8/29/2023

TEK Firm Toothbrush

This is an average toothbrush but one of the few hard-bristles that I could find on Amazon at an affordable price. I don't use hard bristles on my teeth due to my dentist's advice. The product page advertises this as having a in-built special tongue scraper. There is not such a thing and reported this to Amazon. You might consider the curved handle the scraper, but the design of the handle would not allow me to use it as such, and there is no special scrub feature on it or on the top of the brush head. This is a very simple average toothbrush.
 
I bought this brush because the hard-bristles are perfect for cleaning small and difficult-to-reach corners in my kitchen and bathroom, and to clean tiles grout and the dirt around my taps. They are great for that. The handle is medium strength, not the most sturdy I've had, but good enough.

Red Rock Deli Potato Chips Variety Multipack x 10 28g

This selection of small chips is one of my favorite multi-packs out there. This brand is my fav chips brand due to the quality of the flavors as well as the the thickness and crunch of the chips. I love this multi-pack, firstly, because it has 4 flavors that I really-really like (the honey-soy and the sea-salt my favs). Secondly, because I can easily pack these small bags in my work bag to have a treat at work myself, or to offer it to some of my colleagues, which also love them. Besides, sometimes I feel like having a snack, and having this small portion bags is great to control how much I eat. They're a bit more expensive that an equivalent large bag, but I like the variety and versatility of this pack.

The Tin Box Company Star Wars Vintage Classic Tin Lunchbox, Black

I'm a SW fan and I was looking for a roomy tin box to store some of my collage papers and small art supplies. This is perfect for both purposes. It looks as good in person as in the photo, and looks cool wherever I place it. The handle can be comes handy to carry my lunch or if I was carrying this anywhere, which I initially don't intend to; the handle can be put in, so it doesn't protrude, making the box more compact. The locking system is great to prevent the lid from self-opening.So far, so good.

Piksters Interdental Brushes (10 Pack)

My dentist recommended these inter-dental brushes to me as I hate flossing, but I'm pone to gum problems. They are great to use and to clean up the wholes between my teeth; they get out junk that my mouthwash and floss doesn't get out. They're easy to use, and if the right size is chosen, the bristles last quite a bit. I always have a couple in my purse and wallet when I go out for dinner or at work. I clean them with a tissue and then rise them under clean water and put the cap back on.  They last for several uses. They're usually a bit pricey for just 10 pieces, but my dentist can notice when I've been using them or not, and my gums are healthier when I use them. I love the different sizes are coloured coded, as I can chose the right ones for different areas of my mouth. 

Beyond price, the main downside is that it is all plastic, and the handle could easily be made of compressed paper or any bio packaging product. 

Sandhurst Whole Sicilian Green Olives, 280 g

This is an affordable replacement to deli olives, although not as tasty truth be told. I've been purchasing this brand and variety for a long time. They make a great antipasto, and have a very smooth flavousome flavour, not too vinegary. They're good sized, very fleshy and juicy. I like this whole version because I think they taste better than the pitted ones. I love the fact that the container is glass and tin, as it is fully recyclable, if binned, and reusable for many purposes. I always keep a couple of these jars in my pantry as I can have them ready when friends visit, or just for my own enjoyment.  

8/28/2023

Vaseline Petroleum Jelly Original, 100g

I use Vaseline quite often for different purposes, and none of them is  to care for my lips, which is what most people associate this with. I find Vaseline really great to minimise or treat skin chafing and itchiness due to irritation or skin medical conditions that dry off my skin. My elderly mom used to use it on her legs in winter, as her skin would be super-dry due to heating and a medical condition and really soothed her itchiness. I use it more like a treatment not like a day-to-day cream. I don't use it as hand cream because I've found that it's too 'greasy', but I use it on the top of my hands or around my finger nails if there is  any sort of irritation.
 
Petroleum jelly is the main ingredient of Vaseline. Similar creams by other brands are labelled in fancier ways, focus on the 'dermatologically tested', charge me double. I prefer Vaseline because they're honest about what's in the jar, they're dermatologically tested (tested by my skin too) and the price is always affordable.

Good value for money, as a tiny bit of product goes a long way.
 
I love the new packaging, which looks nicer and more modern than the old jar.

KIYOSAKI Gooseneck Phone & Tablet Holder,

 This was, beforehand, what I was looking for to use my phone in bed at night as I've noticed that my hands and fingers get sore. The deal price was an incentive. I had read the reviews before purchase, so I knew that the 'cable' was sturdy and hard to maneuver, but it's way harder that expected and I had difficulty moving it around without making an effort. Inserting the ball into the holder head piece was also very difficult for me. 

