sahar009
Member Since: October 1, 2016Reviews
Biore Baking Soda Cleansing Scrub
I don’t know if it’s because of winter or because I have been really tired lately, but after a wonderful beginning with this product, it started irritating my skin a little. The irritation is limited enough for me not to want to give up on it in... +
I don’t know if it’s because of winter or because I have been really tired lately, but after a wonderful beginning with this product, it started irritating my skin a little. The irritation is limited enough for me not to want to give up on it in the long-term, but enough for me to reconsider using it at this time. I have also considered the possibility that it is just too harsh for the recommended usage of 2-3 times a week for the scrub and daily for the cleanser.
I have also been thinking a lot about using a product from a large company like Bioré and a smaller one, however great the larger company may be. I have been reading up on companies such as Stowaway Cosmetics which, because they are smaller sized, seem to have a better ability to read their reality and adjust to it. Meaning that a small company is much more agile and able to stick to its original principles. So while I trust that reports that Bioré’s parent company has the desire and the will to be a leader in ethics, I trust that smaller companies like Stowaway Cosmetics to be able to more quickly and efficiently make the necessary changes in remaining at the forefront of ethical practices. There are also a lot of implications at the level of the community that I’m still struggling to sort through. In short, wouldn’t a number of smaller cosmetic companies spread throughout the world be better suited to respond to the needs of the members of the community they are located in? These needs would be both personal—a certain range of skin types within a certain specific climate—as well as community-based—using local ingredients, decreasing pollution, creating local jobs and, with people from the same community working on a home-made product, creating stronger bonds of friendship.
More thinking needs to be done about this…
Where does this leave me? I will reduce the frequency with which I use both cleanser and scrub to see if it helps my skin feel less irritated and, instead, just as soft as the first times I used it. If I see no change in my skin, I’ll put them both away until summertime and test them then again.
Recommend? Yes, for now.
For more: http://www.saharsblog.com/beauty/product-review-biore-baking-soda-voxbox-part-2-of-2/
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‘This Just In’ Sticky Note Set by Kate Spade
There are two super important things to look for in a sticky note. The first is the quality of the paper used; no one wants their sticky notes to be curling up, nor do they want the ink to either bleed through or smear. The other essential factor is... +
There are two super important things to look for in a sticky note. The first is the quality of the paper used; no one wants their sticky notes to be curling up, nor do they want the ink to either bleed through or smear. The other essential factor is the stickiness of the note; too much and you can end up tearing important documents; too little and you might lose the note (and, subsequently, your mind).
The Kate Space This Just In sticky note set ended up being mostly disappointing after the initial thrill at how beautiful the presentation is. Set within a hard cardboard, white on black polka dot case, the seven individual packs are all white on mint with gold etched details. While some of them have designs on them that would make them distracting, the light colours used makes the design fade into the background with even a pencil scribbled note.
Where this sticky note set loses all credibility is in both the quality of its paper and its stickiness factor. The paper bleeds through when using liquid ink based pens or felt tipped pens like Sharpies and the sticky part of the note barely sticks, curling up mere second after application, making this set pretty but pretty useless.
Verdict? Not worth it, even on sale.
For more: http://www.saharsblog.com/review/product-review-this-just-in-sticky-note-set-by-kate-spade/
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Moleskine Hard Cover Ruled Large Notebooks
I usually go for the hard cover, 13 centimeters by 21 centimeters “notebook” in whatever colour or special edition that catches my fancy. While there are smaller journals available, I find that this size fits well in most of my purses and is... +
I usually go for the hard cover, 13 centimeters by 21 centimeters “notebook” in whatever colour or special edition that catches my fancy. While there are smaller journals available, I find that this size fits well in most of my purses and is easy to carry around during meetings. They also allow me to cram most of the information in a 2-hour meeting on two facing pages, which makes referring back to my notes a lot easier.
