You know this, I love free stuff.  As a blogger, anytime I can get anything to make me feel glam & happy, I go for it.  I kept seeing photos of Influenster boxes popping up on my blog feeds and on Twitter, I saw a few other bloggers were getting boxes of free stuff… really good free stuff  and I wanted in.

Influenster is a pretty cool review service site.  If you’re a blogger who uses social media, they send you products based on your lifestyle for review.  I filled a quick survey with my interests and stats, got a few badges and forgot about it for a few weeks..until they said they were sending me goodies.  Oh, and goodies they sent!

The Spring Beauty VoxBox included:

• Sheer Cover Duo Concealer (sample):  Full size $29.95
• AVEENO Daily Moisturizing Body Wash (sample):  Full size $6.99
• ChapStick Lip Shield 365 (full): Retail $1.89
• Sally Hansen Salon Effects (full): Retail $9.99
• Bath & Body Works Fine Fragrance Mist in Twilight Woods (full):  Retail $14.99
• SOYJOY Bar:  $1.29 each
• Dr. Scholl’s For Her- Ball of Foot Cushions:  $5.99

So what’d I think?  The concealer from Sheer Cover was a bit too cakey for me- I have under eye circles and am very picky on what product works and what doesn’t..it was fun to try, but not a win.

The AVEENO Daily Moisturizing Body Wash brought back memories of being at the beach as a kid-  great, light smell that didn’t clash with my perfume and lathered well.  I also used it for shaving and it didn’t dry out my legs.  The ChapStick was good, as it always is.  I survive on Chapstick in the winter, but for  the sun exposure I get in the summer at the lakeside, I need one with an SPF- this had SPF 50 and moisturization so no sun chapping for me!

If you haven’t tried SOYJOY, I can recommend them-  if you’re looking for something that tastes sorta-biscotti without the crunch and more of the health, this might be a good fit for you.  The flavors are generally good- especially paired with tea or juice.  This Strawberry Bar from SOYJOY was nom noms.

By far, the two favorite products in the box were the Dr. Scholl’s gel insoles, Sally Hansen Nail Effects and Bath & Body Works Twilight Woods Spray.  These are all brands I’ve enjoyed in the past but haven’t been evangelized.  Dr. Scholl’s has saved my life several times with their gel insoles…  As a sorority girl in undergrad, I spent many recruitment days in black stilettos, without these gellies I’d have died.  If you wear high heels- YOU NEED THESE..for $6 you can swap these out in any pair (no adhesive) so it’s worth it.

Sally Hansen has knocked my socks off with their Nail Effects nail polish strips.  I haven’t put on the pink tigers strips yet, but for Christmas I tried their print in Candy Cane…  If you wondering if Sally Hansen Nail Effects are worth it, I’d say yes.  For $10 your “polish” lasts twice as long (mine looked nice for 6 days) and no annoying dry time.  I am not a pro and they apply like a dream!

Finally, there was the Twilight Woods Spray from BBW how could this not be a winner?  This fine fragrance mistis a mix of floral and berry with a smidge of silk powder.  Not too fruity, not too “grandma” either- just a good smell that’s universal. I’d never tried it before, but the bottle is gorgeous and it smells fab!  I don’t think it can replace my fave fragrance by Kate Spade, but it was fun to try.

(Disclaimer: I received the products reviewed above as part of the InfluensterVoxBox testing program. The products were provided free in exchange for my reviews and opinions of said products. I was not otherwise compensated and the opinions expressed in said reviews are truthful and entirely my own.)

 Two questions:  Do you like free stuff?  …and have you heard of Klout?  Klout is a aggregator that tallies up your usage of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram, etc. to not only measure what topics you talk about most, but how influential you are about those topics.  Oh ya, and it’s FREE, and they give you stuff for FREE (*Frugal-girl fan scream here!*)  It’s fascinating to see what things you talk about & promote the most (some of them might surprise you) and to see what gets the most traction with your friends and tweeps.

But while I love that kind of data as much as the next geek- the best part of Klout is totally the perks!  Since Klout measures what you’re influential about, they can team you up with free stuff from different companies that fit what you’re interested in!  Some perks are open to everyone, but I love qualifying for prizes for my favorite topics!

I joined Klout 2 months ago and have received some great stuff-  early access to the show New Girl (before it came out) and they even sent me some sweet nerdy swag (seen above, + a sweatshirt that’s not pictured).  I also am getting a 30 Rock Season 4 DVD, a $25 gift certificate to Handbags.com plus a free set of mini-cards from Moo.com (I only had to pay $5 for shipping, I was stoked!).  I was pretty surprised that I have not found anything I don’t like about this site, they make everyone feel like a rockstar- no pesky emails, no unwanted ads, just some great stuff!

I know people get hung up on getting a “score,” but you don’t have to have a high score to qualify for prizes.  The average score is around 20, and as long as you’re signed up, check on the perk page once in awhile (so you can catch a deal before it closes) you’re golden!

Also, I want to mention- if you’re a blogger and you’re active on social media, having a Klout score about the average of 20, can be a great stat to have on your side if you want to monetize your blog, find sponsors or do product reviews.  If you’re not a blogger, you still benefit from feeling cool and getting free stuff- it’s a win win!

So, have you used Klout? What do you think of it?