Influenster Jolly Vox Box review

I was lucky enough to receive the Jolly Vox Box from Influenster!

Let's start from the beginning, in case you didn't understand that sentence ;-)  Jolly Vox Box?  Influenster?

Influenster is a fantastic website that allows users to share their opinion on products and brands that they use every day.  You can find out more here.  One of their trademarks is the Vox Box, which is a complementary (yes, free!) box of items- or sometimes, just one item- that they send to users to sample and review.  Often, the boxes are themed, so all of the products will relate to a holiday (such as Christmas or Valentine's Day), or a particular group of people (such as Moms or college students), or even other creative themes.  The Jolly Vox Box, as you might now imagine, was their winter holiday/Christmas-themed box and I am so happy to have received it because there were many great products inside that I'm sure will now always be found in my apartment.

If this has intrigued you, check out the Influenster site.  If you decide to join, come back here and comment or e-mail me with your e-mail address, and I will send you an invite!  I have 5 invites available, first come first served.  :)


The following products were in the Jolly Vox Box:

• Rimmel London Show Off Lip Lacquer, in 101 Celestial
• NYC New York Color HD Color Trio Eye Shadow, in 781 Long Beach Sands
• Ducklings Mini Rolls, in Paint Splatter
• Puffs To Go
• Skinny Cow Candy, Divine Filled Chocolates in Peanut Butter Creme

I'll review each of them separately below.  The headers link to a product page on each item, where you can find out more about availability, pricing, and other colors/designs/flavors available for each item.

Rimmel London Show Off Lip Lacquer, in 101 Celestial

This is a fairly bright pink colored lip color.  As Rimmel states, it's a cross between a lip gloss and a lipstick as the color is much more intense than a lip gloss would be, but the shine of the product is much closer to a lip gloss.  I didn't need much to achieve the look I wanted.  I wear makeup often but don't like it to be overwhelming, and one swipe noticeably colored my lips.  That being said, the color is great and long-lasting!  I've worn it twice so far- once for New Year's Eve and once on just a regular day- and I've been happy with it both times.  It's definitely a versatile product for any day use.

NYC New York Color HD Color Trio Eye Shadow, in 781 Long Beach Sands

To be honest, I had much higher hopes for this product than what was delivered.  I have brown eyes so all of my eyeshadows are in either the purple or brown/golden color families.  The Long Beach Sands palate contains a nude/pinkish shadow, a medium brown shadow, and a light brown shadow- colors that are close to what I typically wear.  However, these colors were not nearly as intense as I had hoped for and even after applying copious amounts of eye shadow, it was difficult to tell that I had applied any!  My skin is pretty fair, so this was somewhat of an accomplishment- though obviously not what I had hoped for.  I may continue to wear this eyeshadow on days when I want a light makeup application, but overall I'll probably stick to my usual eyeshadows instead of buying this again.

Ducklings Mini Rolls, in Paint Splatter

I haven't really tried this product yet, because I'm waiting to figure out exactly what to use it for.  That being said, I love the pattern of the tape I got.  It's cute and fun and as soon as I decide what I want to make or decorate with it, I will.  (I'm open to suggestions!)  I'm also sure that my little sister, who is super crafty, would love these and with her birthday coming up at the end of the month, I think a few Ducklings Mini Rolls would be a perfect component of her birthday present!  This product would be great for any crafty person.  For students who are looking to spice up their locker, notebooks, or backpack, I think this product would do a great job.  There are lots of designs to choose from!

Puffs To Go

I have a perpetual runny nose this winter (luckily it hasn't turned into a full-blown cold yet) and I've been carrying tissues with me everywhere!  Before I got these Puffs To Go, I'd just been folding up some tissues from a larger box and stuffing them into my purse, but that's always a pain because they get dusty or ripped or stuck in the zipper.  Also, I'm not brand-conscious about many things, but I am about tissues- I always use Puffs.  So I was very very happy to discover that this product combined two things that are important to me:  portability, and Puffs. There are only 10 tissues in each pack, which is the only downside to me, but I still plan on stocking up on more Puffs To Go the next time I'm at the store.

Skinny Cow Candy, Divine Filled Chocolates in Peanut Butter Creme

Yum!  That's the first word that comes to mind when I think about these candies.  Peanut butter and chocolate is one of my favorite candy combinations.  And what's even better?  There are six individual serving size packs in each box, and each pack contains 3 pieces of candy...and each pack is only 130 calories!  It's the one candy that makes me not feel guilty about snacking, and unlike most healthy foods, it still tastes delicious!  I didn't feel like I was missing anything compared to the normal peanut butter and chocolate candies I eat, and I know that it's better for me to eat the Skinny Cow Candy compared to those.  I also like the individual serving size packs because once it's gone I know I've eaten one serving and I'm not going to eat any more.


