Mz Banannie

Gillette Venus and Olay: 2012 L♥ve VoxBox featured product Review

2012-03-26T14:25:00.001-07:00

I got my first VoxBox from Influenster which is the Love VoxBox earlier this month and I made a blog post explaining what's Influenster , what is a Voxbox, how you can join and qualify for a VoxBox.

2012 L♥ve VoxBox

One of the products I received was the Gillette Venus and Olay. I use both Gillette and Olay products so I was very excited to try this razor!!!

Gillette Venus and Olay with Venus' 5 Blades and Olay Moisture Bars

After trying this product I found out that this is a unique razor because it has the Venus' 5 Blades and instead of LubaStrip this razor has the Olay moisture bars. Once you wet the razor and start shaving, you will feel the Olay moisture bar creates this soapy feeling without the heavy lather. I like how it glides smoothly to your skin, making shaving easier and faster! You will also feel your skin being moisturized while Venus' 5 Blades shave you close. So after I shaved, my legs were so smooth and without the dryness which I usually feel after shaving!!

Gillette Venus and Olay is a must have specially the "Dress and Bikini" season is fast approaching. This is good to take for travels too, coz you dont have to carry shaving cream anymore. And it also comes with SoftGrip handle for confident control and a very cute shower hook, so you can put it where it won't get wet and you can make sure you're razor will always be clean.

And the verdict.... I love this razor!!!! It has both the power of two great products Gillette and Olay. This is definitely what you need to achieve Goddess Skin!! I'll definitely buy more once it's available in-store by the end of this month or early April.

Annie♥♥♥

Disclaimer: Products complimentary through the Influenster's VoxBox product testing program.

My First Voxbox from Influenster: The L♥veVoxBox

2012-03-10T10:46:00.000-08:00

Couple of months ago, I joined "Influenster" after seeing a video on YouTube of "Unboxing a VoxBox". At first I had no idea what a"VoxBox" is but after seeing the video, it is just an amazing box full of free goodies. For you to qualify for a Voxbox you have to sign up at Influenster (for free) and unlock badges that fit your lifestyle. There are two types of badges you can unlock. The first one is the "Lifestyle Badges". For example, let's say that you travel a lot, you may unlock the jetsetter "Marco Polo" badge. If you're a techie person you may unlock the "Techie" badge. There are also badges for Moms, Bride to Be's, College students, Dog and Cat Lovers and many more. The Lifestyle Badges will determine what products you use, may try or have expertise with. This is my first Voxbox, but I know Influenster has several Voxboxes scheduled this year. Depending on the theme of the Voxbox and the badges you unlocked, Influenster will be able to know on which Voxbox they should consider you for. The second type of Badges are the "Influence Badges". These badges will determine how much you can influence other people of trying new products, ideas, services etc. There's "Youtuber" badge for Vloggers out there, "Blogger" badge for bloggers, "Tweetster" "Party Host" etc. Unlocking Influence Badges is very important because that's what Influenster is all about, influencing other people, giving your opinions and spreading the word for new great products that Influenster will let you test and try.

So now that we know what a Voxbox and what Influenster is, time for the LoveVoxBox Yaaay!! The lucky recipients of this Voxbox were announced around Valentines day, that's why it's called L♥veV♥xb♥x. And last Thursday I finally got my VoxBox and got these 5 great products!!

♥♥♥LoveVoxBox♥♥♥

Gilette Venus & Olay Razor

I use both Gilette and Olay Products, so both in one product?? Perfect match for #GoddessSkin !!

Designed with a love for smooth legs and a passion for skin care, the Venus & Olay razor is a match made in skin heaven. Olay Moisture Bars release skin conditioners to help lock in moisture and boost your shave* while 5 blades get Venus close.

Kiss Nail Dress- Fashion That Sticks

I'm so excited to try this!! I dont put nail polish a lot coz it takes so much time to apply and dry and I hate the smell too, so it's really great to be able to dress up your nails fast and without the stinky polish smell! They sent me this very cute hot pink-zebra like print with sparkles called Cocktail. ☺ #kissnaildress

No drying time. Just peel, apply and shape. Last up to 10 days!!

