review – Page 93 – Luv Saving Money

Starting the ProSkin 28 Blogger Challenge

**For taking the ProSkin Blogger Challenge I received a free pair of ProSkin SLIM leggings at no cost in exchange for 5 posts throughout my 28 day challenge**

It’s hard to believe it’s been 4 months already since I had my daughter. I love her so much and she’s so precious. The only thing I don’t love about the whole experience is the extra inches around my waist, bum, and thighs I put on. Before kids I was a size 2. With each kid I steadily put on some weight and went up a size. I’m not fluctuating between a size 8 and 10. I know it’s not bad but I can definitely feel the difference in my energy since I’ve been putting on weight. I don’t want or need to be a size 2 again but I’d be happy to see a size 6 just to get some of my energy back. I mean, I need it with 4 kids plus working outside my home.

ProSkin US invited me to take the 28 day Blogger Challenge. The challenge, where the ProSkin SLIM tights every day for the 28 days for 8 hours and see the results. ProSkin SLIM tights are supposed to minimize the appearance of cellulite. They are made from a patented microencapsulated yarn that contains caffeine, retinol, Aloe Vera, fatty acids, and Vitamin E. Sounds pretty advanced as far as workout clothing goes if you ask me. Another idea I like is that the ProSkin SLIM tights have a silver antibacterial treatment to reduce odor and increase the lifetime of the leggings.

When I first put them on I noticed that they are quite stretchy. They are also very thin so they would easily fit under a pair of pants or be fine to layer with a tunic or skirt. They are very form fitting but not uncomfortable. Actually the opposite. Once they were on I barely noticed I had the on because they were so soft, light weight, and thin.

Part of the challenge is they want to know what problem area I want to work on the most. For me that was easy, definitely my stomach.

My poor belly. I was lucky to never get any stretch marks from any of the kids but I do have the muffin top that likes to hand over my shorts/pants and such. The ProSkin SLIM leggings pull up over my belly so I’m hoping they’ll help me with my problem area.

They also want to know my measurements before the challenge. Since today is the first day for me, I started my measurements.

My belly (my problem area) 36 inches
Hip (around the wides area of my bum) 39 and 3/4 inches

Top of thigh (23 inches)

Middle of Thigh (21.5 inches)

Just above my knee (15.5 inches)

Just below my knee (12.5 inches)

Widest part of calf (13.75 inches)

Last part, my actual weight. I get to test out my new MIRA scale with this challenge too which I’ll be doing a more detailed review on later.

Well you see it folks, 142.6 lbs. Honestly though, my weight number is not as important to me as my inches around my belly and thighs numbers.

Even if you’re not a blogger you can take the ProSkin 28 Challenge and get a coupon code for 50% off a pair of ProSkins. If you’re not up for a formal challenge but still want to try the ProSkin shorts you can save 50% off those with code: blogshort

Crazy Dog T-shirts Put the Cool in Back to School

**I received a tshirt from CrazyDogTshirts.com in order to complete an honest review. No other compensation has been received**

I own a couple Crazy Dog T-shirts myself. I love some of the vintage shirts they have, shirts from some of my fave movies, and funny shirts.

Crazy Dog T-Shirts started in 2004 by founder Bill Kingston while attending Ithaca College. He started selling a few designs as part of a final project for an e-commerce class. The orders continued even after college so he kept with it. The company has grown since then with 15 full-time employees and 2 Part-Time.
80% of the designs they sell are printed in house. The others, they work with partners like Junk Food and David & Goliath to give you the best selection at good prices.

Since I already have a few shirts I had purchased in the past from Crazy Dog, I know that they’re good quality t-shirts. I wear my shirts frequently because I think they’re a fun way to show my personality and sense of humor. My son saw this shirt and just had to have it.

It says “Scuba Steve Scuba Squad” If you’re not able to read it. Pop quiz, do you know which movie this shirt is from? My son loves this shirt. He wants to wear it almost every day. In fact I had to sneak it out of his bedroom to wash it. I know, boys, right? When we were looking at the shirts, my oldest son saw a bunch he liked too. They were laughing and pointing out different shirts. They like them so much I told them I’d get them each a couple (as appropriate for school) for their back to school clothes shopping. They were super excited about that.

Crazy Dog TShirts are soft and durable. They have a little room for give which is great for me with my 3 growing boys. I’ve snuck his Scuba Steve shirt into the wash a few times and it doesn’t seem to have shrunk or faded.

You can find Crazy Dog T-shirts on the following social media sites:
Twitter: @CrazyDogTShirts
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrazyDogTshirts
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/crazydogtshirts/

Ok did you guess what my son’s shirt is from. The movie “Big Daddy” with Adam Sandler. The boy in the movie, his favorite hero was Scuba Steve. Did you get it?

