Influenster VoxBox Review: Dessange Paris Products

I recently received an email from Influenster saying I qualified for one of the new VoxBoxes! I was surprised to get another one so soon after my last one and was really excited when I learned I would be reviewing Dessange Paris hair products. Based on the results of the survey I took, I was qualified for the products for color treated hair and I received: 

 
-California Blonde Illuminating Shampoo
-California Blonde Illuminating Conditioner
-California Blonde CC Color Correcting Creme

I haven't colored my hair in a couple of months so my roots are a little more grown out than I'd like at the moment. I usually only color when I can't stand my roots anymore, so I probably do it once every 3 months or so. No matter how long it's been though since I've colored, I never feel like my hair is nourished enough, and I generally only wash my hair once a week because it's very thick and doesn't even start to replenish the natural oils until about 4 or 5 days after washing it. 

I decided to give the products a go last night and was very impressed! First impressions of the shampoo and conditioner were that they seemed very much like salon-quality products, had a more professional "salon" type smell rather than fruity like so many others available now.  The consistency of both was nice and the conditioner's consistency seemed a little thicker, almost like a lotion.

The CC Creme was quite interesting; you leave it in your hair for 5-10 minutes and it corrects the brassiness of your hair color. I went to open it and there were some dark streaks on my fingers. I thought I had missed taking off some of my eye makeup, but I was wrong; imagine my surprise when I squeezed some CC cream out in my hand and it was almost like BRIGHT purple paint! I didn't want to take my phone into the shower to take photos, obviously, but this was some of the purple remnant that was left on the shower door when I was finished. Just imagine you're finger painting with grape purple paint and you get the idea. 

I left it in for about 10 minutes and I did notice that it diminished the brassiness I had at my roots where my color is darker. Despite the intimidating coloring, the CC Creme is a win!


This is a final semi-photo of my hair (don't love showing off my face online!) with the products I used as in the first photo in this blog post. My hair is touchable and smooth and the scent of the shampoo and conditioner is still noticeable. I rarely am able to smell the scent of shampoos and conditioners so long after using them, but this one is really nice and almost 24 hours later, is still noticeable!

All in all, I am now a fan of Dessange and I think next time, I would try their Oleo Miracle range for damaged hair to see if I could add even more moisture and shine to my hair!

If you're interested in trying any Dessange products, they can be found now at Target stores. 

*Please note: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.*

Nutella Lovers...You MUST Try Reese's Spread!

So I realize I haven't blogged in forever but I've had lots of life changes happen since my last post, things I would not like to relive. 
However, all that aside, I was recently offered a complimentary Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate spread to try thanks to VoxBox and Influenster! I'm a huge fan of Nutella and really, it takes all my willpower not to grab a jar and eat at least half in a single sitting, same is the case with this yummy Reese's spread! It basically tasted like a liquified Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, which is heavenly, to me.

The card included in the box offered some suggestions on what to pair it with and while I used a couple of them, I wanted to branch out and try some of my own too. I'm nowhere near done trying pairings but I'm so happy with this spread already!

First I tried it on some honey wheat bread, which I loved, of course. Probably the simplest pairing and a good way to sneak in some chocolate at breakfast!

The next day I tried it on my Greek yogurt in the morning and it was also amazing. If you don't normally like the somewhat sour flavor Greek yogurt tends to have, mix in a little of this and voila! 

The picture on the jar of spread shows it paired with a green apple, but I only had red apples here, so I tried it with one of those. Of course, it tasted delicious, though I'm sure it would taste amazing against the tart taste of the green apples as well. That's definitely next on my radar. 

 Lastly (so far), I tried a spoonful in my mug of hot chocolate, which, when melted, gave it a smooth, creamy flavor with a hint of peanut butter flavor! I'm for sure trying this again soon!

Thank you again to Influenster for giving me the chance to try this yummy spread!

DIY Kitty Cat Flats from Kittenhood and Scathingly Brillant!

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted! A post was pointed out to me on the Kittenhood blog where Kate from Scathingly Brilliant guest blogged about some cute DIY cat toe shoes! Of course, being the crafty person that I am, had to give these a try myself! You can click the link to the Kittenhood blog above and it will take you to the original post. 

For the face and ears, I hand painted them on freehand and for the eyes, I used the other end of my paintbrush! Lastly, I also added on a coat of Modge Podge to the design to help seal it a bit. 


