BzzAgent: Gillette® Venus & Olay™ Razor

Disclaimer: I got this stuff from BzzAgent.com for testing purposes. All of the views expressed are entirely my own.

This is my first time reviewing for BzzAgent and I am very excited! It was extremely easy to be chosen for a campaign and I am so excited about sharing this first one with you!

I'm the freak that can shave dry and not suffer for it. I know, I know you're not supposed to but I usually forget when I'm in the shower and I'm blind in the shower anyways. I've never tried a razor with a built in moisturizer but I've always wanted to because I am so blind. This particular razor comes with the Olay moisture bar and says you don't need a shave cream so I was completely on board with that. I did wet my legs down first and my only thing was the moisture bar was a little gooey feeling. I don't quite know how to describe it but it was like dragging soap along with the razor on my legs. Just something to get used to, I guess. I have to say I am completely impressed with how close the shave was and how soft my legs felt afterwards. The best part is the Venus handles are interchangeable with the razors so if you decide to mix it up, you don't have to get a completely new razor. It also comes with a little holder so it can air dry in the shower. Love that! I definitely plan on repurchasing! Anything that allows me to keep my glasses on is a win for me!

Friday Faves

Blah blah blah. Let's get to the point. What awesomeness has in the life of the master of awesome this week?

1. Manager Rentals

What is better than ending last week over my 18% sales goal? Getting free rentals for my troubles makes the week so exciting. I also made my sales goal this week so free rentals for another week. If I haven't said it before, I love my job!

2. BD's Mongolian Grill 

I think the picture is fairly self-explanatory. I love BD's. This visit was particularly amazing. Joe and I created 4 perfect bowls on this visit and once again proved our culinary genius.

3. Best Friend Time

I love having time with Joe. Doesn't it always make my Friday Faves. We had lunch at BD's, saw the Great Gatsby, had dinner at Olga's, and picked out a pair of glasses for Joe. It's always a good time when I get to see Joe.

4. Sock Bun: Accomplished

My list of hair styles is very short but I did finally try out the sock bun and I've been loving it for work. It's been looking a lot better than that photo. It's been a lot of work but I've been rocking it.

5. Downton Abbey

I am OBSESSED!!! 

Sample Stash

So here we are. One month into our Sample Stash project. Did you find any favorites? I did! First up, the reviews.

Bath & Body Works 24K Silk Lotion in Japanese Cherry Blossom: I got this while I was working at B&BW. As you can see, it is a lab sample. I haven't quite used up the sample but I will in the next week or two. It has a gold shimmer that is subtle. I have been using it on my legs before I go to work because I've been wearing a lot of skirts and dresses lately. 

PROS: It's more of a gel than a cream which is really nice for application.

CONS: It does not smell like the Japanese cherry blossom I remember. It smells like a gross guy cologne. The gold builds up on your hands, like a lot. You have to wash your hands afterwards.

VERDICT: This one isn't going on my wish list. Sorry B&BW. I just don't think the shimmer is worth it.

Check out this product here.

Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy Total Care Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner: I have psoriasis on my scalp so I was excited to try this one. I got three washes out of these samples so I feel like I got a good feel for the product. Just for reference, I've been using the same shampoo and conditioner for the last 4 years.

PROS: The smell is amazing. I could smell the shampoo and conditioner in my hair even the next day. I really have been having bad patches and this cleared them up. I was really impressed. 

CONS: I don't really have anything negative to say about this.

VERDICT: Yes. Yes. Yes. I will be buying this one as soon as I run out of shampoo. It is great!

Check out this product here.

bareMinerals Purely Nourishing Moisturizer for Combination Skin: I have been using Neutrogena moisturizer for years and I've heard good things about bareMinerals. 

PROS: The smell was nice. The texture was fine.

CONS: For $28, it was not much different than my usual moisturizer. It worked fine but there was nothing amazing about it.

VERDICT: Sorry. For $28, no thank you.

Check out this product here.

Now onto this month's products to test. As of right now, I have like 7 sets of samples to test so plan on seeing this a lot.

Crest 3D White Whitestrips Professonal Effects, Crest 3D White Vivid Toothpaste, Matrix Design Pulse Beach Clay Strong Destructing Mud, DDF Advanced Firming Cream

Link up yours so I can find more wish list stuff, please.

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Sample Stash

This blog was never started with the intent of becoming a beauty blog. But this blog is about me and what I like and I have this corrupting eye-opening sister who writes a beauty blog. So in the progress of learning about beauty products and becoming obsessed, I have amassed a box of samples. One day, Jessica was wishing for a beauty sample subscription box and we put our heads together and came up with this fun little project. To reduce down our stashes, as well as add to our ever lengthening wish lists, we came up with the Sample Stash Challenge.

Here's the low down.
1. Pick your samples. We're going with 4-6 a month. Like always, do what you want. I'm not your mom.
2. Your post should be a review/first impression of last month's "box." Share what you picked for this month.
3. Link it up with the widget at the end of the post!
Three steps? You can do three steps. So join us, please?

