Jamberry Nail Wraps review nails wraps #jamberry #jamicure #manicure

I discovered #jamberry nail wraps in January of this year. A friend of mine had signed up to be an independent consultant for the company and told me about it- she was nervous. Now these are basically high end stickers for your nails- so you can have painted nails or nail art with zero dry time. Uh... boom!

I knew that if these things worked the way they claimed, I'd be hooked.

My first experience with the nail wraps was with a sample my friend provided. She really didn't know how to apply the wrap any more than I did so it was by no means perfect but I got one sample to fit on three finger nails (I keep my nails short). I know now that I totally didn't do it "right" but it was still awesome- I put it on my pointer, ring and pinky fingers. Within a day or two, I was jonesing for more- but no one seemed to have any in stock I could buy so I went to a party and ordered the buy 3 get 1 free deal.

Did I mention I was hooked? Within a couple weeks, I had my own party and got about $500 in sales. My hostess rewards were great and I spent quite a bit of my own money on the 30% off that went beyond my free wraps and 50% off rewards.

My honest opinion is that the nail wraps are not perfect. If I was going to a salon and spending $15-$30 on gel wraps, I would be disappointed. For the first several months, I had application issues. My hair would get caught under the edges or the edges would peel up a little. I bought nail glue to help milk a few extra days out of my wraps. By continuing to apply pressure and heat, I was still able to wear my wraps for 10-14 days.

Now, about 7 months later, I don't have the same issues. If I run my fingers through my hair, it doesn't get under the edges. I haven't touched the nail glue in probably 6 months. I have learned my own tips and tricks for getting a good application: #1. get the oil off- make sure nails are clean, wash with dish soap, and use the alcohol pads! #2. make sure the nail wraps are smaller than your nail width- if any part of the wrap is touching skin, you're just asking for problems.

I have lots of other tips but they'll have to wait. I've had a bit of a saga getting them to stay on my toes but I think I've finally got that licked. My toes are nasty and that's issue number one. If you apply Jamberry nails on top of nasty toes with pedicure problems, it's just not going to last!

 Last week, I gave myself a neutral #pedicure using #diamonddustjn using a new technique for getting good sizes on my smaller toes (I never do my pinky toes- the nails are too small).

Then I did a #jamicure #manicure using retired #carrotjn and one of the new samples my consultant gave me #lunarlandingjn. I literally applied my nail wraps while hiding in the bathroom. I would apply one wrap and come out an interact with my kids and then sneak back in to apply the next wrap. You simply can't DO that with nail polish. I can't even polish my toes without a kid standing on my wet nail polish!

Now, to be totally honest, I didn't think I'd like the Lunar Landing but I think it looks awesome as an #accentnail! #notd material. I'm not sure I'd like an entire jamicure with Lunar Landing but I've seen pics on #instagram and it makes me want to consider buying a sheet!

My pedicure looks perfect- this is the first time I've had all 8 wraps (remember, I don't do my pinky toe) stay on despite wearing sneakers more often than I normally do in the summer.

Here's my jamicure manicure 4 days later:

And here's my jamicure manicure today, 7 days later:

As you can see, it's not perfect. The edges look a little worn but it's NOTHING like nail polish.

My middle nail on the right hand is starting to peel up but I've been scrubbing dishes and my kids brought me a board book with something sticky holding the pages together so I pretty much attempted to destroy my Jamberrys as a sacrifice to my children lol.

All in all, even if you only did manicures, you're going to be able to get 2 or 3 applications out of a sheet of wraps- you'll have to cut them to size but that's not a big deal. You can for sure get 2 manis and 2 pedis out of a sheet. So if you buy 3 and get 1 free, you've spent $45 plus tax (buy it with a party for the free shipping)- so essentially, each sheet costs you $11.25 plus tax. So if ALL you do is finger nails, that's less than $6 per application per sheet. If you do 3 manis, it's less than $4 per application per sheet. If you do 2 manis and 2 pedis, it's less than $3 per application per sheet. Plus tax. That's it.

I've decided that I have enough wraps and I have parties often enough that I ought to change them out more often- especially since it costs me less than $6 per application. Less than $3 if I do manicures AND pedicures.

I know from experience than I can go 10-13 days. Usually on day 13, my nails start cracking because they're just thin and weak. With the Jamberrys, my nails have been growing longer than I would otherwise let them. Two of my nails split down the middle- that's not because of the Jamberrys, that's a preexisting issue for me. The Jamberrys give them support and so they can grow out. I don't like the look of long nails so this is perfect for me.

Today is nail day and I'm about to remove my Jams. Can't wait to decide what goes on next!

