#JadoreVoxBox from Influenster

I've started a new job. Well, I've had it for a while but I'm now just telling you. :) It's third shift so it has really turned my life upside down. Third shift isn't new to me but it is hard to focus your entire existence around sleep, of all lame things. I'm working in a microbiology lab so the bulk of patient work has to be done overnight. Being a productive member of society feels good and the steady income is definitely a welcome sight to the sore eyes of my bank account.

Of course I haven't been getting normal sleep so I've kept procrastinating on telling you about the AMAZING surprise I received in the mail!

I received an Influenster VoxBox!!

Okay, the details: Infuenster.com is a fantastic website that I've been a member of since September. Basically it's a product review site where users come together to rate various goods and services. People write reviews about everything from American Airlines to Twizzlers Candy to Burt's Bee's lotion. As you write reviews you are building up credibility with other users and increasing your personal "influence" (provided your reviews are helpful!). As you increase your influenster score, your reviews carry more weight and your reviews matter more. Make sense? 

Anyway, I reviewed so many products that I built up my score enough to receive a VoxBox. It's a special program Influenster develops to test and advertise products. They trust the high scoring Influensters (like me!) to use our social media presence to let everyone know what we think about the products... so they send a box full of goodies. I was not paid for any of my opinions or time but was provided the products free of charge. Pretty awesome, right?

Enough of the chatter, let me show you what I got!

My first item is KISS eyelashes. They look beautiful but I haven't found quite the right place to wear them. I've never really fancied fake lashes but these ones may change my mind. They retail for $3.99 so they're definitely a steal for that night on the town. I'll definitely be sharing the details when I do use them.

And then I received a FAMILY size bag of Hershey's Kisses in honour of Valentine's Day. Do I need to say anything? I don't know anyone on the fringes about a Kiss. Really now, they're a nice size and wonderful for baking. I've been savouring them for a few weeks now but am saving some of the package for peanut butter blossom cookies. (I'm dying to try this recipe. She makes cookies look so trendy.)

I've been a fan of John Frieda products and was therefore delighted to receive a bottle of his Flat Iron spray haircare product. Frizz Ease really does help with those nasty flyaways and uncooperative curls so you can believe that it did wonders as a flat iron spray. A quick warm blowdry and an even quicker run through with my straightener landed me straight glossy hair without retracting my volume. This product claims to retain hair straightness for three days (without washing) and found it was true to its word after two days. 

John Frieda Frizz Ease straightening spray after two days

The J'adoreVoxBox didn't forget about the man I adore and included several questions about him in the pre-box survey I completed. They sent a fantastic bottle of Vaseline's new spray lotion for men. Ladies, you need to get this for your guy. Justin has never used lotion in his life but found this so easy to use because it sprays. Go figure. Vaseline did a great job with the scent and absorption speed. Justin is still using this even after my imposed mandatory use time frame expired. It's that good.

As soon as I opened my VoxBox, my eyes lit upon this face mask by Boots Botanics (and I immediately slathered it all over my face). Coincidentally, the day before the package arrived I purchased Boots Botanics facial toner to try out so I was quire excited to use the sister product as well. I'd never seen this brand before but have been loving it so far. This mask is cooling and leaves my skin soft and bright. It does dry the skin so I smooth some marajuaca oil on after my mini spa treatment.

My face as I'm writing this post

Finally, my favourite item of the entire VoxBox... TEA! Pittsburgh has accelerated my casual enjoyment of warm drinks into a vital necessity. A cup of tea is a priority placed somewhere into my schedule every day. The arrival of two new flavours of Red Rose tea excited me greatly and did not disappoint. Créme Caramel and Lemon Chiffon provided a wonderful touch of elegance to my tea time. The Lemon Chiffon is definitely my favourite. The lemon flavour balanced nicely with a gentle sweetness to eliminate any bitterness from the lemon. A touch of cream and sugar really made this tea feel indulgent! I will be buying a box as it is a great springtime taste.

Thanks, Influenster, for the fantastic experience of my first VoxBox!

Have you tried any of these products?
Which of these would you want the most?

Find out more about these products:
KISS
Hershey's Kisses
Frizz Ease
Boots Botanics
Red Rose Tea

I'm a Tweeple

Twitter.
Scary word, isn't it? It was a mystery to me until I finally took the plunge and signed up. I'm very glad I did and here's why. I'm still new to the Twitter community but have found a surprising amount of positives about this social networking platform.

1. Twitter isn't as bad as I thought
I used to be like many people: avoiding Twitter because of social media misuse. Specifically, I withheld due to rumours of people tweeting ridiculous messages about lunch meals, baby throw up, or going on a date OMG!!!

What I didn't realize is that I choose who I will follow, whether it be my mom, Sandra Bullock, or BBC News. I have the option to filter the tweets received on my homepage.

Twitter has been gaining popularity, especially with the younger demographic. Facebook's importance in teen lives is waning which in turn gives Twitter the opportunity to seize the younger market. This may seem like a negative but again, I choose who I receive news from. To me, if teens are shifting social networks, Twitter must be doing something right. Hopefully, teens are gleaning the positive opportunites available through Twitter.

2. Twitter enables communication with almost anyone
My opinion changed about Twitter after reading an article by Ariella Coombs explaining the usefulness of Twitter in business, current events, and professional networking. Since reading I have found dozens of twitter accounts that interest me. I am able to connect with them by "following" their account and sending messages. Not everyone responds to comments and queries but every once in a while I'll get an acknowledgement from fantastic websites like maptia or influential people like Colleen Christie. Recently, a British man utilized Twitter to reach thousands of people to publicly complain about British Airways. He intelligently exploited Twitters capacity to reach people beyond personal connections.

3. Thousands of businesses and news agencies are on twitter, allowing you to stay informed
I love reading the news. I attempt to stay informed on local, national, and international news. Without having a New York Times subscription I have to scour multiple news websites, scan through dozens of articles, and have no outlet to vent my opinions on the articles I do read. Twitters helps. By choosing to follow news agencies like BBC, the Vancouver Sun, and CTV, I can scan dozens of headlines and synopses in real time. A 140 character limit forces news stations to condense the article while retaining the message. The agency will usually include a link for the original article if you want more details. It's a very convenient and manageable way to intake today's news.

4. Twitter give opportunity for creating new contacts in your field of work or interests
Twitter goes beyond news in giving you an opportunity to connect with areas important to you. Whether it be microbiology or snowboarding, you have the opportunity to follow people and companies in those fields. For example, I am trying to learn more about social networking so I am following cutting-edge companies like LinkedIn and Hootsuite. They tweet updates, ideas, and articles, which are then sent to my twitter feed for my learning pleasure. Really, it's a very convenient system.

5. Great promotional tool: I advertise my blog on Twitter
Twitter product promotion isn't limited to big businesses or MBAs. Me, as a little blogger, can impact the visibility of my blog by tweeting about it. Sending a tweet with a link to my blog is basically sending my blog to everyone following me and saying, "Hey! Read this! It's really great!" It also makes accessing my blog simple. Including the link in a tweet eliminates the need for someone to open the internet, find my blog, and read (which isn't all that hard but takes active thought). Tweeting almost eliminates the navigation work for reading my blog.

If you haven't already, follow me on twitter! twitter.com/kristinafox88 or by clicking the twitter button on the top righthand side of the screen.