Victory Over De Feet

Let's chat about feet today and my victory over de feet. ;)

When BzzAgent contacted me recently and asked if I wanted to review Dr. Scholl's Massaging Gel Insoles, I was like... sign me up. I haven't always had foot problems, but in the past few years I found myself really struggling with foot pain. My foot pain really became unbearable during a past retail job in which I was on cement floors, walking and standing for hours at a time, and any type of sneaker wasn't allowed. It's hard to find a comfortable and relatively stylish shoe that has arch support and any type of cushioning that isn't some sort of a sneaker! Luckily, things changed and I left the position that had me standing so often, and shortly thereafter my foot pain subsided. I also found that not wearing flip flops (I know they're stylish, comfortable and seem to go with everything, but they are SO bad for your feet and your toes!!) really helped nip a lot of foot pain too.

But every once in a while... I'll have a day where my feet are just pooped out. When I received the Dr. Scholl's Massaging Gel Insoles (and a pack of coupons!), I was pretty excited to see that the "model" was wearing a flat, dress type shoe with her insole (it's on the back... sorry I did not get a picture!). One thing I have found with insoles is that they tend to be too tall. The shoe maybe is too short? But it seemed when you added something extra in there, your foot didn't actually fit the shoe any longer and your heel would flop out. Now that I am wearing a lot of dress shoes and flats, I thought this would be great for some of my flatter flats.

And you know what? It actually was flat enough to wear in my shoes and actually have my shoes still fit. The ones I received didn't have a very large arch support, but I also think that's why my foot actually still fit in the shoe. I received "Outrageous Comfort", which features gel waves that massage the foot's most sensitive areas and also absorb shock.

My favorite feature was the trim-to-fit.  Dr. Scholl's has put trim to fit lines on the bottom of the insole, so that you can trim your insole to fit your size. I have a pretty average size foot (8), but I ended up needing to cut on the 7 line to make it fit, and especially to actually get it perfect into the toe region of your shoe.

I ended up putting them in my flattest of flats and I love them! I don't feel more or less fatigued, so I haven't seen a difference there, but my feet are absolutely more comfortable and my shoes are more fun to walk in! My only "complaint" is the lack of arch, but then again, my foot fits better in my shoe without it.

Thanks for reading! Have you ever had achy foot problems? Do you wear insoles or have you before? I'd love to hear about what you use to combat your foot problems!






(Disclaimer - I was sent these Dr. Scholl Massaging Gel Insoles for my review from www.bzzagent.com. I was not compensated in any other way to give a negative or positive review of these products and was allowed to keep the products in return for my honest reviews.)

Review {Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 Foundation}

Good morning all!

I was recently given the opportunity through BzzAgent to review Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 Foundation. I love make-up and always have, so I jumped at the opportunity to try something new. The lovely folks at BzzAgent sent me a coupon to redeem vs. sending me the product, so off to my local drugstore I went.

I'm a pretty fair person. Skinwise and otherwise, I suppose, ha. My mother-in-law lovingly calls me "porcelain doll" Imagine my surprise when I got to the section of this makeup and my color was NOT the lightest shade. I ended up with #810 Classic Ivory. There was one more number (805, I believe) behind mine, so if you are ultra fair, perhaps this foundation would interest you. I also grabbed 810 because I figured I'd be getting a little sun this summer.

So, the first impressions: I was very impressed with how easily this foundation went on. Sometimes with other brands, I feel like I am having to drag it across my face, and this went on very smooth. Another thing that I was very impressed with is that it went on evenly! It didn't streak because it doesn't dry the second it's out of the bottle, so it gives you a little time to blend for a streak-free finish, and it didn't leave obvious blobs of color on my face. 

Can we touch on how awkward selfies are? I realized about ten seconds after I agreed to do the review that a makeup review usually includes faces. So let's make some awkward ones, shall we?

What's over there?

And what's over there??

I applied the makeup on one side of my face and left the other bare so I could examine if there was any difference. The top photo is the makeup-less side... and the bottom has the makeup! Pretty big difference eh?

The "3-in-1" makes a big difference. The makeup is primer, foundation AND concealer... so all three steps in one. Which makes a big difference for me. I tend to be a bit lazy when it comes to my face... a dab of foundation and usually I don't want to work on it any farther. So all three steps in one? PLUS SPF 20? PLUS shine free? Sign me up.

My only "con" so-to-say is the price - the price of my bottle was $12.75 (and other BzzAgents saw it for 13.99), and I have to admit I'm a bit cheap when it comes to makeup. But, I realize that purchasing primer, foundation, and concealer separately would be MUCH more than $12-13 dollars, so I will most likely purchase this product again because it'll save me money in the long run. I must say that I'm impressed!

So what about you? Have you found any makeup recently that's really impressed you? Tell me about it! 

(Disclaimer - I was sent a coupon for a full sized bottle of COVERGIRL Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 Foundation for my review from BzzAgent.com. I was not compensated in any other way to give a negative or positive review of this product and was allowed to keep the product.)

State of the Blog, 6 Months Later

Hi all!

Hard to believe it, but it's been 6 months since I started this blog. It feels like time is flying and I'm excited to see where the next 6 months takes us.

So what's been going on?

