2023 ~ TEO DEGAS' REVIEWS

12/13/2023

L'Oréal Paris Elvive Dream Lengths Hair Mask, 300 ml

I've used this mask for the first time recently lured by the sale price, by the fact that I usually love L'Oreal hair products, and because I had never tried this before.

This mask smells really nice. It 's a feminine scent, so not as gender neutral as other L'Oreal hair masks scents I've experienced.

Dream Lengths doesn't de-tangle my hair as well as other L'Oreal masks, isn't as nourishing and, most disappointingly, it leaves me with a freezy head if I let my hair dry au naturel. Definitely, not suitable to my wavy tinted thick long hair, which is what the mask is supposed to be designed for. I'll stick to the other masks in the same price range because they do a better job on my hair and cost me the same.

Felix Mobile (Mobile phone carrier)

Website

Felix Mobile has replaced my previous mobile carrier, which I've had for many years. I was lured by the unlimited data plan, as I use my phone as a hot spot to connect my laptop and I use a minimum of 100 GB per month. Most carriers in Australia have prepaid or postpaid plans for 100 GB at quite expensive prices and unlimited data for ridiculous prices. I was also lured by the fact that the company was new in Oz and they were offering a $35-plan for unlimited data, unlimited calls and SMS. I got a bonus for $5 for unlimited international calling. I have use the company for 3+ months and I couldn't be happier, how easy is to add or remove add-ons on the app, the quality and speed of the Internet that I get with it, the fact that uses 4G and the Vodafone network to operate.

They are carbon neutral certified. They claim to plant a tree on our behalf for every month we're on one of their mobile plans. But they don't do so directly as they've partnered with One Tree Planted, a non-profit organisation focused on global reforestation to plant the trees, i.e. they're supporting a great NGO but not planting trees directly like in Oz. We don't know where. It sounds off to me.

They increased the pricing of their unlimited plan, short after I joined, but I was one of the few newcomers they kept the original $35, and now the unlimited plan is advertised at $40, which is lovely.

The two major letdowns are, firstly, the basic design of the app and color scheme, and, most importantly, the limited customer service they offer. No phone number to call CS, no specific chat on their website. The only way to contact them is via WhatsApp or via the app chat. Contact via their website via desktop is poor and idiotic.

Sof Sole shoe goo - Clear

I've used this glue three times and I've had mixed results. The flat soles of my ugg boots totally unglued themselves, each one on separate dates; I used this glue and they were restored to its original goodness with little effort. I've also used this glue with a pair of flat leather boots whose point was unglued and the results weren't that good because, although the point got glued, there is still a gap with the dry glue visible, which looks horrible.

This isn't an instant glue that seals surfaces on contact. This glue needs of some pressure on the shoes to make the parts being sealed make contact. I can put a rubber band and some pressure on my ugly homey boots or cheap shoes, but doing so with my good shoes isn't an option because it will deform or damage them. The results are great for shoe flat parts not as much for small edges or points.

I love the smell of this glue; it reminds me of bygone cobbler shops.

Zhu Ting 12-piece Flat Art Paint Brush Set

This is a great set of expensive-looking flat nylon hair brushes perfect for acrylic paint. The variety of sizes is great, but I miss one or two larger brushes. They are great quality. The bristles don't deform despite me leaving the brushes in water for days or using them with acrylic paint, gesso or matte medium. The handle seems not to stain as quickly or badly as other brushes I own. They clean easily with hand soap under running water even when the paint is a bit dry on the bristles. They are great value for money as well. The only downside is that these brushes are on the small side, and a bit smaller than other brushes with the same sizing (see my photos).

THE SAD END, update 13 Dec
After what I said below, my second item in the package lasted me a week. Why it started to crack, no idea, but most likely because of bad materials bad manufacturing and bad quality control. I wasted my money, like literally, and I'm upset. One star is quite generous. I would give it 0 if possible, because the items don't do what they are supposed to, the items are pricey and don't last.

THE REAL IMPRESSION

I had written the text below after buying this pack. I received this on Sunday arvo. Today, Tuesday arvo, was all cracked for no reason. How that happened? To me, it is just about my phone being in my bag for little time and the screensaver being rigid, and probably with some manufacturing flaw, got scratched. But, what's the point? The screensaver I had with my previous phone has lasted me over 2 years and is still as new. I thought it was something behind the screensaver and I lift it carefully and the crack expanded, so that's really annoying and shows how bad the quality is. The advertising says that it is hit and scratch proof. Really? I hate wasting time and money on things that do not do what they're supposed to. Gladly the pack has 2 items, so I'll try the other one and update the review if necessary.

