Shoes for that little black dress with Dr. Scholl's® For Her High Heel

I'm attending a good friends wedding in August and to say I'm excited is an under statement. I haven't really had a chance to see my best long distance friends since Elly was born. I also haven't had many reasons to get dressed up so my fancy clothes are in short supply. In looking through my closest I found a "little black dress" (similar) that fits well and can be dressed up and down with the right accessories. Shopping from your closet means splurging on shoes right? I love the booties trend right now, but not sure I am confident enough to pull it off.  I have a gift card to anthropologie from last Christmas ( I know, right?!) and I am thinking about investing in a pair, but I'm just not sure. Anyway,  I'm really like the nude heel trend lately and I think that will probably be the winner. I truly love the Kate Spade wedges below, but my budget not so much.

//Jessica Simpson leather ankle boots / Report wedge heels / Chinese Laundry high heels / Kate Spade studded wedge heels / Jessica Simpson tall high heels

It's been a LONG while since I've worn heels for any amount of time and I favor wedges because heel wise they are the most comfortable, but even with the wedge by the end of the day/night the balls of my feet are throbbing.  In my most recent Influenster VoxBox I got Dr. Scholl's High Heel insoles. I was interested because the gel heel works to take pressure off the balls of your foot.  I slipped them into my highest non-wedge heels and was pleasantly surprised.  Will they let you run around on heels pain free? Doubtful, but I did notice they they helped my foot from sliding into the toe bed and that made the heels more comfortable. They are also discreet enough to wear in strappy heels. I will give them a proper test at the wedding, but I think any bit of extra comfort is worth it. All Dr. Scholl's products have a money back guarantee! Go here to get info and a coupon (not an affiliate link.)

What are your thoughts on booties? Yay or Nay?

//disclaimer- I received the Dr. Scholl's complimentary from Influenster for review purposes, but the opinions are my own

Summer make-up with Olay Fresh Effects

So I am not a huge fan of the "selfie" but the other morning everything came together.  I got a good night sleep, my hair was looking good, I felt super happy about the easy summer make-up look I did so I took a selfie and uploaded it to Instagram. I seriously hoped my friends wouldn't eyeroll at the pic and went about my morning.  WHOA! I was surprised and happy all day with the really nice comments I got!  I see why people love taking selfies!

above mentioned selfie

Don't worry friends I won't be taking them daily, but I do think it was a great way to get the word out about Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream.  My sister even commented that I looked fresh faced! This stuff is AMAZING.  I have tried a billion BB Creams (who hasn't) but this is legitimately a good one from the drugstore.  For me the most important thing in a foundation or BB Cream is coverage.  Will it cover-up splotches and even tone? I personally like to see my own skin show through with foundation and this includes my freckles.  Fresh Effects evens my skintone, but still lets my skin show through. I'm using the light-medium and it works even with my summer skin.  The second thing that's most important to me is sun protection. Does it contain SPF? Living on the coast means sun rays year round and having a product that does double duty is worth it. Olay Fresh Effects has skin benefits including SPF.

• Refreshes skin instantly 
• Brightens for a radiant glow
• Evens tone with a splash of sheer color
• Hydrates for 24 hours
• Smoothes for softer feeling skin 
• Protects against UV damage with SPF 15 

You can find it at most drugstores, Amazon, or online for around $9.00.  I have been using this as part of my morning make-up since early July and it has streamlined my summer make-up to just the following products:

1- Simple light moisturizer
2- Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream in light medium
3- Pixi eye brightener for under eyes and darkness in corners.
4- NYX eyebrow shaper wax
5- Benefit Hoola bronzer
6- MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
7- Bare Escentuals Big Tease mascara
8- Tarte lip tint in amused
*not pictured NYX stay matte not flat powder

And that's how I get my fresh face in the summer.  Are you a fan of BB Creams?

//disclaimer- I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes, but the opinions are my own. 

