Testing out any new beauty product can be an annoying and expensive task. Especially if you're not familiar with a brand. One great thing about today's modern age, is that beauty experts and influencers do all the work for you now. They get the latest products, try them out, and then they let you know how each product worked for them. Sounds like a dream job right?

If you're just an average beauty user, like myself, don't be so hard on yourself. Companies don't want just the experts to review them, they need consumers like us to test out products and let our friends and family know what we think. This is all possible today with companies like Influenster.

If you have no idea what Influenster is, no worries I got you. Influenster is a website where you review products and can actually test out products for free based on your social media influence. Every once and a while members get to take surveys to see if they match up for a product campaign, which are also known as Voxboxes. With the product campaigns, you get to test out some products and you are assigned optional social media tasks, the only requirement is to fill out the survey after! The best part is that, this website is 100% free! How cool is that?!

I was lucky enough to be selected for the Covergirl Peacock Voxbox! Influenster sent me two full size Covergirl products to test out and review all for free. Inside this Voxbox were the Covergirl Peacock Flare Mascara and the Covergirl Melting Pout Liquid Lipstick in Shade Number 105.

Now just to make things clear and lay it all out in the open, I did receive these two products complimentary for testing purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Scouts honor. Now let's dig in!

The first product I actually tested out was the Peacock Flare Mascara. For me, I'm super picky when it comes to mascara. I have super short eyelashes, and I always look for a mascara that is going to give me longer lashes. While the Peacock Flare doesn't necessarily lengthen your lashes, it does give them some extra volume. The mascara has a vitamin and mineral enriched formula, which does feel nice and absorbs quickly onto your lashes. The applicator is also very great, it applies well and is able to reach all your little lashes while giving an even coverage. It's a pretty basic mascara, but it does get the job done and is a great option for a drug store mascara.

Next up is the Melting Pout Liquid Lipstick in Shade Number 105. When I saw Shade Number 105, I thought it was going to be a nude pink shade. But the color packaging does not match what the color looks like on your lips. On my lips, it was almost a shade lighter. The lipstick itself isn't very vibrant or bold. But to fix that all you need to do is either apply an extra amount of lipstick to your lips or buy the lipstick you want in one shade darker. But other than that the lipstick is not that bad. What I really like about it is the applicator, which is actually a really fluffy sponge that is soft on your lips.

Typically I'm not a huge Covergirl fan. For me specifically, I hate buying most of those drug store makeup brands simply because they're not cruelty free. Whenever I buy makeup, I buy from brands I trust, brands that promise to not test on animals. Covergirl is NOT a cruelty free brand, so I will not purchase anything from them until their policies change. But what I will do, is give them a fair and unbiased review. There products are not bad quality at all, I was pretty impressed with the two products I tested out. If Covergirl was a cruelty free company, would I go out and buy these products? Possibly. But until that happens, it's all just a what if scenario.

Until tomorrow.

Whenever the new year rolls around everyone has different resolutions. Whether it is to lose weight, have a healthier diet, or even try different recipes, it's always great to start the new year off by trying new things.

So when I received the Tasty Voxbox from Influenster last year, I was hesitant. There were some products I already knew I loved, but majority of those products were items I never wanted to taste or try.

For those of you that have never heard of the website Influenster, it is a website where members can leave product reviews and some lucky few get to actually test out some products for free! Members connect all their social media profiles, the more followers you have, the higher your influence. Every once and a while members get to take surveys to see if they match up for a product campaign, which are also known as Voxboxes. With the product campaigns, you get to test out some products and you are assigned optional social media tasks, the only requirement is to fill out the survey after! The best part is that, this website is 100% free! How cool is that?!

When 2017 came rolling around the corner, I decided this is the year I'm going to try new things. My first step towards this resolution was actually giving some of these products a chance.

