Influenster Frosty Voxbox

Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad! Happy Kwanzaa! Happy Hanukkah!
Received these goodies from +Influenster complimentary to test and review.



Love being an active part of the Influenster Nation. This allows me to receive complimentary products while sharing my first hand experiences. The Frosty Voxbox seemed to take a bit longer to arrive this time around. Maybe I was just too excited. Maybe it was all the other the holiday boxes that needed to be delivered too that caused a delay. Glad it arrived safely whine did.  Anywho, there were several other concerns with my box once it arrived. Keep reading to see what was sent to me for review.

First, we have the No 7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Serum by +bootsbeautyusa  $29.99

This claims to be a clinically proven serum  effective at reducing the appearance of deep lines & wrinkles revealing younger skin in two weeks. This was the first time receiving products inside a plastic sandwhich bag. Made me feel some kind of way. Not sure why this was done. Any ideas?

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Next up is the NYC Expert Last Lip Color in Sugar Plum by  +nycnewyorkcolor  $1.99

This claims to be a moisturizing formula that glides on providing intense, amplified color and shine that lasts up to six hours. Stayed tuned for a swatch video/pic.

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Next up is the Candy Cane Lane decaf Green Tea by Celestial Seasonings

This Holiday tea claims to be made with finest green tea leaves, peppermint and other botanicals.

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Next up is the Ecotools Hair Brush $10.99

Claims to be designed for long or short hair, straight or curly with unique features that leave head and hair happy & healthy.

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Next, is the +RimmelLondonUS Gentle Eye Makeup Remover $7.49

This claims to remove all eye makeup including long lasting, and water proof makeup with no oily residue. Excited to see how this works on my oily eyelids plus removing my favorite Better than Sex mascara by +Too Faced Cosmetics . Check back for the demo video soon.

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Next, is the #Rimmel Scandeyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal eyeliner $4.49

Claims to be ultra smooth and creamy formula that glides on easily for instant color impact. This arrived with the lid off as well as the tip of liner crushed in on one side.

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Next is the McCormick Gourmet Thyme $4.79

Claims to impart a light minty flavor that can be used in breakfast casseroles, hearty soups, stews, stuffing and oven roasted-chicken. Love to use this in my Cornbread stuffing!

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Finally, is the #FruitVines Bites $1.28 - $1.79

Claims to be a new, soft, chewy fruit candy from the Red Vines Family available in cherry and strawberry. The cherry flavor actually tasted really good. So good that by the end of this blog post they are all gone.  If your thinking about snagging this goodie consider your self warned. Lol!

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To sum things up, here is my #FrostyVoxBox Unboxing video

Candy Cane Lane Green Tea by Celestial Seasonings

This tea was sent to me by +Influenster  for testing review purposes. It arrived right before Christmas which turned into a real treat. Keep reading to find out my thoughts on this product.

My first cup was enjoyed on the floor right next to our Christmas Tree. The Candy Cane flavor matched well with the decor. The light taste of peppermint was refreshing yet not too strong. It went down smooth while settling well on my tummy. No bad or bitter after taste. Very relaxing. Hopefully I can use my $.55 coupon included in the Frosty VoxBox to snag more of the Holiday tea locally. Have you tried it yet? Thinking about it? Share your thoughts below.

No7 Protect & Perfect Advanced Serums

Have you tried this yet? Thinking about it? This product was sent to me for testing review purposes by +Influenster . Will be updating this post with my own results soon. Check back often. Feel free to share your thoughts/experience below. +bootsbeautyusa  #getadvanced #contest

Review ~ #MullerQuaker Greek Yogurt

I received a coupon to try the #MullerQuaker yogurt in the GoVoxBox from Influenster for testing purposes. This was a yummy surprise. The creamy berry taste was great. With 150 calories + 9g of protein it hit the spot for a tasty afternoon snack. Love how the small corner has strawberry filling that can be gently poured into the larger section of Greek lowfat yogurt. The one draw back was that no single servings were available in my store at the time of purchase. This turned into a big plus because I was able to snag 4 for the price of one after the $1.49 off coupon. Will repurchase.

