%203.png)
Just this past month I discovered a well-kept secret. Okay, so a good friend of mine discovered said secret and let me in on it. I can’t take all the credit, but I am here now to blow the lid off this baby. You get a VoxBox, you get a VoxBox, everybody gets a VoxBox!!
The name is Influenster. A spin-off no doubt of the new, all so common term that has worked its way into our millennial vocabulary. Aka what everybody wants to be, and if you don’t, you’re crazy. If you follow any kind of famous person on Instagram, there’s a 99% chance they’re an influencer in some way, shape or form. They receive products from companies for free, post about them, throw a litle “#ad” in the corner and voila, there’s their paycheck and they just got free shit on top of it. It’s a dream I tell ya.
Anyway, if you’d like to try, rate and review new products but don’t have the social following to pronounce yourself a full blown “influencer” or get big name companies to pay attention to you (same girl, lol), there’s still a way! I didn’t go on a reality TV show (although did work for one- miserable- don’t recommend), I didn’t medal at the Olympic Games and I’m no Kim K. No company is freely sending me their products to test. But the epitome of my blog is sharing products and experiences that I’m passionate about, and this is where Influenster comes in handy.
Since I’ve started using the site, I’ve had a few people reach out to me about how it works, and I’m tellin’ ya it’s so simple an overworked, stressed, sleep-deprived grad student could do it. Just log on, make an account (sign up with Facebook for one less step) and make your profile (essentially a list of your interests/disinterests/etc.) Influenster will start sending you “Snap Surveys,” (their way of surveying you based on what products you do or don’t use)- complete these for a higher chance to win free products.
Don’t forget to connect your social channels, because the more followers you have, the more likely you are to receive a VoxBox (aka the holy grail of this whole process).
Basically: # of followers + interactivity with products online = free VoxBox.
It really works too. Sometimes (and by sometimes I mean most of the time) I question programs like this. There are so many scams these days, so many companies asking for personal information and then charging you obscene amounts of money. But sure enough, after only filling out a few surveys, I found myself on the short list for a VoxBox.
A few weeks later I came home to this beauty on my front step:
So my VoxBox came with beauty products- the new CoverGirl Vitalist line- which is ironic because, well, I wear minimal makeup. Out of all the boxes I could have received, I’m not going to lie this was probably last on my list. But I was given what I was given, and turns out Influenster knew what I needed more than I did.
Inside the box was a concealer, powder foundation and highlighter, free of charge, totally mine to keep, all I had to do was write a review for each on the Influenster website and post to my social channels. While I don’t think I’ll end up using the foundation (too orange) or highlighter (unless LyssaLev highlights me, I come out looking like a clown), the concealer is by far my new favorite product. Getchu some of this magic in a bottle if you have any kind of dark circles under your eyes- you can buy your own bottle here. (I currently use color medium for reference, but will likely will change to medium/deep come summer).
Yes, it takes a little bit of effort, but if you want to try new products without buying them first, I highly recommend signing up asap. Don’t forget to let Influenster know that you were recommended by me, using my referral link!