Thoughts on Life #1

A lot of the time I get a little too caught up in what others think of me, and I think many other people do exactly the same. The truth is that the bully who is insulting you, making fun of you, or talking behind your back, is not going to sit around thinking about those words they said to you late at night. In their minds they have moved on because upsetting you just is not that large of a part of their day.

 The only person left thinking about it at night is the one who got hurt. Why let something like that ruin your night or even your week? Most likely that bully just needed something to make themselves feel better, even for the moment, and you were just there.

You are a beautiful and delicious pink starburst. Don't let anyone tell you different. 

My Adore Me Experience

Hello Everyone!

Today I am writing about my experience with the lingerie website Adore Me which I received as a part of my XO Vox Box from Influenster.

To see a review of the other products I received in my box click here.

As a part of my box I was able to receive a free set of Adore Me lingerie or sleepwear if I signed up to be a VIP member on their site. At first I was incredibly wary of this because being a VIP member is essentially signing up for a subscription service. As a VIP you must choose an item for them to send to you between the 1st and the 5th of each month or they will charge a credit to your account to be used at a later time, unless you choose to skip the month (which you MUST log on and do or they will charge you). Because I had taken the time to make sure I understood what I was getting myself into, I decided to go ahead and try out the service. I chose a nearly $50 bra and panty set and at check out applied the code I was given by Influenster and received the set for free. I have included a photo of my purchase below.

I was obviously super excited about receiving this because I often have a hard time finding cute lingerie, but Adore Me offers quite a few nice plus sized options. I checked my shipping info every few days and though the shipment left the factory by the next day, I had still not received my shipment 12 days later. I attempted to call the company around day 10-11 and at first was told there was a long wait, and the next day they were closed. On day 12 I called UPS who told me I would need to contact the company. After this I decided to wait out the call line for an Adore Me representative and finally got a person after about 40 minutes (even though the original message said the wait was past 15 minutes, not nearly an hour). The representative was very nice and offered to send another one completely free and even gave me a $10 store credit! At this point I was very happy and was looking forward to actually getting my shipment. Within the next few hours I went to check the mail at my home and of course, there was my box, after 12 days. 

I opened the box and the packaging was very nice and some pamphlets were included. I tried on my bra and it fit fairly well, though the shape was a bit pointy and the cups were kind of small. My biggest complaint about the bra was that I felt like the material was very cheap, I honestly have no idea why anyone would pay so much for low quality. I have only worn the set once, though I received it weeks ago. 

About 6 days after I had called and spoken with the Adore Me rep I had not received the replacement set, though I did not need it. I then got an email notifying me that the set had sold out and I got a code to get another product. At this point I am a little put off by the company and feel like this has been a lot of trouble. 

I am very happy to have received this set for free and to have been able to test out this service... However, I personally would not recommend this company at the time, especially if you want to receive your products by a specific date ( I really wanted to have mine for an event but did not). I do not feel like I received a product that was worth what most people would pay for the service and would suggest that if you want to test it out, not to sign up for the VIP membership unless you will be able to remember to skip the month. 

"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

Love, Cookie Kate

Influenster XO Vox Box Review!

Hello!

     I have a super exciting post today for all people who love to try out new stuff for free!!! Which really should be everyone, anyway, today I am sharing my Influenster XoVoxBox! Influenster is a website that anyone can join and eventually earn some awesome free products to test out for absolutely no charge (to be clear-they do not have any of my credit card info and I have not sent their company any money whatsoever), but in exchange for your time and opinion! Basically, when you join you take some quick surveys so they can get an idea of who you are, and then you work towards earning "badges" by reviewing products that you have already tried and answering other peoples questions. Then, if you stay active and Influenster has a upcoming "voxbox" (box of free goodies) that they feel would be right for you they will invite you to receive it!

     I would like to point out that Influenster does expect you to link up your social media accounts and will then give you a "social impact score" it seems that this is based largely on how many friends and/or followers you have, but can also be impacted by your activity on these accounts and your activity on the influenster site. If you are scared that you will not have a high enough score because you do not have a lot of social media followers or friends, I say give it a shot anyway! I see people on the site with scores in the 1000's but mine is only 280, and I still got a box. I hope that gave you a good overview of what to expect and how to get involved, but now let's see the box!

• Tide Pods with Febreze (10 pack)= I can't even begin to tell you how weirdly happy I was to see these in my box! Detergent is expensive and these little packets are so handy. Plus, I really just enjoy the scent of Febreze! I am looking forward to using these on my next laundry day. [Approx. Value: $5]

• Colgate Optic White Tooth Brush + Built In Whitening Pen= Another product that I shouldn't have been super excited to see, but I was. Recently I have noticed my teeth becoming more yellow and have been considering different tooth whitening options, but they are all so expensive, so I was very happy to get this. I will say that I have already been using the Crest Whitening toothpaste, but otherwise have never had my teeth whitened, and I saw no difference with the Crest. I may be imagining it, but I really do feel like I am seeing a slight difference in my teeth after using this Optic White set and pen for just two days! If I see any noteworthy improvements I will share a full product review in a separate post. [Approx. Value: $13]

• Colgate Optic White Tooth Paste (3oz.)= This paste is a part of the Optic White set, I am happy it whitens, but I must admit I am not a huge fan of the taste. [Approx. Value: $4]

