posts in category influenster

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

L'Oreal Makeup Review from Influenster

I was lucky enough to receive this package of L'Oreal products for testing purposes, and all thoughts are my own!

Overall, I really liked all of the L'Oreal products that were sent to me from Influenster! I will probably be repurchasing half of these items again for myself.

Voluminous Volume Building Mascara

This. Stuff. Is. Amazing. But there is one caveat... It does leave some weird fall out and markings if you do not use it along with some kind of base coat. Before I got the L'Oreal lash primer, I was using an old mascara that I wasn't really a fan of as my "base" coat and that worked perfectly fine but without something on your lashes, this mascara leaves such weird markings. I had a few flakes throughout the day and would also somehow get mascara marks in my under eye area - I am still dumbfounded as to how this happened and where the markings came from - but I figured out that if you use a different mascara on your bottom lashes, you are golden! I guess you could also use the lash primer + this mascara on your bottom lashes too, I just haven't tried it myself.

So other than needing a base coat and needing to use a different mascara on your bottom lashes, this mascara is seriously amazing! It makes your lashes so long and just as the title suggests, you can definitely build up the thickness or volume. I didn't have any problem with mascara chunks on my lashes, and the formula leaves your eyelashes looking so pretty, thick and spread apart. This is my new favorite mascara, for sure.

Monday, May 9, 2016

L'Oreal EverPure Repair and Defend Review from Influenster

I was sent 4 products from the L'Oreal EverPure - Repair and Defend collection from Influenster for testing purposes and wanted to share my findings with you! Let's start with some info about the products...

The L'Oreal EverPure Repair and Defend collection is the one I received but they also have a variety of solutions that focus on moisturizing, volume, smoothing or blonde hair (which I'm excited to try). I think the big "draw" about these products is that they are sulfate-free. Sulfate-free shampoos are great at cleansing the hair and scalp by cutting through the dirt and grime. They are especially great for hair that is naturally prone to dryness, or is course, curly or fragile and fine. It's even better for color treated hair because sulfates can strip strands of color and no one wants that!

So the L'Oreal website says that this collection is their "first sulfate-free color-care system for damaged, color-treated hair. Infused with Acai, Goji and a UV Filter, the Antioxidant Complex repairs and strengthens hair while helping keep color pure. Our Shampoo & Conditioner deeply strengthens and helps protects from color aggressors." - all great benefits!! So now that you know a little more background on these products, let's get into the review!

The shampoo is the type of shampoo that takes a few washes for your hair gets used to it. On the first wash, I wasn't a fan. Second wash, I liked it a little better and now I've been using it for about 3 weeks and love it! It has a salon shampoo smell and I love the fact that it's sulfate free! I don't have super color treated hair so that may play a part in my experience as well (I just have a very subtle balayage). I’ll be honest, I didn’t really find anything particularly amazing about this shampoo by itself, but I think it works well with the whole L’Oreal EverPure collection. I would be really interested to see how it works on more color treated hair than mine!

The L'Oreal conditioner has a fantastic scent of minty goodness! It smells like a salon quality conditioner and I love it! The downfall is that I find myself having to use lot of product to even really feel like I’m conditioning my hair and what stinks even more is that the bottle is pretty small (I usually get the huge family size bottles). I have long, thick wavy hair and go through shampoo and conditioner like crazy so that's the one thing I would change about this product.

As for the mask, I honestly am not sure how I feel about the mask, and don’t have much to say about it. I have been using a decent amount in my hair and following the directions (let it sit in your hair for 3-5) and it does make your hair feel softer in the shower, however, I’m not sure that it makes a difference once my hair is dry. I think it could be a nice condition mask for some, but it doesn’t “wow” me and I don't think I will be purchasing it myself.

The leave in conditioner is another one that a little time to grow on me. I didn’t see a difference in my hair within the first couple of uses but now I really like it! I’ve been looking for a great leave in conditioner that would help with frizz and shine and this product does just that! It’s a lightweight serum and it doesn’t take much to make a difference so be careful when applying! I would start with a small amount and build up with each application - I use about 2 and a half pumps for my thick mane!

So overall, I think this L’Oreal EverPure collection is definitely one to try if you have color treated hair and are looking for a new group of products that helps nourish, treat and protect color treated hair! If you've tried this line before (or any others from the Ever Pure collection), let me know what you think!

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Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Review of St. Ives Products from Influenster

I was so excited to receive my first VoxBox from Influenster!! I was lucky enough to get some complimentary St. Ives products for testing purposes. If you haven't heard of Influenster, you can download their app or or read more about the company here.

Oatmeal Scrub & Mask

I'll start off with the scent. This oatmeal scrub smells rather 'earthy' and by earthy I mean it smells somewhat like mud, but in the best way possible - like a natural, relaxing spa experience type of smell. This scrub claims to soften skin and I will say that is definitely true! The exfoliating qualities feel simply amazing on your skin and definitely leaves your skin feeling a little more silky. Now as far as "soothing away dry skin" goes, I'm not so sure about that. This may have been because my skin wasn't extremely dry to begin with, but I couldn't tell a difference in the moisture level of my skin after using this

*I have a strict facial care regime so I was unable to use this product on my face, but I tested it on my hands and arm, so please keep that in mind while reading this review.

Summary: Yes, I would recommend this product (for the exfoliating and skin softening qualities)

St. Ives Pear & Soy Lotion

This is a new lotion from St. Ives and I'm not even sure that it is in stores yet!? I couldn't find it online but nonetheless, I am in love with it! Seriously though, this lotion smells SO fantastic, I can't get over it. It smells perfectly of pear but it's not overbearing. It also goes on smooth and absorbs pretty quickly; I didn't feel like I needed to let it 'dry' before getting dressed. I can't find anything wrong with this lotion! The only thing I would like to comment on is that I don't think it's moisturizing capabilities are great for winter. It feels more like a nice, light summer lotion. So if you are looking for a summer lotion (that smells superb), this would be ideal. If you are looking for a thicker moisturizer to really nourish you skin, I'm not sure that this one would be the product you're looking for.

If you just can't wait to get your hands on this fresh scent, there is some St. Ives Body Wash Revitalizing Pear & Soy that you can purchase!

Summary: Yes, I'd recommend this!

St. Ives Even & Bright Body Wash Pink Lemon & Mandarin Orange

I just want to preface this review and say that my opinion is completely based on the fact that I have sensitive skin, so that is what characteristic I'm focused on when using most products. With that being said, after only a few uses of this scrub, I noticed that my body was starting to break out and I stopped using it. I'm easily prone to breakouts so keep that in mind. If you don't have sensitive skin, this scrub might work for you. As far as the smell goes, it definitely smells like more like lemon than lemon and mandarin. The lemon sent is pretty prominent and it almost smells a little flowery as well. I wasn't a huge fan of it, but I also didn't hate it; I think the smell would just be a hit or miss for most people. Now as far as the exfoliation goes, I honestly didn't see much difference than any other typical body scrub. It didn't leave my skin feeling extraordinarily smooth or exfoliated.

Summary: No, I would not recommend this (for sensitive skin, at least)