So, first, I have taken Krill Oil before, it does alot for me. For instance, it decreases PMS for me, alleviates joint pain that I get occasionally or if I've had a minor injury, and I find sleep better when taking it. This formula has the addition of COQ10 in it which is also a supplement that I take but was out of. COQ10 starts to diminish as we age but besides taking it for that reason I took it because it actually gives me energy throughout the day. I noticed a difference in my energy after I ran out of my COQ10 recently.

So, I ran out a couple of the Krill Oil that I take daily  a few months ago. Wow, I felt it. The PMS symptoms were pretty bad last couple of months. As much as I know Krill Oil and the Omegas play a part in this it just did not register that not taking krill was causing my symptoms. I also had some residual joint pain that had subsided after taking it.

So, I looked online for a krill oil to start taking again. I found this one here and it seemed to be of good quality. I have read the reviews stating that the omega 3's and epa levels were not high enough. In my opinion and experience I have not needed those higher doses to get the medicinal effects of it. This theory was put to the test recently with trying the DailyNutra Neptune Krill Oil.

So, after taking for a while I noticed a huge reduction with the PMS again! I am sleeping better. I am calmer in situations that I haven't been lately. And, some joint pain I was having is gone again. During the day I definitely noticed more energy. I am a big believer in Krill Oil and COQ10 and this brand does not disappoint. I am so satisfied with results that I will be a repeat buyer. The pills are small and you take two, simple. No smell but do have a mildly sweet vanilla taste. I actually like the taste, different from the other krill that I took.

I can recommend this brand of krill oil with no doubts. It has worked for me.

Neptune Krill Oil (NKO) is known for its unique fatty acid (FA) profile, as well as for its rich antioxidant content. NKO's balanced fatty acid content includes not only EPA and DHA, the crucial Omega-3 , but Omega-9 and phospholipids, as well. NKO is a rich source of Astaxanthin, a powerful immune-supporting antioxidant. Clinical studies have shown that NKO can support joint comfort, healthy blood lipid levels, and may reduce symptoms of pre-menstrual syndrome.

KRILL OIL VS FISH OIL: Krill oil is an omega-3 nutrient and is an alternative source of omega-3 than fish oil. Some folks prefer krill oil over fish oil because they believe it has increased bioavailability and better absorption than fish oil, and contains the additional nutrients, Astaxanthin and Phospholipids. In fact, this is correct. Krill oil has better bioavailability and absorption than fish oil and contains Astaxanthin and Phospholipids, neither of which are contained in fish oil.

ASTAXANTHIN: Astaxanthin is a powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory. It is a red-pink substance found in various seafoods such as salmon, trout, krill, lobster and cooked shrimp. It is responsible for the red color of salmon meat, cooked shellfish and flamingo feathers. It is present in krill oil but not in fish oil.

The presence of astaxanthin in krill oil, combined with other naturally occurring antioxidants in the oil (Vitamins E and A), provides protection against oxidation of the oil, making it stable for a long time. It also protects the body against free radical attacks which can cause aging of the cells. Antioxidants are usually added in fish oil to prevent the oil from oxidizing as they do not have any on their own.


I'm an open minded skeptic about supplements. I'll try just about anything. Few of them do anything. This one seems to work. It's the first supplement related to ecdysterone or turkesterone I've tried that really does seem to offer some benefits. I didn't get that benefit from the bulk packages of powdered turkesterone from another reputable vendor -- three months of using that seemed to have little or no benefit.

Most positive reviews about supplements appear to be misguided (see the revised recommendations to avoid excessive antioxidants) or placebo effect (hey, nothing wrong with the power of positive thinking -- but why pay extra for it in a gel capsule?).  That includes most antioxidants, remedies for bone health, joints and cartilage, and most supplements marketed to athletes and physically active people for energy and better performance. Tried 'em. Most seem to do nothing.

The few exceptions include creatine (well documented and non-controversial), niacin (blood flow), and l-arginine (the latter helps the body produce nitric oxide on the fly as needed, especially in daylight).

I've been an on/off serious amateur athlete since my teens, now in my early 60s, including amateur boxing, long bike rides and occasional races when I was in my teens and early 20s. Like most healthy folks, in my youth all I needed was a healthy diet, good training program and rest. As I got older, well... not so much.

After my thyroid failed a couple of years ago my energy dropped to nil. I went from vigorous bike rides several times a week to barely being able to get out of bed. My endocrinologist and other doctors didn't seem concerned. As far as they were concerned my lab tests looked normal. So other than levothyroxine, the common  thyroid replacement, they didn't offer any solutions or suggestions. And, nope, my health care plan doesn't include fountain of youth prescriptions (PEDs, if you're competing in sanctioned events, which I'm not doing). They even cut back on testosterone patches for anyone without a medically indicated need such as double orchiectomy. They used to prescribe those for active men who just felt more tired with age. But not any more.

So for the past year I've tried everything I can find over the counter, including DHEA and pregnenolone. After trying several brands I found one brand of DHEA that seemed to offer some benefit, but I couldn't be sure it wasn't placebo effect. It seemed like my endurance was improving. My short term energy bursts -- sprints and short steep hill climbs -- were already improving from creatine, and maybe from l-arginine. But not my endurance. I still faded after 20 miles on fast solo and group rides.

But the effect of the S5 beta-ecdysterone was almost immediately noticeable. Within a few days I noticed a distinct improvement in my bicycling endurance. My interval training sessions were more vigorous and I had enough energy afterward for full body workouts. And my endurance on longer sustained effort rides improved significantly. I'm pushing bigger gears, including on climbs, without my quads and calves burning. Friends who follow me on Strava commented on my recent speed boost, consistently 1-2 mph faster on the usual 20-40 mile training routes. A few months ago I couldn't even finish those rides. Now on good days I'm able to keep up with the A-group rides with guys much younger than I, whereas a couple of years ago when my thyroid failed I struggled to keep up with the B-group, and even with some stronger casual riders on social rides.

I'm not looking to get bigger, just stronger. Unlike creatine, which is good for short duration high intensity exercise, this stuff seems to help with sustained effort.

I'm still skeptical. S5 hasn't published any lab results and I don't see any independent lab tests. It's pretty well documented that many supplements marketed to athletes surreptitiously contain stimulants like caffeine and ephedra to give an energy boost that makes it feel like it's doing something. And some even sneak in other banned substances. So I don't know for certain how or why the S5 Labs beta-ecdysterone is working.

But I just ordered another bottle, something I rarely do if I have doubts about whether a supplement works.


Over the last three months I have steadily incorporated products so that I can follow the Korean skincare regiment [layering about 10 products.  I am very, very picky with cleansers as they tend to dry my skin out no matter how moisturizing they claim to be.  I have olive skin, it is dry and needs a lot of hydration.  I am blessed by the gods and have no acne issues.  My problem is redness and uneven/rough/dull skin.  And dark circles.

That said, I love, love this product.  A little goes a long way.  It has the consistency of shaving cream.  It tingles a little when you put on and you can kind of feel it doing it's job. It smells fine, and the fragrance is not overwhelming. I very, very gently rubbed in light circles.  I don't think you should be really rubbing any product into your face, hence I try to rub as little as possible [and I think there is a lot of info to support this out there].  I use it after using an oil cleanser [to remove make up and impurities--this i just pat on and then rinse off it is magical].  I think this stuff brightens my face a little, but then I think almost all Korean skincare products do.  I only use this product in the evening.  Cleansing oil  I use in the morning and evening. My skin looks polished and smooth and my pores look smaller [i think, but my pores are only really noticecable on my nose].  The product says it can be used as a mask if you leave on for 2 minutes.  I did not do that.

When I finished [and I use room temperature/lukewarm water] I rinsed and then splashed some cold water on to close my pores.  Then I use a toner [a moisturizing one, regular toners burn my skin].  When I am done I use a serum, then an eye cream.  Once a week I use a mask after the eye cream [I recommend my beauty diary].  But if no mask then I use an emulsion, then a moisturizing cream [I still use these two even if I use a mask].  Twice a week I finish with a sleeping pack before bed.
I am working in an exfoliator.  My skin looks amazing and it is very, very bight and smooth and pretty.  No, it isn't bleached but I sincerely feel for the first time ever feel like I got that celebrity skin going on.  I am really happy.  Of course keep in mind that I also use like 10 other proucts and that whatever works for me or other reviewers may not work for you--skin, I have learned, is not to be generalized or taken lightly.  See what works for you.  Sometimes you waste money but it is all part of the pursuit of finding what works for you. But I highly recommend this.

Oh, and in the mornings when I am done with everything I put on a sunblock then cc cream.  Except for the Etude house cleanser, every product I use is from Laneige.  The masks are my beauty diary and the cleanser is rice water oil cleanser.  The exfoliator, when I get it, is skinfood sugar scrub.  I do NOT use the mircacle toner because I am happy with my laneige toner.  Maybe when that runs out I will give the other toner a try but that is unlikely.

I broke it all down because I loved the product, think it did it's job, but I also use like 10 other products so it is difficult to say how well it works alone.  I use very little make up [natural look].  I think that if you purchase, look at it as a good investment.  Clothing goes out of style but your skin will be with you forever!