• Skinfix Hand Repair Cream (1 oz.)= My skin has been sooo dry this winter! I have never experienced having skin this dry in my whole life and I really do not understand it. I do not like the smell of this cream, I suppose it smells a little bit like oatmeal and chemicals (I know that makes no sense), but I am just really not impressed by the scent it gives off. However, I applied it to my hands only one time and have not needed hand lotion for two days, while before I needed it twice a day! So, this is certainly not something I would wear out, but maybe something to apply before bed so I won't have to smell it, and can still get the benefits. [Approx. Value: $9]

• John Frieda Frizz Ease Shampoo and Conditioner (1.5 oz)= I personally do not think I have frizzy hair for the most part, though this used to be an issue for me. However, I have tried the shampoo/coniditoner and it seemed really nourishing, but did not weigh down my hair and smells super nice! [Approx. Value: $3.50 each]

• John Frieda Frizz Ease Primer (1.7 oz)= This is a hair primer that you apply before styling your hair to avoid frizz, as stated before I do not have this issue, so I gave this to my mom to test out. So far she has only used it once and said that she did not feel like it made any difference.  [Approx. Value: $3]

• Adore Me Lingerie= This offer is not something that was included inside the box, but was a perk of receiving the box by signing up for an Adore Me VIP Membership. By using the exclusive code I received from Influenster, I got a nearly $50 bra and panty set absolutely free! I will be doing a separate post on my experience with Adore Me. [Approx. Value: $50]

• Ebay Exclusive Invite= This was an invite to be a writer of an Ebay Guide. In exchange for writing 2 Ebay guides I will receive a $25 gift card to Ebay. I have already written my first guide and it was super easy, so I will definitely be taking advantage of this opportunity! [Approx. Value= $25]

• Land's End Coupon/Offer= I must admit being slightly disappointed to receive this as I am not a Land's End kind of girl. This is a coupon for $25 off of a $100 purchase from Land's End, instead I will probably be giving this coupon code to a friend.

     All in all, so far I have had a wonderful experience with Influenster and absolutely plan to continue participating on the site. The total value of my box, along with my Adore Me lingerie and the Ebay gift card, come to approximately $116, not including the Land's End coupon. That is an incredible value to have gotten essentially for free. I have obviously been giving my time to them for some reviews and participation, but otherwise this box is free! Go check them out at www.influenster.com . 

"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

However, all opinions are my own!

- Cookie Kate

Loot Crate Unboxing (Feb. 2015)

Hey guys, 

Today I have another unboxing post for you, this time it is for Loot Crate! Loot Crate is a monthly subscription service primarily for gamers, so I purchased this as a 3-month subscription for my boyfriends birthday! Loot Crate is $13.95 per month plus $6 for shipping, so you really end up paying about $20 per box, but I have a coupon code that anyone can use down at the bottom of this post to get you a few bucks off! The theme for this months box was "play", approximate prices will be listed beside each item. 

My boyfriend was enjoying a tasty sandwich from a local establishment and decided to include it in the photo!

• Ready Player One Novel by Ernest Cline [$9]- This book sounded really cool to me (an avid book reader), but I think my boyfriend was probably a little disappointed by this because hes a gamer and isn't really into books. 
• Collectible Loot Crate Pin for February 2015 [$3] - I think Loot Crate includes these in all of their crates and people collect them, online I found them to be priced at around $3, so people must be really into collecting them
• Waka-Waka Poster (Manny Peters) [$3-$5] - I personally felt like this was kind of a filler in the crate. It was a tiny little poster, but maybe some people really like collecting this type of thing?

• DIY Munny Figure (Kid Figure) [$13-$20] - This is a small figurine that comes with markers so you can draw on it and create anything you want! Kind of a cool concept because when you are finished you can wipe him off and start over if you want!
• Hex Bug [$10-$15] - This is what my boyfriend was the most excited about, it is a small robot bug that has sensors and will scuttle around on the floor while dodging some objects. I say SOME objects because its sensors only seem to detect large objects, you could not set this thing on an obstacle course. 

• Exclusive Looter Edition SuperFight Card Game (Skybound Games) [$10] - Neither my boyfriend nor I had ever heard of the SuperFight Card Game, but we both found it pretty amusing. Apparently it is becoming a very popular game where you combine the cards to make funny fighting situations between characters in popular shows and movies. 
• Exclusive Rock-Paper-Scissors Dice Game (Loot Crate Labs) [$3-$5]- These dice were a part of the game you could play on the board you see in the picture. The board is the actual Loot Crate box unfolded into a board. The dice are essentially the game rock-paper-scissors!
• Exclusive Firefly Online Premium Shop Unlock Code (Quantum Mechanix) [$5?] - This is an unlock code for a new online game called Firefly. This was on a card included in the box and is not in the picture above. Looks like it unlocks a pretty awesome ship to use in game play. 

In total, given the approximate prices that I was able to find online, this crate is worth $56-$72. Either way, that is far above the $13.95 price tag and the $6 shipping. So, if you are looking for a high-value, bang for your buck, gaming box, this is certainly an option to consider! I thought this box was super fun to open and my boyfriend really seemed to enjoy all of his new nerd goodies! If you would like to purchase your own Loot Crate you can click here. And to save a few dollars on your crate you can use the code ADDICTION to save 10% on any length subscription or SAVE 3 to save $3 off of a month-to-month subscription (coupon codes are courtesy of www.mysubscriptionaddiction.com ). Happy Shopping!

-Cookie Kate