Dessange Paris

I have a lot of hair. Long. Ombre. Damaged.

I received Dessange Paris' California Blonde Collection from Influenster and was excited to try the products to see what they were able to do for my hair.

Source: Target

I received  a bottle of the California Blonde Illuminating Shampoo, California Blonde Illuminating Conditioner and the California Blonde Color Correcting Creme. 

I was fairly skeptical about the products, because only the bottom half of my hair is blond. But I figured I would give it a try anyways. 

So glad that I did.

This shampoo is my new favorite. I could feel during the shower that it was really cleaning my hair. I have waist length hair and usually have to use a lot of product. I didn't have to use a lot of the shampoo to get my hair clean. This is a salon quality brand so the shampoo sells for $9.99 for an 8.5 oz. bottle of the shampoo. I think the price is justified because of the quality and quantity that I used. This should last a while. 

I tried the conditioner and it worked really well too. My favorite is still my Joico Color Endure Conditioner. But this is a close second. The one thing that took some getting used to - and quite frankly, I'm not sure I'm still used to it - is the consistency of the conditioner. The formula is thinner than other conditioners that I normally use. This causes me to use A LOT of it to coat my hair to get it working.

The last product that I received to test out was the California Blonde Color Correcting Creme. This came in a bottle that slightly reminded me of the at home color bottles you get to dye your hair. The best part of this is the color. The product in the tube is a highly pigmented indigo color. The directions suggest using this product once a week to correct any brassiness that may have occurred. 

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

Influenser Mary Kay Vox Box

Influenster

I was selected for the most recent VoxBox from Influenster.

Influenster is a website dedicated to product reviews. You sign up for the site and review all the different products on the site. Each review you submit and your activity on the site gives you points towards your Influenster score. The higher your score the more likely you will be picked to receive boxes from Influenster to try out and review. 

Every so often they curate a box of different products and send them out to a few lucky people that fit into the demographics they need. I was lucky enough to be picked for this box.

This box was the Mary Kay VoxBox.

 I received an email from Influenser that I was selected for this program. I was surprised with the size of the box that I received. I was expecting something much smaller! I opened up my box and was so surprised with the amount of products I received! Plus the box was so cute. 

 Cream Eye Color in 'Apricot'

This was a cream eyeshadow and was easily applied with both my finger and an eyeshadow brush. I preferred the brush because it gave me much more control, however the color was so sheer that it can easily be applied with your finger all over the eyelid. The color didn't crease throughout the day and stayed on my lids until I took it off at the end of the day.

 Translucent loose powder

I loved the sifter feature of the packaging. The powder was invisible after applied and seemed to mattify my face. I didn't think it lasted throughout the day. The powder to worked well enough, but I still prefer my Coty Airspun translucent powder. I think the Airspun powder is more matte and remains longer. 

 'Nourishine Plus' lip gloss in Mango Tango

I really liked the color of his product and the feel. However I don't think this stayed on my lips very long. If reapplication is not an issue for you, this will work well. Despite this I did like the gloss, but I always forget to reapply and this seemed to work considerably less than some of my other glosses. 

 Lash Love mascara

I did like this mascara it didn't transfer too much and I liked the small brush. It had rubber bristles instead of the hair ones. I prefer waterproof to hold the curl in my lashes. This product did not hold the curl at all.

 Powder Brush and Cream Eyeshadow/Concealer Brush

The powder brush is crap. It's really itchy. The eyeshadow brush, was the opposite. It was soft and applied the cream eyeshadow evenly. The bristles were firm, but not so firm that it felt like I was stabbing my eyes each morning. 

 Mineral Cheek Color in "Shy"

This bush was really pigmented and was a nice color. This product and the bronzer below were in a magnetic casing that would be perfect for a Z palette. I however do not have a Z palette, so would use the blush in the plastic case that was sent. I think either way is perfectly fine. I didn't find a magnetic palette for sale on the Mary Kay site, so I'm not sure why they packaged his product in the way that they did. 

 Bronzing Powder in Light-Medium

This was a nice bronzer. I don't think it can be used for contouring because of the shimmer, but as an allover color it was nice. 

 Gel Eyeliner in Black

Now this is the headlining event! I usually use a gel eyeliner so I was most excited to try out this product and put it up again my current fave MAC fluid line. Mary Kay blows MAC out of the water in every category. The liner comes with a travel retractible brush. I thought the brush was going to be crap, but it actually worked fairly well.  I won't be using this for everyday use because i like a longer brush, but for traveling I think its perfect. On to the actual liner. The color is so dark and pigmented. It applies so fluidly across my lids and remains there all day long. This is my new holy grail eyeliner. I cannot describe the amount of love that I have for this eyeliner. 

Everything I received in the Mary Kay VoxBox.

Before receiving this product I was definitely on the side of "Mary Kay is for old ladies driving pink cars" I really thought of the brand as being for old ladies that have been using the products forever and have gotten into a routine with all the products - not daring to go outside of their regular products and testing out new things. After receiving this box, I realize that Mary Kay products really are nice! This isn't just for old ladies! I am a recent convert and so happy that I received this box and my mind was changed about this product. 

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

Influenster Rose Vox Box

I was selected for the most rent VoxBox from Influenster.

Influenster is a website dedicated to product reviews. You sign up for the site and review all the different products on the site. Each review you submit and your activity on the site gives you points towards your Influenster score. The higher your score the more likely you will be picked to receive boxes from Influenster to try out and review. 

