Review: SoapBox Acai Berry Shampoo & Conditioner

I'm always looking for ways to make my life a little greener, and to rid my body of harmful or unnecessary chemicals. One area that keeps stumping me is my shampoo and conditioner choices. I'm forever on the hunt for a shampoo/conditioner that doesn't include sulfates and parabens, but still makes my hair soft, silky, and manageable.

Most options are just "pretty good" at their best.  That is incredibly disappointing for me, because this is an area that is important to me!

Influenster has given me the chance to try out Soapbox's shampoo and conditioner in the scent Acai Berry.  How could I say no to that?

Let's take a gander through the pros and cons of this amazing VoxBox!

Scent: The acai berry shampoo and conditioner smells amazing. It's very strong, too. If you are looking for one that sticks around, this is a good option. My husband, when asked if he wanted to sniff my hair, made the comment he could "already smell it" but he made sure to clarify it didn't smell bad. ;-)

Texture/Color: The shampoo is really delightful, I love that it's CLEAR with no dyes. The conditioner is thicker than some sulfate-free products and I like that as well. It felt like it was actually coating my hair, which is a big PLUS.

Packaging: The bottle was a little awkward for my tiny hands, but it's cute overall. Space saving on the edge of your tub or shower as well. Don't forget that the back of each bottle has a HOPE code on it, which you can enter on Soapbox's website, to find out where proceeds from your purchase went!

Chemicals: Soapbox shampoo and conditioners are free from sulfates and parabens!

Bunny Logo: Yes! I would also like to take a moment to mention that Soapbox does so many other amazing things, and I would love for you to read about them here!

Price: At $4.99 at bottle, it's hardly going to break the bank. Which I'm glad for. I was worried that it would be incredibly expensive compared to what I'm used to paying for shampoo.

Availability: The Soapbox products are available at Target, but I found that Amazon carried two of the scents, but no the one I reviewed here.

Final Verdict: While the first couple uses were difficult for me, as I noticed my hair gave me more issues with tangling (okay, that sucked) this seemed to get a little better with continued use. I wash my hair about 3 times a week, so keep that in mind. I'm not lathering up daily with this one. (Oh! On that note, I have to say I was extremely impressed by the lather Soapbox shampoo produced!) My hair is actually feeling better with each use. In the past, during my FIRST switch to a sulfate free hair care line, I was told that it was very common to experience a "detox" period while your hair got used to not having the sulfates that smooth the strand. While I'm not 100% verified on that, I have found it to be the true that, when bouncing back and forth between sulfate and sulfate-free, it often took my hair some time to get used to the sulfate-free products.
I have noticed fewer flyaways and overall better looking hair. (It's got that pretty "swish" movement!)

So there you have it. My thoughts on the Soapbox products. After learning the price, I will absolutely buy Soapbox products again in the future. I'm sold! A huge THANKS to Influenster for giving me the chance to try this product for free in exchange for my honest opinion of the product! I am excited to have finally found a great shampoo that won't feed my body junk chemicals, all the while, I can contribute to a worthwhile cause!

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#FrostyVoxBox Reveal!

These products were provided to me for free by Influenster, to test & review. The opinions expressed here are my own, and not influenced by any entity.

I received my Frosty Voxbox from Influenster today, and I couldn't be more excited to show you all a peek inside of it! If you're interested, you can find a video here of my unboxing - and you'll find a list below of all the items inside & my first thoughts about them. 

Right now, my main focus will be completing tasks relevant to the Voxbox badge itself, but as always, I'm sure Influenster will open up brand specific badges soon - and at that time, look out for more reviews and photos! 

Without any further rambling.... Here's what was inside my #FrostyVoxBox from Influenster......

• Rimmel Gentle Eye Makeup Remover - I was actually kind of psyched about this, because I'm almost out of eye makeup remover and now I can give this one a try instead of buying a new bottle. My eyes are sensitive, so they will be the judge of whether or not it's gentle enough.
  
• Rimmel ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eyeliner - Rimmel makes some of my favorite eyeliners hands down, especially anything kohl. I'm not a big user of liquids on my eyes, due to my shaking, so I am definitely looking forward to giving this a try. I always tend toward waterproof eye makeup (I'm oily) so this is a plus as well!
  
• NYC New York Color Expert Last Lip Color "SugarPlum" - This looks like a great color, but I can't say that I own any other NYC makeup or nail polish at this time. It's an affordable cosmetic brand though, which would definitely make that a plus if it turns out to be a winner.
  
• Celestial Seasonings Candy Cane Lane Decaf Green Tea - I love tea. I love green tea. I love Celestial Seasonings. This should be a win all around!
  
• Boots No7 Protect & Perfect ADVANCED - Currently, I use Retin-A gel on my skin every night before bed. I plan to give a slight break, and then try this product out to try and get the best review of it. I am excited to see it, but I doubt I would switch to it unless it purely AMAZES me, because, frankly, it's more expensive than my generic Retin-A!
  
• McCormick Gourmet All Natural Thyme - A full size bottle of seasoning was an awesome touch in this VoxBox. I love to cook, and I love to experiment with spices. When we saw this, my husband said "What will you use it for?" My first answer was vegetable soup, but then I decided I would like to make some roasted carrots & potatoes with it! So stay tuned for that!
  
