LauraBelle's Reviews

Perfecct, Except for a Little Too Much Grease

Overall

Rated 4 out of 5

Hummus is one of those foods I wasn't expecting to like as much as I do. But after having it one time at someone else's house, I can't stop buying it. Of all the different kinds of hummus that I've tried, Sabra Roasted Pine Nut Hummus is definitely my favorite.Sabra Roasted Pine Nut Hummus is a soothing flavor. It's not too strong, but also isn't too bland. There are some brands of hummus that tastes good, but can be a little overwhelming of a taste. I can eat a little of it and enjoy it, but can't have too much before I have to put it away for the day. I can enjoy it, but only so much.The Roasted Pine Nut Hummus is different. I'm just not left questioning it at all. It has whole pine nuts ...

Nearly Perfect, Except for the Suds

Overall

Rated 4 out of 5

Normally I get generic facial wipes to take off my makeup and clean my face at the end of the day, but this time when I was shopping, they had a brand name on sale for only fifty cents more, so I decided to try them. Pond's Wet Cleansing Towelettes, Evening Soothe with Chamomile and White Team are exactly as billed. They do soothe your face in the evening and have a pleasant scent to them. My mascara isn't waterproof, but the package claims they will also remove waterproof mascara. They also claim to lift away impurities and soothe the senses. Again, they're exactly as billed.My only problem with these Pond's wipes is that they leaves behind suds on my face. Why a wipe is leaving behind suds...

Nothing Feels as Clean

Overall

Rated 4 out of 5

The Lysol Dual Action Disinfecting Wipes aren't really meant to be used everyone, but they're the perfect thing for wiping down the kitchen or the bathroom. They have a smooth side and a scrubbing side, meaning they can tackle the different things you encounter when wiping down something that has a tendency to get really dirty.Of course, if it's really dirty, you should just get out a sponge and some type of cleaner and just clean it the old-fashioned way. But, if it''s just a little dirty, or you want to keep up with wiping it down on a daily basis, the Lysol Dual Action Wipes work great for this.I use the Lysol Dual Action Disinfecting Wipes to wipe down the bathroom every day. After my sh...

Shower Cleaner Shouldn't Smell Like Bug Spray

Overall

Rated 3 out of 5

I used a different scent recently of the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Cleaner Refill Fresh Clean Scent, and found all things aren't always created equally. You would think it would be just as great as the original scent, but this isn't true. It still cleans just as well, but the scent reminds me of bug spray, and that's just not what I choose to have in my shower.I like the Original Scent smell of the Scrubbing Bubbles Shower Cleaner. Well, maybe like is too strong of a word. I don't mind it at all, put it that way. I never thought anything about it one way or another, and that's probably the best thing that can be said about it. I would have thought the "Fresh Clean" scent would be...

Doesn't Hold Up to Its Name

Overall

Rated 2 out of 5

It always seems to happen this way. Once you find a hair product you really like, the manufacturer discontinues it, and you're back to square one. This is what happened to me this past month with my mousse. I had been using Lum? Professional Hydrating Styling Mousse, a house brand from Aldi's. I liked it over many of the regular brands I've bought at the store. Now I can't find it anymore there, leading me to believe they have discontinued it. I decided to try Suave Max Hold Volumizing Mousse, as if an Aldi's house brand works that well, why not the just as cheap Suave? I'm looking for two things from my mousse - hold and volume. I was finding that the Lum? did both. This Suave mousse ...

Completely Unexpected

Overall

Rated 5 out of 5

This one needs to be filed under the category of “it’s always worth a try.” I needed some mousse and was at Aldi’s, and thought, “what the heck, I’ll try their house brand hair products.” I was so glad I did! Lumé Professional Hydrating Styling Mousse, Medium Hold, is honestly one of the best non-salon products I’ve ever used.

Lumé Mousse is a foaming mousse, but not as thick and stiff as they usually are. The clear pump bottle it comes in makes the product seem different, but perhaps it’s really not. When using a mousse, we only see the foam come out of the bottle or can, but inside this bottle, it’s clearly a liquid...

For Help With the Bad Hair Days

Overall

Rated 4 out of 5

Oh, how I wish that i had the finesse or the right hair, whatever it takes, to just throw my hair up when I don’t or can’t wear it down, and just walk out the door! It seems like everyone else can manage that but me. I also need to find a way to disguise my ponytails. I feel I’m too old to wear ponytails, but I’m more-or-less forced into wearing them as a martial arts instructor. I need to keep my hair up and out of my face. But, after class, if I need to head to the store, I don’t want to walk around like that, but if I take the ponytail out, I’m left with that ring from the hair elastic. 

This is what led me to trying the Avon Toni Twist & Fix. It&...

Uniquely-Shaped Bottle Major Selling Point

Overall

Rated 3 out of 5

Avon has developed a fun new product. The only trouble seems to be that all the fun happens to be in the shape of the bottle, and not necessarily in the product itself. Avon Naturals Shower Gel comes in a handy bottle, and does well for a shower gel, but is simply just that. In a differently-shaped bottle, it really wouldn’t stand out at all.

