Reviews – Page 20 – Chocolate 'N Children

January 4, 2016April 9, 2016

#NOTICETHELOTUS at Target

#NOTICETHELOTUS at Target in 2016… derma e has arrived!

For starters, I just love Target. They have a great variety of quality options in pretty much every category that I need. I did lots of shopping this past holiday season at Target, I found gifts for the kids, snacks for my husband, and even picked up a few things for myself.

I’ve recently discovered that they have a great variety of beauty products at great prices. And since I’m already at Target for things like Birthday presents for my kids, or laundry detergent that I ran out of yesterday (whoops!), I can just get everything I need in one trip. Which reminds me, hubby is out of deodorant, I need to make a trip to Target ASAP.

I was super excited to try out the new Firming DMAE Eye Lift from Target. As an added bonus, I also received Hydrating Night Creme, Hydrating Day Creme, and Firming DMAE Moisturizer so I could experience all the new derma e products at once.

Firming DMAE Eye Lift is designed to visibly lift, firm and tighten the delicate eye area while smoothing crow’s feet with this doctor-developed, multi-action eye treatment crème that contains advanced, clinically proven natural ingredients. DMAE, a widely-acclaimed skin-firming nutrient, is clinically proven to boost collagen for firmer, more resilient skin. InstaLift® Goji Berry glycopeptides add further firming, lifting and tightening antioxidant power. Advanced peptides Argireline® and Matrixyl® synthe’6® work together to soften facial muscles and synthesize new key components such as collagen, helping smooth wrinkles and discourage new lines from forming. Hyaluronic Acid, also known as nature’s moisture magnet, infuses a surge of cooling eye moisture helping leave skin soft, smooth, tone and rehydrated. With continued use, this pro-collagen and pro-elastin blend leaves the delicate eye area firmer, smoother and younger-looking. 100% vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free, sulfate-free, mineral oil-free, lanolin-free, gluten-free, GMO-free.

With 3 kids my biggest beauty problem is dark circles under my eyes, so I was excited to try out the DMAE Eye Lift. I was using it over the holidays and with travel and keeping up with the kids everyone still told me that I look great. Maybe it was my facial routine or maybe everyone else was just as tired as me!

Either way, I think my under eye looks lighter and more clear after using the DMAE Eye Lift for a little over a week. I’m quite happy with the results! This product did not irritate my eyes at all, it feels gentle, and natural.

I can see why derma e® has built a passionate following in the natural products industry and beyond, because they’re always aspiring to make highly effective, premium skincare formulas with cruelty-free green chemistry.

I apply a teeny tiny bit every morning under and around my eye so at $24.95 for this product, which will probably last at least 3 months, I’d say this is a pretty good deal. It’s also currently discounted to $20 on the derma e website. If you’re thinking about getting some for yourself, this is a great time to try it out!

I’ve been using it with their other derma e products, and I just love the results. The products are non-greasy, gentle on my skin, and all do a great job of helping me maintain healthy, vibrant skin with all natural products.

For more info on derma e products, check out their Youtube Chanel.

I received these products free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.

December 15, 2015April 9, 2016

Billion Dollar Brows Review

A big thanks to Billion Dollar Brows for letting me test these awesome products! I was super excited to try out the Billion Dollar Brows Best Sellers Kit and the 60 Seconds To Beautiful Brows Kit. I just don’t have time for tweezing or waxing but I still want some shaping and beautiful eyebrows. So I just couldn’t wait to try these out! The 60 Seconds to Beautiful Brows kit really does only take 60 seconds. It’s super easy. Use the brush to brush on some brow powder and then use the curly end of the brush to blend the powder into your brows. Now, my hair is brown which means that my brows are brown. So, this darkened my eyebrows a tad but didn’t do a ton for me. Just for comparison I tried this out on my 7yr old who has blond hair and really light brows that you can barely see. I brushed a little on and then blended it and it was perfect. You could see her eyebrow way better but I hadn’t really changed the color of her brows (they were a little darker but not a dark brown or anything shocking). With dark brows this product didn’t do a ton for me, but if you have lighter or thin brows you’ll probably love this. In just 60 seconds you can have more noticeable and highlighted brows. The product I really loved was the Best Sellers Kit. And I figured out pretty quickly why these are best sellers. They’re awesome! I started with the brow duo pencil and highlighted my brow bone – the first time I tried this I highlighted a bit too much, but I used the blending brush and fixed it, so no problem. I love how the highlighter let me shape my brow a little big and let me make my eye area a little bigger. Really, I just love how it opened up and lightened my eye. Next, I used the universal brow pencil and darkened the brow areas that I wanted a little darker. I used the curly end of the brush to blend the color evenly into my brow. Then, I used the blending brush and blended my highlights so they’re just the way I want them. I also applied eye shadow and blended the top of my eye shadow into the highlight area for a finished look. Last, I applied the brow gel to my eyebrows. True to the description, this stuff does not flake after wearing. And, it did a great job of smoothing down any stray hairs and keeping my brow looking just the way I want it. This is a truly awesome product and I’m so happy with my results!

