Ingredients: mineral salts (no Aluminum Chlorohydrate ) Unscented*hypoallergenic*no staining* 24 hour protection
My sister ordered this deodorant after she had bought one for herself and loved it. I had heard about “salt deodorants” and of this particular brand before I got it. It is a 4.25 oz chunk of mineral salts in a pillar shape on a round base at one end with a twist-on cover. To use, you wet the stone and rub it on your armpit as you would any other deodorant. It says to generously apply it, I find wetting the stone between each pit is best because by the time you get done applying it to one and over to the other, it is too dry and doesn’t glide on right.
It does not have any scent, which is cool. Sometimes the scents of deodorants or antiperspirant are too strong and not pleasant for others to smell, heck you may not want to smell it yourself, lol. I have used a few brands only once that were so bad I had to wash it off.
This kind of deodorant is a great natural alternative to traditional deodorants and antiperspirants. When thinking about using a salt-based deodorant definitely compare the Pure & Natural brand to whatever brands you are thinking of buying. Just keep in mind that it is not an antiperspirant and will not work like one. Antiperspirants keep you from sweating by clogging your sweat glands, which is not really good for you, and regular deodorants just cover-up odors. The Pure & Natural Crystal Deodorant Stone is great as it keeps the bacteria on the skin from multiplying due to its mineral salt content, which keeps the odor from occurring in the first place. It doesn’t stain, as the label says, and it lasts a long time.
Caution: it might sting a little the first time you apply it after you’ve just shaved, however if you are tough and do it a few times you will get used to it.
It does not say anything on the bottle about it just being for women, but I do not think it will go on a hairy armpit and I do not want to let anyone use mine to find out, lol.
Fact: sweat itself does not smell, the smell comes from bacteria on the skin!!
“Click Here” to find out how the salt-based deodorants work
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Turbo Tool (Vaccume attacthment)
I got this Turbo Tool (air turbo driven vacuum cleaner hand tool with rotating brush) from TotalVac.com for $13.95 (plus shipping). Not a bad price and it can go on any vacuum cleaner hose. Therefore, even if you get a new vacuum cleaner you will still be able to use this product. That is a plus. The directions are straight forward, just secure it on the end of the hose and turn on the machine. You can take it off and on while the vacuum cleaner is on but it makes a funny noise ( I will explain that later). Taking it apart for maintenance it easy enough, all you do is remove the cover plate when it gets clogged. Other than that you cannot really do much else to it, I bet you could replace the belt that makes the thing turn (if it does).
I know why they put turbo in its name this thing spins fast. In the instructions, it says to “keep hair and loose clothing away from the spinner. They are not kidding. At first, I was scared of it, and getting used to using it was fun. The brushes could stick out a bit more or it could have an adjustment ( up and down) for the brushes.
You have to hold it at a certain angle so it will spin. If you have it too flat to a surface the brushes stop spinning, this is annoying at first but once I got used to holding it at the right angle for it to work I really got to see how it worked,
My mission to buy a product like this ( vacuum attachment) started when I was cleaning my car and was not happy with the results of vacuuming my cars carpet ( that damn sand is a B*** to get out ). When I felt I had mastered the technique I cleaned my car using the Turbo Tool Attachment on the carpet and seats. Keep in mind I have dogs that occasionally ride in the car so picking up dog hair is must.
It worked good, it would be better if the brushes stuck out more and it doesn’t get corners or divots (insert Picture), However I do not regret buying it. It gets the dog hair off well, it may take a few passes, but that does not bother me. It made that sand jump right off the carpet and fluffed it up a little. If my carpet was not so worn or a longer shag type carpet I bet it would fluff it up real nice.
I used it on my couches and heavy fabric curtains, it worked good and on almost anything I have used it on. You only run into problems in tight areas, due to its bulkiness, but it is nothing you cannot work around.
It is a good attachment and you cannot beat the price. If it lasts a decent amount of time ( maybe breaking the belt in five years or so but the rest of the attachment should last as long as you do not break the plastic case).