Just to make everything completely clear, I received the following products complimentary to test and review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

Inside the Tasty Voxbox were the following products:

Splenda Naturals Stevia Sweetener

Frank’s Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce

A Coupon For Smartmade by Smart Ones

French’s Orginal Crispy Fried Onions

A Coupon For Country Crock Buttery Spread

Yogi Tea Bags in Green Tea Blueberry Slim Life and Sweet Tangerine Positive Energy

Kashi Dark Cocoa Plant Protein Powder

Artificial sweeteners are always popular to use, especially for coffee or tea. People always pick the sugar substitute because it seems like the "healthier" option. That might be because they are low in calories. But most of the time, artificial sweeteners end up tasting a lot sweeter than actual sugar. But with the Splenda Naturals Stevia Sweetener, you get the sugar taste combined with the guilt free feeling because it is low calories, just like an artificial sweetener. But what's the difference? Well instead of using synthetic sugars, this type of Splenda sweeter uses natural and non-GMO ingredients. It has a Stevia extract which comes directly from the Stevia plant. So in short, it is like a healthy sugar alternative that tastes exactly like sugar! Sounds too good to be true right? Well us sugar lovers lucked out because it is as true as it can be!

When it comes to hot sauce, Frank’s Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce is easily the best choice. Why? Well, the original sauce is made with a premium blend of aged cayenne peppers. It adds the perfect amount of spice and heat to all of your favorite foods. It really is the perfect balance of being not too hot while having a little kick, and it can be paired with anything. In fact, their slogan is "I put that s*** on everything," and you literally can. In all honesty, Frank's Red Hot Sauce has been my go to hot sauce for years and I really do put it on everything.

Microwaveable meals are always good go to meal, especially if you really don't have time to cook a full meal. But with most microwavable meals there are always problems. Either they're not too filling or they do not taste good at all. Smart Ones is known for their healthy and great tasting meals but now they have a new and different option: Smartmade by Smart Ones. Smartmade has a range of meals that are made just like you would make at home. They use ingredients and cooking techniques like grilling or roasting, and even added some even healthier options. Now if you're a vegetarian, there are only two vegetarian options, which is why I never redeemed the coupon. However, for all of the meat lovers out there, you're in luck. A majority of the Smart Made meals include meat.

The product that really made me step out of my comfort zone was French’s Orginal Crispy Fried Onions. I had no desire to try it, but nevertheless I stuck to my resolution and tried it. And to be quite honest, I did not (and still do not) understand the point of these. It is literally a box of chopped up onion rings. Personally, I would never add chopped up onion rings as topping to my salad or on my veggie burger. I even searched Pinterest to find a use for them, and nothing sounded good. And I certainly would not eat these as a snack. But to each their own.

In my family, our go to butter alternative is the Country Crock Buttery Spread. So when I saw the coupon for a free tub of Country Crock, I was stoked. When it comes to butter alternatives finding one that tastes just as good as butter but has fewer calories can be difficult to find. Country Crock's original buttery spread is made with real ingredients like a blend of oils, water and a pinch of salt. They also have at least 70% less saturated fat and 60% fewer calories compared to butter. Country Crock's buttery spread is a delicious alternative that can be used for just about anything! In fact, along with the coupon, Country Crock provided a cookie recipe. The Make It Yours Cookie Recipe is also on their website.

When it comes to tea, you either love it or you hate it. Personally, I strongly dislike most flavors. However, when I saw the Yogi Tea Bags in the Tasty Voxbox, I figured I'll give them a try, especially since the flavors I received were very intriguing. The two flavors I received were: Green Tea Blueberry Slim Life and Sweet Tangerine Positive Energy. The Green Tea Blueberry Slim Life tea, by far, was the superior sample. When you first take a sip of the tea it does not taste very strong, instead you get a subtle sweetness thanks to the blueberry flavor. But as you let the tea sit and absorb into the water it gets stronger by the second. The same goes with the Sweet Tangerine Positive Energy tea, it takes a bit to fully absorb into the water. But once it does, the taste is strong and any tea lover will enjoy it. The tangerine flavor is unique, but it gives the tea a sweet and fruity flavor. On the actually tea bags, they have compliments and encouragements on them! How sweet is that?

