Product review: Garsum Fly Clear Window Fly Traps Bug Fly Killer Window Fly Paper

 

All of a sudden, I had a fly infestation.  The flies seem to be coming from the basement, so maybe there is a dead mouse somewhere in there.  I got these fly traps and installed one in the basement and one in the kitchen. The traps caught some flies, but some of them were able to free themselves (see attached video). So the trap worked some, but not as well as I hoped.

The trap is easy to install. First, you need to remove a thin, sticky tape to attach to the window; then, once it is on the window, you need to remove the large paper that covers the landing strip for the flies.  Instructions recommend adding honey for extra appeal to your guests.

The trap with flies looks pretty disgusting, so I can't wait to get it off the window. There are a total of 12 sticky strips.  The longer you have them out, the less sticky they become from dust and drying.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: EverTears Dry Eye Relief, Clinically Proven Moist Heat Therapy

 

I have dry eyes, and I am always looking for products that might help my condition.  These pads are similar to hot hands hand warmers; a chemical reaction generates heat within a pack.  To activate the chemical reaction, you need to fold the pack in half, and once you feel the heat, you open the plastic package to remove a wet oval eye patch.

My issue with it is that the wet eye patch has an unpleasant smell and somewhat sticky feel. I also thought the pack's temperature was higher than felt pleasant on my eyelids. I like the feel of a hot wet hand towel better.  The pack continues to be hot for about 20 minutes.

I decided I didn't like how it felt on my face, but I could use the small packets as hand warmers without removing the wet pads.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★☆☆☆

Product review: Miracleplus Professional OLED Display Water Flosser for Teeth

 

 I have used a few water flossers over the years, and until you try a couple of them, you don't know what works well and what does not.  

1. This flosser's reservoir is smaller than my favorite flosser; I often need to re-fill it during one flossing session.
2. The flosser is re-filled from the opening at the bottom of the container, and I can't fully fill it without spilling over, so it exacerbates the first issue of having a small reservoir. I prefer flossers that that have a re-fill opening at the top.
3. The button that turns the flosser on and off is awkwardly located, sometimes I fumble finding it, and it becomes a race not to get too much water in my mouth.
4. The flossing power is not as powerful as my favorite flosser

The flosser comes with four tips: the standard tip, orthodontic tip for braces, periodontal, and a tongue scraper.

I like that this flosser takes a c-type cable so it can be recharged faster.
It is a workable flosser, just not as good as my favorite one.  Why don't I use my favorite flosser?  The battery no longer holds a charge for the entire flossing session.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆  

 

Product review: GOGOUP Cedar Blocks for Clothes Storage

 

We use cedar in our closets and draws. I like these discs because they have a hole in the middle to hang them on the closet rod.  The disks had a decent cedar scent when I received them.  In the past, when the cedar blocks lost a bit of their scent, I rubbed them with sandpaper to rough them up a bit, which renewed the scent.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Yoobao Professional Nail Drill Machine, Yoobao Rechargeable 35000RPM Electric Nail File for Acrylic Gel Polygel Nails

 

 This nail drill looks attractive, but it is confusing to figure out as it comes with absolutely no instructions.  You get two colorful pieces, both with electrical cords, and an additional AC power cord, and a set of drills. What to do with all the pieces?  There are no hints in the package.  Turns out the drill-looking part of the device plugs into the colorful control with a button.  The control has to be recharged using the included AC power plug.  Then the drill must be plugged into the control while using it. You can think of the control as an external battery.  I wish the cord connecting the control and the drill were longer. It is a bit awkward to have this appendage, especially when using it on my toenails.

How to insert drill bits is also confusing.  The drill is shipped with a piece that is not a drill.  It took me a while to figure out how to remove it to insert a drill bit. You need to turn the middle ring on the drill clockwise to unlock, then the jaws of the drill open, and you can pull out the old drill bit and insert a new one, then you need to turn counterclockwise to lock the drill bit.  You need to push the ring through some resistance until it clicks. If you don't push strongly enough, it snaps back without opening.

The ports on the control are also confusing. There are two ports on the control unit, they look identical, and the power port fits into both.  However, it only charges when it is plugged into the correct port. The left port is used to plug in the drill.  


How do you know you did it correctly? Eventually, I figured out that the display lights up if you insert the AC cord in the correct port. If you plug the cord in the wrong port, the display remains turned off.

The control unit has a button that can be pressed to toggle between on and off, and it can also be rotated to increase or decrease space (turn clockwise to increase).  To turn on the drill, you need to press down for a long time (more than a couple of seconds, maybe 5 seconds).

Overall, this is a pretty device, but I thought it was poorly designed.  The lack of instructions exacerbates non-intuitive design.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆   

Product review: Lifebox Nutrition Omega 3 Fish Oil - Dietary Supplement for Healthy Heart & Brain - 120 Soft Gel Capsules

 

I have been taking Omega-3 since 2011 on the advice of my eye doctor for dry eyes. It noticeably improved my condition.  

In this review, I compare Nature Made Triple Omega that I took for years with Lifebox Nutrition Omega-3.  

One Nature Made Triple Omega soft gel contains
♦ Omega-3 434 mg
♦ Omega-6 276 mg
♦ Omega-9 170 mg
total of 880 mg

Lifebox Nutrition Omega-3 serving size is two gels. Below is information for one soft gel for my apples-to-apples comparison.

♦ EPA 400 mg (EPA is Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids Eicosapentaenoic acid)
♦ DHA 300 mg (DHA docosahexaenoic acid)
total of 700 mg

My doctor's recommendation was to aim for EPA + DHA around 2000 mg.  This means that I need to take three gels.

