Old Navy Activewear

I love Crowdtap.  In a world filled with websites promising free samples in exchange for your opinions this is one of the few that means it while being easy to use (and pretty to look at!).  A few weeks ago I was chosen by Crowdtap to participate in a sample and share at Old Navy.  I was pretty ecstatic, as in happy dance ecstatic, as in shout it from the rooftops and call my mom ecstatic.  This sample and share meant that not only would I get to try some Old Navy activewear FOR FREE but so would a friend, all thanks to Crowdtap and Old Navy.

Choosing a friend to share with wasn't too difficult, my sister has been working really hard to get healthy this year and I knew some new activewear would be a perfect reward for her hard work.   So one beautiful Sunday afternoon we left the toddlers with my husband (good luck!) and made the journey to Old Navy (you know, a less than 5 minute drive away).

My sister can rock red pants, no?

I won't lie, at first I was kind of disappointed by how small the activewear section was...

but it turns out they were able to stuff a lot of variety into a very small space.  

Looking for anything active

Perusing the racks

A difficult decision

When it came time to try things on we had several options.

Ready to hit the dressing rooms

My options

Our dressing room attendant was very nice, especially considering how giggly we were.  We went back and forth between the rooms quite a bit critiquing each others outfits.  It was hard to narrow it down.

Since I knew I would primarily be using my outfits for yoga I decided to test them out with a few common moves:

I am sure dressing room yoga will be the next big thing.  You just wait and see.

I feel no need to say nice things about something just because I got it for free.  This entire blog is about being truthful, even if I am sharing the eloquent truth of "this sucks."

That said, I cannot express in words how much I love Old Navy activewear... but I will give it try.  It is form fitting yet stretchy, soft yet durable, basic yet stylish.  I felt completely comfortable walking around the dressing rooms where everyone could see me even though I was wearing clothing that hugged all of my curves.  I feel like I could actually wear this to the gym (as well as my usual exercise venue - the living room) without being self conscious.  I felt sexy and stylish and comfortable and hugged.  Yes, hugged.  It was nice.  In the end I actually bought an extra pair of pants and shirt in addition to the items I got for free, I didn't even look at the price tags, just took it to the counter and said ring me up!  

My sister was also a big fan of the clothes but here I have one critique, the range of sizes.  It may have just been this location but we were only able to find a few items bigger than a size Large.  In my opinion this is the perfect activewear for someone who is starting their journey of health or weight loss and as such I think they need to offer a large range of sizes in store.  This is very personal for me, several years ago I lost 60 pounds and it was very hard at first to find comfortable workout clothes (I was a jogger then) in stores.  I had to spend a lot of time ordering online, receiving the clothes, trying them on, and returning them.  You really have to try activewear on to see if it is the right fit for your body and chosen activity, being able to go to a store and try something on makes a HUGE difference, especially when you may be struggling to find motivation.  

When we got home we did a fashion show for the kids and husband, we even showed off our tough moves.  This elicited a big round of toddler applause :)

This may sound crazy but I actually think we looked better in our activewear than we did in our regular clothes!

Final verdict:  You want this, seriously, go buy some Old Navy activewear.  You can thank me later.

Speaking of, thank you Old Navy and Crowdtap for this fantastic sample and share of activewear!

Bed Head by Tigi Part I

A few days ago this happened:

The good people over at Bzz Agent saw fit to send me free samples of Bed Head to try...did I mention they were free?  Pretty exciting.  (Side note: the bzz agent boxes are cute, it felt like I was getting a present)

If you are like me then you think of Bed Head by Tigi as something from the 90s that made you look as greasy as one does in the early morning hours before showering.  To be honest I was expecting my free samples to consist of hair glue or texturizing paste or generally something not all that useful to a long-haired, reasonably clean person like myself.   What I actually got was Straighten Out Straightening Cream, Recharge Shampoo and Conditioner, and Elasticate Shampoo and Conditioner.  Basically they gave me products that claim to straighten, shine, and strengthen my hair, so I guess they've been reading my mind because that is pretty spot on with what I want for my crazy tresses (you like that?  tresses?  it's fancy).

Today's review focuses on the Straighten Out Straightening Cream.  According to the bottle Straighten out is a  "98% HUMIDITY DEFYING STRAIGHTENING CREAM.  Superstar thermosetting polymers power this high performance hot iron cream. For 48 hour serious, serious straight, even in 98% humidity."

Sounds good to me.

Saturday morning, May the 4th, we went to a "May the 4th Be With You" Star Wars celebration at a local library.  I knew there would be members of the 501st Legion there so I wanted to look my best for pictures.  Yes, I wanted to look my best for dudes dressed as Storm Troopers, that is pretty much my ideal day.  I was in a hurry but managed to wash the hair, slap on some of the Bed Head cream, and run a semi hot flat iron over it before rushing out the door.  Oh and I also snapped a pic:

Thumbs up y'all!  Now where did I put my glasses...

In the car I noticed that my hair was very straight and very soft but not at all greasy or heavy.  At the library I chased around several toddlers, adults, and storm troopers and had a total blast both infoors and outside in the Texas heat and sun.  (BTW, the 501st were awesome.)

How do you like my awesome Yoda ears?  Totally forgot they were on my head.

I had no opportunity to brush my hair let alone look in a mirror until much later in the day and was pleased to see my hair looked like this 15 hours later:

totally took this pic at midnight

Pretty impressive stuff.  I don't exactly have curly hair but it has a tendency to get wavy and bushy over time and as you can see that didn't happen.  

Final verdict:  I like it well enough that when I run out of the sample I will actually spend my own hard earned dollars to get some more.

Vaseline® Spray & Go Moisturizer

I received my Vaseline® Spray & Go Moisturizer complimentary from Influenster a few weeks ago and I was pretty excited to try it.  I am a total science geek and for some reason this felt sciency, like the lotion of the future.  I pulled it out after a shower and found that there is a little bit of a learning curve when it comes to getting the spray angle right.  After creating a couple of slippery spots on the bathroom tile I figured it out and was impressed by how quickly it absorbed into my slightly damp skin and left my skin feeling soft.

**Here is a helpful video from Vaseline on how to use the spray

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KRWa8su0q1U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

But there was one problem...the smell.  It's kind of flowery?  lotiony?  icky?  I don't like it.  That isn't uncommon with creams and lotions of course, a woman's post bath routine can often leave the place smelling like a spa.  What was uncommon was how strong the smell stayed and how long it lingered.  As in all day.  So if you like the smell it would definitely save you some money on perfume, otherwise you may want to skip this one.

Final verdict:  P. U.

Question, has anyone tried any of the other "flavors"?  I am curious how those smell.

P.S. By writing this review I am entering the Brand Challenge for a chance to win a prize. But we all know I was going to write it anyway.