Spongelle Anti-Cellulite Buffer Review & Giveaway

After my last review of the Spongelle Boxed Flower Body Wash Infused Buffer and Pedi-Buffer, I was excited to get another product from them in the mail! This time it's the Anti-Cellulite Body Wash Infused Buffer. This buffer came in the same scent as my Pedi-Buffer, "Beach Grass". The exotic scent contains extracts of coffee, arnica, and sea kelp. It's a nice powdery clean scent that is very refreshing but not at all overwhelming.

This sponge is bigger than the other two I previously reviewed. It's about as long as the distance from the bottom of my palm to my fingertips - so, still very manageable to hold in one hand, but quite significant. Another difference is that this is a two-sided buffer. One side is very rough and deeply exfoliates your skin. You're supposed to use this side in a "gentle, circular motion" to "exfoliate and stimulate circulation".  I thought it felt really nice on my arms and legs, but didn't use it as much on my back because it was a little too rough. The other side is very smooth and perfect for sensitive parts of your skin or for "polishing" your whole body after exfoliating. It is dermatologist tested and hypoallergenic, so it should be safe on all skin types.

The product lasts for 30+ washes like the Pedi-Buffer. After 2 washes I'm convinced it definitely will hold up. This one doesn't have a cord to hang it like the Flower Buffer, so you will need to make sure you have a large soap dish or a shelf on your shower caddy for it, as it is pretty big.

I especially liked the innovative concept of this product. It helps smooth areas prone to cellulite using a Salsphere Delivery System. It cleanses, exfoliates, and massages all in one! My morning routine is always rushed, so I always appreciate any time-saver I can find. The anti-aging effects are a huge bonus on top of that. It's never too early to start taking care of your body and skin. The earlier you start, the more preventative measures you can take to avoid the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines, and cellulite in the future. Who doesn't want to look youthful forever?

Now, it's time to pamper yourself! One lucky reader will win his or her own Spongelle Body Buffer. Just enter below.

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You can purchase your own on the Spongelle website for $25 - that's less than $1 per wash! As an added bonus, you can get 20% off any purchase on their website by using the code "BBLOGGER20" at checkout. This code is valid until October 19th, 2015. Be sure to follow Spongelle on Instagram to learn more!

This is a sponsored post. Spongelle provided me with an 

Anti-Cellulite Body Wash Infused Buffer for review purposes via Brandbacker.

Lilly After Party Sale Items on 6pm.com

Hit the snooze button on your 8am alarm today? Maybe you were number 8,976 in LillyPulitzer.com's virtual shopping queue. Whatever the reason, I'm sure there are plenty of you out there who weren't able to snag some of their favorite Lilly items in this morning's After Party Sale. 

Now, here's a little known secret to cheer you up. You can still get some incredibly popular (even sold-out) items from the sale in popular prints like Red Right Return, Let Minnow, Pink Colony, Let's Cha Cha, and Pop Pink Tusk in the Sun. They're still available on Zappos's sister site, 6pm.com, at After Party Sale or near-After Party Sale discounted prices! This includes popular styles like: Callahan Shorts, Delia Shifts, Buttercup Shorts, Palm Maxi Dresses, and more.

What makes this even better? 6pm accepts returns. So, while your purchases from the Lilly Pulitzer After Party Sale on the Lilly website are all final sale, you are free to return the same items you purchase during the 6pm sale! Little risk, huge reward.

Click below to grab some of the last few of my faves!

Lilly Pulitzer After Party Sale Starts Tomorrow

Lilly Pulitzer's bi-annual sale starts tomorrow! You can go online starting at 8am ET tomorrow (Monday) morning to get some incredible deals via computer, tablet, or their mobile app. Hurry - popular items in these sales never last long, so you need to be sure to log on right at 8am.

This time around, the sale will also be taking place in the Lilly Pulitzer corporate stores which open at 10am. That's something brand new for this sale, probably because all the past online sales have shut down the website many, many times. Hopefully it will bring down some of the web traffic this time.

For more details, check out this site.

Sale of the Week: 50% off Elizabeth McKay

Elizabeth McKay is currently offering 50% off of everything on their site. Just use the code "WRAPITUP" at checkout. This includes her famous elephant dresses and tops, tons of elegant tunics, and fun ruffled wrap dresses ("Scotland Dress"). All sales are final.

Need some extra info on styles and fit? Check out my review from the Elizabeth McKay Sample Sale in 2013, complete with photos! While some of the prints are no longer the same, the styles and fit definitely are.

Pictured (clockwise): Classic Tunic in Tulip, Classic Tunic in Georgia Peach, Classic Tunic in Green, Scotland Wrap Dress in Butterfly, Elizabeth Elephant Blouse in Navy

Preppy perfection!

