Contest Winnings - Garnier Ombrelle and Fructis Style Beach Chic

About a month ago I won a contest on Garnier Canada's Facebook page and last week I received the prize in the mail! Full-sized bottles of Garnier's Ombrelle Face sunscreen and Fructis Style De-Constructed Beach Chic texturizing spray! 

I'm a big fan of Garnier's hair products. They're one of the best low-priced brands on the market. I currently have probably close to 10 Garnier hair care items at home right now. Plus, any company that has Tina Fey as a spokesperson is okay by me! 

I tried the Beach Chic spray in my hair this morning. Of course, it's not the greatest weather for it as the snow finally (hopefully) all melted this morning. I did like the light hold it gave my hair and it helped keep my waves in check. I will definitely appreciate it more in the summer when I can actually go to the beach, and it will hopefully help my summer frizz hair. Also, it smells lightly fruity, not overpowering.

I've used Ombrelle but not in a long time. However, I have been lacking a good face sunscreen and I do remember Ombrelle being a good brand. I will make more use of this when Spring decides to stay and the sun starts shining (though yes, I know I should wear sunscreen on cloudy days too).

Share your contest winnings in the comments below. For more info on Garnier products, visit www.garnier.ca

Awesome Possum Blogorium - now on Facebook!

Just a quick note that a Facebook page has been created for the blog at https://www.facebook.com/awesposblog. Also, don't forget to follow the blog on Twitter at @awesposblog.

Loot Crate March 2014 Review

This review is a bit delayed as I received this a few weeks ago. Better late than never, eh? Let's get to it. This month's theme was Titan.

What came in this month's box:

• Titanfall t-shirt
• Attack on Titan - 1 manga
• Titanfall lanyard
• Attack on Titan Scouting Regiment wristband
• Loot Crate March 2014 button
• Salt water taffy!
• Code to access Titanfall strategy e-guide

This month's theme didn't interest me at all, but Mike was kind of into it. He's never played Titanfall, but he wants to. He thought all the Titanfall gear was cool and said he'd maybe read the Attack on Titan manga, which we'd never heard of. I was going to give it Aislinn (she likes manga), but it's pretty violent. Hudson loves the wristband though and wears it all the time.

I had cancelled my Loot Crate subscription when I found out the theme because the last two themes did not interest me at all. BUT...Loot Crate posted a clue on their Facebook page:

So...if it's a Game of Throne's box, I am definitely re-subscribing.

To subscribe to Loot Crate, go to www.lootcrate.com

Healthy Surprise March 2014 Review

ethicalDeal is currently offering a deal on Healthy Surprise subscriptions, $5 towards a $30 credit. Healthy Surprise is a subscription box service similar to Snackbox. The company sends out one of three types of boxes each month, starting at $40/mth for the Starter Box. Each box contains a variety of healthy, natural snacks. I used my credit towards the Starter Box, so it only cost me $15 + shipping ($10 in Canada).

Let's see what's inside:

There's a $25 gift card for Healthy Surprise on top! Awesome!

Lots of goodies, let's see what we have:

• VegThisWay Rawr Bar in Super Sweet Potato (www.vegthisway.com)
• Oskri Peach Bar (www.oskri.com)
• Happytimes Veggie Pals Carrot Orange Apple Chews (www.happyfamilybrands.com)
• Freeze Dried Crunchies in Mixed Fruit (www.crunchiesfood.com)
• Buddy Fruits Pure Fruit Bites in Orange (www.buddyfruits.com)
• New York Date Bar in Fruits & Nuts (www.newyorkdatebar.com)
• Materne GoGo Squeez in Appleberry (www.gogosqueez.com)
• Just Strawberries 'n Bananas Freeze-dried Fruit (www.justtomatoes.com)
• Oskri Dried Cranberries (www.oskri.com)
• Lydia's Organics Rawkin' Spicy Beet Chips (www.lydiasorganics.com)
• Alive & Radiant Foods Kale Crunch in Quite Cheesy (www.kaiafoods.com)

There are a lot of great products in this box, and I'm glad there are so many kid friendly products. I have 2 small complaints - one, the box is 90% fruit. I kind of wish there where more savoury snacks. Two, I wish there was a product list with information about each product. Snackbox encloses a leaflet in their boxes, Little Life Box posts their's online. I personally like seeing a blurb about each item. Still, receiving the $25 gift card was awesome, and they also included some recipes!

To get the $5 for $30 credit deal, go here.