FIRST IMPRESSION

This a good value for money containing two screen protectors for OPPO A98. The film is rigid and quite thick, but adheres easily and beautifully to the screen with minimal bubbling. The non-perfectly adhered spots can be easily flattened out with my finger. The protector has a black marquee around the edges, which helps with the protector placement and removal as it allows me to distinguish its edges from the the screen. The set is beautifully packaged and the package also contains a wet+dry couple of tiny towelettes to clean the phone screen before placing the protectors.

Once upon a time, Oppo would include a transparent gel case in all phone packages. Those times have gone and now I need to buy it myself. This Mezon case is the sort of case it used to come together with the phone, and the sort of phone case I love, because it allows the phone colour and design to shine through, but still being protective and long-lasting. It's easy to clean, too. The case adjusts perfectly to the phone still allowing the input/output points to be easily accessible (like the plugging, audio jack sockets for ex.). I wouldn't call this case ultra slim, to be honest; I would say it's average thickness. I find the price a bit high for the type of product and material. Packaging is minimal and not fancy, but I don't need more. TPU Gel cases tend to get yellow with use and the pass of time, but I haven't had this that long to tell. I will update my review in the future if needed.

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water in Oil 400ml

I'm not a fan of the simple version Micellar water, but I'm a fan of this one due to the mix of water and oil. I use it all over my face, on my eyes and lips included. I have a slightly sensitive skin and I've had no signs of irritation in the long time I've been using it. This product removes my makeup wonderfully, water-proof mascara and lipstick included. It is not as good on waterproof mascara as other purpose-made cleaners, but it's still excellent. I have an age, and it works wonderfully on my skin.

I don't use the product straight out of the bottle. I shake the bottle and immediately, when the water and the oil are still mixed together, I squeeze a good amount of liquid into a recycled refillable spray bottle that I have from a lenses cleaner product. When I want to use it, I shake the small spray water and, when both liquids are mixed, I spray the product twice onto a makeup cotton pad, and then clean my face with the pad. In this way, the quantity of product I use is minimal, no waste, but it's enough to remove my makeup. As I use it this way, a bottle lasts me ages and it's great value for money.

We are all excited but scared about how AI is taking the world by storm. I like AI capabilities to offer us a first-point summary of topics that I'm looking up. Well, that was till today. I was browsing Amazon and came across a toilet paper page. Amazon is now including, before the reviews, an AI-generated summary of what reviewers say about this toilet paper. Now, this is the first page I saw this morning while having my breakfast. Wonderfully summarized in a way. AI totally understands the nuances of the English language, right? The giggle of the week.

Mont Marte Watercolour Pad A5 300gsm 12 Sheet

This is an A5 paper pad of good quality 300 gsm paper. You know, there are good and not so good 300 gsm watercolour paper, and this is good paper, and great value for money as well.

I've tested the paper without pre-gessoing the surface, which leaves the paper more exposed to the media I used. I've used both acrylic paint and acrylic inks, adding quite a bit of dripping and the paper stood everything wonderfully and I was totally surprised at how well it took acrylic paint and acrylic inks, without buckling or deteriorating. I like the paper texture and the fact that the pad is glued just in one of the sides, but I'm not a fan of the paper colour. Yet, it doesn't really matter, because I will be painting over it and I can change that easily.

I love Gaia products. They never disappoint me. This is also the case with these sensitive bamboo-based wipes. I don't have children, so I bought these wipes to use in my art practice. I have been using cleaning household wipes, critic acid based, and they are great, but they're not environmentally friendly and are sometimes too harsh on painting surfaces, so I thought I would give these Gaia a try.

These bamboo wipes have a lovely soft texture and a sweet creamy scent that I love. They are not too dry or drippy, still wet, so they're perfect for smudging and blending different kinds of media on paper without wiping off the whole thing or destroying the surface. They are also great to use with stencils as they wipe off paint and leave clear marks without leaving watery residue or blotting the paint. They are lovely to clean off residual paint from my painting brushes (both silicone and synthetic bristles) after I have had them submerged in water for a while, or to remove medium or gesso from my silicone brushes easily.

They don't work as well to wipe off almost dry paint completely or remove stubborn dry paint on my hands, table or brushes, though.

I love that these wipes are plant-based and environmentally friendly. I bought the small package just to given them a try, but I will definitely buy them again in a large package.