I know why they put turbo in its name this thing spins fast. In the instructions, it says to “keep hair and loose clothing away from the spinner. They are not kidding. At first, I was scared of it, and getting used to using it was fun. The brushes could stick out a bit more or it could have an adjustment ( up and down) for the brushes.
You have to hold it at a certain angle so it will spin. If you have it too flat to a surface the brushes stop spinning, this is annoying at first but once I got used to holding it at the right angle for it to work I really got to see how it worked,
My mission to buy a product like this ( vacuum attachment) started when I was cleaning my car and was not happy with the results of vacuuming my cars carpet ( that damn sand is a B*** to get out ). When I felt I had mastered the technique I cleaned my car using the Turbo Tool Attachment on the carpet and seats. Keep in mind I have dogs that occasionally ride in the car so picking up dog hair is must.
It worked good, it would be better if the brushes stuck out more and it doesn’t get corners or divots (insert Picture), However I do not regret buying it. It gets the dog hair off well, it may take a few passes, but that does not bother me. It made that sand jump right off the carpet and fluffed it up a little. If my carpet was not so worn or a longer shag type carpet I bet it would fluff it up real nice.
I used it on my couches and heavy fabric curtains, it worked good and on almost anything I have used it on. You only run into problems in tight areas, due to its bulkiness, but it is nothing you cannot work around.
It is a good attachment and you cannot beat the price. If it lasts a decent amount of time ( maybe breaking the belt in five years or so but the rest of the attachment should last as long as you do not break the plastic case).
Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M’s Update
I sent my thoughts about the Dark Chocolate M&M’s to the company through their website, I included the url to my review of the candies. I included my address so they could send me coupons for my dissatisfaction but they did no such thing. I just got a cheesy email. A company that wants to keep customers happy usually sends coupons when you have complaints and praises. I know Chicken of The Sea does (no complaints, only praises for Chicken of The Sea).
So, the Mar’s company has lost respect from me for that, I still love M&M’s but they won’t be as sweet ,lol.
So, the Mar’s company has lost respect from me for that, I still love M&M’s but they won’t be as sweet ,lol.
Monday, March 10, 2008
French Onion Flavored Sun Chips
I have always liked Sun Chips, the original flavor is a bit bland, but they are good. They are a great substitute for potato chips. I like snacks that I can share with my dogs (potatoes are not good for dogs).
I really liked this flavor of Sun Chips, the garlic was just right. Not too strong, like a mild fuyons with the crispness of Sun Chips. The onion flavoring is right on too.You will not have to worry about major garlic breath after eating them. Eating a whole bag in one sitting is easy to do because they are good.
They go good in sandwiches (and on the side); I used them to make a breading for fish and other meats, mmm.
They have whole grains, so they are somewhat healthy for you. There are only a few ingredients I do not like but nothing I cannot look past. The calories per serving isn’t bad (140), but a serving is about fifteen chips. I do not really care about counting calories and that junk but I usually check to see what it is
Ingredients: Whole corn, whole wheat, rich flour, whole oat flour, sugar, salt, whey protein concentrate, dry buttermilk, whey, sour cream (cultured cream, nonfat dry milk), onion powder, natural flavors, hydrolyzed soy protein, cultured whey, corn starch, autolyzed yeast extract, mozzarella cheese (pasteurized part skim milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), citric acid, garlic powder, gum arabic, glycerol, disodium, spice, and artificial color (including red 40, blue 1)
I really liked this flavor of Sun Chips, the garlic was just right. Not too strong, like a mild fuyons with the crispness of Sun Chips. The onion flavoring is right on too.You will not have to worry about major garlic breath after eating them. Eating a whole bag in one sitting is easy to do because they are good.
They go good in sandwiches (and on the side); I used them to make a breading for fish and other meats, mmm.