For more info on Healthy Surprise, visit www.healthysurprise.com (referral link).

Good Things in the Mail - March 25, 2014

A few nice samples and a good coupon came in the mail today!

From left to right:

- Shu Uemura Lightbulb Foundation samples (from their Facebook giveaway - over)

- Biotherm AquaSource sample (from their Facebook giveaway - over)

- Chapman's coupon (from their website - no longer available)

I'm excited to try the samples and I will share my reviews shortly - maybe with a pint of ice cream!

Contest Winnings: Romwe Burgundy Hearts Shirt

Intense Polish Therapy had a giveaway with Romwe a while ago for Romwe's Burgundy Hearts shirt. I won it! It's so cute and I was so excited!

I received it this week but unfortunately they forgot to ask me my size. It came in a (China) small. However, there's a little lady in the house who can fit in that size:

It's a touch big on her, but with tights it just looks like an oversize blouse. She loves it and she says all of the girls in her class complimented her on it. So it was a win for Aislinn :)

Little Passports First Month Explorer Kit Review

My daughter Aislinn chose to purchase a Little Passports membership with some of her birthday money. Little Passports is a monthly subscription box. There are 2 choices of subscriptions - World Edition, which covers a different country every month, and USA Edition, which covers a different state every month. We went for the World Edition. For $11.95/mth + shipping, kids receive a letter from Sam and Sofia, souvenirs, stickers, photos, as well as special online activities. Since it was Aislinn's first though, she received her first month Explorer Kit.

She was so excited to get mail!

The first month Explorer Kit comes with:

• a very cute travel suitcase to store treasures
• world wall map (great for looking up the countries visited!)
• stickers for the suitcase
• travel passport
• photo of Sam and Sofia
• activity sheet
• luggage tag with online access code

The photo of Sam and Sofia is missing from my picture as the kids had already run off with it. :)

It's a great box, Aislinn loves the suitcase and is excited to see where Sam and Sofia go in the world.

One last thing: every month Little Passports has an Explorer of the Month photo contest. Aislinn's photo is entered in the contest, and we would REALLY appreciate a vote. Contest ends April 3rd. Please click here to vote.

To sign up for Little Passports, go to www.littlepassports.com (referral link). 

Topbox March 2014 Review

The March Topbox has arrived! Full of new goodness to try out! For those who don't know, Topbox is a monthly beauty subscription service. For $12/mth you receive 4 deluxe beauty samples. I personally love Topbox because there is always one really luxe brand. Let's see this month's box:

I received:

• Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair (www.esteelauder.com)
• Belvada Cosmetics Blackhead Facial Mask (www.belvada.com)
• Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey (www.clinique.com)
• Epic Blend Hemp Lip Balm in Citrus Kick (www.epicblend.com)

I am so excited about this box because it comes with a Clinique item! Clinique is my absolute favourite makeup brand. I love the colour of this product too, it's like a cross between a lip stain and lip balm, and the colour is the perfect red tint for me. I haven't tried the Estee Lauder product yet, but I love Estee Lauder so I'm sure it will be fabulous. The Epic Blend lip balm is lovely, it's so fresh smelling and so soft going on. I absolutely needed more lip balms, given how nasty this winter has been. I have not had a chance to try the Belvada masks as I just did a mask. I've never tried any Belvada products before but I'm excited to try them out!

Another great package from Topbox, they are definitely one of my favourite subscription services.

To join Topbox, go to www.topbox.ca. They have a waiting list, but it's def worth the wait :)

GlamST Website Review

I was given the opportunity to review the just launched GlamST (www.glamst.com) website by Brandbacker. GlamST is a virtual makeover site created by two telematics engineers from Uruguay. The software was originally used by L'Oreal in their country.

I started on GlamST by creating an account, which is linked to either my Facebook or Google account. Once I was set up, I was asked my hair colour, skin type, eye colour, and complexion. The program gave me sample photos to use based on my choices or I had the option to upload my own photo, which I did. The software automatically finds your eyes, lips, and face outlines and you refine the selections (I only needed to do a bit of fixing). One thing to mention though is to try and have good light in your photo. The lighting in mine made my skin look warm even though it's cool. It made it a little wonky when trying on foundation.

They give you a wide selection of makeup brands to try out, including really luxe ones like Givenchy and Dior. Of course those were the ones I HAD to try, since I can't afford them in real life. A cool feature is that as you use them, it gives you the option of purchasing them through Sephora.

