John Freida Makes My Hair Happy

     It all started when I was 11. I begged and pleaded with my mom until she let me dye my hair. And I have been a hair color junky ever since. My hair has ranged from many colors and shades over the last 16 years. I've waded through many brands and types to come across my small list of favorites. 
      Recently I decided to try the new John Frieda Precision Foam Hair color. 

I chose the Deep Cherry Brown 3RV to go along with what I had previously done. Here is my before hair color: 

The kit comes with the typical hair dye kit contents. The difference between theirs and the typical kit is the pump style dispenser lid. 

     Even if you have dyed your hair a dozen or more times yourself, I can not stress enough to READ THE ENTIRE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE BEGINNING!  These instructions are very beneficial with a couple key differences from typical hair dye. They're written up very professionally, even having you apply a water resistant sale around your hair line to block stains. I have yet to find any other directions to do this. 

     One key to this product is do NOT shake to mix. This will essentially deflate the foam, causing it to be runny.  The pump also does not pump. You must squeeze the middle of the bottle to dispense the foam.

     I had a bit of a mess on my hands with the foam but I am a bit messy in anything I do. It applies amazingly easy to your hair. It isn't as stiff as other dyes and doesn't harden when done. You can easily massage the color out as you rinse. The max time for it to develop is 30 minutes.  The conditioner included is creamy & pleasant smelling. It also leaves your hair silky and soft. Once I managed through my dye job this was my final product:

The color is rich & my hair feels & looks smooth and healthy.  Definitely recommending this product to my gal pals! Plus I think anyone who does or is thinking of dying their hair to check out the website: http://www.johnfrieda.com/en-US/homecolour/precision-foam-colour/.

Split the banana your way

Sitting here this Sunday night I'm finally enjoying some peace after the bustle of this holiday week. Don't get me wrong I loved every minute of it and every minute of it makes this quiet time with Donnie Darko even sweeter. Yes I said Donnie Darko. It is one of my all time favorite movies. All be it, I may pull from it more than ever was intended but I often do that.
Anyway, Donnie Darko is not the point of my ramblings tonight. I, with my full belly, have decided to share my family's recipe for Banana Split "Cake". Where my mom got this recipe I'm not sure but I know for as long as I can remember we've had it at Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner. So here goes:
Ingredients:
1 can crushed Pineapples in heavy syrup (drained)
2-4 bananas
Cool Whip whipped topping, thawed
Choppedwalnuts or pecans (optional)
Maraschino cherries (optional)
Filling
2 sticks Parkay butter (we've found through process of elimination this brand works best)
2 large eggs
2 cups powdered sugar
Crust
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 stick butter melted
Directions:
Combine melted butter and graham cracker crumbs in 13x9 casserole dish or cake pan. Once well mixed push crumbs onto bottom of the pan to make a crust. Next in large bowl mix on medium speed all filling ingredients for about 2 minutes. Then mix on high for 18 minutes. Spread filling onto graham cracker crust. Next evenly spoon pineapples over filling. Now here is where my mom and I differ on how to make this "cake". She cuts her bananas in half then quarters each half, laying the quarters side by side until she covers the entire cake. I however, prefer to slice my bananas into round slices, like you would for banana pudding, covering the entire thing. Partly why she insists I do it her way I suppose, is because although I'm a fairly good cook I'm quite clumsy with a knife. And I'd say it pains her to see me fumble with it as I slice my uneven, never the same, round slices onto the cake. It also takes me longer to slice them my way but I like the fact that you get thinner pieces of banana with each bite my way.
Finally cover with Cool Whip, nuts and cherries (if desired). Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
How ever you choose to slice your banana this recipe is sure to be a crowd pleaser. We've yet to have any complaints. Enjoy!

A break and new to come

OK So I have taken a little break from writing; been preparing for yesterday and had family in. It's all left my life very consumed to say the least. But good news I have some new products to talk about and plan to blog this wk almost everyday!
I will tell you all about an eyeshadow pencil I tried out & I will be trying the new John Freida color foam in the next couple days as well! Hope to also have a few more things to share this week. I am going to give out a family recipe for Banana Split "Cake". So hope all has had a good week & look forward to sharing!