[[VIDEOID:8ee286ac50c67ae00b30690bf2bbe82c]] My 2-year-old Sonicare toothbrush is making some odd noises after being accidentally dropped.  I’ve used electric toothbrushes for over 20 years.  So, when I saw this toothbrush set in my Amazon Vine listing, I thought I’d try it as a potential replacement.  As an Amazon Vine reviewer, I am offered new-to-market products, if I want them, at no cost to me, in exchange for an honest, objective, and comprehensive review.
At $25 for two electric toothbrushes and 10 brush heads, this seems to be a superb value.  Too good to be true? – ABSOLUTELY!  You really do get what you pay for.
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DESIGN:
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The brush heads are attached via a bayonet fitting to the top of the toothbrush.  The fit works OK.  The bristles are very soft.  The product description does state soft.  There’s no color indicator for when to replace the heads.  The manual states to do it when the bristles are worn and bent over.
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The toothbrush itself is fairly light but will stand up on its end without issue.  Charging, recommended every 10-14 days, is achieved by removing a bayonet cap at the bottom and plugging in the proprietary USB-C charging cable (no charging brick included).  The LED will glow red.  However, it does not seem to turn off when a full charge is achieved.  Plugged in – LED always glows red.
There is a selector button.  Press once to turn ON.  Long press to turn OFF.  Once ON, a button press will cycle through the various vibration modes.  If you long press to turn the unit OFF, when restarting, the toothbrush does remember the last mode setting.  I found it all too easy though to change the mode when turning the unit OFF, by forgetting to long press!
The vibration modes really don’t change much other than a little maximum intensity variation and a slight change in the variable vibration pattern.  There is a noticeable long pause at the 30 second intervals.  You briefly think the toothbrush has turned off.  To be honest, I’ve never used the different modes on my other electric toothbrushes.  They are more of a gimmick than a useful function IMHO.
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PERFORMANCE:
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I had high hopes but was sorely disappointed.  Yes, the toothbrush vibrates, but the level is so low, you have to use it like a manual toothbrush to get any cleaning effect.  I just felt like I was back to using a manual toothbrush that shook in my hand.
I feel more vibration in my hand than on my teeth!  The very soft bristles absorb any movement over their length and the ends essentially don’t move against the tooth surface.
I created the attached video to try and illustrate the difference between the Sonicare and the Eoryeo.  You can easily see how the level of vibration is so much less on the Eoryeo.  I chose the POLISH mode as that was the strongest.
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CONCLUSION:
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Nice price.  Comprehensive set.  No use.
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Don’t waste your money!  You aren’t getting the real benefit of an electric toothbrush, just a shaking manual toothbrush.  I suppose if you have really sensitive gums and need a soft bristled brush and gentle vibrations, maybe this would work for you, but, in that case, I’d just buy a soft-bristled, manual toothbrush and talk with my dentist!
My dentist advises that you should not press an electric toothbrush hard against your teeth with a hand-hold grip but hold it at the end, or between two fingers, and let the brush head do the work.  There’s no way, the Eoryeo Electric Toothbrush will work like that.
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This set is unfortunately going in the trash at my house and I’ll be off to buy another Sonicare!


UPDATE:
I found these made my shoes MUCH too tight as the insoles that came in the shoes couldn't be removed.  I have put them in my rubber boots, having been able to remove those insoles, which was about the same thickness as these at the front end, and they are really comfortable.  I think I'll be using the half insoles in future as they seem to suit my shoes better.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
I use orthotic insoles in all my shoes, even my slippers, to alleviate some of the pain of arthritis in my foot joints.  I have several half-insole Rooruns and have worn out several Walk-fits.  So, when I saw these in my "Recommended for you" list as an Amazon Vine Reviewer, I thought they are worth trying.  As a Vine Reviewer, I was able to order these at no cost to me, in exchange for an objective and detailed review.
Here it is...
The construction is typical of Rooruns, with various layers of material to provide comfort and support.  I do wish they were stiffer or were flat on the bottom, as they tend to bend under foot, losing some of the free shape, especially if the shoe has no arch support profile.  That said, they do provide noticeable support in flat shoes.  Also, the Rooruns I have do not lose their shape with repeated use and are very durable.  The half-insole one in the photo has been in my shoes for some time now, with little sign of wear.  My slippers' insoles have the most wear and that's a fading of the fabric color, the upper fabric layer has worn down under the heel (but not peeled, just worn) and the heel cushion/pad is starting to come loose.  However, the slippers have the most hours on them, several hours a day over several months with the typical lack of support to stop the foot sliding around.  I expect these full insoles to perform just as well.  That is one key feature which draws me to Roorun insoles - durability.
The arch profile is definitely higher than my other Rooruns and I have high arches, so that felt good under my feet.
I ordered the XL for my size 13 feet.  On the floor, the insoles seemed much longer than my feet and I was thinking I would need to cut the front ends down.  There are molded-in lines underneath to suggest where and how to cut.  However, when I tried to put them in my loafers, I found that forcing them over the top of the heel, down into the actually-longer sole area of the shoe, they fit my size 13 shoes perfectly.  They do reduce volume inside the shoe, especially in the heel area.  I measured them at approx. 3/8" thick at the heel, but that's the same as my half-insoles.  The extra material under the toes, which I'm not used to, did make my shoes feel a little tighter at the front and top.
Interestingly, the round heel cushion/pad under the insole has a plastic film over it.  Remove the film and the pad is very sticky.  Presumably to retain its position in the shoe.  Now why would you need that on the full insole when it's trapped front and rear in position, yet the half-insoles do not have it, and actually would stay put better with it?!
 The half-insoles often slip forward when I put shoes or boots on.
ROORUN: PLEASE NOTE:  I wish that sticky pad feature was on the half-insoles!
The price is competitive and only $6 or so more than the half insoles.  I still think I prefer the half insoles, but the higher arch might be better for me.  We will see.
I haven't had a chance to wear these for an extended time.  I will get that chance this coming weekend on a trip. I'll update the review after I get more miles with these insoles.
I hope my review has been helpful.


We have two of our four dogs crate trained. Their crates are in one of our extra guest bedrooms. Now before all of you PETA loving people have anything to say, our dogs love their crates. We’ve made it their homes, and they are never in for long periods of time.

One of the dogs in the crates is a labradoodle, the other is my giant baby, our English mastiff, Athena. Now Athena is my child from before me and my fiancé got together, so she is really really my baby, although before all you non-favoriting parents (we all know your lying and you really do have favorites) have anything to say, I treat them all equally. So Athena is flawless, but she does have something called excessive drool.

Her daily routine consists of shaking when I wake her up and when shaking, throwing her drool all over me, the walls, and anything else in a 10 foot radius. Needless to say, the walls now needed to be cleaned.

So I get this amazing idea that I’m going to surprise my fiancé and clean the base boards and the walls. Little did I know this was going to be a real project. I get super prepared, at least I thought so. I have rags, paper towels, 409, and anything other cleaning supply that isn’t supposed to be used on walls (they’ve got to be lying to me right? It just means it’s super powerful) with me ready to tackle this monster of a wall. Two hours later I haven’t even made a dent. But I’m determined and keep cleaning. Dried drool on the wall is a nightmare FYI.

So about 30 minutes later my fiancé comes in, and she’s laughing because I’m sweating my butt off, I’ve stripped to my boxers only, and I’m cleaning this stupid drool off this stupid wall, and I haven’t made any progress at all. She laughs more, I get mad, and well you know how bickering goes. So she comes back in the room and tells me to use this tool.

I mean it’s a freaking white sponge, I’ve used every dang chemical I could find in the house. I laugh laugh and say that’s never ever going to work. This dumb little baby sponge is not going to do the job. So just to show her up, I use this thing after putting some water on it. Much to my surprise it starts coming off, and not just a little, all of it is coming off super easy. So I pretend like it’s not working, sit in there another 2 hours (even though I was done after 30 mins and 3 magic erasers later) and then tell her I finally finished. I tell her how terrible the eraser was and blah blah blah how I had to tackle it like a man. Put some elbow grease on it, and got it done.

Well I messed up in my plans because I realized that I used the last 3 magic erasers in the house. She doesn’t typically clean until the weekend and this was late Sunday, so I’ve got about a week to sneak them in the house and pretend like nothing ever happened. I hop on amazon, and see they are pretty decently priced. Then I start to reminisce and remember how awesome they worked I get excited, forgetting about our argument, and how I had to be right, and I decide to order 5 boxes of 8 of these. Completely forgetting that they will be at the house in 2 days with amazon prime.

Well two days later here we are. I’m happy I received 40 magic erasers, but boy am I in some trouble. These are essential to any cleaning job. I don’t even care what it is. I’m going to be using one. I might even use it to clean a clean wall just because it’s so satisfying.

Thanks for reading and good luck cleaning. By the way, this is a true story.

P.S. Don’t feel bad for my fiancé, I’m the one always getting in trouble for nothing.

Product is still amazing, we keep tons of these at the house, and still recommend this product to everybody (yes, even you PETA lovers, isn’t that nice of me?).


I bought this in hopes that it would calm down my anxieties about school and work. My heart rate is typically about 100bpm, and whenever I go to the doctor my blood pressure is something like 140/90. I feel like I have a subconscious anxiety where I don't think or feel anxious, but the effects of anxiety are there in my body and the back of my mind.
Anyway, this arrived in my mailbox (get the larger size if you have prime) and I immediately mixed a shy half a tablespoonful with my hot chocolate. *Note: it doesn't mix with hot water. Only mix it with cold water or it'll lump up and you'll have to lick it off the spoon. It smells kinda sickly sweet, but also like juice at the same time. It does taste better than it smells. I did notice a mild numbing on the tip of my tongue, but as a redhead local/topical anesthetics don't work very well for us so it quickly subsided within 1 minute. I felt pretty ok, but not free of anxiety, and my muscles were still tense. I had another serving the same size a couple hours later. I felt the same with this serving as with the first one.
The next day (today) I had a whole spoonful of this stuff in some apple juice. I feel like the effects are so subtle that I've been dismissing them as placebo. The following are the effects I have noticed so far:
#1: I have difficulty after it kicks in to form mature adult-like thought patterns. Mostly I laugh as adult jokes when my parents are nearby, and I realize that "oh, I shouldn't be laughing at that right now, dad's right there", but at the same time I don't care. You hear that, dad, I just don't care. I also enjoy myself a lot more watching funny/strange videos. Look up "Berdthday boy" (note the spelling) on youtube and you'll know what I'm talking about.
#2: I've been thinking some really strange thoughts and sentences, even the day after I drink my tea. One word in my head leads to the next and then I've got this image in my head of a moocow propelling itself through space with her farts. I wish I could text these thoughts to my girlfriend, but she's been really busy at school.
#3: English words are strange and it's weird to type sentences.
#4: I'm feelink (see, I thought "g" makes close to a "k" so I accidentally typed a k) a slight level relaxation right now, 8 hours after I had my tea, and I'm feeling #3 very much right now. It's 2:30am, but I'm cool with that and my back muscles aren't really tense at all
#5: Vivid dreams. I normally just black out and wake up the next day for school, even on the weekend. I largely attribute this to the brain's ability to determine if it wants to conserve energy by reducing throughput. I had a vivid dream for the first time in ever. Though it was partially about anxiety about getting something done for another person I don't care about (sounds like grading papers for my boss), I could recall feelings I had, places I was, objects I saw, I even had a dream that there were corn chips in my kitchen and I was disappointed tonight when I realized we don't actually have fritos.
#6: Insomnia is a choice for me right now. Usually I get in bed and stare at my eyelids for an hour. I didn't have trouble falling asleep yesterday, and I really feel like I could fall asleep no problem right now, and I should really go to sleep but it's winter break so HA!.