So overall, I was happy with 4/5 products from the Jolly Vox Box- not bad!  It was fun to try them all out.  With it being the new year, I'm definitely looking for new products to add into my routine, and the Jolly Vox Box helped me find a few!

I've been so happy with this Vox Box that I've been all over social media with it, too- check out my Jolly Vox Box Pinterest board, and my Instagram for some photos and videos of Jolly Vox Box products (with more on the way!).

Disclaimer:  I received these products free for review from Influenster.  All opinions expressed are 100% my own!

An Update...

Hi, readers!

(I know there aren't that many of you...)

I've been very busy with school recently, but one of my goals for 2014 is to get back into blogging more often.  So, stay tuned for an update in January.  I'm considering either moving this blog to Wordpress or creating a brand new blog from scratch.  We'll see!

A.

CONTEST~ Purex Laundry Detergent!

A quick contest that will run for the next 24 hours- win free Purex laundry detergent!  Here's what you have to do to enter:

Visit Purex's Let's Be Honest page or their Youtube feed and watch some of the Let's Be Honest videos.  Then, come back to this page and comment with what your favorite video was!  Simple!  For an additional entry, you can Like, Share, or Tweet about your favorite video, and then comment here that you did so.  One entry per method per person; contest ends 11:59 PM on Thursday, 7/19/2012.

Let's Be Honest is a campaign by Purex to convey simple, to-the-point messages about why Purex is a better laundry detergent for your family to use. From the website,

Whether it’s paying too much for “premium” detergent or uncovering the truth about skinny jeans, we’re shedding some light on everyday absurdities.

Visit the Let's Be Honest website for yourself to see why you should replace your other laundry detergent with Purex!  And, be sure to enter my contest to win free Purex for yourself by Thursday, 7/19!

FTC Disclaimer:  Purex provided me with coupons for free Purex laundry detergent in exchange for hosting this contest, and will provide me with additional coupons for myself after the contest ends.  All opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Stationery Card from Shutterfly!

Shutterfly has a huge selection of personalizable (is that even a word?) stationary cards for all occasions!  Here is one I recently ordered- thank you notes for graduation!

Classic Colors Graduation Announcement

Click here for Shutterfly's graduation announcements & gifts.

View the entire collection of cards.

What I'm Reading: Endworlds by Nicholas Read

First off, I'm sorry for  disappearing for the past few weeks!  Between being sick and trying to keep up with school and my thesis, I've just been extremely busy.

In that time, though, I've been trying my best to keep up with books I've promised to review.  The first of those is Endworlds by Nicholas Read.

Here is a synopsis of the series (which Endworlds is the first of), courtesy of NetGalley:

The conspiracy is real. Last decade, scientists made an astonishing discovery. Their telescopes looked out further than ever before and found another galaxy churning into the Milky Way. And in 2012, Earth flies right through the heart of that debris field . . . suns, planets, the works.The media is gagged. But the elite families know an extinction event when they see one. Cue the biggest and most expensive machine ever built: a particle accelerator in an underground silo, using quantum physics to punch a hole to a new world, a safe world.Only it isn't. Just ask those who patrol the quarantine. Those known only as Longcoats. From secret files, exclusive journals and years of investigative journalism, Endworlds pieces together for the first time how a disgraced billionaire, a rogue General and an ancient cult are shaping the world you think you live in, and the one soon to come. Read the Book. Join the Hunt. Save the World. 

And here is a synopsis of the book itself, courtesy of Amazon:

Billionaire industrialist Raef Eisman loses his daughter on an airliner in midair after flying through a strange electrical storm. With no body, no ransom and no explanation, he embarks on a crusade to find her . . . which sees him ousted from his company, stripped of his fortune and vilified by the world press. Only his faithful assistant, retired special forces colonel William Hills, stands at his side as they uncover primitive legends of ‘skypeople’ in the clouds, the trafficking of humans between dimensions, and a worldwide conspiracy of revisionist history that obscures our race’s true origin and purpose.Thought mad by his peers, Eisman inexplicably disappears as his vehicle plunges into the Thames. Instead of the 50-year old corporate raider emerging from the depths, a soggy 15-year old amnesiac rises in his place. A boy with no identity and no past.Dubbed “Eastwood” by those who find “the boy with no name”, he is conscripted by an underground army of teen refugees in the tunnels below Waterloo. Wards of an ancient organization intent on protecting the world from an increasing alien and inter-dimensional threat, these “Longcoats” induct Eastwood into a new life, with new allies and deadly enemies: the Fae’er of the First Age; the ageless Cassandrans; the shadowy Dae’mon; and a covert military junta known only as GRID - all on a collision course.