The  product comes with minimal packaging and no instructions, and looks like a generic product. Nothing wrong with that!, but the lack of instruction leaflet makes  it unnecessarily difficult to set it up. In fact, the holder is easy to set up if you know what to do. Basically, you hold the clip on to you furniture and, to fasten it and/or adjust to the thickness of the edge you're attaching it to, you have to screw/unscrew the tubular body part (see my photo). The holder looks very small, but the lower edge is expandable, so you can adjust it to fit a quite large phablet like mine (see my photo). If used horizontally, I can easily fit a tablet.

I ended returning the product due to the fact that the holding clip is quite wide and cannot hold my narrow bedside table edge, so it falls off. So, my advise to you is to check the depth of your furniture edges before purchase.

8/25/2023

Paul Rubens Hot-Pressed 100%-Cotton 300gsm Watercolor Journal (Black)

I wanted  a compact good-quality small notebook or journal just to do warm-up mixed-media exercises and experimentation, and this item seemed to fit the bill.
 
THE GOOD STUFF
> Very good-looking sketchbook.
> Good-quality off-white 300-gsm watercolor paper. I love its smoothness and tone. See details about my testing below. 
> Stitch perforated paper sheets, which tear off easily. 
>  It has a separator ribbon, something that I love because I use it a lot!
> The notebook measurements are 3.8’’ x 5.2’’, a pocket size that makes it perfect to carry in my small handbag or briefcase. Perfect for traveling as well. I wanted something that is easy to store and this can be stored anywhere easily. 
> Affordable. 
> Very lightweight.
DOWNSIDES 
> The product Amazon-page photo and description and what I got are not the same. I've already given feedback to Amazon as some of the photos and statements are misleading and don't t relate to the product I got at all.  
> Unrefined leather-like cover.
> The paper is excellent, but I wanted a good journal not good loose paper sheets.
> My item doesn't have the elastic band/strap mentioned/photographed in the description page. I find this not only deceiving, but also disappointing because it seems to be an issue not just with my notebook but with many reviewers'. A band is necessary in any small journal with detachable sheets because, eventually, they'll all be loose and the band is needed to tide them all up. 
> Bad quality binding, with some parts just glued and others loosely sewn (see my photos). The product page says that it's loosely stitched to allow the removal of the middle thread to have a double-spread or panorama sheet. That's good, but since the binding is so poor, not all the pages are thread-stitched, all of them are perforated and some of them detach on their own, how is this going to work?
> One of the sheets was already cut off when I opened the product. The pad came sealed (as per my photos) so ain't sure if that's a factory issue or the item was a re-purposed return.
> The separator ribbon edge is already loose-threading itself (see my photos). 
> The back cover inner pouch is glued with the opening facing the spine, which makes it not only difficult to use but also useless to me.
 
PAPER TESTING
I've tested the paper twice before posting this review. Herewith my first impressions. My first test was done with a non-gessoed sheet. As per my photos, I used watercolour pencils, waters-soluble crayons (Neocolor II, Tim Holtz) and markers (Posca, Tombow), oil pastels (Ohuhu), soft pastels (Munyo), acrylic ink (Liquitex), heavy and fluid acrylics (Golden) alcohol ink, alcohol markers(Faber Castell, Copic), archival ink refills (Ranger), Stabilo-All and China black pencils, my fountain pen; FC Pitt permanent-ink markers; metallic markers as well as an UNI white gel pen. The paper stood well, without bleeding, most things, included my two alcohol markers, which is impressive. I found the paper especially lovely and smooth when watercolouring Posca, Tombow, Necolor II and Stabilo All. Soft pastels extended well with water, even though they aren't water-soluble and cheap, but oil pastels were not good on this paper, yet my pastels are cheap. Alcohol inks bled (see my photo) and, in a lesser degree, archival undiluted ink.
 My second test was done on a sheet of paper with clear gesso added to it, as this is how I usually work. I used simple mixed media, acrylic paint mostly, but also aquarelle pencils and markers, and plenty of water. The paper was a pleasure to work with and it doesn't buckle at all. Truth to be told, I usually work heavily on the paper, more than in this case, adding collage, stitching and what's not; yet, I'm very satisfied with the quality of the paper. 
 
IN SHORT
I consider this Rubens journal to be a mediocre journal. The paper, on its own, is excellent. However, I'm not buying loose sheets of paper but a journal, so it defeats the purpose. I wouldn't give this as a gift, but it serves me well for what I need: to experiment with my paints and have everything neatly collected. I will have to supply the missing elastic strap myself and sew the separating ribbon. This journal seems like a degraded version of the advertised product, like a bad batch perhaps, and there are significant discrepancies between what it's described on the product page and what I got. Bear in mind that the same journal is listed on a separated page and marked as 'Amazon choice', but it's a bit more expensive. Either way, next time I buy this journal, if it's as it is now, I will return it.
 