Hair Tips ~ 15 Day Hair

Rock Your Look Mystery Box ~ Spring Edition by NaturalGirlsRock.com

Deep Conditioning Challenge ~ Kinky Kashmere Hair Masque

Earring Giveaway

Earrings Giveaway

Lagoon Valley 5K update ~ Brazen Racing

Deep Conditioning Challenge: Week 9 ~ Camu Camu Olive & Honey Coconut Caribbean Deep Conditioner

Deep Conditioning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei4_TZ9WSKQ

Fight the Fat Tag Video

Weight Loss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwYEdpYyZHE

Deep Conditioning Challenge Week 8 ~ Pink Sugar Hibiscus by Happy Nappy Honey

Deep Conditioner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmzlkh1zlD4

Giveaway ~ Bamboo Tea

Bamboo Tea Giveaway Giveaway https://gleam.io/7sPn3/bamboo-tea-giveaway

Deep Conditioning Challenge Week 6\7 ~ Shea Moisture & Macadamia Natural Oil

Deep Conditioning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFEyACyroTQ

Deep Conditioning Challenge week 5 ~ Aubrey Organics

Deep conditioning http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpZKYQe9YIg

NutriBullet: Chocolate Almond Green Smoothie

Nutri bullet? Green smoothies? Love them or leave them? If your anything like me veggies are not high on your most favorite things to eat. To help increase my daily veggie intake while eating more healthy I began to incorporate green smoothies to my diet. 

My blender would do a good job at blending up my fruit and veggies as seen above. There would always seem to be gritty nutrients left in the smoothie which I did not care for one bit. This causedme to try various things to try to create a more smooth consistency.

Recipe ingredients

~ Almond butter

~ Almond Milk

~ Chocolate protein mix or milk chocolate 

~ Greek yogurt

~ Kale

~ Baby Spinach

~ Banana or avocado

~ Strawberries

~ Blueberries

Here is a video that ties it all together.

Now it's your turn. What is your favorite Green Smoothie recipe? Share your experience with the Nutribullet below.

Bad hair day ~ Emergency Hair kit

Bad hair day? It has happened to the best of us. Straight or curly at times our hair just does not want to cooperate. Nothing like leaving the house with great hair only to catch a glimpse of your hair in the mirror a few hours later to see your hair has taken a drastic left turn.

After having this happen to me multiple times I decided to start being more proactive. This lead me to put together some must have tools as well as hair products that would work well on the go to fix unforeseen hair problems. Here are a few things I came up with.

Hair tools

1) bobby pins

2) scrunchie

3) head band

Hair products

~ Alikay Naturals Haur Parfumerie

~ Qhemet Biologics 

~ Main ElementLove

Bad hair day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO9KKAPTsKI

Deep Conditioning Challenge wk 4 ~ Alikay Naturals

Deep Conditioning

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsmPY2myPbE

Growth Aide: Hairfinity vs Natures Bounty

Hair vitamins? Supplements? Hair Growth Aides? So many claims to help grow our hair during our healthy hair journey. Read on to hear me spill the beans on my low porosity, kinky curly hairs experience using as well as comparing Hairfinity vs Natures Bound.

Ok, so it all started last year when I decided to give Hairfinity a try for 30 days. Let me say upfront I was HIGHLY skeptical that this hair vitamin would actually work to grow my hair. I kept looking for strange side effects or rashes to pop up in or around my skin. Then I became concerned about what the proper daily amount of water intake actually was to help flush my system of any possible build up. (No suggested amounts given on the bottle or website) The visual learner in me created a whole playlist on YouTube to help track my weekly progress. After the 30 days I was pleasantly surprised to see significant hair growth as well as more fullness among my thin hair strands. My two drawbacks to using Hairfinity were 1) remembering to take the recommended amount  2) Price. The 2 daily pills are large capsules that make it difficult to swallow.... even with water. 

Not much on popping pills so I tried to plan on opening the capsules to pour contents into a beverage or over food but it remained a struggle for me just to remember to actually take the pills let alone cut them open. Now, for some $24 per bottle may be easy to come buy. However, for this mom of three not so much. 

Fast forward to January 2014 then add a few social media product reviews and we end up here. Yep, that's right after watching product reviews by some of my Favorite Naturalistas on YouTube I learned that there was a cheaper & comparable option to Hairfinity....enter Super B Complex + Hair, Skin & Nails by Natures Bounty. With this new found knowledge the investigator in me decided to do my own little study by comparing the two products during the 6 inches in 6 months challenge on Hairlista. The challenge runs from January 15th - July 15th 2014. I will be alternating these two brands month to month. ( Ex. January- Nature's Bounty February- Hairfinity, March- Nature's Bounty etc.) A few other hair growth aides will also be employed to help me reach my new healthy hair growth goal. Think I can do it? Stay tuned for the details. This will only enhance not change my already established hair care routine.