Birchbox "Soak it Up!" August 2015 Review

I like the beach theme of the August box and admittedly all five of the samples I received this month are perfect for chilling pool side. I also got a pretty good variety - one hair product, one perfume, one makeup product, and two skincare products. The only one that was a dupe (skincare) was because I selected one as my Sample Choice, the Coola Makeup Setting Spray. I wasn't too wild about any of the sample choices this month, but this one seemed like a good size sample (.34 fl oz) and was very practical. 

My box contained: Coola SPF 30 Organic Makeup Setting Spray (Full-size, $36), IPKN Flash Cream Radiant Primer (Full-size, $28), Juicy Couture I Am Couture Eau de Parfum Spray (Full-size, $74-94), LAQA & Co Charm School Kit Cheeky Lip in Cray Cray (Set of 3, $20), and Parlor by Jeff Chasten Smoothing Blowout Spray (Full-size, $24)

Coola SPF 30 Organic Makeup Setting Spray

My face is always the first place to burn when I got out sunbathing, but who wants to put sunscreen underneath or over their makeup? Also, most foundations I've seen with SPF just have it up to factor 15. This is SPF30 - so very good protection. When I followed the instructions to hold the bottle 10-12 inches away from my face and spray, I didn't feel like the single spray covered my entire face. So, I did follow up with a couple half sprays. I don't know what the means for sun coverage because I didn't use this on a day when I spent massive amounts of time outside in direct sunlight. I'm thinking that unless you use quite a few sprays, you might end up with some sunburn on certain spots of your face that the product didn't reach. It has a scent that isn't totally unpleasant but does smell a little bit like bug spray. I like the ingredients - green tea, aloe, and hyaluronic acid - since I have pretty dry skin. The spray didn't affect the appearance of my makeup at all which was nice as well.  Overall, I'm pretty pleased with this product and look forward to trying it again the next time I sit out by the pool or the beach.

IPKN Flash Cream Radiant Primer

I've previously gotten an IPKN product in a Sample Society box and to honest I really don't know very much about the brand. I did like that other product because it was a luminous BB Cream with SPF 45. So, I had some high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, I didn't end up liking it as much as the BB Cream. This primer blends in smoothly and does not have a powdery finish that dries our your skin. However, it had a little too much of a greasy/dewy residue for my taste. When I put on a primer, I want a blank canvas. If I'm going for a dewy look, I'll let my blush or foundation do that, thank you. This has a fairly neutral smell and is SPF 15 - both pluses. 

Juicy Couture I Am Couture Eau de Parfum Spray

Overall, I've liked all of Juicy's perfume scents in the past, so I was excited to see what the new one is like. If you've tried any others, brace yourself. This one is completely different. While I would say all the others are more spring or summer scents with light essences of flowers and fruit, this one is definitely more of a full-bodied winter scent. To me it smells like vanilla with exotic spices, which makes sense since it is described as having notes of "raspberry, gardenia, rose de mai, candied amber, and musks". The amber and musks are definitely the stronger notes. I definitely don't like this one as much as the other Juicy fragrances but that could be just because of my personal taste which generally favors floral scents over musks or because it is better suited for winter and I'm testing it in August.

LAQA & Co Charm School Kit Cheeky Lip in Cray Cray

The set that this comes in looks really cute actually. The clutch alone would likely be worth the $20 to me, as long as it's as cute in person as it is in the photos. Of the three crayons in the set though, I'm pretty sure the one I received in my sample box would be my favorite. It's a nice natural peachy pink that isn't quite as nude/coral/orange as I thought it would be. The other colors are a very bright red and a dusty rose. With some of the lighter LAQA colors I've noticed that they come off looking a little waxy on my lips. The color doesn't blend in as nicely with my natural lip color and there are some waxy kind of clumps or flakes that are visible when I apply it. However, this one seems to have a nice way of being bright but not loud.

As you may remember, I am obsessed with the LAQA Sheer Lip Lube Pencil in Menatour that I got before. Like the Menatour one, this one glides on really smoothly and has a nice dial at the bottom that moves very smoothly to pump up the crayon after a few uses. This one doubles as a cheek color too, which the other one didn't. This could be because it is more of a subtle color, but also perhaps because although both have a matte finish, this one seems to be a little bit less shiny and blends easily.

Parlor by Jeff Chasten Smoothing Blowout Spray 

The first comment I have to make about this one - it smells just like peaches! That was pretty unexpected actually, but the scent is quite distinct (and pleasant). I found that I had to use an awful lot of the product to spread it evenly on my damp hair, maybe 8-10 sprays. After blow drying my hair, I wouldn't say that my hair felt especially silky or smooth. It was fairly shiny though, because I did notice light reflecting off of some of the lighter tones a bit more - a look I'm always trying to achieve in the summertime. My hair's volume also looked roughly the same as usual, maybe slightly more voluminous but nothing drastic.  I usually use a heat protectant spray and leave-in conditioner when I blow-dry my hair. While this spray does protect your hair from heat damage, it did not - at least in my case - make it smoother and less tangled. So, I still needed to use the leave-in conditioner. I think for other hair types this could be especially nice though because it might eliminate the need for two separate products. It is also a great product if you are looking for sprays that are sulfate, paraben, gluten, or cruelty free and are safe for color treated hair.

