Organic Argan Oil by Natural Beauty Review

Disclosure of material connection- I received the product in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.

I have been wanting to try pure argan oil for a while now. I have really frizzy, thick wavy hair. Most of the time I straighten it or it looks wild and crazy, but I also sometimes just want to be able to brush through it without feeling like the brush will break! My sweet 6 year old little girl has the exact same kind of hair, the poor dear! And she gets frustrated with how it feels when I have to brush the many tangles out of hair. When the argan oil arrived, I tried it out in my hair first. I just put a couple of drops (a little goes a very long way!) in my hand and rubbed it in and then just spread it as evenly as possible through my hair and it was like it was instantly soft. The whole day I felt myself running my fingers through my hair to feel again how great it made my hair feel. I was thinking that I would make some kind of detangler concoction to spray in my daughter's hair, but I ended up just putting the product in like I did in my hair and it worked like magic in her hair. I mean, it normally takes me a long time to brush through her hair, it can take up to five minutes per tangle depending on how bad it has become overnight, but with very little of the argan oil the brush went right through and the end result was shiny, beautiful hair.

I would purchase Nature Beauty's Organic Argan Oil again solely based on it's great ability to make hair so shiny and frizz and tangle free, but I also hope to make some beauty products with it soon. The first thing on my list is a whipped body lotion with the argan oil, coconut oil and essential oils! Argan oil is a versatile product! I can't wait to discover even more things to use it for!

You can purchase Natural Beauty's Organic Argan Oil on Amazon.com.

Riiviva Cellulite and Microdermabrasion Home Kit Review

*Disclosure- I received products in exchange for my honest thoughts on them. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.

I think all women struggle with some beauty imperfections as they get older. For me it is definitely wrinkles around the eyes, I *still* get acne from time to time (so much for being rid of that after the teen years!), I have a little bit of cellulite on the inside of my thighs and my biggest one is the crazy stretch marks I got after having my twin boys.

The only option for treating these problems used to be going to the dermatologist or having surgery to correct the imperfections, but this handy little Riiviva tool can be used at home to treat some of these issues and will save you thousands of dollars!

 

The diamond head on the Riiviva tool pictured above (called the Cellubrasion tip) is to treat cellulite. It just screws right on to the tool very easily and then there are 3 settings for the suction- low, medium, and high, depending on how much of a suction you are comfortable with. Before you start using the Lift tool, you need to charge it, but it can even be turned on and used while it's been charged and I love that it is rechargeable, it saves even more money on what you might have had to pay if having to replace batteries all of the time. After charging the tool, you need to get one of the filters (Riiviva provides you with plenty), "unlock" the bottom of the Lift tool with the back end of the pair of tweezers included in the kit and replace the filter. After you replace the part back on the bottom end of the tool, you are good to go. You just use the tip on whatever trouble spots you have 3 times a week for six weeks for 5 minutes per area you are treating. You use this in conjunction with the cellulite cream for the best results. Do not forget to take your before picture before your first treatment and then one after 6 weeks to see how far you've come along.

As far as the actual feel of the treatment, the diamond head for cellulite looks a little intimidating. I have used it on my legs with the first and second setting and you can barely feel it besides a tiny pinch at the beginning and by pinch I don't mean something that hurts, just something that is noticeable.

The cool thing about the Riiviva Lift is that it is a multi-use tool. Since the head of it is interchangeable, you can change the tips to treat different types of problems. This allows you to use the tool for other areas with different types of diamond tips. I was also send the diamond tips for microdermabrasion. They look like this-

These diamond tips help reduce the appearance of acne scars and crows feet and other signs of aging on your face. There are three different tips for different levels of roughness so you can work your way into a more intense treatment the more you get used to using the Riiviva tool. I also used this tool on my stretch marks just to see what would happen and they seemed to make a difference in the appearance of those as well. Of course, Riiviva has different diamond tips and a special cream specifically for stretch marks and that is the treatment that I am super interested in. I know that there is no way to get completely rid of them (or the cellulite or other signs of aging) but the Riiviva Lift tool is the best, most affordable way to reduce their appearance. Overall, I really liked using the Riiviva products and I know I will continue to do so. When it has been six weeks, I will post an update as to how it went! 



