Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Review: Nature Box



I briefly went over Nature Box in one of my previous blog posts, but this time around I'm going to do a more in depth review on one of my recent Nature Box packages. Nature Box is a U.S. based, monthly subscription service that delivers tasty, nutritionist approved snacks right to your front door.

My favorite thing about these snacks are the minimal amount of ingredients that are used. Most of my Nature Box snacks have very few ingredients. I also enjoy the fact that there aren't any added sweeteners, flavors, or color to these snacks. You don't have to feel guilty when eating these snacks or feeding them to your friends and family, and that's a great thing, and truly a piece of mind.

Another added bonus about this product is that it's made by a company that truly gives back. While recently visiting their website, I learned that for every box that they deliver, they vow to donate one meal through Feeding America. It's refreshing to see a company giveback, and it's all the more reason to support this company and sign up for their monthly subscription service.


When it comes to choosing your snacks, the Nature Box website provides you with a long list of all of the snacks that they offer, and they're always adding new snacks that tend to go with the particular season. For the most part, every single snack looks delicious, so it's almost easier to just let them surprise you (I'm very indecisive). I've been getting a Nature Box for 4 months now, and there has only been one snack that I didn't too much care for, and that's just a personal taste preference...no big deal! On the other hand, if there is a snack I don't like, the little girl that I babysit will probably love it! She hasn't had a snack from Nature Box that she didn't like yet. No matter what, these snacks never go to waste in my household.
There are a few options to choose from when signing up for Nature Box. I provided a screenshot of all of your options, but the most popular choice is most likely going to be the $19.95 month-to-month plan, which includes 5 full-sized packages of yummy snacks.


Here is a little peek into the snacks that I received this month.

Peanut Butter Nom Noms -- These peanut buttery, oatmeal cookies are so tasty! For some reason, I was actually surprised with how much flavor they had. The honey really brings this cookie together, and gives it the prefect chewy consistency. When I read the ingredients of this cookie, I was a little nervous about the dark chocolate chip flavored chips, but I'm happy to say that it really tastes almost exactly like dark chocolate. You get 6 cookies in a bag, and I love having one for breakfast, because it's a filling little cookie.

Ingredients: Rolled Oats, Almonds, Peanut Butter (roasted peanuts, dextrose, palm oil, salt). For added freshness (grape juice, and rice dextrin), Honey, Sugar, Canola Oil, Dark Chocolate Flavored Chips (sugar, vegetable fat [palm, palm kernel], cocoa processed with alkali, dry buttermilk, soy lecithin, [an emulsifier], natural flavors), Egg Whites, Unsweetened Coconut, Brown Rice Syrup, Vanilla Extract, Pumpkin Seeds, Cinnamon, Natural Flavor, Salt.





Apple Pie Figgy Bars -- These are better than any granola bar out there! I love everything about this snack.. the taste, the texture, the serving size... everything! The granola bar itself is slight chewy and crumbly at the same time. The flavor is delicious and it really has a homemade taste to it, something you can't find in any store bought granola bar. The fruit filling is just as good, if not better, than the granola bar, and it has that true apple pie taste! *Sorry! I wasn't able to save the package to copy the ingredient list off of it. I will probably be ordering these again, so I will have to remember to get a copy of them next time.*

If you're interested in trying Nature Box for yourself, you can click the banner below to sign up.



This is not a sponsored blog post. This is a personal blog post written and edited by me, and all opinions are 100% my own.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Review: Yves Saint Laurent Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils


If you're looking to splurge on a good quality mascara, the Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils by Yves Saint Laurent is for sure the one you want to go with! I've used a lot of good mascaras, but this one blows them all out of the park. Yves Saint Laurent has come up with a new and better formula for their mascara, that is said to give intense volume and color, and it's even infused with B5 Pro-Vitamins to help strengthen and protect your eyelashes. Another thing about this mascara that I want to mention, because I think it's really fun, is that it also comes in some fun color options. I tested the high density black, but you can also get this mascara in a blue, brown, violet, and burgundy. 

I can't say enough good things about this mascara. It's a smooth and creamy formula that doesn't clump, it lengthens and separates my lashes very nicely, the high density black is very bold, and it even smells really good. If I had to describe the smell, I would have to say it's a 'clean floral' smell. It's very subtle and I really enjoy the smell, but I can see how it may be a concern for others. If you're someone who is sensitive to fragrances, you're probably going to be hesitant to try this product. I've personally not had any kind of irritation with this product, and if anything, I've actually noticed that my eyelashes feel stronger and softer just after using this product for a short period of time.



When it comes to choosing the right mascara for you, I've learned that it's mostly important that you get the right kind of wand for your eyelashes. This longer, comb-like brush is really great for lengthening and defining your lashes. I love the way it separates each of my lashes, making them look much more defined and a whole lot longer. This brush combined with the voluminous formula, really makes this mascara worth having in your life! You can really see the difference in my before and after picture. This stuff actually makes a significant difference!




The Yves Saint Laurent Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils is beautifully packaged, and in my opinion it definitely screams 'high-end mascara'. The box is very sleek and simple, but definitely catches your eye with it's shiny, gold color. The tube that the mascara comes inside of is really what screams 'high-end' the most. It's two toned with a gold and a rose-ish gold, and it's engraved with the YSL logo. I absolutely love the look of this tube of mascara... I can't get enough of it!

For your convenience, I copied a list of ingredients from the YSL website.

AQUA (WATER) . PARAFFIN . STEARIC ACID . CERA CARNAUBA . TRIETHANOLAMINE . CERA ALBA (BEESWAX) . C10-30 CHOLESTEROL/LANOSTEROL ESTERS . NYLON-12 . STEARYL STEARATE . PHENOXYETHANOL . HYDROXYETHYLCELLULOSE . EUPHORBIA CERIFERA (CANDELILLA) WAX . DIMETHICONE . PARFUM (FRAGRANCE) . TITANIUM DIOXIDE . TOCOPHERYL ACETATE . METHYLPARABEN . ADIPIC ACID/DIETHYLENE GLYCOL/GLYCERIN CROSSPOLYMER . PANTHENOL . VP/ EICOSENE COPOLYMER . BEHENIC ACID . SORBITAN STEARATE . PEG-40 STEARATE . ALGAE EXTRACT . ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF JUICE . BUTYLPARABEN . ETHYLPARABEN . ISOBUTYLPARABEN . PROPYLPARABEN . [+/- MAY CONTAIN : CI 77007 (ULTRAMARINES) . CI 77499 (IRON OXIDE) . CI 75470 (CARMINE) . CI 77491 (IRON OXIDE) . CI 77019 (MICA) . CI 77742 (MANGANESE VIOLET) . CI 77891 (TITANIUM DIOXIDE) . CI 77492 (IRON OXIDE) . CALCIUM SODIUM BOROSILICATE . CI 19140 (YELLOW 5 LAKE) . CI 42090 (BLUE 1 LAKE) . CI 77000 (ALUMINUM POWDER) . CI 77163 (BISMUTH OXYCHLORIDE) . CI 77289 (CHROMIUM HYDROXIDE GREEN) . CI 77510 (FERRIC FERROCYANIDE) . CI 77288 (CHROMIUM OXIDE GREENS) . SILICA . “3YY07-1“ . ]

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. If you're interested in joining Influenster, click on the Influenster badge below to sign-up. It's 100% FREE and you get the chance to review some amazing products!