What's In The Mail

I've been sick for the last few weeks, I have not been spending as much time online checking for freebies and samples.  Sadly there wasn't much in my mail this week for me.  Though if Natasha Jones would change her address that would be awesome as I had to return to sender some of her junk mail!  What did come though is my new mission kit from Smiley360.com.  This is a mission for Emergen-C Vitamin Drink Mixes.  This was something I really wanted to try because I am on a crap ton of vitamins per my doctors order because I have several Deficiencies.  I am frequently trying to find fun new ways to take my vitamins that don't include a pill as those pills tend to upset my stomach.  So a vitamin drink was totally something I am willing to try, and hoping to love.  I've recently made the switch from my regular calcium pills to the Caltrate chocolate truffle soft chews so I am in the market to make changes to the way I take my vitamins.  Hopefully I'll find it with some help from Emergen-C!

Here is what my kit was supposed to contain:

• Five packets of Emergen-C® Vitamin Drink Mix (flavors: Super Orange, Coconut-Pineapple, Strawberry-Kiwi, Immune+Citrus and Warmers Berry Medley) for you to try and share your additional samples with family and friends
• A pack of five $1.00 off coupons

Here is what I got:
• Five packets of Emergen-C® Vitamin Drink Mix (flavors: Coconut-Pineapple, 2 Strawberry-Kiwi, Immune+Citrus and Warmers Berry Medley)
• A pack of five $1.00 off coupons


I somehow ended up with no Super Orange and 2 Strawberry-Kiwi.  I guess I'll just have to wonder about the super orange or purchase a package!  I will be trying these out in the next week and posting a review right here on the blog.  I can't wait to test these out and find out if any are a winner I can switch into my daily routine.


So what else was in the mail you ask, well it was some coupons for my coke rewards for free 20 oz that my Father will be happy to receive.  If you don't know about my coke rewards you sign up for their account and use codes that you find on coke products to get free products out of there catalogue.  They have recently updated there rewards system so if you haven't checked it out you should.  You can now share stuff and invite friends to join to get status points too.  I've not been doing much and don't purchase many coke products but already the points have added up to get my dad 4 free 20 oz coke products! 



From the past week I had received another Smiley360 kit for the ARM & HAMMER
Truly Radian Family of Product.  It contained:
• One tube of ARM & HAMMER™ Truly Radiant™ Rejuvenating Toothpaste
• One Spinbrush™ Truly Radiant™ Deep Clean Manual Toothbrush
• One bottle of Truly Radiant™ Whitening & Strengthening Fluoride Rinse

I have been using this product religiously for the last week and will be back before Friday to give anyone who wants to read about it my full review.  These really are some great products that I can't wait to talk about!

I did get all of these products for free but that will not sway my opinion in any way so check back to find out what I though of them!

Southern Spirits

Book: Southern Spirits
Author: Angie Fox
Series: Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries Book 1
Publisher: Angie Fox
Release Date: January 21st, 2014
Pages: 280

What I Gave It: 5 Stars

Cover:  A lot of Cozy's are going towards these cartoon covers and I really like them.  They are cute and convey an air of fun over the book.  This worked well with this new Paranormal Mystery from Mrs. Fox.  I'm very happy we didn't end up with the normal Paranormal cover you guys know what I talking about, the ones with scantily clad people in funky positions.  This one works a whole lot better with this book then one of those would have, and it sets the mood for the book.  

Summary:  Verity Long is a down on her luck graphic designer from Sugarland Tennessee who gets in a little over her head when she leaves her fiancé Beau Wydell at the Altar.  Beau happens to be the most eligible bachelor in three counties, and is from a very prominent family.  After being sued by Mrs. Leland Herworth Wydell III in revenge for the scandal jilt Verity finds herself owing more than $20,000.  While cleaning out her house to get the money she inadvertently lets loose the ghost of Beau's uncle a 1920's gangster named Frankie, and accidently grounds him to her ancestral home.  Saddled with a ghost, and no money in the hopes of keeping her house Verity takes a job working for her ex's brother black sheep cop Ellis Wydell.  She is charged with the job of cleaning out a violent spirit from the restaurant that Ellis is remodeling.   Many hijinks ensue during the book which culminates in Ellis and Verity being embroiled in a decades old murder mystery.  Will they be able to solve the mystery, and move the ghost on before the murder catches them!   

Favorite Quote:  This pretty much sums up how it all starts ""Listen, Doll" Frankie said his tone softening a hair. "When your great-uncle so-and-so dies, there's a reason you scatter his ashes.  You scatter," he said making a motion like he was feeding birds or something.  "You let them catch the wind.  You give the spirit Freedom if he wants it."  His voice grew tight.  "You don't dump them all in one spot then stomp on 'em.""

