Latest Loves

C.O. Bigelow Lemon Lip Balm NO. 1421

Coco

C.O. Bigelow’s Lemon Lip Balm softens, soothes and cares for lips with Vitamin C-rich and super-nourishing Shea Butter. 100% natural lemon flavor provides a tangy burst, while the creamy formula glides on smooth, leaving lips feeling soft and moisturized.

I know, I know! Another C.O. Bigelow lovefest. Well, what can I say? Their products are amazing! I was at Bath & Body Works with my friend Christina awhile back, and decided to take advantage of their Buy 2, Get 1 Free deal. I bought two Rose Salves because my old one needed to be replaced, and decided to try one of their other lip products. This time their Lemon Lip Balm.

One complaint I had with the Body Cream was that it didn’t go on my lips comfortably, and I’m craving the lemon smell to wear during the daytime. And this is the answer to that dilemma!

The lip balm is smooth and silky, and completely nourishes my lips during the day. I bought it before winter started, and now that winter is here, I am so glad I bought it because it has been very helpful keeping my lips unchapped!

You can purchase C.O. Bigelow Lemon Lip Balm from your local Bath & Body Works (or from C.O. Bigelow online directly) for $7.50. Personally a little pricey, in my opinion, but it lasts for a very long time, and in the long term is TOTALLY worth it. Plus if you buy from B&BW, you can buy two lip products and get one free!

Courtney’s Rating: A+

C.O. Bigelow Lemon Body Cream NO. 005

Coco

C.O. Bigelow Lemon Body Cream NO. 005C.O. Bigelow’s time-honored formula is the ultimate in intensive moisture care for very dry skin. A little of this rich, non-greasy cream dramatically renews, softens and moisturizes.

Honestly, I never would have tried this product if I hadn’t stolen it from my friend, Laura. Just kidding, I asked permission! (She had two given to her). Anyways, that’s besides the point! This body cream is heavenly! Seriously! I’ve always been a huge fan of lemon. I love lemon cake, lemon Scentsy scents, lemon perfume, lemons, and so on and so on. So when I tried C.O. Bigelow’s Lemon Body Cream, it was meant to be!

I blogged before about my torrid love affair with C.O. Bigelow’s Rose Salve, and it seems like they’ve done it again! The body cream is silky smooth, although slightly greasy, and immediately renews my dry areas. And of course, all the while doing that it smells WONDERFUL. I pretty much want to devour my elbows or wherever I have applied the cream. It also works perfectly on my face before bedtime. I haven’t had any issues with the cream as far as break outs or allergic reactions, but I do reccommend with anything to do your research and see what works for you (A lot of people have complained of reactions to the lemon — read the reviews here). I was personally surprised by some of the negative feedback, and I urge you to try for yourself!

You can purchase your own C.O. Bigelow Lemon Body Cream from your local Bath & Body Works (or from C.O. Bigelow online directly). Typically 8oz for $19.50 (And of course, take advantage of B&BW’s Buy 2, Get 1 Free deal), although I have seen 32oz jars, as well, and mine is only 1.7oz. $19.50 seems a little pricey, but my much smaller jar has lasted me a few months now. Also, C.O. Bigelow has an entire line of Lemon products (including a body lotion if that’s more your taste), and I highly recommend them to anyone who is a fan of lemon!

Courtney’s Rating: B+

Instagram addict!

Coco

It’s a fast, beautiful and fun way to share your life with friends through a series of pictures. Snap a photo with your iPhone, choose a filter to transform the look and feel, send to Facebook, Twitter or Flickr – it’s all as easy as pie. It’s photo sharing, reinvented. Oh yeah, did we mention it’s free?

Since I’ve had the iPhone, my choices in apps have changed a lot, but the one constant has been my use of Instagram.

If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a fun way to share your photographs — with design aesthetics. Here are a few of examples from my Instagram profile (Add me @Cocolation):

Cocolation @ Instagram Cocolation @ Instagram
Cocolation @ Instagram Cocolation @ Instagram

I highly recommend any iPhone users to pick up this app ASAP. It’s a lot of fun and a cool way to edit your pics before posting. Click here to get it for free in the App Store.