They have whole grains, so they are somewhat healthy for you. There are only a few ingredients I do not like but nothing I cannot look past. The calories per serving isn’t bad (140), but a serving is about fifteen chips. I do not really care about counting calories and that junk but I usually check to see what it is
Ingredients: Whole corn, whole wheat, rich flour, whole oat flour, sugar, salt, whey protein concentrate, dry buttermilk, whey, sour cream (cultured cream, nonfat dry milk), onion powder, natural flavors, hydrolyzed soy protein, cultured whey, corn starch, autolyzed yeast extract, mozzarella cheese (pasteurized part skim milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), citric acid, garlic powder, gum arabic, glycerol, disodium, spice, and artificial color (including red 40, blue 1)
Vanilla Chai Tea (Bigelow Brand)
Someone gave me a few bags of this tea; I have never tried it before, nor heard of it. Of course, I do not really drink Bigelow brand tea that often. The name of the flavor makes you want to try it (if you like vanilla). I wish they had listed all the ingredients instead of just putting “spices” that irritates me whenever I see that while reading ingredients.
The ingredients listed are black tea, spices, natural and artificial flavors. I do not like the “artificial flavors” either, that always make me think twice.
I will admit I had to look up what Chai was. I found Chai means tea. So saying Chai tea is like saying tea tea, lol. It can contain a variety of spices, from cinnamon to pepper. Its ‘proper’ name is Masala Chai.
Bigelow’s Vanilla Chai tea has a nice flavor, it almost reminds me of cinnamon rolls, or something like similar. The strength of the tea’s flavor depends on how long you steep the bag in the water. I do not recommend leaving the tea bag in your cup while you drink it, with some teas you can but this one will get too bitter and nasty tasting.
On the back of the tea bag’s individual wrapper it says this tea is often brewed with milk for a “wonderful creamy” texture. It sounded good so I tried it. I have never brewed tea with milk, so I just added some milk to a regularly brewed cup of tea. It was good; I will have to look up online to see if there is actually a way to brew tea with milk.
I couldn’t drink this tea everyday, after drinking it for just two days it made me feel bad. Now I am sensitive to certain ingredients (like sage), that is why I hate it so much when not all ingredients get listed. I assume one of the “spices” or “artificial flavors” is what was making me feel lousy. However not everyone will have the same reaction I did, so for that reason I would recommend it to people that like vanilla (or Chai).
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M’s
Ever since last summer (2007), when I heard M&M’s came in dark chocolate I have been looking for them. Finally, I found a bag of Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M’s, I like the purple color of the bag. It really makes it distinct from the other versions of M&M’s. I hate it when you really have to read a products package to figure out what ‘version’ it is. On the M&M’s website (mms.com) they tell you what percentage of each color you get. I do not know how accurate the numbers are but I like the idea of getting more blue than brown, lol, since blue is my favorite color.
All the fun stuff aside, I was unimpressed with their dark chocolate. To me it tasted just like the milk chocolate. It seems like all they did was put the milk chocolate M&M’s in a bag marked dark chocolate. I can see how someone that has never tasted dark chocolate might not notice that it is not dark chocolate, but people that like dark chocolate will be as disappointed as I was with these dark chocolate M&M’s. I was going to get a bag for my father since he is a bigger fan of dark chocolate than I am, but I’m glad I didn’t.
I almost feel as if a childhood friend has betrayed me, because I love M&M’s. I have a pajama set that features M&M’s and M&M figurines, etc… When they had people voting for a new color years ago (blue), I remember voting like crazy for blue and I was so happy when it became the new color. (ah, the memories, lol.) I will continue to buy M&M’s, I just will not waste my time with the dark version until they make dark chocolate better.
I plan to contact them through the M&M’s website and send them a copy of this review.
All the fun stuff aside, I was unimpressed with their dark chocolate. To me it tasted just like the milk chocolate. It seems like all they did was put the milk chocolate M&M’s in a bag marked dark chocolate. I can see how someone that has never tasted dark chocolate might not notice that it is not dark chocolate, but people that like dark chocolate will be as disappointed as I was with these dark chocolate M&M’s. I was going to get a bag for my father since he is a bigger fan of dark chocolate than I am, but I’m glad I didn’t.
