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.

Freebies Update

It's been a little over a month since I posted about some review sites that I was going to test out. Out of the three new (to me) sites I posted about, I have only had success with PinchMe. I have not received any samples or promise of samples to test and review from Swaggable or CrowdTap.

As for PinchMe, I was able to get online on the day of the freebie giveaway (April 12th at 12pm) and claim my samples. It took about 10 minutes to do and I ended up claiming a total of 9 samples. I have yet to receive them in the mail, but based on when the website says they were shipped, I should be seeing them any day now.  As of right now, I am not sure what my obligations will be as far as reviewing the samples, but I'll be sure to share my opinions here. The next set of samples will be up for grabs on May 10th at 12pm.

Freebies!

I've been a member of Influenster and BzzAgent for a while now and have had great success with both of them. That success has encouraged me to sign up for a few more of the sample and review sites and share my experiences with you.

Influenster is a site where you can review, answer questions, and ask questions about pretty much any product out there. This site is best for people with a lot of different social networking sites, as the number of friends and viewers effects your score. I began getting VoxBoxes (their version of the freebies) in the mail soon after becoming active in the community. So far I have received a number of products including makeup, candy, pens, and tea. You can see all of the products I have received and my thoughts on the products in this blog.

Referral Link: www.influenster.com/r/789814

BzzAgent has been my favorite review site so far. It is super easy to use and doesn't require you to be extremely active in social networking sites. After you sign up for this freebie site, you receive your first BzzKit in the mail. This first kit isn't much (just a magnet) but it teaches you what they are looking for in a review. All reviews and activities are graded and the higher quality your reviews are the better your BzzScore becomes, leading to more samples to test. So far I have received a Swiffer Duster Starter Kit and Cascade Platinum Action Packs.

Referral Link: http://u.bzz.com/7vuk2

PinchMe is a freebie site I joined yesterday, so I don't have a lot of experience with it yet. So far I'm not a huge fan. There are very specific times that you can request samples and if you miss those times you're SOL. The next time new samples are available is April 12th 12 PM ET. That's extremely inconvenient for me, because it is in the middle of my workday. I will make an attempt to get free samples on that day, and if I am successful I'll let everyone know how easy or hard it was.

Referral Code: 7WVKF

Swaggable is another freebie site that I recently joined. It is super easy to use. You just add products that are listed on their site to your wish list. The website says the next step is they will send you invites to try products. I have not received any invites yet, but I am very hopeful. You can add everything from food to pet products to beauty products to your wish list.

Referral Link: https://swaggable.com/?st_uid=733065626&st_source=sharing-link&st_type=invite-friends

CrowdTap is a site I just joined that reminds me a lot of Influesnter. You complete different tasks (polls, reviews, etc.) that can lead to you receiving free products. The products that the tasks are related to are very common products and it should be easy for anyone to find something they can talk about. The website has a lot going on, but so far it has been pretty easy to use.

If anyone has any success with these sites or others, I would love to hear about it in the comments section.

Swiffer Duster

I recently received a Swiffer Duster from BzzAgent for free to test and review. I was actually really excited to receive this product since my house was in dire need of some dusting. I have 2 dogs and their hair is EVERYWHERE. The hair gets behind their crates, on the baseboard, and in the air vents. With the Swiffer Duster I was able to clean all that up. The duster I received has the extendable handle which means it can get behind the dog crates and I can reach the baseboard without bending over. I think the best part about it was finally being able to safely reach the fan blades on a fan that is hanging over a flight of stairs.

I don't believe there are any cons to the Swiffer Duster. Some people are concerned about the price of the refill dusters (about $11 for 16 refills), but there are directions out there on how to wash them or make your own out of cloth. That being said, I would recommended buying the actual refills, because the handmade ones just won't work the same.