Figured I'd share a pic of my pedi today, too- can't tell it's a week old:

Muller Quaker Corners Review

I did not receive these products free- I bought them all by my lonesome!

After receiving a complimentary coupon for #mullerquaker from +Influenster  in my #govoxbox, I purchased a 4-pack of @mullerquaker Fruit Up. There was a coupon on the package and my +Influenster VoxBox voucher gave me an additional discount so I wound up paying about a dollar for the 4-pack. I selected the peach passion fruit flavor. Keep in mind, I don't like peach yogurt... I'm not sure why I picked this flavor (call me crazy- 3 pre-schoolers in a grocery will make you lose your mind!) but it was totally delish.

I am a huge fan of #Chobani flips- especially the coconut flavor with dark chocolate and toasted almonds- Almond Coco Loco. Excuse me while I revel in the memory of the taste for a moment...

So I decided to go ahead and try the Muller Quaker corner in dark chocolate and pecan granola. It's a pretty good substitute. The chobani corner has 10 grams of fat and the Muller Quaker corner has only 6 grams. Hey, that's 4 grams difference!

I enjoyed this yogurt enough to go out and buy another one as well as two of the dark chocolate and raspberry corners. Those are delish, too, and with only 3 grams of fat they're my new favorite.

I won't substitute flavor for fat but these Muller Quaker ones are good enough that I'll trade the Chobani Coco Loco for either one of these. If the dark chocolate and pecan granola were made with coconut yogurt, I would be in heaven. I like the texture of the granola a lot- but the Chobani toasted almonds are also nice. Very, very nice...

So, I give the Muller Quaker corners a big thumbs up. No ad here. Just some solid tastebuds!

Awesome Mom Moment- Redbox Rocks!

Did you know? Am I a nerd for not knowing this? Am I a nerd for being this excited?

You can buy used movies from Redbox! No, seriously, I don't know the logic but I'm figuring that, once a movie has run it's course, they make room for new stock by selling the old ones to you. For $5! So you don't get the fancy case... I got Frozen and Planes Blu-Ray for $5/each. Plus like $.30 tax.

Seriously- I'm so stoked!

I had promised my son we could get Planes again - I rented from #Redbox several months ago when he was sick so he could veg on the couch for a day. His favorite was Planes.

Well, I texted Reveal to 727272 (I don't know if that's a local thing or if that's a national Redbox thing) and got a coupon code for $.75 off a rental- so it's less than a dollar to rent it for a day... but I could just BUY it for $5. No brainer!

You don't get the fancy case but you do get a standard Redbox DVD holder to keep it protected. I'll take that deal!

Goodbye Invoices, Hello Spa-feeling! Aquaspa Body Creme Review.

I received +Aqua Spa lavendar chamomile body creme complimentary in my +Influenster VoxBox for testing purposes.

I love the light scent of this lotion- I generally stick with unscented due to hubby's sensitive nose but this has just a hint of scent and it's so pleasant... who can resist?

The lotion goes on creamy smooth but is not greasy- it absorbs right in.

I'll be walking along and think to myself, "what's that lovely scent?" Then I realize: that scent is ME!

As a mom of 3 rambunctions pre-schoolers (my oldest starts Kindergarten in the fall!) I have pretty much zero time to devote to ME so when I received this #relaxwithaquaspa delight along with my @goprofoot pedi rock, I knew exactly what needed to happen. This mom needed an at-home pedicure! This luxurious lotion (and I promise, I'm not just saying that because I got it free- it really is quite amazing) was perfect after my not-so-attractive scrub-them-callouses session. Can feet smell amazing? Why, yes. Yes they can.

#MyBeautyBreak happened in my own living room while my children slept. Ahhh... perfection!

I also entered the #dreamon contest to host an #aquaspa house party ($300 value) and take a beaty break with my besties where we roadmap our way to achieving our wildest dreams. Hosts selected every month!

You can help me win by pinning to my pinterest board here:
http://www.pinterest.com/shr08/dream-board-aquaspabath-dreamon/

You can also get this $1 coupon for Aqua Spa products here:
on.fb.me/1kQ2RFX

Playtex® Sport® Fresh Balance™ Tampon Review

I received a full sized box of Playtex® Sport® Fresh Balance™ tampons  complimentary from Influenster for trial purposes.

No reason to try them out until Aunt Flo shows up and that was yesterday. I tried them yesterday but they're size regular so I went back to my super size that I already had. I used one this morning on my run and it was fine.

I think this would be good for a lighter day- if these were size super, I would be more confident wearing them without additional protection.