I would imagine these effects would continue to build if I make tea tomorrow morning. Good thing I'm on winter break. I really needed this after an extremely stressful line of work I was trapped in for a year and a half there, and it's over now. I was going to drink to toast the end of it, but this is starting to feel like a much better alternative. I really feel like playing some great video games and just sprouting my couchpotato roots.


Update 2022. Chair is still working great about 4 years later . We were told by a chiropractor to use it 2-3 times a week and not every day. The shiatsu function is pretty strong. We havent had any problems with it.

2018.
We have only had the chair about 2 weeks but we love it. We placed the order on Thursday evening and it arrived on Tuesday morning of the next week. That was a very happy surprise since we didn't expect it for at least a week or 10 days. It is a little bulky so we had to have help to get it in the house. Once you get it on the rolling wheels, it is a lot easier to maneuver around the house. As for the actual massaging quality - it is great for someone that hasn't had a chair like this before (we have test tried some other chairs)! It takes a little getting used to because some sections of the rollers are pretty deep/hard on the back and feet. The airbags are pretty hard on your calfs too sometimes. So the first time make sure you have the remote in hand to press the pause button as needed. The foot massage is really deep too. I did not realize that I had areas on my feet/soles that I actually couldn't feel before we had the chair. With this foot massage function it seemed to rejuvenate my feet quite a bit. In the automatic massage modes the airbags actually keep your legs and feet pressed down so you cannot move your foot away from the rollers on the bottom and you really get a good deep massage there. If you are not ready for that you may want to try the manual mode first and see what works best for you. You can also move your feet in between the airbag squeezes and cover different areas of the feet/soles, which I really needed. It is also great that the main rollers go all the way down to the hip/bottom area and there are different modes for different sections of your body. If you have hip/sciatic nerve problems like I did it works on the areas you need and you can even stop it with the remote and work that area for a while. My husband has lower back issues so he likes that feature since he can pinpoint the area and use different methods on that specific area. The Kneading is my favorite but it also works well in the Shiatsu mode and I can also do the knocking and kneading together to work on the upper back and shoulders area. You can choose a whole body massage too or just a certain area. You just have to be careful and make sure you don't overdo it to start with. I didn't realize I had knots in my back, shoulders and feet until I sat on the chair and started a massage. The first day I was a little sore since my muscles were not used to actually being massaged. So I highly recommend to do a little the first day and gradually ease into it. You may be really excited, like we were, and try to do 30 min or more the first time and try to figure out all the functions but try to not do that much or your muscles will be sore the next day. I really hope the rest of the reviews are correct and we have this chair for a few years without having mechanical issues. It works really well for the cost of it. It seems to be put together quite well as well. It doesn't look or feel cheap at all. I was afraid the leather will be really thin and not last for too long but it feels like it will last a while. I would highly recommend this product to anybody. We also consulted with a Chiropractor before we bought a massage chair. He recommended the type where the roller goes up and down your spine, like this one and not the stationary type. He was absolutely correct since we enjoy the up and down rollers a lot! You cannot use this as a recliner as it does not have the padding and the rollers are not comfortable unless they are in motion and massaging you. We have tried the zero gravity position without the massaging but it only helps for a little bit. This chair is made for the medical benefits and massaging functions only and not as a regular chair.


Please use vegetable glycerine... There is no sustainable palm oil, it is a lie. Globally, 193 critically endangered, threatened and vulnerable species are threatened by palm oil production.

Palm oil is used in all sorts of everyday products from shampoo to chocolate, but it’s been disastrous for the world’s forests. Here are five not-so-fun facts about ‘certified sustainable’ palm oil, which is often anything but.

1. Palm oil is cheap – and we’re using way too much of it
Palm oil is a vegetable oil – like sunflower or olive oil. It’s made from the fruit of oil palm trees – Elaeis guineensis – which come from West Africa but were taken to Southeast Asia in the 1960s. Palm oil can be produced sustainably – but a lot of it isn’t.

Palm oil is great for big food and cosmetics companies, because it’s cheap and versatile. It’s used in many of the things we use or eat every day: shampoo, bread, toothpaste, detergent and even snacks and chocolate bars.
Not only do roughly half of the processed goods in the supermarket contain palm oil, but millions of tonnes of palm oil are going into the tanks of people’s cars. More than 50% of palm oil coming into Europe (but not the UK) is for biofuel.

2. Palm oil is a major cause of forest destruction
The palm oil industry has been a disaster for the world’s forests, wildlife and climate. Palm oil is mostly grown in Indonesia and Malaysia, two tropical countries with large areas of rainforest home to tigers, orangutans and other species that are found nowhere else on earth.

Palm oil companies have been destroying these rainforests because they want more land to grow oil palm trees.
Around 24 million hectares of rainforest were destroyed in Indonesia between 1990 and 2015, according to official figures from the Indonesian government. That’s an area the size of the UK. Palm oil and paper companies are the main causes of this destruction.

3. Palm oil is devastating the world’s wildlife
Destroying forests and replacing them with palm oil plantations wipes out critical habitat for animals that have nowhere else to go. Half of the Bornean orangutan population has been wiped out in just 16 years.
More than three-quarters of Indonesia’s Tesso Nilo national park, home to tigers, orangutans and elephants, has been converted into illegal palm oil plantations.

4. ‘Certified sustainable’ palm oil is a con
In 2004, the palm oil industry set up the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). RSPO members have their palm oil ‘certified sustainable’ and brands using this palm oil get to claim that their palm oil is ‘sustainable’.
Most supermarkets in the UK and many consumer brands like Nestlé and Mondelez use RSPO palm oil in their products.

The RSPO took 14 years to ban its members from destroying forests – which it finally did in November 2018. It still hasn’t enforced this new rule – and RSPO members are still destroying forests and getting away with it.
RSPO members were right at the centre of Indonesia’s 2015 forest fires crisis. This year, the fires returned – and roughly three-quarters of the fires linked to palm oil companies were on RSPO members’ land. This means that so-called ‘sustainable’ palm oil growers are – in some cases – at the forefront of Indonesia’s environmental crisis.

5. Brands have broken their promise to end deforestation for palm oil
Back in 2010, some of the world’s biggest brands promised to protect forests and clean up the palm oil industry by 2020. That’s less than two months away – and companies are miles away from ending deforestation for palm oil.
Many still don’t even know where their palm oil comes from. In fact, there’s no way for brands to tell how much forest is being destroyed to supply them with cheap palm oil.

Brands have broken their promise to clean up the palm oil industry. To save Indonesia’s rainforests brands have to use less palm oil – and any palm oil they do use must come from suppliers that are 100% deforestation-free.


Mix two tablespoons of VCO and two tablespoons of baking soda until it forms a paste-like consistency to get the purest toothpaste for cleanest teeth without any additive. You need to do that only with baking soda that is consumable, this is not.

Great container than the cardboard box since I can place it right in my shower. Sodium bicarbonate is a mild alkaline compound that can help neutralize the PH balance of skin. This 'buffering effect' may help quell the inflammation that occurs at the skin's surface, easing soreness. Used topically, baking soda takes the sting out of sunburn and minimizes the itch and discomfort caused by a variety of skin conditions (including eczema, prickly heat, and poison ivy). To get relief, place a cup of baking soda under a running bath tap so it dissolves completely, and then soak in the water for about 30 minutes. For my daily use I just make a paste for rubbing on the skin just like any lotion. I even mix in a container with water and apply with a soft towel in the shower. For cleaning equal mix of Borax and baking soda bring happiness to any dishwasher and washing machine for clean smelling clothes with no perfume.

I use others for internal use including brushing, you need to do your own research. Any food ingredient should be contained and handled properly and accordingly and baking soda needs to be aluminum free for internal use. This is not a food container. Variously called sodium bicarbonate, baking soda, or simply 'bicarb', it's good to have a small tub of this in your travel bag. On holiday, exposure to chemicals such as the chlorine in the swimming pool can irritate the area where urine leaves the body (the urethra) and can trigger cystitis in women. Essentially, this is inflammation of the bladder and can lead to a burning sensation when you pass urine. There are other factors that can make it a common holiday ailment: heat and alcohol can dehydrate the body, making the bladder more prone to inflammation; `holding on' when it's inconvenient to go to the toilet, or facilities are unavailable, can also contribute. Bicarb is alkaline, so drinking half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda stirred into a glass of water several times a day helps as it makes urine less acidic and less likely to cause stinging. It won't reduce the inflammation in the bladder but it will reduce the pain while the inflammation goes down. For any medical issues seek medical advice.

