Freckle Box Review & Giveaway


I was recently given the opportunity to review Freckle Box in return for an honest review. In case you haven’t heard of Freckle Box they offer personalized gifts for kids and they have a huge selection of gifts. I was given $40 to spend on the site and I was able to pick up two items for my daughter and something for my 8-year-old-son.

Some of the items that Freckle Box has are personalized books, personalized kids’ party favors and so much more!

Here are the two items I picked out for my 4-year-old daughter.

Freckle Box

She got a coloring book and a story book. I wish I would have video taped her reaction when she realized the books had her name on them. She was smiling ear to ear when I was reading her the Sophia the Ballet Story. She loves coloring in her coloring book as well. I love that there is a story in the coloring book, so every page goes along with the next one.

Coloring Book

Personalized Book

The quality of the story book is awesome and I can see my daughter having this book for a very long time.

It was a little harder to pick out a gift for my 8-year-old son since really isn’t into much right now but music and video games. I did come across some dog tags and thought he would love them.

dog tags

I know you can’t see the writing on the dog tags but it came out great! I had my his name put on the dog tag along with the name of the football team he plays for. He really liked his surprise, even more than I thought he would. He wears it to school, football practice and just about everywhere else.

I have to say that my overall experience with Freckle Box was excellent! They shipped the items out to me very quick and everything looked great. My brother is having his first baby in a few months and I’m already planning to get the baby a personalized gift.

The personalized gifts are affordable and a great option when you don’t want to buy over-priced toys.

Make sure to check out Freckle Box and all the awesome personalized gifts they offer.

Freckle Box is also offering one of my readers a $30 credit to their site! Make sure to enter for your chance to win.

This giveaway is open to residents of the USA and all entries will be verified. The winner will have 48-hours to respond to the email letting them know they won. If you do not respond I will pick another winner.

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Ellie Review

Lately I have been trying to work out more but since I haven’t worked out in years, I didn’t really have any work out clothes. Thankfully, Ellie sent me a free outfit in return for an honest review. I was able to look over their site and pick out any top and bottom. Let me just say that picking out 1 top and 1 bottom was not an easy task. Everything on their site is super cute and very stylish.

Ellie Outfit

For the top I selected the Forget Me Not.

This top is super cute and very comfortable. The best part is I can easily wear it out to the store and it doesn’t look like it is only a workout top. This top is also high water and high wind resistance meaning that it will hold up against wear and tear.

Ellie Shirt

For the pants I selected the Heartbreaker Capri.

I can not say enough good things about these pants. First of all the fit is awesome! They are snug and don’t sag yet there is plenty of stretch in them. It is so easy to workout in these pants that I really can’t even imagine wearing any other pants while working out.

Ellie Pants

Ellie offers a couple of different ways to purchase their products. First off you can just go to their site, select the items you want and purchase. However, they have an even better way of getting stylish workout clothes at an awesome price.

You can join their Fit Fashionista Club. You pay $49.95 a month and you get to pick out ANY two items you want. This is an awesome deal since some of their items cost more $49.95 You are getting two items every month for less than $25 a piece.

Overall I am extremely happy with products I received and I would buy these in the future.


20 percent of Ellie

Safeway Gas Rewards: Review & Giveaway!


I was recently given the opportunity to try out the Safeway gas rewards program. Safeway is determined to help everyday people save money on gas and groceries. The best part is they make saving money on gas and groceries so easy! I was given a $100 gift card to Safeway to buy groceries and then use my rewards to save on gas.

Safeway Gas Rewards

My Story:

This past Friday I made my grocery shopping list like normal. I logged on to the Safeway website to check out what my Just For You offers were. If you aren’t familiar with Just For You then I highly suggest checking it out! Just For Your offers personalized deals on the things you buy the most at Safeway. This is an awesome opportunity to save a lot of money on things you are going to buy anyways. Once I had all my Just For You offers loaded on my Safeway Club Card, I was off to get my grocery shopping done. 