Thank goodness for the thankful

Today has just been one of those days; stuck in my head most of it. Life is filled with struggles. It doesn't matter who we are, our financial situation, our relationship status, our living situation nor our demographic etc. That is just part of life. We live, we struggle, we overcome, we move on.
Most find the struggles of life sad and disheartening. I'm one of those people half the time. All the time, however, I find it even more sad at the many abundant blessings we overlook. For every struggle, if willing, you can find five blessings.
Every November, suddenly everyone is aware of our many blessings. But as the last of the left over turkey is raked out, so is our awareness of our blessings. I find it inspiring when I come across people who are thankful daily for the many blessings we mostly take forgranted. Shouldn't we be itching to see these blessings?
With my many personal struggles at this time, I have decided to make a resolution. Each day I will take the time to mentally note as many blessings as Ican think of. And I will have my kids tell me at least two each day. I'm sure life will suddenly seem a little brighter.

Well I have to say Proactiv is...

   A good product. I wish I could say it is a life saver or worked wonders but the fact of the matter is that I am blessed with a fairly good complexion. I get a breakout once in a while and usually its one little bump on my chin. I do however have some small bumps around my nostrils that I can't seem to get rid of. So please do read on, I have some good and useful stuff to pass on about this good product!
    Now with all that said, I did use the Proactiv 3-step system I received in my Influenster voxbox and get some good results. But before I get into those let me give you just a bit of info on what Proactiv is all about. One of the key ingredients of the system is benzoyl peroxide.  Please keep in mind benzoyl peroxide can bleach fabrics so be careful.  Proactiv recommends you use the whole system twice daily-once in the morning and once at night. You have the renewing cleanser which is step 1. As with most other cleanser you dampen your whole face and massage around a dime size amount of cleanser into skin. This has a gritty feel that reminds me of exfoliating cleansers. Its not foamy nor does it lather. It more resembles a cream cleanser. You of course rinse well and pat dry. Step 2 is the Revitalizing toner. As with step 1 use twice daily after the cleanser. Apply to your whole face and allow to dry fully. Step 3 is the Repairing treatment. It also contains benzoyl peroxide.  You only apply this to affected areas twice daily. Don't rinse let air dry.  
   It also cautions that you use a sunscreen when using these products as they overtime may increase sensitivity to sunlight. I have had experience with benzoyl peroxide over the years (when I was younger breakouts were more frequent & worse) and it for my skin is very drying. So for me I used the cleanser once a week (which is way less than the recommended amount) the toner 2-3 times a week and the repair treatment for a couple days on the bumps around my nose once a day.  The bumps have diminished quite a bit and I liked the toner alot. It leaves my skin feeling smooth and fresh. I had a zit on my chin which I used the repair treatment on and in just a couple days it was gone! 
   So while I wasn't a good candidate for using this the way advised to, it still did a good job & I still recommend it for those who have breakouts!


Disclaimer : I received this product as an active member of influenster.com to test. I received no payment for my time or opinion monetary or otherwise from either company.

Love my lips with Blistex Deep Renewal

Cold weather brings about lots of bundling up, heated homes & cars. For me it also brings chapped lips. I try to keep all my skin moisturized year round but for some reason my lipsare the hardest to keep healthy.
I must say its partly because I have this habit of licking & biting on my lips. While I've pretty much kicked that bad habit to the curb, I have been searching for a lip balm that I love. I've come across many thatI like & that treat my lips well. But I keep searching for another kind.
Recently I started using Blistex Deep Renewal COQ10 formula and I have to say I've stuck with it longer than any other. I use it about 4 times a day. It leaves my lips instantly smoother & love that it is SPF15! I've been using it for a couple months now & have yet to have any chapped lips. My lips seem softer as well. The colder the weather gets the more I'll put this to the test. If it can continue to doas it has while I trek out my daily one and a half to two and a half mile walk; well then I'll have found my prince charming of chapstick.

Dove in head first...

   I have always loved writing, whether anyone finds me good at it well that's their opinion. I love trying out new products of all sorts and sharing my thoughts on them! I can be quite opinionated and talkative-just ask my husband. So lately I had toyed with the idea of blogging about my opinions, and my thoughts on various products, services etc, sharing recipes, sites I like and so on. I like being helpful and hope that what I have to say may just shed some light for at least one person.
   I suppose just to shed some insight about my life I'll give you some tidbits. I am a mother of 4 wonderful boys all 7 and under. My husband & I have been married for 8 years and 5 months and I am very thankful for him. I was born and raised in a small town in the southeast of Kentucky and despite the stereotypes and the lack of "bustling metropolises" I love living here. 
    Recently I joined a program called Influenster. I learned about the site through a magazine I was reading one day. So I decided to see what it was all about.  I read up on the requirements and the object of the program. You register for a free account and inform them of your likes and aspects of your lifestyle. They have "badges" that you can unlock by answering questions or completing certain tasks. They allow you to give and read reviews on products and once a month they have a "voxbox" for their most active members. This box contains various products corresponding to a badge for qualifying members to test. Once you try out the products you then must review them and share these reviews on various sites/social media. I qualified for my first voxbox in October and received it a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed trying the products and sharing my experience through various outlets. 
   I hope to find other opportunities similar to influenster to expand my reviewing and experiences. 
   My life gets pretty hectic and is a crazy beautiful ride so you may get overwhelmed by my journey. All in all though you'll have some good laughs and smiles along the way!

