Is the Walmart Beauty Box worth it?

I recently stumbled upon a $5 beauty sample box from Walmart and figured I'd give it a try.

First impressions: There isn't much in the box, but then again I did only pay $5. It does make me miss those Amazon sample boxes where you received an Amazon credit equal to what you paid for the samples.

What's in the box?

• Herbal Essences Gentle Color Protection Birch Bark Extract Shampoo and Conditioner
• Purely Inspired Collagen Peptides Drink Mix
• Bic Soleil Razor
• Jergens Lavender Body Butter
• Degree MotionSense Antiperspirant Spray

The antiperspirant, body butter, and razor will be great for travel. 

I don't color my hair, so the shampoo and conditioner won't do much for me. I have tried other Herbal Essences shampoos and conditioners in the past and have found that they are fairly good for the price. That being said, I would prefer to spend a little bit more on a high quality shampoo that will tame my frizzy hair. 

The box also came with a chance to win $100 by filling out a survey. The issue with this was that Walmart sent me the autumn box for some reason and as a result the survey was already closed. 

I still have an active subscription, so we'll have to see if Walmart sends me the winter and spring boxes in a reasonable amount of time. 

Beauty Sample Box

Since I am on an Amazon Sample Box kick, I ordered the Beauty Sample Box. I paid $11.99 and received a credit of equal value to spend on full size versions of the samples.

The samples included:

• Gillette Venus Swirl
• Aquaphor Advanced Therapy Healing Ointment
• Acure Brightening Facial Scrub
• Crest 3D White Toothpaste
• Tom's Naturally Dry Antiperspirant Deodorant in Natural Powder
• Oral-B Glide Pro Health Floss
• Crest 3D White Whitestrip
• Nivei Nourishing Body Oil
• The Body Shop Drops of Youth Youth-Enhancing Concentrate
• Dove Deep Moisture Nourishing Body Wash
• Aveeno Skin Relief Gentle Scent Body Wash
• Aveeno Skin Relief Gentle Scent Lotion
• Pantene Pro-V Hydrating Shampoo
• L'Oreal Age Perfect Hydra-Nutrition Nourishing Regimen
• L'Oreal Revitalift Bright Reveal Brightening + Anti-Wrinkle Moisturizer Sunscreen

I received the Crest and Oral-B products in a previous sample box. Find the reviews for the Crest 3D White Sample Kit here.

On a related note... I discovered a sample for Chanel Blue Serum and L'Oreal Extraordinary Clay Shampoo and Conditioner in the March 2017 edition of Glamour.

Keep an eye out for my reviews on these products.

EDIT: Sorry! I never got to reviewing these products. Three years later, I'm still regularly buying Aveeno lotion and Crest toothpaste which is very telling about how much I liked those samples. 

New Year New You Reviews

I've had a chance to review a few of the products I received in the New Year New You Amazon Sample Box. I enjoyed the box so much, that I had someone else order me one on their Amazon Prime account.

Cinnamon Roll Quest Cereal Protein Bar: I enjoyed this bar quite at bit. It tasted just like one of those cereal bars that I would eat for breakfast as a child. At only 110 calories with 12 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber, it made a great mid-day snack. This product did have Allulose as a sweetener in it, which I have never heard of before. Quest Nutrition claims that it is a "revolutionary sweetener found in nature that offers all the taste and texture of traditional sugar, but with only 1/10th of the calories."

Chocolate Quest Cereal Protein Bar: This bar has all of the same nutrition information as the Cinnamon Roll Quest Cereal Protein Bar. I did not enjoy the flavor of this bar as much. The chocolate flavoring did not do a good job at hiding the whey flavor, so it ended up tasting like just another protein bar.

Nut Butter Filled Clif Bar: YUM! This bar was basically a standard chocolate Clif bar with a creamy peanut butter center. My initial reaction is that there was no way that this could be healthy for me, but it is a fairly well balanced bar with 11 grams of fat, 26 grams of carbs (only 9 grams come from sugar), and 7 grams of protein . It would make a great replacement for anyone who loves peanut butter cups, but wants to back away from candy.

