Walmart Beauty Box Review

I used to subscribe to ipsy and while I loved it, I got easily inundated with beauty samples and it got so bad I was giving most of the samples away. Until I discovered the Walmart beauty box. You get one a season and for $5 it's the best deal around. Plus I don't get so many beauty samples I won't use. All you do is sign up and once a season you receive an email, confirm your mailing address and it shows up at your door. It's very simple.

I received my fall box just the other day and I'm always impressed by what I find in the box. The fall box includes:

1. Travel sized Dove Advanced Care deodorant
2. Travel sized Aussie mega hairspray
3. Travel sized Vaseline advanced repair lotion
4. Travel sized Dove nuturium body wash
5. Travel sized Cetaphil moisturizing cream
6. Sample sized Eucerin Eczema body creme
7. Village naturals Therapy bath soak (one time use)
8. Sample of Burt's Bees Cleansing Oil
9. Sample of Loreal Youth Code Pore Vanisher

I'm going away next weekend for a girls trip and all of these travel sized items will be coming with me. The timing couldn't be more perfect. I've been getting these boxes for a while and am always impressed with everything in them. For the price, the Walmart beauty box is hands down the best $5 I've spent in a while.

Sign up here if you are interested.

Please note: I am not affiliated with Walmart or Walmart Beauty Boxes in any way, I am just a girl who really likes these boxes!

Oh Amazon

It seems the reviewing world is in an uproar over Amazon changing its Terms of Service (TOS) for reviews. I haven't quite made heads or tails of it yet but there is always a silver lining.

The thing is, the FTC has reviewing guidelines -- and I am by no means an expert so please read the guidelines if you want to know more.I took a few of the most important parts I read on the page and quoted them below:
"Is there special wording I have to use to make the disclosure?
No. The point is to give readers the essential information. A simple disclosure like “Company X gave me this product to try . . . .” will usually be effective."

and

"When should I say more than that I got a product for free?
It depends on what else (if anything) you received from the company.

For example, if an app developer gave you their 99-cent app for free in order for you to review it, that might not have much effect on the weight that readers give to your review. But if the app developer also gave you $100, that would have a much greater effect on the credibility of your review. So a disclosure that simply said you got the app for free wouldn’t be good enough.

Similarly, if a company gave you a $50 gift card to give away to one of your readers and a second $50 gift card to keep for yourself, it wouldn’t be good enough to only say that the company gave you a gift card to give away."

Simple, right?

Here's my take - be up front and honest about what you received. I have by no means ever been expected to review something I've received at a discount. If I like the product, I'll review it. Simple.

I've been a #BzzAgent member for years..and always disclose where and how I received something. I think Amazon took a bunch of bad reviewers and wiped people who might not have deserved it.

It will be interesting to see what unfolds.

A must in the kitchen!

I purchased these Silicone Spatulas by KUM&KUM, and this three pack of spatulas are the best I have ever purchased. They are heavy weight, the handle doesn’t bend, like some of the cheaper spatulas I have purchased in the past. They each have a great grip as well. They are high quality and a must in the kitchen. I wish I bought these years ago.

They are heat-resistant silicone can withstand up to 425 Degrees and dishwasher safe.

If you are interest in Silicone Spatulas by KUM&KUM – they are available on Amazon.  

I received this product at a discount in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

My First Review! And an introduction!

Hey ya'll!  I'm Erin.  First up, a little about me.  I am a Southern (Savannah, GA) transplant living in the Big City (New York, NY).  I live in Brooklyn with my wonderful entrepreneur and CTO husband and our darling toy poodles, Teddy and Simon.

I am an avid knitter, adult colorer, and beginner sewer but I am interested in almost every craft you can think of and some you probably wouldn't even consider.  I am the proud Step Mother to three smaller and maybe even more awesome versions of my husband, proud Aunt to a 7 year old niece and an eeeny weeny 2 month old nephew, and supporter and surrogate family member to many many many children created by other people.  Child free by choice, I am happy to share all of my love and devotion other people's kiddos.  I wouldn't have it any other way.

From me you'll see all sorts of beauty products, crafting tools, and household items that will hopefully make your life easier (and if they don't, I will tell you the truth).  I have Opinions on many things and I am happy to share them with you all.  But what a background in diplomacy and my Southern Roots, I will always be nice about it.

So for my first review, I have to disclose I got these products from Bzzagent for free.  All they ask is I spread the word about the product.  These I cannot say enough about because they are awesome.

I have been trying the L'oreal Paris Revitalift Reveal Products for about the past month and I am so impressed.  Here's a brief description (written by me) of all four of the products in the collection:

The Brightening Daily Scrub Cleanser is for use both day and night and has a gentle but effective exfoliant that's approved to use twice daily.  I really like this product and I have been using it religiously.  And at a retail of $6.99, it's a steal!