I tried the Avon Naturals Shower Gel in the Cherry Blossom Scent. It also comes in Banana & Coconut, Cucumber Melon, Pomegranate & Mango, Strawberry & Guava, Vanilla, and Violet & Lychee. One great thing about this shower gel is that the scent of the product, or at least the Cherry Blossom that I tried, isn’t overpowering. However, there&rs...

Not Enough Personal Attention With Farmers Insurance Group

Overall

Rated 2 out of 5

There just was not enough personal attention when we were using Farmers Insurance Group. We were paying a disturbing amount for the service we were getting. Only after our finances got a little tighter did we decide to look into some other car insurance choices. 

With Farmers Insurance Group, we were paying more than $600 every six months. If we were getting great service and the best in coverage, that wouldn't be so bad. Yet, we were getting average coverage on a six-year-old van and ten-year-old truck. The worst was that we were getting the minimal in service. Never did anyone call us up and say, "Hey, we see that you're paying a lot of money on two older vehicles and you haven't had...

I Surprised Myself By Choosing GEICO Insurance

Overall

Rated 4 out of 5

I completely surprised myself a few months ago by choosing GEICO insurance. I never would have thought that I would find myself buying car insurance online, yet the economy has necessitated it. After the experience, I'm pleasantly surprised and plan to keep it.

The thing with car insurance is that we tend to get in the habit of not checking around and just keep paying it every six months no matter how high the rate or how much they increase it. We don't notice how much it's costing, until our funds are low and we're struggling to write that check for several hundred dollars.

We were paying well over $600 every six months with Farmer's Insurance, and that's with only two drivers and t...

Needs a Newer Computer to Work

Overall

Rated 2 out of 5

Kindle is a name brand that has become synonymous with its product, similar to iPod being synonymous with MP3 players, or Kleenex being synonymous with tissues. Yet just like with the other products, there are several e-readers out there other than Kindle. The burning question is if they're as good as the Kindle brand e-readers or not.

Despite the fact that my sister isn't normally one to depend on electronic gadgets, she decided this Christmas she wanted an e-reader for when she goes on vacation. Knowing she's not normally brand-conscious, I looked outside of the Kindle label at all the available choices. 

I settled on the Augen 7-inch E-Reader for several reasons. For one, it's one ...

Not Much Different Than a Regular Magic Eraser

Overall

Rated 3 out of 5

First off, let me say I do really love the original Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I found those early on when they were released, and they were practically life-changing. Nothing else gets rid of tea stains quite like those. With that in mind, when I was looking for something to clean some old stains off my shower, I saw the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Bath Scrubbers, and decided to give them a try.

We have really hard water where we live, and the stains on my shower are around the doors and the parts that are hard to really get in there and clean. For this, I thought the Bath Scrubbers would work really well. They have a built-in soap scum dissolving cleanser that I hoped would work away at those har...

You Get What You Pay For

Overall

Rated 2 out of 5

For some reason when I think of the Wet n Wild makeup brand, I think of teenage girls. They don't really market it directly at that age group, so I'm not sure why my mind automatically goes there. It must be because the price is so low, that that's what teenage girls can afford. When in the market for new makeup for my daughter, that's the first brand I thought of.

Despite thinking first of Wet n Wild, I was prepared to buy a more "adult" brand to get the type of makeup my daughter wanted. She likes a more powdery foundation, either the type in a compact that has the powder built in or a mineral type of foundation. Her favorite foundation ever is Sheer Cover. I initially found some mineral ...

Blocks Out Snoring Really Well

Overall

Rated 4 out of 5

I wasn't looking for a new pair of headphones. As described in an earlier review, I had damaged my iPhone headphones with them falling into a glass of water, and bought a cheap temporary replacement, then had my iPhone suicide jump out of my purse and into the toilet to ruin that with water damage, and got a new pair of iPhone headphones with the replacement phone. I prefer the Apple headphones because of the little remote that allows me to switch songs, play, pause, change the volume, and use it as a microphone. However, I had a nice little surprise getting these iFrogz EarPollution Plugz and decided to see if I would like them more than the cheap temporary ones.

I had done some promotion ...

Suffice In a Pinch

Overall

Rated 3 out of 5

All I was looking for was a cheap pair of headphones. I have an iPhone and am on an amazingly bad run with water damage. Twenty-four hours after I bought these headphones, I was about to have my second iPhone in a month get water-damaged. For right now, though, I had headphones that were water-damaged. The special headphones that come with the iPhone, as they have a small remote on them that is a microphone and volume control, had landed exactly in a glass of water I had next to my bed when I was woken up out of a dead sleep one morning. I threw them off in surprise, and they landed exactly in a glass of water.

I need these to sleep with. I sleep with my phone either playing music or a TV s...