StressPuppy
Member Since: September 2, 2006Reviews
Gratiae Purifying Facial Cleanser
I came across this product while waiting at the Calgary airport. A little shop called Soap Stories YYC was giving samples of soap, and the woman who was helping me wanted to show me a nail buffer. See my review on the Gratiae Beautifying Nail Kit... +
I came across this product while waiting at the Calgary airport. A little shop called Soap Stories YYC was giving samples of soap, and the woman who was helping me wanted to show me a nail buffer. See my review on the Gratiae Beautifying Nail Kit for the scoop on that.
After buying the nail kit, she wanted to show me some of their facial products. One, I'm a sucker for high pressure sales tactics, so I went along even though I knew better. Two, I had an hour's wait so I had nothing better to do with my time. She showed me this cleanser and the Gratiae Replenishing Eye Serum. This was $70 and the serum was $260. I tried to get out of it by simply saying I can't afford it, but she kept pushing and giving me "a very special deal". In the end I did buy the cleanser for $40.
She knew that I'm not planning on changing my current facial products (Origins - great stuff!), but this is meant to be used 2-3 times a week to help exfoliate the skin and restore balance to my frustratingly oily face. It's mildly abrasive, and I like the way my skin feels after using it.
The same cleanser is $49.99 on the Gratiae website, so I guess it evens out from being hosed on the nail kit. And there is no way I can justify the cost of the eye serum. Like I said in the other review, save yourself the high pressure sales tactics, and take a look on www.gratiae.ca.
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Gratiae Beautifying Nail Kit
I came across this product while waiting at the Calgary airport. A little shop called Soap Stories YYC was giving samples of soap, and the woman who was helping me wanted to show me a nail buffer. It works really nicely, so I asked how much it was... +
I came across this product while waiting at the Calgary airport. A little shop called Soap Stories YYC was giving samples of soap, and the woman who was helping me wanted to show me a nail buffer. It works really nicely, so I asked how much it was and she went on about this nail kit that I had to get for $79.99. I said I didn't want the kit and was about to walk away, when she said that I could buy the buffer alone for $29.99. When I agreed to that, she then said that she could give me a special deal for the kit at $69.99 and she would thrown in a free buffer and a soap bar. Seemed good so I went with that.
The buffer is great! You supposedly only have to use it once a month, and if anything happens to the buffer, you can exchange it for a new one. I'm terrible at taking care of my hands, so the less work the better. The cuticle oil works well on my dry, dry, dry cuticles. The hand cream feels nice, and has a pleasant scent.
Here's the kicker. I went on the Gratiae website tonight to learn more about the product. This same nail kit is $49.99 online, direct from the company. So save yourself the high pressure sales tactics, and get this product at http://www.gratiae.ca instead.
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Taste Nirvana Coconut Water
This coconut water is fantastic! I happen to like pulp in mine, but you can also buy it straight up. So many coconut waters I've tried have a horrible chemical taste in them; unfortunately many of them are from Asian stores. Maybe they have to... +
This coconut water is fantastic! I happen to like pulp in mine, but you can also buy it straight up. So many coconut waters I've tried have a horrible chemical taste in them; unfortunately many of them are from Asian stores. Maybe they have to put all those preservatives for export? Taste Nirvana gets this product from Thailand.
Anyway, I found this one at Nutters Bulk and Natural Foods: $3.81 (including bottle deposit) for 280 mL. And that's the one drawback. Coconut water is expensive. I would drink it a lot more if it was affordable. The water is nice and fresh. (The bottle says that there are no preservatives in there.) The pulp is a little more crunchy than I expected. I'm used to Blue Monkey; their coconut pulp is more chewy. But, it is really, really good. I would definitely recommend trying it at least once. You'll be hooked!
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LUSH No Drought Dry Shampoo
I'm on the eternal search for an effective dry shampoo since my hair is highlighted red and I have issues with it fading too fast even though I only wash my hair 3 times a week. This dry shampoo is great. Like the previous reviewer, I found the... +
I'm on the eternal search for an effective dry shampoo since my hair is highlighted red and I have issues with it fading too fast even though I only wash my hair 3 times a week.
This dry shampoo is great. Like the previous reviewer, I found the bottle awkward at first. It's a regular squeeze bottle like the kind Body Shop uses for their shower gels. (The sales associate recommended putting it in an old baby powder bottle but that would involve buying and using up a bottle of baby powder.) It's an effective product though. You don't need very much and the white from the powder disappears almost right away. I like the smell way better than the aerosol that I use from kms. And there's so much in the bottle that it will take me a long time to get through it all.
Definitely recommend this to anyone who needs a dry shampoo.
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QUO Biodegradable Nail Polish Remover
I bought this in an attempt to find something that is less harsh on my nails. This is one of those instances though where I was duped by the lure of a product that seemed good from the packaging. This stuff is terrible! It takes me several tries... +
I bought this in an attempt to find something that is less harsh on my nails. This is one of those instances though where I was duped by the lure of a product that seemed good from the packaging.
This stuff is terrible! It takes me several tries to get any nail polish off; at least 2 cotton pads per nail. It gets foamy like soap which makes you think something's happening, but I struggled with several brands of polish (including OPI, Rimmel, butter London, Sally Hansen, Deborah Lippmann, and Sparitual). The remover also leaves an awful sticky feeling on my fingers that I have to wash off. It's bad enough that I can't continue using this just to finish up the bottle.
The one redeeming factor is that it smells way better than regular nail polish remover.