I received this product free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.

December 9, 2015April 9, 2016

League of Little Laughers Play Date

Thanks to Bright Starts for such a fun party pack! They sent a giant box of toys for me to host a “League of Little Laughers” Play Date with friends. We had a blast!

Because this was around the holidays and I hosted Thanksgiving at my house this year, I ended up hosting two smaller playdates because I just didn’t have the time for a giant playdate.

Bright Starts sent some truly awesome toys for the kids to play with.

This little guy is called a “Giggable” and he’s so cute. My 2yr old just loves him, because he loves dogs. It’s so cute it rolls, wobbles, and barks. Really it’s the perfect toy for 2 or more toddlers to roll back and forth to each other.

This Learn & Giggle Fish was very popular at both parties. Everyone had to play with it! As far as noise level goes, for a toy that plays music constantly, it’s really not bad. The buttons light up and the kids loved trying to see if they could get all the buttons to light up at the same time!

I think this Spin & Giggle Puppy is so adorable! The purple bowl spins and the puppy wobbles, tossing all the balls onto the floor. Luckily it’s a gentle toss because the kids were putting every little toy they could find in there just to see what would happen.

Oh, and see that extra pack of balls? It’s a good thing they sent extras because balls disappear at my house. I think we’ve lost half of them already!

And last but not least, the Learn & Giggle Activity Station. This is so much fun for all ages. My 2yr old just picks it up and carries it to whatever room he wants to play in. Even the babies loved this one. It’s perfect for a new sitter because they can put their feet under the toy and be close enough to the toy to reach everything.

Every page in the book provides for different songs and such from the four squares on the station so there really is 65+ sounds and activities.

These toys were so much fun at our playdates and kept babies and toddlers of all ages well entertained.

I received free products in order to host the Bright Starts sponsored Play Date. The opinions expressed here are my own.

November 9, 2015April 9, 2016

Vampirina Ballerina Review and Craft

For Picture Book Month I’m reviewing Vampirina Ballerina.

Vampirina Ballerina by Anne Marie Pace is an adorable book about a little vampire who wants to be a ballerina. It encourages being yourself, trying hard, and rejoicing in your achievements.

We had a great time reading this together and then making a little Tutu craft for the girl’s barbies.

Supplies

Rickrack or ribbon – small pieces will do

Tulle – about 1 yard

1. Start by measuring your rickrack. You want it to be about 1 foot long for a barbie doll.

2. Next cut your tulle into 1/2 inch X 2 foot strips. You can trim these later if the skirt is too long.

3. Lay your rickrack out flat and tie your tulle strips onto it making a knot in the middle of your tulle (around the rickrack) Keep adding tulle until your skirt is nice and floofy.

You want to cover about 1/3 of your rickrack in tulle. The extra ends are going to be used for putting the skirt on your doll.

Once you have all your tulle on your ribbon or rickrack wrap it around your doll and tie a bow in the back.

The girls had a blast making little tulle ballerina skirts for their dolls!

October 30, 2015April 9, 2016

Turkey Cupcakes

Many thanks to Airheads and Smiley 360 for the awesome free box of Airhead candy to make some fun holiday snacks with!

This project was way easier than it looks! Even the kids made some.

With Thanksgiving coming up, my thoughts turn to turkeys. And even the best roasted turkey isn’t as sweet as these.

