Simple Skincare

   Have you heard of or tried any skincare products from the brand Simple? They call themselves 'the sensitive skin experts', and create all of their products with sensitive skin in mind. Their products are free of any harsh chemicals which is the culprit of a ton of skin issues! These products also contain NO parabens, artificial fragrances, or dyes.

   As a cosmetologist, I learned long ago that each of the ingredients listed above can cause serious problems with your skin. Regardless of your skin type, products like the ones made by Simple are so much better for your skin than typical cleansers, etc. For example, if you have trouble with dry skin, fragrance can be a main cause due to the fact that more often than not, alcohol is a main ingredient.

   Even those that suffer from acne can find relief from Simple's skin loving products! We are often told repeatedly to use extra harsh products to get rid of acne, but I've learned that the opposite can almost always be better. Let me say that there are different types and causes of acne. If you have cystic acne, for example, a medicated topical treatment may be more beneficial. With that said however, I highly recommend trying gentler products to see how they work for you.

   I myself suffered from severe acne in my teens and early twenties, and it followed me into full-on adulthood. I used every medicated product under the sun to no avail. A few years ago, my skin switched from oily to combo. I had an oily t-zone and was dry around the edges of my face. I also started having patches of eczema pop up on my face! I was beginning to come to terms with the fact that my skin just wasn't ever going to look good.

   My husband just so happened to introduce me to Simple. On his way home one evening, he picked up their Gentle Exfoliating wash (that is gentle enough to use daily), and the Replenishing rich moisturizer. I haven't went a day without them since. Those two products alone have turned every skin issue that I had completely around. I even began to get compliments from strangers on how nice my skin was!

   Exfoliation is a very important step in any skincare routine, in my opinion! You have to get the gunk out of your pores to prevent acne, blackheads, and even dryness and certain types of eczema. Not to mention, if you suffer from acne scars like me, an exfoliator can help minimize their appearance. This exfoliator is gentle enough for everyday use, which is perfect!

   When it comes to moisturizers, I learned myself that water-based is the best. Our bodies are made mostly of water, so it recognizes it and let's it in. Using a moisturizer that just sits on top of your skin isn't giving it true benefits. You want a moisturizer to actually penetrate so that it can work from within in order to get real results. Moisturizer that penetrates the skin has so many benefits such as evening out moisture and actually plumping the skin.

   I love this brand and their products, and absolutely swear by them! If there is anything that you would like to know more about, or have any questions, leave your comments and let me know. That's it for this one, so until next time make sure that you're following me on Twitter and Instagram for extras and updates. Also, if you're not already entered, I currently have a giveaway going on on my Instagram that I'm calling the Pick Your Prize Giveaway because the winner gets to choose their prize from a list that's growing bigger every day! I hope to see you there!
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I am in no way affiliated with Simple, nor was I compensated in any way for this post. The opinions here are solely my own!

  

Giveaway!

Just a quick post to let you know what's going on! I am in the process of copying Reviewing Products Part 2 over to my phone so that I can try to get it posted for you! I wasn't able to get to a computer this past weekend like I planned. I've been insanely busy, but I almost have it done. So keep an eye out for that to get posted! Better yet, you can subscribe and get alerted once it's published!

   Also, there's going to be some gorgeous gifts given away to a couple of my lucky Instagram followers soon! I just posted all the info to my Instagram account earlier, so if you're not following me yet, you definitely want to do that so that you can get in on it (you can find my links on the homepage). Not to mention, you get to see me in all my goofy glory! Did I mention that the winners will get to choose some or all of their prizes! I've also got a contest in the works, as well as a vote for the prize of the 1k giveaway (once I get there hehe). So go get on board because I really need your help, and I love getting to know everyone!

   That's it for now... As always, if you have any questions, post recommendations, or comments, leave them in the comment section! Until next time, make sure you're following me on Twitter and Instagram for updates and extras!

Start Reviewing Products (Part 2)

   Hi everyone! So, I still haven't been able to get out, unfortunately. However, I was able to get a new phone that gives me quite a few more options than my other one so that I can work something out a bit better when I can't get to a computer. This post is so far past overdue, and I can't apologize enough! But here it is, so let's go!