Now, the coupon diva in me could not pass up this opportunity to save even more $$$ with coupons buying the Nature's Bounty supplemental vitamins. I used my $2/1 manufacture coupons from the Sunday paper along with the BOGO free sale at my local drugstore for a great deal. By the way Hairfinity has a 4 bottle deal for $84. Sales have been known to pop up offering 10% or 15% depending on how much you buy.  For sale updates visit there website for details.

So far since starting the Hairfinity dupe of Super B Complex + Hair Skin & nails I have tons more energy. My nails feel stronger. Plus I'm already beginning to feel new growth on my scalp during my daily scalp massages with mustard seed oil. I have set a timer on my cell phone to help me remember to take the pills everyday. So far it's working out well.

Anywho, I will be posting pics of my hair along with video updates to share my progress along the way. For my visual readers out there here is a video that ties it all together



Starting Photo

Hairfinity hair vitamin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0CNXTmDREQ

5K Training with Natural Hair

Got natural hair? 5k runner? Last year I trained for than ran my very first 5k. It felt great to be out running but sweating was a problem for me. A big problem because I would literally sweat out my salon styled permed hair during training. Wanted to train harder but I would always hold back because of my profuse sweating...especially in my hair.

During my transition during 2013 back to my natural hair my thoughts would often drift to running another 5k. These lofty thoughts were always pushed aside by my desire to protect my line of demarcation (where natural hair stops and permed hair begins). Fast forward to January 2014 all perm has been trimmed away leaving my low porosity natural hair. During this time I have slowly managed to create a healthy hair care regimen revolved around techniques as well as hair products that make my fine hair happy. This means sweating is no longer a issue. It seems the timing is right to kick my 5k training back up. To help prepare, I start thinking about what I need to add or change to make my new round of 5k training as simple as possible. Here is what I have come up with so far:

Training
After trying other apps I decided to go with the Jeff Galloway 5K training app. It is good for more newbie runners like me or the seasoned runners to help improve your time. Verbal cues from Jeff for proper running posture, breathing as well as inspirational quotes help with safe training. It also tracks important stats like calories burned. Full review of this app coming soon.

Hairstyle
My go to hairstyle is flat twists. This hair technique is quickly installed with a total 13 medium sized twists in my hair before my late night work outs at the gym. No matter how much I sweat my hair simply dries over night with great fluffy, defined curls in the morning. There are times when I am in a rush or deep conditioning my hair. At these times I style accordingly...lol check out the pics below to see what I mean. Sometimes an occasional co-wash may also be needed. Scalp massages with oil are able to continue within the readily available parts. To help keep my hair moisturized the Green House Effect is used 3 to 4 times a week. Watch for a video tying all this together.

Meals
Currently I prepare all our family meals for Monday - Friday on Sunday evenings. This helps me stay within my daily calorie budget while making healthy food choices. Decided to visit some of the top internet sites for runners to find out the low down on best food options. With this complied list in hand I mashed this against some of our families favorite meats, fruits, veggies and starches. Here is how a typical day looks like: Breakfast = Chocolate Almond Green Smoothie or oatmeal w/berries ~ Snack = Almonds or fruit ~ Lunch = Salad w/ protein ~ Snack = Granola bar ~ Dinner = protein + veggie + carb (family) ~ Snack = granola bar 

My 8 weeks of training

Week 1 

Week 2

My 8 weeks of 5k training using the Jeff Galloway app has officially started. Check back often. This blog will be updated with progress pictures. Now it's your turn. How do you wear your natural hair while training or working out? Got a favorite app, snack or hair care product that makes 5K running easier? Share your experience in the comments section.

How I Moisturize My Hair

Moisturize Natural Hair

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4vM6yCoTeA

Deep Conditioning Challenge ~ Week 3 check in

Deep Conditioning http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWdmgQN4MAg

Deep Conditioning Challenge ~ Week 2 check in

Deep Conditioning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOega6ixTnM

Growth Aide: Indian oils

Indian oils can be a great addition to a healthy hair care regimine.  These oils were added to my hair regimine back midway during 2013 while transitioning back to my natural hair. (too chicken to do the big chop...lol) Anywho, a recent length check photo taken on Thursday, January 16, 2014 revealed I was able to reach arm pit length. I am shocked to actually be able to see the length retention achieved during my transition. Check out the pictures below then keep reading to learn 6 ways to use Indian oils for hair growth. 