My Thoughts:  This book was so much fun, as are most of Mrs. Fox's book.  She has a real way with humor, and world building.  Its loaded with interesting character that make up a fun, and charming new world.  Truthfully this book was a blast of a ride from start to finish, and I totally enjoyed every bit of it.  The pacing was fast, and the writing was well done.  I really found myself loving Verity and Ellis.  I also loved her cute skunk for a pet she was a great idea, and has never been done before.  Lauralee is a good start for a character though I wish she had been more a part of the story.  There is also a whole array of interesting ghost that feature in this book, though my favorite was Jilted Josephine.  I totally want to see more of her, though her mother could move on to the great beyond! 

I believe that I would put this book in the Paranormal Cozy genre, and would totally recommend this to anyone who loves Cozy Mysteries of a ghostly nature.  Also anyone who loves Mrs. Fox's other works should totally love this great new world she created.  I'm dying to read the next book in this series. 


**I received this book from the Author in return for my hones review.  I received no other money, or goodie bags.  Receiving this product from the author in no way influences my opinion of this book. **

     

Rimmel London Products Reviews

Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eyeliner & Gentle Eye Make Up Remover Reviews

I recieved these products in my Influenster #FrostyVoxBox for testing, and review purposes.  I had some love hate with these products so I'm blogging about it to let others know how I felt about them.  Here's the low down dirt on these two products.

These are the New Rimmel London Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eyeliners.  They come in 10 colors, though I'm only interested in a few.  I received the Black color, and I loved it.  Truthfully this product rocked, it went above and beyond my expectations.  It goes on smooth, and stayed on great.  I was able to create an awesome cat eye trying this out.  This is a product I will keep using, and I will purchase more when I'm out.  I'm also considering purchasing this in other colors like the sparkling black, the brown and the silver because these are currently colors I use in different brands.  I do also have another Kohl Kajal Eyeliner in a Julep brand.  I will say the price tag is a huge difference between the brands, but  I can tell no difference in how it goes on or how long it lasts.  So I won't be up purchasing again for the Julep when I can just purchase this at Walmart for more than half the price. 

Here was the hate product.  I feel really bad saying I hate a product, but I had some problems with this one.  This is the Rimmel London Just Let It Go Long Lasting & Waterproof Eye Make Up Remover.  It hypes as a Gently product that removes all eye make up, including long lasting & waterproof make up, with no oily residue.  Its supposed to be suitable for sensitive eyes & contact lens wearers; and states it Dermatological & ophthalmological tested.  Sound great and like it would totally be something I would love.  Though it takes some serious rubbing to get makeup off with this remover.  Even with only gentle rubbing it caused my eyelids to become irritated, and swell.  I used this to take off my eye make up and after it irritated I used mild soap to wash it off.  I still woke up the next day with red swollen eyelids and it was not fun.  To make sure it was this product I used it on a different day when I had been make up free all day it still caused the same affect.  So I discontinued the use of this product and won't be using it again.  I can not recommend this to anyone, though if you are willing to try it anyway I will say it does not leave an oily residue like other waterproof make up removers.  I guess there was a plus side to this after all!   

**I received these products for free for testing and review purposed from Influenster.com.  These Opinions are all my own** 

Ecotools Sleek + Shine Finisher Hair Brush

The Ecotools Brush Review 

This is the Ecotools Sleek + Shine Finisher Hair Brush that I received from Influenster in my #FrostyVoxBox.  This was by far the best product or the product I was most pleased with. 
 
I totally didn't expect to love this but I ended up liking it anyway.  I never use brushes like this with synthetic or regular boar brushes.  Generally I use paddle brushes with regular plastic bristles.  So while this was almost something I use it was a little different than my normal brush.  This brush has slits on the underside that lets air while drying its supposed to cut down on dry time and it truthfully does.  I found that my hair took half the time to style.


I used this brush by sectioning out my hair, and running this brush though those section while blow-drying.  I blowed the hair down pulling it towards the front while keeping the hair  tightly in the brush.    


                                            
 
Normally my hair dries in a wavy frizz and I spend about an hour straitening it out.  Though with this brush I didn't have to do any straitening.  This first picture above is how my hair normally turns out after blow-drying, the second is how my hair turned out just with blow-drying using this brush only. 


  









 
 
 

Above is the finished style that I ended up with.  This was a vast improvement to the normal wave I get from regular blow drying or air drying.  In the end I didn't even have to straighten my hair. A process that normally takes me at least an hour and a half took me 30 minutes to create.  That is so much less time that my hair is not being exposed to heat, and so much more time I get to do whatever I want. 

I'm calling this a brush a "TOTAL WIN" and will be using this brush more!  I also have plans to try out more of the Ecotools hair brush line. 