I love this mix of mini snack bags. I love all the flavours in the pack. These are great for school/work lunches, or to have at home when I fancy trying different snacks without having to purchase a large bag of each variety. I also love that there is an equal amount of bags for each variety, unlike other multi-packs out there. The only thing I really dislike is the amount of chemicals some of the varieties have.

Once I have finished the snacks I reuse the cardboard, which is good quality and flexible, for painting on it. I add a bit of gesso fist, though. It makes a great painting substrate for my artistic experimentation.

I've been looking for a circular affordable cutter that goes through different types of paper. Unfortunately, this is not the one. I returned this product upon arrival because, although the design is good overall, and the price good, the production of the design is poor.

THE GOOD

Very light and easy to use. Put the round body on the center from where you want to cut. Adjust the small button tip on the ruler to the diameter of the circle you want (it loses and tightness by rotating it), and then rotate the long ruler around. Perfect circle cut. It works like a flat compass.

It works especially good with normal paper, like printing paper, but it's also good with thicker papers like 200 gsm and 300 gsm watercolor paper, which is what I wanted it for. Needless to say, I had to press quite a bit for the thicker paper to be cleanly cut; when I did not, it left paper traces and unclean edges behind.

The round body has a container in the belly, protected by a lockable lid, where two complimentary blades are located.

THE NOT SO GOOD

The circular part is toy-like, so no weight at all. That being the case, the platform slides off center often creating unnecessary cuts and ruining the circle I was cutting. This happens also when pressing it down with my hand. I would not press it too hard because it's average plastic. There is nothing attaching the round body center to the surface, that's the reason it slides.

This is great for large circles, from 8 cm up, but not to cut smaller circles as the small adjustable knob stops against the circular body at that distance.

No instructions on the box or inside. The cutting blade is protected by a cap that can only be removed if slid on the side, not up. It took me a while to figure it out. You might break it if pressed up too hard.

You need a large surface, with no clutter on it, to rotate the cutter easily.

Very weak plastic.

Mont Marte Metallic Acrylic Paint 8 Piece

I'm happy I purchased this taster set because, after trying it, I won't be buying the product again. For the same reason, I'm glad that I didn't purchase the larger set.

The colours are very pretty, and can be mixed or layered among themselves. I especially like the bronze and the copper colours on their own. I also like how the green and blue, the pink and purple, and the copper and bronze mix together. The golden paint is very light, so it looks very pretty over some of the other colours.

In all honesty, the picture of the packaging back on the info product page is clear and you can see that the colours are semi-transparent (marked by the small circle filled half way). I didn't notice the photo, unfortunately, but I was looking for a matte opaque set and this is not.

I don't mind the colours transparency, as they are perfect for layering and to add final touches. However, I find that the colours are very pretty but don't have enough pigment and the texture is medium-body not heavy-body. Besides, the mica content is on the low level, so sometimes the metallic shine doesn't show much.

These acrylics are light-fast and can be easily stored vertically in a low pen holder.

A good intro set of acrylics for craft painting.

UPDATE 30/1/24
I have been using the golden, bronze and copper colours a lot lately. They can be layered easily to create depth and vibrant results. They work especially good on cardboard colour paper way better than on water surfaces. I have come to use several coats to get a bit of more opacity. These are the colours I use the most and they are really pretty. I add a bit of black to the bronze and gold to create a vintage worn-out sort of effect. I have to come to love these despite their shortcomings. A bit of paint goes a long way.

I have just received this product and returned it. I bought this set as size 12 shows as an xl size in the hands of large hands in the product info photos. This large one must be a triple XL, a 30+ size, not a size 12, because the set contains very small brushes and none of them is the size in the photo. Real size 12 is very small. I have reported the photo several times and they haven't removed it as yet. Why would you want to keep misleading photos on any product page?

REVIEW WAS NOT PUBLISHED AND THE PHOTO HASN'T BEEN CHANGED AFTER SEVERAL MONTH OF BEING REPORTED AS MISLEADING.

Derwent XL Tinted Graphite Drawing Blocks, Multi-Colour

I waited for months for this coloured graphite tin to be heavily discounted for me to purchase it. When I did, I thought that it was a great shopping day because this is usually an expensive product that you understand why is so.

