Stuff Parents Need - Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

Honest Beauty Everything Cream Foundation Review: An Honest Assessment

October 29, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

Referral links may be included. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post is not sponsored by Honest Beauty or The Honest Company.

I’m so excited to start sharing with you my thoughts about Honest Beauty products! This company is an off-shoot of The Honest Company, and it’s focus is on creating beauty products that look great and that are honestly free of ingredients that are questionable for our health and wellness. If you are new to the company, you should start with my Honest Beauty free trial post and learn how to snag some great freebies. Let’s dive in!

Today we are going to look more closely at the Honest Beauty Everything Cream Foundation. I am quite pale, so I ordered the lightest shade, Snow.

Here’s a look at the outside of the compact. So shiny!!!

Inside you’ll find a cream type foundation (frankly, it seems like a small amount!) and underneath the foundation is where you’ll find the applicator, which is a thin, round sponge.

As you can see from the photo, I find it quite difficult to keep the compact looking nice and neat, as I tend to swipe my sponge over the product before applying it.

Now I want to show you what an application of the foundation looks like on my skin. I applied moisturizer several hours before I took this shot, and I do NOT have on any type of BB cream, or any other makeup for that matter. Also, I’m 35 and have two young kids, so please have mercy on my honest photo!

Ok, so here’s my assessment: first, I do think the foundation looks better in my case with a BB cream underneath, but that’s because I do need a heavier amount of coverage due to having splotchy skin.

I do notice a difference in the appearance of my fine lines, so that’s a big plus!

I also have noticed that the shade is a hair lighter than my skin tone. I think that as we head further into fall and then into winter, it will work for me. It’s borderline right now. When I tried it on a month ago it was just too light.

For me, there’s no way to use this without my beloved concealor as well, but that’s pretty much par for the course for me. I’d call the coverage medium.

So…I like it. I don’t LOVE it, and I’m quite curious to see just how long it will last, as again, it doesn’t appear to me to be a large amount of product, so I’m concerned that I’ll run out very quickly once it becomes my everyday choice. I’ll try to update you once I know for sure (though I’m putting this one away for one more month to let my skin get a bit more pale before I start using it).

How to Buy It:

So Honest Beauty, as you may know, offers bundles where you can choose 3 products for $50, and shipping is free. You are signing up for a subscription, but it’s EASY to change the date and push back your next subscription as many times as you want without penalty. Canceling just requires a phone call and they give you NO hassle.

This product, if you purchase it a la carte, is $30, so if it works for you, it’s a STEAL to put in your bundle. I haven’t tried this, but if this was a product I LOVED, I’d attempt to buy 3 at a time to see if that’s allowed for the bundle. Let us know if you’ve tried it! 🙂

And if you have tried this product, let us know in the comments what shade you tried and what you thought about it.

Honest Beauty Product Reviews: An Honest Assessment

October 29, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

Hi friends!

Over the next year, I’m going to be working my way through the Honest Beauty Collection by purchasing the products on my own and giving you my honest assessments, just as I have done (an am continuing to do) with Honest Company products.

If you are totally new to Honest Beauty, start by checking out my Honest Beauty free trial post. You’ll find out the very best way to get an introduction to some of their great products (all you have to pay is s&h!). Then come back here to find the links to the products you want to hear about.

Is there a product I haven’t reviewed yet? Let me know that you want to see it and I’ll try to get it ordered!

Everything Cream Foundation (Snow)
Truly Kissable Lip Crayon (multiple colors added as I try them)
Creme Blush (Truly Teasing)
Eyeshadow Trio (Soft Sand)
Truly Lush Mascara + Lash Primer
True Velvet Eyeliner
Luminizing Powder
Everything Tinted Moisturizer
Younger Face Deep Hydration Cream

(Giveaway!) Fall Outdoor Family Fun: Kids Croquet Set

October 29, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 12 Comments

Thanks to Magic Cabin for providing the kids croquet set for review and giveaway. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’m so sad to see October go, friends. Hands-down, it is my favorite month of the year. Where I live in eastern Tennessee, the weather during the month is nothing short of delightful. There’s a crispness in the air, but it’s not enough to keep you indoors at all. And while our trees don’t put on the same show that you’ll find further north, they still hold their own and give us plenty of beauty as the colors turn. And it seems like you can’t throw a rock around here without hitting a festival of some sort.