Here is my before and after:

I really love this software. I've used virtual makeover sites before, but this one is the most realistic. The makeup doesn't look painted on, and you can see subtle differences in the mascaras, lipsticks, etc. I would definitely use this again, especially when looking to purchase makeup (and I do love Sephora!)

www.glamst.com

http://facebook.com/glamstapp

Nair Irresistable Candy Apple Sugar Wax Review

I was offered the chance to review Nair's new Candy Apple Sugar Wax through ChickAdvisor's Product Review Club. For those of you who don't know, ChickAdvisor is a site that features user reviews on a variety of products and when you join their Product Review Club you can have the chance to try new products for leading companies.

I'd just like to saw first off that the box looks DELICIOUS. I've actually been eyeing this at work because of home tasty it looks. Also, it smells as good as it looks! It took all my self control to not eat the wax, because it's bright red like a candy apple. The kit comes with the microwavable wax, wooden spatula, and 15 reusable strips. The strips felt kind of papery so I wasn't sure how well they would wash, but they held up surprisingly well! The wax went on well and little was left on me when I waxed, though I will say the bit that was left on me was a little gruesome looking since it was bright red :P. The wax was effective at removing hair and didn't hurt anymore than usual. Cleaning the wax off my legs was easy. 

Overall, this is a really great product with a really great, unique scent. Check out the product page here, and go here to join the ChickAdvisor Product Review Club.

Little Life Box March Review

This post is a bit delayed due to me sick the past week and a stressful paper due (which probably helped bring on the sickness). Anywho, the March Little Life Box arrived recently.

So pretty!

Let's check out the goodness:

Here's what I received:

- EcoTools Eco Pouf Mini Bath Sponge (www.ecotools.com)

- Montagne Jeunesse Manuka Honey Peel Off Mask (www.montagnejeunesse.com)

- Orange Naturals D3 Drops (www.orangenaturals.com)

- Q Energy Drink Powder Sachets (www.qenergydrink.com)

- Lotus Aroma Bath & Shower Gel (www.lotusaroma.com)

- Land Art ChlOralfa Breath Freshener Spray (www.landart.qc.ca)

- Sun Warrior Vanilla Raw Vegan Protein (www.sunwarrior.com)

- Bounce Natural Energy Ball in Coconut & Macadamia Protein Bliss (www.bouncefoods.ca)

- 3teas Jasmine with Flowers Green Tea (www.3-teas.com)

- Enerex Greens Gluten-Free Drink Powder Sachet in Mixed Berries (www.enerex.ca)

- Free For All Kitchen Gluten Free Crackers in Olive Oil and Sea Salt (www.partnerscrackers.com/OurBrandsProducts/FreeForAllKitchen)

I was so happy with this box! I think Little Life Box is my favourite subscription box. I've had a lot of these brans before, either through Little Life Box or Snackbox, but that doesn't bother me because I really like them. I was excited to receive a new product from Ecotools after receiving their really awesome blush brush in the January 2014 box. Bath poofs aren't the most exciting thing, but I know I'll use it sooner or later. I'm also a big fan of Montagne Jeunesse's face masks, and I've actually never tried this one so I'm really excited to use it. There were a couple of different drink sachets, including the Q Energy ones I've tried through Snackbox. Those are great for taking to work for a pick me up in the middle of the day.

I was REALLY happy to receive the D3 drops because they're a really inportant item to have in Canada in the winter. Plus they're full-sized and are worth more than half the cost of the box! I was also happy to receive the tea as I am a tea fiend. The snacks enclosed (the Bounce ball and Free For All Kitchen crackers) were tasty - though Mike was the one who tried the ball.

It was a great box, and I highly recommend subscribing to it. It is well worth the price ($19.99/mth + $3 shipping in Canada or less if buying multi-month). Go to www.littlelifebox.com to sign up :)

Good Stuff In the Mail: Biore Cleanser and Mask

Last week I received samples of Biore's Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser and Self Heating Minute Mask. This was a "first to try" giveaway that Biore offered on their website.

I really liked these products. They both felt like they were working right away. The cleanser had a bit of a sting to it when applied, but went away quickly. It felt like it was working though, and I like that. 

I loved the fact that the mask worked so quickly, perfect when you're in a rush. It had a strong heat to it when first applied, but cleaned off nicely and left my face with a matte feeling.

These are definitely products I would use again. If I had a favourite, it would be the mask just because it made my skin feel the nicest.