This is a set of chunky but very soft coloured graphite blocks. They can be used as charcoals, soft pastels, or watercolours as they are water-soluble and blend beautifully between themselves. I love the way they mix and the fact that I can easily create super-cool effects with my fingertips. Of course, if you want to use these blocks in mixed media, make sure that you use matte medium to fix them on paper so they don't wash out. I like to blend them together or with other water-soluble materials and then add liquid-ish gesso primer to create beautifully-soft pastel backgrounds. I have mixed them with Derwent Inktense blocks and Caran D'Ache Neocolor II crayons and they are like water for chocolate. In short, super-mega-uber versatile and a great purchase

The tin is really good quality, and I love anything tin because it lasts for life and can be reused for multiple purposes. The inner holder keeps the blocks in place preventing deterioration or crumbling.

The only downside is that there are two grey graphite blocks, a normal one and a super-soft one. I would have preferred just the super soft graphite to be included in the tin, and the other one being replaced with a coloured variety. More modern versions of this product have, indeed, no normal graphite. It makes sense because I can find normal graphite everywhere, but coloured graphite blocks not so much so.

I bought this eye makeup brush heavily discounted in one of those rare crazy sales. I thought it was too long to be used comfortably to apply eye-shadow so I stored it. After sitting unused in my drawers for several months, I decided to use it as painting brush and it's perfect for that.

The brush is great for acrylic painting and water soluble media, and I have used it with mate gel without problem. It recovers its shape easily if washed with gentle beauty bar soap and conditioning bar when really dirty; if used with gesso or mate medium, wash immediately after use. This brush was never designed to be in water jars for hours or be used with paints. However, the ferrule and the handle haven't deteriorated or come apart; the bristles are still in pretty good condition despite the mistreat as well.

This is the first lipstick I bought from this American brand and, although very expensive for a lip gloss, it was totally worth it.

This must be one of my favourite pink colour lip gloss ever. It has the texture of a lip gloss but it's richly pigmented in a very bright flattering metallic pink; yet, it feels and looks matte. It smells very nice, too. This is a 100% vegan & cruelty-free product, something really important to me. Packaging is a killer, as well.

It's out of stock almost everywhere I look for, so I regret not having bought a replacement before this was gone. I have another colour from the same range, but it's not as flattering as this one.

I've been using this product for years. It is meant to be used to mask showy greys on the part line or temples area, but I mostly use it as eyebrow groomer and tint. As such is one of my fav beauty staples. The colour I use is dark brown, however, the last dark brown container I got before this one differs both in container colour and tint colour. This container looks more black than brown, but 'dark brown' is clearly written on it. I thought it would be just the container. However, the tint inside is as dark, and looks more black than brown. You can see my photos showing the difference in tint and colour between the last one I bought and this one, both supposedly the same tint from the same brand. As my hair is really very dark, this tint does blend well, but my eyebrows aren't as dark and this tint makes them look too dark so I have to apply it and wipe it off a bit. Overall a good product, but I think this is not really dark brown and it really annoys me that the colour is so different from my previous dark brown bottles.

Black Moon Cosmetics Liquid Lipstick (Genie Metallic)

This is the second tube of metallic velvety liquid lipstick that I buy from Black Moon Cosmetics. The colour is a beautiful iridescent magenta, that turns into a velvety coat once it dries off. The lipstick smells divine as well and it really suits me. Not as flattering as the Devil metallic shade, but gorgeous the same.

This is not a permanent or semi-permanent lippy and will disappear as soon as you have a coffee or eat anything, which is a big letdown for such an expensive product. However, the lipstick is advertised as kiss-proof and "it won't budge for hours"; that is not true for me.

Vegan and cruelty-free always does it for me.

This is the first lipstick I buy from this brand, and I'm a devotee already. The colour is just amazing, a semi-metallic red, but a shade of red that is not your usual red, so it's an unique shade. It ' a liquid creamy lipstick that needs just a bit to spread evenly. It becomes matte once it dries off, and it feels like velvet on my lips. It looks fab on me. The packaging is delightful, too.

On the flip side, this is not a permanent or semi-permanent lippy and will disappear as soon as you have a coffee or eat anything, which is a big letdown for such a pricey product. However, the lipstick is advertised as kiss-proof and "it won't budge for hours"; that is not true for me.

Vegan and cruelty-free.

I'm a glitter critter and this palette has been in my wish list for months. It has a great combination of colours, some of them multi-chrome.

The shadows have a creamy consistency and spread easily when used over a primer. I recommend using a primer or thick foundation base as, otherwise, the glitter crumbles and might enter your eyes or scratch your eyelids when rubbing it. The shadows can be applied with your fingers or using the complimentary wand. Some of the shadows are true to the photo, but others (the multi-chrome) loose part of their charm when applied.