@PlaytexSportandGentleGlide @Influenster

Leapfrog Leappad 2 Review

I did NOT receive any Leapfrog products free for this review; I'm merely a big fan!

My son got a Leapfrog Leappad 1 for Christmas a couple of years ago. Last summer, his 2-year-old sister threw it and the screen broke. These things are somewhere in the range of $75-over $100 depending on what you get and where you get it so we kept using it. After about a week, the screen quit responding to touch.

What's a mom to do?

I went to eBay and used eBay sniper (ezsniper.com) to put my top bid in at the last moment. I got an untested, unused store return Leappad 2 for less than $25 including shipping.

More recently, the same now-3-year-old who broke her brother's tablet became the recipient of another Leappad 2 that I purchased on eBay used (using the same sniping website) for just $16 including shipping.

We have both Innotab tablets and #leapfrog #leappad tablets.

The Innotab tablets have some interesting features but the games are far less complicated and it seems to take much longer for them to load which is frustrating to impulse-driven little ones.

I highly recommend the Leapfrog Leappads (1 or 2) for any parent who is in the market.

The Offending 3-Year-Old at Play

I love the tablet. I love the available downloads. The prices for downloads are higher than those for Innotab from what I've found but you get a lot better quality from the Leapfrog downloads. Their LeapFrog Connect program (which you must download and run in order to download games) is a bit difficult to figure out at first but once you get the hang of it, it's easy- also superior to the #innotab version.

Cool Mom Tip You can turn off the sneak peeks item in the Parent Settings menu of the device. Press and hold the Home and Volume Up buttons for 1 second to see this menu.

I have not discovered a way to check the battery level. I bought about a bazillion rechargables but it would be nice to know how much life is left in the batteries before my frustrated child brings me the dead device. I did not opt for the wall charger- knowing me, I would lose it.

FWIW, the batteries in the Leappad 2 are a lot easier to change out than the Leappad 1. Good design upgrade, +LeapPad

I highly recommend purchasing a gel skin cover- I got mine on eBay for $5 (including shipping) and the second eBay tablet came with the gel skin.

From a comment in another blog- I have not verified this but worth looking into if you crack a screen:

Careful with the screens. My youngest shattered his. However, we contacted Leapfrog and they offered us a ONE TIME replacement of the entire tablet. We just had to send pictures. Two weeks later we had a new one. Possibly refurbished, but better than having to purchase a new one! We love them.

Profoot Inc Pedi Rock Review

I am a sucker for pedicure-at-home products. Salon pedicures are out of my price range and when I do splurge I have often been dissatisfied. This Pedi Rock is right up my alley and I was not disappointed!

I got this complimentary Pedi Rock for trial purposes from my #influenster #voxbox.

The promotional info I received with this product says:

The PROFOOT Pedi-Rock is the first soft foot file ergonomically designed delivering the ultimate foot file experience. The silicon carbide crystals gently remove even the toughest calluses in the shortest amount of time. Pedi-Rock can be used wet or dry and simply rinse with water and let air dry for the next use. Keep your feet Spring soft with Pedi-Rock!

I've had my vox box for almost a week now and I've been waiting to try this product until my kids were in bed and my husband was not home (who wants to clean up their feet with an audience? Not me!) so tonight was the night!

I have used pumice stones, the pedi-egg, shavers, foot files... this Pedi-Rock is fantastic! It doesn't really even compare. Now, I haven't seen the day after results but I know what shape my feet are in- they're atrocious! The before and after difference is amazing (no, I will not post photos- some things don't need to be documented).

Would I recommend this to a friend? You bet I would! Would I buy this product or another product from @profoot_inc ? Based on my experience with this #pedirock and the #triadorthotic , absolutley I would!

I followed it up with a healthy squirt of @aquaspabath lavendar chamomile body creme- shoutout to #relaxwithaquaspa

#goprofoot

Profoot_Inc Triad Orthotic Review

So here's what the promotional information that came in my +Influenster VoxBox with this ProFoot Triad Orthotic says:

This original, three zone everyday orthotic is clinically proven to relieve knee, leg, and back pain when worn in your favorite shoes. With Ultra-Fresh protection and 3/4 length, your feet will feel fresh, free, and experience a new level of comfort. Treat yourself by treating your feet.

I have a fairly bad attitude about products since I've found that very few products actually live up to the manufacturer's claims but I am impressed with these orthotics so far.

I've used orthotics in the past to support my very high arch- specifically the kind that had three different options for arch support. I chose the firmest option. Apparently, they don't even make these ones any more because I can't find them on the Dr. School's website.

