Influenster Holiday VoxBox 2012

If you follow me on ANY of my social networking sites, it's no secret that I've been pretty excited about Influenster. Influenster, if you don't know, is a website that sort of uses the trend of blogging and social networking as a means to get the word out on some pretty awesome products.

I've received 3 VoxBoxes so far but the Holiday has been the best one, I must say. :)

Okay, so the products I received to review are as follows:
1.)Quaker Real Medleys Oatmeal in Summer Berry (Freakin' delicious! I've had the Cherry Pistachio and I highly recommend that one.)

2.)Goody QuikStyle Hair Brush w/ Microfiber Bristles - I used this today to dry my hair and I will say that it DID try my hair faster and I honestly thought my hair looked super sleek today. I don't know if the brush had something to do with that or if it was my conditioner. So far so good, though. I'll let you know more as I use it longer.

3.)EBOOST Energy and Immunity Booster. (This reminds me of Emergen-C, which I use often. You just mix the powder in with some water for a quick boost. I haven't used the EBOOST yet but if it's anything like Emergen-C, I'm already a fan.

4.)NYC Liquid Lipshine in Nude York City- I've been a fan of the NYC brand for a long time. I love the Bronzer in Sunny and I've tried various lip glosses from them. This one might honestly be my favorite. It's just a simple nude that isn't too opaque, so anyone could pull it off.

5.)Kiss Nail Dress- Nail Polish strips are becoming more and more popular. I've never really been a fan. I work with my hands and I feel like I can feel that strip on my nails 24/7. I've heard good things about this particular brand and the unique part is the 3D look and feel to these. Really cute and festive.

6.)Montagne Jeunesse Fruit Smoothie Fast Mask- These are perfect trial sizes and make for some pretty awesome stocking stuffers. I've not tried this particular mask but I've liked all of the others I HAVE tried.

7.) Last but not least, they included a $25 off coupon on my first pair of shoes from Sole Society. I am actually already signed up to that site but I've never purchased a pair of shoes from them. I'm pretty excited.

So, as you can see, this haul was pretty good. I'll definitely get back to you with some more extensive reviews if you're interested. :)

Holy Blush Lemmings, Batman! (Beauty time)

I'm having such a beauty binge urge, it's crazy. I've been eying NYX blush powder blushes all morning. As far as price and quality goes, NYX blushes are one of my favorites. I think once the new year arrives, I'm going to haul some blushes like crazy! Happy 2013 to me!

Let's see... which ones do I want the most? Terracotta, Raisin, Cinnamon, Amber, Dusty Rose, Spice, Cafe, Chocolate Moose, Angel, Copper, Pecan, Taupe, Mocha.... Oh, man. How long is that list?!

The ones that I already own are Pinched, Peach, Pinky, Stone, Expresso, and Bourgeois Pig. I love them all, so you can see why I'd want to buy more!

I buy my NYX blushes at Ulta or on cherryculture.com. Happy shopping!

Follow up on last week's library haul: Mini reviews.

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta was MY FAVORITE BOOK THAT I'VE READ ALL YEAR. That's right. I'm saying those words and I'm standing by them. That book made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me stay up until I finished the damn thing, and best of all, it made me smile so big when I finished it. If it hadn't of been almost 6am when I finished it, I think I would have started it all over again. I loved it that much. Believe every positive thing you've heard about this one. It's amazing.

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White was another one that I finished in one day. While it didn't blow me away, I found that I was quite happy with not putting it down. It reminded me so much of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, specifically season one. If you're a fan of BtVS, I'd recommend checking this one out.

The Girls of No Return by Erin Saldin was the other book I read this week that wasn't supernatural or paranormal. (I'm also currently listening to The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton on audiobook on my drives to work.) It's set in Idaho at this sort of nature girl's reform school. That's not quite the phrase I'm looking for but it will do as a place filler. I didn't love this one but I didn't hate it.

Which brings me to.... the book I DID hate. Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz. This little book just couldn't decide what it wanted to be. At first I was like, "Okay. This is sort of like Practical Magic meets A Discovery of Witches." and I wasn't loving it but I was managing. Then in the last 50 pages, the book was like, "Nope! Just kidding. We're not WITCHES, silly reader. We're GODDESSES. Duh." Yeah. Freakin' Norse mythology Goddesses. I wanted to throw it across the room.

I made a trip to the library today. I went a little crazy. I just found so many books that appealed to me. I finally narrowed it down to five books. One I think I'll return and get the audiobook for my drives to work. My haul included the following:

The Girls of No Return by Erin Saldin
Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
Witches of the East End by Melissa de la Cruz
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

The only book I went in for was Saving Francesca but I got caught up in a book whirlwind. I've heard of de la Cruz's Blue Blood series but never got around to reading it. State of Wonder is the only adult fiction that I walked away with today. It's also the book I was referring to before, the one that I'll probably end up returning unread to check out in audio.

I'll let you know what I think of these books soon!

I've completed my 2012 Book Challenge!

I've officially read 50 books this year so far. A tip that I can give to double the amount of books you're enjoying at any given time is AUDIOBOOKS!

I read whenever I get the chance but I have a 40 minute drive to work. That's a lot of time that could be used to be reading! :) I'm so glad I opened my mind to the world of audiobooks.

I'll definitely be updating soon about the rest of the books I've read. Until then, feel free to peruse my Goodreads account. :)

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