Review: NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine in Nude York City

This is another product I received in my Holiday VoxBox from Influenster. I don't wear a lot of lip products, even though I own quite a few.
NYC is not a new brand to me. I have been using their products off and on since elementary school, when my best friend and I discovered their Roll-On Lip Gloss (which they still sell!!) and its shiny deliciousness. We probably ended up eating half of those tubes because it tasted so good. Their products are inexpensive, but not cheap. That's what I really like about this brand. I have loved basically everything I have tried from them, and I didn't break the bank doing so.
Influenster sent me NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine in Nude York City. This gloss is amazing. I like it WAY better than the Philosophy gloss I spend ten dollars on (and regret...) and it retails for less than three bucks. There is no stickiness, there is no gross tell-tale "I'm a cheap lip gloss" smell, there is no embarassingly tween-ish package. While the wear time is a little low (an hour or two), they flexible doe-foot applicator is easy to use without a mirror.

Right: Sunlight Left: Indoors with Flash  

This shade looks rather orange on my inner wrist, but on my lips (and, I imagine, a wide variety of other skin tones) is the perfect my-lips-but-better shade. It is shimmery but does not leave a weird glittery film when the gloss part wears away.

For less than three dollars, you really can't go wrong. There are ten other shades if you don't like this particular one, but the formula is amazing! I definitely recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind reapplying their gloss every few hours.

This gloss is available at Walmart, Target and a variety of drugstores. For more information on this gloss and NYC's other products, NYC New York Color's site is the best place to go. They even list the MSRP so you know about how much you're going to pay in stores. Influenster also has a product page with information and reviews.

Disclosure: I received this product at no charge for testing purposes from Influenster's Holiday VoxBox. These opinions are my own.

Review: imPRESS Press-On Manicure

I received the imPRESS Press-On Manicure in Tweetheart to try in my Holiday VoxBox from Influenster. I have never been a fake-nails kind of gal. No matter what I do, I just don't really like wearing fake nails. imPRESS didn't change my mind, but it definitely opened me up a bit. The last time I wore "drugstore" nails was probably middle school, so a lot has changed since then, but not enough to sway me. I'm just rough on my hands and artificial nails are not my friends when it comes to taking out contacts.
The first thing I liked about the imPRESS manicure was the packaging! The nails came in a little plastic nail polish bottle! The bad thing about this, though, is there is no logical way to size them. You just have to guess and try each to your finger. If they had been in any sort of order, the process would have been a lot easier, especially when it came time to find nails for the second hand. There are 12 sizes of nails, though, so you should be able to find one that fits your nail. If not, you can also clip and file them to perfection. It doesn't say that on the package, but the entire nail is colored, not just the outer layer, so there should be no problem. imPRESS also includes a "prep pad" to clean any oils off of your nail that might prevent good adhesion.

 Even though I had clean, dry hands and I used the prep pad, my index finger popped off in less than twelve hours (the thumb was taken off intentionally so I could take out my contacts without scratching my eye). The other nails weren't budging. I might have had lotion or something on that one finger, and it was a little more wiggly than the rest from the beginning, so I don't think it is the product's fault. The other nails look amazing from more than 6 inches away. They definitely do not look like my "natural" nails to me, because I'm me, and, well, I spend a lot of time looking at my natural nails. They do not scream "DRUGSTORE PRESS ON NAILS!" either, and actually look quite nice from the normal distance people are looking at your nails. My boyfriend said "people can't tell," which is saying something.
Removing them (which I decided to the day after I applied them) proved to me that the nails were not going to go anywhere. The adhesive is very thick and strong (as well as easy to apply-just peel the tab off of the nail and press!), so I don't expect that the nails would have popped off without just cause.
Two things that really bothered me were that you could see my nail from underneath, which looked weird to me, and the fact that the nails didn't perfectly cover my own.

 As you can see, the imPRESS nails weren't wide enough to cover my whole nail. There were bigger sizes, but the next size up was TOO big and pinched my skin. The thickness of the adhesive also made it look like the artificial nails were popping off-which they weren't.

You can see here the weirdness of my nail under the imPRESS nail. It doesn't look so bad in the picture, but it looked really strange to me.

Final words: imPRESS Press-On Manicures aren't going to change your mind if you don't like artificial nails, but really, nothing will. If you do like press on nails, these are an excellent option, as there are tons of styles (including more nail art-y ones) and they have quite strong adhesive. If you are in doubt about whether to try these or not, go for it. They are relatively inexpensive (from what I've seen, anywhere from 6-8 dollars) and are a pretty nice alternative to a salon manicure.

These are availible at drugstores and WalMart. For more information and a coupon (!!!) go to the imPRESS site.
P.S. Thank you to my wonderful boyfriend who took the pictures featured in this blogpost!

Disclosure: I received these free of charge in my Holiday VoxBox from Influenster, but my opinions are my own.

Review: Montagne Jeunesse Strawberry Souffle Mask

I received this mask as a part of Influenster's VoxBox program. It is a good way to test new things without breaking the bank.
This mask suprised me. As I said in the VoxBox opening post, I have bought these quite a lot as gifts, but I have never actually used one myself. I usually prefer peel off masks, but I would definitely consider buying this mask again. The scent was amazing-it really did smell like strawberry and whipped cream, like it says at the bottom of the package. While I didn't notice any long lasting effects after using this mask, it is an excellent "spa" mask, as it smells delicious and feels nice and smooth as you apply the product.

PROS

• inexplensive-these are usually 2 for $3 at Walgreen's. 
• More natural than some other masks in the same price range
• Vegetarian-as it says on the back of the package "we're vegetarian and animals are our friends-that's why we don't bash bunnies or add bits of animals!"
• delicious scent
• no acne medication
• Ingredients listing is very clear and explanatory

CONS

• packets are enough for more than one use, but not enough for two. 
• some varities hard to find in store-for example, I have NEVER seen Strawberry Souffle around me.
• The official site doesn't ship to USA

You can get more information on this mask and other varities on Montagne Jeunesse's website, and you can purchase these at WalMart, drugstores and online.

Disclaimer: I received this complimentary trial size from Influenster in a Holiday VoxBox. My opinions are not affected by this at all.