For no shampoo and conditioner to cleanse my hair I use no shampoo mix at all, since I make my own shampoo and conditioner. For shampoo I mix water+baking soda, half and half, cold boiled water AND water+organic apple cider, half and half, cold boiled water for conditioner. I do not mix in advance but mix just before jumping in shower. Need to keep it out of eyes completely. It takes few uses for hair to get used to it but the results are amazing. Now that process takes time and effort. For less effort, I mix 2 part organic castor oil, 2 part organic apple cider vinegar and 6 part shampoo. No conditioner, no more of anything other than the mix and sometimes I even add some EVOO or Wheat Germ Oil which is the highest in vitamin E. The effects are so immediate that after applying the mix I feel the effects on my hair immediately in the shower. I insure to mix a little at a time and always rinse hair with coldest water possible since it adds volume unlike warm water which destroys volume, but shampoo it with warm water. Tweak the mix according to the type, color and length of the hair but always insure to keep the mix away from eyes and scrub the mix on the scalp for the benefits of castor, apple cider on scalp and removal of any residue on hair. I do not shampoo my hair every single day since it damages hair and the natural oil of the hair. Ricinoleic acid in castor oil helps to protect hair and stimulates circulation of nutrient rich blood to scalp. Dry scalp can lead to dandruff but castor oils omega-9 fatty acids can help. Can apply the oil on the whole scalp for few minutes or before washing it off completely with apple cider vinegar.


Jaroma has put out a really nice Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser Necklace Locket Pendant.  It is a nice length on a 24 inch chain and comes with 6 washable pads. The chain itself is Hypo-allergenic and the pendant itself is a Jasmine Flower.

Do you know the benefits of Aromatherapy?  Essential oil aromas stimulate the part of the brain that affects emotion,  Inhaling essential oils can help you attain a pleasurable emotional balance. A balanced emotional state in turn can have a therapeutic effect on physical problems.

Wearing an oil diffuser locket will allow you to use direct inhalation which in turn gives you immediate relief in most cases. There are so many scents and each scent has a purpose. I have several scents for various reasons.  I have peppermint to help with upset stomach.  I have an ongoing problem with acid.  It is also good for relieving headaches, joint pains, toothaches, and repel mosquitoes.  So if you are out on your patio and the mosquitoes are thick, just put some Peppermint on one of your felt tabs and wear around your neck.
 I sniff my locket and it calms my stomach.

 I have eucalyptus to help with sinus and headaches.  This is really good as I get almost instant relief.

Lavender will benefit you in keeping you calm.  Having a stressful day at work or with the kids, 1-2 drops of a good Lavender Oil and you will keep calm and have a good day.

I could go on and on as there are so many essential oils.  They are out there to help you with balancing, energizing, meditation, passion, purifying, relaxing, headaches, stress, digestive and stomach issues, sinus and colds, body aches and this is just to name a few.

It is also important that you do your research and purchase only 100% pure essential oils.  Some of the oils that are not 100% are a waste of money and for me caused huge headaches.

In my first picture I am just showing you how pretty the locket itself is.  The second picture shows you how the locket opens and you just slip the felt pad in your locket. The last picture shows you the various felt pads you can interchange with.  Maybe you want to change your pad based on color or maybe you are like me and color code your pad to your essential oil.  I have one pad for each of my different oils.  The felt pads are easy to clean though. You just rinse them warm water and let them air dry.

I truly do like my locket.  It is a nice length, looks good.  It comes with 7 pads.  It does not come with any essential oils, but you can buy them anywhere.  I bough some of mine from Amazon and others from my local whole foods market. I would suggest you not invest a bunch of money into the essential oils till you find a brand you really like.  Oils can be as cheap as $1.00 and some bottles are over $50.00.  The higher the price does not make them the better one.  I spent $4.95-$19.95 for my oils and have been pleased with them

I did receive my locket at a discounted rate for my unbiased, truthful and factual review.  I felt this locket deserved a 5 star for numerous reasons.
#1 - The cost of the locket is reasonable.  Some lockets are hundreds of dollars, and that is just not in my budget.
#2. The quality of the locket
#3. The looks - it looks amazing and I like the longer chain

I have a girlfriend who really likes essential oils, but she does not have a necklace. I like this product so much that I am going to purchase her one for her birthday.  It is priced reasonably and if you  have Prime it will be here within 2 days.

If you felt my review was helpful to you please click yes.  I know I rely on good customer reviews and hope you found mine to be helpful to you.


This Peruvian Camu Camu powder by Maju Superfoods comes in a 4 oz container with a wide lid for easy access to the powdered contents. Included with it is a scoop for measuring. I've provided a few photos to show you the container once it arrived here, the next with the lid off showing the sealed top. Then, the last photo reveals the contents. I think the product has a nice rich color. I placed a dry teaspoon into the container to stir it a bit as I wanted to see how many clumps I could find and was happy to note there were no clumps! The ingredients state to be: 100% Certified Organic Camu Camu. Underneath the ingredients, it states - Allergen: Product may be packaged in facility that processes nuts. The label also states this is non-GMO!

Next, you have to use it to see what it's like, right? I normally go through a process with whole food powders: open, smell, and see if I think it's going to have to be chugged down quick! So, I smelled this Camu Camu powder and I really had to sniff it to get any noticeable odor and I can't describe it except to say, it isn't unpleasant. But then, I got to thinking with all that Vitamin C in it, this stuff is going to be really sour, as I'm thinking what plain Vitamin C powder is like (usually quite sour)! I placed one teaspoon of Camu Camu powder in a glass, added pure water and stirred. No clumping! This is great! No residue on the spoon from the powder (even better)! No noticeable odor! I took a sip...no bad taste! A very slight tartness, but I honestly couldn't taste much flavor either, but I might have had more water in there per teaspoon that made it watered down quite a bit for taste. It didn't leave residue in the glass so I knew I'd gotten the product in me instead of it stuck to a glass and washing it down the drain. There was no grittiness, so it mixed well. I have no negatives to report, only positives. If you happen to be a regular smoothie drinker or yogurt eater, I think you
could put a teaspoon of this in those and probably wouldn't notice it except for the added color it might display.

I can't tell you this did something terrific for my body in the short time I've used it because these things take time to notice, but, you know that. I've done my homework on Camu Camu. It's a great product loaded with nutrients. If you'll do a bit of research, I expect you'll be happy with what you read. This is an amazing berry, full of nutrients. I've read ounce for ounce, it has 50 times more Vitamin C than an orange and of course most of us know Vitamin C helps our bodies as an antioxidant and this is so much better for us since it is from a whole food source as opposed to manufactured Vitamin C. Plus, Camu Camu is loaded with other vitamins, amino acids, bioflavonoids, minerals and even beta carotene. I've read it's good for the eyes, helps the immune system, supports the circulatory system, helps the mental and nervous systems, detoxifies the liver, fights colds, helps heal viruses. Now, think of all the illnesses that fit into those categories and you have a product that is worth taking daily in order to build up those systems. Just remember, it takes consistently using a product over a period of time to see and feel a difference. Yes, these are berries ground into powder, but it is like eating a bunch of good berries...you are gaining those nutrients as a whole food complex. If you'll look into it, you'll find it's helpful for the skin and has many other uses and benefits not mentioned. So my conclusion is, it's a great product worth consuming every day to see what it will do for me. I received this product at a discount in exchange for an honest review and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to try it and to know this is a good brand, easy to drink and good for me.


Saw Palmetto Benefits
Saw Palmetto
More Info

Notes / Side Effects
Reviews
Related

Fenugreek (Trigonella Foenum-Graecum)
Evening Primrose Oil (Oenothera Biennis)
Saw palmetto is an extract derived from the deep purple berries of the saw palmetto fan palm (Serenoa repens), a plant indigenous to the coastal regions of the southern United States and southern California.

Health benefits

Saw palmetto is a remarkable herb for both men and women and is used by natural health practitioners to treat a variety of ailments such as testicular inflammation, urinary tract inflammation, coughs and respiratory congestion. It is also used to strengthen the thyroid gland, balance the metabolism, stimulate appetite and aid digestion. This wonderful herb is becoming famous for its uses in hair restoration, prostate health, sexual vigour, breast enhancement and as a nutritive tonic.

Saw palmetto berry also tones the urethra and it may be used to uphold the healthy function of the thyroid gland and urinary system.

Historical use

In the United States, its medicinal uses were first documented in 1879 by Dr. J.B. Read, a physician in Savannah, Georgia, who published a paper on the medicinal benefits of the herb in the April 1879 issue of American Journal of Pharmacy. He found the herb useful in treating a wide range of conditions. He wrote,"By its peculiar soothing power on the mucous membrane it induces sleep, relieves the most troublesome coughs, promotes expectoration, improves digestion and increases fat, flesh and strength. Its sedative and diuretic properties are remarkable".

Benign Prostate Hyperplasia

There is much scientific documentation outlining the effectiveness of the herb in treating irritable bladder and urinary problems in men with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), an enlargement of the prostate gland. BPH results in a swelling of the prostate gland that obstructs the urethra. This causes painful urination, reduced urine flow, difficulty starting or stopping the flow, dribbling after urination and more frequent nighttime urination. In addition to causing pain and embarrassment, BPH can lead to serious kidney problems if undiagnosed and left untreated. It is a common problem in men over the age of 40. Estimates are that 50-60% of all men will develop BPH in their lifetimes.

Saw palmetto does not reduce prostate enlargement. Instead, it is thought to work in a variety of ways. First, it inhibits the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). BPH is thought to be caused by an increase in testosterone to DHT. Secondly, saw palmetto is believed to interfere with the production of estrogen and progesterone, hormones associated with DHT production.

Clinical trials

Since the 1960s, extensive clinical studies of saw palmetto have been done in Europe. A review of 24 European trials appeared in the November 1998 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The trials involved nearly 3,000 men, some taking saw palmetto, others taking Proscar and a third group taking a placebo.

The men taking saw palmetto had a 28% improvement in urinary tract symptoms, a 24% improvement in peak urine flow and 43% improvement in overall urine flow. The results were nearly comparable to the group taking Proscar and superior to the men taking a placebo.

In a controlled clinical trial with patients with enlarged prostate glands, 50 patients who received saw palmetto (320 mg per day - 4 tablets taken in two separate doses with meals) were compared to 44 patients receiving placebo. Patients treated with saw palmetto urinated less frequently, produced a better flow rate and amount of urine and had less pain and discomfort in urinating than control subjects. There were actually fewer adverse side effects in patients receiving saw palmetto than in
Presently, saw palmetto is being evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of BPH. If approved, it would become the first herbal product to be licensed by the agency as a treatment for a specific condition.I received this product in exchange Of my honest review.


