Reviews by Friends of sandy2010

Meri says "Whoa! Foam overload-" about Aquafresh Iso-Active Toothpaste

Meri — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:47:01 GMT

I have used Aquafresh Extreme Clean toothpaste for a couple of years now. I like the way it makes my teeth feel after brushing. When I saw commercials for the Aquafresh Iso-Active Toothpaste I thought it was a no-brainer. The foaming concept made sense; that being that the foam would whoosh up into small crevices, nooks and crannies, cleaning where no toothpaste had gone before.

The toothpaste comes in a can that dispenses the toothpaste through a pumping system. When pumped, it looks like normal gel toothpaste. Start to brush and the fun begins. The once tame toothpaste starts to foam. The more you brush, the more foam grows in your mouth. It is almost like it is alive- The toothpaste is supposed to foam up and work its way into hidden areas in your mouth, claiming it cleans better than ordinary toothpaste and can remove 3X more bacteria while it is doing its thing. Oh, did I mention it is supposed to whiten teeth as well?

Bottomline:

The Aquafresh Iso-Active Toothpaste does foam up as...

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Meri says "protects and seals without fail" about Krylon Workable Fixatif

Meri — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:44:30 GMT

I love crafts and painting. For years I have created personal projects for friends and family members but after going to all the work I want my projects to be protected. That is why I use Krylon Workable Fixatif.

Fixatif is easy to use. It comes in an aerosol can so it sprays on. The product comes out in a fine mist so it is hard to get too much of it on the item you are spraying. It works on charcoal drawings, pencil, watercolors, India ink and crayon projects. It prevents charcoal and chalk drawings from smudging and allows easy reworking of the project.

The Krylon Workable Fixatif makes colors "pop" off the page. It is the perfect product to finish a project. Maybe one of the best things about it is that it is acid-free and archival safe.

To use:

Shake the can for two minutes. Hold the project 6-9 inches away from the can and spray in a sweeping motion. The product dries fast so it is easy to apply several thin coats without risking running and ruining the project.

The Fixatif dries...

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Meri says "Foams away disposal grunge- whoosh!" about Magic American Products Disposal Magic

Meri — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:13:46 GMT

I am always looking for a way to deodorize my garbage disposal. I have tried real lemons, little balls of lemon scent and a citrus cleaner that claimed to do the trick. I am impressed with any of them. The Disposal Magic product is a cut above the rest but I am still on my quest to find something that will take my breath away! [not literally, of course]

The package I bought contained 8 packets or pouches of cleaner. Although the bag says it is easy to use, I found that one time it did not foam away anything. I had to use a second pouch for the foam to rise up and act as though it was cleaning.

To use the Disposal Magic, simply turn on the hot water and let it stream into the disposal for at least a minute. Turn the water so it becomes a trickle. The disposal should be off at this point.

Continuing with the disposal on off, insert one of the packets into the disposal. You don't have to unwrap it or anything- just put the whole thing in.

Now, turn on the disposal. If it works correctly, a...

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Jolie says "buyuggsboot.net is a scam! Ugg Boots from China that are fake." about www.buyuggsboot.net

Jolie — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:22:46 GMT

Background on Buyuggsboot.net

A friend of mine at Viewpoints recently passed along a site called www.buyuggsboot.net. She found it online. www.buyuggsboot.net is a web site that sells all styles of Ugg Boots at discounted prices.

We werent certain if www.buyuggsboot.net were the real or not. But after a thorough review of the site, we thought it was legit. Buyuggsboot.net looks like a reasonable reseller of Ugg Boots. The page is designed well, the pictures look authentic and they make claim to having the real deal. They also consistently site throughout the web site having customer satisfaction commitments.

To add to the thought it was authentic, the pricing seemed good but not amazing. As you probably know a typical pair of Ugg Boots cost about $110. On Buyuggsboot.net the cost was $89.00- approximately a $20 savings. Seemed like a good deal, but they werent so cheap that I thought it could be scam. As an aside, last year Nordstrom had a similiar sale on Ugg boots so the pricing seemed...