I almost feel as if a childhood friend has betrayed me, because I love M&M’s. I have a pajama set that features M&M’s and M&M figurines, etc… When they had people voting for a new color years ago (blue), I remember voting like crazy for blue and I was so happy when it became the new color. (ah, the memories, lol.) I will continue to buy M&M’s, I just will not waste my time with the dark version until they make dark chocolate better.
I plan to contact them through the M&M’s website and send them a copy of this review.
ArcSoft PhotoImpressions 4
This photo shop software came with a “cheap” mini digital camera, but the software is well worth the 15.00 bucks that I paid, even if you do not use the camera that came with it. I have had other photo shop software before and I think this one is just as good as any of them. I assume since it came with a cheap piece of crap that many people think it is as well.
You can “get photo’s” from your folders, camera/scanner, and create screen shots. The edit section is easy to use and works great; I have cleaned up regular photos (from a camera) and scanned drawings. You can use the zoom to get right down to the pixels (little boxes) to manipulate them one at a time. Another cool thing is the preview window at the top right corner. It gives you a full view (but tiny) of the picture so when you are zoomed in you know where you are at on the picture.
You can also move around the picture while zoomed in with the preview window. There are blue lines that make a box on the picture, that is where you are zoomed in, to move you just put your courser over it, click and hold while you drag it to where you want to zoom in (or out). The only thing I do not like is the little boxes, I would like to be able to fill half of one of those boxes with color. It would make cleaning up lines easier.
The ‘create’ section has quite a few templates to choose from, the categories are: frames & edges, cookie cutters, calendar, greeting cards, and photo fun. Some of those have sub-categories. You can add more by clicking on “download more templates” that is just to the left of template selection area (it takes you to the ArcSoft website). The templates that come with it are a bit cheesy, but I still like them. My favorite is the 100-dollar bill template where you can put someone’s face on the money and the ‘found guilty’ on the front page of a newspaper template.
You can have up to two photos open at the same time (for cutting and pasting one to the other), I like being able to compare the one I have messed with to the original. Great feature.
Learning how to use PhotoImpressions 4, may take some time, especially if you are used to another photo shop software.
Uninstalling is easy since it has that option listed in its folder (Start-All Programs-ArcSoft PhotoImpressions 4). I hate it when software does not have an uninstall option.
I have not had any technical problems with PhotoImpressions 4. Before I got this one I was going to buy a more expensive photo shop software, but now I do not see the need to.
You can “get photo’s” from your folders, camera/scanner, and create screen shots. The edit section is easy to use and works great; I have cleaned up regular photos (from a camera) and scanned drawings. You can use the zoom to get right down to the pixels (little boxes) to manipulate them one at a time. Another cool thing is the preview window at the top right corner. It gives you a full view (but tiny) of the picture so when you are zoomed in you know where you are at on the picture.
You can also move around the picture while zoomed in with the preview window. There are blue lines that make a box on the picture, that is where you are zoomed in, to move you just put your courser over it, click and hold while you drag it to where you want to zoom in (or out). The only thing I do not like is the little boxes, I would like to be able to fill half of one of those boxes with color. It would make cleaning up lines easier.
The ‘create’ section has quite a few templates to choose from, the categories are: frames & edges, cookie cutters, calendar, greeting cards, and photo fun. Some of those have sub-categories. You can add more by clicking on “download more templates” that is just to the left of template selection area (it takes you to the ArcSoft website). The templates that come with it are a bit cheesy, but I still like them. My favorite is the 100-dollar bill template where you can put someone’s face on the money and the ‘found guilty’ on the front page of a newspaper template.
You can have up to two photos open at the same time (for cutting and pasting one to the other), I like being able to compare the one I have messed with to the original. Great feature.
Learning how to use PhotoImpressions 4, may take some time, especially if you are used to another photo shop software.