When you're a vegetarian or vegan, getting enough protein is always a main concern. Finding an alternative protein can be difficult, especially if you want something that tastes great. Most people go for a protein bar or shake, but most of the time those are not the tastiest. So when I saw the Kashi Dark Cocoa Plant Protein Powder in the box, I was hesitant to try it. I'm not a huge fan of protein shakes, but figured why not give it a try. Even though I'm not a big protein shake fan, Kashi's powder was actually pretty good! It contains 21g of plant protein, all while not containing any GMOs, be gluten free, and also be vegan friendly. This is a product that actually is really good for you. Mix this powder with your favorite kind of milk (or milk substitute) and maybe even add some other ingredients to have a filling meal while you're on the go. Or if you really want to get creative, add some powder to your favorite pancake mix and have some protein filled pancakes! Now that's really delicious.

Even though I was hesitant to try some of these snacks, I have to admit that Influenster was right, they were pretty tasty. Here's to the New Year and trying new things! Speaking of trying new things, join me on Influenster today! It's free, why not sign up and get one of these awesome boxes for yourself?

Until next time.

We all have those stages in our lives where we have been extremely busy and constantly running around and working our butts off! Whether it is a busy time at work or a busy time at school, we're still giving 110% even though we felt like we were on our death bed. But when that busy time is over, we can finally take a day to relax and destress. Now if you've never worked so hard that you felt like you were dead after, you're lucky. The rest of us aren't so lucky, we need things to revive us.

It's almost like Influenster, knew that I needed a pick me up. I was lucky enough to receive the Revive Voxbox from them! For those of you that have no idea what I am talking about Influenster is a website where you can try out products for free as well as review them! Members connect their social media and can also leave product reviews on the website. But every once and a while members get to take surveys to see if they match up for a product campaign. Those product campaigns are called Voxboxes. With the product campaigns, you are assigned various social media tasks which are optional, the only requirement is to fill out the survey after! It is free to join so why not sign up?

Here are the following items that were inside the Revive Voxbox:

• BodyTech Shaker Bottle
• BodyTech Whey Tech Pro 24 Strawberries & Cream Protein Shake Powder
• PLNT by The Vitamin Shoppe Vanilla Plant Protein Powder
• The Vitamin Shoppe Next Step Fit N' Full Shake Cookies & Cream Protein Powder
• Hills Bros Colombian Medium Roast Compostable PurPod
• Kaui Coffee Garden Isle Medium Roast Compostable PurPod
• Chock Full o'Nuts Midtown Manhattan Medium Roast Compostable PurPod
• SheaMoisture Fruit Fusion Coconut Water Weightless Shampoo
• SheaMoisture Fruit Fusion Coconut Water Weightless Creme Rinse
• SnackWell's Caramel Macchiato Biscuit Thins

I received these products complimentary for testing purposes, all thoughts and opinions are my own. You have been warned!

When I'm on the go or want something quick for breakfast that will fill me up and give me enough energy for the day, my go to meal is a smoothie or shake. My shake of choice is a Slim Fast. So when I saw the variety of protein powders from the Vitamin Shoppe, I was really excited to try something new and find an alternative option for my morning shake! With the three protein powders, I also received a really cool shaker cup from BodyTech! Have I ever used one before? No. But it is still pretty cool.

The first protein powder I tried was the BodyTech Whey Tech Pro 24 Strawberries & Cream Protein Shake. This powder would have been my favorite if I had received it in a different flavor. I am not a huge artificial strawberry fan so the flavor just turned me off, but it was not that bad. It blends together very well. What really surprised me about this shake was how creamy it was, especially since you just add water! I definitely want to try another one of these protein powders in a different flavor.

The next one I tried was the PLNT by The Vitamin Shoppe Vanilla Plant Protein Powder. I love the overall idea of this protein powder, it's vegetarian/vegan friendly, non-GMO, and does not contain any common food allergens. This is literally the definition of a healthy protein supplement. The only problem with this powder, is that it does not mix well at all. I mixed it with water (like you are supposed to) and it ended up tasting chalky and powdery. Even a blender can't mix this powder, plus it has a really weird smell. Besides the chalky and powdery taste it was not that bad. I'm thinking it would have been better to mix it with some kind of milk to give it that creamy texture.