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Meri says "So long overdone rolls, so long burnt cookies... " about Pampered Chef Stoneware

Meri — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:10:32 GMT

Pampered Chef Stoneware turned me into an awesome baker. If I had not experienced baking with it I probably would be quite skeptical. So long overdone rolls, so long burnt cookies... truly amazing.

I have never burned baked goods while using the Pampered Chef Stoneware pieces. In fact, my cookies look as if I bought them at a bakery- perfectly baked to a golden brown. The secret to the way it browns is in the way the stoneware is made- each piece of stoneware is formed from a natural stoneware clay that evenly distributes heat and draws moisture away from the stone. As if that isn't enough of a sell, the stone retains heat so it acts like a warming dish after the items are baked. Somehow, it doesn't burn the baked item.

Seasoning the Stone:

It takes a little getting used to baking with any piece of Pampered Chef Stoneware. After receiving one you first need to wash it with hot water. The next step is called "seasoning" the stone. This is done by either baking a couple batches of high...

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Meri says "overwhelmed and under manned..." about Sears Appliance Repair Service

Meri — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:42:21 GMT

We purchased all new kitchen appliances less than five years ago. They were all Kenmore products that we bought through Sears. We have had great luck with Kenmore appliances in the past and so we gave them our loyalty. It was not deserved loyalty however.

Several months ago we had to call the Sears Appliance Repair Service number to make an appointment as our dishwasher was not draining. We were given an appointment nearly three weeks into the future. The day arrived and the service tech man came and repaired the dishwasher at a tune of nearly $400. [if we had not let him repair it we would have had to pay a $65 service call fee] The dishwasher works fine again and all was well until our refrigerator went out.

One night I smelled an electrical fire smell. I went through the house trying to locate the source but couldn't find it. I decided maybe it had come in from outside. I went to bed. I noticed that the fridge was not staying cool and the food in the freezer side was thawing. I called...

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Meri says "love the concept- service needs improvement" about Primetime on Demand

Meri — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:18:42 GMT

I have Time Warner Cable, telephone and internet [roadrunner] service. One of the features of the cable service is Primetime on Demand. The concept of the free service is to make primetime television shows available for those who have missed episodes for whatever reason. I LOVE the idea. The service can use some improvement though as not all of the primetime shows are archived. This can get quite frustrating so you have to know which shows will be saved on the service and pick and choose which ones you view on live TV.

The Primetime on Demand service as it exists right now covers FX, NBC, CBS, and USA networks. ABC does NOT participate in the service. The number of shows listed vary between the networks. The great part about the service is that the shows are stored up to four weeks so you could even go back and watch four shows in a row if you wanted to.

In addition to Primetime on Demand TWC also has A&E on Demand, BBC on Demand and a few others. There is also a Free Movies on Demand...

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Meri says "worst phone I've ever owned" about Samsung - A737 Slider Cell Phone

Meri — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:51:44 GMT

A year and a half ago my son and I bought the same phone- the Samsung - A737 Slider Cell Phone in different colors. Neither one of us has been happy with them.

After we had the phones for a two days we took them back into the Best Buy where we had gotten the phones to trade them for different phones. We explained that the reception range was horrible on them and that we had too many dropped calls. The rep installed internal antennas [at our expense] to help with the range problem. It did seem to help for a while.

My son then went back to Utah to college and of course, I stayed here in Upstate, New York. We spent a few phone calls to each other complaining about the phones but decided to suck it up and deal with the problems. As soon as the 30 day exchange period expired the phones started acting up again. My son would complain that his battery would get really hot after speaking for a few minutes. I didn't believe him and thought he was exaggerating until my phone started doing the...

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Meri says "Olivio makes me feel better about my butter addiction." about Olivio Premium Products Olivio Spread

Meri — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:50:21 GMT

If I was keeping a life time-line, 2009 would be the year of the olive oil. This year I have discovered olive oil soap and olive oil moisturizer to go with the butter substitute made from olive oil I've used for over five years now. Olivio was recommended by my Father's doctor and then my Father recommended it to me. The butter substitute is called, Olivio.

Olivio has a rich, buttery flavor that tastes great. You can buy it as a premium spread in a large tub made of light olive oil, a spreadable butter that combines real butter with canola and olive oil to make a healthier butter and a buttery spray that is perfect for diets because you can control the amount you spray.