Due to the creamy consistency and not powder consistency the product it runs out quickly.

100% Vegan and Cruelty Free

This is a great affordable lipstick for Halloween or any disguise occasion. Quality is decent for the price. The product feels balmy and when I checked the list of ingredients on the label, it has aloe vera, wax and several other oils as part of the ingredients. The lippy covers my lips well. This is a matte lippy, so you'd need to apply lip gloss on top to get something like in the photos. It has some sort of blueish undertone at least on my lips, but it looks a very dark brown under artificial light. This is my first black lipstick ever and I think it's quite cool.

This is advertised as "Sparkly duo-chrome that shifts in the light from gold to turquoise." but it looks like a sparkly lemon yellow, slightly greenish and I don't see the turquoise anywhere. Not as pretty as the photo, either. Yet, it is great to mix with other cool or warm colours as it is very subtle. It is not as hardly pressed as other shadows of the same brand I own, something that I dislike, as it crumbles easily resulting in product waste. Overall very pretty. This shadow wears well all day long even when I don't use eye primer, and it doesn't smudge.Like all the Lethal Cosmetics eye-shadow range it is a sustainable good quality product, something important to me.

I'm a fan of Lethal Cosmetics eye-shadows as they look great on me and I get so many compliments on every single colour I put on. This shadow looks a bit different from the pan to the eye. I thought it would be a light warm peach, but it is a mix of peach and cold pink, so it looks beautiful. The golden flair is not so noticeable as in other multi-chrome shadows. Not what I expected, but still a wonderful colour that enhances my eye colour. This product is vegan, cruelty free and the packaging is made of a very cool folded cardboard, so totally recyclable, all of which is very important to me. This shadow wears well all day long even when I don't use eye primer, and it doesn't smudge.

I'm a fan of Lethal Cosmetics eye-shadows. I get so many compliments on them, that I'm the best ambassador for the brand. This shadow is one of my favourite ones of lately because I used to mix similar hues in the past, but now I have them together mixed in this gorgeous duo-chrome. The colours are clearly noticeable but subtle at the same time. This shadow wears well all day long even when I don't use eye primer, and it doesn't smudge. It looks great on my hazel eyes. A bit pricey but totally worth it. This product is vegan, cruelty free and the packaging is made of a very cool folded cardboard, so totally recyclable.

Derwent Tinted Charcoal Pencil, Green Moss TC15

I love this colored charcoal pencil range. They're certainly charcoal, but made of a very soft one that spreads easily (with your fingertips or with water) and mixes perfectly with soft pastels and any water-soluble supply. They're wonderful to do charcoal sketches with a hint of color.

This color is one of the very noticeable hues in the range, with a beautiful soft olive tone that blends well with any of the other green and blue hues.

An average sharpener works well with these pencil as long as you don't over sharp.

I bought this item in a promotion, so the price was fantastic, but they're usually a bit pricey.

This color is one of the very noticeable hues in the range, with a beautiful soft deep greenish grayish blue that blends beautifully with other blues and greens. The color of the pencil is shown on the top, which comes handy to choose.

These pencils are certainly charcoal, but made of a very soft one that spreads easily by using my fingertips or a wet brush. They are perfect to combine with soft pastels, water-soluble crayons, watercolors or just to use with normal charcoal to do sketches that are still neutral in nature, but have a hint of color.

An average sharpener works well with this pencil as long as you don't over sharp.

I bought this item in a promotion, so the price was fantastic, but they're usually a bit pricey.

This colored charcoal pencil is one of the very noticeable hues in the range, with a beautiful soft pinkish tone that has a bit of lavender in it.

These charcoal pencils are made of very soft charcoal, which spreads easily either with my fingertips or with water and it is perfect to combine with soft pastels, watercolor crayons, watercolors or just to do soft-colored charcoal sketches.

An average sharpener works well with this pencil as long as you don't over sharp.

Super-light good quality mesh pouch that holds a good deal of pens and pencils. Even my tall Tombows, can be put comfortably in. Unlike other vertical holders, the pouch has a rigid lower body with a fold-down upper body. The upper part has a small inner pouch perfect for a small eraser or USB. The lower body is made of sturdy light mesh. Good zip. The two lateral holders that can be used for different purposes, to hand them from a backpack or put them on a wall or desk holder. The main downside is that the product is sold in assorted colors but you cannot choose the one you get. I got one with the upper in green, which I found convenient to put all my green stationery there.

