Monday, June 22, 2015

Influenster Bella VoxBox: Product Reviews

Products provided by Influenster for testing purposes

Happy Monday, dear readers! I hope you enjoyed a wonderful weekend, and for those of you that celebrate Father's Day, I hope you got to spend some quality time with the dads in your life! I live on the opposite coast from my father so unfortunately I didn't get to see him, but I did have a nice day with my little family celebrating my husband. My husband gets very uncomfortable with days that are focused on him, so we didn't do anything too extravagant; I think he still enjoyed his day with us!
For today's blog post, I wanted to share the contents of the Bella VoxBox that was put together by Influenster. In case you aren't familiar with Influenster, let me briefly explain the program. Influenster is provided an assortment of products by different brands, and they in turn curate boxes to be sent out and tested by individuals like yourself. When they are curating boxes, they send out a questionnaire to their members to see who all best fits their needed criteria for each box. If you are selected, you are sent a box of products to test out and share on social media. It's a fun program, and it has introduced me to products that I might otherwise have not seen or heard about before. Now on to the Bella VoxBox!
The Bella VoxBox is all about beauty, pampering and a little bit of indulgence. What's not to love about that! We all deserve to treat ourselves to the nice things in life, and the best part about this box is that the products are affordable!
Let's check out each of the items closer!

Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara by Kate Moss
MSRP: $6.99
The first mascara created by Kate Moss. The mascara's broken-heart shaped brush gives voluminous lift to enhance the dramatic lash-look. Lashes are plumped and lifted in one clean stroke. No clumps!
I didn't want there to be any eye makeup to distract from the before and after so I'm only wearing a stroke of mascara here. I've generally only used straight brushes with my mascara with a curved one of occasion, so the broken heart shape was a little daunting at first. I quite like it, actually! The thinner brush tip really was able to apply mascara to my inner lashes, and I didn't have to apply my mascara with multiple strokes, risking clumping. This mascara also dried nicely and stayed on my lashes- I didn't have any trouble with it flaking off during the day. After testing this out, I can say with certainty that Rimmel's Scandaleyes is now my go-to mascara!

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick by Kate Moss
MSRP: $5.49
A lipstick collection created by Kate Moss that captures all the flair, edge and timelessness of Kate's iconic look. High intensity colour that lasts up to 8 hours!
I was sent colour 33 to test out, and as you can probably tell, this was not the most flattering shade on me. It's just too pink for me to pull off, but let me focus on the formula as there are other colour options available. This lipstick is very pigmented, and I was rather impressed with the overall colour payout. The formula is also so smooth and creamy! The downside is I didn't even get close to 8 hours of wear with this lipstick. Less than an hour after application, my lips were depositing colour all over my coffee mug. Within three hours of application, my husband, who absolutely refuses to kiss me if he detects the slightest hint of lipstick on me (and already knew I put this on earlier in the day as he commented about his dislike of the colour), laid a big fat smooch on me. It's not a bad lipstick by any means, I do like the level of pigmentation and the creaminess, but I cannot recommend this product as a long lasting lipstick. As long as you don't mind carrying the tube with you and touching up throughout the day, I think you will enjoy this lipstick.

Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs
MSRP: $13.99
Get irresistible, perfect legs in an instant and gorgeous, healthy-looking skin! The lightweight formula hides imperfections and won't rub off on clothes. Find Airbrush Legs in the Sally Hansen section at your local retailer. Available in 5 shades to match any skin tone.

I was provided the shade "Medium" to test.
Oh boy! I usually try to follow the mantra if you don't have anything good to say, don't say it at all, but I'm afraid that isn't an option when it comes to my blog. I have numerous issues with this product. I take offense that Sally Hansen claims that you can't have perfect legs without this product, and their claim that they only need 5 shades to match any skin tone is laughable at best. I have naturally tanned looking olive skin, and this product succeeded in making me look orange. As much as I love orange, I don't want my skin to be orange. Also, what about my arms, hmmm? Why gear a product just for the perfect citrus-kissed legs but neglect your arms? I feel like a doll that has been pieced together with nonmatching skin colour, and the overall outcome looks bad. I just don't see the point of this product in the first place, and I wasn't thrilled with my testing experience.

My baby belly made it impossible to photograph where I applied this on my legs, so I applied it here on the back of my hand (left with product, right without- I think there is a pretty clear line, but please let me know if you can't tell!). The back of the bottle says to apply sparingly around the ankles and knees, and I can definitely agree with that. My knuckles were on the slightly dry side here and you can see where the product doesn't blend in and smooth out at all. If the orange colouring doesn't scream fake tan enough for you, that certainly will! I have tattoos on my legs, and I did not like how this product distorted the colours and muted them out. My final verdict on this: save your money and embrace your perfect imperfections.