Stash Herbal Tea Sampler

Not only they come in these colorful packages they also smell delicious!! Haven't tried it yet but I will definitely try all of these flavors. They sent me an 18 ct. Sampler Caffeine Free in 9 different flavors (don't know why I only took picture of the 8 ☺). There are two of each of these flavors: Wild Raspberry Hibiscus, Acai Berry, Blueberry Superfruit, Mango Passionfruit, Cinnamon Apple Chamomile, Peppermint, Licorice Spice, Chamomile and Lemon Ginger. This Stash Teas are made from 100% Natural Ingredients so I know its healthy and good and I'm gonna boil me some water now! #stashtea

Grab your cup, sit back, sip and enjoy learning about the art and ceremony of this treasured drink.

Ghirardelli Gourmet Milk Creamy Devotion Bar

Both me and my husband are Chocoholics, we've tried other Ghirardelli Chocolates and we loved them, specially the "Pumpkin Spice Caramel Squares" unfortunately it's seasonal. So excited to try this new flavor and share it with hubby (or not). ☺♥☺ #iloveghirardelli

The decadently rich and creamy 32% cacao milk chocolate in Creamy Devotion™ delivers an epicurean chocolate experience. Experience a moment of timeless pleasure with all natural Ghirardelli Gourmet Milk™ chocolate.

Truvia® Natural Sweetener

The natural and zero-calorie part of Truvia® is really awesome!! For anything that needs sweetening like coffee, tea, cooking and baking I only use regular white sugar, but I can't wait to taste the difference with this natural sweetener. #truvia

Truvia® natural sweetener has zero calories and is made from the best tasting part of the stevia leaf to sweeten your coffee, tea or baked goods.

So these are the great products I got from my L♥ve VoxBox to try and review. I'll post the full review for all of these products after I tried them all. Thanks so much again to Influenster!! And if you're in the US and would like to be an Influenster too, just click here.

Disclaimer: Products complimentary through the VoxBox product testing program. Captions/ descriptions are from the product's website

Annie ♥♥♥

Homemade Treat for Any Occasion: "Chocolate Dipped Strawberries"

2012-02-26T02:39:00.000-08:00

Couple of weeks ago was Valentines day and I made a very easy dessert as my treat to my loved ones. And I want to share this with you guys, since you can definitely do this for any occasion. I made "Chocolate Dipped Strawberries" with a slice of white cake (optional). You can prepare this for any type gatherings, birthday parties, anniversaries or no occasion at all.

Here are the ingredients for this recipe:

2 lbs. Fresh Strawberries ( the bigger the better)
1 pack 340 g. Chocolate morsels (you may use dark chocolate too)
1 cup White Chocolate Morsels
1 to 2 tbps. of butter or other type of shortening

Materials needed are:

Cookie sheet pan
Wax paper or Parchment paper (you can also use foil)
Sauce pan
Glass bowl (should fit your sauce pan but with a space for water, bottom should not touch the water.)
Decorative paper plates

1. First step is to wash the Strawberries. Then dry them thoroughly using paper towels.
*Make sure you dry them real good so it'll be easier for the chocolate to stick.

2. Next is to simmer water on a sauce pan and put the chocolate morsels on the glass bowl.

3. Turn off the heat then put the glass bowl with chocolate on top of the sauce pan, put the butter and start mixing it.

The chocolate will start melting. Make sure the steam from the water wouldn't escape otherwise this will make the chocolate stick together and won't melt. But if that happens, don't panic! It actually happened to me and one thing you should NOT do is to add milk. I thought that the milk will make it melt but it did the opposite. What you can do is to put vegetable oil and mix it continouly. Just put a little bit more if needed, until it becomes shiny and starts melting.

4. Once the chocolate is properly melted, remove it from the heat then hold the strawberries from the stem and start dipping them on the chocolate, covering about 3/4 of each strawberries (you can also use skewer when dipping the strawberries.)

5. Put them on a sheet pan with waxed paper or foil (don't have wax paper available at that time :o) set aside and let them cool until the chocolate sets.

6. Next step is to melt the White chocolate morsels same way as melting the Chocolate morsels.

7. Once the White chocolate is melted, dip a fork and drizzle them over the chocolate covered strawberries. Note: You may also put the melted White Chocolate on a paper piping cone to make a neater design.