GOOD: this collects a weight and syncs that weight to fitbit’s dashboard as I expected. The weight is quick.

BAD: Wi-fi range is poor (despite being 2.4 Ghz [and only 2.4Ghz]). It’s slow to do the BF % measurement. I’ve found the BF measurements to have very low test-retest reliability.

INEXCUSABLE: The setup experience on this scale is horrible and I cannot see any way for a typical consumer to do the setup OR operate the scale in a secure fashion. The UX is just bad project management the security issues are the deal breaker that prompted the rating.

User “mrgunn” in the FitBit forum thread titled “Aria Wifi ERR solution for new routers which support 802.11ac” gave an amusing tongue-in-cheek flavor for what is required to setup this scale up in the least insecure way possible. Before you buy please read “mrgunn’s” post and be sure you are prepared for a 50 step setup adventure.

Even once you are done with “mrgunn” you are worse off: the low-complexity key that this scale requires to connect is no way to operate a network. The biggest problem isn’t the UX, it isn’t even that your best case is less secure, it’s that the path to worse off is so complex that many people won’t get to minimally worse off and will instead operate dramatically less secure networks out of a frustrated desire to have their glossy new scale working and limited understanding of the risk. Someone will be victimized needlessly as a result of this “wide open is all that works”. For me this was a fun weekend project and chance to feel pleased about having RJ45 in the bathroom*. For most people this is an early adoption laserdisc moment. For someone this could be the entry point to a crippling identity theft.

UNTESTED: I don’t need multi-user. I could imagine this being a nice feature feature and a trivial problem (e.x. a highly diamoprhic couple) to solve. I could also imagine it being nearly intractable (say men’s lightweight rowers living together). Given the security and the BF issues I question their ability to execute in the face of complexity.

FYI: I read a bit about this scale before buying it and was surprised to open it and find a big warning label about pacemakers, kids, and pregnancy on the scale. Neither is relevant to me so I assumed I’d just glossed over them. Quick re-read suggest they are hiding in the fine print and Googling yields inconsistent information on fitbit.com. This is poor form. The safety info should be front and center and the evidence / risk should go with it (in this case I’d wager this is a lack of evidence not evidence of harm).

TL;DR – nice “weigh you and save it” function, horrible consumer protection / security practice. Why the extra star? It can be used safely. It’s just a lot of work.

*HOW TO USE: Knowing what I know now setup for this could actually be easy…
- You’ll have to have a dedicated ultra low power 2.4ghz AP for the scale (and only the scale) to connect to. I used an old router running dd-wrt and turned transmit power down until the signal didn’t escape my bathroom. The limit case value here is reduced interference with my real signal but piratically speaking this does really change the physicality of exploitation.
- Granting that “just whisper rarely” isn’t security you’ll have to treat this AP’s back-haul as insecure. For me it was easiest just to put the bathroom network drop’s port (you’ve got gigabit to your toilet right?) on an isolated vlan for the reduced power AP’s back-haul.
- Now that you’ve planned to mitigate the harm of this scale you can setup a burner Linux VM and use it to do the wi-fi dance with your custom lower power minimal security AP in your walk in Faraday cage from a burner VM.


One day while perusing items for sale on Amazon, as one often does, I happened upon Tesla Purple Plates and thought - hmmm, interesting. But then I discovered some long-standing feud over which company sells the REAL original ones, because there's 2 companies, of course, with "yay this is IT!" and " no this is NOT it! " reviews on both sides - and my brain went into freeze mode.
  But Amazon is always kind enough to supply you with any number of alternatives to whatever it is you are looking at, whether or not they're even remotely in the same category. That's how I came upon this tachyon plate. It sounded interesting so I decided to try it out. (And there's no competing sellers claiming the other is a fake)
  This tachyon plate isn't really a "plate", per se, as one might think of a plate: dinner plate; electrical plate; license plate. This is 4" square and 1 /8" thick, and has the appearance of thick cardboard or the like, with some type of fibrous -looking coating on one side that has a texture similar to woven grass wallpaper, at least in my estimation. (When I am able to take a photo, I will upload to this review).  It does not appear to be metallic, and feels as though it would bend, crease, or even break if attempted. (The above is just my attempt at describing its appearance and has no bearing on its actual composition, of which I have no clue.)
  Generally, I am a person who is able to feel energy from things that put out energy, such as crystals, for example. But sometimes I get in a slump (or whatever it is) and can't feel that energy like I usually do. Yep, slump time - can't feel a thing right now. So if this thing's cranking it out, I'm not picking up on it.
  So "feeling" an energy emanating from it is not working right now. How about results of said energy?  Well, I've had mixed results so far, hence the 4 stars. I've been setting my
1 gallon jugs of water on top of it for at least 15 minutes or more. The water seems to taste fresher, but I'm already starting out with Water Mill RO ultra filtered water rather than trying to improve on the disgusting chloramine-laden tap water that's available here. But still - there seems to be a subtle taste difference.
  Next topic: pain relief. I've been experiencing some pain and swelling in both my legs recently. So one night I tucked this tachyon plate under my left leg when I went to bed. The next day, that leg felt better all day. That night, I tried it on the right leg. The next day - no difference at all in my right leg. Tried twice on right leg with same outcome.
  I have also been experiencing screamer pain in the sole of my left foot that can come out of the blue when I'm not even standing on it, but that can hurt for hours when I'm on my feet. So I tried resting my left foot on the tachyon plate, painful part on the plate, for about 15 minutes. The pain went away and didn't come back all day.  The next time it hurt I did the same, but the pain did not go away. Like I said: mixed results.
 I've always been a truly open minded person, willing to give the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.  And I have some years of experience with various things that are not necessarily main-stream, as I am well aware that there are many many more valuable things out there than can be accounted for in common circumstances. So I'm not done experimenting with this thing yet, might even go so far as to re-read the instruction leaflet, maybe do a web search even. I've only had it since July 15 so I still have time to return it if that's what it comes to.  Naturally I'd prefer it if this tachyon plate performed as promised - partly because I really dislike having to drive to the UPS store to return things, but mostly because this pain stuff really sucks and I'm beyond ready to be done with it!
 Two more weeks to experiment with this - better get moving...


I tried to base these on whether or not I would recommend to a friend more so than personal opinion.

Personally, I decided to get the Naturals because I work out 2-3 times a day and always drink a whey shake after... ingesting that much artificial sweetener every day will probably add up to cancer one day. The Natural Nectars use stevia, which has actually been shown to have positive effects such as regulating blood sugar.

Flavors:

Apple Ecstasy - 4/5 - I normally like apple-flavored anything, but this did not impress me. It's a little too sour. However, there was no aftertaste or anything, so I'm sure someone out there might like it.

Caribbean Cooler - 5/5 - I must say I was impressed with how the coconut aspect of this coconut/pineapple flavor concoction really captures the taste and texture of real coconut milk. Would I want to drink 2 lbs. of this stuff? Eh, IDK. But if you like coconut...

Crystal Sky - 2/5 - Tastes like ground up Sweet-Tarts mixed with water. It's a very, very synthetic berry taste of some sort. It has so much blue coloring that my poo was bright green!

Fuzzy Navel - 5/5 - This is the flavor that made Nectar famous. It's a nice blend of peach and orange and tastes like a glass of juice; I could not detect any protein, and the aftertaste was mostly just peach flavor.

Lemon Tea - 3/5 - I really wanted to dislike this one, and although I'm still not a fan of iced tea protein (lol), I can see why some people would like it. I can clearly detect an underlying protein taste, but ignore that and it's just like Arizona iced tea.

Roadside Lemonade - 1/5 - This one is nasty, I could barely get it down! The obvious protein taste gives it a gelatin-like quality. So, yeah, (synthetic) lemon-flavored liquid Jell-O is how I'd describe it.

Strawberry Kiwi - 3/5 As soon as I smelled it, I knew this was going to be another Jell-O flavor. Honestly it's not that bad (no kind of protein taste or aftertaste), but most of us have had strawberry kiwi Jell-O, and so drinking it in liquid form is rather unappealing.

Twisted Cherry - 2/5 - Extremely synthetic cherry Kool-Aid flavor (just like children's medicine) with way too much red color.

Strawberry Mousse - 5/5 - Tastes like the pink Yoohoo or strawberry milk. Slight bitter aftertaste, but not a big deal.

Vanilla Bean Torte - 5/5 - I normally don't like vanilla, but this is just like frosting (yummmm)! There is a slight "metallic" aftertaste (Acesulfame K can do that), but not as bad as the weird Chocolate Truffle aftertaste.

Chocolate Truffle - 4/5 - It's like watered down chocolate mousse. I'm not a big chocolate fan, but someone who likes that kind of thing would probably enjoy this flavor. I took a point off because it had a strange aftertaste.

Cappuccino - 5/5 - Personally, it's way too sweet for me (but I really don't have much of a sweet tooth). I like my coffee black, but someone who is into those Starbucks shakes would probably like this. It actually reminds me a lot of a mocha flavored chocolate bar Lindt sells called "Milk Mocha."

Natural Peach - 5/5 - The best of the "naturals." It's kind of orangey-peachy, but in a more toned down way than Fuzzy Navel.

Natural Orange - 3/5 - My least favorite of the "naturals," but it's okay.

Natural Fruit Punch - 5/5 - Didn't like this one at 1st, but it grew on me. It's not like a Hawaiian Punch kind of taste, but more like fruit-flavored Tums.


I have taken many supplements over the past 20+ years, some good and some not so much.  This Citruline Malate Powder from Wholesale Health Connection I would rate at the top of the list, and would highly recommend it.  It works just as it should, in the proper dosing.  I suspect that if you are looking at the reviews of this product, you already know what it is supposed to do; but, I will give a quick overview.

Vasodilation: This product does this in a visible manner, your veins will literally pop out.  This is also necessary to treat high blood pressure, something I've dealt with for 17 years.  I attempt to manage it with diet and exercise, but it's never as good as it should.  It's not uncommon for me to be in the 135/80 to 155/90 range.  After starting a regimen  of this product, my latest reading was 113/71.  I haven't had good blood pressure like that for many many years.  This to me is a direct indication that this product does in fact do what it says.  Vasodilation also helps get blood out to your muscles, which helps with recovery and sports enhancement.

