Product Review: Violife Slim Sonic Toothbrush

I have THE coolest thing to review today. I love it. It is cute, stylish, and functional. Not to mention super pretty. And did I mention how good it looks?? 

It's Violife's slim sonic electric toothbrush. First, just follow the link and go to the website and admire the snazzy designs that they have. Warning: you might want to immediately get one in every style, like I do. Mine is called Mirage and the pictures don't do it justice on how bright and fun it is. I might stop collecting nail polish and move on to these toothbrushes. 

On to more details than just how beautiful it is. This is the back of the box, which just highlights some of the neat features that the Slim Sonic Toothbrush has, like being lightweight and ultra-compact, easy to use (push-button activation), and convenient! 

The slim sonic toothbrush comes with what's shown in the picture: an instruction manual, the brush with case, one free brush head, and a battery. On the website, it's $14.95 with free shipping in the U.S., and when I first visited the site, a coupon for 10% off popped up as long as you join the mailing list! So you can get it for under $15! It comes with one brush head, and I dug around and found a pack of 4 extra heads is $9.95. 

The toothbrush next to its cap. I only found a couple of other travel electric toothbrushes, like an Arm & Hammer one, but it was around the same price as the Violife Slim Sonic Toothbrush. For the same price, I'd rather get the one that looks beautiful in my bag. The lid is a nice touch because you know that, wherever you store it (I put it in my makeup bag that goes everywhere with me), it will be kept clean. 

And this is why it was listed as convenient. It is just a little bit longer than a pen, and it's not that thick. It is roughly the same size as a tube of mascara. It can go anywhere with you, and look amazing while doing it. My only qualm is that I wish it was a little more powerful, I do use this a few times a week, but I definitely wouldn't make it my everyday toothbrush (which I think is the point. It's good if you're coming from the gym, or lunch back to work or school as a quick freshen-upper.) 

For under $15, I'd definitely buy it again. Especially with all of the designs that they have! They also have a Destinations Design series that is super cute. High school graduations are coming up, and I can definitely picture myself giving these as part of a gift. (And no, I'm not a square for giving toothbrushes! Most of the gifts that I give are makeup, beauty, or nail polish related. And this toothbrush would be totally cute in a travel kit gift!) 

Review: Lauren B. Beauty Nail Couture

                                 

Today, I'm reviewing two polishes from Lauren B. Beauty.  I had never heard of this brand, but I love to try out new nail polish brands and I'm glad that I did. Here's a little info about the brand and the polishes:

Lauren B. Beauty Nail Couture is a collection of everything you need for a salon quality, do-it yourself manicure that lasts for 2 weeks without chipping or fading. These on-trend colors inspired by the city of Los Angeles. All of the formulas are eco-and vegan-friendly, contain no harsh chemicals, and are proudly crafted right in the U.S. These polishes stay true to the pigment that you see in the bottle and require just one coat! From base to color to topcoat, the groundbreaking treatment system is good for your nails and highly functional and fashionable for the modern woman.

Just reading that, I was eager to try it. More and more nail polish lines are becoming eco-friendly and vegan-friendly, so it's exciting that this one is, too.

The backs of the bottle have a little more information about the polishes. They are "5-Free," no formaldehyde, DBP, toluene, formaldehyde resin, or camphor. 

It's also cruelty free! 

The fronts of the bottle. Each bottle is .50 fl oz. A beautiful glass  bottle with a shiny black cap. The font is cute, and the whole bottle just looks classy! From their website, they have a lot of nail polishes in mostly bright colors that are gorgeous. I just want to get all of them!



Nude No. 2. On the website, it's described as "a champagne hue sweetened with a hint of honey." They have five different nude shades for sale, and this one managed to perfectly fit my skin tone! I hate most neutral polishes, because they very rarely match my skin and usually make my hands look just plain weird. Plus, I love colors. This is one that will definitely become a favorite of mine when I become a professional and have to start wearing neutral-colored polishes. It's a favorite of mine right now! It applied very smoothly, the picture is after two coats. The site says that you can do one coat, which is doable because it's quite opaque, but two coats makes it perfect.

L.A. Smog. The website describes it as "A hazy pale grey with dusty blue undertones – soft, ethereal and exceedingly cool."