Well we all know how grocery shopping goes so I won’t go into detail about that. I made my way around the store, loaded my cart, went to the check out lane and paid for my groceries. I should add that my total was $201.89 before using my Safeway Club Card. After using my club card my total was $129.76! That isn’t to bad for a week’s worth of groceries, for a family of 5!

After I paid for my groceries I was given my receipt that showed I had 10 cents in gas rewards. Great, I have 10 cents off per gallon of gas but how do I use it?

I will be honest and say while I do shop at Safeway on a pretty regular basis, I have never used their gas rewards. For the longest time you were only able to use your rewards at a Safeway with a gas station and the closest Safeway gas station was about 25 miles away. I was not about to drive 25 miles to save a little on gas. 

Now Safeway offers the option of using your gas rewards at Safeway gas stations, Chevron and Texaco! This is some of the best news I have heard in a while. Now I can actually use all those gas rewards I was racking up. Chevron is only around the corner from Safeway and it’s the gas station we use!

So after grocery shopping last Friday I headed on over to Chevron to test out this new program. I pulled up to the gas station and realized I didn’t have my Safeway Club Card, just my phone number. I immediately thought this was going to pose a problem, thankfully I was wrong. I went up to the gas pump and clear as day it gave me the option to type in the phone number associated with my Safeway Club Card. I entered in my phone number, put in my credit card, selected the gas I wanted and my 10 cents per gallon was automatically deducted from the total. The whole process was super easy and who doesn’t love saving money on every gallon of gas you purchase.

While I only had 10 cents off per gallon you can earn more. In fact you can earn use up to 20 cents off per gallon at Chevron and Texaco. You can use up to $1.00 off per gallon at Safeway gas stations! 

So are you ready to try out the new gas rewards program? Safeway is offering one lucky reader a $50 gift card get some groceries and rack up some gas rewards.

Don’t have a Safeway in your area? You can use the gift card at Dominick’s, Genuardis, Tom Thumbs, Randalls, Pavilions, CARRS and VONS.

Disclosure: I was given a $100 gift card to use at Safeway in return for this review. All opinions expressed are my own and may or may not differ from yours.

All entries will be verified and this contest is open to residents of the USA. Winner will have 48-hours to respond to the email letting them know they won. If you do not respond within 48-hours, I will pick another winner.

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Starbox Review

I am so excited that Moms R Bomb was able to team up with StarBox in order to do this review. StarBox send me their April box for free in exchange for an honest review. Starbox is a monthly subscription box that shows up right at your front door. Every month you get a box full of FULL-SIZE make-up. Yes, you did hear that right…full size! I recently signed up for another subscription box and I was very disappointed when I got a box full of tiny little samples. With Starbox you won’t have to worry about getting samples which ensure you are going to get your money’s worth.

So you ready to see what Starbox sent me?

starlooks box In my April box was Translucent/Nude Mineralized Powder, Sensation Mascara Primer, Tendergloss and a Mint SPF Lip Balm!

The retail value of my box was $50! I would say that is a pretty good deal since the Starbox monthly subscription fee is only $15 per month.

StarBox Sheet When I got my box the first thing I tried was the Sensation Mascara Primer! My eyelashes are extremely short and I am always looking for something to help make them appear longer. The Sensation Mascara Primer moisturizes your eyelashes and provides a clump-free base for your mascara. Now I don’t know about you but I never knew that eyelashes needed to be moisturized. I was a little skeptical but i tried the Mascara Primer before I went to bed and then used it again before I put on my mascara. I have to say that I did notice a difference in my eyelashes. They did appear to be more full and longer. My mascara was also clump-free! This is something I will be picking up in the future, because my eyelashes need all the help they can get.

The next item I tried was the Tendergloss Lipstick. I love the color of this lipstick! You get a natural color with some shimmer and it really does look good with any skin type. I also like that it doesn’t add to much color to my lips, making it the perfect lip color for just about all occasions. I was surprised by how silky this lipstick made my lips feel. Some lipsticks leave my lips feeling dry but this one did not.