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Sun-Rype Apple Green Tea Chai Juice
I bought this at IGA as part of a 2 for $5.00 sale on Sun-Rype juices. I have always liked Sun-Rype juices; they taste fresh, there are 100% juices in their product line, and the price is good. My only complaint would be that I would like to see... +
I bought this at IGA as part of a 2 for $5.00 sale on Sun-Rype juices. I have always liked Sun-Rype juices; they taste fresh, there are 100% juices in their product line, and the price is good. My only complaint would be that I would like to see bigger sizes for more of their products.
So, I saw the Apple Green Tea Chai juice sitting there, and I thought that would be fun to try. The label says that you can try it hot or cold. I first tried it cold: it was okay. It tasted like apple juice with a tiny bit of a green tea flavour. Then I tried it hot: wow! This is how the juice really takes off. It's not a strong chai taste, and the green tea comes out more. It's like a fun new cider when it's hot. Definitely drink it this way. In fact, I can't stop drinking it now on this cold, rainy day!
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Breyers Double Churn Chocolate Cheesecake Frozen Dessert
I was very excited to be chosen as one of the reviewers for the 3 new Breyers ice cream flavours. The ice cream party kit was very well presented, with 3 small bowls and 3 spoons to share the wonderful goodness with friends. Double Churn Chocolate... +
I was very excited to be chosen as one of the reviewers for the 3 new Breyers ice cream flavours. The ice cream party kit was very well presented, with 3 small bowls and 3 spoons to share the wonderful goodness with friends.
Double Churn Chocolate Cheesecake was the last flavour we tried. And I have to say that this was my favourite of the three. I agree with everyone that it doesn't really taste like cheesecake, but that little bit of tang is there. The chocolate isn't nearly as rich and strong as the chocolate velvet, but I wasn't expecting it to be. To be honest, I can't really pin down what it is that made this such a winner for me. I just really, really enjoyed it. Perhaps it's because it's so different from what I expected it to be. I think Breyers has a good product here that just needs a name that isn't misleading.
Out of the 3 flavours, this is the one that I will probably continue to buy. The price is a little high, but I think it's worth it for the opportunity to enjoy this amazing ice cream!
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Breyers Double Churn Banana Cream Pie Frozen Dessert
I was very excited to be chosen as one of the reviewers for the 3 new Breyers ice cream flavours. The ice cream party kit was very well presented, with 3 small bowls and 3 spoons to share the wonderful goodness with friends. Double Churn Banana... +
I was very excited to be chosen as one of the reviewers for the 3 new Breyers ice cream flavours. The ice cream party kit was very well presented, with 3 small bowls and 3 spoons to share the wonderful goodness with friends.
Double Churn Banana Cream Pie was the first flavour we tried. It's funny how many reviewers mentioned the dreaded childhood banana-flavoured medicine; that's exactly what I was thinking about when we were scooping out the ice cream! I'm not a fan of banana-flavoured anything at all. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The creamy texture is balanced very nicely with the graham cracker crust bits. The banana flavour is so subtle that if I hadn't known, I don't think I would have guessed it was banana. It's not overly sweet, which makes it a pleasure to eat.
The price is perhaps a little high, as others have mentioned, and I don't think I would go out of my way to buy this flavour, but I'm glad I got the opportunity to try it.
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Breyers Creamery Style Dark Chocolate Velvet Frozen Dessert
I was very excited to be chosen as one of the reviewers for the 3 new Breyers ice cream flavours. The ice cream party kit was very well presented, with 3 small bowls and 3 spoons to share the wonderful goodness with friends. Double Churn Dark... +
I was very excited to be chosen as one of the reviewers for the 3 new Breyers ice cream flavours. The ice cream party kit was very well presented, with 3 small bowls and 3 spoons to share the wonderful goodness with friends.
Double Churn Dark Chocolate Velvet was the second flavour we tried. I was very impressed by the rich, creamy texture; it was more akin to Haagen Daas quality than I would have expected from a Breyers product. The chocolate was not too sweet, not too bitter...it was like rich dark chocolate with the barest hint of sweetness to tickle the palate. We all agreed that this is what chocolate ice cream should always be like.
The price is perhaps a little high, but I think it's worth it for the opportunity to enjoy this amazing ice cream!
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Nestlé NOIR Mousse Delicate Dark Chocolate
I got this through the ChickAdvisor product review program. This has to be one of the best chocolates I've had in a while! It comes in a little box (about twice the size of the Lindt chocolate bars), with 10 delectable pieces of chocolate in a... +
I got this through the ChickAdvisor product review program.
This has to be one of the best chocolates I've had in a while! It comes in a little box (about twice the size of the Lindt chocolate bars), with 10 delectable pieces of chocolate in a little tray. Perfect for sharing without having to break a bar into several pieces. It comes in milk chocolate and dark chocolate.
The chocolate piece consists of dark chocolate with a dark chocolate mousse centre. The dark chocolate outside has just the right amount of crunch to contrast against the smooth mousse. I'm more of a milk chocolate fan (which is why I gave this one less star on taste), but this chocolate isn't anywhere near as bitter as some other darks out there (cough...Lindt...cough). And the tray and box system makes it easy to put the chocolate away for multiple chocolate fix opportunities ;-) I read a few reviews on the milk chocolate one that said the box doesn't stay closed, but I haven't had any problems with that.
Would I share this with friends? This one I would because I can't eat a whole box of dark chocolate (while I would probably keep the milk chocolate as my little secret), but as I said in the other review, chocolate fixes are always best when shared!
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