Connect with Riiviva on Facebook and get 25% off your purchase!

Rusk w8less Plus Review

Disclosure- I received a complimentary Rusk w8less Plus from the People Style Watch Style Hunters in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions are 100% my own.


 In the last few years since my kids have become a little bit older and I have more than 5 minutes to spend on my hair, I have been playing with different styles and different hair products to get a feel for what I like. I definitely like the sleek look of my hair straightened, but lately I have been in a curly kind of mood, so I got a new curling iron. The problem is my hair won't hold curl to save my life. I have to work quickly and spray a ton of hair spray on to get it to stay put. I had tried several other hair sprays before Rusk w8less and some didn't even allow the curl to hold for more than a few minutes. I decided to give Rusk w8less plus a try because I had heard that (and it says on the front of the can) that it is for a strong hold. I curled my hair as quickly as I could to where it would still look good. I also used a heat protectant, but other than that no other products besides the Rusk hairspray. My first impression was that it smelled much better than other hairsprays, which was nice because they usually make me have coughing fits. I also noticed that the hairspray was truly light weight and didn't weigh my hair down at all. After I finished distributing spray evenly throughout my hair and allowing it to dry, I wanted to see how it felt to the touch. I was happy to find out that my hair still felt soft to touch. The final test was to see how long the hairspray would hold  the curl in place. The truth is, I don't think any hairspray will ever hold my hair in place for as long as I would like it to, but the Rusk w8less did hold the curls into place slightly longer than other hairsprays have been able to. You can find Rusk products at your local Walgreens, Target or Ulta or at online retailers such as Amazon.com or Drugstore.com

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Mary Kay Makeup Review

*Disclosure- I received Mary Kay Products via Influenster for testing purposes. All opinions stated are 100% my own.

I was SO excited when I learned that I was one of the lucky Influenster members that would get to try several Mary Kay products through their Vox Box program! When my box arrived the first thing I thought was "Wow, what a cute box!!" It was so girlie! When I got past how cute it was an opened it up, I was excited to see some of my favorite types of makeup products included. The box had a cream eye shadow in the shade violet storm, a eye cream/concealer makeup brush, True Dimensions lipstick in the shade pink cherie, eyelash primer and lash lengthening mascara.

My first thought on the products was that I LOVED the lipstick. It was a great shade of pink, just enough color for daytime wear. It took me a second to figure out how to open the tube because the top kind of clicks off instead of just automatically opening, but when I finally figured it out I thought it was so cool. The innovation in the clicking tube is that it is impossible to break your lipstick by it rolling up into the lid on accident! I don't know if I explained that well, but believe me, this is an awesome thing! After I tried on the lipstick, I tried the eyelash primer and mascara. I think the primer teamed with the lengthening mascara truly makes a difference. I mean, really? Look at how long my lashes look in the above picture! No clumps either. This is fantastic mascara and the primer just give in an extra kick! To finish off my look, it was time to try violet storm. I was excited because purple is my favorite color, but nervous because it's such a bold color. I have tried cream eye colors in the past, but they always only lasted a few hours before smudging or disappearing all together. I LOVED the way violet storm looked against my skin (that doesn't happen often with anything outside of the neutral color realm) and couldn't wait to go out and show off my new look. I got compliments from several different people. And it stayed put. All day. I mean ALL DAY. I really do plan to buy this eye cream in several more colors. It will be my go to eye makeup from now on! The makeup brush included in the box is a great brush that makes application a breeze, even for a novice.

Overall, I was impressed. Not a product in the box I didn't like. These products could stand up to much more expensive beauty products. I would highly recommend any of these, but if you can only splurge on one thing definitely go for the eye cream!