The Translucent Mineralized Powder  is for keeping shine under control! It is a nude color so it works on every single skin tone. Normally, I carry a powder that matches my foundation and apply the powder when I feel like I’m getting shiny. This has worked but I also feel that sometimes my make-up starts to look cakey after I have been applying powder to it all day. The Translucent Mineralized Powder is the perfect solution. I applied throughout the day and it is such a loose and fine powder that I never felt my make-up getting cakey. In fact I couldn’t even tell I had the powder on.

Lastly, was the Mint SPF Lip Balm. I have been using this at night to help soften up my lips. I also put it on under my lipstick to protect my lips from sun damage. Yes, your lips can get sun damage. 

StarLooksBox I would highly suggest signing up for Starbox! This is also a perfect gift for any woman in your life. You can sign up for Starbox here.

NYC Color Review

NYC MakeUP Kit

Disclaimer: I received all of the makeup in this review for free in return for an honest review. All opinions are mine and I was not required to give a positive review.

What I got

NYC Color sent me 3 eyeshadow sets, 4 glitter eyeshadow, 3 lip glosses and 4 color stay lipsticks. When I opened the package I was over joyed by how much stuff I was sent to review. I love makeup, I love trying makeup and I love wearing makeup!

Lip Gloss

NYC Lipgloss From bottom to top we have 450 Everlasting Blossom, 461 Coffee Break, 463 Always Sweet. 

The Everlasting Blossom is my least favorite only because it is so light and I normally don’t wear that light of lipstick. My favorite is the Coffee Break and it looks great on when you are wearing earth tone colors. Always Sweet is a fun color that I have worn several times since getting this set. I wasn’t sure I would like the Always Sweet but its one of the colors I wear a lot. 

NYC says the lip gloss stays on for 8 hours but I did not find that to be the case. With that said it does stay on much longer than any other lip gloss I have worn. 

Overall I am extremely pleased with this set and I would buy more from this collection again.

Lip Stick

NYC Lipstick From bottom to top we have 25 Happy Berry, 10 In The Pink, 40 Health Nut and 30 Ready For Anything.

So these 4 lip sticks are from the Sally Hansen Color Fast line. I really love all 4 colors but if I had to pick a favorite it would be 25 Happy Berry. I really love the way this color looks and that it has a tint of sparkle to it. 10 In The Pink is a little light for me but my daughter loves this color and I don’t mind letting her use it since it is so light. 40 Health Nut is another color that I tend to wear a lot and another one that looks good when earth tones. 30 Ready For Anything is a fun color but it looks extremely red on me. I don’t use this one as often since I hardly go anywhere that I can pull of this red. 

The quality of these lip sticks are wonderful! They really do stay on almost all day long, even with drinking a gazillion cups of coffee.

Eyeshadow

NYC Natural Eyeshadow This is the NYC HD Color 782 Bronzed in Brooklyn.

Eyeshadow is hands down my favorite type of makeup. I’m not really that good at doing my eyeshadow but I love trying out new colors. The Bronzed in Brooklyn are the colors I always buy and wear. I found the quality of these eyeshadow very good. I think they compare to high-end eyeshadow brands. The HD line stays on my eyes all day and doesn’t smudge like other eyeshadow do.

NYC blue eyeshadow This is the NYC HD Color 790 Concrete Jungle.

I normally do not wear these colors but I had so much fun creating new looks with them. I have actually been using this set more than I thought.

NYC gold eyeshadow This is the NYC HD Color 788 Blues Cafe.

These colors go so good together! Sometimes blue can be a little overpowering but the mixture of these three colors go so well together. This is a set I will be buying in the future.

Glitter Eyeshadow 

NYC Glitter Eyeshadow

First off let me just say that one of the glitter eyeshadow are missing from this picture. I also had a midnight blue glitter eyeshadow but I lost it when I went to a blogging conference. 

So from bottom to top we have 879 Opal Sparkle, 888 Diamond Dust, 886 Aquamarine Sparkle. 