8/21/2023

Hxyrxib 2Pcs Flat Silicone Paint Brushes

I've had this pair for a few months now, and I love them. The two-piece is perfect for my needs as I paint on small surfaces and I don't need anything bigger. The bigger brush is 2" wide, and the smaller 1". I find the larger one great to spread gesso, different mediums on larger surfaces, a whole sheet of paper for example, while I use the other one for smaller surfaces, to  glue collage pieces and to properly paint. Both are perfect for mediums because I can easily wipe them out clean with household/baby wipes. However, they're called 'color shaper' for a reason; that's because I can move the paint in ways that normal brushes don't allow me to and  I can create cool effects with the sides, the edges or part of the brush surface.
 
The handle is made of good quality material. Despite me leaving the brushes in water for long periods of time, they haven't deteriorated or pealed off. The product description page says that the handle is made of wood, but it feels more like sturdy plastic to me. If it's wood, the plastic coating is really good. 

The ferrule is made of good-quality metal and hasn't loosen up so far, something important because if the silicone brush gets loose, it loses precision and functionality.  
 
The brush part is made of good quality flexible silicone, and works well on watercolour paper. The main issue with these brushes, like most other shaper brands I own, is that they have a slightly convex shape on both sides, which tends to create 'pools' of product on the upper part. I've learned not to use the whole brush surface just the flat part, the sides or the tip. Yet, I've also found that some brands have one part convex and the other flat (see my photos), and that works better for me. Also, the brush part is not as flexible as other brands shapers.
 
Overall, I'm very happy with the product. Color shapers are never super-cheap, but this combo is affordable and good value for money.

8/20/2023

Sabco Microfingers Mini Duster (Green)

This is a good duster. It's structure and handle are made of sturdy plastic, while the head is velvety soft and dusts beautifully, especially at-reach wide surfaces (tables, beside tables, consoles, shelves). Ain't sure why is called 'mini' because I'd say the head is quite large, and certainly larger than my old one.  What is mini (meaning short) is the handle, so ain't able to reach lamps, the top of my blinds or high surfaces unless I use a chair or a stool.  It gets the dust out easily and I wash it under running water with average household soap and, when dry, it looks like new. I can wash it because the head is a sort of glove that I can get on/off. I wish  it had a Velcro closure to make the removal a bit easier, but it's not difficult at all. I love the brand and having all my cleaning products in this bright green. Good value for money, too. 

Lindt Lindor Dark Assorted Cornet 327g

This is the only chocolate package that it's a regular in my grocery shopping. I don't fancy the fancy-flavored or filled-in chocolates or bonbons. I don't like average milk chocolate at all. I enjoy chocolates that taste of chocolate, and dark chocolates are those that do it for me. T The three varieties in this cornet do taste of chocolate and I love them all for this very reason. They are the perfect size and very good quality, with the right amount of sugar for me, which is not the usual you find in average chocolates. The blue-foiled variety is the one with more milk, but still tastes of chocolate; it's very creamy and smooth. The silver-foiled is 60% cocoa and tastes a bit stronger, while the golden-foiled (and my favourite) is the 70% cocoa, which has a bit of bitter after-taste, something that I love. I wish this cornet had more dark varieties in it. The main downside is that the core of the balls gets very soft and even runny when the weather is warm or hot, so, I keep them always in the fridge and, if carrying them to work in Summer, I put them in my insulated lunch bag. Not the chocolates that I gift more often just because not everyone likes dark chocolate; otherwise, it is my preferred selection of chocolates. 

8/18/2023

Kiolabo Furniture Repair Kit Wood Markers & Wax Sticks

I bought this kit to deal with some heavy scratching on my floorboards due to the removalists' carelessness. Also, with time, some of the boards get slightly scratched with normal use, and I wanted to cover this up so that the floor looks nicer.
 
This is a nice starter set as has a mix of wood colours to match most timber furniture. I found my ones in here. The package has a set of coloured wax crayons and the matching-colour markers (which are the ones that use the most). It also has the crayons sharpener, which is really mindful.
 
I've used this product many times on my floorboards and once on a piece of furniture. I found it worked best on the latter as it's laminated very-dark timber, which is very forgiving, and the mix of wax stick and marker gave me great results. See my photo.
 