Sport performance:  I have spent the past 10 or so years running and doing various physically demanding events, and am always looking for that supplement that will assist in pushing further than before.  Although I've only been taking this product for about a week, I've seen a drastic uptick in my endurance and level of ability to exert myself.  3 years ago I had knee surgery, and it's only recently that I've been able to run longer than 3 miles at a time without pain.  I've found another product that has corrected that, and this product does not address the pain.  But, what this product does do is allow me to run longer without getting tired.  The first run after starting this product, I ran 6 miles, followed by 7 miles a few days later, and this past weekend I ran 11 miles.  Endurance wise, I felt as though I could have continued to run and likely could have done a half marathon run that day.  I've never been one to run that distance, usually stopping after 7 miles, but I felt THAT GOOD.

Recovery:  After that long 11 mile run, I should have felt terrible all day, and likely would have been in pain (body aches, etc..) and had cramping for a number of days afterward.  This did not happen, infact I felt great about an hour after the run and for the rest of the day.  I had some slight soreness, but nothing that I would have expected.  I believe this product helped with my speedy recovery.

Full disclosure, I started this product at the same time that I started L-Arginine Alpha-Ketoclutarate (AAKG) (by the same company) but I have taken the AAKG before and never had this sort of experience.  Adding the Citrulline Malate appears to have made all the difference, and I will likely continue to take both products together.  Dosing per the package suggests 1tsp, and I've been taking this 1 to 3 times per day depending on the level of physical exertion that day.  I will likely continue to take one dose in the morning, and one in the evening, along with one AAKG in the morning.

Pros: This product works.  If you are considering getting it, GET IT.  The price is great!  The powder is clean and doesn't clump.  When you mix it with your favorite liquid, it dissolves down as it should.

Cons: The only thing that I could come up with, is the flavor.  There is nothing added to this, so it's just the flavor of the supplement.  I add it to Advocare Spark or MiO Sport Water, and it's drinkable.  I did attempt to drink it by itself in water, and although I didn't gag, I wouldn't want to do this all the time; It tastes much like Alkaseltzer.


I've been showering wrong all my life...because I wasn't using these sponges.

I've always had annoying little dots on my skin, particularly legs and upper arms (I've often heard of it called "chicken skin"). I've been told it's ingrown hairs, body acne, etc. (and I believed each of these theories at one point or another). However, I had this even when I was a kid and didn't have any acne at all, so it just wasn't adding up. And regardless of what you call it, it's still frustrating/embarrassing when someone notices it, or worse, points it out when you're wearing a sleeveless top. I'd tried a few things in the past such as body scrubs and oils, and those exfoliating gloves. None of them had any considerable effect, which is why (up to this point) I'd just resigned myself to the fact that I would always have this "ingrown hair"/chicken skin appearance. Until recently, when someone pointed out to me that I had bumps on my arms (like I wasn't aware) and I decided I'd had enough.

Completely fed up, I scoured the internet. Surprisingly, unlike previous searches that had left me frustrated and without an answer, I discovered rather quickly that my skin looks suspiciously similar to a condition called Keratosis Pilaris. It can look like ingrown hairs or little bumps (hence the "chicken skin" comparison...if you have this then you know what I mean). In the past, I've used washcloths, exfoliator gloves, and those round, brightly-colored bath poufs, but none of them really did anything other than get me clean (which, to be fair, is all I had previously expected from any kind of bath sponge).

Folks. When I say this left me squeaky clean, I mean I probably would have HEARD the squeaking if I'd turned off the water to listen for it. I used it with the Nubian Heritage Coconut and Papaya bar soap, which is good in its own right, but I don't think the soap was the magic bullet here. I say that because at one point I was scrubbing and just kept going for a couple seconds without realizing that I needed to lather up my sponge again, and it had STILL left behind that squeaky clean feeling even without any soap in it! I followed it up with Organic Fiji Sugar Polish and my skin was GLOWING. I've never seen my skin like this. EVER.

I NEVER write reviews, but with this product I absolutely had to (as I will for the two other products that really transformed my skin, Organic Fiji sugar scrub and AmLactin 12% Moisturizing Lotion). I wish I had taken a "before" picture so I could show the drastic difference side-by-side with the "after." It's ridiculous that I've been frustrated with this issue all my life...and then this very ordinary-looking sponge literally made a difference with ONE SHOWER. After about 3 or 4 showers, my skin was even smoother. I've been using it for about a week and a half, not wanting to write a review right away because it just kept getting better and better and I wanted to see how much it would improve. A week and a half later, and I STILL catch myself from time to time just rubbing my skin in disbelief and feeling the smoothness. Again, the sugar scrub and Amlactin lotion also have worked wonders for my skin, so I can't say how much of the improvement is due to the sponge alone vs. the combination...but I have zero intention of discontinuing any of them just to find out. Preemptive apology if you go to purchase these and they're out of stock after I've bought my lifetime supply. :)


First of all, everyone understands how one's facial appearance is directly tied to one's self-esteem. For me, my self-esteem is directly tied to Cellbone's Prep Skin Refresher!!!! I won't ever stop using this product.

A little about me/my skin: I am a 42-yr old Asian-Pacific Islander and have medium-tone skin, which essentially translates into severe post-acne hyperpigmentation anytime I break out. I never broke out as a teenager so it was so strange to me that I started breaking out badly the last 2 years. (I attribute most of it to job-stress so I really figured there was nothing I could do about my poor complexion). I recently saw a photo of myself from 2009 where I had no makeup on, and I pratically cried. I had forgotten that I had GREAT skin up until recently. I had gotten into this vicious cycle as of late: wearing concealer & makeup to hide the dark hyperpigmentation, which I'm certain resulted in more breakouts = more hyperpigmentation. It was just awful!! I was at my wit's end. I couldn't get my skin under control even with prescription drugs.

In January, I began both salycylic & glycolic acid treatments, and those helped the hyperpigmentation somewhat. I continued to breakout a bit and was willing to suffer through the breakouts in hopes that things were merely getting worse before they would get better. In March, I took a nearly 3-week long trip to hot, dusty Tanzania (climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, went on safari, & then chilled out on Zanzibar). Well, I was without the comforts of home for the majority of that trip so I used pre-moistened face wipes & hot water (when it was available) to cleanse my face & always followed up with the Prep Skin Refresher. Translation: I was hot,sweaty, & dusty/dirty the majority of the time. My breakouts stopped "dead in their tracks," and my hyperpigmentation appeared to improve. Upon my return from my trip, I continued with the Prep Skin Refresher post-face wash and have only had 2 glycolic treatments since I returned.

I can't believe how my complexion is improving!! I'm actually not scared to look in the mirror now, and I'm no longer morbidly depressed about how I look without makeup. I know it's definitely this Cellbone product that has attributed to my vast improvement. (While the glycolic acid treatment does help, I'm only doing that every other week). I'm using the Prep Skin Refresher daily, usually in the a.m. & in the p.m. I haven't changed any other face, body, or hair products--so I know it wasn't an allergy. Again, I was using this product religiously when I was camping on Mount Kilimanjaro (hey, I didn't shower for 6 nights, but I still didn't break out!!!!)

I also have before & "so far" pictures, so I have an objective gauge as to my improvement. I would like my skin to get a bit better before I'm brave enough to post the pictures for you all, but stay tuned. I'll update this review when I get up enough nerve to add the pictures. I don't know what's in this stuff, but I SWEAR it's worth trying if you have acne/hyperpigmentation. I've been using this since the beginning of March, and I still have half the bottle left.

I hope others who are "suffering in silence" will give this a shot. I think it's a small price to pay to help your self-esteem! Also, Cellbone threw in 2 other free samples that I haven't tried yet (I didn't want to "waste" the product on my poor skin, but I'll try them this weekend). Cellbone: you have a customer for life. Please please please don't get rid of this Prep!!!


[[ASIN:B002AI6DVA O' Berry 3137 Linoleum/Hardwood Squeeeeek No More At Joist Screws 50 ct]][[ASIN:B0006IK8YE [[ASIN:B0006IK8YE O Berry Enterprises 3233 Squeek No More Kit]]]][[ASIN:B000H5WV1Y O Berry Enterprises 325[[ASIN:B001L1FRW8 O'Berry Squeak No More Kit With Additional 250 bonus Screws]]1 Replacement screws]][[ASIN:B004LY9CF0 Counter-Snap Kit Replacement Screws - 500 pack]][[ASIN:B002AI6DVA O' Berry 3137 Linoleum/Hardwood Squeeeeek No More At Joist Screws 50 ct]]

This is an outstanding product that solves an otherwise insoluble problem--squeaky hardwood floors.  The white oak hardwood floors upstairs in my 1936 house were so squeaky that we could not go anywhere upstairs unaccompanied by the sound of groaning and squeaking floors. Several contractors told me there was nothing that could be done to correct the condition--which turned out to be wrong, thanks to this product.

To use this system successfully, however, you have to know exactly what you are doing. The descriptions in Amazon.com about which products to buy and how to use them is confusing and incomplete.  On my first try I got it wrong and placed more than 40 screws with very disappointing results.  I then watched the process as demonstrated by Patrick O'Berry on YouTube ([...]) and I saw right away what I was doing wrong.  I then proceeded to drive about 400 screws into 1500 square feet of hardwood floors using O'Berry's method and solved my squeaking floor problems completely.  I could barely believe it: I went from having a major problem to having no squeaking problem at all.

