Merry Christmas and a Violet VoxBox Review!

Merry Christmas everyone!!! I was finally able to squeeze in some time to blog my review on the Violet Voxbox i received from Influenster a few weeks ago. Long story short (who am i kidding the story is never short with me) I had guests from New Zealand and Chicago and then a family member had surgery and I was basically a mom, maid, chauffer and caretaker all while having a full time job. Let me tell you I do not think being a mom is easy whatsoever! You get ZERO sleep. It's also very hard to be a people pleaser and get gifts for everyone on your list when your running around all the time.

Anyways on to my review!!!

This is what i received in my Violet Voxbox- also posted on my IG @misslada:

My Box:

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The VioletVoxBox GOODIES!

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My reviews:

1. Not Your Mothers Clean Freak Dry Shampoo:

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So I am not a huge fan of dry shampooing.. I just have to wash my hair everyday otherwise i feel dirty. However i love using dry shampoo for days my hair feels flat and i need a little "oomph" to my do. You get me?

The ONLY dry shampoo I've liked before this one is Paul Mitchell Dry Wash. (You need to try this if you're a dry shampooer BTW)

Anyways i love that i finally tried a drugstore dry shampoo and actually enjoyed using it. The smell is "Fresh" and it leaves my hair with lots of volume!

I can only imagine what it does for people that need to aborb oil.

Final thoughts: Thumbs up since I know I'll be making this a staple in my bathroom. Yay drugstore products that work!

2. Goody Athletique Quick Dry hair band

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I gave this one a test run and cycle..haha. I put it on threw my hair in a bun and went to the gym!

So background first. I have tried so many brands of headbands since I need these for yoga (have to keep those sweaty strands out of your face). I use headbands to keep my hair off my face, avoid pimples caused by sweat running down my face and so i can look cute (well sometimes).

I completely recommend this product if you workout, practice yoga or anything that makes you sweaty.  Although i wasn't a total fan of the color.. I did love that

1. It kept the long strands off my face.

2. Kept my ears warm on the way to the gym

3. It's not tight! The head wraps at the back of your neck and you can easily adjust and  customize to the size and tightness you need. I didn't notice i had it on till i had to go shower. Now that's impressive for a headband!

Overall: Thumbs up! YAY Goody! I will repurchase- in diff colors of course.

3. MJ Clay Spa Mask

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Alright, Spa time! When i saw i got a face mask i freaked because I just LOVE Spa Masks. I love the ones from LUSH Cosmetics all the way to the ones at Target that are $1-2.

This spa mask is the kind you actually fold out and place on your face. Please note picture above.

What I did: I put on the mask for 15 minutes after a warm shower. Rinsed my face with warm water and pat dry with a soft towel.

Results: a beautiful soft, clean face with a GLOW.

AND...wait hold on. I had two breakouts a week or so ago and they had dried up and looked just terrible. However, after this mask.. the dryness just came off after i pat my face dry.

My overall thoughts: If i can purchase this reasonably under $3- then I'm down. Anything more then i would rather go to Lush. This is a GREAT product of you like the actual masks and don't want to deal with placing product on your face.

4. SoyJoy Banana Flavor

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If you follow me on Twitter you know I go through seasonal phases with meal/snack replacement bars. I had seen Soyjoy at several supermarkets but was always hesitant to try them. To be honest, I'm just not a huge fan of SOY. I think it tastes great but I always feel moody when i have too much soy.

I decided to try this anyway.

Although it's not my favorite bar- I did enjoy it! Yes, the bana flavor was actually pretty appetizing. Now beware, this bar does not look that appetizing but it's actually pretty good. It wasn't dry ( even though it looked dry) and it was super fruity!

Overall thoughts: Thanks but no thanks? I liked it. I probably won't repurchase UNLESS i saw an interesting flavor or if I'm at an airport. Again, this is mainly due to the fact that I don't like putting soy in my body.

5. Triple Shine Sally Hansen Nail Polish- color: Reef-Raf

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The picture above is from Influensters site, however i did try this product at the hospital. I personally LOVE Sally Hansen nail polishes so my review could be biased?

  1. I did like the color i received- it was a bright, neony, coral-pink color.
  2. I did apply a few (2-3) coats to get the full color payoff.
  3. Very shiny and neony! Great color for summer!
  4. The other colors in this line look fun for summer as well.
  5. I saw the price on this- which is around $5 and I didn't make a purchase.

Okay, so yes it's a great polish and yes $5 is not that expensive. However I think that Sally Hansen should stick to the $3-$4 range.