The paper is very smooth—most pens and pencils I have used on Moleskine notebooks glide smoothly on the paper’s surface, which means less wrist and finger pain after spending a long time writing. Sharpies, even the extra fine point ones, tend to bleed through, but normal pens (ball point, ink, or felt tip) don’t. The paper also works well with washi tape—while some people pre-divide theirs, I use my notebooks one page at a time, then line each page with a different colored washi tape to make specific themes/topics stand out. For example, as part of the regional community building process I am a part of at the moment, there are three major things in my service notebook: studying what community building is, notes from meetings with my other team members, and my to-do list. I choose to washi tape in blue all pages on which I jot down my to-do list, making it a lot easier to flip open to that page when in the middle of the action.
I prefer the hard cover version as they make for a much more comfortable writing experience pretty much anywhere, something that is important to me—I pretty much whip open my journal anywhere and everywhere. When opened on a hard surface, it opens easily at a 180-degree angle without any strain on the spine and any paper tears.
The elastic closure is really practical and long-lasting—I can stuff my journal with random bit of paper that will not fly away without the elastic stretching. It does become a little loose after 5-6 months, but it still remains usable. The ribbon bookmark is really practical for obvious reasons. It does tend to fray at the bottom but not so much; also, a regularly applied dab of clear nail polish takes care of that problem easily.
On top of its regular line of hard cover ruled notebooks, Moleskine regularly releases special editions journal collections, including Alice in Wonderland, the Audio Cassette, Lego, Coca-Cola, Le Petit Prince, The Simpsons, Minnie Mouse, Peanuts, Hello Kitty, Batman, and the seemingly ever-expanding Star Wars collection. All the ones I have purchased come with stickers, which makes the child in me quie happy. I’m currently intrigued by the new Blend collection, which seems to be journals that come with a fabric-based cover.
Recommend?
As you can tell, I love Moleskine, but enough questions have been raised during the writing of this post that I can only recommend them temporarily, until the second part of this review at least when I try to find the answers to the questions in this post.
For more: http://www.saharsblog.com/review/product-review-review/product-review-moleskine-hard-cover-ruled-large-notebooks-part-1-2/
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‘Le Pavillion’ Tumbler by Kate Spade
How is the Tumbler Holding up after Six Months? I was really excited to take this puppy home and after a quick wash, it immediately took residence on my desk. Sleek, simple, practical, and pretty, I immediately started drinking a lot more than... +
How is the Tumbler Holding up after Six Months?
I was really excited to take this puppy home and after a quick wash, it immediately took residence on my desk. Sleek, simple, practical, and pretty, I immediately started drinking a lot more than previously, when I was using a glass. I didn’t get up as much anymore for refills, so I did have to remember to do stretches at my desk more regularly, but that was the only drawback of switching from glass to cup.
The bottom of the cup is lined with a ring of rubber, which means that it doesn’t slip as much as my glass used to. I did knock it over a couple of times, but the seal that runs under its lid kept all the water in; a couple of drops came out of the straw and some from the lid where the straw goes in, but it was nothing compared to what would have happened with a glass. ::shudder::
The cup is said to be isolated and boy does it keep my ice water cold. I would have to refill ice a couple of times in the afternoon when using a glass; with this cup, the ice only melts completely after a good 3-4 hours.
It seems like this cup was turning out to be perfect, until I started noticing the polka dots scratching off, however careful I was with it. People who know me can attest to this: I really take good care of my things. Like, really good care of them. But whatever I did with this cup, the scratches keep accumulating. If my nails—which I keep short—scrape the cup even gently as I reach for it; if I place any item too close to it; or if it tips over—it will have at least one more scratch on it.
Verdict?
If you take as good care of your things as I do and like them to stay as pristine as possible, then no; whatever you do, the dots on this tumbler will scratch off. But if you don’t mind that, then you can definitely add it to your list of cups to consider purchasing.