We hit 4.4k visitors to the blog. Yeah, over 4,000 hits to the blog since October! I remember hitting 1,000 and thought that was pretty dang sweet, and it never gets old to see that number go up. Sure, we've had a few not-so-legit hits (what blog doesn't?) but most of them have been real people hits. And that's cool. So if you're reading, thank you for reading.

I joined BzzAgent and became... well, a BzzAgent. BzzAgent is the number one social marketing company out there. BzzAgent is in touch with the leading companies in a ton of different markets, and through social media marketing and BzzAgents (people who review the product, write honest opinions about it and share their opinion), we get the word out there and in turn get to try some really awesome products. It's a win-win all around, and they've been a fun company to "work" with so far.

If you haven't seen my product review for Lysol Touch of Foam Hand Wash, you should check it out.

Along with the recipes and DIY/Crafts you see around here on a daily basis, you'll be seeing a few more product reviews. Honest, no holds barred, BzzAgent reviews and non-Bzz reviews too. I'm excited to be able to offer you some more content, as sometimes I just run out of time to try a new recipe or craft!

I've made it easier to see all of the crafts/DIY Tutorials and Recipes on the blog. I linked up/pinned each tutorial and recipe on my blog to Pinterest and now have each board as a link on the top of the front page of the blog. Fancy.

I've redone the "look" of the blog three times already. Whoops. :) I like to play around with graphics and coding, so the blog has undergone two different "looks" since I started. The second one was up for a day and I decided I didn't care for it! This last one took me quite a bit of time so plan on it staying for a while. ;)

So what to watch for as we move forward?
• More healthy recipes as I continue my weight-loss journey
• More product reviews
• Giveaways... ;)
• and more!

Thank you for reading so far and I can't wait to see where we go from here!

Review {Lysol Touch Of Foam Antibacterial Hand Wash}

Good morning all!

So if you've been watching for the past few weeks on my Twitter and on Facebook, I've been awaiting the arrival of my BzzKit from BzzAgent.com for Lysol Touch of Foam Antibacterial Hand Wash.

I joined BzzAgent about a month or two ago, and this company partners with larger companies to send products to BzzAgent's (I'm one of them! :) so that the BzzAgent can give an honest review about their products, and try out new products that the BzzAgent may really like. This in turn helps these larger companies like Lysol tailor their product to the consumer need. It's been a really fun company to partner with so far and I was positively pumped (ba dum ching) to receive my soap and 10 coupons from BzzAgent so that I could share these products with you.

 

So let's check it out, shall we?

They sent me a full size bottle (8.5 fl oz) of Lysol Touch of Foam Antibacterial Hand Wash in Creamy Vanilla Orchid, and on the cardboard flag on the bottle I noticed that the pump itself has antimicrobial protection. This is something that caught my eye, as I am one of those people who crack an egg, wash their hands. Touch some chicken, wash their hands. It's something you should do anyway, but I'm a little... obsessive about it, haha. I have always wondered how gross that pump was on my kitchen sink as you have to touch it to wash your hands... so knowing that the pump itself has antimicrobial properties itself was a clear winner for me.

It's also the never ending winter here, so I have ultra dry hands right now. I was a little skeptical as to the "soft on skin" and "creamy texture enriched with micro-bubbles delivers moisturizer to the skin" claim, as I've always thought Lysol products were pretty tough cleaners. I gave it a try (that's the name of the game ;) and I was 50/50 on this one. Initially right after washing, my hands felt nice but about 15 minutes later I had to put some lotion on because they were super dried out. The moisturizer in the soap did not last long.

What did last long though was the scent. The smell I received was Creamy Vanilla Orchid and it was a very nice, feminine smell. It also was a soap smell with staying power - until I had to put some lotion on, it was quite strong and I could still smell it about 15 minutes later.

This soap was foaming too - my favorite. I like foaming soap as I feel that I get cleaner and have less residue left on my hands afterwards over gel soap. You might remember that I've even made my own foaming soap, right here on this blog. So what's the verdict? Has Lysol won me over enough to stop making my own soap and purchase their soap?

Pros:

• Hefty amount of soap in a nicely shaped bottle.
• Kills 99.9% of bacteria.
• Foaming soap - it is nice and foamy - turn your hand over and it'll stay put for quite a while!
• Has an antimicrobial soap pump.

 50/50:

•  The smell was nice, but was quite feminine (a man may not like it, perhaps) and it was quite strong, so if someone was sensitive to smell it could be a bit too much.

Cons:

• Dried my hands out about 15 minutes after use.
   

 My verdict is yes - I would probably purchase this soap. I might try it in another fragrance (it's offered in Rose & Cherry in Bloom, and Wild Berry Bliss as well). I know how important it is to kill bacteria, especially with all of the cooking I do, so having a Lysol product that is safe to use on hands is great for me.

Hope you enjoyed my review! Appreciate quality soap and hate germs? Let me know - I have 10 coupons that I'd love to give you so that you try it out for yourself.

(Disclaimer - I was sent a full size bottle of Lysol Touch of Foam Antibacterial Hand Wash and 10 coupons for my review from BzzAgent.com. I was not compensated in any other way to give a negative or positive review of this product and was allowed to keep the product.)