I've been extending by blow out! Here's my secret.

This is a magical product. No. Really. I am a busy mom, and I also do not like to wash my hair daily. There's no need to. But there are days like let's say after the gym my hair needs to be freshened up. I don't have all the time in the world just for me. So if I fit in a work out, that's my one mommy thing for the day. It's the gross truth. OK calm down, I shower if its a total sweat fest lol. 
I have found a nice little trick for my hair that has kept my hair big and bouncy, full of big waves and volume. 

After a blow out I like to sleep in a bun to try to maintain it, but not always  successfuly. Now all I do is I incorporate 'Not Your Mothers Clean Freak Refreshing Dry Shampoo'. 
 At the end of the day I spray my roots, brush with a bristle brush and bun it! (Use pins, I use the Spin Pin.) Generally its off to the gym in the morning. So the bun stays. (But if you're not off to the gym you are ready to flip your hair and tousle your roots. There you go, FAB hair!) 

OK back to the gym. You had a moderate work out. An hour of the elliptical, and some weights. Not a huge sweat fest. But the roots of your hair are a bit damp. No worries, keep your bun in let your hair dry, and spray your roots. Hop in the shower (non hair wash day). All done, flip tousle and  there you go: HAIR!

"Good Morning!"

The other night I didn't sleep in my bun. Had one of those days, mommies hair was wound a bit tight. Major headache, isn't that the greatest. I still sprayed a bit and brushed out. 

When I woke up I thought I had lost the volume. So I thought I would put it to a different test. No over night bun just gym, and a shower... the results were AWESOME.

All I did was flip and tousle at the roots with my fingers.

No heavy perfume smell.

So, yeah, will be buying this again! The best thing... price. I had no idea how much it was because I received mine from Influenster for testing purposes. when it worked so well I was a little nervous. I was really thinking THIS had to be  pricey. Um NO! Check it out:

Influenster Violet Vox Box Review

I just recieved my Influenster Violet Voxbox! I am so excited, I live for these. Sharing my thoughts on products is nothing new. Here is the Sugar N' Spice Voxbox I reviewed a while back. At the same time I share ridiculous videos and pictures( follow me on Instagram and Twitter or Facebook for some silliness with myself and other Influensters). A lot of the items are beauty products, so I will share the not-so-glam shots. 

Soy Joy product I am very aware of. I first tried them when they first came out. Was not a fan. Saw it in my box again, there must be a reason.  Now more fruitier! Well that's what it said. Did it live up ... yes. It was mighty tasty. The one in my box was Dark Chocolate and Cherry. That's what I would of picked. There was enough chocolate to kill any sweet craving, and I will always pick dark chocolate over milk chocolate. the cherries were perfectly complementary, and not a bit dry. I would consider picking these up again. Best deal again is at Walmart (click to purchase).
Get MyPoints there too! Double score!

Indulge the healthy way with Dark Chocolate Cherry SOYJOY. Whole soy plays host to dark chocolate and real cherries in this dessert lover's delight. Lose yourself in its flavor and always have your chocolate craving covered.

This was a wonderful treat! Sally Hansen Triple Shine. I like to have my nails painted more, but I am terrible at the application, and sitting still. The brush is just awesome. No really. Its a shorter, more dense brush. I actually could control what the heck was going on. Dried fast enough for me,' little miss ants in the pants' . The finish is quite nice too. Easy enough to paint the nails of a three year old and dries fast enough for' little miss ants in the pants junior'! Might I add the color I received 'Red Snapper' is beautiful. On the red scale its more in the coral zone. A very fresh youthful red. 

                                Mommy & Daughter nails!            

                                                            

This morning I started out early testing some of my #violetbox goodies from Influenster . The first one this morning I gave MJClaySpa masque a shot. 

The Glacial Clay Spa mask with Canadian Glacial Clay cools the skin for an ultra refreshing cleanse, perfect after working up a sweat at hot yoga. It re hydrates the skin, removes impurities and cleans out pores deep down for an invigorating experience.

It was super easy to use. You just pull put the 'pre moistened' mask and stick to face. Its easy for when I don't always have time to mix up one of my heavier clays. It was at lighter experience too, it was cooling, but not the big tingle I was expecting. I did not notice a huge difference, but my skin did feel nice after. I do wish it covered the jaw though. 