All of the Olivio products can be frozen so I always make sure I have an extra in the freezer- just in case.

What makes Olivio unique?

all products- no trans fat

premium spread & spray- no cholesterol

spray- has zero calories per serving

spreadable butter- half the saturated fat and 1/3 the cholesterol of butter,
400...

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Meri says "a Christmas Tradition for over 50 years..." about Wrigley Life Savers Sweet Storybook

Meri — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:52:56 GMT

Yesterday I was in Target looking at the Life Saver Storybooks. I couldn't help but smile and wondered if I should get a few to include in my grandchildren's packages.

From my earliest Christmas memories, Life Saver Sweet Storybooks have been a consistent tradition. Every year Santa always put a book in my stocking as well as a book in my little brother's stocking. The variety of flavors in the rolls were a total adventure to us and we would wheel and deal with each other to end up with two rolls of our favorite flavor. Neither one of us liked the Butter Rum rolls so our Dad got a treat as well.

Since I was a "cruncher" with a sweet tooth my storybook would be finished long before my brother's. Sometime before Valentine's Day I would talk him out of whatever he had left. For me, Christmas came twice in those discarded rolls of candy.

When I became a Mom the tradition continued. Santa always remembered to include a storybook in each of my kid's stockings. Sometime along the way, Life Saver...

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Meri says "Great for scrapbooking and genealogy projects..." about Canon CanoScan CS8800F Flatbed Scanner

Meri — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:26:26 GMT

When my old scanner bit the dust I started researching scanners for a replacement. I mainly use the scanner to digitize pictures, old records and make copies of important papers I want to save. I was wanting to scan a bunch of old slides that my husband had taken forty years ago and turn them into a book of memories for him. I decided on the Canon CanoScan 8800F.

Functions-

The scanner uses high-luminance white lamps to make scans of color film, negatives, and text papers.

The scanner has the ability to batch-scan up to [4]slides or [12] 35mm frames at a time.

The scanner can digitally remove dust, scratches, and other imperfections from old photographs with the software included.

The scanner can scan, copy, create emails and multi-paged PDFs.

Features-

Maximum resolutions: Optical: 4800 x 9600 dpi; interpolated: 19,200 x 19,200 dpi
Scanning mode: Color: 48-bit internal / 48-bit external (selectable in driver); grayscale: 48-bit internal / 8-bit external
Maximum...

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Meri says "Every Needy Nose needs Puffs..." about Puffs Plus Lotion

Meri — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:33:12 GMT

Tissues are a basic necessity for anyone with the flu, seasonal allergies or a cold. "Blow and Throw" is the reason why. After one blow into the tissue you simply throw the germs away. Many tissues are hard on the nose though. What, with all of the sneezing, blowing and wiping a nose can become red, chaffed and dry.

Puffs with lotion tissues are easy on the nose. Because they are layered with moisturizes they help combat the red, chafed nose syndrome. Included in the lotion is aloe to soothe, chamomile and vitamin E to heal as well as a touch of shea butter to comfort even the worst nasal drips. The tissues are strong yet have a soft, inviting feel to them unlike some of their sandpaper competitors. I feel as good about offering a Puffs to my grandchild as I do to my husband.

I keep several boxes of Puffs with lotion on hand all the time because you never know when a nose is going to need a tissue. I have a box in each bathroom and one in the family room. I can usually find a box design...

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Meri says "even adults like yummy gummies..." about VitaFusion Calcium 500 mg Gummy Vitamins for Adults

Meri — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:40:00 GMT

A few years ago my bone density test showed a disparity between the two sites tested. After going to see an Osteoporosis specialist I was told that I was osteopenic. My doctor prescribed Evista and instructed me to take daily supplements of calcium and vitamin D. She explained that the vitamin D helps the body absorb the calcium so they needed to be taken together. Little did she know that I HATE taking medicine, including vitamins. I vowed to turn over a new leaf and purchased a bottle of calcium and a bottle of vitamin D. I took them whenever I thought about it- which wasn't very often.

