Influenster VoxBox: Colgate SlimSoft Review!

I'm never going back to my old toothbrush!!

Influenster SlimSoft VoxBox Review!

I received the Slim Soft Colgate VoxBox from Influenster completely complimentary.  They sent it to me to sample, and only ask for a review in return! If you are not a member of Influenster, I highly recommend it! You review products and gain influence, on your way to potentially earning VoxBoxes!  

I was sooo excited to have actually been eligible for a VoxBox!!! When I finally received it I brushed my teeth immediately.

Here are some pictures of the actual Vox Box. Ignore my weird bedspread! "Introducing Colgate Slim Soft.  17x Slimmer tip bristles for a deep clean!"

 One of the sides! "This scientifically advanced toothbrush provides: 6x deeper reach between teeth and gums, 1.5x deeper access between teeth, 35% more bristles for a unique mouth feel, and ergonomic and flexible handle."

 "Colgate SlimSoft."

 Then, after I had taken pictures of the box from every and all angles, I opened it! Here are some unboxing photos! 

 OOOOO! So many cool details with this toothbrush!

 Here's the toothbrush! At first, I was extremely skeptical that this tooth brush would really be any different from any other toothbrush.  It really was as amazing as it claimed.  Here is my review that I posted on the Colgate SlimSoft page:

      "I LOVE my Slim Soft Colgate toothbrush!! I didn't think it would actually be as different as it claimed but it WAS! It's bristles are very small and soft and you can brush for an hour and I don't think it would hurt then.  I always used "soft" toothbrushes and wondered why they were so rough.  This brush is perfect.  I brushed my teeth one night with it and forgot to brush the next day...my teeth were still clean after eating and sleeping. It's gentle but super effective."

It really is a different brushing experience and I really do believe that everyone should give it a try.  Before receiving this box completely complimentary from Influenster, I was using a toothbrush I got in a pack from the dollar store.  Obviously it wasn't the best quality.  It claimed to be soft but nothing is as soft and effective as the SlimSoft!

Here is the tooth paste and mouthwash that came with the toothbrush as well.  I didn't think I liked the toothpaste at first.  Then I tried my old toothpaste. Turns out I really do like the Colgate paste! [I had been using Crest 3D White previously.]  With the Colgate Total paste, a little goes a long way! A tiny dab will foam up to be a perfect amount to brush your teeth! The mouthwash is a little intense for me, but I think that's also because I use too much.  The second time I tried it, I used less and it didn't burn and wasn't too intense! 

With these Colgate products, a little goes a long way, which is great for cost effectiveness! These little bottles will last me a long time, so you could imagine how great a full size would be! It would last forever!!

Overall, I give this box a 10/10.  It was all fantastic! There isn't a product in this box that I thought wasn't up to par.  They were all superior to the products I had been using previously, and I know I've switched for good! No more buying cheap toothbrushes that hurt and don't clean effectively.  This regime is awesome!!

♥Riley

P.S., Have you tried this system? How do you like it? Have you ever received a VoxBox? :]

September's Birchbox!

This month's Birchbox arrived a while back and I thought I'd post a review of it!

 I haven't tried all of the products yet, but I'll update this when I have.  For now I'll just give first impressions.

 I'm always way too excited when I start opening the box to pay attention to the paper much.

 This is what the inside looked like!

 "Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips"  I was really confused by this product at first.  It's a very thick salve type balm that does seem to moisturize lips well.  The name is funny but the product works well.

 This "S.M.A.R.T. Skin Perfecting Polisher" seems a little weird.  I used  a little on my arm and it didn't do anything, but the paper said to use it on your face, so I'll try that soon.

 Tiny bottle of hair spray, adorable.  Looks like it will be really good stuff.

 Cute little September Pouch.

 Deep conditioning hair masque.  Can't wait to use this!

Pretty purple shade of nail polish in an interesting container.

Overall I am very pleased with this month's box.  Most of the products are things I don't use on the daily, so it will take me a little longer to use and review them all.  I really liked all of the packaging and it all seems fancy, which I love!

