Product review: Bissell 1984 AirRam Cordless Vacuum

I purchased Bissell AirRam 6 months ago.  It has powerful suction (on par with my corded vacuums),  lightweight, and flexible handle that allows me to easily vacuum under the beds and coaches.  However, this weekend the clips holding the handle broke off.  I had to tape it together with tape. 

To clean it the plastic canister pops out and you can empty it without getting the dust all over the place.  The filter comes out of the back end, the filter is made out of foam rubber which I can wash. The filter takes a few days to dry so you need to plan ahead. Not sure how to replace the foam filter, when I search for a replacement filter on Amazon I could not find it.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Neutrogena Pure and Free Baby Sunblock, SPF 45+, 2.5 Ounce

Neutrogena has a nice texture, spreads well, and does not leave my hands greasy. But it does have a light scent which dissipates fairly quickly. It does take about 30 seconds for the white film to be absorbed by the skin, which is typical for the higher SPF factor sunscreens in my experience.  It have not noticed any yellowing in the areas where the sunscreen touch my clothing (like the collar).

Overall, I like it and will be buying it again.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: AZGIANT 7'' Inch Navigation and DVR for car /truck

The navigation device combines a car DVR and navigation system.  It has a 7" screen and comes with a windshield mount.  This device is an Android tablet which is running DVR and Navigation apps. It is running Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) version of the operating system. It comes with 16G ROM and accepts a micro SD card up to 32G.  I am using it with micro sd card. When I inserted a micro sd card the system prompted me if I wanted to switch to using the external sd as my storage.  That was nice, I did not have to hunt of where to change the settings.

The screen is not a high resolution screen compared to a typical Android tablet or phone but it is sufficient for navigation.

DVR
~~~~~~
1) DVR video quality: video  quality is acceptable for a dash cam during the day and the night. You can see the video it took during the day in the sun and at night. The colors are a little bit washed in the sun and at night the oncoming lights are overexposed in order to capture video in the dark. I would not be happy if my camera recorded it but it is good enough for a dash cam.  The camera records full HD 1080p video.
2) The mount included with the DVR works well,  it stays firmly mounted even on rough roads.
3) The dash cam uses standard mini USB cable and the cable is included in the package.
4) The user interface is straightforward especially if you are familiar with Android OS. It has a touch screen and the touch screen is responsive.

Navigation
~~~~~~~~~~~
1) A 7" screen is large and easy to see even for someone with imperfect vision.  However, the screen is hard to see in the sun.  This is typical for LCD screens, this one is not any worse than others but if you are drying in the sun it is hard to see. The screen looks good in the shade and is superb during the night. 
2) The maps are from 2014.  Updates are available from a Chinese web site which is problematic - the connection is unreliable. The maps do not have street view like Google navigation which allows you to see the actual street and buildings.
3) The strong point of this navigation system compared to Google maps is that it does not require cell coverage.  Our favorite navigation system current is Google Navigation but it requires cell coverage (you can download load maps but they expire and I have been caught without local maps that were current). The cell coverage requirement means that Navigation does not work in some rural areas where we like to travel on weekend.  There is no such restriction using Azgiant system.
4) The speaker is good. It has a good volume and a choice of voices. The voices sound natural and have a choice of American or British accents.
5) Destinations can be saved a "Favorites".  It is easy to do with just a few keystrokes.
6) The navigation screen does not rotate, you need to install horizontal orientation
7) There an option for traffic notification if you use WIFI.  However when we ran Google Navigation and Azgiant at the same time Google was generating traffic warnings and Azgiant did not.  The overall result was that Azgiant route took longer than Google route.  In general, Google Navigation calculations of our arrival time were more accurate over a number of different trips we did with both GPS doing the routing.
8) If you notice that the suggested route is a straight line rather than clinging to the road you are following you put the system is in "off road" mode.  This happened to me accidentally and it took a while to figure out why it no longer follows the road.  The touch screen is sensitive and accidentally brushed that setting while looking at the settings.
9) The default speed warnings are pretty annoying as they sound even if you drive at speed limit. However you can change them under "Settings" menu. You can select the warning to sound (or appear) between 101% and 130% of the speed limit to make them less annoying.

