review – Page 117 – Luv Saving Money

Mia Mariu cosmetics review and giveaway

Mia Mariu is a natural health and beauty company based out of Dallas. Mia Mariu make up is a mineral make up infused with vitamins and anti-oxidants like green tea, to protect skin and prevent breakouts. The skin care like uses botanicals for a natural and gentle skin transformation. They offer social selling opportunities for women to sell through ecommerce, social media, while offering personal service.

I received a few Mia Mariu mineral make up products and a brush to try out. From left to right in the picture above I received: Mia Mariu Caramelo loose mineral shadow liner, Mia Mariu Mora loose mineral shadow liner, Mia Mariu Hydrating Stick Gloss in Encanto, and a Mia Mariu Multipurpose eye shadow base & contour brush.

I did a swatch of the 2 shadow liners on the back of my hand hoping it might be a little easier for you to see. Mora is a dark chocolate brown with a hint of plum in it. Caramelo is a very light beige. On my skin the Caramelo just kind of shows up as a shimmer. The Caramelo is below the darker Mora color and you can just kind of see the shimmer on my skin.

I really like this make up it’s very light. With my skin, I love to wear make up but I’m always concerned about breakouts. It felt natural on my skin and stayed well. I did a before and after pic with the make up I received. This first pick is without makeup. I had just cleansed my skin and applied a tinted moisturizer.

Then I applied the make up I received. I love how hydrating the stick gloss is. At first I wasn’t so sure about the color in the tube. It seemed a bit bright for me. After applying it though, I rather liked it.

I think the colors really agreed with my skin tone, hair, and eye color.

If you’re looking for a work from home opportunity and to be your own boss, you can sign up to become an Mia Mariu Adviser. There are 2 different starter kits available.

Mia Mariu is a company that gives back. They are a proud supporter of the Wounded Warriors Wives, an Operation Home Front that’s dedicated to recognize, inspire, and comfort the woman who sacrifice to care for our county’s wounded warriors.

You can find Mia Mariu on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/miamariu
and on twitter: @Mia_Mariu

GIVEAWAY

1 Luv Saving Money reader will win a hydrating stick gloss, and 2 loose mineral shadow liners in the colors of their choice.

US Only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***I received the above mentioned/pictured products at no cost in order to complete this review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. Any opinions expressed are my own.***

Safees Reflectors, great idea for Back to School: Review and Giveaway

I’ve read about how it’s a good idea to wear reflectors, reflective clothing, or at least light colored clothing when your outside, especially when it’s starting to get dark. Dark clothing and non-reflective clothing can be very hard to see for drivers. Here’s a scary statistic, did you know that over 2/3 of pedestrian fatalities occur when it’s either dark or even dark with street lights on.

Did you also know that in Scandinavian countries they have the best traffic safety records in the world?! Every school child has to wear one and their traffic fatalities involving children are the lowest in the world according to WHO Global Status report on road safety.

A wonderful company called Safees is a great solution to this problem. Safees are hard prism reflectors that can easily be attached with a clip to clothing, book bags, stroller, purses, jackets, costumes, etc. They can be worn by both adults and children and come in lots of fun designs. They meet CE and Lloyds certification and adhere to ISO standards. They also meet very high EU standards of environmental consideration, in other words no waste is produced in the manufacturing and Safees are 100% recyclable.

Here is a short video on how Safees can protect you and your children at night

Safees make you 500% more visible to drivers at night. When I opened my review samples, even without actually trying them out in the environment I could see that they were highly reflective with an irridecent shimmer to each one. My oldest son volunteered to try them out for the review. I first had him stand in the backyard roughly 10 feet away at first. I attached one Safees to the back of his shirt and one Safees to the front. Here is the first picture:

This Safees was the clear horse design. I then had him go up about 30 feet into the yard and took a picture of the one on his back.

You can see that it’s hard to see my son in this picture but the blue snowflake Safee is bright and easy to spot. I was impressed with how much it reflected and was visible even from 30 feet away. There are many different colors and styles to fit just about anyone.

Safees website also has a helpful page with statistics and links to traffic awareness and traffic safety sites for tips on how to keep your children safe at night: http://www.safees.com/pages/stay-safe-heres-how

At a cost of only $6 each I think there would be a smart idea during your back to school purchases. Clip one to your child’s backpack or jacket. It won’t be long until we start losing daylight and only a few months until trick or treat. Safees is also offering a coupon to save 15% off your order of Safees product with code: Safeesbacktoschool2012

You can also find Safee on twitter @Safeesreflector

GIVEAWAY

1 Luv Saving Money reader will win 5 Safees reflectors

US only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***I received 3 Safees at no cost in order to complete a review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. Any opinions expressed are my own.***

Custom Stamps from Stampsdoneright.com

Stampsdoneright.com offers custom made stamps for whatever your personal or business needs. Are you looking for a return address stamp to make bill paying and letter writing quicker? Are you a Notary looking for an embosser or stamp? They even have QR code stamps.

I chose to review the return address self-inking stamp. It has my return address as well as a line that includes this blog address. It’s kind of hard for me to show the stamp without giving the world my address but I did take a picture of the side of the self-inking stamper itself.