Uninstalling is easy since it has that option listed in its folder (Start-All Programs-ArcSoft PhotoImpressions 4). I hate it when software does not have an uninstall option.
I have not had any technical problems with PhotoImpressions 4. Before I got this one I was going to buy a more expensive photo shop software, but now I do not see the need to.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Mandarin Orange Spice Herb Tea by Celestial Seasonings
After reading the ingredients to this tea, I was hesitant to try it. In addition, the dry tea bags smell like one of the air-fresheners that you make by covering a lemon with cloves. Do not get me wrong, those air-freshener’s smell good, but not good enough to drink, lol. I went ahead and heated up some water, I figured why not give it a try. As the tea bag steeped, the smell of the tea changed and was much more appealing then. I guess the orange peels and hibiscus do not get fragrant until they hit hot water.
It tastes pretty good, however I do not think I could drink this tea all the time. The flavor is bold and mellow at the same time. The cloves, chicory, cinnamon, and coriander are the strong and bold flavors of this tea. Their flavors border on over powering but the orange peel, hibiscus, and chamomile mellow them out. After two/three cups (depending on if you use tea bags more than once) of the Orange Spice the mellowing flavors in this tea are over powered by the bold flavors, and you are left with an after taste in your mouth. If you have ever had Spiced Rum and liked it you will like this tea.
It goes real good with alcohol (vodka, rum, etc.). I tried a few different types of alcohol and they all tasted good in it, the rum was the best tasting though. (I am over 21, and you should be too if you try this).
All in all, I will probably buy another box just to have something different around but I doubt I will ever drink it like I do the Wild Berry Zinger Tea (almost every day).
Ingredients: Orange peel, Hibiscus, Roasted Chicory, Rosehips, Blackberry leaves, Chamomile, Hawthorn berries, Cinnamon, Natural Mandarin Orange Flavor with other natural flavors (soy lecithin), Cloves, and Coriander.
It tastes pretty good, however I do not think I could drink this tea all the time. The flavor is bold and mellow at the same time. The cloves, chicory, cinnamon, and coriander are the strong and bold flavors of this tea. Their flavors border on over powering but the orange peel, hibiscus, and chamomile mellow them out. After two/three cups (depending on if you use tea bags more than once) of the Orange Spice the mellowing flavors in this tea are over powered by the bold flavors, and you are left with an after taste in your mouth. If you have ever had Spiced Rum and liked it you will like this tea.
It goes real good with alcohol (vodka, rum, etc.). I tried a few different types of alcohol and they all tasted good in it, the rum was the best tasting though. (I am over 21, and you should be too if you try this).
All in all, I will probably buy another box just to have something different around but I doubt I will ever drink it like I do the Wild Berry Zinger Tea (almost every day).
Ingredients: Orange peel, Hibiscus, Roasted Chicory, Rosehips, Blackberry leaves, Chamomile, Hawthorn berries, Cinnamon, Natural Mandarin Orange Flavor with other natural flavors (soy lecithin), Cloves, and Coriander.
Aveeno’s New Positively Ageless Rejuvenating Serum.
I know I am a bit young to start worrying about wrinkles, but I am a sucker for new products. Especially ones with weird ingredients like mushrooms. Which Aveeno’s rejuvenating serum has (natural Shiitake complex). I really like its smell, very mellow. I think the scents for products like this are important, since it will be on your face where you will smell it all day. The serum spreads and blends in well; a little goes a long way. One pump should be enough to do your face and neck. Aveeno’s rejuvenating serum gets a gold star for its dispenser. It dispenses the perfect amount per pump.
My one complaint about this serum is it leaves your skin slick, I say slick and not oily for a reason. It does not make it oily. I suspect it’s the serum residue that I feel. On the plus side that slick feeling does not last. After using the product for a while I did not even notice it.
Aveeno’s rejuvenating serum was easy to love, I plan on working it into the rotation of products I use. I really liked how my skin (face) feels and looks. This serum is just what my winter beaten skin needed. It worked well as a base for make-up, alone, or in conjunction with a moisturizer.