I loved it from the first brushstroke. This grey is right up my alley! I would not consider it a pale grey because it's actually pretty dark and reminds me of my former favorite grey, Sally Hansen Gunmetal. But this one applied so smoothly (although it definitely needed two coats). I applied it second after swatching some other polishes because I knew, just from looking at the bottle, that I would love it. Maybe not the most spring-y color, but I think you can never have enough grey toned polishes.

So the polishes themselves. A bottle is $18, which is a little bit more expensive than Butter London (my former standard for high brand nail polish), but this one is amazing quality. I've had L.A. Smog on my nails for four days and it hasn't chipped yet. It applies smoothly, because "the brush is packed with twice the standard amount of bristles." The colors are beautiful, and so is the bottle. I would definitely re-purchase and in fact, I've already been going through the website for polishes to add to my wishlist.

(This product was sent to me for review, but all thoughts and reviews were mine. There are no affiliate links in this post).

Review: Celsius "Flo Fusion" Pre-Workout On-the-go formula

I have a pretty cool product to review today. Most of the things that I receive to review are make-up or nail polish related, but this one is more health than beauty. It is the Celsius Flo Fusion Energy Drink. It comes in Orange flavor (on the left) and Berry flavor (on the right). 

I've never been one to try out pre-workout powder shakes or drinks because they usually 1) don't taste good, 2) require a blender, blender bottle, or something similar to mix it well and 3) are a hassle to make. The last time that I had a huge jar of some kind of weight loss aid/workout booster formula powder, it cost me $40 and after a few weeks of using it, I felt no different. Then, to top it off, my dog thought that the giant tub was a toy and spilled it everywhere. So, I was out $40 for a supplement that was a waste of money. 

That's why this Flo Fusion is awesome. It comes in these on-the-go packets, so you don't have to worry about a huge mess, measuring anything out, etc. Plus, it dissolves into water very easily. I could even see tossing a few packets into your gym bag so that as long as you have a bottle of water, you can always have your pre-workout drink. 

Each packet is 0.18 oz. and just needs 12-16 ozs of water. I have poured the powder into a plastic water bottle before and just shook it to mix it up, and it works perfectly. It makes it so convenient. And, as the boxes say, it has "No sugar, no high fructose corn syrup, no aspartame, no preservatives, no artificial colors or flavors, and is low sodium." This should be exactly the kind of thing that you want to put in your body before a work out.

I tried both the Berry and the Orange flavor, and personally, I liked the orange flavor better, just because I usually like that flavor. I went in expecting the berry to have an artificial grape after taste (think children's cough medicine), but I was pleasantly surprised. It was not bad! Obviously, it was nothing like eating real berries, but I did not mind drinking it (which only added to helping me get into the habit of drinking it before a workout.)

The back of the boxes have all of the information on why the Flo Fusion is a good choice for a pre-workout formula:

• Burns 100 calories & more
• Results in a greater fat loss 
• Provides healthy energy
• Is vitamin enriched
• Clinically proven

• Increases fat loss 
• Increases endurance
• Increases cardio fitness

These last three bullet points are touted by most weight loss drink aids, so I've become wary of listening to them. However, I was determined to give it a good try, and so I diligently drank one packet a day (you can drink two a day if you want) before my workout, for three weeks. I didn't want to just do it for one week or a couple of days, and I definitely didn't want the placebo effect. I kept my workout schedule the same, drank the same amount of water every day as I had done before I started drinking, etc. so that the only thing that was changing was that I was adding one packet of Flo Fusion into my pre-workout routine.

The result: it definitely did give me more energy. Usually I would be dying about forty minutes in and trying to convince myself it was a good reason to stop, but as I kept drinking the Flo Fusion, I noticed that I wasn't thinking about ways to skip out early. I don't count calories so I can't comment on whether or not it actually burns 100 calories.

But when I started drinking the Flo Fusion, I had been working out and eating healthy as normal for awhile, with no change in my weight (a bit of a plateau). I do think that the Flo Fusion helped to kick start the weight loss for me again, and I lost 1 lb per week that I was drinking it. Slow, but steady! I was just happy that it was moving down and not staying still or, God forbid, moving up!

Would I rebuy?

Definitely. I think it's cool to finally have a supplement that is good for me and solves all of the problems that had been keeping me back from drinking pre-workout drinks beforehand. It's very convenient and super portable. It tastes great. It actually works for me (!!!). The price is right.