Turkey Cupcakes

Cupcakes of your choice. I just made a box mix.
Icing of your choice. I just used the pre-made icing
blue, orange, and red Airheads
1 bag of Airheads bites
1 bag of Airheads Xtremes

Bake, cool, and ice your cupcakes.

Head: Open your bag of Airhead Bites.

Eyes: Open your blue airhead and cut off two tiny pieces. Roll them between your fingers into tiny balls and press them onto an Airhead bite for the eyes.

Beak: Open your orange airhead and cut of a small piece. Roll it into a ball and then make one end pointy for the beak, press this onto the airhead bite.

Gobbler: Open your red airhead and cut a small strip off the top edge. Fold it in half to make it a little thicker, press together, and then press onto the bottom of your airhead bite under your beak.

Set your turkey head in the middle of your cupcake.

Tail: Open your airhead Xtremes and cut off a piece about 1 1/2 inches long. Using a pair of clean kitchen scissors carefully cut between the colors. DO NOT cut all the way to the end of your Xtreme piece. Leave about 1/4 inch uncut at the end.

Fan open your colorful tail feathers and place the 1/4 inch uncut edge right behind your turkey head on the cupcake.

And, you have an adorable, tasty, turkey cupcake.

As a side note, I put these in a cake holder overnight and the moisture from the icing “melted” the candy a little bit so if you make these the day before, you’re going to want to refrigerate them overnight or wait and put the turkeys on at the last minute.

I received this product free for purposes of my post, all opinions are my own.

October 14, 2015April 9, 2016

Galaxy Buck: Mission to Sector 9 – review and giveaway

I definitely earned “mommy points” for this product test. We got to watch a pre-release copy of Galaxy Buck: Mission to Sector 9. My kids loved it.

I actually surprised them. I told them we had a new movie to watch but didn’t tell them what it was. When they figured out that it was Buck Denver they were so excited! We ended up watching it twice just because they liked it so much.

Take a look at the trailer here.

If you’re not familiar with Buck Denver, this is from VeggieTales creator PHIL VISCHER! Kids will enjoy Buck Denver’s latest adventure with his friends from What’s In the Bible? and parents will appreciate the humorous nods to Star Wars and Star Trek. More importantly, Phil Vischer’s gifted teaching delivers a clear message to kids and adults about God’s love and purpose for our lives. Galaxy Buck communicates important Biblical truths that will add to everyone’s faith foundation, whether a life-long Christian or a new creation in Christ.

Plus it combines two things my kids love, Whats In the Bible? and Star Trek.

If you’ve watched Veggie Tales and never seen What’s In the Bible? you need to find a copy of the first one and watch it. You’ll love it. Actually, you’re probably better off just buying the set because otherwise you’ll have an extra #1 like we do, because we bought #1 first and then purchased the set because we liked it so much.

Anyways, my 2 yr old actually calls the What’s in the Bible? series “Buck Denver”. The kids were so excited to watch a new movie with him.

The video was fun to watch for us and the kids, and it did a great job of communicating it’s message of trusting in God.

If you loved Veggie Tales and/or Whats In the Bible? you’ll love Galaxy Buck.

To find out more or pre-order your very own copy, visit the official Galaxy Buck website. Don’t want to wait for a DVD? You can watch it online at JellyTelly.

There’s lots of ways to follow Galaxy Buck.

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

And, just for fun, I get to give away a DVD copy of Galaxy Buck: Mission to Sector 9, so, enter below and good luck!

Entry -Form

I received this product free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.

October 7, 2015April 9, 2016

Cover your gray™ Waterproof Brush In Root Touch Up – Review

I was sent 3 Cover your gray products to try. All 3 were in medium brown, which was a great match for my hair color. I have gray that irritates me that shows only at the roots and this sounded like a great product for me!

Cover your gray sent me three of their new waterproof products. These are great for when you don’t have the time to get your hair colored or just want to save money by extending the time in between services. The new waterproof formulas are sweat-proof, rain-proof and last through three shampoos.