As you can probably tell from reading this synopsis, Endworlds is an interactive book which includes an on-line and real life treasure hunt based on clues provided on the Longcoats website.  I was intrigued by this idea- I've seen it become more popular recently, with series such as The 39 Clues, but I've never personally read or tried to participate in anything like this before.

To be clear, I have not finished reading Endworlds yet, but I have become completely intrigued by the path the story is taking.  The book starts off in what appears to be our modern-day society, with nothing out of the ordinary to suggest inconsistencies in the universe.  However, as the story progresses, more and more things seem to be out of place.  For example, early in the story, the main character's daughter disappears in a rather mysterious and strange way.  This event sets the tone for the rest of the book, and it guides the characters as well as the reader's mindset as the story progresses.  What was most interesting to me is that the book begins like it is realistic fiction, and while there are elements to the story that I would consider to be either sci-fi or dystopian-esque, the book is designed to be read as realistic fiction approaching non-fiction (think Lemony Snicket).

I am eager to continue reading Endworlds and subsequently, participate in the on-line adventure as well.  I would recommend this book to teenagers who enjoy mystery or science fiction, as well as "reluctant readers" who may be more inclined to read a book that has an interactive on-line component to go along with it.

FTC Disclaimer:  I received a copy of this book for free from NetGalley.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Freebie Sites #1: BzzAgent

I tried to do a series like this last year and I failed miserably at it after the second week (oops!), but I am going to attempt (again) to write a series of posts on websites that send out free products to consumers.  The sites are all different in their goals for sending out products, so it's important to learn about each site before deciding whether to join and participate.  I will highlight a different site each Thursday!


The first site that I'd like to highlight is BzzAgent.  You may recognize this name from a number of other posts on my blog.  I've been a member of BzzAgent for about a year and 9 months, and it's been fantastic!  Before I tell you about my experience as a BzzAgent, though, here is some information about what the company's purpose is.


BzzAgent is a Word of Mouth (WOM) marketing site.  What this means is that in exchange for providing free products, the recipient is then expected to spread the word about the product to family and friends.  You are not expected to provide a positive review- just an honest one, whether you liked the product or not.  Companies (such as L'Oreal, Maybelline, Dunkin' Donuts, and Orbit) hire BzzAgent to start this WOM marketing process for them.  BzzAgent works with the company to target a certain demographic whom they think are the prime users of the product.  Then, people who fit this demographic are offered a Campaign- meaning, they are given the opportunity to request a sample of the product as well as either coupons or samples to pass along to others who they think may be interested in trying out the product.  In exchange for this, BzzAgent asks that people report back how they spread "bzz" about the product.  On the website, you submit a report detailing who you talked to, what you said, and how they reacted.  It really is not much to do in exchange for receiving free products!  In addition to that, you can create bzz through Facebook, Twitter, and blogging.


My experience with BzzAgent has only been fantastic!  Over the past year and a half plus, I've participated in 17 campaigns, 6 of which have been online/digital products or services, and 11 of which have been for physical products.  Though it's certainly fun to get "real" items in the mail, the online campaings have been fun too!  I love talking about all the things I get for free and getting friends and family to try the products out with me.  Even after Campaigns have ended, I still find myself bzzing about certain products.  In particular, I still talk about the Maybelline Baby Lips lip balm and the Amazon Kindle Keyboard that I got from BzzAgent!  (Check out my Kindle reviews here and here.)


If you love spreading the word about new products, then BzzAgent might be for you!  Check out the site for yourself!  If you join, make sure to fill out the surveys available to you.  Then, sit back and wait patiently (difficult, I know!) for a Campaign invite, which will be sent to you by e-mail.  hszIt could take months for this to happen, but trust me- it's worth the wait.)  If the product or service looks interesting to you, accept the Campaing offer and then get bzzing away!


Are you a member of BzzAgent?  What do you think of it?