More than likely, I will be using images I’ve edited in Instagram ALL OVER this blog! <3

Influenster Holiday VoxBox

Coco

Today my Influenster Holiday VoxBox arrived in the mail! If you don’t know what Influenster is, then you’re missing out! But no worries, click here to learn all about it in my previous blog post on Influenster! Like a bunch of other lucky Influensters, I was chosen to receive the Holiday VoxBox – I was super excited when I got the notification on my profile! It’s so awesome to be chosen two times in a row for a VoxBox. So, without further ado, the Holiday VoxBox:

I was literally racing the rain for this picture. Once I finally had all of the products displayed how I wanted them, it started to sprinkle, but luckily I got this shot before I was forced back inside. I was a little suprised at how small this month’s VoxBox was in comparison to November’s Cosmo VoxBox. But sure enough, it was jam packed with a bunch of cool goodies!

    • Influenster Postcard (quick breakdown on each product)
    • imPRESS Press-On Manicure by Broadway Nails in 240 Tweetheart (Red)
    • Softsoap Coconut Scrub Bar Soap
    • Montagne Jeunesse Face Mask in Strawberry Souffle (Trial Size)
    • New York Color (NYC) Liquid Lip Shine in 582 Nude York City + $1 off coupon
    • Mentos Pure Fresh Gum in Fresh Mint
    • Larabar Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bar + Info packet including a $1 off coupon

And I also recieved a Bonus Item!

    • Proactiv’s X Out Wash-in Treatment + Instructional Sheet

There were three total bonus items but I only qualified for X Out, I didn’t receive these but I figured I’d list them anyways:

  • Garden Botanika Heart Perfume
  • Garden Botanika Lash Primer

I had taken individual pictures of each product as I did with the picture above, but I accidentally deleted them on my iPhone :( So I’ll have to use stock photos for this quick overview of the items.

imPRESS Press-On Manicure
imPRESS Press-On Manicure
I’ve never been a huge fan of glue/press-on nails, but these look like good quality and I’m excited to get them on. I got the color “Tweetheart” which is a darker red than the red pictured in the stock photo. It looks perfect for Christmas time; they come in 36 different colors and patterns!

 

Softsoap Coconut Scrub Bar SoapSoftsoap Coconut Scrub Bar Soap
I’m not much of a soap bar user, but this coconut scrub might force me to have to change my shower habits! The coconut soap smells so good — just through the box! I can’t wait to try it!

 

 

Montagne Jeunesse Face Mask
Montagne Jeunesse Face Mask
I’ve never heard of this brand and the packaging kinda scares me a bit LOL but I’m definitely interested to see how this ‘Strawberry Souffle’ smells.. am I going to want to lick my face?? It’s only a trial size tho, so I only get one time to test it.

 

NYC New York Color Liquid Lip Shine

NYC New York Color Liquid Lip Shine
I was given the ‘Nude York City’ color, which is true to it’s name: a nude. It’s glittery and smells of chocolate! At only $2.49 each, I’m sold!

 

 

 
Mentos Pure Fresh GumMentos Pure Fresh Gum
I love gum! And this one is so tasty! I’ve already chewed a few pieces and I’m already hooked… guess I’ll have to stop at the gas station later…

 

 

Larabar

Larabar
Mmmm! I can barely contain myself, I’m ready to eat it now! I’ve never heard of Larabar, but apparently it’s a big thing. I’ve been listening to the youtube reviews on them and I can’t believe I never tried them! I got ‘Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough’!

 

 

X Out Wash-in Treatment
X Out Wash-in Treatment
As a bonus product, I received Practiv’s new X Out treatment. As opposed to their 3-step system, X out is a 1-step, twice daily treatment! Seems more hassle free than the 3-step program, and might actually work for me! Awesome!

 

It’s such an honor to be chosen once again to review items, and I can’t wait to get started!

Disclaimer: I received these products to test for free through the Influenster VoxBox program.

White iPhone 4S and Pink OtterBox Commuter Strength Case

Coco

For the past year or so, I had a KIN TWOm. It introduced me to the wonderful world of an almost-Windows phone, fully equipped with a Zune AND free wifi without a data package. But long story short, Verizon, Microsoft, and Sharp all kicked the KIN phones to the curb, and essentially killed them (If you’re interested, read the KIN wikipedia page). I fell in love with Zune and swore to buy the Windows Mango phone someday… that was, until the iPhone caught my eye. I told my friends previously I would never use another Apple product… I had switched over to Zune and quit iTunes permanently… and now I’m here… writing a blog post about how much in love I am with my new white iPhone 4S… Never say never, I suppose.

