NCircle Entertainment Holiday DVD Giveaway: Featuring Octonauts, The Snowman, Caillou, & Yo Gabba Gabba!‏

*2014 Holiday Gift Guide

* PR Samples Provided

*Giveaway Sponsored by NCircle Entertainment 

I am so excited to have a giveaway from NCircle Entertainment to share with you! They are providing four brand new holiday-themed DVDs for one lucky winner!  I know these will help bring the spirit of the season into your home.  Featuring favorite preschool characters, they'd be a great surprise for your family the day after Thanksgiving, as a fun way to kick off the Christmas season!  Plus they're perfect stocking stuffers, my son loves the Octonauts and is especially excited for that one.

Here is a little bit more about each of the DVD included in the prize pack and you can enter using the Rafflecopter widget is at the bottom of this post.  Because we want the winner to enjoy these titles before Christmas this has a quick turn around so don't wait to enter!

Octonauts: The Very Vegimal Christmas

On this very merry DVD, join the Octonauts as they celebrate the holidays! The Vegimals’ plans for a Christmas feast aboard the Octopod are interrupted when the Octonauts become entangled in a gigantic blob of sea snot! The holiday excitement continues when the Octonauts travel to Professor Inkling’s childhood home, an undersea mountain, but soon discover that a rockslide has endangered the local creatures, including Inkling’s nephew, Squirt! Can the Octonauts rescue the creatures and save Christmas in time?

The Snowman

One crisp, winter morning, a young boy wakes up to find a thick blanket of snow has covered the ground as far as the eye can see. Filled with excitement, the boy decides to build a snowman using a tangerine for his nose, coal for his buttons and eyes, and tops him off with a hat and scarf. Later that night, at the stroke of midnight, the snowman comes to life! The young boy and the snowman embark on a magical adventure of discovery where the snowman explores the young boy’s world and in return he takes him flying to his home in the North Pole. Based on Raymond Briggs’ book, The Snowman is a family classic for generations to enjoy.

Caillou’s Holiday Movie

When winter comes to Caillou's house, this curious 4-year-old tackles all kinds of big boy activities like helping Daddy shovel snow, making holiday presents for his family and even discovering how other little boys and girls around the world celebrate the season! Filled with magical moments seen through a small child's eyes, this delightful story will enchant your entire family.

A Very Awesome Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! Holiday Show!

Join DJ Lance Rock, Brobee, Foofa, Muno, Plex and Toodee as they dance, sing and decorate the tree to prepare for the arrival of Santa Claus! Filmed live at New York City's The Beacon Theatre, celebrate the season with the colorful cast of characters singing their hits, including "It's Wintertime," "Every Snowflake's Different, Just Like You" and a holiday version of everyone's favorite "Party in my Tummy!” The DVD includes special appearances by superstar Leslie Hall and the one and only Santa Claus!

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Giveaway! VTech® Switch & Go Dinos® Turbo Bronco the RC Triceratops™

*2014 Holiday Gift Guide

*PR Samples Provided

Giveaway Provided by VTech

We love VTech Switch & Go Dinos!  They are really terrific toys because of their 2 in 1 design, both of which are very popular themes - dinosaurs & vehicles.  It's basically a win win in this household.  My little guy, and to be completely honest - my big guy aka husband Brad, were both pretty excited to get their hands on the VTech® Switch & Go Dinos® Turbo Bronco the RC Triceratops™.

I'll cut to the chase, it's AWESOME!  Was that a subtle enough review for you?  LOL!  The really cool Bronco the RC Triceratops (Ages 3-8 years, MSRP: $44.99) is the first dynamic remote control dino from Switch & Go Dinos Turbo. He transforms from a fierce Triceratops to a sleek race car with the push of a button on his remote control!

Some of Bronco's special features include:

• Use the remote control to move forward, backward, left and right in both vehicle and dino modes. Then charge the turbo boost lever to give him a burst of speed!
• Press the buttons on the remote to turn on his headlights, hear realistic sound effects and learn cool dino facts.
• Bronco’s LCD screen displays cool customizable dinosaur eyes and driver animations, and kids can choose from four different styles.

My son is three years old and can be a little rough on his toys but this is very sturdy and holds up to being run into anything and everything.  While he's not completely proficient at independently using Bronco, the controls are intuitive and easy enough that he has been very successful making him go, speak, and transform right from the start.  I love how it's been something with all the bells and whistles, so to speak, that he's been able to use and have fun with right out of the box.  No frustration here!  He really likes turning on the headlights.