Find out more at the Mary Kay Website
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Book & Beauty Cravebox Giveaway

A while back I reviewed the Book & Beauty Box and once again sang Cravebox's praises. It has definitely been one of my favorite boxes from them to date. Now, I am thrilled to offer you the opportunity to win one of these fabulous boxes! Enter via the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win The Book & Beauty Cravebox!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Earth Day Freebies-some really good ones!

There are some great freebies going on tomorrow for Earth Day. If you have always wanted to take better care of the Earth (and yourself) or if you just love getting something for nothing, you don't want to miss out on these great freebies!

My favorite freebie for tomorrow is at Origins. If you take in your empty cosmetics bottles you will get a FREE bottle of moisturizer. Here is what the Origins Facebook page says:

Get your cosmetic empties ready & get ready to run to your nearest Origins store this Sunday, April 22nd. On Earth Day, we’ll give you a FREE A Perfect World™ SPF 25 Age-defense moisturizer with White Tea or Starting Over™ Age-erasing moisturizer with Mimosa just for bringing them in! You don’t want to miss it!

There are a few different places offering free reusable bags. Target is giving away a free resuable bag to each customer on April 22 until supplies run out, so you will want to get there early!

The Disney Store is giving away an adorable bag to customers who bring in 5 plastic bags to recycle. They are also having a scavenger hunt to help you learn more about how to save the planet.

Michael's is having a "make it and take it" craft event going on where you get to decorate a reusable bag in the store and take it with you!

I have heard that Lowe's is giving away a million trees (one per household) but I do not see that information on their website. Call your local store to verify before heading over there. They are offering 10% off energy star appliances.

Pottery Barn Kids is offering a free packet of Sunflower seeds, so don't forget to take your kids over there and then plant the seeds with them in the afternoon!

If you are a coffee drinker head on over to Starbucks and/or http://www.cariboucoffee.com/ with your reusable drink container and get free coffee!

Have you heard of any other Earth Day freebies? Leave them in the comments below!

Cravebox Review + Giveaway

One of my favorite ways to try new things is by winning them and one of my favorite ways to win things is by attending twitter parties. Last December, I won one of my favorite things so far, a Cravebox!

You may be thinking, what is a Cravebox? It is a specialty box designed exclusively for members and each box is filled with various products. Each month you will receive 5-6 products in your box for $10

After I won my box in December and fell in love with the program, I got my name on the waiting list (yes, it's so awesome there is a waiting list!) I was lucky to be able to get into this program while it is still in beta mode. A full launch is tentatively set for April.

On to my February Cravebox!


When you first open the box, it looks like this:

Then there will be a note inside detailing all of the products you have received for the month.

This month's theme was "Date Night" and here is what was included:

Downy wrinkle release- travel size

2 Think thin bars

3 packets of orange E-boost

6 Bic Mark-it permanent markers

1 oz Amore Pacific treatment cleansing foam

1 oz Amore Pacific moisture bound skin energy hydration delivery system


I was pleased with all of the products in this box. As usual, the value of the products well exceeds the $10 you pay to receive it. I loved the think thin bars. They are great as a replacement for a light meal or even for a tasty  recovery snack after working out! Really, they are even good as a snack that will keep you full for a while. The E-boost has a great orange flavor and who couldn't use a little more energy? I have already used the wrinkle release several times. It works just as well as ironing and is so much quicker! The bic markers came in some really pretty colors. As someone who enjoys crafts, I look forward to using them! I love that Cravebox let's me try new beauty products, I am very please with the Amore Pacific products. It is so much fun to get a little luxury in your mail once a month!

I wanted to share a little taste of my Cravebox with you guys. So I am giving away 1 packet of e-boost and the Amore Pacific Cleansing foam for one lucky reader to win. As a bonus, I am also going to send the winner a FULL SIZE Mereadesso face + neck toning gel from the January Cravebox! Enter to win with the Rafflecopter form below!

**You MUST be a follower of this blog to claim any prizes.

Sign up to be on the waiting list for Cravebox's full launch!!