I LOVE IT!!!!

Since I want to be outside as much as possible, soaking up that good weather (that fortunately for us, should continue for most of November), I have been hunting for some great outdoor games for the girls. Magic Cabin has what I am quite certain is the world’s cutest kids croquet set. All you need is a patch of open spaceand two players and you are good to go!

The woodland croquet set comes with these 6 adorable croquet hoops (sorry…I’m not in the know about official croquet terms). It also comes with two wooden mallets and two balls.

The little critters stand up easily thanks to wooden planks. So there’s no need to poke the ground in any way! I really like this because it means that if you had a large enough space (such as a finished basement), you could even play this game inside once the weather is just too cold.

I only “sort of” know how to play this game. I know that you need to knock your ball with your mallet through each hoop. After that, it gets real fuzzy. But for a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old to play, I knew plenty! And friends, they were so cute playing this game together! They had such a blast and so many laughs, so I thought it be to not interfere in the fun with too many rules (not that I knew them!). We’ll work on technique down the line! 😉

This is my new go-to item for when we have play dates or for getting out a bit of energy before dinner. The set is absolutely lovely and my kids find it highly entertaining. I would highly recommend this if you are looking for something new for your kids to do in the back yard! It retails for $64.98.

Win it!: Lucky you!!! One Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a Woodland Croquet Set from Magic Cabin!

Woodland Croquet Set

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the right sidebar of the blog.

Holiday Style from FabKids

October 27, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Special thanks to FabKids for the complimentary outfit. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. We are proud FabKids customers! Referral links may be included.

We are still and handful of days away from the kids wearing their Halloween costumes, but it’s already time to be thinking about their holiday outfits. Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be a difficult (or expensive) decision for you to make in the midst of everything else on your list. I highly recommed checking out the holiday shop at FabKids!

There are SO many great snazzy looks for the season there. Truly, there’s something for everyone! Darah selected this super fun black, gold and red ensemble.

The dress and the pants come together for a reasonable price of $29.95! Search for the red glimmer outfit on the site to find it. It’s sold in sizes 2T- 14.

One of the things I love about FabKids clothing is how easy it is to still be a kid in their clothes. They are designed for movement and playfulness, for sure. That’s one of the reasons why my kids reach for their FabKids clothes again and again!

We also did some experimenting with a holiday hair do. I simply created two braids and then pinned them up in a criss cross fashion. It was shockingly simple and looked so adorable!

Be sure to check out the holiday looks for girls and boys and see if you can find the just right outfit. You won’t have to brave the mall this time of year, and if you need to make an exchange due to fit (or whatever the reason!) FabKids makes is SUPER easy. Truly they offer a hassle-free shopping experience, which is yet one more reason why we shop with them frequently.

I’d love to hear if you’ve even started thinking about holiday outfits for the year, yet. Do you have a favorite FabKids look? I’m totally swooning over the twilight outfit!

(Giveaway!) A Closer Look at the P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program

October 22, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 140 Comments

Special thanks to P&G and The Motherhood for partnering with me for today’s post. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Friends, it’s the time of year when our kids will start coming home from school with various forms of “the crud.” This is just something we have to deal with when it comes to changing temperatures, little humans hanging out in close proximity, and the occasional hand washing or nose-blowing fail that each of our kids (and yes, even us grown ups) are guilty of from time to time.

It’s SO tough when our kids miss school. Yes, it’s hard on the parents due to having to re-arrange work schedules, but it’s also hard on the kids because they miss school and depending on how long they are out, might struggle to catch up on their schoolwork.

