2/28/2025

1000 PUBLISHED REVIEWS


 
 
Hi there lovely strangers! 
It's celebration day today: 1000 reviews published on this blog.  I feel like the Goddess of Reviews today, to be honest. I've gone through a long road that has taken me from from A to Z, to infinity and beyond. May the force be with me to continue this self-imposed task.
 
I started this blog many years ago as a repository for all the reviews I was publishing on different online platforms, mostly food and travel sites. The blog has grown organically to include most of the reviews I publish online, most of them on Amazon, including those rejected on different platforms because they were unfavourable to the product or service reviewed, those that I toned down to prevent rejection on those platforms, or those that I don't feel like publishing on online platforms because my real name would be shown. 
 
 
 
My reviews are honest and reflect my experience with products, services, online retailers, hotels, and so on. My aim is to be helpful to those who read them. I'm still too busy at work to engage on social media or to moderate blog comments but, believe me, I appreciate your visits more than you think. Thank Youses!  

 
 (I created all images in this post with Ideogram and Bing Image Creator) 

FEJKA 3-Pack Artificial Succulent Plants (6 cm)

This set is overall pretty, and the plants look great from afar. However, the size is tiny. The 'plants' part lacks colouring detail, which would make them look more natural. I was expecting the set to have the colours shown in the product page photos, which are way more realistic; however,  my set looks all dark green without any realistic touch. The pot is made of plastic. I would have been OK paying a bit of more money and having a more realistic plant design and a ceramic pot. Yet, you get what you pay for. DESIGNER Unknown.

KRILLE Leg with castor, white (70 cm)

These legs are sold individually to use with the individual table top of your choice. They are made of good quality strong metal and have an excellent epoxy coating. The castors are fabulous and lockable.
 
The Krille is easy to assemble and, screwing it to the table-top, is straight forward. However, the location of some of the screws holes is wrong, making something as simple as screwing a total pain. I don't have an electric screw-driver so I used a manual one and, despite having small hands, I still had difficulty positioning my hands in a way that I would be able to fully screw some of them. The spacing should have been different. I understand that the holes have to match those that the table-tops have, but the holes on the the leg base were to close to the metal bar. I had difficulty screwing them manually, so I don't know how a person with big hands or a big screwing tool can do that. For the rest, a great purchase. 
 
DESIGNER Francis Cayouette.

2/22/2025

Lightwish 100%-cotton 300gsm/140lb Watercolor Journal (4.7x4.7 in)

This is such a cute watercolour journal. It is not only affordable, as most Lightwish products are, but also has a good-quality 300 gsm cold-pressed watercolour paper. It's perfect for both watercolour painting and mixed-media. The size is ideal for travelling or as a carry-on sketchbook.
 
The paper has a bit of tooth to it, so it's a bit rugged. I've tested it with acrylic inks and paints with and without priming. The results are quite good. The paper takes a lot of water in. It buckles a bit when wet, but it recovers its flatness once dry. I've also tried it with  the same materials, adding clear gesso and the inks and paints run more smoothly and I can work the paper harder. 
 
The binding is excellent and I can open the pad almost flat without the stitching coming apart.  However, the colour tends to bleed down through the stitches holes. That might not be a problem if you don't paint the full spread or just focus on motifs on each page, do zentangle or drawing. Painting an inks drip down. Yet, for the price, this is a fab mini sketchbook.

Due to slightly textured surface, the use of fine white markers and Posca pens is not the best, unless the paper is totally dry and they go over a very dark colour.
 
The cover has a fabric-like texture in a beautiful turquoise colour. I like my journals to have the cover in different colours as this helps me easily identify different journals. This is important to me because I use them to explore different colours or materials.
 
The elastic band is a must because, once you start using the pad, this won't close fully. Besides, once the whole pad is used, the band will help close the notebook properly. 

Finally, the pad has a ribbon bookmark, something I really love.

2/04/2025

Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens, 3-Pac (Soft, Hard, and Twin Tip)

I love these Fudenosuke Tombow markers.One is the classic Fudenosuke  black with brush tip medium nib, the same in dark blue, and the other is a two-tip marker with two different nibs (fine and extra-fine). These markers are very pleasurable to use. They glide smoothly on any kind of paper I've use them on. The quality of the ink is intense and bold unlike the normal Tombow markers, which have a more watercolour nature. That being the case Fudenosuke is better for artistic drawing, calligraphy, shading, outlining and making bold ink-like marks.   
 
The ink is water-based, so these markers are not permanent. You will need a workable sealer if you want to use them in mix media as they smudge easily if mixed with anything slightly liquid. Also, if used in combination with acrylic paint, make sure that the paint is completely dry before you use the markers as, otherwise, the nib will be damaged. This is true for most markers out there, though.  
 
This package is good value for money and you have three different tips and colours. They last a long time without drying off, and the quality of the ink is always good. I've had this for over a year, and they are still as new.

2/03/2025

JRINTL Large Extended Gaming Mouse Pad (800x300mm)

This is an affordable large mouse pad that I bought to use both as laptop mat and as mouse pad. It’s really large, thick and made of good quality rubber/silicone, which is flexible and allows the pad to be rolled if necessary. The upper is velvety soft and really comfortable to rest my wrist and arm directly on it. The mouse rolls smoothly on it, as well. The back has an anti-slip rugged texture that helps it stay on the table.  
 
I would have bought this pad even if it was plain black, but I love maps so I thought that the featured print was really cool. However, the item I got has poor quality printing, with the image faded or not crisp, nothing like the image shown on the product page. Besides, the image is slightly distorted, as if a small image had been stretched to fit in a canvas that is too big for it. Not good if you really want the map perfectly printed.   For the rest, it's a great mat/pad.

2/01/2025

Kinbom 6pc Detail Paint Brush Set (Red)

These medium-quality affordable detail brushes are better quality than expected. I've now used them for several months.
 
The set has two items of each size (5/9, 3/0, 2/0) and, although they are not liners, they make good lines, shapes and fine marks. They're great for corrections on small areas, for mark-making and to fill in small areas or corners in a journal. I use them with flat or soft paper surfaces so I don't know how they would react with canvas or wood panels. I always use them with acrylic paints/inks and no issues so far.
 
I tend to forget my brushes submerged in water for too long, from some hours to a couple of days. The bristles tend to bend and lose shape while left in water for a while, but they recover it easily by drying t hem with a paper towel and, at the same time, pressing them into their straight shape with my fingers. I initially feared that the red handle would lose its colour or break open, but that hasn't happened. So, I think these brushes are better quality than they look like. On the other hand, they look like a downgraded version of the brushes depicted in the product page photos.
 
Although unimportant, the brushes colour is more like burgundy, definitely not the beautiful red in the photos. I just wanted any coloured handle to differentiate these brushes from other small ones I own, so any colour would do.  

In short, an economic student-grade set of detail brushes that are sturdy, durable, and versatile.