My experience with the floorboards is a bit different as they're honey coloured and the markers, even the lightest one, can still stain the timber. I found that the product works best when 1/ the scratch is light and there is not much decoloration, as the marker helps covering it up. 2/ When there is some sort of deep scratch that can be filled in with the wax as then the marker works great to mask the thing. 3/ When professionally-repaired wood pieces on my boards have a different colour from the original, as  the markers help unify tones. See my photos.  My experience is also that noticeable scratches are difficult to cover up with this product. At best, a bit of colour (especially if several coats are applied). The application seems to be permanent and the product quantity is long lasting. I've used it many times and I've had it for over a year. I follow the instructions on the package as I've found that they're important to prevent damages to the wood being treated.

I wish the product came with some filler compound to fix deep scratches and that the marker nib was smaller, as this would make them more precise and would prevent staining, which forces me to constantly wipe the area and being extra careful not to get out of the scratched line. However, this is a great kit for a great price, which I use all the time.  
 

8/14/2023

Sluxa Cat Pencil Pouch

I'm in love with this. I bought this pouch as a gift for an impending birthday, but I will be purchasing one for myself. It's just like in the photos. The cat illustration is very realistic and more so when the pouch is full. The holder is made of some sort of silicone material outside and fabric lined inside. The zip runs smoothly and has a chain puller. The zip chain and zip head are the only things that could be improved. The pouch is generous in size (see my photo against an A4 wallet).  I couldn't resist checking how much stuff I could fit in.  I was able to comfortably fit in 17 items (a mix of markers, new pens, pencil erasers, and even my Townbows) and there was still room for small items like erasers a small USB etc. Very roomy! I bought this very discounted, so that's an added bonus.   

Generic Self-Threading Needle Set Wood Storage Box

I was very much looking forward to receiving this kit, as I have poor sight and threading any normal needle is very difficult to me. The wooden container is just wonderful; good looking and very roomy, so I can store other needles inside with the ones in the set. It has a screw top that keeps everything locked. So, that's wonderful. The issue is the needles themselves are described as having large eye, and that's not the case at all. They're self-treading, for sure, but they are so small (both the body and the eye) that getting them to self-thread is as difficult to me like normal ones, like it defeats the purpose I bought it for. If the needles were a bit larger in size, this would be the perfect set for me, but that's not the case.

8/12/2023

Long Life Self-Shine Floor Polish 1 Litre

I always make sure I have this floorboard polish at home when a house inspection is due. I've used this product since I moved into my this house and I love it because I can clearly see the "before & after" effect. I tend to use the same brand of cleaning product to maximize the effect, but I've also used other brands and it doesn't really matter. After cleaning the floor and, when it's totally dry, I sprinkle the product directly on to the floor. Then I mop it rapidly so the droplets don't dry and don't leave a mark. Ideally, it should be mopped following the layout of the floorboards, but that's not always possible, so I mop always in one direction in the room. I let it dry on its own for at least an hour. Needless to say, it dries quicker in Summer. I don't usually buff it, but the floor still looks amazing. If I buff it with a towel the shine effect is more noticeable. Due to this being a wood polish, the quantity of product in the bottle and the price, I consider this very good value for money. 

Jigong Mini Heat Gun Electric 300W 220V 50HZ Portable Hot Air

This is my first heat gun and I purchased it to replace my bulky hair drier, which I was using to speed up the drying time of the paint in some of my artwork. However, it can be used for embossing as well. 

THE GOOD STUFF
> Very light and small. It is a pleasure to hold. Way smaller and lighter than my small hair drier. See my photos against an A4 wallet and beside my small hair drier.
> It can be stored anywhere. See my photo inside a cable organizer box.
> Easy to use. You don't really need a manual. Click the power button and voila. The container box, though, has some tricks to use this gun in "shrinking'.
> Heating level is great for small pieces of art as it isn't too high or low. It dries things fast.   
> Low noise level if compared with my hair drier. 
> As the 'mouth' is small, it directs the air where I want to so it doesn't blow pieces of paper I have around.
> Great value for money.

THE DISAPPOINTMENTS 
> The cord is ridiculously short. That being the case, unless you have a plug on top of your table, you would have to plug it to an extension cord, something that I hate because it creates unnecessary bulk and storage issues. If you don't have one, you'd have to purchase one.
> Just one speed.
> No storage pouch. 

If needed, I will update this review in the future.

8/10/2023

Generic 30-cm Power Extension Lead Cord Australian AU/ 3-Pin Plug Black

This is one of the shortest extension cords I could find in the market. It is made of sturdy plastic and the lead it's 23 cm long but it's 30 cm in total. I've had it for a week or so, so no complaints so far. It's perfect for what I wanted it, which is to adjust a bulky laptop adapter flat into a cable organisation box without having excess cord bulking up the box insides. It serves the purpose beautifully.  On the other hand, I would have loved the cord being 30 cm plus the plugs length as this would have made it ideal for the purpose mentioned above and for any other future uses. l. For the rest, it's a bit pricey for what it is, but it is a rare type of cable and I can use it for many purposes, so there you have it.