• Fruit Vines Bites (Strawberry) - I will admit to being a tiny bit bummed when I saw strawberry & not cherry in my box! I'm really a cherry fiend, and strawberry stuff kind of underwhelms me (normally!) We shall see what Red Vines has up their sleeves though!
  
• EcoTools Sleek + Shine - It looks like Influenster may have had a choice of 3 brushes they sent out to their members, and I was a Sleek + Shine winner. I'm a little wary of the bristles, mainly fearful of fluff/frizz as a result. I'll be testing it on freshly washed hair, as well as my "off day" hair. And we will see what's what with this brush. As a side note though, I love EcoTools products, and almost all of my makeup brushes are EcoTools!

Well, that's it - make sure to check back periodically for updates over the next two months as I work through all of this stuff! 

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Quick Note About My Reviews & Influenster

Hello all!
You may have noticed an influx in review posts in the past week, and that is due to my most recent voxbox from Influenster. I received the #SurfsUpVoxBox, and all the products inside, for free to test and review.

My reviews are always honest, even if they are not flattering, and they are sometimes even updated later on to include anything I missed (or had not yet experienced in my shorter testing period!)
I take pride in letting you know exactly what I think or feel about a product/brand, and I see no reason to gush over a product I don't like, or had a bad experience with. (Despite my love for the Sinful Colors brand, I did not have a good experience with the application of Anchors Away, for instance! I'll tell you that!)

I have a limited number of invitations to Influenster, and I willingly share them with anyone who is truly interested in putting in the work. (Please just ask, via comment.) Before you ask, know that Influenster is not just free products! It is a community, and although they do send you free products (or even boxes of products, known as a VoxBox), there are qualifications that must be met!
The best thing you can do starting out, is to link as many of your social networks as you can to Influenster. That boosts your score right off the bat, then - you wait!
Eventually you will receive an e-mail indicating you may be a match for a program. There will be a survey - fill it out - and return it, quickly! They do expire, or worse, they run out of spots in the program. Don't think just because you got the survey, you'll get the box!
At the end of the survey, usually you will know whether or not you have a spot in the program. IF you do, then congrats! All you have to do is sit back and wait on the mail carrier to bring you the neat-o box of goodies!

When you get the box, take photos. Lots of them. You'll need them. Don't forget to check in on Influenster, too, and tell them you received the box!
After you check in, you'll get to see some of the tasks! But hold on, that's not all of them! As the program continues, you will notice they keep telling you about "brand badges" - that's additional tasks you can do, to achieve a badge for one, or all, of the brands in your voxbox!
Remember those pictures I told you to take? They will come in handy here. (It'd be a shame if you had used, and tossed the product container out before you knew about brand badge challenges, right? This is why I tell you to take pictures! Of the products, of you using them, or your results, etc.)

Since you have those photos, you will be able to use them! (Take my Sinful Colors manicure, I took multiple photos of it, because I like to use different photos on Instagram, Twitter, and my blog.) I also take notes in an app on my phone, so that when I go to write a review up, I'm not just babbling a one paragraph description. You will see those people. They want to do the bare minimum to keep getting free stuff. I'm not one of them. I enjoy writing reviews, and I did it for free on Amazon for many years. ;-)

Influenster may also ask you to write reviews on outside websites, such as Drugstore.com, Amazon, or Wal-mart. Please don't be one of those people who copy & paste the same review. (You might be able to get away with it, I guess, I've never tried.) In any case, it's lazy. Most of the time, I write a shorter, more concise review for other websites. People shopping on Amazon don't want read a six paragraph review from my blog. No. They want it short and sweet. You'll be able to do this, because you kept notes, right?

All in all, Influenster doesn't take that much of my time. But it's enjoyable for me, and I love getting to test new products! (For instance, I was using Rimmel Stay Matte foundation before it was even in the stores!)

Hopefully, someone found this even a little helpful!
Thanks for reading, and I look forward to seeing you all around Influenster!

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Review: Sinful Colors "Anchors Away"

(I received this product for free from Influenster to test and review. I did not purchase this product.)

Hello all!

I recently received the SurfsUpVoxBox from Influenster, and I was super psyched about it! The first item I used was the Sinful Colors nail polish included, "Anchors Away."

The color is an orange shade, not quite a neon, and it's very pretty in the bottle. I was actually pleased to see it, because I was afraid I would get a shade I already had something similar to.

I cleaned & prepped my nails, then got ready to apply the polish. Unfortunately, for all it's beauty in the bottle, it does not look well when applied. I initially applied 2 coats, but after inspecting it, I decided to add a third coat as 2 coats still looked pale and streaky. (I will consider using a white base if I use this color again, but I don't usually like a white base so I never start out there.) 

It seemed like it took a little longer to dry than many of my other Sinful Colors polishes, and when it did dry, it didn't have the same vibrancy as in the bottle. It darkened up, and looked more of a dirty orange on me. (Maybe it's my skin color..Or my eyes?)

After about 2 days, I noticed some "wrinkling" at the sides of my nail beds and the color had chipped. Since I used my normal base & top coat, this does seem to be an issue with the polish itself.

Overall, I wasn't a huge fan of this color, and it'll be tough to say if I use it again!

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