Chocolate Cacao Garden of Life Raw Fit Powder: I didn't find this protein to be too good. It had a chocolate flavor that could be compared to a drink made out of unsweetened cocoa powder. I did appreciate that it wasn't overly sweet like most protein powders, but the flavor wasn't fantastic. It did not mix well and ended up being a bit gritty. This protein powder is filled with vitamins, probiotics, and other health management ingredients. I wouldn't buy this flavor again, but would drink it if given another free sample. Full disclaimer, my roommate absolutely hated it.

Vanilla Garden of Life Raw Fit Powder: I like this flavor a lot more when compared to the chocolate. Nutritionally it is very similar to the chocolate flavor. It still didn't mix well, but the flavor was tasty. It tasted a bit like a banana to me despite not having any banana in it.

Neocell Biotin Bursts: This was an interesting product. The come as individually wrapped chews and remind me a lot of a Starburst. It is supposed to be acai berry, but it actually tastes more like grape. The burst has 10,000 MCG of Boitin (3333% daily value). It is said to play a key role in maintaining healthy hair, skin, and nails. I have not been taking Biotin long enough to speak to its effectiveness.

Raspberry Emergen-C: I've been drinking Emergen-C for the last few days in an attempt to not catch my roommates cold, and so far it has worked. It tastes like any other raspberry drink mix as long as you follow the instructions on it. I added it a 16 oz water bottle, and it ended up not tasting like much because it was too diluted.

See my previous post on this topic for my reviews on the Sundown Naturals Vitamin C Gummies and the Renew Life Ultimate Flora Probiotic.

2017 Virginia Polar Dip

I'm participating in the Virginal Polar Dip benefiting Camp Sunshine for the 3rd year in a row! If you enjoy my blog, I would like to ask you for a little help. Please help me by making a donation. Whatever you can give will help - it all adds up! If you are located in the DC Metro area, you are welcome to join.

To make a donation online, visit my personal page

For more information about Camp Sunshine and its programs, you can visit  www.campsunshine.org 

New Year New You

I just received my New Year New You Amazon Sample Box and I'm super excited to try all the samples. The box came packed full with nutrition and wellness samples and a few full size products.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Amazon Sample Boxes, you pay for the samples (in this case $14.99) and Amazon gives you a credit of equal value to spend on full size versions of the samples. The only caveat is that you have to be an Amazon Prime member.

This sample box has been the most impressive one I have received so far. It included:

• Chocolate Peanut Butter Vega Protein + Snack Bar
• Nut Butter Filled Clif Bar
• Cinnamon Roll Quest Cereal Protein Bar
• Chocolate Quest Cereal Protein Bar
  
• Vanilla Bean Bodylogix Natural Whey
• Chocolate Cacao Garden of Life Raw Fit Powder
• Vanilla Garden of Life Raw Fit Powder
• Vanilla Burt's Bees Protein Powder
• Jarro-Dophilus EPS Probiotic Supplement
• Smarty Pants Gummy Vitamins
• Centrum Vitamints
• New Chapter Every Woman's One Daily Multi
• Renew Life Ultimate Flora Probiotic
• Sundown Naturals Vitamin C Gummies
• Neocell Biotin Bursts
• Raspberry Emergen-C
• Blood Orange Myoplex Pre-Workout
  
  
  

All of the samples were one serving with the exception of the Sundown Naturals Vitamin C Gummies, which was a 90 count bottle, the Jarro-Dophilus EPS Probiotic Supplement, which was a 15 count travel pack, and the Neocell Biotin Bursts, which was a 10 count sample.

I have already tried the Sundown Naturals Vitamin C Gummies and the Renew Life Ultimate Flora Probiotic.

Sundown Naturals Vitamin C Gummies: These were absolutely delicious. They were a bit tart but had a great orange flavor. Each serving includes 250mg of Vitamin C or 417% daily value. It does not contain gluten, wheat, milk, lactose, artificial flavor, artificial sweetener, preservatives, soy, yeast, or fish. My only complaint is that they contain sugar and corn syrup, which normally have no place in a vitamin. I do think that the pros of these vitamins out way the cons and are a great way for adults to get their Vitamin C. Since this was a 90 count bottle, I will continue taking them to see if they have any long term positive effects. 

Renew Life Ultimate Flora Probiotic: This probiotic came in the form of a gummy supplement. They tasted fairly neutral, not as fruity as I would have expected from a gummy supplement. Each serving contains 2 billion live probiotic cultures. They can be taken by adults and children 2 years and up. They are dairy free, soy free, and have no artificial ingredients, but do contain wheat and tree nuts. It is only one serving, so it is difficult to speak to its long term effectiveness. 