I had to give it a firm push to make sure the whole address showed up on the envelope. The first time I tried to use it I just gave it a quick push and the right side of the address stamp didn’t show up. With a firm push however, my return address shows up bold and easy to read. The press is smooth and quick.

The whole stamper itself is about 2/3 of the size of my hand. It’s light weight and easy to use. The particular stamp model is the trodat printy 4913. When I requested my stamp, I was surprised that I had it by the next week. I’m used to custom items taking a little longer to receive.

If you’re in the market for a custom stamp for your home or business, I would definitely recommend http://www.stampsdoneright.com. Their prices are reasonable as well. My particular stamp above is only $13.49 on the site right now. There are versions that cost even less as well.

***I received the above mentioned/pictured self inking stamp at no cost in order to complete a review. Any opinions expressed are my own. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post.***

Carmex introduces the new Pomegranate lip balm

Carmex lip balm sticks use an ulta-moisturizing formula that glides on smooth. Each of their lip balm sticks contain SPF 15 broad spectrum sunscreen that is water resistant for up to 80 minutes!! Carmex lip balm sticks come in Original, Cherry, Strawberry, Vanilla, Lime Twist, and now, the new Pomegranate flavor.

The new Carmex Pomegranate lip balm stick feels wonderful on the lips. The moisturizing effect lasted for a long time after I applied it. Carmex sticks are clear and colorless. Giving your lips protection from dryness and the sun that can be used by anyone. The pomegranate stick has a great smell that is definitely pomegranate. I think this flavor is a great addition to the flavor line up.

These little sticks are great all year round. Take them with you on your summer trips or pool side over the summer. I know my boys will be starting football practices soon and I’ll be out in the sun for 2 hours at a clip. You can be sure I’m gonna take my Carmex sticks with me. Carmex has made it a lot of fun to take to the pool or the beach too because they sent this awesome pack over to me:

They sent me this functional Carmex beach bag that has an attached zipper pouch great for putting my lip balms and other things in for all our summer fun.

Stop over and like Carmex facebook page too. This year Carmex celebrates their 75th anniversary. When they hit 750,000 fans on facebook they’re going to have a giveaway! You can also find @Carmex on twitter.

Also there’s a coupon floating around for $1 off Carmex skincare which I absolutely love:

Oh yea that picture above, Carmex is going to give the same prize pack to one of you!

GIVEAWAY

1 Luv Saving Money readers will win the same prize pack I received (pictured above)

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

***I received the above pictured prize pack as part of the Carmex Blog Squad. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. Any opinions expressed are my own.***

Pink Zebra from Kerri: Simmer Pot and Sprinkles review and giveaway

I only had starting hearing about Pink Zebra myself about a year ago. Pink Zebra was started by Tom and Kelly Gaines who had already worked in a candle business. They used their knowledge to start their own business. It was hard for them at first but their little home fragrance business grew. It grew so much that they were able to buy one of the largest candle manufacturers in the world.

Pink Zebra offers a variety of home fragrances. Their Pink Zebra sprinkles are scented wax sprinkles that can be used in one of their simmer pots or any warmer. A flameless way to create scent in your home.

I’m working on this review with a very friendly Pink Zebra rep named Kerri. This is my first personal experience with Pink Zebra and Kerri has done everything to make sure it was a good one.

The above pictured Fleur de lys green simmer pot and sprinkles were sent to my house. Now understand that the items actually come from the Pink Zebra warehouse when they’re ordered online. I received mine but the dish that sits on top of the warmer bottom was missing. It wasn’t in the box. I went all through the boxes, the packing, and even my garbage just to make sure I didn’t inadvertently throw it away. I contacted Kerri, and she quickly made sure I had a replacement. The items arrived in good shape.

I couldn’t wait to try out my simmering pot and the Fresh Raspberry sprinkles I had chosen. The scent was very nice. Not over powering but just enough to leave a nice hint of raspberry lingering in the air.

The simmer pot plugs in but there is as switch on it to turn it on and off. The Pink Zebra sprinkles surprisingly came in a glass jar. I’m rather excited about that. Easier to recycle in my town.

Another thing I wanted to point out about Pink Zebra, they support a cause called HEROES. HEROES stands for Helping, Encouraging, Rewarding, and Obtaining Education for Single Mothers. They realize that single moms do it all, work, pay bills, cook, clean, maybe go to school, all while still being a mother to their children. Whenever a consultant holds a party with sales of $500 or more 1 day of daycare is donated to help a single mother. Their goal is to pay for 1 million days of daycare over the next 10 years.

If you’re thinking of purchasing from Pink Zebra I highly recommend Kerri to be your consultant. Here is here site: www.sprinkleurscent.com and you can find her on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pzdillonk you’re gonna want to like Kerri’s Pink Zebra facebook page because she will be holding her own giveaway for a $25 gift certificate!

As for sales, the July fragrance of the month is Tahitian Lime. It’s the scent of tangy lime and Tahitian sea salt, 15% off this month.

There is also info on Kerri’s Pink Zebra site on how to become a consultant for Pink Zebra. Her info is on her site if you’d like to book a party with her as well.

GIVEAWAY

Kerri has offered to give one Luv Saving Money readers their own

small simmer pot and their choice of 1 jar of sprinkles

US only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***I received the above pictured products at no cost in order to complete this review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. Any opinions expressed are my own.***