Smooth as... Well as a shave with Gillette Venus Proskin razor!!

     I am all for equal rights and women lib and all that but my personal like is to have smooth, close, clean shaved legs and underarms. Nothing to anyone else just my preference. I've always liked Gillette and especially like their Venus line. So when my Influenster Voxbox arrived a few weeks back I was excited to see the Venus Proskin razor. 
     This Venus razor was made with an easy-to-handle-with-wet-hands ergonomic handle, the well trusted three-blade technology known to Gillette, and the get-in-those-hard-to-reach-places pivoting round head. Three things that have made Venus a #1 selling global brand for women. The newest feature to this would be the two shave gel bars consisting of a triple blend of body butters. These create a protective layer over your skin to help minimize nicks and razor burns. You just dip the razor in water and viola` instant shave gel gliding across your skin! 
   I was ready to get going with this because I love the feel of a good smooth shave. All it took was one dip in the water to activate the shave gel bars. I had a slight problem though. The gel bars are quite thick and since it was just a maintenance shave it was fairly hard to get close enough to my skin to shave the small stubble. I decided to scrape away some of the top bar & it worked so much better.  Then there is a second thing that I didn't care for and that is that with it being a "gel" bar is it has a slimy texture. With that said, once I rinsed my leg it felt amazingly smooth and velvety. Even though I had a couple hitches in the road, it was just as I expected, a great shave!  Those two minor quirks are worth the end result and I have reccommended this to several friends and family!






Update: Ok so it is January 16, 2012, a full two months after reviewing this razor and I have just now had to change the blade!! How awesome is that! So in love with Venus Proskin razor!!


Disclaimer: I received this product in my Influenster Voxbox as result of being an active member in their program. I have received no monetary or other compensation for my time or opinion from either Influenster or Gillette.

Scrumptious? Indeed! Vitabath my new love!

     I am an avid lover of scents, especially those in my body wash, lotions etc.  A little over a week ago I received my very first Influenster voxbox. I was extremely stoked to begin this program and even more so when I encountered one of the products-Vitabath Fragrance Collection Body Wash. I was first delighted with a very cute packaging of the body wash. Then I read up on it from the info card provided by Influenster. The next thing I love is that this is a paraben & sulfate free product! Then when I opened the bottle I was hit with an intoxicating scent! I was lucky enough to receive the In Bloom scent which I find heavenly! I was ready for a shower after one whiff. This company has been providing quality products for 50 years and decided to rejuvenate their brand with a new release this year.   They whipped up four delightful fragrances to invigorate your senses: Cupcake Couture, Spa Day, In Bloom, & Fruit Fanatic. They're formula is rich in nourishing vitamins A, B3, B5, C and E,  with an added kick from an antioxidant superfruit blend. The superfruit blend is one of acai, goji,coffe fruit, noni, pomegranate, green tea, and mangosteen.  Their formula contains no petro-chemicals or triclosan and is free of DEA, TEA, mineral oils, propylene glycol, and silicone.  They are also reasonably priced at $9.99 USD or less at various retailers such as Bed Bath and Beyond or Fred Meyer as well as their home site: www.myvitabath.com. 

     Needless to say I was amped that night to try it out! With just a small amount (maybe the size of a nickel) I had an amazing luxurious lather that engulfed my senses with a lovely scent & creamy feel. It was great to see that such a small amount gave me such a full lather and one that lasted the whole shower. This just ups the value of the product in my book! I didn't have that tight filmy feel when I rinsed away the lather either. My skin felt clean and refreshed. I have used it everyday since and my skin has been soft and moisturized. I also used it as a bubble bath. It took maybe a quarter size for as many bubbles as I like but thats still a reasonable amount! It was such a relaxing bath with the In Bloom scent and still left my skin feeling refreshed.     

     


     I am extremely satisfied with the results of using this body wash and reccommend everyone give it at least one try. I bet you'll be hooked! They have become one of my new faves & I'm excited to give all their products a try. 




Disclaimer: I received this product to test as an active member of Influenster.com and have received no payment, monetary or otherwise, to test this product and/or review this product.