Evologie Intensive Blemish Serum

Cost At the Time of Writing the Review: $10.00
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I’ve been having a lot of stubborn acne break-outs on my face lately. It’s been so gosh darn humid that I seem to have a perpetual gleam of sweat on my face, no matter how diligent I am with damping and washing. Luckily, I’ve managed to get it back under control with this blemish serum.

It’s got all sorts of good natural ingredients in it that make it perfectly safe for the human skin, and no redundant or counter-intuitive ingredients (like witch hazel being mixed with Vitamin C, for instance) that I could spot. I’m no chemist, but I do feel like I’ve done my research on this sort of thing.

The sample size is .33 oz, and the full size is .5. Obviously, if you are thinking about purchasing, you should buy the sample size, because it’s cheaper per ounce, oddly. But, don’t fear the small size, it’s a spot treatment, where you just put it on the area that needs a touch up, so it lasts for a very long time.

Bear in mind, this is no miracle cure, it can only help urge your skin to heal itself. After a couple of weeks of using it, I did see some improvement in my skin, and I enjoy the way it makes my skin feel fresh, so that puts me in a positive light for this product, but there are no such things as cure alls or the like. Combined with exercise, a good diet, and good cleansing habits, I believe this could help some people.

I received this product free for purpose of review.

Mini Carabiners for Camping or Backpacking

At the very least, they make a pretty flower.

Cost At the Time of Writing the Review: $6.99
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

I’m into backpacking and camping, and general outdoorsy things. Honestly, I don’t get out as often as I probably should, but the next time I go out, I will be so prepared because I’ll have ten more carabiners to strap just about every piece of gear I own to my pack.

They’re very small, though, so they’re more for things with a drawstring or equivalent size loop. They work well on just about anything with a paracord hanger, so they are nice and versatile. Also, they would work well as a keyring.

Some of the small, and cheap, carabiners out there are flimsy and loose. That’s not the case with these. They’re sturdy, and have a really nice spring to them. It’s not so tight that it’s a struggle to monkey with, but it will never open up on its own. I probably wouldn’t hang anything too important from them, but I’m the paranoid sort.

Speaking of cheap, that’s probably the biggest draw here. They’re seven bucks for ten of them. Dirt cheap, and quality. The cheapest carabiner REI carries is about two bucks for one. I’m not great at math, but I think I know a good deal when I see one.

I received this product at a discount for purpose of review.

Gyls Premium Salt and Pepper Mill Set

Cost At the Time of Writing the Review: $22.90
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Out of the box, I was impressed with these shakers. They’re stainless steel, with a plastic portion for fullness detection, and a ceramic grinder inside. They have a decent heft to them, and feel well made. They each have a dual-coarseness option by grinding left or right. Flexibility is always a good thing.

There were no instructions, so I took a stab at how they worked (I’ve owned pepper mills, I knew how they worked, I’m just being sarcastic). I did, and do, think it’s strange that the shakers are different sizes. I know that’s a fairly typical design choice, but these are drastically different. The little one is so little it barely holds any salt/pepper. We use a lot of seasoning in our household, and would have to fill that one far too frequently for it to be convenient.

I filled the tall one with peppercorns, and the small one with salt. Again, there were no instructions, so I used my best judgment, which was basically, “I use more pepper than salt.” Then, it was time to season my salad. A couple cranks on the salt shaker gave me some ground up salt. A couple cranks the other way and I had some ground up, but slightly different sized salt. Just as advertised, perfect.

Then the pepper.

A couple cranks to the right…and no pepper. A couple cranks to the left…still no pepper. A couple of confused bangs on the counter to try and clear the blockage, then some more cranks, and I remained to have a bland salad. The shaker had blocked up. Not a huge deal, but I didn’t get any use out of it, so it was disappointing.

So, I opened it up and realized that there is no way to easily access the ceramic grinder. It’s a  closed part. Not good. I hit it with a kitchen hose, but the pressure wasn’t strong enough to clear the blockage. I jammed a knife inside, but it wasn’t small enough to clear the blockage. My grinder was S.O.L., and so was my salad.