GIVEAWAY

1 Luv Saving Money reader will win a

Crazy Dog Tshirt ($16.99 or less)

US only

Entry -Form

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Back To School Snack Idea with PB Crave

**I received the below mentioned products in order to complete an honest review. Any opinions expressed are my own. No other compensation has been received**

PB Crave is natural peanut butter with a selection of tasty favor blends. Razzle Dazzle, Choco Choco, Coco Banana, and Cookie Nookie are a tasty treat that you’ll want to put on everything.

I’m so excited that PB Crave is now available at most Walmarts. My Walmart doesn’t have them yet but I keep looking. Everyone in my family loves them, well except the baby, she can’t have any yet.

PB Crave uses natural premium ingredients in each of their 4 flavors. They also use natural US grown peanuts in their products. The CoCo Banana flavor for instance uses natural peanut butter with bananas, chocolate and a touch of wild honey. They do not use high fructose corn syrup, no hydrogenated oils, no trans fat, cholesterol free, gluten free, kosher certified, and no sugar added. Phew that’s a list! As if all that doesn’t sound good enough a portion of the proceeds from the sale of PB Crave peanut butter goes to Project Peanut Butter which is a non-profit organization that focuses on treating malnourished children.

Ok so I thought I’d share with you an idea for a fun, easy, tasty, and mobile after school snack for the kiddos. This also works great to pack in a lunch for pre-school for the little ones. I call this a PB Crave roll-up.

What you need:

-a piece of bread (can also use a tortilla if you prefer)
-butter knife
-rolling pin
-your fave PB Crave flavor

This is so easy, the kids can even do it. You can actually add more to it if you want, bananas and what not but I’ll show you the basic idea.

Take your rolling pin and flatten the bread with the rolling pin (If you’re using a tortilla, skip this step)

Spread your fave PB Crave flavor over the bread. If you like this is wear you can also add things into it like chopped up bananas, raspberries, crushed graham crackers, etc.

Roll it up, the peanut butter helps it stick so it doesn’t unroll.

Tada, there you go. See I promised you easy right? My kids love these. They’re great for a snack. Also good for toddlers and pre-schools that can bite and chew but won’t necessarily eat a whole sandwich. They’re not messy because the peanut butter isn’t leaking out the sides and it’s convenient because little ones can eat it while their mobile and the bigger kids can eat it while they work on their homework. They pack well into a lunch bag or lunch box too.

Another good after school snack with PB Crave is apples and PB Crave peanut butter. Just put a dallop of PB Crave peanut butter on a dessert plate and cut some apples into slices. You can also core an apple then fill the center with PB Crave and make that an on-the-go snack too. With having 4 kids and the 2 oldest being in every sport they can be in just about, I’m always about on-the-go healthy snacks.

You can find PB Crave at most Walmarts and Cost Plus World Market. You can also buy it online on the PB Crave website , on OpenSky (Recommended by Andrew Zimmern), and on Amazon:

You can keep up with PB Crave on these social media sites:

Twitter: @PBCrave
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PBCrave

GIVEAWAY

1 lucky Luv Saving Money readers will win a

Choco Choco Variety Pack

Contiguous US only

Entry -Form

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Advanced Mineral Makeup Foundation Liquid Foundation

**I received the below mentioned product at no cost in exchange for an honest review. Any opinions expressed are my own. No other compensation has been received**

I enjoy doing my make up. For me, it’s a way to express myself and to bring out some of my attributes. I think make up can really enhance an outfit or make you look put together if done right. In my opinion, the base of well done make up is a good foundation. I think the right foundation can give you a smooth even palette to start your expression. Foundation can help even out skin tone or even hide some minor imperfections if you choose. The wrong foundation, well, the wrong foundation just isn’t going to be flattering.
For an every day look I like a light foundation that will protect my skin from the sun’s harsh rays. When I apply it I want it to look natural. Just enough coverage to even everything out but not so heavy it looks…like I’m wearing make up.

Advanced Mineral Makeup has lots of foundations for you to start you makeup off right. With lots of shades to suit your skin tone. Whether you prefer loose powder, pressed powder, or liquid foundation they might have an option that will fit you. There doesn’t seem to be any really dark tones though.

You start off by figuring out which celebrity you are (in terms of skin tone). You can do this by looking at their celebrity shade finder chart: http://advancedmineralmakeup.com/www/shade-finder-2/ For me it really depends on what time of year it is. In the winter I’m fair and would probably lean more toward Taylor Swift with the creme brulee liquid foundation. In the summer, I tan pretty easy so for this review I went with Angelina Jolie and the Gingersnap liquid foundation.