Let me just say that these eyeshadow glitters are so much fun! They definitely are not something I would wear every day but they are awesome when you want to fancy up your eyeshadow. I did struggle with the glitter eyeshadow at first and ended up making a big mess on my eyes. Once I got the hang of using them and realized less is more they worked great! 

NYC Color & Sally Hansen offer high-quality make up at extremely affordable prices! You really ca not beat the prices and you can pick up NYC & Sally Hansen at just about any drug store or Supermarket!

Make sure to check out NYC Color

Merlot Skin Care Review & Giveaway

Merlot Skin Care

Disclaimer: I received this item free of charge in return for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review and all thoughts are my own.

As a woman in her 30′s I’m always on the hunt for the best skin care products. Taking care of my skin is more important to me now than ever before. I feel that at this stage in life I need to preserve my skin and make sure I am taking the best possible care of it. In order to take proper care of your skin you need to use good quality products. There is a certain line of products that I have been using for a few years and I have been very pleased with. My only issue is the products I have been using are a little expensive. So when given the opportunity to review the Merlot Skin Care line I was thrilled. Not only did their products appear to be high quality but also at a wonderful price point. 

Merlot’s Skin Care line was founded by “Mr. Grapes”. After much research he realized that if drinking a glass of red wine everyday could benefit the human body then skin care with grape seed would be a wonderful natural skin care line. 

I received the Merlot Grape Seed Cleanser and the Merlot Grape Seed Moisturizer

Grape Seed Moisturizer

Creme de Vin is made of natural red grape seed polyphenols. Its sensational antioxidant properties help inhibit the aging process. Merlot’s signature product absorbs quickly, and works as the perfect primer before applying makeup or facing the day.

I’ve been using this moisturizer for about three weeks now and I am very pleased. I really like that the moisturizer does not leave a sticky residue behind. In fact within a few minutes of putting the moisturizer on my face feels soft and almost like I never put anything on. A lot of moisturizers leave a sticky residue behind and that is something I just can not tolerate. I also like a moisturizer that holds up througout the day. I have used moisturizers that do not moisturize my face all day and towards the end of the day my make-up starts caking up. With the Merlot Moisturizer my make-up does not cake up and my face feels smooth all day. 

This moisturizer is fragerence-free and has SPF 15 included. Having the SPF is one of my favorite features of this moisturizer. The moisturizer I was using previously did not include SPF 15 and I was not always the best about remember to add that into my skin care routine. 

Grape Seed Cleanser

Mild and non-drying, this cleanser refreshes the skin with soothing fruit extracts, including papaya, green apple, grape seed, and cucumber. Gently removes impurities from the face and eye areas.

First off let me just say that I am in LOVE with this cleanser! If there is one thing I can not stand it’s a cleanser that leaves me face feeling dry and feeling like I have soap scum on it. Merlot Cleanser does not make my face feel like that at all. In fact it leaves my face extremely soft and I actually feel like my face is clean. One thing I have noticed with other products is if you use the product everyday your face will dry out. I have been using this cleanser everyday for 3 weeks and my face has not dried out at all!

Overall I am very pleased with the Merlot Skin Care line. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for an affordable & high quality skin care line.

Make sure to sign up for Merlot Skin Care Newsletter to stay up to date on all the newest products.

You also have the chance to try out the Merlot Skin Care line by entering my giveaway! Merlot Skin Care has offered to send one lucky winner a surprise from their product line. Make sure to check out their website and let me know which product you want to try. Merlot stated that they will try to send the product the winner wants to try.

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Baby Spa Review

babyspa

I received Baby Spa samples in return for an honest review. My opinions are my own and they may or may not differ from yours.

BabySpa, is a line of natural lotions, massage oils, shampoos and body washes that offer much-needed TLC to any skin type. It aims to meet parents’ growing demand for wholesome, nourishing and protective skin care. Made with the finest natural ingredients, including 5 ethnobotanicals (not available in any other skin care line), the light and sweet-smelling moisturizer keep skin happy and healthy.