So, after many weeks of drooling over the white iPhone, I got it Monday! We were going to order the 16gb directly through Verizon and wait a week or two for it to be shipped, but Best Buy had a few 32gb’s for pick-up that day, so I made a slightly rash decision, and paid the $100 more to have it ASAP! I am so happy with that decision, because I love my new iPhone and I never see myself running out of storage.. plus if I wanted to, I’m pretty sure I could fit all of my music on it O_O

I spent the ENTIRE weekend before I bought my iPhone searching the internet for the PERFECT case for me. My old case was a pink zebra print rhinestone case, and I loved it to death, but with the iPhone, I wanted to show off the beautiful design. I had originally wanted the clear snap case from Incase, after watching this review on youtube, but since I got my iPhone earlier than I had planned, I did not have time to wait for one to ship because I was too nervous I was going to drop it as soon as I left the Best Buy. We went to at least 7 different stores, but there were literally no cases like the one from Incase that I found online, but luckily at the last store, Radioshack, I fell in love with a Pink OtterBox case. It wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned for my iPhone, but it looks beautiful. I bought mine for $35 in-store, but they’re discounted at OtterBox’s online store and they come with a screen protector (Which I almost spent $20 on alone)! Also, as a bonus, 10% of the purchase price is donated to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade! The stock images of the case do not give it justice, it’s a much prettier pink color, and the white looks great on the white iPhone. Definitely a great buy, in looks and in protection.

I’m still getting to know the iPhone 4S and Siri, but so far I’m in love! Plus I’m super addicted to Words with Friends. I wish I’d gotten a smartphone a long time ago!

Influenster & my Cosmo VoxBox

Coco

I signed up with Influenster about a month ago, because my friend Michelle encouraged me to join. Influenster is a “community of trendsetters invited to share their lifestyles and show their influence to qualify for personalized product shipments, special rewards and exclusive deals from the brands they love. Members love testing the latest products, giving insightful feedback, and spreading the word on their favorite finds!” And the best part about it? It’s absolutely FREE! Michelle had already received a VoxBox and enjoyed the process, so I decided to give it a try. I wasn’t initially active in the community, but within a few weeks, I received an email saying I had been chosen to receive the Cosmo VoxBox! It was a shock, because I figured I wouldn’t even be considered because I was so inactive after joining! Luckily, they give new members a chance to become involved, and I patiently awaited my first VoxBox!

Registered members “play the game” by unlocking badges that reflect their lifestyle, expertise and power to influence. By earning badges that tell us more about you, Influensters can qualify for VoxBoxes (complimentary packages of products to test & review), rewards (bonus giveaways/discounts) and other special promotions targeted toward our most active and influential members! Learn more at Influenster.com!

I came home after a night of trick or treating with a friend’s kids on Halloween night, and upon checking the mail, I had finally received my Cosmo VoxBox!  It was the best “treat” of the night! Included in my Cosmo Voxbox: (you can click the products below to see my review of them on this blog!)

Influenster Cosmo VoxBox

 

Amazingly, Influenster ships the full-size products for FREE! As I mentioned before, this is my first VoxBox and so, I’m still learning the ways of Influenster, but below are a few tips and a quick outline of what you do once you have a VoxBox! I recommend checking out their site and learning more about Influenster because it really is an awesome source! Sign-up ASAP!

What’s next?

“When you get your VoxBox in hand, please login to your Influenster.com profile to ‘check in’ your box. Next, start integrating these products into your routine and developing your opinions on each. We’ll follow up in a few weeks with your (mandatory) Product Evaluation Survey.”

How to be an Active Member

Influenster encourages members to spread the word for products they are excited to test, and for the brands they rate positively! Once you have your products, here are some immediate ideas on how you can be an active member:

SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
~Upload a photo of your VoxBox products, tell us which ones you are most excited to test.

MAKE A VIDEO!
~Make a VoxBox video where you unveil your products and talk about which ones you are most excited to test or a video featuring your favorite product talking about your amazing experience trying it.

BLOGS
~Feature your VoxBox products in your blog and share which ones you are most excited to test.

Note from Influenster: Although we send complimentary products to qualified members (and love doing so!), Influenster is NOT a ‘freebie’ website where just anyone can get free products.  You have been handpicked among a large pool of members to receive this VoxBox at no cost because of your influential power and willingness to share your positive experiences with your networks.

Disclaimer: I received these products to test for free through the Influenster VoxBox program.