I will say that the Goody Head band was very helpful for doing masks. The new hair bands are part of an Athletic line, reversible and made of more breathable fabric. I did take them for a jog. Meh. It didn't stay put as much as I would like.It felt like I was wearing one of those ear muff headbands. It felt very thick on my head. I like it for yoga, and facials! 

Goody Athletique items provide you hold and comfort so you can be physically active and strong in body and mind.  This headband's lightweight, moisture-wicking fabric keeps you cool, dry and comfortable!

• Wide band shape holds back flyaways

• Reversible for two looks in one 

• Moisture-wicking fabric that keeps you cool and dry 

I have never tried dry shampoo before! I have been very curious. But now one of my new favorites! I also found a great use for it too. When I went for a jog to test my head band I had just had a fresh blow out! I am not the type of person to wash my hair daily unless something gets really gnarly! I had my hair in a bun, and then the head band. I wasn't dripping with sweat but I wanted to freshen my hair. I flipped my hair over and sprayed this on the roots  and brushed through. It smelled sooooooooo good. My hair felt soft and poofy volume like. I was super impressed. This is a great idea for after a not too super sweaty work out, and you just need to freshen up your hair after being under a head band or flattened by a scarf. I had to go online to see how much it would cost. I was expecting it to be a specialty item. Specialty = $$$. Surprise Walmart had it online 7 ounces, $4.74! 7 ounces is a lot too. My sample bottle is like 2 oz, it will last.  Get excited people!!!!! This is a keeper. 

You can purchase it here  (click to purchase , Valid for MyPoints).

Ulta and Walgreens for $5.99.

I have received these products complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster.
This blog may contain affiliate links.

Sugar 'n Spice Vox Box Review

Welcome! I am a lucky lady, I received the Sugar N' Spice Vox Box from Influenster! I was pretty jazzed to see in on my door. I am really excited to share the hits and maybe misses?

The first thing I dove into was my belVita breakfast cookie. I have been very familiar with them when they first came out. I lived off them to be exact they were great on the go. So thats a no brainer new flavor cinnamon brown sugar was alright by me. The best thing is four of those cookies in a pack are a serving, and generally I am full before I get to the last one. Even better! My only draw back, is I did burn out on them in the past, but that's because I didn't get creative enough. So here are my breakfast recipes to jazz up your BelVita breakfast, or snack. These will work with almost any flavor too. In most of these recipes I only used two cookies because they are very filling, and now they last longer.

• belVita Cookies and smashed banana. Just smash ½ a banana and spread onto your cookies. Slices work too, they just always fall off!


• belVita Cookies and peanut butter. Double energy!


• belVita and any Hazelnut cocoa spread. THAT'S a no-brainer.


• belVita Parfait. Crumble BelVita on your yogurt and replace granola add fruit.

The possibilities are endless. You can use them as a base in cheese cake, crumble, or magic cookie bars!

A cool new product : Vaseline Spray and Go. Great idea, powered by compressed air (my toddler laughs when I use it because it makes a funny noise). The idea behind it is great. Spray, jump into your clothes, no drying time. No wet lotion marks. But for me it was a fail. There was not enough moisturizing properties in it to keep me feeling well, moisturized! It went on easy, rubbed in fast, dried in a flash. Yet, it was gone, my skin just ate it all up for breakfast and left none behind. I still had to add another lotion later in the day to feel less dry and itchy. It didn't cut the mustard for me! Will not be buying in the future.



Many commercials have been letting me know that I must be whitening my teeth. I have always skipped the whole strips thing because of the tooth pain that follows. Early teeth whitening gizmos with home light gadgets were just too much of a pain. Then toothpaste added whitening to their functions but did not deliver. Then there was toothpaste that just whitened but there were no health benefits to it. Well in my magic box was the full Colgate Optic White system, Toothpaste, Mouth rinse, and brush! Cool! First off, I gave the brush a go, I really did try. But once you go to electric brush, well it's just hard to go back. The science and engineering behind it I can totally understand though. There were some cool rubber whiting cups, I can see how that would work. But for me the thing was too big, it was all over the place... I just had to go back! So no worries, I am now using the product with my electric brush. Noticeable difference. It was about a week and I could see the difference.