Every so often they curate a box of different products and send them out to a few lucky people that fit into the demographics they need. I was lucky enough to be picked for this box.

First Look!

This box was named the Rose VoxBox.

Lindt chocolate truffle. I an already fully aware of and familiar with this product. I have a Lindt store at the outlet mall near me and go in the store whenever I'm at the mall in hopes of getting a sample. Each time you go in the store the employees will walk around with a basket of chocolate and offer you a sample of whatever they are offering at that time. It's nice to not have to nonchalantly walk around a store with no intent to make any purchases, 'just coming in for a sample and leaving, ma'am'. Needless to say I like these chocolate truffles. I prefer dark chocolate- milk chocolate is also good - so is the white chocolate----its all good! 

Kiss Gradation Polishes in Film Noir. I was beyond intrigued to see this in the box.  I got a manicure a while ago with a purple gradation effect on my nails. I made sure to pay close attention to the girl doing my nails techniques to go home and try it out for myself. I wasn't able to get it just right. This kit shows you how to easily do it at home on your nails. 

I ripped open the box and did my nails.  The directions were easily understood and even more surprising was how easily it was to create the ombre look on my nails. Sure there are things that I will be doing differently - you can see the line of the second polish on some of the nails if you look really closely and I didn't follow the directions to the T. The directions state that you paint polish 1 all over your nails, 2 on the top 1/3 and 3 on the top 1/2. I correctly followed polishes 1 and 2's steps, but didn't put polish three on 1/2 of my nail. I ended up painting the whole nail after mixing the polishes. I thought that it looked nicer. But after it dried, I realized that by painting 3 on the whole nail the gradation look was not as prominent. It still looked good, but didn't have the wow factor with it. I will follow the rules the next time I do my nails to see how I like it. The only thing that I didn't like about this polish is that it chipped really easily. Even with a good topcoat ( my favorite is Seche Vite - which is a couple of dollars cheaper at Sally Beauty Supply than at Ulta -FYI )

Rimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara in black. This is not waterproof, which is the only type of mascara that I will use. I have really short, really straight lashes and waterproof is the only type of mascara that will hold my curl. This mascara didn't even hold my curl long enough for me to finish applying the mascara. It also didn't last very long and I would have to wipe the bottom of my eyes all day long to get rid of the run off. I will not be purchasing this mascara and am thinking of even throwing away the tube that I have open now - this just isn't for me.

VitaBath hydrating lotion in Green Apple and White Lily scent Only a few of the Voxboxes were said to have this lotion in it. I"m happy that I was in that few. This lotion has a soufflé texture to it and doesn't really absorb into my skin very quickly. But I still like this lotion. I really like the scent. I usually like the fruity, tropical scents and this is right up my alley.  I think I remember VitaBath products being sold in Sears department stores like 10 years ago. I haven't been in a Sears in a really long time, so I'm not sure if this is the same brand or maybe it's being rebranded. 

Dr. Scholl's for Her Cozy Cushions shoe inserts. Dr. Scholl's has partnered with Influenster a lot, recently. This is the second Dr. Scholl's product that I have received from Influenster. 

Belvita Blueberry breakfast biscuits These were so good and I will definitely be purchasing these. The only thing I didn't like about these was that I wish there was more blueberries in each biscuit.

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

Influenster Spring Fever Voxbox

I received my first Voxbox today through Influenster. This was the Spring Fever Voxbox. I was expecting this box and was surprised with the size when I received it. The box was much smaller than I expected.  The whole box fit into my mailbox along with the mail. Influenster surprisingly fit a lot of stuff in this box.

First Look!

FULL SIZE 0.35 oz. Schwarzkopf Professional Osis+ Dust it Texturizing powder I attempted to use this as a volumizing powder, but it ended up being used as more of a dry shampoo. I didn't see any volume in my hair - but I have really long hair and it's pretty weighty. I could feel the stuff in my hair all day and maybe if I had shorter hair it would work as a volumizing powder. This stuff did however work as a dry shampoo. I saw a difference in my 'end of the day, second day dirty hair.' At the end of the day my hair didn't look greasy. But I don't think I can justify the $24.00 price tag on a dry shampoo, when my $8.00 batiste will do the same job. 

Retail Value: $23.50

FULL SIZE 1.7 oz. Secret Outlast completely clean clear gel

Retail Value: $4.95

FULL SIZE Tasty Kake Candy Bar Kakes in S'mores Glad to have received this flavor. I love s'mores. The other flavors that I could have received were peppermint and peanut butter. I would have been happy with the peanut butter one and would have given away the food if I got the peppermint one. They are all made with a candy bar (Hershey's/York Peppermint Patty/Reese's)

Retail Value: $4.95/box

FULL SIZE NYC Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm in Big Apple Red I love lip products so this was a nice find. The stick of the lip balm has a light pink apple on the core. It left a faint hint of red on my lips. You probably wouldn't even notice that there was any color unless you saw it being applied.

Retail Value: $2.99

FULL SIZE imPress Press on Manicure in 'Just Say Yes' This is a product that I have always been curious about, but never really had the urge to purchase them from the store. I am happy that I received this to play around with and see what its all about. If they are anything like the press on nails from my childhood I don't expect these to stay on my nails longer than an hour before falling off or sticking to strands of my hair and getting stuck. The claim is that it will last for up to a week. We'll see about that one...

Retail Value: $6.99

Total Approximate Value: $42.43

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