My children are ages 4, 8 and 16 so I obviously did not have a baby to sample this on. I asked my neighbor if she would be interested in using this on her daughter that is 10-months old. She was more than happy to try out a skin care line that using natural ingredients. I received BabySpa’s stage 1 and stage 2 Smoothing Face Cream & Moisturizing Lotion.

My neighbor normally uses Johnson & Johnson products on her daughter and stated that she has always been pleased with their products. 

After using the products for a few days my neighbor stated that she really like the Baby Spa products. She felt that her daughters skin was much softer and less dry. She did say that she really couldn’t tell a difference between the Soothing Face Cream and the Moisturizing Body Lotion. She felt that they both worked equally well. 

The one thing we both liked about the Baby Spa products was how great they smell. Even though I don’t have babies in my household I would still use it on my 4-year-old daughter just based on how good it smells. 

Another feature about Baby Spa products that I really liked was the different stages they have. Having Stage 1 for newborns to crawlers and Stage 2 for walkers to 4-years-old allows parents to feel confident that they are using the right products for their child.

Overall I would highly recommend Baby Spa if you are looking for a natural skin care line for your infants and toddlers. 

HBL Hair Care Review & Giveaway

HBL Texture and Style I was given the hbl Thermal Styling Spray, Spray Mousse and Texture & Styling Cream in return for an honest review. All opinions expressed below are my own and may or may not differ from yours. 

hbl Background:

In 1990, Patrick’s life had an unfortunate turn of events. His older brother Tommy was
diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 39 years of age. His family experienced
their first brush with cancer several decades
 earlier when his mother was diagnosed with
uterine cancer. Fortunately, she survived the disease and made a full recovery.
Therefore, when Tommy was diagnosed they expected him to overcome the disease just
as their mom had. Unfortunately, cancer had other plans and Tommy lost his battle to
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1993.

Over the next few years, Patrick lost other close personal friends and two employees to
cancer. During this period, his father was diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent
41 radiation treatments. He also faced skin cancer, which thankfully was successfully
treated.

Having been faced with so many tragic experiences, Patrick decided he was going to start helping himself and others. Having worked in the beauty industry for almost 30-years he decided to make a list of no-no ingredients that could have a harmful effect ones body. Some of the ingredients on his no-no list were sulfates, isopropyl alcohol, mineral oil, and parabens. Patrick not only launched hair care products but skin care as well under the SKINJOY line. 

My View On hbl:

The first time I tried hbl was about 4 weeks ago and initially I wasn’t impressed. My hair is not normally oily but after using hbl the first day it was very oily. I was about ready to just say “hbl doesn’t work for me” but then I noticed we were having a really humid day for California standards. I decided that I would give hbl another try just to be far. I waited about a week before I tried it again and made sure we were having normal California weather. The second time I used hbl my hair did just great, in fact it wasn’t oily at all! 

I used the Spray Mousse to create a scrunch look to my hair. Normally, when I do this type of hair style my hair ends up very crunchy and  in a tangled mess by the end of the day. I was very pleased that the hbl Spray Mousse did not do that to my hair. Along with the Spray Mousse I used the Texture & Styling Cream. I found the Texture & Styling Cream gave my lifeless hair some body. 

I have been using the Thermal Styling Spray anytime I blow dry or flat-iron my hair and it really does make my hair soft and shiny. 

Below is a picture of my hair after using the Thermal Styling Spray. This picture was taken at the end of the day and I think the shine held up pretty good.

hbl hair

 

You can purchase  hbl at their website listed here

You can also follow hbl on Twitter and Facebook

You can also enter to win your own set of hbl Hair Care products. This giveaway is open to residents of the USA and the winner will have 48-hours to respond to the email letting them know they won.