Let's check out what I picked for the merry ol' month of May!

Bath & Body Works 24K Silk Lotion in Japanese Cherry Blossom, Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy Shampoo and Conditioner, bareMinerals Purely Nourishing Moisturizer for Combination Skin

Maybe the worst part of this challenge? It fuels my desire for more samples in my life. Ah, well.

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Kiss Nail Dress in Gown

Note: While this was a great little gift compliments of Kiss for participating in an Influenster Vox Box, all these opinions are mine!

Remember when I got this awesome prize from Kiss? Well, I used them for formal. I thought when else would all these sparkles work other than formal? Plus, check out my hot dress. It was necessary to step everything up a bit. I thought I was going to hate these. I thought they would fall off during formal. Neither of those things happened. They took a fraction of the time of a manicure. I pulled them off with no damage to the nail the next day. I got a million compliments on them! My only tip is these are one event use. If you plan on those pretty little rhinestones lasting through a couple days, you are better off getting a regular manicure. The rhinestones started to pop off the next day. Will I repurchase? Hell yeah! Looking forward to trying Camisole, Lingerie, and 2 Looks Nail Dress in Retro and Eyelet! Thanks to Kiss Nails and Influenster for letting me try these out!

Not going to lie. I'm hot.

Tiered Make Up Stand

I've been seeing all these cute little tiered stands on Pinterest. Like this little cutie from BHG. And then I realized the Dollar Store could be the perfect place to find what I'm looking for. So I walked around the Dollar Tree for approximately a million hours looking at all my options for trays and while I love their metal serving platters, I wanted the proportions of a small platter on top of a larger platter. I finally settled on some burner covers to get the proportions. I went to the craft store with a plan but as all my projects seem to go, the execution altered from my plan.

Supplies: Burner covers, super glue, candlestick, spray paint, and washi tape.

The original plan was to spray paint the tops and bottoms of the covers and maybe add some washi tape to the edge. That is not quite how it went.

After doing a test on the back of the trays, I didn't like the paint. I wasn't sure if it was the brand or the can or operator error but it spattered everywhere while I was spraying and created big splotches. It was a mess. And that little spot on the little cover? I sprayed that and the paint literally repelled off so that was it for the paint. I got the great idea that I could use the washi tape to add some flair to the edges  and leave the inside of the covers (mostly) white.

I did the little cover with pink washi tape and the big cover with purple chevron washi tape.

 I decided to clean up the inside edge too so I added the opposite color on the inside edge.

Then I just super glued the whole situation together.

And there she is all set up with my make up. I think after all this, I'm going to remake it some day. But for now it works and its cute. Plus it gives me a place to display my nail polish.

My Top Ten

So let's just say for a second all my make up disappeared. Like maybe my alien abduction happens while I'm doing my make up so it all gets left on the space ship. These would be the ten items I would run right out and repurchase. I use most of them every day and they are all great products that I get consistently great results from. So let's jump in.

For Yo Face

Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture with SPF 15: Keeps my face nice and moisturized without causing break outs. This stuff is so light on your skin and it really helps my foundation last a little longer. Check it here.

e.l.f. Powder Brush- I love my sister so much for giving me this. It puts powder on better than anything else I own. I seriously would not mind throwing out any other powder brushes I have. I hardly ever use anything else for powder. Plus $3 is not bad if I ever have to replace it. Check it out here.

Covergirl Clean Liquid Makeup for Normal Skin- I have used this foundation for years. It has a great coverage to it and I love the texture. It also has Noxzema ingredients and is really light. Check it out here.

Physicians Formula Youthful Wear Cosmeceutical Youth-Boosting Mattifying Face Powder- This was a cast off from my sister and I fell in love with it. It has a little shimmer to it but I don't notice it. It gives my skin a really nice even tone. It also sits really well. I have used Covergirl powder for years but it always looked a little strange and when I started using this powder I realized the texture of the Covergirl powder made it really visible on top of my skin. This blends really well. Check it out here.

For Yo Eyes

Too Faced Natural Eye Palatte- I seriously use this at least 4 times a week. It is so dang pretty. I'm looking at my next Too Faced purchase to be another palatte because it is just so useful! Check it out here.

Maybelline Colossal Volum' Express Mascara- Jessica and I both love this product. I've been using it for as long as I can remember. Jessica and I both have a love for Maybelline products. I'm not sure why I love them so much except maybe that they just make super useful, versitile stuff and they are a drugstore brand.

Maybelline Unstoppable Eyeliner- Also a product I've used for years. I love the texture and the color. It goes on really well and it's really workable.

For Yo Lips

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter- I have a freaking obsession with these. Let's not even talk about how many I have. They are just amazing.

eos Lip Balm- Another Jessica cast-off. (Are you seeing a pattern here?) I love the waxy texture before I put on lipgloss. It feels like it lasts longer. 