The last protein powder I tried was the The Vitamin Shoppe Next Step Fit N' Full Shake Cookies & Cream Protein Powder. I was most excited to try this one because of the flavor and it seemed the most similar compared to Slim Fast since it is a meal replacement shake. Having such high hopes for this product left me very disappointed after trying it. This powder is not the best quality. The scent is disgusting and overpowering. It smelled so bad it was hard to drink. Which is sad to say, because it tasted a lot better than it smelled. Plus it did not mix well with water, you would still get chunks of powder in your mix even when you blended it all together. Perhaps it would have been better mixed with milk, but I don't think milk would hide the terrible smell.

The day does not start until there is caffeine in my bloodstream. Without it, I'm basically a zombie. So when I saw three different types of coffee in the Revive Vox Box, to say I was excited was an understatement. What I really loved about these different kinds of coffee was that they came in a compostable pod, called a PurPod. All of these PurPods work in all Keurig machines and they are environmentally friendly.

The first pod I tried was the Hills Bros Colombian Medium Roast Compostable PurPod, overall it was pretty basic. When it was brewed, it tasted very watered down and was very weak. This was my least favorite of the three.

The next pod I tried was the Kaui Coffee Garden Isle Medium Roast Compostable PurPod, and it was very good! It smelled so good and tasted great. It has such a strong flavor that one sip will wake you up instantly.

When I saw the Chock Full o'Nuts Midtown Manhattan Medium Roast Compostable PurPod, I already knew I was going to love it. I've had the regular Chock Full o'Nuts ground coffee, so I expected the Keurig version to be just as great and I was right. Just like the regular ground coffee it was strong and great tasting and by far the best coffee sample.

Whenever I feel worn out or exhausted the best thing to do to relax is to take a hot and steamy shower. Something about the warm water is just so soothing. Plus nothing is more relaxing then washing your worn out and dirty hair. I'm a big fan of trying new shampoos and conditioners so I was very excited to see some SheaMoisture shampoo and conditioner in the Revive Voxbox. I have always seen SheaMoisture products while shopping and I've been wanting to try it, but the opportunity never arose until now.

I'm not very picky when it comes to shampoos but the SheaMoisture Fruit Fusion Coconut Water Weightless Shampoo did not impress me one bit. The only thing I liked about this shampoo was its scent, but the scent does not carry over to your hair. Other than that, it did not do much for my hair. You need to use a lot of the shampoo for it to get a little sudsy, it felt like I was just putting water in my hair. Plus you have to use a lot of shampoo for it to make your hair feel clean and even that does not work because your hair ends up feeling rough and greasy after you use it.

Now when it comes to conditioners, I'm very picky. I did not have high hopes for the SheaMoisture Fruit Fusion Coconut Water Weightless Creme Rinse but I was pleasantly surprised. This conditioner had the complete opposite affect compared to the shampoo. The conditioner did not smell as good as the shampoo but it made my hair smell really good. What I really did love about this conditioner was how creamy it was, then again it is technically a creme rinse so that's not really that surprising. What was really surprising was that with this conditioner a little goes a long way. With most conditioners you need to use a generous amount in order for your hair to feel soft, but with the SheaMoisture conditioner you only need to spread a thin layer throughout your hair. And voila, you have soft hair! However if your hair gets tangled really easily, this conditioner does not do much for that. But other than that it is great!

Sometimes when you're running low on energy and just need a quick little fix, some sugar always does the trick. Whether it's candy or a cookie sometimes a little bit of sugar will give you that extra kick.

The last item I received in the Revive Voxbox was the SnackWell's Caramel Macchiato Biscuit Thins. I love Snackwell's cookies, the vanilla creme sandwich cookies have been one of my favorites ever since I was a kid. Although I am not a big caramel fan, these cookies were not too bad. They are very sweet, so they pair well with a nice cup of coffee. Plus, these cookies are actually made with real coffee, so that explains why they smell so good! They literally smelled just like a caramel macchiato. If you are a huge caramel lover, you will adore these cookies. If you're not a big caramel fan they have other flavors you can try, like Dark Chocolate Mocha and French Vanilla Latte. Personally, I'm dying to try out the French Vanilla Latte cookies!