Warning: it says not to get it in your eyes. I personally did not have any problems with it when I got a little in the corner of my eye. I would not recommend coating your eyes with it, lol, but you won’t want to rip your eyes out if it does get it in there.
Buying a Virgin Mobile Pay-as-you-go Phone
Since I do a lot of my shopping online, when I wanted a pay-as-you-go cell phone I looked online. I know a few people that have Virgin Mobile cell phones; I played with the phones and decided that I wanted that brand. I went to Virgin Mobile’s website to checkout what kind of phones they had. I give Virgin Mobile a ‘gold star’ for the free shipping on website orders. It is the perfect opportunity for them to squeeze more money from customers that do not want to settle for one of the basic phones available in stores (you can find stores that carry them on Virgin Mobile’s website).
After picking the one I wanted, I proceed to the checkout section filling in all my shipping info and junk. But the checkout did not go through, I was kind of mad at this point. The problem was with Virgin Mobile’s website, there was an error code where an “I accept” check box to the terms of service should have been. I sent this error code to the customer service, and decided to try again in a few days or at least wait to hear back from customer service. The response from Virgin Mobile’s customer service was stupid, they did not even acknowledge that I was having a problem or that I was telling them something. It made me a little more mad. I tried to order off the website again and the same thing was wrong, again I emailed customer service telling them “I bet you have lost some potential customers because of this”. They would have lost me as a customer if I did not really want a Virgin Mobile phone.
Finally, I just got the item number for the phone I wanted and called the 800 to order. Once I got to a person the ordering went smoothly. The rep was nice and apologetic for the problems I was having with the website. She informed me that they (rep’s) had nowhere to complain about the website and that they do not control it. To me that just sounded stupid, if the phone reps cannot tell someone to fix it and the websites customer service is a robot or something, will this problem ever be fixed? I don’t think so.
At least the shipping is free when you order from the 800 as it is on the website. To be honest if it wasn’t I would of demanded they ship it free since I did not want to order from the 800 I wanted to use the website. I got the same deal on the phone that I was going to get on the website too. I do not think that would of happened if I didn’t tell the rep, “you are going to give me the same deal as on the website right” “since, it is Virgin Mobile’s problem, not mine”. I bet that if I had been ‘nice’, I would have gotten the run around. So, do not let a phone rep not give you the same deal as on the website, especially, if you were trying to order online first and couldn’t.
After picking the one I wanted, I proceed to the checkout section filling in all my shipping info and junk. But the checkout did not go through, I was kind of mad at this point. The problem was with Virgin Mobile’s website, there was an error code where an “I accept” check box to the terms of service should have been. I sent this error code to the customer service, and decided to try again in a few days or at least wait to hear back from customer service. The response from Virgin Mobile’s customer service was stupid, they did not even acknowledge that I was having a problem or that I was telling them something. It made me a little more mad. I tried to order off the website again and the same thing was wrong, again I emailed customer service telling them “I bet you have lost some potential customers because of this”. They would have lost me as a customer if I did not really want a Virgin Mobile phone.
Finally, I just got the item number for the phone I wanted and called the 800 to order. Once I got to a person the ordering went smoothly. The rep was nice and apologetic for the problems I was having with the website. She informed me that they (rep’s) had nowhere to complain about the website and that they do not control it. To me that just sounded stupid, if the phone reps cannot tell someone to fix it and the websites customer service is a robot or something, will this problem ever be fixed? I don’t think so.
At least the shipping is free when you order from the 800 as it is on the website. To be honest if it wasn’t I would of demanded they ship it free since I did not want to order from the 800 I wanted to use the website. I got the same deal on the phone that I was going to get on the website too. I do not think that would of happened if I didn’t tell the rep, “you are going to give me the same deal as on the website right” “since, it is Virgin Mobile’s problem, not mine”. I bet that if I had been ‘nice’, I would have gotten the run around. So, do not let a phone rep not give you the same deal as on the website, especially, if you were trying to order online first and couldn’t.
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