Perhaps my favorite of the group, the Brightening Daily Peel Pads are little round pre-soaked pads used only at night.  Full disclosure, while trying these products I started using some dermatologist prescribed medications that dried me out massively for a few weeks.  These pads were a lifesaver for clearing away the dead skin.  I look forward to using these nightly.  And at $19.99, these are a bit of a splurge but certainly on the lower end of products containing glycolic acids.

The Brightening Dual Overnight Moisturizer, also retailing at $19.99 is the only one I don't LOVE.  I like it, but it doesn't have as much of a cream like consistency that I prefer in a nighttime moisturizer.  It is more like a serum, which is fine.  And it seems to work.  I love the feel of my skin just before bed.

Finally, I really like the Brightening Day Moisturizer with SPF 30.  If you aren't using a sunscreen, get thee to a pharmacy!  And I'm not talking SPF 5 or 10...go AT LEAST 30   Particularly if your skin care products contain any kinds of acids, you need to protect your beautiful skin from the effects of the ball of fire in the sky!  This works great!  It is lightweight, fragrance free and not expensive at $19.99.  I will be buying this again.

It is worth noting none of these products have a fragrance, which I like.  You can smell the sunscreen in the moisturizer but I find that comforting.

And now, for some photos.  I recognize we just met and I should put on some makeup, but you need to see the results!

Here's me on day one.  I feel like my skin was dull, my pores were HUGE, and my face was breaking out.  YUCK!

Here's today.  My skin feels better, my pores are smaller and, while I still break out at certain times (cough) I feel so much more confident!

I can see the difference!  Can you?

For a skin care routine that costs less than $100 all in (and I still have some of everything but the pads left) I think this is a great buy and stacks up to many way more expensive products.

It's a win from me.

XOXO!

LuLaRoe Leggings .. I may need a 12-step program.

If you are a leggings person like I am, then you have to try LuLaRoe leggings.  When they say they are “buttery soft” well that is no lie.  I am a big fan of leggings in the fall and winter – and here in Boston, it is cool to cold like 6 months out of the year.  So I layer, and always where leggings.   My fellow blogger and partner in crime Susan raved about LuLaRoe, and I had to try them, and not only do I wear these leggings daily, I may need to be entered in a 12-step program for the amount of leggings I have purchased.

Here is the deal with them – they are in fact the softest, most comfortable leggings ever.  They come in two sizes OS (sizes 0-10) and TC (sizes 10+).  Not only do they come in a rainbow of colors, the pattern selection is out of this world.  I never thought I would be someone that would wear patterned leggings, but I totally am! 

Where do you get these amazing leggings?  You need to find a consultant, and they are all on Facebook.  Consultants will offer “pop-up sales” which is when they share their inventory in Facebook albums or with their “the roe” link.  Shopping with consultants that live in states like MA and PA will save you on the sales tax.  Looking for multi-consultants groups are ideal, since several consultants will share their inventory at once. 

Each consultant has different inventory, so following a few (or a lot of) consultants is where you may want to start.

But once you try one pair, you will be hooked.  It is not just their leggings that are fabulous, but every thing else I tried is too.

Some of my favorite consultants are:

·         Jennifer Schnorrenberg Goldenberg

·         Karlie Trimbo

·         Jennifer Compagna

·         Kristin Cain

·         Lorin Bradley

·         Heather Nicole

Here are some multi-consultant groups to join:

·         Roe-Mazing Multi Consultant Pop Up

·         Roe-Mazing Multi Consultant Pop Up

·         LulaRoe GIGANTIC Multi Consultant Sale

·         MultiShoppers Multi Sale

·         80s Super Bash Multi Consultant

I 

I'm Back!

I am still couponing, maybe not as much, because you get to a point where you need to start using your stock pile, and that is where I am right now.  But earning free things is not all just about couponing.  I recently started to review products, which has been a fabulous experience, because I have gotten to try out some amazing products, in exchange for posting reviews and feedback on Amazon.  Unfortunately, Amazon recently changed their policies about sellers soliciting reviews, so that means that we decided to share our feedback back in our blog.  So, we are back!

Stay tuned for a more diverse blog, and maybe some new faces sharing their feedback.

Back at it.

Hey you. It's been a while.

Right??

You've probably been wondering what is going on. Well lots of life changes..house, job, etc. You know the drill.

But I've never stopped couponing. Here's the thing. For a while now I've been reviewing things but posting them elsewhere. Now, it's time to dive on back in and get cracking.

We've invited some friends to help us along the way. As always we will disclaim if we received any products as part of a review program or at a discount.

So stay tuned...it's gonna be fun!