Stay tuned for more reviews. I have the Beauty Amazon Sample Box coming later this week.

Amazon Sample Boxes

I recently started paying attention to Amazon Sample Boxes. So far I have participated in two boxes. Basically, you pay for a box of samples and amazon gives you a credit to spend on products similar to those that were in the box.

The first sample box I purchased was the Crest 3D White Sample Kit for $4.99. I received a 2.5 oz Crest 3D White Toothpaste, a Crest 3D White Whitestrip, and Oral B Glide Floss. I've always been a fan of the Crest 3D White products, so I mainly purchased this box in order to have a travel size toothpaste and floss. After I received the kit, a $4.99 credit was added to my account. I ended up using the credit on a two pack of Crest Cavity Protection Gel Toothpaste.

The second sample box I purchased was the Mr Olympia Sample Box for $9.99. This box was a killer deal. I received a Labrada Chocolate Protein Shake, Sheer Cotton Candy Pre-Workout, C4 Fruit Punch Pre-Workout, FitJoy Frosted Cinnamon Roll Protein Bar, FitJoy Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bar, Mission1 Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bar, Vega Chocolate Caramel Snack Bar, Muscle Milk Chocolate Protein Powder, EAS Myoplex Cinnamon Swirl Protein Powder, and EAS Myoplex Lemonberry Pre-Workout. So far I have had the chance to try the Labrada Chocolate Protein Shake and a FitJoy French Vanilla Almond Protein Bar (courtesy of a friends sample box).

Below are reviews on the products I've tested so far.

Reviews

Crest 3D White Toothpaste: As I mentioned before, I am a huge fan of Crest 3D White. This toothpaste tastes great and makes my mouth feel exceptionally clean. As for the whitening power, I've never really noticed a change in my teeth. I would expect that aspect of it to be best for people with extremely discolored teeth.

Crest 3D White Whitestrip: This product is very hard to review because there was only one strip in the box. In the past, I have had a lot of success with Crest whitestrips, but I've never used the 3D White ones with any kind of regularity.

Oral B Glide Floss: Not much to say about this product. It was a strong floss that didn't break in the tight spaces between my teeth. It had a nice minty smell and flavor.

Labrada Chocolate Protein Shake: I was actually quite impressed with this shake. Flavor wise, it tasted very similar to most other pre-made chocolate protein shakes (such as Atkins and EAS), but it was not chalky at all. I drank it for breakfast along with an apple and it held me over until lunch without an issue. I also appreciated that the shake was gluten free, lactose free, and had no added sugar.

FitJoy French Vanilla Almond Protein Bar: This protein bar was alright. Based on taste, it was very evident that this bar used whey as its main source of protein. Some people don't mind that, but I am not one of them. As for the texture, it was a very dense with no crunchy components. I ate it as a snack to hold me over until I had time for a meal, which worked. I would recommend this as a snack or post-workout meal, but not as a meal replacement.

Sprout VoxBox

I recently received a box of healthy goodies from Influenster to try out. The box contained:

• Orgain Organic Protein Powder in Vanilla Bean ($23.99)
• Ecos Hypoallergenic Laundry Detergent ($7.25-$16.90)
• Hair Food Moisture Collection ($9.99)
• Eatsmart Three Bean Tortilla Chips ($3.99)
• Dark and Tempting Curate Bar ($1.89)

Some Influensters also received the Vichy LiftActiv Serum in their box, but I did not.

So far my favorite product in the box has been the chips. They were essentially tortilla chips bursting with flavor. I ended up breaking them up into serving size packs (Influenster sent a full size bag!), so that I could enjoy the chips on the go and at work.

I have also tested out the protein powder. The flavor is about on par with the other plant based proteins out there. I normally enjoy this type of protein, so I enjoyed this one as well. My one recommendation is to not use this in making baked protein treats. I tried to make a protein brownie and it just turned out to be a soupy mess. This product does make a good post-workout snack for those who don't want to drink a whey protein drink.

The Dark and Tempting Curate Bar was pretty good. I ended up bringing it to work as a snack. There isn't much to say about it as it is very similar to the other soft and chewy fruit and nut bars out there.

I received these products complimentary for testing purposes. All opinions are my own.