This is a surge-protected power board that is especially good when intending to use all the power slots. That is, when I want to plug appliances that I don't want to have on all the time (because they consume a lot of energy on idle settings for example). Otherwise, a board with individual switches is my go to. The cord length is perfect for me as it allows me to have it on my kitchen bench without bulking the area where I place it. I've also used in our bedroom, with an extension cord, to have the table lamps powered and connected to the the only power point in that spot. Overall, a great basic affordable board for general use at a terrific price.

Derwent Tinted Charcoal Pencil, Sand TC01

I love this coloured charcoal pencils. They are certainly charcoal, but made of a very soft one that spreads easily either with your fingertips or with water. This colour is my favourite in the range because it's actually the colour of those golden sand beaches that you find in some countries. It's perfect to ad subtle splashes of colour to any mixed-media piece, or to use them in combination with soft pastels (bear in mind that tinted charcoal pencils have way less pigment than soft pastels). Also ideal for charcoal studies where you want subtle coloured highlights without the piece being fully coloured. I use an average sharpener with this, and it works well with these pencils. I bought this item in a promotion, so the price was fantastic, but they're usually a bit pricey.

This is such a great idea and design. I use many things as palette, from palette paper to plastic reused lids to oven paper. Yet, sometimes my table is covered with clutter that limits my working space. This almost fixes the problem as I don't need to use big surfaces unless I'm using a roller or painting on larger surfaces.

This tray is very small (see my photo against my mouse), but it's perfect for me to hold in my small hands. The recesses of the flower shape are great for my fingers to grip the piece comfortably. I tend to use many colors when painting, so this is great to put all my acrylics, gesso and medium in one single container. The little wells are great for the quantities of product that I usually use.

As it's porcelain, it cleans easily with average household dish-washing liquid and water. I wash it by hand, not in the dishwasher, so I don't know whether is dishwasher-safe or not.

Very happy with the purchase and with the fact that is porcelain not plastic, and therefore environmentally friendly.

I bought this cute pen holder for my nephew's birthday, knowing that he loves astronomy. He's a little kid. He told me that he loves it "too much". Indeed, this is very cute and whimsical. The pouch is made of good quality rubber. It has a 3D upper lid and opens on the side with a zip that glides without difficulty. I thought it would be roomier inside, to be honest, but it's enough for a good selection of children pens, pencils, erasers and small USB drivers that can be easily stored in the inner mesh pouch. I thought that, if it was mine, I'd use it as flight cabin pouch to put some basic toiletries and makeup in.

Colgate Savacol Antiseptic Mouthwash, 300mL, Mint

This is a medicated mouthwash that I use as a treatment when I have gum problems to complement the use of my medicated toothpaste. I buy this brand and product when I cannot get hold of my preferred medicated mouthwash. Although it does the job, the minty flavour is disgusting to me, because it doesn't taste of fresh mint or average mint, it tastes of bitter burnt mint. Also, it leaves my mouth as if a vacuum had gone into it. This is one of the medicated mouthwashes that stains my teeth if used for a while. I know it is a medicated mouthwash, but there are other brands that do the same job and are pleasurable to the palate and don't stain my teeth, so I stick to the others as much as I can.

Women's Soft Comfortable Elastic Bra Extenders Bra Extension Strap 2 Hook 3 Row Lady's Bra E

Very cheap good-quality set of bra extenders in each of the major colours. They look wider than my average 2-hook bras bands, but the position of the hooks within the extender is the same as the others. These extenders are made of good-quality stretchy material and hook tightly to my bras. Perhaps a bit stiffer than the more expensive ones, but nothing I can complain about.

Very cheap good-quality set of bra extenders in each of the major colours. I was taken aback when I got them, as they look wider than my average 3-hook bras bands, but the position of the hooks within the extender is the same as the others. These extenders are made of good-quality stretchy material and hook tightly to my bras. Perhaps a bit stiffer than the more expensive ones, but nothing I can complain about.

Although these scissors are sold as tailor scissors, I bought them to cut thick large pieces of cardboard and paper, as my average scissors are too small for that, which result in lack of cutting finesse, not straight lines, and I usually need a bit of time and effort to cut anything large.

This pair does the job easily, improving the quality of my cutting lines. They cut well paper, thin and thick cardboard, and fabric. I haven't used them with large pieces of fabric or for professional purposes, so I cannot comment on whether they're good for dressmaking or not.

