TheSkimm: A Great Resource for College Students

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I don't know about you, but I have a lot on my plate right now. I have two big midterms coming up on Friday, and I'm still not even finished with the reading for one of the classes. And then of course is homework and stuff for other classes, and a meeting to go to for one of the organizations I'm involved in. So to say the least, these next couple days are going to be long ones. 

Anyway, enough about me, I wanted to talk to you about a great resource for college students (or people of any age) called TheSkimm. For those of you who haven't heard of it, TheSkimm is an free email newsletter that is sent out Monday-Friday giving little blurbs about current events. Each newsletter is short and to the point, and the way TheSkimm lays out its content makes it interesting to read. 

As a college student, sometimes it's hard to keep up with what's going on with the world around us, and often times we don't have time to watch the news or tune in to see what's going on. When current events are sometimes brought up in class or by our peers, it can be a little awkward if we are hearing about things for the first time through them. 

For me, I'm in a Global Politics class where current events are talked about all the time, so it's been really nice getting to read a little bit about current events through TheSkimm before class. I usually find time to read the TheSkimm on my phone when I'm waiting in line at the coffee shop every morning, or even when I get to class early.

It never hurts to stay on top of what's happening in the world, so if you would like to sign up, there's a link up above. If you're not sure you'd want to sign up or not, feel free to check out today's Skimm (for Oct. 15) here.

I initially found out about this news resource from a girl I went to high school with, who also goes to the same college as me. She's a year ahead, so she's given me some great tips for college, such as telling me about theSkimm. 

Reading TheSkimm everyday and keeping up to date on current events really helped her in the long run, like earlier this year when she attended one of our college's internship fairs for the business school. While at the internship fair, she ran into some representatives from a company she had read about earlier that week in TheSkimm, who just underwent some great company merger. While talking to the reps, she mentioned what she had read about their company on TheSkimm, and they were really impressed. 

So honestly, you never know when you might need to know a thing or two about current events, and it never hurts to be informed, either! Whether you try it out or not, let me know what you think about it in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!

*This post was not sponsored. These are just my own, honest opinions.

Influenster Vitality VoxBox Product Review

Well, it's official! I've been a college student for just about 3 weeks now. It's been a hectic few weeks with just one thing happening after another, so I apologize I haven't posted in a little while! I'll be sure to tell you all about my college life soon, but for now, I wanted to review the items I got in my Influenster Vitality VoxBox! 

For those of you who don't know what Influenster is, Influenster is an online company who sends out boxes of products to try out for free. Basically, all you have to do is connect your social media accounts and fill out surveys to boost your online impact score. And based on that score, Influenster chooses who to send VoxBoxes to. 

I happened to be one of the people Influenster chose to receive the Vitality VoxBox, so let's get started on the products inside:

// The Softlips Cube ($3.49 in stores) was probably my favorite product from this VoxBox. I got mine in the scent Vanilla Bean, and it just smells amazing! On the package, the Softlips cube says that it's for 5 in 1 Lip Care, meaning that it hydrates, replenishes, smooths, protects, and adds shine. And from what I've found, it does all 5 of those things. My lips feel really soft after using it, and it helps a lot with preventing chapped lips.

If you're wondering how this compares to eos lip balm, I would say that the Softlips Cube is a little better. With eos, I felt like within a half hour after I applied the lip balm, my lips were already dried out again whereas with Softlips, my lips do stay hydrated nicely. 

In the VoxBox I also received two coupons for a $1 off a Softlips cube, and I think I might actually use it! This is definitely a product that I will be buying once it runs out. 

// Another product I received was called Bikini Ready Energy Gummies ($14.99 in stores...pictured above is a sample size), which is supposed to be a B-12 vitamin supplement that gives you a boost of energy. It also says that "with a healthy diet and exercise program" the gummies are supposed to "help boost your metabolism and increase your energy so you can maximize your workouts." 

I was a little tentative to try these since I don't normally take any supplements, but when I finally tried them, I honestly don't think they did too much (if anything). They had a weird medicine-like taste to them, and I didn't feel any more energized after taking them. I probably wouldn't recommend these to anyone.

//  The next product I received was Pure Leaf Unsweetened Iced Tea. Pure Leaf Iced Tea is said to be made from "real brewed tea for that fresh brewed taste." Now I'm not a big fan of tea, but thankfully my roommate likes tea, so I gave it to her to try. She said she loved it, and a couple days after I gave her the tea, we walked up to CVS and she ended up buying another couple bottles of Pure Leaf Iced Tea! So for tea lovers, it must be pretty good!

//  Next up is the Elizabeth Arden FLAWLESS FUTURE Powered by Ceramide Caplet Serum ($60 for 1.0 fl oz...pictured above is a sample size). This Elizabeth Arden Serum is supposed to keep your skin looking flawless by reducing signs of wrinkles, reinforcing your skin's moisture barrier, and even skin tone and texture. When I tried it, I think this product did help brighten up my skin a little more, and it definitely made my skin feel moisturized. However, I don't think I'd spend $60 on it. 