Overall, it is a decent option for when you need to operate without cell coverage. However, if you have a cell phone and cell coverage Google Navigation is superior.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Honeymomo Diaper Refill Bags

This listing contains plastic bags with a ring closure. They were similar to the original orange Munchkin bags. The Munchkin pail is not part of this listing.  The closes easily, it holds the smells well. To see how tightly it closes I conducted a water test. I emptied a container of water, closed the ring, and turns it upside down.  There were a were drops of water as I turned it (from the sides), but once I turned it upside down it did not leak.  So though it is not waterproof (nor does it claim to be) the closure is pretty tight, good for holding in the bad odor.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Matcha Green Tea Facial Mud Mask with Headband

This is rich and smooth facial mask. It has a strong but pleasant floral scent. It is green in color.  The product is made in China. The ingredients are not listed in either the Amazon description or on the bottle, but they are listed on the box.

INGREDIENTS: Deicnized water, volcanic mineral slurries, Iglycerol chitosan glycolate, magnesium palmitoyl glutamate, Jdlcohol dimyristyl phosphate, PPG-10 cetyl ether Phosphate system,     acrylic     copolymer,     triethanolamine,     within DMDMhydantoin / iodopropynyl butlcarbamate acetate / methyl-isothiazolin -ketone, green tea extract, fragrance.

Before I apply the mask I put a hot towel on my face for a few minutes, then spread the mask with my fingers. I usually leave on for about 10-15 minutes. I remove it with a hot paper towel.  I have a pretty sensitive skin but had I had no bad reaction to the mud the next day - no break outs or redness.

My skin looks better because when I remove the mud it clears the pores. All the marketing terminology about "anti-aging" and "rejuvenation" is marketing gobbledygook, but I thought the mask cleaned well and smelled good. From using this mask a few times, I estimate that one tub will last at least 20.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Velice 4 Pairs Soft Comfortable Novelty Cartoon Crew Pattern Cotton Socks

Amazon has several versions of these "cartoon" socks and I picked the "cat" socks. They are really cute. The socks are made out of cotton. My shoe size is 7.5 and these socks are a perfect fit, the heel is in the right place.

In my photos I show the socks inside out so you can see the construction. Looking at any garment inside out really tells you about the quality of the constructions. These socks look very neat, they low flat seams and no bulges at the toes. I have worn them for a few weeks, so they have been through a couple of laundry cycles and they still look good.

I have a pet peeve when vendors stable the socks through the center with a staple gun, often this weakens the threads and can creates holes. These socks were not staples, but they were sewing through the sock with some thread. It is better than stapling, but I still would have preferred to see just the clips (which were also used in addition to the thread).

I like these socks, they are cute and they are true to size.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: OxiClean White Revive Stain Remover

I purchased this powder a year ago, in March 2016. If I were to write this review right away it would have been more positive, Turns out this powder absorbs moisture from the air in the basement and becomes a rock. Now every time I have to use it I have to chip powder away from the rock sitting in the container. The basement does not smell musty and we do not have moisture problems.

I have used other white revive products and decided to try OxiClean based on stellar reviews. I think OxiClean works reasonably well, but I did not notice a big difference compared to other product (Dropps, for example). OxiClean comes in a big plastic tub with a scoop, Drops comes in small pacs. I have to say that I prefer pacs to scooping the powder.

Here are the reasons reasons:
(1) powder absorbs moisture and becomes a solid block I need to break up when I need to us it
(2) When the powder is in pacs I don't have to smell the bleach. OxiClean, especially since I have to break up a solid block, gives off a lot smell
(3) Pacs give me the same amount every time. Scooping is inconsistent even when it is in powder form, more inconsistent when I need to break off what I want to use

Given that I don't see the difference in result for the type of dirt I wash the pacs offer a more convenient packaging and once this tub is over I am going back to Dropps pacs.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★☆☆☆