Yes, we have to be on guard against all those germs that tend to pop up this time of year. But do you want to know what ISN’T causing our children to be sick here in the United States? Our drinking water. Everyone has access to clean water, and that access is as simple as turning on the faucets inside our homes.

There are nearly 1 BILLION people in this word who don’t have easy access to clean drinking water. The children in that enormous group often get sick, and as a result, have to miss school. Many of them struggle tremendously to get caught back up, and some even drop out because they fall so far behind due to these recurring illnesses they face due to a lack of clean water.

P&G has a Children’s Safe Drinking Water program, and among other benefits, this program is helping to keep these kids in school. Since 2004, this program has been helping to save lives by providing clean drinking water to families in need. The P&G Purifier of Water is a packet of powder the size of a tea bag that can treat water right on the spot. More than 9 billion liters of clean drinking water have been donated, and P&G is committed to delivering 15 billion liters by 2020. This water is being used in over 75 countries through a network of more than 150 partners.

All of this clean water will mean a boost in school attendance for these children, who won’t have to battle those awful illnesses associated with dirty water. Everybody wins when a child is learning, wouldn’t you agree?

How You Can Help

One day of clean drinking water for a child costs about two cents. You can donate that 2 cents simply by watching this video on the Power of Clean (the donation will be made on your behalf). Couldn’t be easier!

You can also make a donation. It only takes a very small amount to make a HUGE impact. For example, $7.50 provides enough water for a year for a child. $30 will provide clean water to an entire family of 5 for a year. You can donate directly at www.csdw.org.

Win it!
One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win big by helping others! You will receive a P&G product basket (value of at least $50) and a $30 donation will be made in your honor to provide clean water for a family in need for an entire year.

P&G Clean Water

No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Open to legal residents of US & DC who are 18 years of age or older. Giveaway starts 10/22/2015 and ends 11/05/2015. Sponsored by The Motherhood in partnership with Procter and Gamble. For the full list of rules, click here

Make a World of Difference for Girls’ Education by Donating Your Clothes to Schoola

October 22, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

Thanks to Schoola for partnering with me for today’s post, and especially for partnering with the Malala Fund!

We’ve talked before about the gently used clothing store online called Schoola. It stands apart from similar type sites because 40% of the proceeds from every sale go to schools! In fact, you can earmark your donations to benefit a specific school of your choosing in your own community, which is absolutely AMAZING!!!

Schoola has recently partnered with The Malala Fund (an organization I blogged about recently!). The Malala Fund works to secure girls’ rights to a minimum of 12 years of quality education. Can you imagine, just for a moment, how our world would change for the better if The Malala Fund achieved it’s purpose? With your help, they can!

Check out my video below for details on how you can help support The Malala fund at no cost to you other than your gently worn clothing that you no longer need.

You can even request a Malala Fund bag, specifically!

Additionally, you can help The Malala fund, as well as schools all over our nation, by shopping at Schoola.com. To sign up for your own account you can use my referral link and snag $20 in credit to use, no strings attached! 🙂 A donation bag will be included with your purchase, or if you prefer not to shop but only to donate, simply request a bag and one will be sent to you for free.

Not every person can write a big check to a worthy cause, but most of us have at least a few items of clothing that no longer fit or that simply aren’t our style, after all. Please consider donating those items and consider it a step taken to help change the world for the better.

De-Cluttering: The Peace (and the Goldmine!) that Awaits You!

October 22, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Friends, I can think of 1 and only 1 item that I have ever gotten rid of only to regret it later: a funnel. Yes, I donated a kitchen funnel because I never used it, and then started to find myself in need of one again and again. So I had to go buy another one, which cost me all of $2.

Everything else I have let go over the last 13 years of marriage, and it’s been THOUSANDS of items, has not been missed. You see, one of the important lessons I have learned since starting Stuff Parents Need is that you don’t need as much stuff as you might think. I’ve also learned that you will be much happier when everything in your home has a place to live, and when you understand that not everything you own needs for its place to live to continue to be in your home.

