I received my first Influenster box last week which was pretty exciting! I’d just started to get involved with Influenster, so it was neat to be included in a campaign for the first time. This box is the “Endless Summer” box which included a bunch of items, though they didn’t really fit any sort of summer theme – tea is definitely not a summer thing! Still, neat stuff to try out, I’m in!
- Seche Premier Color & Top Coat – .5 oz / $9.99 – Unfortunately, this arrived with the cap broken, so the color, “Cunning,” was dried up in the bottle – I think you can even see in the photo that the bottle is only half full. I’m not big on the color which is a bright coral pink (I loathe pink), so it wasn’t a huge loss, and fortunately it seems to not have leaked into the box. Influenster customer service said they were unable to replace it, and I understand that. The top coat was fine though, and it’s definitely one of my favorites already – it goes on thick, dries quickly and lasts by far the longest of all the top coats I’ve tried, and I’ve tried plenty! I did want to see how the premier color held up, but unfortunately the polish is way too dried up to be useable.
- Not Your Mother’s Way to Grow Leave-In Conditioner – 2 oz / $3.50 – It contains a silicone as the 4th ingredient, so after the initial try, I’m going to pass this off to someone who can use silicones in their hair. Curly hair and silicones don’t work well together, and since I am low-to-no-shampoo with my hair, I really try not to use anything with silicones since they tend to build up. Not using regular shampoo means I have to be extra careful about using products that build up since I’m not using regular shampoo that strips the life out of your hair. The product is cruelty-free though, so that’s great! I tried it out on wet hair under my usual light gel. I didn’t see any big difference – my hair is crazy curly and tends to go frizzy in the humidity and no amount of product can stop it, so I didn’t expect too much to begin with. The scent was nice though, kind of fruity, and it didn’t linger on my hair or feel overwhelming. Still, with the silicones, this is a nope for me – I just can’t use them on my hair.
- Max Factor Masterpiece Max Mascara – 7.2 mL / $9.99 – Unfortunately, this contains parabens, but there’s no cyclopentasiloxane, so it shouldn’t irritate my eyes. The brush is great – it’s a plastic spiky wand that helps keep lashes separated and reduce clumps. It went on easily, not watery or too thick and stuck to my lashes very well, even allowing me to curl with the wand more than with other mascaras I’ve tried. It didn’t feel heavy or sticky either and removed with makeup remover oil very easily and didn’t bother my sensitive eyes at all. There’s also a coupon included for $2 off any Max Factor product.
- Max Factor Masterpiece Max Liquid Eyeliner – 1 mL / $9.99 – No parabens, no cyclopentasiloxane! The tip is a little odd – it almost looks like a teeny version of a popsicle stick and is definitely the first time I’ve seen a tip like this on an eyeliner. Not having a perfect point means I feel like I can’t get a fine line out of it – it doesn’t come down to a chisel point, it’s much more like a popsicle stick with a blunt end. The formula does go on smoothly and rather dark with one swipe which is great, and the wider/round part means it’s easier to fill in for a thicker line. I have to admit though, for this being a rather basic “drugstore” type brand, I actually really liked both this and the mascara more than I thought I would. However, the parent company does test on animals, so neither this or the mascara are cruelty-free.
- Numi Tea Selection – 12-18 count box / $7.49 – $8.99 – Oh boy do I love tea, so these are great to be able to try before committing to a whole box. I received three flavors, Chocolate Puerh, Jasmine Green, and Turmeric Amber Sun. Each sample bag was stapled to a backing that has a coupon with it as well so that if you like the tea, you can get a discount on a full box which I definitely appreciate!
- Chocolate Puerh – The chocolate isn’t quite as chocolately as I would’ve thought, but it does lend a warmth and richness to the Puerh tea that’s really pleasant. This may be a good coffee replacement in the winter when I feel more like tea and less like coffee.
- Jasmine Green – I don’t particularly like Jasmine or Green tea, so this is a bit of a miss for me.
- Turmeric Amber Sun – Oh wow. Such a delightful tea for fall, totally beats out anything pumpkin spice! It’s a nice herbal blend and the bit of cinnamon and vanilla, and I may need a whole box of my own so I can have a cup of this tea next to a fire.
- Iron Tek Essential Protein – 1.5 lb / $35.99 – I’m not going to lie, this is really not up my alley at all. I’m not a weight lifter, nor do I use protein powders, ever. I don’t enjoy shakes either, so I have no idea what to do with this. It’s the only product I haven’t tested because it contains Stevia, and Stevia and I tend not to get along well, digestively speaking, and I’m not willing to risk feeling ill just to test something I’m really not interested in to begin with. I may save it for the spousal unit to try when he returns home, but that won’t be until well after the Endless Summer campaign has ended.
Overall, I really didn’t quite understand how these fit into an “Endless Summer” theme, but it was really neat to be able to try out some new products for free! I’m still a little bummed about the Seche nail polish arriving damaged since I did want to try out the formula even if the color wasn’t my thing, but the full size mascara and eyeliner were pretty awesome, and I definitely loved getting the tea, so that works out just fine. I will probably spring for a box of the Numi Chocolate Puerh tea since that was my absolute favorite of the three samples included, maybe even the Turmeric tea too (you can never have enough tea). All things considered, it was a lot of fun to get to try new products like this and offer feedback through Influenster and on my blog!
Full Disclosure: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. Thoughts and opinions are my own!