To be honest my favorite polish from the Sally Hansen line is the Hard as Nails Xtreme wear. They are less than $3 and i love the colors they have. Esp the lilac! It's a staple in my polish collection. In fact i have purchased backups.'

Overall review: Great polish, Great formula and color. Price needs to go down so I can make the purchase. :)

All in all I am super glad i got chosen for this box and aside from the Soyjoy I was truly surprised by how much i enjoyed everything and am Excited to make purchases on most of these products. I hope my reviews helped you make a decision on spending your dollars on these great drugstore finds! :)

Please let me know if you've tried these products and what your thoughts are and if you like these types of reviews. I would love to know!

Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. All images are my own except the Not your mother's clean freak and Sally Hansen.

Saving big $$$$ without Sacrificing Quality

Hello Recessionista's! Hope everyone had a great weekend and is ready to finish the end of October with a great spooky kick! With the holiday season just around the corner...I wanted to give you all an insight on how i get high quality makeup and beauty tools with Big discounts.

Here are the latest hauls I've had:

Groupon Deals:

I see The body shop deal about 3-4 times a year on Groupon and as you all know they have high quality brushes and makeup. Although I am a big fan of everything in the store, i dig their brushes, eye shadows and lip butters. When i see the $10 for $20 Groupon deal.. i immediately start with buying two. I can a couple good brushes with just that. Also-most of the time The body shop has deals going on in the store. I have walked away with around $100 worth of products by using this Groupon deal in combination with the on going in store deals. BTW- this promo is running on Groupon TODAY! Snatch it while you can :)

Urban Decay:

Something I really want to recommend is creating an email address where you can subscribe to deals. I do this for my Groupon deals and email subscriptions. I never thought signing up for emails would save me much money till i recently got 20% off on Urban Decays website. I was super tempted to buy everything but then i realized I didn't have much to work with. So I got the smoked palette and handful of eye shadows for a fraction of the price. Seriously all of it was $50 and i scored free shipping! Btw they have several of these throughout the year so keep your eyes pealed!

Sephora and Beauty cards

This past year i fell out of the VIB beauty insider and I realized how much i took it for granted. The only reason i fell out of it is of course because I'm a recessionista and spending that much at Sephora is just not always feasible :)

Nevertheless i retained by VIB status by throwing my out of town friend's purchases on my card. Cheating i know..

But get this I used my 20% VIB reward to purchase an exclusive makeup brush set and belt worth $450 at a quarter of the cost.

It was already on sale... and i used free shipping and my reward to get two sets for less then $200! It's probably one of the best purchases I've made - I gave one away as a gift and kept one for myself as an early Christmas gift which i will later use for my latest hobby that may make me extra cash.. TBA!

Cravebox Subscriptions and other beauty and fashion subscriptions :

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Cravebox. More info on that beauty box here. But here's the thing.. i've only paid for one box! I got two free due to shipping issues. But due to the price of the boxes- they are still a great  way to try new products on the market without having to spend much. For $10 or so I have been able to receive several full size products and have discovered some new items on the market that i wasn't aware of. From eye creams to vitamins. Either way it's a great way to try new products without spending a fortune.

Stylemint and Jewelmint

Which leads me also to Stylemint and Jewelmint- I try to post about all the purchases i have on those sites.. I always skip in the beginning of the month and wait for the sales. I have scored tons of beautiful jewelry and t-shirts for under $10... Stylemint usually doesn't go under $15 but i typically get dresses which have been worth way over $15.

Using Promo Codes

Also REMEMBER- you can always find great PROMO codes for any site. Two of my favorites are retailmenot.com and dealspl.us :)

Well that's it for now. Do you have any recommendations on how to save big $$$ on great beauty and style finds? Please post  your money saving tricks below!

xoxo miss lada

Pretty Nail Polish- in a bottle

My sister lately introduced me to this new crackle nail polish trend. At first when I saw her nail polish i thought she went to some high end nail salon. But then she whipped out her crackle nail polish she ordered on Amazon- Mia Secret ~$3.99. My first thoughts were- BIGGEST SUMMER TREND EVER!

Although it's on the cheap side- she said the quality was worth every penny!

Here is an MTV article one of our bloggers commented on a previous nail polish post.

My sister had on the black crackled nail polish- look into the bright summer colors for summer :)

Glitter nails

Need i say more? Add some glitter nail lacquer to your tips to spice things up. This is great for the summer. Plus the great thing about glitter is that if you mess up.. no one can tell!

Do it yourself.. instead of having to pay to get it done. Also, with glitter nail polish you don't need to buy any fancy brand. Go with the cheapest you can find :)

Enjoy RECESSIONISTAS!!