Little by little, this year I have been doing some intense de-cluttering in our home. I read the bestseller The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo, and while not everything in the book spoke to me, I did pick up on some key points, especially her point that if an item doesn’t bring you joy, it doesn’t need to keep living with you. By keeping that point in mind, I have had a much easier time letting go of things that I had previously rationalized keeping because they were “ok enough” or because I “might possibly one day maybe” need them.

For additional ideas to help all of us de-clutter this fall, eBay has partnered with Marie Kondo to develop 15 brand new tidying tips created exclusively for eBay users. You can find them here.

There are plenty of reasons to check out the tips and start your own de-cluttering process! In addition to helping your house feel more comfortable and even more inviting to guests, which is especially important during the holiday season, de-cluttering your home of objects gently used, new or like-new objects that you don’t love could have another great benefit: it can bring in some extra cash! Have you ever tried selling on eBay? In the past I have strictly been a shopper on eBay, but as I have been clearing away the excess and the unloved in my home, I’ve realized that these items might be just the thing someone else is seeking!

Image credit: Jackie M. Graham for eBay

And if you don’t have time during this busy season to list items for sale on eBay yourself, try using eBay Valet, a professional selling service that makes it SO easy to sell your items. You simply visit eBay.com/valet, request and print a free postage paid shipping label, and ship your items in any box. eBay Valet also offers access to experts who will showcase items in the best light, in front of the largest online shopping audience. You can even use eBay Valet to handle estimating prices of your products to handling the shipping process to your auction winners.

I had some great finds going through my girls’ rooms, and in fact, the average household has around 52 extra or unused items worth over $4,000 just sitting in their homes taking up space. Wouldn’t you like to turn all that unwanted stuff into something you definitely want ($$$)? Selling on eBay has never been easier, and with 157 MILLION active users, the odds are quite good that the items you no longer want are very much wanted by someone (or maybe SEVERAL someones) out there on eBay. From clothing, electronics to popular household items, you can find it (and sell it!) on eBay.

So what’s the best way to get started? Well, step one is to de-clutter your home so that you can discover some of those great finds that might do well for you on eBay. As I mentioned, Marie Kondo has partnered with eBay to offer 15 tidying tips that are perfect for eBay users – you can download these great tips here and make your de-cluttering mission a family affair. Your home will feel more peaceful and happy, and you’ll get to have a lot of fun by turning your clutter into cash thanks to the beauty of the global market on eBay.

The Fridge That Stole My Heart (and Other Great Samsung Finds at Best Buy)

October 20, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

Are you baking, yet, friends??? We have started on a few “spooky” cookies and I’ve got my cookbooks in a pile (and my Pinterest boards on alert!) for finding other fun holiday treats, as well as some new yummy main dishes and sides for upcoming potlucks and family gatherings. This, my friends, is the time of year when I start to daydream about having this kitchen:

Now I’m a big fan of waffles, myself, but they couldn’t distract me from the real gems in this shot: those gorgous Samsung appliances! I already have the pleasure of owning a Samsung stove, which I like very much, indeed, but I wouldn’t mind trading it in for the Samsung Flex Duo range with two separate ovens. Talk about a dream come true for holiday cooking time!

Here’s something you might not be expecting about this range. Yes, you obviously can have two ovens operating simultaneously at different temperatures thanks to this range. OR…you can turn them into 1 large oven (for the ENORMOUS turkey!). Additionally, you’ve got 5 cooktop elements AND a warming drawer. Brilliant design, Samsung!

And don’t get me started on that Samsung Black Stainless 4-Door Flex fridge. Can you even imagine yours looking this awesome???