For more: http://www.saharsblog.com/review/product-review-le-pavillion-tumbler-kate-spade/
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Goodreads
Different ways of using Goodreads There are a lot of tools and options you can use on Goodreads, but I limit myself to only a few as a way of not losing even more time on social media. For example, while you can plug in the book that you are... +
Different ways of using Goodreads
There are a lot of tools and options you can use on Goodreads, but I limit myself to only a few as a way of not losing even more time on social media. For example, while you can plug in the book that you are reading as you start reading it and update your followers on the number of pages you have read, I personally choose to add read books in bulk. While I get the date I finished reading them wrong (always a little later than when I actually finished them), it keeps me from spending too much time on the platform.
Final Thoughts
I can understand the hesitation in signing up for yet another social media platform; we are already quite overwhelmed with just what we can find on just Facebook. But if you are looking into easily finding new books, Goodreads is a great way to build a community of readers around you.
Verdict?
A great resource and way to connect with readers, but like with any other social media platform, you’ll have to exercise a lot of self-control to not waste time. You might also consider carefully curating your library to make sure the recommendations you get are for the type of books you want to read rather than books of the type you regret reading.
For more: http://www.saharsblog.com/review/product-review-goodreads-a-social-media-platform-catered-to-readers/
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Burt's Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Creme
The cream is very greasy but absorbs quickly and efficiently into the skin; what worked for me was applying a little bit a couple of times a day instead of a big glob only once or twice a day. I also noticed that it helped strengthen my nails... +
The cream is very greasy but absorbs quickly and efficiently into the skin; what worked for me was applying a little bit a couple of times a day instead of a big glob only once or twice a day. I also noticed that it helped strengthen my nails. Although they usually crack so much by the end of winter that I tend to keep them short, I was able to keep them long throughout the winter season.
The format—a 5 cm x 5cm cylindrical glass jar with a thin metallic cap—lends itself well to being left on one’s desk. It was very easy to adopt a routine by which I would put a bit of a cream on a couple of times a day and massage it in while reading something on the screen.
The materials of the jar make it recyclable—another plus—but I kept mine to use as a paper clip holder, decorated of course with a little bit with washi tape.
(For more: http://www.saharsblog.com/review/product-review-burts-bees-almond-milk-beeswax-hand-cream/)
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Carrington Farms organic coconut oil
Carrington Farms’ Virgin, Cold-Pressed, Organic Coconut Oil as sold in Costco is one of the best deals I could find where I live (it looks like the 78-ounce version of this product). One of the reasons I shop at Costco is that I like their... +
Carrington Farms’ Virgin, Cold-Pressed, Organic Coconut Oil as sold in Costco is one of the best deals I could find where I live (it looks like the 78-ounce version of this product). One of the reasons I shop at Costco is that I like their staff-related policies. I didn’t find anything about Carrington Farms’ staff policies, I did find out that the company apparently “engages in ethical business practices, ensuring human workers are properly compensated for their work.” More specifically, it is one of companies that does not “use monkeys or human children to harvest coconuts.”
Although Carrington Farms’ coconut oil is organic and non-GMO certified, I couldn’t figure out if it specifically was fair trade certified. The label doesn’t have a mark stating that it is; however, it does state that the product is from the Philippines, where most fair trade coconut oil seems to come from. It might be, then, that either this coconut oil is indeed not fair trade, or that it is but the company is stuck in the legalities of proving it because they can put it on their label.
The product comes in a big plastic container, so you only need one tub for a family that will last quite some time; this contributes to a decrease in packaging. Furthermore, the container is quite useful for other uses when the oil has been completely used—I know someone who has a few from various friends and family members to store stuff in their garage, another friend uses it for art supplies, and yet another uses it for things like dry rice and quinoa storage.
(For more: http://www.saharsblog.com/review/product-review-review/product-review-carrington-farms-virgin-cold-pressed-organic-coconut-oil/)
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