Here is a short clip of our  Bronco the RC Triceratops in action.  It's a bit blurry, but this was the video I could get after several tries.  Guess I'm not meant to be vlogger!  I was having a lot of trouble with the auto focus, but it still gives an idea of how Bronco works and how cool he is.  This is one you'll definitely want to plan to wrap up for underneath the tree and you can skip the lines and order it directly from VTech, it's currently on sale :)

Connect and Learn More About Vtech

VTech Website

VTech Twitter

VTech Facebook

VTech has generously provided an addition Bronco as a giveaway for one of my readers!  Please use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter.  US residents only, no PO boxes.  Winner will be contacted via email and have 48 hours to respond before a new one is chosen.  Must be 18 years or older.

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The VTech product, information, and additional gift pack have been provided by VTech.   The experiences and opinions related are my own personal ones with this product and yours may differ. 

Ipsy Glam Bag: November 2014, Girl Meets Glitter

*Referral Link Included

This month Ipsy's theme is Girl Meets Glitter and the glam bag certainly fits that description.  I think it's really fun for the holiday, it's super sparkly and the glitter is part of the printed designed so it won't flake off and make a mess.  My eight year old has already claimed this one as her own.

Wonder Lip Paint by J. Cat Beauty in Red Potion, Full Size $4.99

I was most excited about this product, we got a full size :) so that's great!  The color is very pigmented.  I's best to apply with a lip brush or if you're lazy like me and don't care to wash it afterward a bit on a Q-tip works well too!

You only need a little and it works like a stain so as the color fades it's still quite pretty.  I just take along a little gloss or balm to layer on as the day goes on & don't feel the need to take it for reapplication.

So far despite what I've seen others say, I haven't had any issues with bleeding at the edges.  I really like it, deep berry shades are my go to for fall and winter so I'll get a lot of use out of this and it's great how it's so affordable.

Be A Bombshell Cosmetics Eye Base in Submissive, Full Size $14

This is described as an intense creamy bronze with gold shimmer.  I don't know if I'd call it intense as I think you need to layer it up to get a good bronze shade but otherwise that's exactly what it is.  Use with a primer or it might crease on you, but it's a nice to use for the stated purpose and is a nice eye base.  Would I purchase it, probably not but I do like that it retails for more than the price of the bag and we got a full size!

Marc Anthony Oil of Morocco Argan Oil Volume Shine Hairspray, Full Size $8.29

I hardly ever use hairspray but there have been times when it would be nice to have some on hand so I was pretty pleased to see this travel size.  Argan oil continues to be very popular in hair products but I think it was the oil that might have left my hair feeling a bit greasier than it usually is.

That's actually fine with me, because in the winter is when I run into static cling.  My hair tends to be naturally dry, but it could be a concern if yours tends to be oily.  I think, overall this is perfectly fine hair spray,  Doesn't seem to stand out as special to me, except for the slightly sweet smell, but like I said I'm glad to have it.

Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil in Ultra Orchid, Full Size $17

Oh look, another eyeliner! Quelle surprise!  Ha, at least this one is not the standard black, the purple is fun and very pretty.  I'm very happy with the color, but the Ultra Olive would've been equally as nice to receive.  I'm just glad I like the color a lot better than the first Starlooks product I sampled last April.

What makes these Gem Pencils, is of course, the sparkle in it.  If glitter by the eye is a concern for you, you'll want to stay away.  This is much finer glitter than was used in the Lord & Berry I got in my Birchbox last month and hated. Actually, the Starlooks Gem Pencil was very creamy and soft going on.  I have to admit, that after being a bit crabby to see yet another eyeliner, I ended up really liking it.  I think this is probably a full size pencil, so bonus points for that!

TEMPTU S/B Highlighter in Pink Pearl, Full Size $27.50

This is a pretty expensive product, good thing I have no idea what to with it!  Yeah, highlighter seems like an extra step this minimalist is unlikely to use.  I tried to see if any friends were interested in it, but no one was so I guess I will give it a go after all.  Ipsy suggests using it in the following ways:

CONTOURING HIGHLIGHTS for Cheeks
STEP ONE: Place a couple drops on your fingertips.
STEP TWO: Lightly dab onto the apples of the cheeks to highlight the cheekbone area.
STEP THREE: Blend upward, toward the temples, for a glowing look.

CONTOURING HIGHLIGHTS for Nose & Forehead
STEP ONE: Place a drop in-between your eyebrows.
STEP TWO: Sweep up toward the hairline blending outward from the central point.
STEP THREE: Apply down the bridge of the nose a light-reflecting contour to define and sculpt.

BODY ILLUMINATION
STEP ONE: Add three drops to a pump of body lotion.
STEP TWO: Rub between your hands to blend together.
STEP THREE: Apply where you normally would, paying special attention to your best assets.

This should be interesting, I think the body illumination sounds the easiest.  Do you use a highlighter?  Should I give this a chance?

If you want to join me as a ipsy subbie, please use my referral link when you sign up!  It's just $10 a month which is a great value versus the products I got.   My favorite this month is the Wonder Lip Paint by J.Cat.  What was yours?