The handle bows are large enough to easily fit hands/fingers of all sizes. I have small hands and I have plenty of room, but I still can control them well. They're pleasurable to use despite the size. See my photo against an 8-inch pair of scissors to get an idea of the sizing scale. Despite the size, they are quite light.

There are some downsides that I'd like to mention. The handle isn't specially pretty or stylish, and the material looks like a frying pan handle. When I cut thick cardboard, the scissors aren't as smooth or gliding as I'd like them to be, perhaps because the tip and blades aren't as sharp as classic dressmaker scissors are. Finally, the pivot screw is unnecessarily bulky and protrudes quite a big (see my photo).

The pair is cheap for a decent stainless-steel pair of every-day crafty scissors.

I bought this deodorant as I'm very conscious of the use of aluminum deodorants, due to the latest scientific findings, especially for me as I've been using aluminum deodorants for years, so I thought I'd try something new. I browsed Amazon for an alternative that was cheap and had good reviews and I landed on Sebamed aluminum-free deodorant.

The bottle I got looks a bit roundish, wider and smaller than the one in the product page (see my photo). I love the glass bottle, as it reduces my plastic footprint, and the roll-on system.

Although the scent is described as 'lime', ain't sure that what's the smell is. It is kinda of herbal-ish to me, not sure if citrus is a word that I'd use, but it's a kind of unisex scent, not sweet or light but not strong either. I can't say I love the scent, but it's OK.

Before using it, I was concerned about the fact that the lack of aluminum would result in lack of effectiveness, Luckily, I was mistaken. I walk often to/from work, sometimes during warm days, and this deodorant does the job. Ain't sure if it'll work equally good in the heart of Summer. I will update my review if needed then.

I had never tried this before. The pricing caught me in. The mini bags in the parcel make a great snack on its own or as an add-on in any lunchbox, and they contain a generous amount of product. I love the Toobs crunchiness and lightness, but the plain paprika underflavour is not my cup of tea. Perhaps the unflavoured version is what I expected to find and what I would have loved, but I failed to see the product page list of ingredients, which clearly mentions the paprika, and also the many chemical products is made of, which are are a total turnoff.

Proton Mail (Encrypted Mail Service)

Website

I've been using Proton Mail as my main private email service for many years, since they first came out to the market. I started with a free subscription just to try it, and I was happy with the quality of the service, especially the end-to-end encryption and all the security features. After that, I've paid for a personal plan for several years already.

The differences between the paid and the free versions and the pricing can be found on their website, here. One of the things that made me sign up is not just the reasonable pricing, but also the fact that I would be able to have unlimited organisation folders and more mail storage. One of the things that I noticed when I started using Proton is that I barely receive spam, ever, and I love/d that.

Pricing is quite decent for a fully encrypted email service, especially if you pay yearly, bi-yearly or for 3 years. You can pay in Euro or US dollars, which isn't great for any other currency with bad exchange rates with those two. Sometimes they have promotions to subscribe for discounted fees or competitions to get a year subscription, but those are rare.

The basic paid subscription has drive, your own domain, several calendars, basic VPN, a vault and also the possibility of creating several alias email addresses. This is my subscription and that's more than enough for me. Perhaps the 15 GB storage capacity is a bit low if you intend to use the domain or Proton Drive. However, I use it mostly for email; despite having a very busy email account with plenty of attachments, this storage is pretty good.

You can use your email service online on your browser, on the desktop version (with Thunderbird or Outlook for example) and on the mobile app. If you want the IMAP version, you have to install the Proton Bridge on your computer as this is what allows you to have the account encrypted. The Bridge is very easy to download, install and configure, as you'll get step-by-step info re the settings you have to put in. The app is very easy to configure and use, and, most importantly, very reliable. Synchronization is good, but not excellent, with some sort of time-lag between mobile and desktop versions.

The interface on the browser and app is OK. I like the colour scheme and overall look, but it lacks serious customization features, something that annoys me.

Customer Service is poor. They always blame you for any problem that comes from their end or anything that happens that they don't know what it is. Their 'solutions' are always primary-school sort of thing. They act robotically, don't read your emails in full, don't listen (read) to what you say properly, and have a sort of cockiness that annoys me. It doesn't matter that you write on weekdays or weekends, they're always slow and terrible. My guess is that the company has no interest in having fully trained staff and on the quality of the CS they offer, or just pay their officers little money and they don't care. Thanks gosh, I barely have any problem with the service, so I don't have to contact them much.

