DinoLingo

SO, once again my friends at Influenster.com asked me to do something.  This time, it was for my kids!  Well, mostly Lily since Luke isn't quite big enough for it :P   They asked me to watch this short clip about a language learning program called Dino Lingo with Lily.  We watched Spanish and French, Lily was in love with the French one!  It was a nice change of pace from the Spanish that she is always hearing on cartoons :)

I liked the preview of the video.  It reminded me of Hooked on Phonics when I was a kid.  Lots of repeating, fun music in the background, and fun pictures to look at in the process.

I guess we will see where this goes, but it's definitely something to look in to as a language learning tool for children!

Kiss Lashes

Part of my awesome voxbox was The Kiss Lash Starter Kit!  I was SUPER excited about this one!  Every year my brother and sister-in-law throw a big Halloween party.  I usually dress up and usually wear eyelashes.  I dressed up as Minnie Mouse this year and these lashes were perfect for the job.

SO, first I did my hair (I'll do another blog about that another day, today is about the lashes!)

Inside the kit was a pair of lashes, a tweezers thing that is supposed to help lash application be easy and a bottle of eyelash adhesive.








I opened up the kit and pulled everything out.  I have very sensitive eyes, but eyelashes usually do okay on me.  Even so, I tested the adhesive before hand.  It did fine :) I LOVE the fact that it's in a little reusable bottle.  These lashes can definitely be used more than once.  After I got comfortable in front of a mirror, I handed a friend the camera and went at my lashes!  I decided to go easy on the makeup because these lashes were HUGE!  I knew that they would be enough.  I put on a little eyeliner and put on my lashes.

I started off like the directions said.  Use the tweezer, put the adhesive on.....

Here goes nothing!









After a couple of tries I figured out that using my fingers was easier










All in all it only took about 7 minutes to get the lashes on!  They were super easy to use.  I almost always find out that they are easier to use just with my fingers though.  Here's the final result

 Before

And after!

All in all, I liked this brand of lashes.  I didn't use the 'pro lash applicator' but I could see how someone might find it useful.  My sensitive eyes wore these lashes all night long without any problems what so ever :)  I give this product a 9 out of 10!

Not Your Mother's Kinky Moves

First things first.  I have pretty funky hair.  It used to be super curly, but after I had my daughter in 2006 it went wacky!  It turned from curls that I had FINALLY accepted to kind of wavy with some spots curlier than others.  So I tried the Not Your Mother's Kinky Moves curl defying hair cream.  

Not Your Mothers Kinky Moves curl cream

I squirted just a bit too much, but I have a lot of hair so that's okay :)

                                      
             Rubbing it in.....                                                                          After it's all rubbed in



                                         

                                                                                          At the end of the day

SO, this product does what it says.  Just because my hair is stupid doesn't mean that it's awful.  This product smells AWESOME.  Better than other curl creams that I've used before.  The texture is up to par too, it dissolved into my hair like it was supposed to, so that was AWESOME.  A few other products I've used before clump up and leave white gooey things in my hair.  I think this might work on 'better' hair.  I straighten my hair a good bit, so the ends are trained :/  But I give this hair stuff a 9 out of 10.

My first Influenster VoxBox!

Disclaimer: I am reviewing some products provided to me by influenster.com.  I have not been influenced in any way by any other person or website when reviewing these products.  These are all my own thoughts, ideas and opinions.

First off I really must thank Ashley (http://strawberrysprinks.blogspot.com/) for getting me into this!  I did some reviews when my oldest daughter was an infant and have been looking for a reputable place to start doing it again!  I got super excited when I found out that I qualified for something called an influenster voxbox!!!

What's a voxbox!?  It's a fun little box offered by Influenster that has all sorts of goodies in it!  I got an email telling me that it was coming and told everybody that I knew!  I then anxiously awaited for my little treasure box to make it's arrival.  I was so excited that I checked the mail before I went to get my daughter from school (that's usually her job when we get home) and was stupid amounts of happy to see the box!  I instantly uploaded a pic of it to my Facebook.

EEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!  I had to wait in a car line for my daughter to be let out of school, but I knew that for this I would have to take videos and pictures of everything, so I waited til I got home to open my box :)








I got home and was excited.  I got my battery out of it's charger and loaded up the camera to take this video:

Inside the box I found some pretty great stuff.  I was SUPER excited about my spin pins and eyelashes in particular.  I use spin pins a lot and am pretty guilty of losing them a lot too.  And with Halloween coming up, I knew the eyelashes would be used for sure :)  Here's the rundown of what I got in the box:

The box included a Bath and Body Works Black Pepper Bergamot candle  a coupon for $10 off on in the store  eBoost,  
Goody Spin Pin, 
Kiss Ever Pro Lashes starter kit,  
New York Color limited edition dark shadows eye shadow, 
Not Your Mother's Kinky Moves curl defying hair cream
finally Vitabath's Wild Cherry scented spray

Influenster

I think I'll jump on this bandwagon.....blogging.  Here goes nothing!

I'm mostly starting because of a site called Influenster.  I qualified for something, and needed a blog to do some stuff with it, so there we go!  I will just start with this and elaborate later :)

What Is Influenster

Influenster is a free-to-join community of invited trendsetters who live to give opinions of products and experiences. Influenster creates links between brands and members to reward participation and influence future products.

So...what exactly is Influenster? So glad you asked. Here’s a handy definition that would make Merriam-Webster proud:

Influenster [in-floo-uhn-ster]

noun

An exclusive online community where tastemakers and trendsetters (such as yourself) come to share the latest and greatest news, places, products, and reviews with each other. 2. The hotspot you just bookmarked on your web browser that turns your social influence into sweet rewards.

Basically, Influenster is a place for culture junkies to come together and share their unique opinions of products and experiences. Active members of Influenster get exclusive access to deals, promotions, and swag from brands that thrive off the input (the good, the bad, and the ugly -- they just want to know what's up).

Do I have the chops to be a member?

Probably. Members have an active social life -- both online and offline -- and are always the first to tell friends about the latest discoveries. They want to be the first to know about the products other cool people are loving and hating. Is that you? Awesome, we want you as a member.

What’s involved in a membership?

As a member, you prove your influence by gaining Expert Badges and show how you live by earning LifeStage Badges...both of which are won in a variety of ways, such as: completing surveys, writing reviews, creating videos, and engaging in other social media.

What’s in it for me?

Very important. As a contributing member of Influenster, you get the chance to share your knowledge and know-how with other like-minded people.

You also get exclusive discounts on products and services based on the Expert Badges you unlock. You’ll have access to content and sales based on your influence and area of expertise.

As an active influencer, you’ll have the chance to get invites to Influenster programs so you can try the latest and coolest products catered towards your lifestyle before anyone else.

Members who participate actively on Influenster and engage in programs increase their opportunities to receive rewards.

If you participate in online challenges, play interactive games, spread the word to your friends, and gain currency within our system, you’ll earn serious street cred.

So wait, is this about getting free stuff?

Nope. If you’re here to mooch, this isn't the place for you. Nobody, no matter how high his or her Influenster Score, is guaranteed rewards. Even if you are offered a reward, you can always opt out. The real benefit of membership is access to exclusive content, product reviews, and discussion within a community of tastemakers. Perks are just the icing on the proverbial cake.

Why is this so fun?

There are many reasons. First and foremost, it's a forum for you and your peers to share your interests and discover what other trendsetters are doing and saying. It's like-minded people coming together to inspire one another and offer advice. Secondly, you’re competing with other members for the highest Influenster Score and Expert Badge scores. Just like a game that you can win, and winning is never not fun.

How did Influenster get started?

It was a dark and stormy night…wait, that’s not right. Influenster was started in 2010 by a team of people just like you: culture and beauty junkies with a whole lot of opinions about everything. We wanted a place to come together to share our opinions and hear what other people like us had to say about products and services. The goal? To learn what other influencers care about and to help brands make products that better serve us. After so many hours of labor, out popped Influenster -- an active community where real people share their experiences and give feedback to improve the products we use and the world we live in (yeah, we went there).

After all, you don't have to be a celebrity to think Diet Coke is bubbly and delicious. Every one of us can be influential in different areas with opinions that matter. As consumers, we want to know what other people like us think about products. Influenster is our answer. We give your opinions a voice and your feedback a direct route to brands and trendsetters.