FTC Disclaimer:  I am a member of BzzAgent.  However, I was not asked to write this post, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Holiday Cards from Shutterfly

Shutterfly has a fantastic collection of holiday cards this year!  For the past couple of years, I have ordered my holiday cards from Shutterfly, partly because they have a huge selection of designs, and partly because I always seem to have a promo code for the Shutterfly website.  When you combine those two, it only makes sense to order from there!  Below you can see the holiday card that I will be sending out this year~ how adorable! :)  I can't wait until my friends and family see it!

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

FTC Disclaimer:  In exchange for posting this, Shutterfly will send me a coupon code that I can use towards my next purchase.  This has not affected my post in any way.  All opinions expressed are my own.

BzzAgent Campaign - Aliyah has a Kindle!

I recently joined the most amazing Bzz Campaign yet- for the Amazon Kindle 3!  (I've written about BzzAgent here in the past, so check out that post first if you don't know what BzzAgent is.)  That's right- BzzAgent sent me a Kindle 3, for free, to sample & spread the word about!  Now that I've had it for a few weeks, I thought I'd share my opinions.


The Kindle was pretty easy to set up, though I did use the guide that came with the Kindle to help myself out.  You can charge the Kindle either through the USB drive on your computer, or by plugging it in to a regular outlet (mine came with an adapter that allows me to switch between the two; these are also available for purchase if your Kindle does not come with one).  I left mine to charge for most of the day while I was in classes, and then in the evening I went about putting things to read on my Kindle.


I wasn't ready right away to pay for books to load onto my Kindle, but I did have some PDF files that I needed to take to class.  I decided to put those on the Kindle and see how things worked out.  After skimming through the guide, I realized how easy it is to add PDFs to the Kindle.  All you have to do is drag the file to the "Kindle" drive, and it's loaded!  I was so glad it was easy to save the PDFs onto the Kindle.  Now, instead of printing 20+ pages of articles each week, I can bring the articles I need on my Kindle and save my printing balance for other things.  The one thing I did not like about reading PDFs on the Kindle was that you can't adjust the text size.  Instead, you have to use the zoom function, which took some getting used to.  But once I did get used to using the zoom, it was super convenient to read my PDFs on the Kindle.


I also realized that my local library allows me to check out Kindle editions of library books.  How cool is that?!  I'm away at school, but I can still read books from my home library on my Kindle!  It's a great way to read books that I wouldn't buy, and that my school library doesn't carry.  Initially, I was a bit apprehensive about reading a book on the Kindle as opposed to a print edition.  I've only read two books in non-print format before, and only because I was so desperate to read them that I found them on the Internet instead of waiting to get them from the library.  I found it difficult to read for too long on the computer screen, and I was afraid that the Kindle would be a similar reading experience to that.  I was mistaken!  It is very easy to read from the Kindle screen since it is not lit like a computer screen.  It really does look like you're reading from paper even though it is a digital screen!  I can also read outside in the sun without there being any glare on the screen like there is when using a computer outside.

Another thing that initially took some getting used to was the fact that the Kindle screen is only wide enough to display one page of text at a time compared to the two page spread of a print book.  But the Kindle can turn pages so quickly that it does not affect my reading experience at all. 

I also love that the Kindle as such a long battery life.  In over 2 weeks of having my Kindle, I've only charged it once, and that was only because I needed to plug my Kindle in to my computer to upload a book, not because it needed charging.

Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised with the Kindle.  The reading experience, though not identical to reading from a print book, was not as drastically different as I had expected.  The screen itself was easy to read from, and even when I spend a lot of time reading a book on the Kindle, I don't get a headache, and my eyes don't hurt.  I can even read outside with no problem!  While I still think I prefer reading books in print when I can, the Kindle definitely fits into my school life much more easily.  It fits into my purse and is much slimmer and lighter than a typical book.  Plus, since my school library and the public library in town don't have a wide selection of the books I like to read, the Kindle allows me to read the things I want to even when the libraries don't carry the item.

I would recommend the Kindle to anyone with a busy, on-the-go lifestyle that loves reading but can't figure out how to fit it into their life.  The Kindle is just the thing that will allow you to fit reading back into your life!

Update 1/26/12:  I posted an updated review of the Kindle Keyboard after using it for a few months!

BzzAgent provided me a Kindle Keyboard as part of a Campaign in exchange for providing my honest opinion on the product.  I was provided no additional compensation in exchange for writing a positive review.

BzzAgent Campaign - How "Smarterer" are you?