Dove Dry Deodorant Spray

I received the Dove Dry Deodorant Spray in Soothing Chamomile to try out free from Dove (through BzzAgent). I really enjoyed using this product. It only took a few seconds to dry and smells great. It doesn't leave a greasy feeling like a deodorant solid or gel. It does claim to provide 48 hour protection, which I disagree with. I usually put it on once every 24 hours during my morning routine (no big deal). I do normally use clinical strength deodorant gel, so this product may end up lasting a full 48 hours for someone who uses regular strength deodorant.

Freezin' for a Reason

It's that time of year again. If you enjoy my blog, I would like to ask you for a little help.

I recently accepted a polar dip challenge for a second year in a row to raise funds to support Camp Sunshine. I will be doing the dip with my boyfriend and my dad. Please help me by making a donation. Whatever you can give will help - it all adds up! 

To make a donation online, visit my personal page

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

A Day with SlimFast

I was able to test out some of the SlimFast products that I received from Influenster. Here is a little bit about what I think about the products.

Last night I had the Cinnamon Bun Swirl Crisps as a snack before dinner. They were a very tasty snack. They tasted like mini rice cakes with cinnamon bun topping lightly drizzled over them. There was quite a bit of food for a 100 calorie snack, and it was able to hold me over the hour and a half I had to wait until dinner. I would definitely try this product again.

Today for my mid-morning snack I had the Creamy Chocolate High Protein Shake. The taste was average and what you would expect out of a protein shake. It claims to control hunger for four hours. I don't necessarily agree with this statement. I was able to wait four hours to eat lunch, but I still felt hungry and was by no means satisfied by it. There are other protein shakes I would buy before buying this product again.

I had the Sour Cream and Onion Crisps for a post-work snack today. They were far tastier than I was expecting. They tasted like a lighter and crispier version of sour cream and onion chips. I was surprised buy the amount of food in the package once I opened it. Due to the taste and the volume of the product, it was very satisfying. I would definitely try this product again.

I have yet to try the Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Meal Replacement Bar. This will probably be my mid-morning snack tomorrow.

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

SlimFast #ItsYourThing

I recently received the SlimFast #ItsYourThing Voxbox from Influenster. The box contained a Creamy Chocolate High Protein Shake, Cinnamon Bun Swirl Drizzled Crisps, Sour Cream and Onion Baked Crisps, and a Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Meal Replacement Bar.

I will be trying the different products throughout this week, but here is some basic information on each of them.

Creamy Chocolate High Protein Shake: This shake is 11 fl oz. It is fairly high in protein like it claims, but it still has some fat and carbs. It claims to control hunger for 4 hours. I'm very interested to see if that claim is true.
Nutrition: 180 calories, 8g fat, 6g carbs, 20g protein

Cinnamon Bun Swirl Crisps: This is a 100 calorie snack of what look like mini rice cakes with a white drizzle on them. The net weight for the package is only 1 oz, but the package looks fairly large for just 100 calories.
Nutrition: 100 calories, 3g fat, 20g carbs, 3g protein

Sour Cream and Onion Crisps: This is another 100 calorie snack that is essentially sour cream and onion chips. The net weight for the pack is 1 oz. It is smaller than a normal single serve bag of chips, but still seems like it could be a good snack size.
Nutrition: 100 calories, 2.5g fat, 19g carbs, 2g protein

Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Meal Replacement Bar: This bar is 45 grams making it about average size for a meal replacement bar. It is lightly drizzled in chocolate versus fully dipped.
Nutrition: 190 calories, 10g fat, 20g carbs, 10g protein

My initial impressions for these products are:

• The snacks don't contain a lot of protein or fat in them, both of with hold me over better than carbs.
• Even though this is meant to be a diet, the meal replacement shake and bar seem to be very low in calories to be eaten alone as a meal.
• The shake will be good as a post-workout supplement on one of my lighter workout days.
• All of these products claim to satisfy hunger, but they just seem too low calorie to do this on their own. This seems more likely when paired with vegetables such as broccoli or spinach.
• The products look like they will be very tasty.

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.