The first product I tried was this Cover Your Gray hair color touch-up. I’ve never used a touch-up product before so I wasn’t sure if I should do it with my hair wet or dry, so I tried it with my hair wet. This was not a good idea. Even after my hair dried, every time I touched my hair I got brown on my fingers. Yuck! I tried it again later (after shampooing once) when my hair was dry and didn’t have this problem.

So, make sure you apply your touch-up after your hair is dry.

This color blended perfectly with my hair, you can’t even tell I added a touch-up color! Well, except for the missing gray. WooHoo!

The next product they sent me was the Cover Your Gray root touch-up. This is also easy to apply. And I applied it with my hair dry – so I didn’t have any color-bleed problems. This is for heaver root application, and less all-over touch-up.

When you use the root touch-up and the hair color touch-up together you get a really good result because you can blend into your hair and get your roots well covered.

The final product they sent was a Cover Your Gray Waterproof Pencil. It’s perfect for getting anything you missed with the root touch-up and the hair color touch-up. You do have to push pretty hard to apply it so it’s not good for all over, but it’s great for those harder to reach places, like the center of your part.

It’s been raining here the past few days, and with 3 kids I’ve gotten pretty wet while running errands. Whether or not this product is waterproof has been well tested! This product does not bleed in the rain. And that’s a very good thing!

These three products together are perfect for concealing that little bit of gray that especially stands out around my roots. It blends well with my hair color, and does a great job of hiding the gray for a couple of shampoos.

I received this product free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.

October 1, 2015April 9, 2016

Pink October

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. So get your pink ready! Pink is also my oldest daughter’s favorite color, she’ll really be in style this month!

For Breast Cancer awareness month Glamulet has created Pink Limited Edition Charms. For every set of charms added to the cart, 50% is donated to a charity organization. So, you can support breast cancer research and get something beautiful for yourself at the same time. Then, wear your new jewelry proudly through the month of October and show off your support for Women’s Health.

Glamulet has some super cute pink charms on their website here.

You can use these charms on bracelets or necklaces to create your own unique look.

This pink rose is so pretty.

Romantic-pink-rose-charm I love charms that I can swap out between my bracelet and my necklace, and this would look great on both! It would look great on this pink bracelet.

Really, I just love jewelry. Feeding my jewelry addiction and supporting a great cause at the same time, is a win win for everyone!

Spongellé Kid’s Sponge – Review and Discount

I received an adorable butterfly sponge to review. The girls were so excited! They love butterflies, and since which animal we got was random, they were so pleased to receive a butterfly!

This is a new product being offered by Spongelle. You can check it out and their other products on their website here.

Benefits:

Body Wash Infused Sponge Animals
Hypoallergenic & dermatologist tested
Sulfate-free, paragon-free, & cruelty-free
Proprietary infusion technology
For kids 3 & up
Gently cleans
Fruitilicious Scent
Multi-Use

This super cute sponge smells great. It’s easy to use, just wet, squeeze, and lather. There’s plenty of soap.

After the bath, just rinse the sponge and you can use it with your favorite body soap or for art projects. My 7yr old decided to use it (after her bath) to wash my dishes! So sweet of her.

After doing the dishes I cleaned the sponge and we used it for a fun art project. The 4yr old traced the butterflies, I cute them out, and everyone decorated them.

Interested in getting your own Sponge Animals Body Wash Infused Sponges by Spongelle? Visit their website, and use coupon code BBLOGGER20 for 20% off through October 19.

I received this product free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.

September 29, 2015April 9, 2016

Summer Recap

Coca-Cola Life is all about enjoying, well, life, and all the adventures that come with life. As summer has officially come to an end – according to the calendar it is now fall – it’s a great time to reminisce about all the fun I’ve had this summer.

And a few fun pictures from my summer wouldn’t hurt either. For starters, here’s the view from where I’ve been doing most of my blogging this summer. Because the kids want to be outside. This way they get to play and I get to work. It’s a win-win for everyone.

And, of course, my daughter tried to steal my coke, and hid when I took a picture.

We spent most of our summer in the back yard. Playing on the swingset, swimming in the kid’s pool, and playing on the teeter-totter.

At the end of summer we took a trip to the beach with friends. Such a fun end to the summer!

We had a nice laid-back, easy-going summer this year. And that was so nice!

What was your favorite part of summer this year?

I received this product free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.