The orange flavor comes in a box of 14 packets for $11.38 through Amazon, while the berry flavor is $15.23 for a box of 14 packets. While scrolling through their Amazon store, I see that they also have a canister of the orange and the berry flavors, so if you're looking to buy it in bulk (which takes away the convenience, but could be more cost effective), they also sell it that way! I do think the on-the-go packets give you the chance to try it out though to see how it works for you.

(This product was sent to me for review, but all thoughts and opinions are my own and I received no compensation. The amazon links listed in the post are NOT affiliate links.)

December 2014: Target Beauty Box--For Her

Target has beauty boxes that go on sale every once in a while (monthly or bimonthly?), and this time I managed to snag a couple! The boxes differ from subscription services like Ipsy or Birchbox because you have to order them when they go on sale on target.com; they're not automatically sent to you. This December box was $10, limited edition, and is currently out of stock online. This was my first Target Beauty Box, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The website said that it has a value of $50. We shall see! 

The packaging. Very pretty and holiday themed, but in the end, it's just a cardboard box. 

The two cards included in the box. The white one on the left has a list and description of the 7 (!) full-sized products included,as well as two coupons: One for 20% off Women's Apparel on Target.com, and one for $3 off a Beauty purchase of $15+, either online or off. The red one on the right is another coupon, this one for $10 off a purchase of any size on Dermstore.com. I've never ordered from there before, but a free $10? Hard to resist. 

The products! The eyeshadow was flashed out, which I didn't realize until after I had already unpacked everything in the box. But this box had 8 products, most of them full-sized as I mentioned earlier. Most of these are drugstore products or products from Target's beauty section, but just from looking at it (without adding up any of the value yet), it looks like a much better value than the Ipsy glambag or Birchboxes (I say this having been a long-time subscriber to both of them). 

COVERGIRL Eye Enhancers in 286 smokey nudes. The website does not list the price since it's not sold online, but at my local Target, it was $5.99. It seems to run between $4.99-$5.99, but we'll just go with the local Target price. Value: $5.99

ChapStick Total Hydration 3-in-1 Lip Care in Sweet Peach. This is a Target exclusive. It smells incredible, and it actually works on my lips to moisturize, which is surprising because I have only ever found one chapstick that works. Value: $2.99

Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Advanced Serum. This is a .1 fl oz sample, so it rings in at about: Value: $2.99

Clairol Hair Food Moisturizing Hair Mask in Apricot Honey. This has an awesome smell and it left my hair feeling incredibly soft and smooth, even more so than my conditioner and previous Aveda hair mask. I will definitely re-purchase this in the future, if I ever run out. It's a 6.3 oz bottle and you don't need that much, even with my thick and long hair. Value: $11.99 

Laneige Water Sleeping Mask. My picture makes it look much bigger than it is, it's actually 20 mL whereas the full-size bottle for sale is 80 mL. Even this small size has a lot in it, and I can't wait to try it. Laneige is a very popular South Korean brand, and I love Korean skincare products, so it's neat to see that Target carries it. Value: $5.75

L'Oreal Butterfly Intenza Mascara in Black Noir. I have not tried this out yet, so no idea on how it is, but it claims to "[give] instantly glamorous lashes with a formula that stretches and lengthens to create the perfect winged-out look." Value: $7.99

Revlon Ultra HD Lip Lacquer in Strawberry Topaz. I actually already own a couple of these glosses, so I was happy to add this to my collection. It has a beautiful red color that I love in my lip products, and it's not overly sticky. Plus it's beautiful and shimmery in the tube. Value: $7.99

Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen in Black Noir. This eyeliner is incredible. I tried it on when I got it, and it stayed almost the whole day, even when I rubbed at my eyes (the pain of wearing contacts). It's a crayon liner, but thinner than most other ones. The color is very intense. Value: $6.10

All in all, this box was amazing. I'm glad that I was able to grab one before it went out of stock! Although the products were not super incredibly high-end stuff, and it didn't include any nail polish, it was still a great value: worth $61.79, much more than they had advertised! I also bought the Target Beauty Box For Her Natural Version, so I will post a review of that soon!

(This box was purchased by me, and all thoughts and opinions are my own. The links lead to the Target site, as that is where the box was purchased, but none of the links are affiliate.) 