Now, the price comparison per one soft gel. When I write this review, Nature Made Triple Omega is 150 gel caps is priced at $14.99 (10 cents per capsule).  Lifebox Nutrition Omega-3 90 gels are $11.99 (13 cents per capsule).


Nature Made has a slight edge over Lifebox Nutrition Omega-3 in both price and Omega-3 content.

Purchased in December 2021, expiration date August 2022.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: DERMAXGEN INSTANT FACE LIFT CREAM - Peptide Complex Tightening

 

 
We've all seen TV commercials when in seconds, the bag under the actor's eyes disappears.  No, this does not work like this.  I see a slight improvement in about 5 minutes after the application.  The improvement is temporary, a few hours.

The cream is unscented (big plus), moisturizing (big plus), and did not irritate my skin (big plus), but nothing like the difference shown in stock photos - that's a miracle of Photoshop, not the cream.

I have tried two DERMAXGEN instant facelift creams ( ASIN B09C13W6WN and  ASIN B09B4KD8BQ)  and the results were the same.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Estrella Naturals Raiz Mouthwash

 

This bottle is a fairly small mouthwash bottle, only 16 oz.  This price works out to $2.19 per one oz, very expensive.

It is very sweet (sweetened with Stevia) and has a strong licorice flavor. To me, the flavor felt like root beer.  I have a strong dislike for licorice and root beer, so I found the flavor very unpleasant.  My husband, who likes root beer, did not like it either. This mouthwash will not be a repeat purchase item for me.

Ingredients:
Purified Water, Vegetable Glycerin, Polysorbate 20; HerbalBrite Complex: Aloe Vera, Green Tea, Yerba Mate, Grapefruit Seed, Pau d'Arco Lapacho, Licorice Root, Echinacea, Purpurea Root, Echinacea Angustifolio Root, Calendula, Golden Seal, Witch Hazel and Stevia; Essential Oils: Peppermint, Red Thyme, Cinnamon Bark, Lavender, Tea Tree, Neem, Vanilla Bean, Citric Acid

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★☆☆☆

Product review: Gearwoo Wipes Dispenser with Lids for Paper Tissues Towel, Dustproof Tissue Storage Box

 

 This dispenser box is 7.5" long, 4.75" wide, and 2.75" tall. It is more narrow than the standard Kleenex tissues, so it does not work well as a paper tissue dispenser.  However, it works fine for most wet wipes, as they are typically under 8" long. It is okay if the first tissue does not pull up the next tissue because the opening is big enough to pull tissues up with your fingers.

The box closes firmly, so it keeps wet tissues moist for at least a week.  I am a big fan of wet wipes in the bathroom but dislike the plastic packs with sticky flap covers as they become less and less sticky as I keep using the pack. Now, I immediately transfer the wet tissues into this box, and this dispenser works better for me than the plastic packs.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Mane Tame Professional Barber Station Mat 16" x 11" x .25" Silicone Mat

 

Good silicone mat with ugly loud logo. I like the mat, but I hated the bright white logo so much that I spent half an hour painting the white lettering red to make it less annoying.  A mat with just a good surface and no logo would have had so many more uses. I thought the logo was just on the photos to avoid stolen pictures, but it is on the actual product.

 Mat size: 16" x 11" x .25"

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Lovespejo 10X Magnifying Mirror with Lights, Travel Makeup Mirror

 

The good news is that 10x magnification shows all the flaws really clearly.  The bad news is that 10x magnification shows all the flaws really clearly.  It is useful to have such high mag, but not always enjoyable!

The light can be powered either by three AAA batteries or by a USB cord.  There is no built-in battery; the light has to be plugged in if you want to use USB power. The lights are very bright, almost blinding.  To turn on the lights, you need to do two things: depress the button on the back and then touch a circle on the front.

I like the suction cup and the ability to place the light on the wall. My vision is not the best, and sometimes hotels have mirrors too far away from me to see well when I apply eye makeup.

The mirror area is 5.25" (not counting the lights), and the sweet spot with such large magnification is even smaller, just the center. It has a ball gear in the back that allows to position the mirror with great flexibility.  The suction cup also works as a stand if you use the light on the table.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆
 

Product review: BXZUSIO Silk Sleep Cap 100% Mulberry Silk Hair Care Night Bonnet

 This is a very nice cap, made out of real silk.  It is a good fit for my head (hat size 22) and holds my shoulder-length hair within the bonnet.  It feels pleasant on my head during the winter, it provides some warmth, but it does not feel hot.  However, it does come off my head during the night. I have been wearing it for a week, and every morning I find it next to my pillow. I would not want it to fit any more snug because it will stop being comfortable. I still like wearing it to bed, as it keeps me warm and keeps the hair out of my face while I fall asleep. After one week of wearing, I washed it, and it did not shrink.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Yoribo Electric Feet Callus Remover, Rechargeable Foot callous removers with 3 Grinding Heads

 

 I have been using callus removers for several years. I am ranking this callus remover pretty high among the ones I have used. It does a good job of removing thickened skin on large surfaces.   The callus remover has a rechargeable battery and has a digital charge level display.

Some of my previous callus removers had a vacuum to suck up the removed skin (which looks like white dust).  This callus remover does not. It is a little messier to operate as the skin dust falls on the floor.

The package includes:
* The callus remover.
* A small brush to clean the callus remover.
* Two spare grinding heads (so there is a total of three).

I have a callus on the bottom of my foot. If it gets too thick, it bothers me when I walk, and I used to see a podiatrist so that he could grind it down for me. Then I discovered electric callus removers, and they work as well as what my podiatrist does. I use the callus removers dry; they are not painful at all; they remove dry skin in a very thin layer. I worked a few seconds at a time, checking the result not to remove too much skin.  I  have not been back to a podiatrist since I began using electric callus removers a few years ago.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★