I don’t know if I just got unlucky, but the peppercorns I used, I use in all of my grinders, and they are just fine for milling. The salt shaker did work well, so I assume that the pepper grinder was just a defective one. However, at over twenty dollars, is it worth the gamble?

I received this product discounted for purpose of review.

Foxtop 12.5 Inch Colorful Wall Clock

Fun for a kid’s room!

Cost At the Time of Writing the Review: $24.98
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I wear glasses, but my vision at a distance is still poor at best, so it’s important to me to have a clock with nice big numbers that are easy to read. I’m basically a 90 year old man trapped in a mid-twenties year old body. Such is life. This clock is really great in that respect.

It looks pretty good on a wall, even if I put it a little too close to the ceiling. 

It’s plastic, or, as the page listing says, “imitation wood,” which isn’t something I normally opt for. I’m into antiques, which generally means I’m into things made of wood, made by hand, made with love. That being said, this is a pretty nice looking plastic clock, but it’s still that kind of plastic that you find at rummage sales every year for a buck or two.

It runs on one AA battery, and the battery life seems to be significant. There should be no worries about frequently changing out the batteries. It has that same simple quartz movement that so many clocks nowadays have that run for months and months with just one battery. Because of that cheap, yet infallible, quartz movement, it keeps perfect time.

While this clock is pleasing to the eye, there is a pretty glaring flaw. It’s advertised as a non-ticking clock, but it most definitely has a tick. A big, loud, audible tick. That doesn’t both me, a lover of wind-up tick-tock clocks, but for anyone wanting to buy this because it’s silent, that’s a deal breaker. Pass on by this. If you don’t mind a ticking sound coming from your clock, then this may be the clock for you.

I received this product discounted for purpose of review.

Memory Foam Pain Relief Seat

It’s got good butt grooves.

 

Cost At the Time of Writing the Review: $15.99
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

I have sciatica in my hips, I have bad knees, and my lower back hurts all the time because of those two problems. Sitting still in a hard seat, or, even, in a soft seat, is brutal. It sucks because I’m so young, but it could always be worse. Luckily, there’s products out there to make your day to day just a little bit better.

This seat is made of memory foam, wrapped in a heavy antiskid material. Well, they call it antiskid. When you’re wearing jeans, it works great. When you’re wearing athletic shorts, you’ll find yourself awkwardly sliding to the floor until you change your breeches.

It’s nice and thick, as well as firm. However, it’s almost too firm. For the first half an hour of sitting on it, my hips feel relieved, and my pain alleviates somewhat, but after a certain amount of time has passed (somewhere in the range of forty minutes to an hour), I start to hurt again in a different way. This really isn’t meant to be sat on for a long duration, I suppose.

I really wish it offered some kind of lumbar support, though. I can’t sit in it for more than  couple of minutes without shoving a pillow in the small of my back.

It’s lightweight, and easily transportable, but it doesn’t break down at all, so it’s just the one size, making it inconvenient if you don’t have a place to stash it. I’m a big fan of “everything in its place,” but I find that difficult to accomplish with this piece.

At the price, it’s a good deal. There are other sciatica pillows on the market that are just as good, for much more money. There are better ones, as well, but this is one of the nicer ones in this price range.

I received this product discounted for purpose of review.

Art Naturals Dead Sea Mud Mask

Cost At the Time of Writing the Review: $14.45
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

If I’m being honest, my skin isn’t great. Around my eyebrows and nose, and some days my forehead even, is dead, flaky skin. It’s gross. And strange, because I have naturally oily skin. How can I be oily and flaky? It’s not fair. I try my best to maintain a healthy, and hygienic, routine, but sometimes you’re just fighting genetics. Not much you can do about that, you know?

This is the first mud mask I’ve tried, and I really liked it. It’s a unique experience, for sure. You can feel it drawing the gook out of your skin; it sort of tightens as it dries on your skin for the recommended twenty minute application. It’s a little too leeching for my face, though. It left me needing a moisturizer pretty badly. However, it works great on other parts of your body that are less sensitive. I used it on my back and shoulders, where it was much more effective, without the drying side-effect.