EcoTools Complexion Collection Mattifying Finish Brush
MSRP: $8.99
The NEW EcoTools Complexion Collection is designed with specific cuts for enhanced performance to maximize natural beauty and aid in common skincare concerns, like fine lines, dark circles, and oily skin. Control shine and oily skin all day with the Mattifying Finish Brush.

While I'm fairly confident it is common sense for those that wear makeup that this brush is used to apply product, and the combination of the two is what provides the desired effect, the claim may be a little misleading for those that don't wear makeup. I'm sure it seems petty of me to mention this, but I don't want anyone to stumble across my post and think that this brush alone is the be all end all for a matte finish. Now that's been said, on to my thoughts about this brush.

I've used a few EcoTools brushes that I have liked, but this one is unfortunately a miss for me. The packaging claims it can be used with both pressed or loose powder, but I did not find that to be the case. I use pressed powder 99.999% of the time, and I found this brush just did not want to pick up the product at all. It did work with my loose powder, but given that I don't use it often, it's kind of a waste for me. I do think this is a great brush if you predominantly use loose powder, and the bristles are so soft!

Not Your Mother's Deja Vu 'Do Style Extender
MSRP: $9 (for full size)
Deja Vu 'Do is a unique and lightweight primer and style extender that will block humidity and repel dirt and oil, all while being the perfect base for any styling items adding body and flexible hold. It's infused with the delicious scent of red apples and berries, and includes conditioners for long lasting frizz control, softness and shine.

I have used this product a few times, both by itself and with other hair products that I normally use, and to be honest, I can't really tell a difference whether I use the Deja Vu 'Do Style Extender or not. That being said, I'm not the best person to test this sort of product out right now because I cannot stand adding any heat right now when doing my hair: my style is limited to washing and air drying at the moment. For the time being, I'm going to have to limit my review on this product to "it exists but needs further testing." I do have to say I LOVE the smell of it though!

DOVE Fruit
MSRP: $1.88 to $2.69
DOVE Fruit, a decadent new item that features real fruit dipped in silky smooth DOVE Dark Chocolate, comes in three varieties- cranberry, cherry and blueberry. DOVE Dark Chocolate's silky smooth taste provides and unparalleled dark chocolate experience that dispels the myth many people have heard of dark chocolate having a bitter taste.

YUM! I love chocolate, and while I'm not a fan of most chocolates available for purchase in the US, I do like the products I have tried by DOVE. I happen to be a fan of dark chocolate, so I am glad I got to test these out! The beauty of dark chocolate, at least for me, is a little goes a long way. I can eat a few of these chocolate-covered blueberries and be content with my chocolate fix for the rest of the day. The dark chocolate itself does overpower the blueberry flavor; if you're hoping to have a strong blueberry taste with these, I'm afraid you may be disappointed. I want to pick up the other two flavors to try out to see if they are stronger or if I could mix and match and never really know what fruit I'm eating. The only real downside to these is my toddler found them and now he expects me to share. Haha!

Club W
Club W is the wine club reimagined, with all the recommendations personalized to your unique palate. Club W is considerate of your lifestyle and budget- with an iPhone app and bottles starting at $13, you can't go wrong.

While I didn't receive a product, this card was included in my box so I wanted to add it to my post. I'm currently not drinking alcohol because of the pregnancy, but I'll probably test out Club W in a couple months. I live in wine country surrounded by more wines than I could even taste, but this could be a fun option for those of you with limited selections available.

I enjoyed getting to try out the Bella VoxBox by Influenster! I definitely found a new mascara I'm going to be buying from now on, and I'll pick up more flattering shades of lipstick. I really love the DOVE blueberry sweet treat, and I want to pick up the others to try out. My toddler has made quite a dent in the bag I have since I started writing up this post, and I believe I may now be out!

Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful day!
XO!


Disclaimer:  The products reviewed above were provided to me for my honest and unbiased opinion. All thoughts stated are entirely my own and are based on my use of said products.  I love receiving feedback from my readers, and any comments left here are the express opinions and/or property of the individual commentors. I reserve the right to remove any comments that I find to be harmful, unnecessary, or not constructive for other readers.

3 comments

  1. What an awesome box, and those chocolates don't stand a chance at my house, either! <3

    ReplyDelete
  2. That box looks awesome!! I haven't gotten an Influenster box in ages!!

    ReplyDelete

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