Thanks for reading!
♥Riley

P.S. If you have any questions, please let me know! If you enjoy my posts, please subscribe! :]

DIY Glitter Phone Cases!

Hey guys! I recently decided I wanted to revamp my phone and bought some accessories for it!

I first went to Amazon.com and bought a plain clear plastic phone case.  I got 3 for about $6 including shipping.  They took a while to get to me, but they were really cheap! Then I started getting everything else for it.

For this project you'll need:

• ModPodge
• Plain Phone Case, or something plastic to decorate
• Glitter
• Other Decorations
• Sponge Brush
• E6000, or another tough adhesive
• [Optional: Nail Clippers]

This is a pretty cheap craft if you already have some of the supplies.

Make sure the surface is clean, then dab on ModPodge and add glitter to where you want it! I chose to do a striped design, so I did this four separate times.

 I dabbed the ModPodge on with a cheap sponge brush from Michael's.  They have them for very little money, and you can get several for $1.  You could use a regular brush but I don't recommend it.  It will destroy a regular brush. 

 I waited a little bit after each coat of glitter, then went back over each one with the same color.  To seal the glitter, go over it all with a coat of ModPodge. Just ModPodge.  This will take away a lot of the shine and glitz, but it's necessary to keep the glitter on! Once I sealed it with the ModPodge I then sprinkled on a bit more on top to maintain the sparkle! This way it will still be sparkly but won't lose all of it's glitter.

You can use this technique on anything plastic! I then did it to my dad's pill bottle. He was surprisingly pleased. 

 These are the buttons I used! Michael's has tons of these in different themes and designs! I chose to do a princess theme.

 The problem with these is that they have button holes on the bottom of them.  But they are easily taken off with nail clippers!

 These are some I found for my cousin.  Her baby shower theme was tractors!

I also got these for the same cousin, but for her daughter!

Once you snip off the back of the buttons, take E6000 and put a little on the back of the button.  Then put them where you want them and wait for them to dry.  Then your phone case is ready to go!

 I like this picture because of how sparkly it looks!

 This is a much clearer picture.

 Here's a snapchat I sent of my finished phone!

Here is a glitter design I did for my sister! It took a bit of time to do each stripe individually, but I think it was worth it.  It also isn't that involved, so you can do it while watching tv or something else!  Just dab on the ModPodge and sprinkle glitter into it.  

Thanks for reading!

♥Riley

Gemstone Letters!

I have been toying with several different ideas for letters recently. I am hoping to learn how to use my sewing machine soon.  I would love to be able to sew my own and have them look professional! 

For the time being though, I found a much easier and faster method that's fool-proof!  


What You'll Need:

• A shirt
• Gemstones or rhinestones with flat backs
• Paper
• Photocopier
• Scissors
• Aleene's Permanent Fabric Glue, or something similar
• Wax Paper

I had the shirt, gemstones, and fabric glue beforehand, so this project didn't cost me anything.  

This was the exact box of jewels I used, by Bead Landing.  I think it was like $7 or $8.  If you use a coupon you can save a couple dollars.  Also, this is my second project using them and I've barely made a dent in them! I got them at Michael's

http://www.michaels.com/Permanent-Fabric-Glue/gc2116,default,pd.html?cgid=products-generalcrafts-aleenes

^ Here is the link to the exact fabric glue I used.  I noticed on the website though that there are tons of different glues that would work well too, especially the Jewel-It Embellishing glue.  I'm not sure how much it costs, but I'd guess like $4 or $5. 

Here is what they look like when they're almost done! I don't have a picture of the finished product, but as soon as I do I will post it!

 Here was my rough draft on a black t-shirt.  You can tell the letters aren't straight, but I was just seeing how the gems would look on the front of a shirt!

 After much thought and some outside opinions I decided to make my letters on a white t-shirt. 