The ingredients in this product are all good. They’re natural, and organic, and they are ingredients that are actually meant to be used in a mud mask. Sometimes you’ll see a big list of natural ingredients, but they are used in ways that cancel each other out (witch hazel and vitamin C are two I see a lot in products). That’s not the case here. Everything appears to be on the up and up.

My two largest downfalls with this product are the fact that is is a mud mask designed for faces but it’s too drying to actually be used on faces. Unless, of course, you have extremely oily skin, in which case this would work well for you. Keep in mind, I’ve got pretty oily skin (probably above average, but not more than a 7/10) and it was too intense for me. The other negative I have is that it has a very pungent floral scent to it. It’s not so much to make one gag, but it’s heavily scented, and that’s not easy on the skin, either. Fragrance free is a much safer route.

At the price point it is, they give you a lot of product for your money, and it works well in certain applications. All in all, this is a pretty decent product with a couple of flaws.

I received this product discounted for purpose of review.

Kangaroo Brand Fake Prop Blood

 

It drips…it clots…it stays in place….(spooky)

 

Cost At the Time of Writing the Review: $8.95
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I’m kind of a horror movie freak. It’s my number one watched genre by, like, well, a lot. A lot a lot. Once upon a time, my dream was to become a physical effects artist for the movies. Tom Savini was the greatest idol a kid could have. The first step to that world, the go to prop, is a vial of good blood.

A critical blow to the noggin’ just might set some of my marbles straight.

This blood by Kangaroo is a little under ten bucks an ounce, which is pretty pricey if you’re planning on making a movie with it, but it’s great if you’re just looking to put that finishing touch on a Halloween or cosplay outfit. Be warned, it stains pretty badly and quickly, so don’t get it on anything you don’t mind losing. It also left red stain marks on my hand and head where it was that took a good half of a day or more before it was completely gone.

This stain lasted until my next shower, sadly.

The vial claims it drips, but it really doesn’t. It stays in place pretty firmly. However, it does clot and looks very realistic once it’s applied. A little goes a long way, as well. To do the head wound in my picture, we used a Q-tip and only a very small amount of the blood. It builds on itself quite well, creating a natural pooling, which is awesome for natural looking injuries.

While the blood is a bit on the pricier side (for any large-scaled projects you should look into making your own blood), it does a great job at being blood.

 

D-Scope Google Cardboard VR Viewer

The future is cardboard.

Cost At Time of Writing Review: $11.99
Rating: 3/5 Stars

On the go virtual reality is the newest craze. It’s the 80s all over again, except this time our phones are the ones giving us screen-glare headaches. The most stylish and economical way to experience the VR apps on our smartphones is through a Google Cardboard headset, which are provided by hundreds of sellers. This one is by D-Scope.

It comes to you as a large piece of cardboard with various holes and numbers labeled on it, so that you can do it yourself. This is where the problems start. The instructions are written out in pictorial form, giving no more than vague clues on where to start. If you like mystery thrillers, or putting together Ikea furniture, then this headset is for you.

Once you do manage to figure out what goes where and how, the tabs aren’t large enough to be slid through the insert holes, and the glue that holds one of the essential sides together doesn’t stick well enough to hold it tight. You have to either tape or glue it yourself, which, while done easily enough, isn’t great. You shouldn’t have to fix something shortly after buying it.

It comes with a strap, which I believe to be a headstrap. Unless you are in the range of 7-10 years old, I don’t think this strap was meant for human kind. It barely fit around my terrier’s head (no phone inside, I wouldn’t endanger my dog’s vision).

I found it pretty difficult to fit my phone, a Samsung Galaxy S4, inside the device. According to their page, the viewer fits all major phones. If my S4 didn’t fit, my girlfriend’s S6 didn’t have a chance in…you know where. Eventually, though, I was able to get it to rest comfortably in place, so long as I didn’t tip to one side or the other too intensely.

Okay, the positives. It works. It does its job really well. Once you get it put together, and it’s all taped up with your home-brew fixes, and you’ve managed to balance your phone on the precipice of death, it performs quite capably. It was no time at all before I was out of the realm of “gosh darn it with this thing” and straight into a guided tour of the solar system, jettisoning myself between stars in an intergalactic journey.