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Aveeno Baby Daily Moisturizer Lotion

aveeno_baby_daily_moisturizer_lotion_18oz_bottle_30022520

 

As a mom of three children I know how important taking care of you little one’s skin is. Babies really don’t need all of the fragrance and extra ingredients that are often added to lotions. In fact all of those extra’s are not good for babies or children in general. My youngest daughter is 4-years-old and I am still very cautious about what I put on her skin. I do my best to stick with products that are fragrance free and hypoallergenic. 

Aveeno is a brand that I personally use on a regular basis so when given the opportunity to review their Baby Daily Moisturizer Lotion I was extremely happy. 

One problem I have with a lot of daily moisturizer for babies is they end up very greasy. Aveeno offers a non-greasy moisturizer that will not leave a sticky residue behind. I have been using this moisturizer on my daughter every day for about two weeks now and not once have I found her skin to be greasy or sticky. 

Aveeno Baby Daily Moisturizer Lotion is formulated with ACTIVE NATURALS® Colloidal Oatmeal and blended with rich emollients  to soothe and help protect baby’s delicate skin. My daughters skin gets dry pretty easy especially with the weather changing and Aveeno has really helped to eliminate that dryness. 

One of my favorite things about Aveeno is that they not only offer high-quality products but prices that everyone can afford. You can find Aveeno at our local drug store or grocery store. You can also enter to win 1 of 5 bottles that Aveeno has offered to Moms R Bomb readers.

Disclosure: I was given a bottle of Aveeno Baby Daily Moisturizer in return for an honest review. All opinions stated are 100% mine and may or may not differ from yours.

Giveaway open to residents of the USA only.

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Walmart White Cloud Diaper Event

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of White Cloud Diapers.

Being a stay-at-home-mom can sometimes make meeting new people extremely difficult. My daughter is very social and always wants to play with other kids around her age. Most of the moms I meet work out of the home which can make setting up playdates a little challenging.

Last week I was invited over to a lovely ladies house for a playdate and White Cloud Diaper event. Now my daughter is not in diapers but I knew that this would be a wonderful opportunity to meet other moms and to learn more about White Cloud.

Walmart Diapers

The White Cloud event was so much fun! Not only did I meet some amazing women but I learned a lot about White Cloud Diapers. My daughter also had a blast playing with all the kids at the event. I was surprised at the wide range of ages at this event.

White Cloud

 

Now you might be wondering why I would even care to learn more about White Cloud since I don’t have any children in diapers. Well my sister-in-law and my step-sister are both pregnant right now and anyone that has kids knows how expensive diapers can be. If I can learn more about a high-quality diaper that will save my extended family some money them I am on board!

I have had three children in diapers so I always considered myself a diaper pro. I always assumed that Huggies or Pampers were the way to go. I never thought much about using a brand that isn’t as well known. After attending this event I realized how wrong I was. I didn’t realize I could buy a brand that isn’t as popular, save money and get quality diapers. If I could go back to those years when my little ones were in diapers I would 100% by White Cloud. You will find White Cloud Diapers at Walmart and online at Walmart.com

Some of the key points that really sold me on White Cloud Diapers:

  • Affordability – The White Cloud Diapers are very affordable without sacraficing quality. 
  • Hypoallerginic – Babies have very sensitive skin and having fragrance-free diapers is extremely important.
  • Leakage Protection – This is huge on my list! If there is one thing I have always disliked about diapers is leakage. No-one wants their baby to end up with wet clothes or even worse a rash because of a diaper that leaks. White Cloud prides themself on having leakage protection. I honestly believe they do have great leakage protection based on the comments the ladies at the event made.

Diapering can be one of the biggest expenses in a family’s weekly budget and a great performing diaper is a must-have for parents. In order to make this affordable, Wal-Mart has reintroduced their premium line of White Cloud diapers to address the needs of today’s busy parents.

White Cloud Diapers provide your baby the highest quality diaper with superior leakage protection, exceptional softness and great fit. White Cloud Diapers are available exclusively at Walmart, where you can find low prices everyday on all your family’s needs. Check them out today!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of #WhiteCloudDiapers.