8/07/2023

Drano Kitchen Max Gel Drain Cleaner 770mL

I've used this product in several occasions as my kitchen sink has old pipes and a slow drain and, when I run the water continuously, the sink cannot cope and the water pools and bubbles up. I've  tried other products in the past and I barely got any result. I've used this and the slow drainage stops. Half of the bottle is what I need and what the package recommends to use. However, unlike the instructions on the package, I leave the product in for at least an hour, not the 15-30 minutes recommended as I did this in the past and didn't work as well. I got the bottle today, I used upon arrival, and my sink drains normally. 

Jungford Wood-cover Cable Management Box

I had a cable mess in my home-office area (see photo). I wanted to tidy it up so that cleaning the area would be easier and the room wood look nicer before a home inspection. This box helped me to get there, but not without a sweat.

The box is made of sturdy ivory plastic and the top is of uncoated wood. It looks great and goes well with the rest of my home-office Scandy style. The lid sits well on the box and it is easy to lift and reposition. I've put small electrical items on it, like my headphones or another plug, and it didn't collapse. Beyond the style, I love that the box has many cable slots, so the cables come  in/out out naturally. Besides, it comes with a set of cable management organisers, so it's great value for money.

The main issue with the box is it's capacity. The box is standard sizing and height for most cable organising boxes out there, and it fits a 4-plug power board, although a bit tightly. However, I didn't fit my laptop cable plug, which is attached to the adapter and cannot be separated from it. Unfortunately, this is the only adapter that my laptop can use, so it didn't fit at all (see my photo). What I did to tidy up things was, I swapped the power board with a 3-plugh one, then I plugged a short extension cable to the laptop plug, and left the adapter on top of the box. Not ideal, but things were looking great. In the end, I ended putting the round adapter plus computer plug (which fits the box perfectly on their own) in another cable box to hide it, and voila, my cable area is unrecognisable, as per my photo.  

Since I  had to try different plugs and cables I have at home, I can honestly say that the box would fit most cables and big plugs, except for those that are like my computer's, which isn't standard.  I wish they made a taller version, because, for the rest, I really like the box style and design.

OPI Rapidry Spray, 55ml

I love O.P.I products so I had great expectations rethis product as I paint my nails myself at home, sometimes in a hurry before an outing or going to work.

The instructions of use on the bottle back are in a minuscule font size. It says to mist over the nails 45 seconds after applying the last coat. But last coat of what, of enamel or the top coat? Or is this product to replace the top coat? No indication of how much this speeds up the process or how long it takes to dry after application. Ain't sure if it works just with O.P.I nail polishes because the one I had on my nails was good quality polish but not this brand.

The bottle has a good spray system and the mist comes out easily.
 
I've tried the product twice. The first time, I didn't mind the watch, but it was perhaps a minute over the last coat application. I didn't see any speeding up in the drying time after application.  I didn't apply the mist on my other hand, but used my hair drier on a cold setting. The results were indistinguishable. Besides, one of my nails with the applied O.P.I.spray smudged; to me, that's not working.  
 
The second time I tried it, I also did a double testing. I sprayed some of the nails without top coat and they responded well, as they dried a little bit quicker than usual. I also sprayed other nails that had a top coat on, and these ones  took longer to dry, and there was barely any difference with those nails where I had applied top coat but not this product on top.  In short, it worked way better when I applied it directly on the enamel not on the top coat. Perhaps the product is to be used as top coat, but that's not clear anywhere.
 
In all honesty, I won't be buying this product again as the speeding up of the drying is so little that it's not worth my money.  Besides, the bottle came 3/4 full. I thought that it might be an used bottle, but I've noticed that everyone had the same issue with their bottles, so that's the company's fault and a rip-off because the product isn't cheap by any means, even when discounted.  

HPM Household Duty Piggy Back Extension Lead White 1m

Nothing fancy or out there about this cable, just a sturdy 1-metre extension cord. It has a piggyback on the plug itself, which I won't use, but it comes handy if I needed to. This one-metre lead is perfect for my needs and replaces a longer cable that had become a hassle on my floor. So far so good. If I had any issues, I would update my review.   
 
Update 5/9/23
I didn't think I'd use the piggyback, but I have, and it is so convenient, when I want to plug something that is just for a little while while the main cable of my computer, for example, is always plugged. More utilities that I thought I would give it. Very pleased with it.