I know, I know…it’s styled to look super amazing. But look past all that pretty food stuff and focus on all the storage features. It’s AWESOME!!! Six sets of crisper drawers (one set perfect for keeping your meat separated from your other food)? Yes, please!!!! And get this, the bottom-right door can convert from a fridge to a freezer in a touch of a button so that it can accomodate your particular needs. WHAT?!?!?! Mind= BLOWN. You’ll also find a Power Cool and a Power Freeze section that can help you chill your favorite drinks or firm up ice cream in 10 minutes.

I can’t even with this fridge, y’all. I need it rightthisveryminutepleaseandthankyou.

Whether you are hoping for a special new appliance from Santa this year, or if you simply like to daydream (and obviously scope out the oven and fridge shown above), you need to experience the Samsung Open House at Best Buy stores nationwide. This is the best way to get an up-close look at the amazing innovations Samsung has to offer with its line. And you just might be interested in knowing that from now through 11/3 Samsung is offering an additional 10% off when you purchase 4 or more of the major kitchen appliances. So if you are thinking of an overhaul, now’s a great time! Additionally, if you buy $3,000 in Samsung Kitchen Appliances from now until 10/31 you’ll get a $300 prepaid card!

Take a moment to check out the great new Samsung Appliances at Best Buy and take advantage of the open houses so you can see for yourself just how great these items would look in your kitchen!

And Santa baby, slip a flex fridge under the tree for me. xoxo!

Campbell’s Fresh Brewed Soup: How It Works

October 19, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

This post brought to you by Campbell Soup Company. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Stuff Parents Need.

I am sure you have heard all about the product I’m going to feature today, because it’s been all over social media, and it’s causing people to scratch their heads in a bit of confusion. Campbell’s has released a new product, Fresh Brewed Soup, made with a little help from a Keurig machine. Is this genius or something else???

I tried it out for you and I want to show you exactly how it works, and give you a few tips for ensuring you have the best experience (and spoiler alert…it is, in fact, genius!).

First, here’s what comes in the Campbell’s Fresh Brewed Soup container. You get a packet that you pour directly into your mug, and you get a K Cup that will produce the broth.

I think one thing that is giving people pause about this innovative idea is a concern that their soup will taste like coffee, and that the coffee they brew later will taste like soup. Friends, there is a REALLY easy way to make sure this doesn’t happen!

Just take 30 seconds before you begin to clean out your K Cup holder area. If your Keurig gets used as often as mine, it is likely in dire need of a cleaning, anyway. I gave the cup holder area a good wiping down with a paper towel, and then a put a cup under the holder area, and simply ran a bit of water through it. You could either pour water yourself or turn on your Keurig and let hot water run through. Either way, this whole effort takes you 1 minute. Totally worth it!

Once you have cleaned out your K Cup holder, pour the contents of your packet into your mug. Now it’s time to brew your soup! The packaging suggests brewing it on the 8 ounce setting, which is the standard coffee cup size (for me that’s the one in the middle when you are choosing sizes).

Once the broth has been brewed over the soup mix packet in the mug, you need to let it sit for about 3 minutes. This is the perfect time to remove the broth K Cup and wipe it down again just like you did at the start. This is really the key to ensuring that you don’t have flavors mixing together in ways you don’t want them to, and since you are standing there waiting for your soup to finish, anyway, its not really a hardship to do.

The final product has a nice, rich flavor! I tried out the Homestyle Chicken Broth & Noodle Soup Mix, and the only suprising thing for me was the small size of the noodles. The taste was great, and actually, I really liked those small noodles because they weren’t falling off my spoon!

I made myself a mid-afternoon hot snack in just a few minutes and took it out on my back porch to enjoy while I did some planning for enrichment lessons for my oldest, which I had the time to do it thanks to Campbell’s Fresh Brewed Soup. The weather had that slight chill to it that made the soup taste SO perfect!

And this morning, I made the main component of my child’s lunch for school in hardly any time at all! Her soup is waiting for her in a hot thermos; it will be such a delicious treat for her, and it was honestly a treat for me to make because it was so easy! 🙂