Regardless, that was all before I had children. I started having kids at the ripe old age of 35 and they say that when you're pregnant, the ligaments in your feet stretch and you can gain up to a shoe size. Well, I didn't gain any length in my feet but I sure did gain pain. I have 3 kids now (the youngest born when I was still 39) and I had to go to the podiatrist about my feet. They gave me a pair of insoles which were valued at $30.

Now that pregnancy is no longer ravaging my pedis, my feet are much less needy and I've gotten out of the habit of wearing insoles. In fact, I'm not 100% sure in which pair of shoes my professional insoles reside.

I did not expect to notice much improvement from wearing these #goprofoot insoles but I was pleasantly surprised.

When I got them out of the packaging I figured it was a waste of time, I mean. just look at how thin these are!

To my surprise, I found out that they're very comfortable. There's a lot of cushioning packed into these flimsy-looking insoles.

I wore them for an afternoon in my slip on New Balance lounging sneaks:

Probably not the best shoes to try them out in. They're comfy but these shoes are pretty roomy. The originals I bought were too small so I had to go up a size (DSW.com didn't have half sizes available) so they're a little roomy. The insoles sort of worked their way forward and I had to move them back so the heel stayed where the heel should be. These insoles come with glue dots to hold them in place but that doesn't help you if you wear multiple shoes.

I wore them a couple days ago to go out for C25K (couch to 5k) week 4 day 2. For running, I don't wear my lounge shoes. I wear running shoes:

I love these shoes.

Anyway, they felt really good. I should probably be wearing insoles for my high arch anyway and these Profoot Triad Orthotics felt like just the right amount of support.

As an experiment (and also because it was 6 am and I forgot to even think about it), I didn't wear them when I went out today for C25K week 4 day 3 and I missed them. I may be placing that glue dot in my running shoes and leaving them there (they do seem to wiggle forward a little bit in my runners but not much).

Overall, I really like these insoles and I would recommend them to a friend.

Can't wait to try the ProFoot Pedi-Rock!

I received these products complimentary from #influenster for trial purposes.

Passion Fruit Peach Fruit Up Review #MullerQuaker

I received a voucher for a free #MullerQuaker yogurt product (up to a certain dollar amount) from #influenster for trial purposes. When I went to my local Wal-Mart, the choices were limited so I opted for a 4-pack of peach passion fruit fruit up- yogurt on the bottom with fruit mousse on top.

Here's the display at Wal-Mart:

I tried this last night and I didn't get my hopes up- I'm pretty picky when it comes to yogurt. This was more like eating dessert than yogurt. So yum! I will definitely buy this again if the price is right... but I'm not sharing with my kids. They wouldn't appreciate it- they can have the store brand generic yogurt!

Only 1.5 grams of fat in this little package of creamy goodness!

How do I like to eat it? ALONE! It's MINE! ALL MINE!

Next Step Fit N Full French Vanilla Flavor

I tried the Vitamin Shoppe Next Step protein shake Vanilla flavor but I put it right into the fridge to chill more before I try it again.

The coolest thing about this shake is the 20 oz JAXX Shaker Cup which has what looks like a giant jack inside to mix the powder with the water. I'm digging that. No spoon!

The taste is good but make sure you use COLD water! Sink cold leaves a little to be desired.

I'm not a huge fan of protein shakes but I received this product complimentary from Influenster for trial purposes so it's worth trading a meal for this shake!

You can read more about the Next Step Protein Shake onThe Influenster Review Page




I received this product complimentary for trial purposes from Influenster.

GoVoxBox from Influenster

I knew my first Influenster Voxbox was on it's way so when I went to the post office to check my PO Box Sunday afternoon I was expecting it to be there. I saw the extra key in my tiny box that allows me to get mail out of one of the bigger boxes and voila! Voxbox! It was so big, I almost couldn't get it out- I had to wiggle it back and forth and wound up tearing up some of the edge of the cardboard box but there was no way I was leaving it in there!

Here's a pic of my GoVoxBox no worse for wear (and proof that I was out getting some exercise with munchkin #2 when we picked it up- carried it with pride for the rest of our walk!):

Playtex Sport Fresh Balance
Vitamin Shoppe Next Step Fit N Full Protein Shake
Blue Diamond Blueberry Flavored Almonds
Profoot Triad Orthodic AND Profoot Pedi Rock
Aqua Spa Body Creme
1 Voucher for a FREE Muller Yogurt Product

I got home and was really impressed by the products inside- this isn't a chintzy selection. I did not expect such cool stuff:

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

Can't wait to give them a try!