I recently joined a BzzCampaign for a new website called Smarterer.  Smarterer allows you to take tests about a wide variety of different websites, applications, and programs, and then share your scores- if you choose to- online (Facebook, Twitter, your blog) or even on your resume.  The tests are scored similarly to the SATs (I know...bad thing to compare to!) in that the points are on a scale of 800.  After answering only 10 questions, you can get an accurate score.  The more questions you answer, the more your score can improve.  Because there are always more questions being added to the tests and more people taking them, you do need to answer more questions on each test in order to prevent your score from decreasing over time.


So far, I have taken tests for BzzAgent, Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger.  It's fun to see how well versed I am in these websites that I use every day!  I realized that I know a lot about BzzAgent, and not so much about Twitter!  In fact, I'm at the top of the leaderboard for the BzzAgent test at the moment, with a score of 797.  Based on your score on each test, you also get classified as "smart", "smarter", or "smarterer".  Right now I am "smarter" about Twitter and Blogger, and "smarterer" about BzzAgent and Facebook.


As I said earlier, you can share your scores on your blog.  My scores are in the left-hand sidebar- check them out!  The only problem that I have with this feature is that, since the scores are shared through an HTML code that you have to post yourself, and not a widget, the scores you share don't automatically update.  Therefore every time you take a new test or answer more questions, you have to go back to your blog and update the HTML code.  Update 10/19/11- I was mistaken on this!  The scores do automatically update!  Update 10/20/11- But if you take a new test, your score won't automatically add until you update the HTML code.


Overall, however, I've been extremely pleased with Smarterer.  The quizzes are fun, and the competitiveness of vying for a spot on the leaderboard keeps me returning to the site at least a few times a week to take the quizzes.  I've participated in a few "online-only" BzzCampaigns over the past few years, and Smarterer is the first of those campaigns that I've really enjoyed participating in!  I definitely recommend joining Smarterer and trying it out for yourself.

Smarterer is a free service.  I received an early invitation to the site from BzzAgent.  Since then, the site has opened to the general public and can be joined for free.

BzzAgent!

I have been a BzzAgent since May 2010.  What is a BzzAgent, you may ask?  Good question!

BzzAgent is a word-of-mouth social marketing company.  In a nutshell, companies hire BzzAgent to market their products to a certain demographic.  BzzAgent then gives the product to certain members of the site (the Agents), who typically receive the product to sample (usually, a full-sized sample!),  coupons to give to friends & family, and a BzzGuide with information about the product and some ideas on how to share about it with others.  And it's not "no-name" companies that use BzzAgent.  Some companies that have used BzzAgent for Campaigns in the past have been Orbit gum, Scrubbing Bubbles, Hanes, Maybelline, Keurig, and Dr. Scholl's!  These are reputable companies that want to promote their newest, coolest products to you.

My very first campaign, way back in July 2010, was for Orbit gum.  It was a ton of fun to participate in!  That summer, I was working at a day camp, and I was able to share coupons for free Orbit gum with a bunch of my co-counselors.  Since then, I've also participated in campaigns for Maybelline lip color, L'Oreal eyeshadow, TresEMME shampoo, and Water Bobble.  Now, like any product you might try, I wasn't a fan of everything BzzAgent sent me to sample, but I had a lot of fun trying out all these new products anyway!  (And I still use my Water Bobble nearly every day- it's sitting right here on my desk as I write this!)

Just last week, BzzAgent started an awesome new program called the Daily Bzz.  Now, in addition to being selected for Campaigns based upon demographics as in the past, there are certain campaigns that are open for this new Daily Bzz program.  You get to be as creative as you want to tell BzzAgent why you deserve to participate in the Daily Bzz Campaign.  And these campaigns are the really awesome ones- such as Campaigns for a Kindle, Cuisinart blender, and The Help.  I've been having so much fun with the Daily Bzz Campaigns I've participated in so far!  My "creative" entries have all been videos- linked here for the Kindle, here for MiO, and here for the Cuisinart blender.  The Daily Bzz is open from 11am-6pm each weekday.  Then, BzzAgent looks at all of the entries, picks their favorites, and lets you know the following business day if you've gotten into the Campaign.  I've been SO lucky with this so far, and gotten into the Kindle 3, MiO, AND Cuisinart campaigns!!  That's right- I'm going to be getting all three of these products, totally FREE, just in exchange for talking about it!  Did I mention how AWESOME BzzAgent is?!

So, do you think BzzAgent is for you?  Great!  Just go here to sign up and get started today!  Make sure to answer all the surveys that are provided for you, and you'll get invited to a campaign in no time!