Overall this was an okay box. I had picked out the Coola product and always like a LAQA lip color. The rest of the samples were pretty unexciting. I definitely would have loved another make-up item, a shampoo/conditioner, or a cleanser. Here's hoping for next month!

Sale of the Week: 20% off Design Darling

Mackenzie Horan, blogger extraordinaire and owner of delightful online shop Design Darling, is celebrating her birthday this month. What does that mean for all of us? We get to celebrate in style with her! 
Enter "PARTYTIME" at checkout to receive 20% off any purchase on designdarling.com! Hurry - the sale ends Monday.
My picks: Lilly Pulitzer Pink Colony Tumblers, Coral Horn Necklaces, Custom Cut Paper Silhouette, Small Boxwood Topiary, Monogram Leopard Note Cards, Hola Doormat, Jonathan Adler Gold Zebra Dish, #ThingsWeLove Pencil Set, Ginger Jar Cocktail Napkins, Lisi Lerch Tassel Earrings, Kate Kime "Call Me Old Fashioned" Print, Leopard & Flamingo Matches, & Jonathan Adler Zebra Bath Mat

Get Floral and Fresh with Spongelle!

Spongelle's Boxed Flower Body Wash Infused Buffer is a great multi-functional addition to my bath routine. Since it already has body was inside it, there's no need to add anything to it.  Additionally, the sponge starts off a bit stiff which makes it a nice exfoliator too. Best of all, it lasts for 14+ washes!

The packaging of this product definitely makes it a very nice gift. I think the box looks pretty elegant and the ribbon that you can use to hang the sponge is also multifunctional - it's the same decorative ribbon that fits through the hole at the top of the gift box. 

The only thing I don't love about the packaging is that the box isn't lined in foil and/or there isn't a plastic "soap case" so there is no way to use the packaging to ensure that the product stays clean between uses. You definitely need to use the string to hang it somewhere in your bathroom. The sponge does collect hair or towel lint pretty easily, so you need to make sure to rinse it well at the end of each use. If you share a bathroom with a bunch of roommates or want to take it on a trip, it could be tricky to find a good way to store it if you don't have hooks in your shower like I do.

Once you open the box, the sponge is shrink wrapped in plastic, so you know that is is sanitary and has retained its original scent.  The sponge itself is completely hard the first time you take out of the package. 

The instructions for using the sponge are very simple. Just run it under the water while you're taking a shower, then use it like a regular sponge or loofah.  When you're done, wring out the extra water and use it again next time. I found that the sponge definitely started to soften up and feel more like a regular sponge rather than a rough loofah during the process of my first use.  However, it wasn't completely soft after my first use - which I actually like, I felt like it sloughed off some of my dry skin. I went to look at it a few hours later when it had dried and I noticed that it retained the softness. So, I think that after multiple uses the sponge becomes completely soft.

The scent I received was Papaya Yuzu which has extracts of Edelweiss, Yuzu, and Vetiver. It definitely smells like Papaya when you first take it out of the box; however, I felt like it smelled more like a fresh lemon scent when I actually used it. I thought it was nice that I could still smell the scent on my skin after I dried off from the shower. This product currently comes in 5 scents: Papaya Yuzu, Coconut Verbena, Ginger Bergamot, French Lavender, and Bulgarian Rose. You can get them on the Spongelle website for $16 each or without the gift box for $12 each.

The Pedi-Buffer also comes in a decorative box and is protected with shrink wrap. It's significantly smaller than the Flower Body Wash Infused Buffer, but lasts nearly twice as long - 30+ washes! 

This product doesn't come with a hanging ribbon like the other. So, you'll definitely need to have a spare soap dish handy to keep this product fresh. The lather appeared more quickly and was thicker than the body wash buffer. Since I have fairly tough, callous-prone feet, this felt really good on the balls of my feet and my heels. They definitely felt considerably softer and more smooth because of all the essential oils in this sponge.

The scent I received is Beach Grass which I actually liked even better than Papaya Yuzu. It's not as sweet but has a really nice, clean scent that reminds me of the beach. The Pedi-Buffer only comes in two scents, Beach Grass and Mandarin Mint. You can get them on the Spongelle website for $16 each.

Overall I really liked both of these products. They are easy to use, come in wonderful scents, and are long-lasting. I will definitely use these two for the suggested 14+ and 30+ washes. I have a feeling they'll become an integral part of my skincare regimen, especially after tough days at the gym! Also, to put you in patriotic spirit this month, these products are all made in the USA! Who doesn't love that?

SPECIAL OFFER: You can use the code "BBLOGGER20" for 20% your purchase on the Spongelle site. Offer valid through October 19th, 2015.

This is a sponsored post. Spongelle provided me with a Boxed Flower Body Wash Infused Buffer 
and  a Pedi-Buffer for review purposes via Brandbacker.