C.O. Bigelow Organics Moisturizing Lip Shine- This is seriously the best gloss ever and they are dumb for discontinuing it. It's so hydrating!

Well there they are. There are a couple others I'd probably repurchase but those would be my top 10 that I would repurchase the exact brands and colors. 

Friday Faves

It's been a really long week. Friday did not get here fast enough.

1. Weekend at Home

I went home for the weekend to spend some time with Liam, get my car all fixed up (valve stem on a tire replaced, headlights replaced, oil change, vacuumed out, and windows washed), and see Grandpa for his 84th birthday! I got to go with Liam for his 18 month pictures and I even got to be in a few. I can't wait to see them. Another great Sunday Funday was spent with coconut cake and teaching Liam to give kisses.

2. Productivity

I was on a role this week. I got a whole lot of homework done. It was insane! I'm so proud of myself.

3. Sorority Spa Night

We had a spa night social with the lovely ladies of Delta Phi Lambda.  We painted nails and laughed hysterically at the sister who got conned into a face masque. It was a blast!

4. German History Class

I've been having so much fun in my German history class! Sometimes it's really sad but mostly it's really interesting and I could sit through that class every night this week.

5. Thrift Shop

I don't know why I love this song but I do. I've listened to it a million times in the last two weeks.

Friday Faves

Friday again?! Time really does fly. Not that this week has been super fun. Just a lot of studying as usual but you know. Eventually Friday comes and you can't believe you made it through another seven days of studying...

1. History

History and I are in love right now. We are in that honeymoon stage. You know, where I rape everyone with my vast history knowledge? Yeah. I killed Uriah in a cheesecake versus cheesepie argument. I gave Margie a lesson on Animal Farm. I got an A- on my German History paper and a B+ on my Colonial American History paper. I taught the chapter how the colonists died. (Eat your bean with rice or pasta or you'll die like the colonists too.) The picture above is from my German History class. My professor has a large collection of German Marks printed during WWI that are worth more now than they were back in the day. You can't use them any more since Germany adopted a new currency after WWII and now they have the euro but you can buy WWI German Marks for like 50 cents in Germany or on Ebay. They were so incredibly cool. This note is for 100,000 Marks and you would need a huge bundle to buy even a loaf of bread during WWI. History raped.

2. Kate and Sabrina

Kate, Sabrina and I have been having a blast together this week. We started off by going to the piano bar in downtown Grand Rapids, Mojo's. We danced and had a blast. Kate and I laughed hysterically as guys danced with Sabrina without even asking her. She was such a trooper. She would dance for the whole song, turn around and thank them and then walk away. Sometimes they would take the hint and sometimes they would come back for round two of rejection but either way, we had fun. Then last night we went to Peppino's to do a little more dancing. We didn't spend quite as much time there because as is typical for a Thursday night in a college town, it was absolutely packed. That and Pep's is notorious for their terrible service and it took us forever to get anything so we didn't want to spend the whole night waiting for water or menus or drinks or our food or a straw because the waitress forgot it the last two trips she made it to our table.

3. Fancy Hair and Make Up

My sister has created a monster. I used to impress people with my ability to get out the door in 30 minutes no problem. Now I spend at least that blow drying and straightening my hair. Then if I'm going to do a bump or something of that nature, we now are up to 25 minutes. My face doesn't take forever because I'm fairly loyal to the products I love and eventually I'll do a post so Jessica can see how my routine has changed but between showering and dressing and hair and make up, I take a good hour to get ready. But now it feels weird to leave the house when I do not look exactly like the above. Not being fantastic looking every day means I'm going to run into someone who is important enough to deserve fantastic me. So now I wake up an hour early just to look like this. I feel rather silly.

4. Studying at Panera

I have found a new love for studying at Panera. Their food is a little expensive but their menu includes calorie counts and their food is as close to homemade as you can get in this type of restaurant. This Thursday I enjoyed a strawberries & cream scone and some ginger peach tea. The scone is much bigger than the picture gives it credit for. I don't have a big appetite anymore so this was a whole meal for me but I'm sure it would make a fine snack too. The best part is the Panera team is just so nice. They refilled my mug with hot water when it got cold without charging me and had no problem when I asked for an extra tea bag. They don't bother me while I'm studying. It's busy without being distracting and they play pretty generic music so it's the right noise level for me to get stuff done when I don't want to go to campus or stay home. And I totally recommend their broccoli cheddar soup!

5. Sisterhood Bonding

I had an absolutely fantastic time with these lovely ladies as we acted ridiculous and showed our Educational Consultant, Justina, just how crazy the Gamma Xi chapter gets. Someone's face is missing from this photo because I'm fairly certain we had seven people in that pile, not six. But anyways, our Friday night bonding session included Margie's stalker-ish Mitchell Musso story, yelling about whether or not Happy Feet 2 is just Happy Feet 1 backwards and hearing Justina's stories about the haunted chapter house at Central. It was a blast and I wouldn't trade moments like these for the world.