   Hopefully you've already read 'Reviewing Products (Part 1)'. If not, I highly recommend that you do! Part 1 was a general introduction to a few of my favorite WOM websites that I currently work with, what they do, and where you fit in as a product reviewer. I recommended that you sign up with Influenster; if you haven't done that yet, you can do so here (if you want to!). If you did sign up, congrats! What do you think so far? Influenster may seem overwhelming at first, but it covers all of the basics of reviewing, and offers several articles to get you started that are insanely helpful for product reviewers!

   For those of you that thought that just one site wouldn't be enough, I also talked about Crowdtap. Who signed up for this one, and what did you think? I've realized and decided that the best thing to do would be to carry on with a series about product reviewing. I'll also be posting about other topics, but consider it like a 'sub-blog' because posts about reviewing will be running parallel with other posts for awhile at least. In other words, on most publish days, I'll publish a post about whatever I feel like writing about for the day, as well as a reviewing post! Let's get on with this one, shall we?

   Let's start off today with BzzAgent. I've been thinking that I should have recommended this one for your second sign up, but I didn't, so... I always talk about Crowdtap being simple, but BzzAgent is as simple as it gets. Like every other WOM site, you will answer a variety of questions about your lifestyle and hobbies at sign-up. Again, sites use this information to find and offer the best available campaigns for you! Always be completely honest when answering these questions! There are truly NO answers that will get you more campaigns. Just trust me. Always be 100% honest, because it will definitely benefit you in the long run!

   After answering your questions, you will connect your social media accounts so that BzzAgent can see how large the audience is that you will reach with your reviews. Now, here is where I can give you a tip! Most WOM sites want you to connect your social media for this reason. Needless to say, the higher your reach, the better! I'll be posting tips and recommendations soon! After connecting your social media, you may or may not have a few simple surveys or extra questions to answer, and then you're done! From here on out, all you really need to do is log in fairly regularly to see if you have any new surveys which will qualify you for upcoming campaigns. If you do, there will be a link to the survey under your point meter.
 
  The only extra activity that they offer is Bite Sized Bzz, a social media centered activity like fun little tasks, questions, or prompts that you can participate in and then post to your social media. You do not get any kind of credit or points for these. It's just for fun and something to do in between campaigns. Credit? Points?

   On your BzzAgent profile, you have a point meter that ranges from 0-10. As you complete campaign tasks and surveys, you receive points, and your meter goes up. But watch out! If you don't log in and check your account regularly, you may miss a survey that has been waiting on you. If that happens, your meter can go down slowly with the time that a survey remains unanswered. You want that meter to get and stay as close to 10 as possible because that will increase your odds of getting chosen for a campaign!

   The next site that I want to throw in the mix is the Home Tester Club. This one wasn't my cup of tea personally, but we are all different and I want to make sure that I include sites of all types and for all interests! Home Tester Club offers and extremely wide range of products from home, beauty, health, baby, food, and more. That's actually fantastic! Honestly, my only issue with this one was that it's a bit disorganized. When I say disorganized, I mean my dashboard was a mess of notifications that didn't exist and comments from other users about things that had absolutely nothing to do with me. I'd get notified about a new campaign, go to the page to sign up and see that it was already over! DISORGANIZED.

   However, I deleted my own account months ago, and things may have gotten cleaned up a bit, or maybe that won't even be an issue for you! Let me know! This was one of the very first sites that I ever signed up with while I was in my trial and error stage and, to be honest, I can't really remember the sign up process! It seems like this one was a bit simpler than the others. It may have asked for yearly income, male or female, and those basics, but I think that was really about it. If you sign up for this one, let me know and tell me how it goes!

   Another site with a wide range of things to test is Toluna. This is another that I ended up dropping. There are no issues, and it's very organized, but it just wasn't for me. I thoroughly enjoy being a product tester for brands. I have a lot of pride in what I do, and I take my reviews for the brands that give me the opportunity to work with them very seriously.

   Toluna is really more of an interactive community with a lot of member-made questions and polls. About twice a month, you can go to one lonesome page and find the singular product that they have up for testing at that moment. When it opens for testing, it's a race to sign up! Most WOM sites work hand-in-hand with the brand that they are campaigning with and choose members according to guidelines that the brand is looking for. At Toluna, it's more of a first come, first served kind of thing.