It’s constructed of heavy duty cardboard, so it’s meant to last, and it comes with replacement viewer glass, in case something should happen to the ones that it comes pre-installed with. Once it’s put together, it works. It’s $12 right now, so it’s one of the cheaper VR headsets on the market, but not the cheapest. It’s an average product at an average price.

I received this product for free for purpose of review.

Newdora Knee Compression Braces

Cost At Time of Writing Review: $19.99
Rating: 5/5 Stars

I have all kinds of things wrong with my knees, hips, and backs. It’s sad, considering I’m still pretty young in the grand scheme of things. Easily, though, the worst part of it all is my knees. I have degenerative cartilage, ensuring any day I take too many steps, go up a hill too ambitiously, walk up stairs, or do anything above a slow walk. Naturally, I’m on a life-long quest to find things that help me minimize my knee pain.

Tell me I don’t look so cool.

These knee braces by Newdora are really great. They come in multiple sizes, so make sure you measure your knee before ordering. I was going to go with the Large, but realized I fell right in the middle of their XL size. They looked big, but they slipped on easily and fit nicely. They’re snug around the knees (compression), but don’t limit my mobility at all.

Here’s the crazy thing. I can squat in these. I can jog in these. They help my knee pain by an insane amount. I’m not a product endorser, but for me to be able to exercise without terrible pain…well, it’s not something I’m really used to. Sure, my hips and back still hurt, but my knees felt fine. I cannot stress that enough.

They’re well made. Nice and thick. They feel like they’ll hold up for a long time because of that. The seams are all tight, with no loose stitching. There is a downside to how thick they are, though. They don’t breathe, like, at all. Within an hour of wearing them, my legs beneath are a shallow sea of sweat.

A small price to pay for less pain, if you ask me.

I wore these for eight hours one day, which may have been too long. At the tops and bottoms, they left a deep crease in my skin. The same kind of crease you get around your waist if your pants are too tight. It wasn’t something that hurt, or cut off blood flow, but it was uncomfortable enough to note. These might not really be all day compression sleeves.

At the end of the day, these do their job. They do them well, and they do them at an affordable price.

I received this product discounted for purpose of review.

Eva Naturals Vanilla Bean Night Cream

Smells. So. Good.

Cost At the Time of Writing the Review: $14.95
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I’m a sucker for anything vanilla. It’s a classic scent, classic flavor, classic everything. If I can take that wonderful scent and make myself smell like that? While also helping my skin? I am all about that. Yes.

This is a pretty decent night cream, too. There’s a lot going for it, such as a good ingredients list. Anyone who knows me knows I’m obsessed with ingredients, because I like to be highly conscious of what gets absorbed into my body. The downside would be how heavily fragrented the cream is. While it smells amazing, it shouldn’t be used on sensitive skins because of that. So, really, for most people, that would mean it doesn’t work as a facial cream.

My girlfriend, someone who has that kind of sensitive skin, has used it on her hands, neck, and elbows without any negative effects. Her skin was soft and smooth, afterwards, which is what you would hope for. The cream doesn’t appear to have much of a drying effect on the skin, either.

The cream is light, and absorbs into the skin very quickly, a minute or two tops after rubbing it on. You don’t feel oily after using it, or feel like you now have a second layer of skin on top. A little goes a long way, as well. It spreads out well, so the two ounce jar that I reviewed, and used quite a few times, is still barely even dipped into at this point. That’s good on the wallet.

I do have a theory, and it’s only speculation because I haven’t reached out to the company to find out, but the vitamins(the Bs, C, and E ones) are at the far bottom of the ingredients list, which implies they aren’t in very high doses, leading me to wonder at their true effectiveness. Again, just speculation.

I love that it comes in a glass jar. A company is only as good as their presentation, and Eva Naturals cares about how their product looks. It also doesn’t force them to slap a higher price tag on the product, either. That’s respectable. This is a nice product, and I was glad to try it out.

I received this product discounted for purpose of review.