My choice of whitener has been using a natural method along with my toothpaste which is baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. That worked wonders, but the grit did a number on my brush! So it was a nice change to let some one else mix up my hydrogen peroxide for a change. The rinse is easy to use, but don't expect any minty freshness from it. It's all foam, in a good whitening way. I still have to use an anti-cavity mouth wash in the end just so I can feel clean. But over all, the BEST whitening toothpaste that dose provide REAL oral health benefits! Will buy the tooth paste in the future.



My nest favorite is Nectresse Sweetener. Hooray monk fruit. If you haven't seen my previous post please see it here. In the market for 0 Cal sweeteners this one has a fresh new prospective. Super happy with the product... WILL BUY IN THE FUTURE!

I take mine to the gym!

I am a person who had been blogging about natural face products I have always use a lot of witch hazel in my bases for toners. This next company I am familiar with, and use their witch hazel. Dickinsons has put it in a towelette, with Aloe! So amazing! Witch hazel is great for soothing inflamed skin, and aloe is another great soother, together on a towelette is just happiness. I have sensitive skin and I found I can use this during any kind of skin issue (oh there can be so many some days). It did leave my skin clean, soft, and fresh. On days I use make up and I just don't want to cleanse these guys can remove the day off your mug ladies! I didn't need another one, I didn't need to pull out my bottle of witch hazel to remove the remains deep down. Because there was none! I see these guys going to the gym. They feel amazing after a sweat fest. My only problem... individually wrapped. Bummer for more waste. I would like to see them packaged like other facial wipes in a pop up container. Or make a few travel size pop ups (like those travel tissues) and sell them in one package. Like when you buy a box of baby wipes. I want to purchase these, but not until the packaging changes.

Over all it's been a great experience. Yes some of these product will change my buying habits in the future.

Protein, Caffeine, and Nectresse, Oh My!

I had forgot I pinned a great breakfast shake, I finally got to make it last week. It's now a morning staple. It's important to get food in your belly with in an hour of waking up. But in my house and many other busy households it can be tough. With in the first 20 minutes of getting up my husband and I are baby wrangling, and convincing a 2 year old to get out of bed. Hubby helps me and gets himself ready, while I fly down stairs and get the kids their juice. Our baby boy is not content until he slams a good 8 ounces of juice. Then it's a battle to find my little girl a breakfast to go. Mean while I am just desperate to get some coffee. But first its get my hubby his caffeine and a breakfast to go thing of sorts because he has his commute and drops of the toddler at play school two days a week! Even after they are all gone I am still feeding my 9 month old boy which is the same size as the 2 year old. The breakfast menu for my baby dude is extensive. Whew.. well if I can shove enough food in front of him, I get a chance to sit and have ... what? Well luckily I found my new staple in the mornings:

Adapted from Fit is the new black.

Ingredients:

♠  2 handfuls of ice

♠ 1 scoop of vanilla or chocolate protein powder. I use a vanilla flavored vegan brand, that has 22 grams of protein per scoop. That’s half of the protein I need for the day!

♠ 1/2 frozen banana

♠ 1 cup of brewed coffee-choose whatever flavor you like

♠ 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk- I like unsweetened almond milk because it’s dairy free, provides extra protein, is creamy, and only 35 calories. However, you can totally use whatever type of milk you want.

♠Nectresse to taste. I actually add it to my coffee like I am going to be drinking it before I add it to the blender. I don't want to over do it! I was originally not using any sweeteners because I have found that they all can be overwhelming and they do not enhance any flavor.

Add all ingredients to blender and go to town! I pour it into a blander bottle because it make a lot and the blender aeration adds to the volume. It is very filling, and I now have breakfast and coffee in a better for me way.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ng5y_XqDNk&w=560&h=315]

Review:

I just started using Nectresse, it is from the makers from Splenda. I will have to say I was slightly weary because I have not been a fan of zero calorie sweeteners unless it was a Stevia type but some times I found even that was too much. I had received my sample in my VOXBOX from Infuenster. After trying it out in my coffee I was surprised. I tasted my coffee, NOT sweetener. I tried it in my tea's which is a tough test to pass. I like a lot of fruit teas, and strong herbal teas and they are best with agave. But sometimes agave or honey can be too sweet, and added calories. Nectresse did the job with out over powering my tea! After all those basic tests I am ready to use in my protein shake.  The best part is that I am also using less sweetener too. You only have to use 1/4 teaspoon for every teaspoon you use! It must be that monk fruit, Nectresse is made with  Monk fruit and 100% natural. I am very happy with the final results, and will continue to use Nectresse.