Product Review: Swipe single-use deodorant wipe

I received a new product to try last week, and it is amazing. It's Swipe, a "pocket-sized, biodegradable, single-use deodorant wipe." Since school started just two months ago, it is super convenient to toss in your bag or to use before or after sports practice or gym when you don't have time to shower before moving on. It smells incredible, because it has tea tree extract in it, and it does not leave your skin feeling sticky like some other wipes do. 

The back of the box. 

It's affordable, too. You can buy it at Swipe's website for $2.99 for a pack of 3, $6.99 for a pack of 10, and $14.99 for a pack of 25. 

It's much more portable and discreet than carrying around a stick of deodorant, body spray, or any of those other packs of body wipes. Plus, since they're in individual packages, you don't have to worry about it smashing (like deodorant) or filling up your bag with the scent. 

I don't usually gush, but I seriously love these. It's so easy to use, fresh smelling, and inexpensive. Seriously perfect for the random hot fall weather we've been having. Slip it in your kids bags, or add it in your gym bags now that sports have started up again, or add it to late start-of-the-school-year gifts! 

(This product was sent to me for review, but all thoughts and opinions are my own). 

Father's Day Gift Ideas: FragranceNet.com

Father's Day is in two weeks! If your dad is anything like mine, he is impossible to shop for. Most of the time, I skate by without really getting him anything because there's nothing that seems perfect out there. If my dad sees something that he likes (such as a lawnmower, tool set, etc. all the usual Father's Day gift ideas) he usually buys it without hesitation, so I can't just get something he's been eyeing. Also, he has basically everything within my price range that he could possibly want so, that leaves very few options.

One thing that I never really think of gifting to people is cologne/perfume. It is just really hard to find a fragrance that someone will actually want to wear, especially if you're like me and you don't live near a perfume store where you can smell the fragrances before you buy it. But FragranceNet makes it super easy to pick out a cologne that dad would probably like! 

"Go for Polo Blue Sport men's perfume if you are looking for an exquisite masculine fragrance that can be used on any occasion and one that all your friends will envy. Recommended for casual use and launched in 2012, Polo Blue Sport perfume was composed by the house of Ralph Lauren and features woodsy notes of sandalwood, fern, and oakmoss, and for extra freshness, they're accented by hints of mandarin orange and sage." 

This is the description for Ralph Lauren's Polo Blue Sport for Men that comes from FragranceNet.com, and the feature that changed my mind about gifting fragrance. Instead of just guessing who would like it from the notes about the ingredients (do oakmoss and fern have a special scent? If they do, I have no idea what it is), it gives you a good guess about who would prefer it ("an exquisite masculine fragrance... recommended for casual use.")

Another awesome thing is the price. This bottle has an MSRP value of $59. However, FragranceNet sells it for only $45.19, or $36.15 if you use a coupon available on their site! The coupon is super easy to get, all you have to do is put in your e-mail and you will receive a 20% off coupon. That is an incredibly good deal! But the next one has an even better deal attached. 

Dolce & Gabbana "The One: Sport" For Men. FragranceNet's description says: 

"This boldly unique fragrance for men was launched by world famous design house Dolce & Gabbana in 2012. Warm and spicy yet woody and aquatic, The One Sport for men is a casual, sporty fragrance that he will want to wear every day. Designed for the active, modern gladiator, this fragrance opens with top notes of rosemary that combine with heart notes of Sequoia wood and dark base notes of musk and patchouli for a go-everywhere scent that captivates and invigorates."

Since this cologne is described as a "casual, sporty fragrance... designed for the active, modern gladiator," I figured that it would be a good choice for my dad. Once again, if I was looking on another site that said "top notes of rosemary... heart notes of Sequoia wood and dark base notes of musk and patchouli" only, I would have just given up, because I have no idea how any of those things smell alone. 

The bottle is so sleek and cool. And again, the price for this is killer. Originally, the MSRP for "Dolce &Gabbana: The One Sport" is $78, which is crazy. I know that it is designer and everything, but still. That is the other reason that I don't usually gift cologne/perfume because it is way too expensive for something that I will never use. However, FragranceNet sells it for $46.19, which is already super reasonable. But like I said, they also have a coupon that you can use, which will bring your price down to $36.95. Which is less than half the price of the retail value. Which is insane. 

Since Father's Day is a little while away, I have not gifted either of them to my dad. I did spray some on a tester sheet for my dad to smell, and success! He liked both of them. 