One essential step is to place the screws where the hardwood grain will conceal the screw holes. Oak grain has plenty of places where the screw holes will not be visible. Other essential practices--all demonstrated in the O'Berry You Tube clip--include the step of drilling test holes to make sure you are hitting the joists before you start trying to screw the hardwood down. The test hole is necessary because a stud finder, even a very sophisticated one, won't reliably locate a joist through 1-1/2 inches of hardwood and subfloor and the random pattern of nails that pin the hardwood to the subfloor.  Also notice carefully the differences between the at-the-joist and between-the-joist screws and the respective stand-off tools (O'Berry calls these tools "jigs" or "fixtures") used for each type of screw--they are superficially similar but each tool is designed to snap the screws at different locations.  These differences are mentioned in the O'Berry You Tube demonstration. Unfortunately, Amazon at present supplies only a carpet kit and one of the two necessary types of standoff fixtures for hardwood floors (for the at-the-joist screws), so you will need to purchase the between-the-joist standoff jig from a specialty online supplier of squeaky floor tools.

I got equally good results eliminating squeaks in carpeted floors laid over 3/4 inch plywood subflooring.  Again, Patrick O'Berry's You Tube demonstration makes the process very clear. ([...]). The carpet standoff jig looks like a three-legged crab, but it uses the same kind between-the-joist screws as are used for hardwood floors.  Also, in this case, a stud finder should be able to locate the joists because there is only one nailing pattern and one layer of wood, if that's what you have.  Carpeting over hardwoods, however, would need to be screwed down using the hardwood method.

While getting the hang of the process I also called O'Berry Enterprises with some questions, and Patrick O'Berry answered the phone. So good help is available if you need it.


I need ear plugs of some kind for a number of reasons. I have extremely sensitive hearing and tend to get uncomfortable adrenalin surges when loud and sudden noises occur. I also like to attend concerts from music types from orchestral traditional music to jazz/fusion to all-out metal rock music.

In the work I do (IT, office-based business), I am called to conference rooms for meetings several times a day. Inevitably, someone on the conference speaks mouse-quiet and someone has the microphone permanently embedded in their teeth so that not only are they louder than anyone, we get treated to breathing and mouth noises for an hour at a time. Also, inevitably, the person running the call has the speaker/speakerphone turned up to its maximum volume. With some folks, this isn’t a bad thing. With most, however, it’s really grueling to have remote callers screaming at you at 125 or more decibels for long periods of time. This is the PERFECT time for the DownBeats ear plugs. They fit my small-medium ear channels, and they aren’t grossly obvious to my colleagues. This is a life saver for me: it really is excruciating when a caller is screaming at me through low-fi speakers in the room for what seems like a lifetime.

Some have asked about the color of the stems. My family has four sets of DownBeats, and all of them have clear stems. It might be a manufacturing batch or maybe a supply difference that causes some to have white stems. None of ours have white stems and hide very nicely in our ear channels.

When I go to concerts, the DownBeats aren’t quite as attenuating as I would like. They work great and are very unobtrusive to my ears (as in, how they feel in my ears) and are unobtrusive to the sound quality, save a little shaving off of the high trebles and a bit of the mids. For me (this is a personal thing), I would like for them to attenuate a little more when I am at a loud concert. When the sound technician is attempting to produce the current show as if she/he was engineering The Who in the 70s, I find the DownBeats lacking a bit. At a recent Pat Metheny concert, I couldn’t have been happier: the Carolina Theater in Durham had the balance, EQ, and volume just right (and besides, Path Metheny and his folks understand a little –used thing called dynamics).

To give you an idea of the flexibility of the fit of DownBeats, I can use an Apple ear phone reference to help you: my ears channels are small to medium. Apple EarPods and ear buds don’t fit in my ear. I’ve never been able to use them because they don’t even slightly fit in my ear channels. My wife, on the other hand, has much larger ear channels and comfortably wears both Apple EarPods and the older ear buds. Here’s the punchline: The DownBeats fit both our ear channels just fine. They are flexible and soft enough to really do the trick.

One more thing about comfort… They’re very shallow. I have deep ear pockets and my wife has shallow ear pockets. In my case, I have learned how to grip the DownBeats by their stems and push them in my ear channels in just the right way. It takes a moment to get them settled in or get them out, but in neither case is it hard to do. In addition, I can wear them for a few hours at a time without having ear-compression issues or ear-contact sounds that are irritating. With my wife, the DownBeats are really easy to pop in or out, as her smaller fingers and larger ear pockets give her more room to get the DownBeats just right.

Overall, I’m very happy with them. We have a couple of pairs in her purse and one on my keychain. I also have a set at work I keep on my badge for ready use for those lovely multi-continent dial-in meetings.

The DownBeats beat the pink foam ear inserts for me at concerts because DownBeats don't kill the best parts of the sound spectrum - although pink foam inserts to make loud concerts quieter.


Let me note upfront that I don't have a bald head, and I won't be testing this for bald head shaving. I'm testing it as a shaver for the face.

Like many of you who are reading this, I've used rotary blade cordless shavers for decades--mostly Norelco. These always feature three floating heads. I've always thought there must be something magical about three heads because that's what everyone presents :-)

Well, here we have six heads. Six heads must be better than three, right? I have to say that I wasn't convinced. I figured there must be a reason that the big names don't use a larger number of heads. And after trying this shaver, I think I know the answer.

The answer isn't the quality of the shave. In fact, I was impressed at how well this shaver cleared the stubble on my face at the end of the day. It was comfortable and managed to navigate the nooks and crannies of my face and neck as well as my trusty Norelco. But--and this is huge--the ergonomics of the shaving heads leave something to desire. First off, there's very little reservoir under the cutting heads for shaved hair (see photos). This means you'll need/want to wash the head (it's water immersible) after each shave. Second, the middle head of the five doesn't pop up. To remove it, you have to twist it off. It's a bit of a pain--and there's even less room under this head for hair than any of the others.

The third issue I have with the cutting heads--and this is huge--is that there's no obvious way to replace them without simply replacing the entire shaving head assembly. This can get costly--especially since my experience with these types of shavers is that the heads start to get dull reasonably quickly.

In the kit you get:

** Six head cordless shaver with LCD readout of charge remaining and reminders to clean heads and when power is low.
** IPX5 water-resistant
** Can be put in soft lockout mode by holding power button--good for travel
** Nose hair trimmer attachment
** Hair clipper attachment
** Two face cleaning attachments
** Protective packing guard for the shaver assembly
** Charging cable (requires USB-A power source)

The non-shaver attachments are a mixed bag. On the plus side, the nose hair trimmer works very well. This is in contrast with the nose hair trimmers that come with clippers, which are worthless. The nose hair clipper here works as well as the dedicated nose hair clippers I've used.On the minus side, the hair clipper is mediocre--it operates at a low speed and struggles with any amount of hair. It's not very useful. The face cleaner attachments are probably OK, but I can't imagine using them.

On the whole, I'd consider this a decent little kit useful for shaving your face and for nose hair removal. The remaining attachments are, in my opinion, not very useful. While it does a good job of shaving out of the box, I worry that the shaving heads will get dull over time, and there's no clear replacement path.

Pros:
** 6 head shaver does a good job on the face
** Nose hair clipper works well
** Li-Ion battery: 700mAh,  2 hours charge for 90 minutes run time
** IPX5 water-resistant

Cons:
** Hair trimmer doesn't work well
** Face cleaning attachments not very significant
** Shaver doesn't provide much room for hair and will need to be cleaned after each shave
** Middle head of shaver attachment difficult to remove for cleaning
** Sixth (central) head in shaver assembly does not float like outer heads
** Charge port on shaver is not USB-C

Note that this same shaver is under various names on Amazon. Shop around for price.

The same manufacturer that makes this kit also makes shavers with 5 and 7 heads. (And the attachments, including the shaver heads, for the two models are interchangeable). I did not find that adding a sixth head (as here) added much value in terms of how quickly or well the shaver was able to shave my face. And, since the motor in the 5,6,7 head models appears to be similar, a sixth head means a bit less power to each of the heads.


The search for the perfect Bluetooth headset is never-ending, it seems.  In the last 3 years, I've gone through more brands and models than I care to think about.  Now I've tried the Plantronics Discovery 925, and tell you with no hesitation that it is in the top two of those I have used.

The Plantronics Discovery 925 is more an earpiece than a headset, with an earbud that fits inside the ear with surprising comfort, rather than an earloop that hangs over the ear.  This means that it is much more comfortable to wear with eyeglasses and/or sunglasses.  Indeed it is so comfortable that I sometimes forget I am wearing it.

Pairing the device is a snap, and while my old Jabra headset frequently lost its pairing (weekly at least), the Plantronics Discovery 925 has not yet.

The sound quality is tremendous.  Audio is crystal clear from both my side and on the caller's side, if my friends and family are to be believed.  LOL

Plantronics touts this headset as having great noise reduction technology, and I will say that it is better in the noise reduction arena than all but one of the headsets I've tried in the past.  The only headset I have personally tried that surpasses the Plantronics Discovery 925 in noise reduction is the Jawbone headset.

What I really love about the Discovery 925 is the charging options.  This headset comes with both an AC charger cable and a USB charger cable.  Not only that, it comes with a compact charging case.  You can charge the headset either in the case or directly, using the same cables for each.  The beauty of the case is that it charges alongside the headset when you have it plugged in to electrical power.  Then when your headset's battery dies, you simply put the headset in the case to recharge on the go - WITHOUT connecting either the case or the headset to electrical current.  I've purposely let the headset's charge completely drain and charged it with the case, and found it worked admirably.  And to top it all off, the Plantronics Discovery 925 charges fully in just a couple of hours, whether via electrical current or the portable charge case.

Now here is where I prove what a woman I can be.  The last quality I want to point out is purely cosmetic - its appearance.  This is by far the most attractive headset I've ever seen.  It's design almost looks like a cufflink or tie clip.  It is sleek, innocuous, and comes in three different colors:  black, gold, and pink.  Personally, I like the more unobtrusive black model myself, but for those who want a little bit livelier hue, the other options work too.  Yeah, I know, the appearance is a pretty frivolous virtue, but as often as we wear these things nowadays, it is nice to find a Bluetooth headset that doesn't have to trade form for function.

For the best in noise reduction, Jawbone's Bluetooth headset is the overall winner, but Plantronics Discovery 925 runs a very close second in this category.  In all other categories, I would choose Plantronics as the number one headset.