   I got one product from Toluna in the couple of months that I was there- the Maybelline Gamey mascara- and was told that in two weeks I would receive an email for my review and closing survey. It never came by the time I had written this post last week, three months after receiving the product. I emailed support, they reassured me it would come, and three months later there was still nothing. So I left. I literally got the email this morning, over FOUR months later! If you sign up, of course let me know and tell me what you think of it!

   There is only one site left to talk about that I listed on Reviewing Products Part 1, but it's one that I really love and want time to talk about, and this post is already so long! I wasn't kidding when I said that I was a rambler!!! In college, I had no trouble meeting word requirements because I know how to make something stretch on forever! I love this one so much, so what I'm going to do is this: I'm hoping to get some comments AND questions about Influenster, and plan to write about it more in depth. I'll either write about Poshly in that post, or it will be at the very top of the list in my next post where I'll talk about more WOM sites that you can join (ones I just haven't gotten around to signing up for myself). Is that okay? In the meantime, I recommend that you go ahead and get signed up for Poshly! It's a lot of answering questions, but it's so worth it! Not to mention, you might get a surprise email (or five) with some really super duper cool offers!

   Okay loves, that's it for this one! I know it was long, but it was also a really long time coming. The good news is that I have more coming in this series, and some of my favorite sites are still to come! Until next time!

High-speed Issues

   If you follow me on social media, you may have heard me mention that I haven't had any high-speed data for the entire month of February. Look, I'm broke and currently only have a plan that allows for 5GB of data each month. Literally just over 24 hours into renewing my plan on the 2nd day of February, I got a low data warning and the next thing I knew, it was gone. I called AT&T and found out that an app that I had on my phone had been running in the background and had somehow used 4.8 of the 5GB within basically one day! What?! How?!

   Anyhoo... As you probably know, I just started this blog. I had already went in even though my computer had fried, so I don't currently have my own, and now this. If you don't already know, it's virtually impossible to run a blog from a phone. I'm not saying that it's technically impossible, but it's insanely difficult. Right this second, I have a screen that is only capable of showing about three or four words at a time. Not to mention how hard it is to check spelling and grammar! I know a blogger that had these same issues for a minute and would go to the library to use a public computer. Great option, but the problem is that I don't have a license and I live about ten miles from the closest library. Ugh.

   I just wanted to touch base because it has been a week since my last post, and I was in the middle of a 'series' on product reviewing and how/where to get started if reviewing is something that you are interested in. I have been going to my home of homes, my dad's, to publish my posts but haven't been able to get there this week. So this is being posted from my phone, and not just any phone, but a $20 prepaid phone that doesn't even have a flash (something else you may have already heard me talk about)! I like posting pictures for you to keep it a bit more interesting, which is something else I can't do today. Bummer.

   I do have a very old miniature laptop that takes forever to do anything on and the battery is constantly at 2% no matter what, but I have been writing and saving posts to Word on it so that I can catch up. This weekend, when I get to a computer, I'll be making up for the lack of posts!

   I also haven't had any comments yet, but have had almost 100 views. I really would love to hear from you (even if you don't necessarily plan to be a regular visitor) and what you want to hear about! Also, have you signed up for any of the WOM sites that I have told you about? Yes, there will be a new post up this weekend that picks up where I left off as far as that is concerned.

   So forgive me for the mess that this post may be, and forgive me for not posting in a week. I already love this so much, and it is something that I've been wanting to do for years. I truly appreciate those of you that have been reading, and I hope you stick around because I promise you that things are going to get so much better!

   As always, make sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter, if you're not already. You can find my handles on the homepage. If you read my post about the makeup that I bought from Amazon, I posted some videos on Instagram showing and discussing them. In case you are on a device that doesn't show my @s, I'll post them down below. Also, please leave me some comments and let me know what you're interested in reading or learning about!

• Twitter 🐦
• Instagram 📷

   *Now, let's see how or if I can get this posted without high-speed 🙏
(Depending on how this works out, I may go ahead and put up another post)