5/26/2024

Red Rock Deli Honey Soy Chicken Premium Potato Chips 90 g

RRD chips are one of my favourite chips brands, and this Honey Soy Chicken flavour is just spot-on re flavour and yummy for the rest. I love all RRD flavoured chips, but this variety is one of the few that I buy time and time again. Like all RRD chips/fries, these chips have the right thickness and crunchiness. This brand is always more expensive than others, but to me that's justified as they are one of the best chips out there and this variety one of my favourite flavours ever.

ZEISS Lens Wipes (50 pack)

I had never bought this brand of lense wipes before, but I thought of giving it a try as the packet is really big and the price was excellent.

These wipes definitely clean my glasses  and my smartphone. However, they don't glide much, so I find them hard to use on my spectacles.
 
The wipes are made of the same material as those wet napkins in a sachet that you get from some fast-food outlets. They smell of hand sanitiser, like of alcohol. The ingredients on the package say  "(per detergent regulations) <5% cationic and anionic tensides." That's not a list of ingredients, sorry! It does  not follow our product labelling regulations either. I did a quick search and these things are not a product. Examples of some common cationic surfactants include alkyl ammonium chloride (that's an ingredient). Examples of non-ionic surfactants include cocamide, ethoxylates and alkosylates (those are ingredients). And as per ingredient list they are in  a detergent solution, made of what?
 
I might change my mind in the future and change ratings and/or update my review. However, I prefer the other wipes brand better, and I'll  go to it when I finish this packet.

JanYun 150D Leather Sewing Waxed Thread Cord (1mm Diameter, 8 colours)

This is a true leather thread in a beautiful array of neutral colours in long-length bobbins. I bought them thinking that it would be more like a cord or thicker, so, in that regard, they were a bit disappointing; however,  I'm the only one to blame as I should have read the description in full before purchasing. Yet, I've fallen in love with these bobbins and material. I use the thread as cord for my art tags or as texture elements in my mixed media works. The colours in the photo match the colours in real life. I haven't sewn with them, so I cannot comment on that.

5/15/2024

JBL Tune 500 Wired ON Ear Headphones Black

I wanted to replace my old broken laptop headset with something affordable and wired as it is mostly to use plugged to my laptop. Besides, I've had other JBL products in the past and this is a brand that I trust.

GOOD
> I bought this almost half the original price on a lightning deal and that is a bargain, something that always makes me happy.
> Good looking. The set looks expensive.
> Good materials.
> Head band soft padding.
> Integrated cable with volume micro-button.
> Plug and play, no drivers or set up needed.
> Good quality sound with my computer. I haven' tried them with my mobile.
> Flat folding, which makes the set great for storage in drawers and for carrying in a medium sized bag.

SO SO
 > I agree with other reviewers say on the tight grip of the headband. I have a small head and this is nothing that I honestly feel is too much, unpleasant or uncomfortable. At the same time, I don't use these for long periods of  time.
 
NOT SO GOOD
> The leather-like sleeve covering the ear padding is paper thin. What's the point of making the rest really good quality and the most important part really subpar? I don't get the thinking behind this, to be honest.
> Length of the cable it's a bit short for my needs as I tend to twist and move a bit away from my desk/laptop and it unplugs itself.
 
OVERALL
A great wired headset at a very affordable price made of good quality materials. The only downsides are the headband being a bit tight on the head if worn for long periods of time, the ear-pod padding sleeve quality being not good, and the cable being not long enough for my needs. I will update this review in the future, if needed.

5/01/2024

Edward Tools Paint Stainless Steel 12" Trim Blade

This is a great tool to get straight lines in my paintings. The sizing is perfect to work on paper medium size pieces, 12x12" for example, as it is not too large or too short. The sizing also allows me to store it easily or to keep it in the same holder as my large brushes. 
 
The blade is really sharp, so much so that I cut one of my fingers with it. I love that is made of stainless steel as this makes it durable. I clean it with a wipe or rage and looks as new every time.
 
Nothing fancy about the grip area, but it's strong enough, and it's getting nicer now that it has different splashes of paint on it. 
 
Good value for money.

Strathmore 400 Series, 12"x12" Cold Press Watercolor Pad, 12 Sheets

Strathmore watercolour paper has always impressed me because of the quality of their products and the good quality/prize ratio. This is also the case here.

 This pad has a great size for beginners, not too big or too small. The tone and texture of the paper are excellent. I use it mostly for mixed media, mostly working with acrylics, and I do nasty things to the paintings (rubbing, scratching, wiping). Yet, the paper resists almost everything and it is very forgiving. I always gesso the paper before working on it.

Perhaps not as good as other brands, but this is one of my watercolour paper pads staples.

4/25/2024

Quill A4 Visual Art Diary, 110gsm

I use this notebook all the time not to draw or paint but to clean my brushes when painting on good paper. This allows me to save paint and create unintended pretty interesting collage papers that I then use in my artwork.
 
I also use the pages with my Gelli print to create collage papers The results are great and better than using printing paper.
 
If you want to use it with acrylics, you need to use dry brushes and heavy body paint because the paper is not made to hold liquid or semi-liquid acrylic paint or inks. and the pages stick to each other if the paint is semi-wet and break off parts of the page. Needless to say if the paint is too liquid, it will bleed.
 
Probably designed for drawing with pencil, pen or charcoal not for paint/. However, the pad is cheap and good enough for my side painting needs.