How to & review: Palmolive Fresh Infusions

Sorry for the delay in post.  My house has been a non-stop sick zone.  Oh my goodness I feel like the coughing, colds, flu, sore throats, and pink eye (read: not pink eye) will never leave.  Here is to hoping that we are all on the mend.  I never knew that my luscious little baby bug would be such a hot bed of virus. Anyhoo....

In the last year there are a few things that I feel I have a good handle on when it comes to raising an infant and I wanted to share them in case any of you are struggling with some of these issues.  Now, there are plenty of things that I didn't have a handle on (and still don't) but I think that is where we can learn from other Mom's out there.  Early on I realized that I would be tied to my sink washing and sanitizing everything. Even though I was breastfeeding I still had to wash and sanitize pump parts, bottles, pacifiers, and now we have to wash and sanitize her bottles and nipples that she uses at school.  Its a nightly ritual that has become a habit.  I created a little system that streamlines this process and actual makes it an enjoyable part of the night.  You only need four things:

NYC Colors- Holiday Eye

NYC New York Colors- Individual Eyes Dark
with Stila, Maybelline, N.Y.C.

  In the 2012 Beauty Blogger VoxBox from Influenster was the above Individual Eyes from NYC Colors.  You've probably seen this drugstore brand at Target, Walgreens, etc and I have a couple of items from the line (12hr lip stain is AMAZING) but, I am always a little leery of drugstore eye shadows because they tend to be very powdery and not long lasting.  I was very, very surprised by the pigment of this shadow and the length of wear.  The kit is essentially a do-it-yourself for the eye.  It comes with an cream eye primer (I would compare this to NYX eye primer) and a cream illuminate (NOT.A.CLUE!) The shadow quad includes a very nice highlighter, all over shade, and two crease contour shades.  I was able to create a subtle day look with this, but just by using the darkest contour shade you can go from day to night! 

//Smokey Eyes by NYC Color- Dark

Pros: 

$4.99

Good color payoff

Tutorials on the back

Cons: 

Breaks easily

Eye primer creases

As you saw in an earlier post- I am a long time fan of Falsies by Maybelline and the Stila eye liner marker is a super fast way to line your eyes.

Can YOU believe we are already into the holiday season? What's your favorite way to dress up your make-up routine?

 

//disclaimer- I received this product complimentary through Influenster, but the opinions are my own.

All about Influenster

Happy Friday friends! As you may have noticed the last several weeks I have talked about quite a few products I've grown to love.  These new finds are a direct result of the Influenster website and VoxBox program.  I feel very lucky to be a part of the Influenster team and have found my experience very rewarding.  You to have an opportunity to join the Influenster team so I thought I would share a little bit about the website and their exciting rebrand.  The website is SO high energy and full of excitement right now that this is the best time to get involved.

So what is Influenster? Its a free to join community of invited trendsetters who love to give opinions on products and experiences.  Influenster creates links between brands (many well known) and its members. According to their website, "Basically, Influenster is a place for culture junkies to come together and share their unique opinions of products and experiences   Active members of Influenster get exclusive access to deals, promotions and swag from brands that thrive off the input."

They want members that are active on and offline and don't mind sharing their newest discovery with friends.  So this is a perfect platform for bloggers, right?!  As a member you prove your influence by gaining expert badges, lifestage badges and brand badges.  These are earned in a variety of ways, such as: completing surveys, writing reviews, creating videos, sharing a Pinterest board, blogging, etc. You get what you put into the program.

2012 Naturals VoxBox by Influenster

I was lucky to receive the 2012 Natural VoxBox (above) and was introduced to some fantastic companies.  The best part- I felt happy that I was able to give my honest opinion about the products I received   Some products I LOVED and some I didn't.  I always try to be authentic when blogging so I feel great about partnering with Influenster. 

