Influenster Post and what are VoxBoxes?

So as I have been finding new ways to find products I stumbled upon Influenster.  Your first thought is, well what is Influenster?

So glad you asked. 

Influenster is a company that companies work with to get their products into the hands of people like me who will spread the(hopefully good) word about their products.  Companies will give Influenster sample and full size products with the desired demographic needs.  Influenster will then in turn bundle several of these items into a theme and then send them out in VoxBoxes to people who fit the demographics.  It allows companies to quickly connect with their target audience in a way that will spread the word quickly.  Companies would rather pay a middleman to get their product into the correct hands.  To me it seems like a smart way to spend marketing dollars.  We the VoxBox receivers in turn will get these awesome goodies FREE.  Okay, well, they do want us to review the items and spread the word through social media channels and reviews on their website and sometimes Amazon.  You are not forced to.  I mean there will not be a corporate goon arriving on your door to kick you in the shins if you don't review.  But I am assuming that if you do nothing you will not be invited to get another VoxBox from them.  After getting your first VoxBox I am sure you will, like I did, want to get your hands on another post haste.  The brands in your VoxBox will have other giveaways, Twitter parties, and challenges to win even more cool stuff and that just drives more views and interactions with the brands.

If you have not you should look at the website.  On the www.influenster.com main page you can also see that a member can post about other products, brands, destinations, and other fun stuff.  They recently updated their website and I am still adjusting to the change but I think I have gotten the hang of it and am looking forward to my next #VoxBox!

https://www.youtube.com/user/Influenster  They of course have Twitter, a YouTube channel, and Facebook page to give you this and more information on that Influenster is all about.  You can put in as little or as much time and effort into this website.  Just try it out and have fun.

Not my VoxBox, bit it will give you an idea of the goodies inside.  

Another awesome VoxBox that is from a campaign before I joined.  How cool!

My 1st VoxBox!!!  Happy Happy.  I now know to get more pictures and frame it better.  Live and learn.

#influenster  #influenstervox

Birchbox Modern Mermaid Summer Special Box

So I finally decided to pull the trigger and order my first subscription box.  Well not a regular subscription box but a special summer edition one.  I saw a video on the Modern Mermaid summer 2014 Birtchbox and decided to give it a go.  I was going to be home for the summer and thought this summer beach theme would be great for my summer of relaxing.  So I ordered it along with a lot of other goodies, freebies, and treats to open when I got back home.

So when I arrived I was jet lagged and ready to sleep....except I had so many goodies awaiting me.
I immediately opened this one first.  I have to say I was pretty happy with this box.  What's inside:

A trio of Ruffian nailpolishes in summer metallics.  I like the small size for nail polishes that I did not seek out myself.  I have so many polishes that I used twice and then are hanging out for years in my polish basket.  I found these polishes to be pretty thick and smooth going on.  I am not sure if they will last until next year.  I do not think a third time using would have been possible in the champagne color.  Oh well.  Maybe the full sizes will last longer.

Next is the mermaid Mane Sea Salt Spray.  I can not believe how much I enjoy this.  Still using it in September on the weekends.  I may need to purchase more or at least dive into more of these sea sprays.  It is supposed to give beachy waves to hair.  Well it did keep my air dried hair from going stringy and limp.  Calling that a win!

The next product is the Lash Genius waterproof topcoat mascara coating.  I have a difficult time finding waterproof mascara so I was looking forward to it.  Problem is I can not remember to use it so not sure how helpful it is in the heat and humidity.

Kajal Vasanti's Extreme Electric navy Eyeliner is pretty.  The liner goes on super easy and smooth.  Something I am not great at getting right the first, second, or tenth time.  Unfortunately it is not totally waterproof/smudgeproof  for the deep south so unless I need it for halloween scary dead eyes I will not be able to use it again in the summer.

Liplux Coola lip balm in SPF 30.  Really happy with this lip balm.  It has a nice and high SPF which is great for summer and winter skiing.  Even though it is a higher SPF, it does not have a gooey opaque look to it.  It also stays on for hours without making me chew off my lips.  I will be taking this with me to Thailand for January!  This will be repurchased.  2 year shelf life

The perfume is an Atelier Cologne spray in Cedrat Eniverant.  I liked it even though it is not a scent I would gravitate to.  It is clean and citrus/woody almost to the point of a men's scent.

They throw in a mirror compact in an iridescent mermaid scales design.  I was looking forward to it but it does look like something a 7 year old would use for playing dress up.  I wish it was just a disk mirror instead of a childish snap close compact.

The box  was $44.  Shipping would have been another 5 I think, but they have free shipping over $50.  I searched around in the sale area and got a couple boxes of teas to get me to free shipping.  Also you get to choose a freebie when you purchase over $35 so I picked up a Michael Todd Cranberry Anti-aging toner.  Pretty happy about those add ons.

Not happy about getting my picture taken without makeup but my nails are looking great in the Ruffian Endless Love

It was a summer special addition but still for sale.  I think I will try another season again if I do not pick up a subscription to Birchbox.
www.birchbox.com

Wow so yea....first blog

Hi there.  I was one of those people who always said that I would never post on a blog, let alone write one up myself.  But here I am....posting.

Okay.  Well I never really said I would never post on a blog.  The thought never really occured to me. But when I would hear me friend-ish friends talking about working on theirs I would have to use every fiber of my being to not roll my eyes like a teenager.  I mean I just thought of them as open diaries where people were so self absorbed that they thought their ramblings were insightful.  I had read a page or two of some of them.  They were not insightful.  Or maybe the friend-ish friends just did not realize that reading about someone's experience on watching paint dry is far more boring than actually watching paint dry.    Side note- I have painted a house and you will actually enjoy those paint dry rest breaks.  I hate that paint drying gets such a bad rap.  Of course it could have been the fumes from the Killz.  That stuff is strong...

Eww.  That sounded bloggy.  sorry

Right.  Well I then moved to Korea and suddenly had a whole lot of time on my hands.  I have a passion for travel, a love of beauty products,  and a mild serious addiction to free stuff.  In order to get information on travel in South East Asia and Korea my web searches would point me towards blogs for information.   And holy moley, they can hold a lot of really useful knowledge!  oh, and a lot of self absorbed drivel.  but you gotta sort the wheat from the chaff I guess.  There are food blogs on eating non-Korean food in Korea which is a lifesaver!  It is only on blogs that you can really find information and good directions to find these gems in the culinary wasteland that is Korea.  You can also find great vacation spots and trip ideas from blogs.  And it is only due to bloggers that got myself and a few friends to visit Haeshindang Park. (you will have to look that one up if you are wondering. NSFW)

Then I discovered BzzAgent.  Oh my!  All the free stuff addictions that I had been repressing for 2 years while living in Korea suddenly reared its ugly head.  I hate that I would have to pass by an entry box because I could not participate or I would not get the sample gifts simply because I am a foreigner.  So I knew I would be back home for the summer and signed up for BzzAgent.  This was like a gateway drug.  It led to Influenster, Crowdtap, Chick Advisor and more.  So now I am pretty active on these review sites which leads me to where I am today.  Blogging.

I hope to be informative in my coming posts.  A lot of review posts with travel, beauty, and food sprinkled throughout.

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Thanks for reading and have a great day!