tell you about these items. I was excited about the primer base because I've never owned a primer before and I totally see a difference in using one. The illuminator was nice (because of YouTube vidz) for the inside part of my eyes.

I do have some Sigma brushes my sister gave me as a gift, but I was too lazy and used the little sponge applicator and tried to follow the general "how to apply eye make up" diagram on the back, lmao. FAILUUURE. I'm not even going to burn your eyes with the look I created for myself. Even my husband was like "what the hell?!". So instead, I swatched them on my hand over the primer.

Over the provided primer: Top -> Bottom: Highlighter, All Over Lid, Contour, Crease
I did it right, right? Hahahaha. They seem to be pretty pigmented, as people say on Youtube, I think that's one reason why when I tried to put it on my eyelids I looked like a monster.

Mooooving on haha:

EBoost $28/20, $39/30

Admitting it, I didn't give this one a shot. Why? Because I've tried it before a few years ago. I honestly can't stomach the fizz of these immunity boosters or the taste of them, same goes for Airborne, Emergen C and all the others. It's either fizz or the taste, not both! My husband and my MIL use immunity boosters a lot though when they get sick and they claim they help! I just dislike throwing up so I don't even try LOL. Hey, ya'll want honesty! There ya go ;]

Mmmmm this is where it's at:

Bath & Body Works Mini Candles $3.50 (scent no longer available)

Bath & Body Works is the main brand of candles that I buy. I've never been disappointed by the scents or power of the candles I've bought. I have a few of the mini candles and like they say "mini but mighty!" stands true. I was kind of sad I got this scent, I can't stomach cake/icing or food smelling candles, but it ended up NOT being as cake/icing smelling as I thought and I did end up enjoying it. If you love candles and haven't given B&BW's candles a shot, I highly recommend doing so! They run sales all the time and you can find various coupons and such online, if you look :]

Last but not least:

Boots No.7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Balm and Night Cream (no price given)

Just like curly hair products, face cleansing and creams is another I've been bouncing around with over the years. A few months back I quit using cleansers that come in a tube because they dry out my face. I've had hardcore Eczema since I was a kid, although a good chunk of it has subsided my skin is VERY dry. Often, my face can look ashy or flaky because of it. 

I found out for me that using cleansers in the shower only made the dryness of my face worse. I was hoping for this one, since it is made for dry/very dry skin, that it would work. I also had hope for it when I used it because it isn't one that suds up. Sadly, it did make my face feel very dry after my shower. So this isn't a cleansing product for me. (If you have super dry skin similar to mine, I've found that using the wet cloths have been my best option)

I was impressed with the night cream. It was thick but light feeling at the same time. The effects lasted and my face didn't feel dry in a few minutes or when I woke up the next morning. So far, out of the moisturizers I have tried, only this one and the Willa Girl Face Moisturizer are the only two that prevent the area under my eyebrows from looking dry and flaky.

1 out of the 2 isn't half bad! ;]

I hope you enjoyed this awkward review of an assortment of products! If you're looking to find more information about the items I've talked about in this post, here are links to the companies' websites and Facebook pages:

• Goody / FB
• Not Your Mother's / FB
• Kiss / FB
• NYC / FB
• EBoost / FB
• Bath & Body Works / FB
• Boots No. 7 / FB

If you have any questions about these products, I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability! Sorry no manicures for today but I hope this was a fun change!

Have a happy Fridayyyyyy!

These items were sent for review. My opinions of the brand are my own and are not influenced in any way. Please read the disclaimer tab for more information about my reviews.