And there you have it, that was everything inside Influnester's Revive Voxbox. Thanks to this Voxbox, I feel alive once again and not so worn out! If you liked what you saw in this Voxbox come join me on Influenster! If you're interested feel free to use my referral link! It's a really fun website plus it's FREE!

Until next time.

Free samples, it's something everyone loves, and if you're one of those rare human beings that doesn't enjoy free samples then you must be one of those kinds of people that hates puppies and Disneyland. So if you are one of those people, maybe this post isn't for you. But if you are one of those cool people that do enjoy trying out new products for free well you've come to the right place. Let me introduce you to PINCHme. PINCHme is a website that offers the opportunity to try new products before you buy them. Every two weeks or so there are a variety of samples available for your choosing. All you have to do is answer a series of questions about your household and shopping habits and PINCHme will offer samples based on these questions. You then select the samples you want to try and PINCHme sends your box of samples directly to you for free. Then once you have tried your samples, you will be asked to complete a short feedback survey to tell PINCHme what you think of the samples and they let the brands know your thoughts.

I bet your wondering what's the catch here? This sounds too good to be true. Well you're half right, the system is not perfect. It is very common on PINCHme to not receive any samples, and this could be because you missed out and they were already all claimed, or you simply do not qualify for any samples. It is very common to receive repeat samples too. Also boxes come about five weeks (sometimes longer) after you order them.

Now here is my personal experience with PINCHme. I joined back in May and I've ordered three boxes with a total of thirteen samples. However, within the past three months I've only received two boxes with a total of ten samples. Since samples are available every couple weeks, there were plenty of times when I was not offered any.

This is the first box I ever received from PINCHme and it included the Playtex Sport Combo and Gold Bond Ultimate Healing Lotion. Every PINCHme box includes a $100 wine voucher from nakedwines.com but this is not counted as a sample. Plus you have to spend $160 in order to use the $100 voucher. The pads and tampons from Playtex were definitely useful because I am a woman and I will need those products until I'm 50 years old. The lotion from Gold Bond was alright, it's not something I'd use normally, I'm more of a Bath & Body Works girl, but this lotion will be nice for travel because of the size. So here in my first box I received two samples! Also some samples also contain coupons in case you want to purchase the full size product.

Now here was my second and latest box I've received. This time I received more products because I received a free trial to PINCHme Plus. PINCHme Plus is their program where you can gain access to the samples 24 hours in advance for a simple price of $3.99 and you also have access to exclusive samples. Being part of PINCHme Plus is definitely a perk, but I wouldn't pay $3.99 each time just to get some extra samples, especially if it isn't something I truly I want.

In this box I received: N°7 Protect & Perfect Advanced Serum, Summer's Eve Lavender Night-Time Cleansing Cloths and Cleansing Wash, Gevalia Iced Coffee with Almond Milk, Act Advanced Care Plaque Guard Mouthwash, Gold Bond Ultimate Healing Lotion, Dentek Comfort Clean Floss Picks, Water Block Band Aids, and Scotch-Brite Extreme Scrub Sponge. I loved the variety of products I received. I was most happy with the mouthwash, the iced coffee (which is a voucher to receive one in store), floss sticks and band aids. These are products I will use and was extremely excited to try. And as you can see I did receive a repeat, the Gold Bond lotion.

In the box I recently ordered, but have not received yet, contains three products: Playtex Sport Combo, Dentek Comfort Clean Floss Picks, and surprise surprise the Gold Bond Ultimate Healing Lotion. All three are repeats which is okay, cause I'll definitely use two of those products. But I have a feeling I'm going to get the Gold Bond lotion each time. Well I guess you get what you pay for. Am I right?

Tell me, what do you think about PINCHme? Receive any good samples? Know any other websites that gives out free samples? Comment below! Until next time.