This is my skin without any make up at all. A couple blemishes on the forehead. Skin tone a bit uneven, lots of freckles. Yep that’s me. For the most part I don’t mind my skin but it’s definitely easier to work with when I apply foundation. I prefer liquid on my skin because I think it blends in a little better.

I pumped one pump of the Ginger Snap Advanced Mineral Makeup liquid foundation onto the back of my hand.

It’s a light liquid. It doesn’t feel greasy or heavy at all. This is only one pump. They recommend 2-3 pumps to apply to your face.

It evened out my skin tone a bit. Not sure why this picture ended up being brighter than the initial onebut whatever.

Advanced Mineral Makeup was created by a TV and film makeup artist named Annie Mayo. The makeup is contains natural sunscreens. It’s all natural and does not contain things like parabens, perfumes, dyes, talc, and preservatives. It’s anti-inflammatory so it will actually help with that blemish on my forehead. The liquid mineral foundation is 100% Vegan and gluten free. It is also antimicrobial so no nasty bacteria can grow in your makeup or on your face.

Here’s a fun fact about it as well, Advanced Mineral Makeup is used on the sets of Grey’s Anatomy and NCIS because is camera friendly.

My final opinion on this makeup is that it’s definitely a foundation I will continue using. The coverage and benefits are great for me. Since it doesn’t transfer off it lasts all day and I don’t have to worry about reapplying which is great for this busy working mom of 4.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Tipsy Treats Bakery Review

**I received the below mentioned products at no cost in order to complete an honest review. No other compensation has been received**

I’m definitely a fan of small businesses. I love working with small businesses. When they have a good product I’m more than happy to say so and tell all you about it. That’s why, it’s hard for me to write this review but I have to be honest.

I was asked to review some fun sounding cupcakes from Tipsy Treats Bakery. The idea of Tipsy Treats Bakery is that they are cupcakes infused with alcohol. I was actually quite excited to try these. I mean a treat just for me and the hubs, something I would not be expected to share with the kids for obvious reasons. Something different. I love cupcakes, and I do enjoy a drink every now and then. I was first asked to choose two flavors from their list to try. So i picked out a couple and was pretty excited about it. Then I received an email saying that she had been to a bake sale and not all of them sold so she was going to send me what was left from the bake sale. The flavors were Mudslide and Hawaiian Cherry. Not the flavors I had chosen but still sounded good and I can certainly understand not wanting to waste something. The picture examples just made my mouth water. This message was sent on July 14.

Does that not look delicious or what? I have to keep myself from licking the computer screen. After over a week I still had not received the cupcakes and was starting to wonder if she had changed her mind about the promotion or maybe she was going to send us the flavor we asked for. I don’t know how long cupcakes are really fresh for. On July 29 I received a message stating she was shipping the cupcakes out that day. A few days later I received the cupcakes, Mudslide and Hawaiian Cherry. My first thought was, “Are these still from the bake sale she had before the 14th?” That’s over 2 weeks from the mail saying she was going to send use those flavors that were left from the bake sale. Are they still fresh? Did she make new ones to send? There was really nothing to indicate either from an email or a note in the package to say how old these cupcakes were. They arrived looking nothing like the picture. Now I’ll be the first to admit that it can’t be easy to ship cupcakes. Honestly I wouldn’t know the best way to do it. They arrived in a nice size box. Inside the box was a plastic cup with a cupcake wrapped in plastic wrap. They came out looking like this:

They were small. The Hawaiian Cherry one came out in the best shape. I’m assuming it was the Hawaiian cherry just by look and scent there was nothing to indicate the flavors or what was actually in them. I honestly debated on even taking a bite of either one. I ended up throwing caution to the wind and tried the Hawaiian Cherry one. Honestly the flavor was not bad, I could detect a slight hint of alcohol. I couldn’t bring myself to eat the Mudslide one though. I tried to show it in the top picture but it was actually quite slimy.

They are being sold on the site at a price of $3.50 a cupcake plus I was curious to see how much shipping was so I added one to my cart and shipping was $5.85 (cheapest method) so you’re looking at over $9 for a cupcake. I tried adding a half dozen and it’s $21 for 6 and the shipping stays the same.

I realize alcohol is not cheap but I have a hard time recommending anyone spend $3.50 per cupcake plus shipping for these. I imagine it would be better if they were fresh and you were able to buy them from Tipsy Treats Bakery directly either through one of the bake sales or from the baker in person where you could take it home that same day and enjoy it without having to worry about shipping.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.