So don't be afraid of gifting cologne if you use FragranceNet. The description makes choosing a cologne pretty easy, and the pricing is so reasonable. Also, they offer free shipping under $59, so you will totally have enough left over to buy one for yourself! Even if you don't want to buy cologne, then you can always get a gift set, which they have tons of, or even just decide to buy something for yourself! They have so many different brands which is awesome. 

(This was sent to me for review). 

May 2014 Ipsy GlamBag Review

Long time no see! I am finally done with school for the semester, and I am back! I am planning on updating this blog a lot more frequently because I want to be able to use this in my portfolio. So definitely stay tuned and make sure you check back! I have a lot of posts planned and finally everything has come together: most of my pictures have been taken on my iPad lately, because the camera on that is the best one that I have, but transferring the pictures to my laptop takes forever. So I bought a wireless keyboard, and now I can type the posts on my iPad and have them up much quicker! Also, I had a ton of plans for LED/at-home gel nail polish kit posts, but my Sensationail lamp went missing. I just found it, so expect some posts with that within the next month! :)

Here's a simple post to mark my comeback, though. This month's Ipsy GlamBag! 

This month, the products were awesome. I definitely approve! 

The cosmetic bag that the samples come in. That's the nicest thing about Ipsy! I collect make up bags like no other, so I'm glad that I get a new one every month. This one feels like it's made out of canvas material, and it has a green leaf design. 

A 1.76 oz bottle of Avene Thermal Spring Water. So, it feels nice. And it smells nice. And it's supposed to be fancy (it has water taken from French Springs, apparently). But overall, it seems kind of useless because it is just spring water in a spray can. A 10.58 oz bottle is $18, so going by that, this is worth about $3. 

A 60 mL bottle of eva-nyc Therapy Session Hair Mask. I love this so much! I try to take super good care of my hair, and this works great. My hair is very thick and long (past my shoulders), and I have to tie it up a lot for work (which causes split ends like you wouldn't believe). I used this as a hair mask, and it made my hair so smooth and soft, this product makes up for the bottle of spray water! A 60 mL bottle sells for $12 on their website, so this is worth $12. (Although through ipsy, they offer 65% off this hair mask, so I am definitely re-purchasing and stocking up).

This was probably the most surprising item in the bag. A sample of Calvin Klein Endless Euphoria. This was surprising for two reasons: One, it's Calvin Klein. And two, it's not one of those tiny, .000001 oz sprays of perfume sample that most companies usually send out. This is .01 oz of perfume. I love the smell of this! It is floral and very light. This is a rollerball, which I love, and it's so tiny that it can easily fit in a purse but, at the same time, you can use it for more than one or two sprays. A .34oz rollerball of this perfume costs $20 at Ulta, so this is worth... Less than a dollar. Oh well! It's the thought that counts. 

A 2.0g compact of Pacifica Mineral Eyeshadow in Duo #2 (Moonbeam & Unicorn). I don't tend to like mineral makeup because it usually creases easily for me, but I do like this one. Plus the color pay-off is quite nice. Unicorn is from their Charmed palette, and Moonbeam is from their Mystical palette.  Just guesstimating (since it's kind of hard to tell with the palettes and this compact), I'd say this eyeshadow compact is worth about $3-4. I love it because purple and white eyeshadows are my favorite :) 

Lastly, sunblock! This is .5 oz of Jersey Shore Sun's Sans Tan Pure White Mineral Sunscreen. The bottle claims that it is all natural and anti-aging, and it has SPF 35. So this is (as the name suggests) kind of whitening. I did pass it on to my mom because she's a sunscreen nut, and she likes it. It smells nice and it applies smoothly. On their website, they sell 2 tubes of this (which is their travel-size) for $25, so this is worth $12.50. For a relatively tiny bottle! Kind of crazy, but I guess that's the price you pay for whitening, all natural, anti-aging sunscreen. 

And there's my review. All in all, this GlamBag was worth about $31 (if you generously say that the Calvin Klein Endless Euphoria rollerball was worth about $0.50). Not bad, considering you pay $10 shipped for it! And the products were pretty nice. Definitely glad that I made the switch to the GlamBag. 

(This review was not sponsored. I pay for the GlamBag out of my own pocket (which is why I was relatively bitter about the spray bottle of water). 

Stay tuned! 

Rakuzen