 I cut wax paper down to fit inside the shirt.  With this in the middle of the fabric the shirt won't seal itself shut.  I found that the shirt actually stuck itself to the wax paper instead, but it was easy to peel off. 

 This is with the wax paper inside of it.  You can't even tell, but it's there!

 When I was pursuing sewing my own letters, I made a stencil of them using cardstock.  The pink and green letters are what I had before.  I photocopied them. [for what I was doing it didn't matter if they were straight or not].

 Then I cut the letters out, leaving the white on the outside in tact.  This will serve as a stencil for the gems to fit inside of.  Since my letters are so straight [most greek letters are, actually] I wanted a stencil to keep the lines very straight.

 Before I applied these stencils, I actually took the green cardstock letters I had made and put on the shirt.  I then taped on the letters to the shirt to make sure they were straight and check the placement. Then I very carefully took off the shirt with the letters still taped on.  I put the white cut out stencils over the green cardstock letters and taped them down.  Then I took off the green letters.  This sounds a lot more complicated when I'm typing it, I swear! It was very simple, I was just being a perfectionist.  

Once the white stencils were taped down [even the little triangle that goes inside the delta] I started filling in the gems.  I wanted to make sure that the edges were filled in well, with minimum white spaces in between.

 I zoomed into this picture so it would be easier to see the entire set-up.  Also, because of my perfectionist tendencies and pride in my letters, there is a pattern to how I laid down the stones, though it's kinda hard to see if you don't know about it.  Also, you don't have to have a pattern at all.  I liked that you couldn't really tell I had a pattern, but all the colors were pretty well spaced out from another. 

Here's a different angle of the same step as earlier!

Once I had all the letters down where I wanted them, I started gluing them in. 

I used Aleene's Permanent Fabric Glue for this project.  I picked all the gems up one at a time, placed a drop of glue on the back, and placed it down.  Then after a minute, I would apply a little bit of pressure to the stone, as the instructions direct you to do.  

I'm not going to lie, this took a long time to do.  Picking them up one at a time is time consuming, but you will for sure keep your pattern, and nothing will get messed up.  Try not to get any of the stencil underneath your gems, or the paper will tear when you take it off and you're left with little pieces of paper like I am.  [I think they will wash off].  Oh! I used Aleene's because I know from prior experience that it's very resistant.  Also, you can wash clothes after you use it, unlike Tacky Glue or other similar products.  I'm sure there's substitutes out there, but I know for a face that I can attest to Aleene's. 

 I used Aleene's to affix this Dragonair bag.  These aren't gemstones though, these are actual stones.  The decorative kind you can find at Michael's and Walmart.  They are really heavy.  & I am not nice to my bags.  Not a single stone has fallen off and I use this bag for my school bag.  

This was a present to one of my new member educators in sorority [our "mamas"].  I used the same decorative beads as before and glued them to a canvas bag using Aleene's.

I wouldn't suggest using a product unless I really knew it worked.  I have full faith! :]

Leave the letters glued down for at least the night.  I left mine on for the night and a good part of the next day.  Once they are dry, carefully tear off the stencil.  Then you need to take the wax paper off.  Mine had to be peeled off, because the glue stuck itself to it, but it wasn't a big deal.  Then your letters are ready to wear! You can't wash them for the first 10 days though.  I've never washed anything I've used Aleene's with, but I would guess that hand washing is preferred.  If your washing machine has a hand washing setting, that should work, if not wash them in the sink :]

Hope this was helpful! 

Please let me know if you try this out with greek letters or another design!

♥Riley

Ideas? :]

Hey Guys! 

I've been kind of MIA with posting crafting blogs lately.  School just started! 

But I do have some things planned!  I'm making phone cases for my mom, sister, and I, so I'll have that done soon.  Any thoughts on crafts you'd like to see? Pokemon Plushies? Other Plushies? Clay? Other Mediums? 

Let me know! I'm devoted to putting out the best content for my readers, and I want it to be more personalized to your tastes! 

♥ Thank you!
Riley

P.S. Make sure you subscribe/follow my posts! :]