8. The last step is to put it on decorative paper plates if you want to give them individually but if you want to serve this on gatherings or parties just put them on a nice white oval platter. You may also serve this with a slice of white cake or a cup cake. Since I didn't have much time that day, I just used Betty Crocker Super Moist white cake mix. It was very easy to prepare, delicious, not so sweet and I think it really compliments the Strawberries and Chocolate. I sliced them in squares and drizzle them with Butterscotch caramel. You can always skip the caramel if you think it'll be too sweet (or too much calories☺) for you.

I used these cute Valentines Day inspired paper plates.

And here is the finished product:

With a drizzle of butterscotch caramel.

With cupcake for Hubby ♥♥♥

Enjoy!!!! ☺☺☺

E.L.F Products Review

2012-02-13T00:14:00.000-08:00

Hi guys, so yesterday I finally tried some of products the E.L.F that I ordered last week, and I'll tell you what I liked about them and the stuff that didn't really impress me.

So I'll start off with the brushes, I ordered the 12- piece Professional Brushes but I haven't used all of them yet, I have tried six of them, which are the following:

Foundation Brush- I used a liquid foundation, and I used my fingers to put it on my face, coz I feel like more of the liquid foundation will stick on the brush rather than my face (but I guess it's just me :D). So I used the foundation brush just to blend the product on my face. I rate this product 5 out of 5, it didn't shed, it's firm enough to blend the product yet still soft and gentle to skin, very easy to use and it works!

Foundation Brush

Total Face Brush- I used a little bit of mineral foundation just to seal in the liquid foundation. I so love this brush coz it's soft, gentle to skin, it didn't shed and It's very functional, I used it for bronzer and blush powder too and it just worked great.

Total Face Brush

Eyeshadow Brush- I like the shape of this brush, it picked up the eyeshadow really good, but I'm not a fan of this brush only because it shed too much, that I had to spend time using a tweezer to remove the bristles that fell off my lid and eyelashes. I'll probably use this only if I have the extra time to that extra work.

Blending Eye Brush- just like the Eyeshadow Brush I think it does the job of blending the colors, I love the shape of the brush, but the shedding was really the problem and it just makes me think that the brush hair will all be gone after few uses.

Eyeliner Brush- I love this brush so much, the tip was thin and gentle that made it easy for me to reach the inner and outer lash line and put just the right amount of color. The bristles/hair are firm and didn't shed. I highly recommend this brush, it's very easy to use and works fantastic.

Brow, Lash Brush/Comb- I used this to just brush my eyebrows, to make it neat and comb my lashes just a little after I put mascara. Nothing so special about it, but it's a must have to groom your brow and to remove clumps or separate your lashes after putting mascara.

So all in all, the brushes I tried were Ok. I like how each of one them are labelled depending on their use (great for beginners like me!) They are not the best but they do the job and for a buck per brush, you can't really beat that!

Foundation, Total Face, Eyeshadow, Blending, Eyeliner and Brow Brush/Comb

And now we go with the makeup, the first product I used was the Eyelid Primer in Champagne (this was included on the Sweetheart Collection I got for $2) I didn't like it only because it has so much shimmer on it, so for those people who also use eyelid primer under their eyes,like I do, this may not work if you don't want your under-eyes to be too shimmery but when it comes to holding the product, it really made the color long lasting. I may buy this product again but maybe in a different shade, coz I'm not sure if all the shades will be shimmery or maybe just the Champagne.

Next one I used was the 32- piece Studio Endless Eyes Professional Mini Eyeshadow Palette in Cool colors. I love this palette because it has a wide variety of colors. There's not much matte colors on this palette, but I'm a fan of shimmery eye shadows, so this one really worked for me. And the colors I used have good pigmentation and they're long long. It came with a mirror and double sided brush, in a stylish, sleek packaging, small enough to put on my purse, so this is also great for girl's On the Go. When I received this product, the mirror was moving and I had to glue it myself. I emailed ELF just to let them know about it (also one of the brushes, the Lip Defining Brush was broken). And the next day I received an email saying they already shipped the replacement. I wasn't expecting that they will send another Eyeshadow Palette but they did, FREE of charge!! Now that's what you call Customer Service!!