Here is my visual step by step:

                                     

These flats are so adorable, I can't wait to wear them! Thanks to Kittenhood and Scathingly Brilliant for giving me a cute new pair of shoes to add to my wardrobe!

Cadbury Screme Eggs, Spooky!

If you're like me, you love the delicious though ever-decreasing-in-size candies at Easter that are Cadbury Creme Eggs! Unfortunately, they don't store well throughout the summer and though I've tried freezing a couple for later, they just don't taste as good as they do when they're fresh. So imagine  my excitement when a friend posted about finding a new type about a month ago, the Screme Egg! Ever since I saw her post, I've been scouring the stores searching for them and I finally found them at CVS about a week ago.
I only bought one because I didn't know how it would taste and I can happily report that it tastes exactly the same. The only difference is that (to me) they seem a bit smaller than the Easter version and they've replaced the orange "yolk" with green.

These also tend to be a bit pricier than the Easter version too, those are usually 2 or 4 for a certain price, I've seen these Screme Eggs priced at CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid at .99 cents to $1.29 apiece.

P.S. My nail polish just happened to match...it's called Glowstick by Fergie for Wet n'Wild!

DIY Katy Perry Candy Buttons Costume!

As I've written in past posts, last year I went to a Katy Perry concert. So when it came time to find a costume for Halloween, I knew just what I should be, but picking just ONE outfit out of all the fun costumes she wears was pretty hard! All the packaged Katy costumes were pretty pricey and I wanted something I could get more than one use out of. I'll note where to get the same or similar items at the end of the post so you can put your costume together too!
I wanted this look:

So I ended up getting a petticoat tutu from the Leg Avenue brand, this is especially useful because you can decorate it up any way you want. I got some colored sheets of sticky glitter foam from Michael's, then cut them into circles and sewed them on with a couple of stitches since the sticky backs weren't enough to hold them on.

And voila, there's the main part of your costume! Now you just need to add a blue wig, sparkly shoes and fun candy accessories and you're done!

Here was the final product the way I wore it:

And here are the sources for my main items!

*White Petticoat tutu: Party City
*Colored glitter foam sheets: Michael's or most any craft store
*Headband: Katy Perry Web store (not necessary but held my wig on nicely!)
*Candy Buttons Jewelry: I made my own and wrote a post about it last year, seen HERE.
*Glitter Heels: I wore silver sequin ones from Rampage, style name: Greer
*Blue Wig: I got mine from a random store here quite cheap but Party City has them and I've also seen them on eBay.

A note about the tutu petticoat, the tank top part is rather thin so I added another white tank top under it. I also suggest a pair of white bike/running shorts under the tutu as it's quite short.

I hope this helps you come up with a totally Katy costume for Halloween or other fun events!

DIY Coming Up Roses Earrings from P.S. I Made This!

I was approached by a friend who saw the post for these earrings on the P.S. I Made This' blog to see if I could make these earrings since I'm craftier than she is.
I ended up making two versions and even a pair for myself!
Here is the original blog post with visual instructions:
http://psimadethis.com/post/19396064783/everythings-coming-up-roses-sweet-smelling?a0da1b90

I only changed a couple of things. First, I did not use fishing wire to attach the earring backs because it was too hard for me to tie and place properly, so I just used super glue and glued the earring posts/clips onto the back of the flower. I had to rough up the back of the flowers a bit to get the glue to adhere better. Secondly, one friend wanted them with pierced backs rather than clips and with smaller flowers and those are pictured as well.


And here are my final results!


These are the smaller flowers with pierced posts:

Turquoise and peach clip versions with larger flowers:

More Pinterest-Inspired Nails...Pink Splatters!

Wow, has it really been that long since my last post? Anyway, I've been really into doing different nail art and trying out different colors lately thanks to Pinterest! I saw this one and loved it so I've been doing it a lot lately:

(Picture from: http://lyndarthemerciless.blogspot.com/2011/03/talon-tastic-thursday-sophisticated.html)


Then when I was at Walgreens, I found these cute Sinful Colors nail art polishes in lots of colors so I picked up a pink along with the silver glitter to do the design above. I was getting tired of the glitter so I experimented with the pink and this is what I came up with, I'm so looking forward to trying tons of color combos with these Sinful Colors polishes!

Base coat: OPI "I Think in Pink"
Tips: Sinful Colors "A Slice to Go"
Topcoat:  Hello Kitty for Sephora "Frosted Cupcake"