**I received these products for free for testing and review purposed from Influenster.com.  These Opinions are all my own** 

Influenster #FrostyVoxBox

I am currently a member of Influenster.com which is a site where they send you boxes of products to try, review, and post about on social media sites.  If you would like to check it out you can do so with this referral link: www.influenster.com/r/685947 

 

Here is the Influenster #FrostyVoxBox Review

 

My most recent box that I received was the #FrostyVoxBox, and it contained all kinds of items to help make the holidays better.   Some of the products I received were an Ecotools Hairbrush which I will review on this blog.  I also received some makeup/beauty items to do my holiday face they were an NYC Lipstick, Rimmell London Scandaleyes Kohl Kajal Eyeliner, Rimmell London Just Let It Go Long Lasting & Waterproof Eye Make Up Remover, and a sachet of Boots No7 Advanced Serum.  Then there were the food products which were the McCormick Thyme to season holiday meals, a bag of FruitVines Bites, and A bag of Celestial Tea.  There were a few coupons included too.  This is one of the better boxes I've seen since I signed up, and I was really glad I got it.  I've enjoyed getting to know and use these products for the most part. 

 

I'll be reviewing the Rimmell Products and the Ecotools brush here on the blog so I won't talk about those right now. 

 

Here is the Good, The Bad, and The lowdown on the Frosty Box!  I will tell you I loved the Fruit Vines Bites and I don't normally like Fruit Vines licorice.  I also loved the Thyme I've used it many times though I don't know if its any different than there regular thyme since this was supposed to be the Gourmet Thyme.  Though I do like that its in a glass jar. 

 

The things I was disappointed with were the Celestial tea and the Boot No 7 Advanced serum.  Mostly though it was because they didn't really send you enough to make a real opinion of and sent you a coupon for the full sized product instead.  If I'm expected to review a product I expect to get enough of a sample to be able to form a real opinion on the product.  Instead I received a sachet of Boots No 7 Advanced Serum and a target coupon for $2 off of a product that's normally $22.  I decided to try the sachet and see what it was about anyway.  Since its a sachet the only thing I can say is that there was enough for 2 days and while it made the area around my eyes softer it was not anymore softer than my Olay total effects currently does.  So I chose not to spend the extra money on purchasing this full sized product.  I also received the Celestial tea the same way.  There was a sample of one bag of tea, enough for one cup and a coupon for the full sized product.  This however being a cheaper product and something I purchase anyway was something I ended up buying.  Lets face it I love a good tea.

 

 

 

Which brings me to the last product I received.  The NYC New York Color Expert Last Lipstick, in Sugar Plum color.  It is an awesome color and it stays on great.  I've swatched it out to the right, its a really cute darker pink with a nice shine.  I've been wearing it off and on since I received it.  It also smells great.  I would also like to try out the NYC Color in the Snowcone color it looks like a really cute shimmery pink.  I haven't gotten around to purchasing it yet because I haven't seen it in store but as soon as I do its MINE! 

 

**I received these products for free for testing and review purposed from Influenster.com.  These Opinions are all my own** 

Giving Him Hell

Book: Giving Him Hell
Author: Jamie Quaid
Series: Saturn's Daughter book #3
Publisher: Book View Café
Release Date: September 30th, 2014
Pages: 256

What I Gave It: 3 Stars

Cover: There is a lot going on in this cover, and truthfully I don't love it.  I get why the elements on the cover were chosen, but it just doesn't mesh well.  I don't care for the puff of fire at the back.  I also don't care for the way that Tina is posed or that she is holding a fire extinguisher.  It's pretty much just a big mess, and it doesn't make me want to read this book.  Hence why it took me so long to read this book even though I got it for free as a review copy.

Summary:  It's Christmas in the Zone.  Our hero Tina just wants to relax and enjoy a normal Christmas.  However as one of Saturn's daughters nothing ever turns out the way it's supposed to for Tina.  Acme is up to it's old tricks, and now with Max's sneaky father they are using eminent domain to push the zone's inhabitants out of their homes.  Tina will have to use the law plus her powers to find out what is under the zone, and why Acme want's it so bad.

Favorite Quote:  Tina "If you tell me you're accepting MSI's offer, I'll reach across the table and punch you in your pretty face," I threatened giving him the evil eye so he's know I meant it.  Andre: "I'll buy a warehouse in Fell's Point, we can all live in it , call it the Yellow Submarine." He suggested.  Tina: "NO! We are not going down without a fight."

Review/My Thoughts:  This book is another unique look into the world of the Zone that Jamie Quaid created.  It is part paranormal fantasy, part science fiction, and its all unique.  This series is also somewhat humorous, I found myself laughing out loud at several parts startling my boyfriend while he was sleeping!  In this installment we finally put some of the puzzle together, and we are finally getting to find out what the heck is under the Zone.  It was really different that's for sure.  To tell you what would be a SPOILER, but it was for sure not what I was expecting.  I really enjoyed this one even though at times it felt as if our hero lacked good guidance, and tended to run around willy-nilly.  For the most part this is an interesting face paced read, and with the ending I'm really interested to find out what's in store for The Zone next!  In case that wasn't clear I will be tuning in for any future installments in this series that Mrs. Quaid writes. 

** I received this book from the Author in return for my honest review.  I received no other money, or goodie bag.  That in no way changes my opinion of this book .**