//  Another product I received from this VoxBox was the Playtex Sport Fresh Balance Tampons ($3.99). I have to say, my roommate started cracking up when she saw that I got a box of tampons from Influenster. But anyway, I already use this brand of tampons, so I was happy to get a free box! I think they're pretty good as far as tampons go. :)

// Alright and the last product I received was the First Degree Advanced Burn Cream ($5.97-$8.99). This burn cream is supposed to help repair skin damage from all types of minor burns. I haven't had any burns recently, so I haven't had a chance to really use this product. However, I did just put a little on the tip of my finger anyway, and it really does feel cooling (even without a burn). So I guess this will come in handy if I ever get a burn!

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And those were all the products in my Vitality VoxBox! I was actually surprised by how many products were inside, and I think I'll definitely be using or buying some of these products again! 

I hope you all have a great start to your weekend!! I'll be going to my first college football game tomorrow night (football's a really big thing at my school), so I'll be sure to post about that and my other college experiences that I've had so far soon!

*I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes*

Lilly Pulitzer 2014-2015 Jumbo Agenda Review

 All through high school, I was forced to use the plain, black and white daily planner that my school gave me. I could have bought my own, but everyone was pretty much expected to use the planners they gave us. So after 4 years of using a boring planner, I have finally upgraded to a Lilly Pulitzer Agenda, and I am SO EXCITED!

I first found out about the release of Lilly Pulitzer's new line of agendas from Dorothy's post on her blog Prep In Your Step. And after seeing all of the new designs and reading the reviews on last year's Lilly agendas, I knew I had to have one!

I ended up choosing the jumbo-sized agenda in the design Trippin and Sippin. And boy, choosing the design for my agenda among so many pretty ones was such a hard decison! I chose the jumbo size agenda to make sure that I'd be able to fit everything, especially since I have rather large handwriting and I'm sure that I'll have lots of stuff to write in it when college starts in the fall!

If you're wondering what the size of the jumbo agenda compares to, it's pretty much the size of your average notebook. It's about an inch thick, and it is a tad heavy for an agenda. But that's okay with me because I'll be caring it around with me in my backpack or bag, anyway.

So I thought I'd give you a little sneak peak inside the agenda if you haven't gotten one already, and share my opinions on it.

As I said before, I got my agenda in the print Trippin and Sippin. When I bought it online, I just thought there were the pink flowers and such on a navy background, and somehow didn't realize until I got it that there are seahorses and starfish on it, which make it even cuter in my opinion! The hardcover and spiral binding make it seem durable, and the pink strap I'm sure will help it stay closed when I have it in my bag.

On the inside cover, I wanted to personalize mine a little and put my monogram on there. I didn't really feel like buying a monogram sticker, so instead I made my own! All I did was print my monogram out in a cute font, cut around it with a specially-shaped scrapbooking sciessors, and stick it on with a piece of packaging tape. If you're wondering where the elephant sticker came from, it was my favorite sticker from the sticker sheet that comes with the agenda (more on the stickers in second).

The first "page" in the agenda is a page with a flap, sort of like a folder. I don't know what I'll stick in there yet, but I feel like it will come in handy!

Below is a little close up of the inside front cover.

And here's the sticker page!  I just love these cute little stickers. As you can probably see from the picture, I've already started using them!

Oh and here's the Christmas sticker I put together...the agenda came with the tiger and Santa Claus hat stickers separately, but I decided to put them together to make Christmas tiger. Cause why not, right? Who doesn't love a Christmas tiger?

Here are some of the front pages in the agenda. It includes some pictures of Lilly Pulitzer herself, the story behind the Lilly brand, a page to write in birthdays and anniversaries, a list of holidays, and a horoscope page.

 Next, before the monthly overviews and weekly calenders is a Lilly print for each month. I'll show you a few of my favorites:

Next after each monthly print is an overview of the month. Here's mine for August.

Then after the overview of the month is the calender by week. Here's a week in August. Dates and Holidays are printed in a pink cursive.

After all 18 months of the agenda are some pages of plain notebook paper. So far, I've used some of these pages to write down blog post ideas.

I also wanted to touch on the monthly tabs for a second. They're laminated, which makes them hard to bend or rip. This will hopefully make them durable, especially if my agenda is stuffed in my backpack.

 And there you have it. There's your little sneak peak of the new Lilly planner :)

Overall, I just love this planner! I didn't realize how popular the Lilly Agendas were until I bought my own. I had never seen anyone using them before until I came across Dorothy's post, but I initially thought that it was just because I'm from the Midwest. But I guess I was wrong because I've seen quite a few people I know buy a Lilly agenda recently. Anyway, August just can't come soon enough for me to start using it!!

Also, I just got a new laptop, and the picture editing program I used is a little new to me. So I apologize if the pictures above are a little blurry! I'll try to be better next time...

 Thanks for stopping by!