Later, I found Vitafusion Gummy Calcium with Vitamin D-3 and decided to give it a go. I am so glad that I did! They taste great and easy to take. It is almost like popping a couple of candies into my mouth. In fact, the ingredients are similar to candy. The first two ingredients are glucose syrup and sucrose so they aren't for everyone.

The gummy calcium bites are swirled with fruit flavors and covered...

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Meri says "turns dry and cracked into soft and sensuous..." about Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Creme

Meri — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:29:11 GMT

This is one of my favorite winter products. Years ago I had the world's worst dry, cracked heels. The cracks were so deep you could have driven a SmartCar through them. I was embarrassed to take off my socks. Then, I discovered Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Creme. It took a few weeks of using the product faithfully for my heels to transform themselves into soft and supple but it did happen. I have, over the years, found that if I start using it two or three times a week when socks weather arrives that I can avoid the dry, chapped heels of winters past.

How to Use:

Liberally slather on the product and cover with socks to prevent any greasy spots on the floor. If you have a bad case of dry, chapped feet use it every morning and night until the condition improves.

The name is confusing. It is NOT a creme. It is an emollient; petroleum based product with the sweet smell of the Islands.

Ingredients:

glycerin, olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, avena sativa (oat) kernel protein, lanolin, cocos nucifera...

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Meri says "Mysterious product leaves skin feeling soft and silky..." about Professional SilkWorks

Meri — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:05:21 GMT

I acquired a bottle of Professional SilkWorks on a recent trip to Florida. I was complaining about my dry skin and my Mother gave me the bottle and said, "Try this." I did and I could immediately feel the difference. I don't know how the product works [that is what makes it mysterious]. I only know it does. After using it for about a week I read the container and was surprised to find that it is a hair product. The product's description states,

"SilkWorks was developed to meet the special needs of dry, damaged chemically abused hair. Concentrated silk amino acids, organic extracts and vitamin E impart a smooth and silky feel, high gloss shine without weighing down the hair.

SilkWorks will not buildup on the hair or scalp, and is ideal for all hair types, and will immediately transform hopeless unhealthy hair to a healthier state."

I have since tried it on my hair. It was okay but nothing to write home about. On the other hand, my skin loves it. It only takes a small dab of SilkWorks...

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Meri says "a bag for all seasons... " about Vera Bradley Handbags

Meri — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 06:19:41 GMT

I love Crabtree& Evelyn products. Their store in Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany, NY is a wonderful trip into "girlie" things. It is a place I go if I need a quick pick-me-up or feel the need to spoil myself. A while back I discovered that they carried Vera Bradley handbags. My first impression of the handbags was that they were too expensive for a quilted fabric bag. I had previously compared prices to other quilted handbags and decided the Vera Bradley bags weren't worth the price. A few months later my daughter-in-law gave me one of their photo snap wallets in the Vera Bradley Riviera Blue pattern. I fell in love.

I have since bought a couple handbags, a cosmetic bag and a jewelry book. I am loving them more and more with use and the items have made a believer out of me in terms of value for the money.

Vera Bradley bags are made well. There are no exposed seams and each bag has little details sewn into each one. Did I mention they are cute too?

I recently went to a District Garden Club...

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Meri says "The "HOTTEST" conditioner around..." about Organix Coconut Milk SELF-HEATING Coconut Oil

Meri — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:34:20 GMT

While browsing the shampoo and conditioner aisle at CVS while I waited for a prescription I noticed that many of the Organix brand products were on sale. I have been using the Organix Coconut Milk shampoo and thought about getting another bottle since it was $2.00 off and then I noticed a little tag on a new product that said, "Try Me Free". The product, Nourishing Coconut Milk Self-Heating Coconut Oil looked like the other Coconut Milk line except "self-heating" was typed in red letters. I picked it up and read the label which claims that the heating process moisturizes, strengthens, nourishes and balances your hair. "Yeah, right!" I thought but then again saw the "Try Me Free" tag and thought, "What the heck?!" I swallowed their bait- hook, line and sinker.

The directions say to rub the product in the palm of your hands to activate the heat process. I did and it did. Next, it says to rub the product through the hair all the way to the ends. I did. My hair looked nice but it seemed pretty...

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