February 2013

January 2014

My two favorites are mustard & vatika oils. I stumbled across them while watching videos one day on YouTube. Shelly over at Hairscapades.com mentioned Vatika oil in one of her blog posts. With my curiosity peaked the internet search began to find articles on the benefits of these specific oils. Mustard oil also stood out to me as a great option for hair growth. Here are some key points for each oil.

Vatika oil ~ The Dabur website claims this oil to consist of 8 herbs to nourish your hair providing improvement in 4 key areas: 1) stronger hair 2) thicker hair 3) Shinier hair 4) dandruff control

Mustard oil ~ Traces back over 4000 years to India. It is said that many mothers would massage mustard oil into their daughters hair as a cultural tradition. Loaded with vitamins, minerals as well as fatty acids that stimulate hair growth.

Excited, I did a google search of my local indian stores by my work as well as home zip codes. This revealed I had been driving right past one down the street from my house for months and did not know it. A hidden jewel right under my nose. Go figure. Now, let me warn you....this can be a healthy hair girls dream place. There are many oils, conditioners and others hair care products that are available. If you decide to stop by your local indian store  I highly recommend you make sure to give yourself enough time to look around at all they have to offer....you might find yourself pleasantly surprised. Also with so many different indian related products in one place there is a strong odor one may not be used to smelling. To me the benefits to my hair make the odor tolerable. I'm in and out in no time now that I know where all my favorite products are located.

Now, with all that said let's get down to the specifics to see if there is a match. These are only suggestions. You can try them all, some or none. Here are my 6 ways to use Indian oils for hair growth:

1) Scalp massages

2) O in L.O. C method 

3) Oil rinsing

4) Deep conditioning

5) Hair Steamer

6) Inversion method

For all my visual learners here is a video that walks you through step by step.

That's it for now. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Until next time happy hair growing.

Hair growth aides

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWeIC-aJ0es

Influenster Megavoxbox Unboxing

Influenster Unboxing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99A4A7FehW8

Oil Rinsing on Natural Hair

Oil rinsing? What are the benefits? Have you tried it yet? Read on to learn how I use this method in my healthy hair care regimen.

Oils can be beneficial to your tresses. When it comes to oil rinsing it serves a three fold purpose in my hair regimen. It helps with single strand knots, frizz as well as a growth aide on my low porosity hair. 

First, I tried coconut oil as a rinse because it penetrates quickly into the scalp. My hair responded well leaving bouncy, curly defined hair. Light in consistency it goes on smoothly with a little going a long way. This was one of my most dependable oils during my first months returning to my natural hair.

Next, up was grape seed oil. Quickly rising to the top of my list of oils for its ability to leave my hair full of lustrous shine. This oil also penetrates the hair shaft quickly. This one right here bumped my once most trusted of all oils...Castor Oil.

Next, was mustard oil. I fell madly in love with this oil. It worked well to give definition , bounce , shine....but more importantly growth. This is my most used growth aide for healthy hair growth. Once I brought this baby on board to my regular healthy hair care regimen arm pit length was reached within one year of transitioning back to my natural hair. A big game changer for me!!!

Here is a video that shows the process step by step



Oil Rinsing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg0Yk8k9MTE

Deep Conditioning Challenge ~ January 20, 2014 - July 20, 2014

Excited to be participating in the Deep Conditioner Challenge that runs from January 20th 2014 - July 20th 2014. I am participating on level one committing to deep condition my hair for 30 minutes with heat once a week. To hold myself accountable to my goal I will be filming my weekly deep conditioning sessions. 

Week 1 check in

Deep Conditioning

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QjRRCZnLj4 URL 

Demo: DEEPsoulutions deep conditioner

DEEPsoulutions deep conditioner

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tzNyfcTTxs

Hair tips | Tea rinse on natural hair

Tea Rinse on natural hair

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfSPj37WFtk

Hair tips | Mango Shea Butter

Curl Collection Box ~ December 2013

Curl Collection Box

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I1jop6fofw

My Favorites December 2013

My Favorites December 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwwRH4spVEY

Greenhouse Effect Challenge update ~ week 7

Greenhouse Effect for hair growth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQGXIzMh_B8

Demo : Glamglow Youth Mud Treatment Masque

Glamglow Youth Mud Mask

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdHoVJK-8Qk