Phone used with:  [[ASIN:B000ILDSLO HP iPaq 6945 Unlocked Cell Phone with Wi-fi, GPS, MP3/Video Player, SD--U.S. Version with Warranty (Silver)]]

Most recent Headsets I've used:
[[ASIN:B001630QZE Plantronics Discovery 925 Bluetooth Headset - Black]]
[[ASIN:B000RUPEOA Aliph Jawbone Noise Shield Bluetooth Headset- Black]]
[[ASIN:B0007UC5U6 Jabra BT250v Bluetooth Headset with Vibrating Alert [Retail Packaged]]]
[[ASIN:B00069IQG0 Logitech Mobile Freedom Bluetooth Headset]]
[[ASIN:B0016L98XM Motorola H300 Bluetooth Headset]]


The good:

1) Made in Japan.
2) Pre-charged & ready to use.
3) Rechargeable 1500X (X = times / cycles). I'm happy with just 500X.

The not so good:

1) 2000 mAh. That's not enough juice to provide stamina for power hungry devices.

Background:

For over 4yrs now, I've been using the 'made in Japan', Low Self Discharge (LSD) AA & AAA rechargeable batteries from Sanyo called Eneloop & Eneloop 1500. I use them with all the remote controls & electronic devices / gadgets that I have. I have over a dozen pairs of the Sanyo Eneloop batteries & I like to keep them organized. I have them all marked / labeled in pairs so that I don't mix the batteries when I'm charging them. The plain white color of the Sanyo Eneloop is a plus point here.

For remote controls, the Eneloops are perfect. A single charge c'd stay for more than a year. No complaints. It's when I use the Eneloops with the Canon PowerShot A590IS [[ASIN:B0011ZCDKS Canon PowerShot A590IS 8MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom]] that I wish that these batteries had a lil' more juice in them. I c'd barely touch an average of 200 shots with a single charge. That's when I gave the Sanyo Eneloop XX a try & I'm impressed with it. The milliampere-hour (mAh), a measurement of the electric charge transferred by a steady current of one Ampere for one hour (check Google for more detailed explanation), in the new Sanyo Eneloop XX has been upped to 2500 mAh. This increase of 500 mAh really shows an improvement in my compact camera's performance. I've already taken over 400 shots with the first charge & I'm still counting. Even the refresh time between shots have reduced a bit.

Conclusion:

Just a few yrs ago, the Sanyo Eneloop (rechargeable 1000X) used to be priced @ USD20 / 4pcs. It's now selling for about USD10 / 4pcs on Amazon & is very good value for money [[ASIN:B000IV2WAW SANYO eneloop 4 Pack AA NiMH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries]]. The newer Sanyo Eneloop 1500 (rechargeable 1500X), with no performance advantage over the original Eneloop, is priced @ about USD15 / 4pcs. I got the Sanyo Eneloop XX (rechargeable 500X) from B&H, NYC @ USD20 / 4pcs [[ASIN:B004DW7S06 Sanyo Eneloop AA NiMH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries - new 2500 mAh --eneloop xx -- 1 pack of 4 batteries - Limited Quantity]].

I'm sure the prices will eventually come down with more competition & with newer models getting released every year. For now, the Sanyo Eneloop XX sh'd only be considered for power hungry devices such as compact cameras & remote controlled toys. For everything else, the original Sanyo Eneloop (rechargeable 1000X) is still a very good purchase & has not run out of juice just yet.

I find 1500X a lil' over exaggerated. Even if I charge a pair of Sanyo Eneloop XXs every week, 500X will last me over 9yrs. I know I'll replace / upgrade these batteries in about 5yrs or so with whatever c'd be the latest & greatest in LSD rechargeable battery technology then. For 2000 mAh LSD rechargeable batteries, I'd stick with the original Sanyo Eneloop (rechargeable 1000X) & save some bucks.

For best results, I'm using the Sanyo Eneloop batteries with La Crosse Technology BC-700 power battery charger [[ASIN:B000RSOV50 La Crosse Technology BC-700 Alpha Power Battery Charger]].


I have been using this detergent for nearly a month and, as of yesterday, I must say that my suspicions were confirmed--this product has been like using nothing at all!

Over the past seven years, I have used many different types of green laundry detergents. All have cleaned with varying effectiveness but none were ever as good as non-green detergents. I am okay with that. From it, I've learned the importance of using stain treatment and laundry boosters. So, as you can see that I am not oblivious to how these green detergents clean.

In my opinion, Nature's Simply Clean has been one of the worst performing laundry detergents that I've tried. When used as directed, it consistently caked in the dispenser and I was left with the nagging feeling that my clothes were not coming out as clean as they had when I used Planet and Charlie's Soap. Both of those detergents were very good at cleaning my laundry. . .but Charlie's was exceptional for my cloth diapers and towels! Prior to transitioning over to Nature's Simply Clean, I had found a perfect routine and amount of detergent to get all of my clothes "clean", smelling fresh and stains about 90% out. The reason why I wanted to give Nature's Simply Clean a try was because I wanted additional fragrance--which Charlie's does not have. I was hoping that it would add something to the faint smell of the 7th Generation Lavender Fabric softener that I've been using (I love for my clean sheets to have a fragrance).

Well, I must say that this detergent was a complete fail in every way that I could have imagined. First, the fragrance was barely noticeable on my laundry when I removed it from the washer. . .and once dried, there was virtually no lingering scent. The thing that got me the most was that my laundry never seemed clean. Stains were rarely removed--maybe slightly faded--and they did not have the crisp feeling to which I have become accustom when using Charlie's Soap. I assumed that this was primarily due to the added oils (i.e, coconut, olive, palm and essential), which Charlie's does not have. On a positive note, I did notice that my laundry had less static (not static-free as stated on the container) compared to when I used Charlie's. Perhaps this was due to those extra ingredients.

In regards to the cleaning capabilities of Nature's Simply Clean, I must say that it has done a VERY poor job of cleaning my laundry. Despite adding it directly to the drum, its effectiveness was still subpar. My whites never appeared to be cleaned. Most of my children's socks remained dirt-stained--unlike when I used Planet and Charlie's. And, food stains. . .WOW! This detergent was a complete fail. If I did not use pretreatment and manipulation, the stains would be consistently left behind. Yesterday while I was preparing to put away my kiddos laundry, I noticed that any food stain that I did not pretreat (and scrub) was left behind. The worst part was when I checked my daughter's leggings and had a solid bit of food (ex. like syrup) still attached! Additionally, the knees were still dirty from her crawling around on them. That alone was beyond unacceptable. Lucky for me though, I had already gotten the memo and ordered a new detergent to try--Savvy Green. It arrived right on time. . .and I rewashed ALL of my kiddos laundry from the week that had been washed with the Nature's Simply Clean. So far, so good! It removed over 90% of the stains that the Nature's Simply Clean left behind. And like the Charlie's Soap, it left them feeling and smelling "clean." Now, only time will tell how well it will work on all of my laundry and if it will supersede Charlie's!

So, based on the addition of fragrance and the inability to clean simple stains, I rate Simply Clean Lavender Vanilla Dream a 2 out 5. Despite the lack of residual scent left post-drying, I decided to give this detergent a 2, instead of a 1, because I love the idea of using essential oils in green detergents for fragrance.


I am IN LOVE with my eyelashes.  I used to have great eyelashes when I was in highschool but after having children- and now being 30 years old, my eyelashes were not my best feature.  2 months ago I started using Rapidlash which really helped my lashes grow longer.  After seeing the increase in length I started to be more interested in getting a lash lift.  After watching several videos on youtube I decided I could do it myself.  Disclaimer- I did go to cosmetology school so I already feel comfortable with this type of a  product.

This kit includes so many items- everything you could possibly need (well, I did use some q-tips as well) and a lot of pieces that I didn't use too.  I recommend doing 1 eye at a time and taking your time to be very careful to not get any solution in your eye.
-I used the largest size of the pink silicone molds and cut them to fit my eyelid.
-I put a little glue on my eyelid and a little glue on the back of the silicone mold.  I waited a minute or two for it to get tacky then placed it on my eyelid as close to my lash line as I could and then held it in place for a couple of minutes to make sure it was glued.  I had a slight problem with the edges not staying glued down but this didn't negatively affect the perming for me.
-I then put some of the glue on the silicone mold and waited a minute for it to get tacky.
-I then used the metal tweezers to glue my eyelashes onto the mold  making sure they were all straight on the mold and fanned out evenly (this is very important as it will be permed the way they are placed onto the mold- so don't rush through the step).  I used a little extra glue to make sure all eyelashes were stuck in place.
-I then put on solution A (perming solution) with one of the green "brushes" that came with the kit.  Once applied I set my alarm for 11 minutes.
-After 11 minutes I used a damp q-tip to wipe off Solution A, redampening the q-tip with each wipe to get the solution off.
-I then applied solution B (neutralizing solution) in the same manner as solution A was applied- again setting my alarm for another 11 minutes.
-After 11 minutes, I used a new damp q-tip to wipe off solution B.
-I then applied solution C (glue remover) with a q-tip.  Once the eyelashes were loosened from the silicone mold I then used the solution to remove the mold from my eyelid.  I ended up having a lot of sticky residue that wasn't fun to get off but was totally worth it.
-solution D is supposed to help "restore" your eyelashes- I'm not sure it really does anything...

With all perms you don't want to use any other chemical or cleaner on it for the first 24-48 hours so I would not recommend washing your face directly after.  I did get in the shower and they were exposed to the water with no problems.

It has now been 2 weeks since I have done my eyelashes as I have not touched my eyelash curler in those two weeks.  My eyelashes have a more natural "c" curl to them instead of a crimped curl that an eyelash curler gives.  I'm 100% happy with the eyelashes I have right now.  They seriously are amazing!!  I also recommend getting a "tweezerman" metal eyelash comb for when you apply mascara, it really helps to get the clumps out and keep your eyelashes straight and fanned out.

There is enough product in this kit to do your eyelashes dozens of times- well worth the money.  The pink silicone pads you can just wash off and reuse.