Studio Eyeliner and Shadow Stick- I used the nice blue eyeshadow from my 32-piece eyeshadow palette just so I can use my Eyeliner and Shadow Stick in Midnight/Blue. I think this is a great duo, it's very easy to apply and long lasting (the eyeliner stayed on my eyes even after I already washed my face!). It's very lightweight, always great to have it on your purse for touch-ups anytime, anywhere. You just have to be careful with it, make sure you twist-down the liner and shadow completely before putting in the cap because they're really soft and they might get smashed.

The last ELF product I used was the Studio Warm Bronzer, it has four different shades that you can use altogether or mix and match. I used the Total Face Brush for this as well, and I put just a tiny bit on my cheekbone, forehead, across my nose and my chin. I like it so much coz it matches my skin tone, it looks natural and gives my face a healthy glow. It also comes in Cool and Golden colors, so there are shades available for almost every skin types.

So those are the E.L.F products I've tried so far and I liked pretty much all of them. I'm definitely gonna order more products in the future. And here are some of the shots I took of "Before" and "After" look.

No make up yet! ☺

With Foundation..

Halfway there! My first ever try of "Smoky Eyes"

Done with my eyes..

OK Done!!

♥♥♥

My First E.L.F Products

2012-02-07T03:30:00.000-08:00

I remember seeing E.L.F (eyes, lips, face) products at Target and Burlington Coat Factory and was surprised to see make up products, like eye shadows, lip glosses, mascaras, brushes etc. so cheap, most of them just $1 ,the packaging was nice and looked ok but it's the price that really made me skeptical in trying the product and my husband also told me not to buy it coz it's just too cheap that it might irritate my skin.

One day I was looking for a make up tutorial for smoky eyes and I came across Dacey Couture youtube channel. You would think that she only uses expensive brands because the results were so nice, I was amazed to learn that she uses a lot of ELF products on her tutorials, and she really has this nice, clear skin so I thought that this must be safe for my skin too.

So I went to ELF's website and read reviews, saw a lot of good feedback and so I decided to order online and had a great deal, I noticed they always have promos and specials, and I was able to get the 9 piece Sweetheart collection for $2 a $30 value, after I bought $21 worth of products. So for $29.95 including $6.95 standard shipping fee I was able to get the following:

Everything I got for $29.95!!

ELF Professional Brushes

1810 Professional Complete Set of 12 Brushes

83701 Warm Bronzer

81106 Eyeliner/ Shadow Stick in Midnight/Blue

81222 Pigment Eyeshadow on Golden Goddess

Sweetheart ♥ Collection for $2!!!

1 21304 Bronze Dump Bag

1 51245 Studio Shimmering Palette

1 7502 Eyelid Primer in Champagne

1 71565 32- piece Eyeshadow Palette in Cool Colors

1 2118 Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Ruby Slipper

1 82542 Glossy Gloss in Pink Candy

1 1511 Nail Polish in Medium Red

1 1513 Nail Polish in Fair Pink

1 6818 All- Over Eyeshadow Brush

And right after you place your order, you may refer 5 friends by putting their email addresses as a bonus they will send you a free gift, they sent me a 9014 Hypershine Lipgloss in Flirt , but I believe this will vary, as I've previously read that people received different gifts from ELF.

I received my package exactly after a week, which is great, coz I've read that some people are not getting it on time. I'm so excited to try all the products I've ordered. I would say the brushes are great , their soft and they really look nice ( though not as fancy looking as high end brushes), but very good quality for the price of $1 per brush. And the SweetHeart Collection was really a steal, this may not be available anymore but ELF always offers discounts and promos. To get these exclusive offers, discounts, makeup and beauty tips I suggest you sign up at ELF http://www.eyeslipsface.com/

I will be posting my reviews about the products once I tried them and will share the ones that I really liked and would recommend.

For any comments and thoughts please feel free to drop a line. By the way this is my first ever blog so if there's anything you can suggest to improve my next blogs, would love to hear it.

♥♥♥

Annie