IN SHORT

Overall, I find the service terrific for a cheap paid subscription, with all the software working well most of the time, reliable app, barely any spam, full encryption and plenty of features for you to take advantage of. The main downsides are the small storage capability if you want to use your Proton domain and slow unhelpful customer service. Of course, you can subscribe to Proton Unlimited and many of the things that bother me, would not be a bother.

RESPONSE FROM THE COMPANY

Hi! Thank you for taking the time to review our service and share your feedback with us. Please note that each of our customer support agents is trained and prepared with great diligence before they start answering publicly and will never address you in a rude or obnoxious way. Our support agents are also in constant communication with our developers and engineers to provide you with the latest information regarding bug fixes, troubleshooting, and upcoming improvements. However, if the assistance you had received was not to your liking or seems unfit, please update your review to share your ticket number with us here. We'd be happy to track your case internally and investigate.

WHAT I'M GOING TO DO

Nothing. It is all true. I have had no results, help or solutions from CS every time I have contacted them. The company can come and say w-h-a-t-e-v-e-r. That doesn't change that CS is poor. I don't blame CS people, just the company, who trains them poorly.

Usertesting24 (Online Platform)

I found the company and the link on Trustpilot Au. I followed the link to the website, and it looks pretty dodgy. It's full of clickable buttons. When you follow the "user testing website" it takes you to a screen with two buttons, which take you to two different white screens with these messages "Error. Page cannot be displayed. Please contact your service provider for more details. (24)". This is in a non-secure connection and directs to this lyfbodn.com which is a hijacker created by potentially unwanted program and it could also be a phishing site, so I would not be login into anything. When you click on the button 'usertesting get paid' it takes you to another page also a lyfbodn.com page with two buttons, and when you click them it takes you to different sponsored companies. When you click on "usertesting signup' it takes you to the same 2-button page. Again, nothing called usertesting24. There is no about us, contact us, registration info, location, etc. so not a trustworthy place I would go back. Due to what I've said above I don't trust all the 5-star generic reviews that are before mine on Trustpilot. I might be that the site has been spoofed or hijacked, but that would never say anything good about an user testing platform. Avoid.

Curasept Chlorhexidine Toothpaste 75 ml

This is a medicated over-the-counter toothpaste that my dentist recommended to me, years ago, to treat bouts of bleeding gums. Like other similar treatments it does the job if used for at least a week or two up to three months if your mouth is in a bad shape. It differs from other similar pastes in the fact that it doesn't turn my teeth yellow.

This paste has a very mild and pleasant licorice flavour, which I like despite not being a fan of licorice. It has a very light gel texture, less dense than average gel toothpastes, so a small dollop goes a long way and spreads great on my teeth.

As this is a treatment, I tend to use it for short periods of time and then I go back to my usual paste. If I can find it, I compliment this paste with the same brand mouthwash, or, if impossible, with a medicated mouthwash from major brands.

It works for me.

Link to the site

Riot Arts and Crafts, not Riot Projects, have amazing prices and a great selection of arts and craft products. Most of their stock is Australian art brands, some of them excellent like Matisse and Holcroft, for example, mixed with a smaller selection of international brands and a small selection of their products (Golden, Liquitex, Posca or Faber Castell for ex.) They have free shipping for orders over 80 bucks, which is an increase of 5 bucks since last time I purchased something from them. Still better than most online art supplies stores.

I've both from them many times and they deliver via AuPost. Product quality has always been good or great, except for one case, and the pricing excellent even when the products aren't on sale. But every time I check they're on some sort of sale.

The main issue with Riot Arts & Crafts is that the dispatch time is ridiculous and can take over a week or more, depending on the time, to get the products dispatched, plus the time AuPost takes to deliver a standard parcel. If you need materials for a upcoming project, this is not a place you want to buy from as, more likely, you won't get them on time. However, it's a great place to take advantage of their offers and stock materials before the ones you already have run out.

Another downside is that, due to the fact that their prices for good brands is below most online sites, the products I want are always sold out or out of stock.

My last parcel in April, took about 10 natural days to be dispatched. The last one, in September ditto. The shipping info on their website says that intercity or interstate takes average 7-10 business days, which is about 2 weeks, for the parcel to arrive to your place, and they cannot guarantee that either.

So, if they cannot fulfill the demand, why not stop, get more staff and reorganise the business? Most of the negative reviews online are on this issue.

Customer service by email is corteous but minimal, androbotic, full of vacuous wording. Last time I asked why it was taking so long to get the product dispatched the answer was 'we've changed our procedures at the warehouse' or were working on it kinda nothingness.

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