Visit Influenster and check out their brand new website to read more about them.  Have I convinced you yet to give this a shot?  I hope so because its FREE and FUN! I have three invitations left and I would love to share them with you.

Questions? Let me know!

Boost your day

Ok, ok- I didn't want this to turn into a total Momma blog, but MAN this.is.my.life now! I am finding lots of new products and tools to make my life easier with the little bug while working full-time and still being me! Its a balancing act for sure and I have been lucky to be introduced to some fantastic products along the way.  So naturally I feel like sharing what I find with others- isn't that what a blog is about?!

my obsession

I'm not embarrassed to say that I rely on caffeine to get me through the early mornings, but by mid day (read: 3PM) I am crashing hard.  Several months ago I got to try EBOOST in my monthly Birchbox and I was obsessed. It’s a mood boost, focus boost, immunity boost, natural boost, a no-crash boost. It's the BOOST! Best part is that it's natural- no caffeine.  This is great if you are BF Momma and have already consumed your daily caffeine limit (read: horror.)

EBOOST has real ingredients, like Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Green Tea, Vitamin B-12 and Folic Acid plus its sweetened with Stevia.  I keep some in my desk at work to give me some pep and I am not afraid of the headache that comes after I consume other energy drinks. I was glad to see it in my Naturals VoxBox, but bummed because now everyone will know the secret. It is easy to mix with water and the little foil packets last for awhile. I found it at Whole Foods here in Charleston. Give it a try and let me know what you think- I can only vouch for the orange flavor- it's my favorite.

I have a few invitations to give away for the influenster program so if you are interested please leave me a comment and I will send one along.


//disclaimer- I received this product complimentary through Influenster, but the opinions are my own.

A cure for cradle cap: SheaMoisture Baby Bar Soap

When I took Eleanor for her 6th month check-up, her doctor mentioned that we should try to clear up what was left of her cradle cap.  Her hair is really starting to come in and once the hair is there it is harder to get rid of.  She mentioned using a dandruff shampoo, but I was kinda hesitant.  So far everything that goes in or on Elly I try to be natural/organic about.  It's just my personal preference for her.  I started looking around for some natural solutions and spent a good bit of time in the bath aisle at Whole Foods.  Nothing was standing out to me as a solution for the cradle cap.  Ironically (read: doesn't it ALWAYS happen this way) I got my Natural Vox Box from Influenster and was given a bar of this Shea Moisture- Organic Baby Ecxema Bar Soap.

I've been give a lot of samples recently and I don't share them unless I am 100% sold.  So believe me, this soap is AMAZING! After the first use the cradle cap patch was almost gone and the eczema on her wrist cleared up.  It makes her feel so silky smooth she doesn't even need baby lotion!  The fragrance is light, but fresh- and when I borrowed it for my shower it left my skin baby soft too.  If you have any dry skin issues especially with the change of seasons- I can't recommend this enough.  This soap will always be a staple in Elly's bath time routine. 

// I had to share this! I love a just out of the bath baby!

//disclaimer- I received this product complimentary through Influenster, but the opinions are my own.

product love: the original dish drying mat

Any new Momma's know this problem- precious counter space filled with drying racks and dish towels of bottles, pump parts, pacifiers, baby bowls and spoons.  It is enough to drive you crazy.  I think the first several months of Elly's life I went through a ton of paper towels setting things out to dry.  I saw this mat at Bed, Bath & Beyond a few times and thought it was a great idea.  A fluffy absorbant mat that can be thrown in the washer/dryer repeatedly,  I'm sold!  It has provided an easy place to rest bottles and baby things to be dried.  I also just recently read a review where it was used to dry make-up brushes that had been recently cleaned. Bonus! The "Original" dish drying mat can be found at BB&B for only 4.99.  Have you used this mat?  Trust me- it's better than a dish towel!

//disclaimer- I received this product complimentary through Influenster, but the opinions are my own.
//photo via Influenster
//photo template by vol25-digitaleyecandy.com