Product review: Burt's Bees Kids Toothpaste, Natural Flavor with Fluoride, Fruit Fusion

I do not like the flavor of mint, so I purchased "Fruit Fusion" by Burt Bees.  This is the first Burt Bees product I did not like.  The flavor has a mint flavor with a sweet undertone. Very disappointing.

The desing of the tube is nice: it can stand on its cap and closes well.  It comes sealed.  It contains fluoride.  But if you looking for mint free toothpaste, don't buy it.  This toothpaste has an unpleasant flavor, not fruity at all.  It is minty and slightly sweet.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: La Sera stainless steel pot with glass cover

I found La Sera stainless steel pot in TJ Maxx. It has a glass cover with a vent and a totally flat bottom that works for any cooktop.  The handles (top and cover) have silicone covers, but they still get hot, and I cannot lift the pot without gloves.
The TJ Maxx price is $24.99. Precisely what I was hoping for - a large stainless steel pot at a reasonable price.

Note: Interestingly enough, this pot is NOT sold on Amazon (at least no under La Sera name).

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Kotex Security Regar Size U Pad

I have been a Kotex user for many years.  In the last few years, I have been less satisfied with it because adhesive did not come off cleanly; it left goo on my panties, and often the tears when I try to remove it. 


The local CVS store did not the long size of Kotex Security pads I prefer, so I got the regular size.  The regular size pad is 9 inches long.  In the attached photo, I show it on 1/2" grid for size reference.


This pad is comfortable with good absorption, and it is reasonably priced.  CVS often has really good coupons for Kotex pads.  However, the adhesive is not as good as other brands and needs to be improved.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Digital Alarm Clock + Power Strip + USB Charger

I got this hub for work, where I have limited desk space.  This hub gives me three things I need: AC extensions, USB outlets, and a clock. The ANCEO hub is 4.5" x 4.5" in size. It has three AC outlets and four USB outlets.  The front of the hub is a digital clock and alarm.

The clock can be dimmed or totally turned off if the clock functionality is not needed.  This hub has a battery compartment if one desires to have a backup for time settings if there is a power outage. It takes two AAA batteries. Batteries are not included. Batteries are only needed during a power outage to preserve time settings. I use the hub without the batteries.

USB port specifications: 45V/Max 2.4A per port

Overall, a pretty nice hub, especially if space is at a premium.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Book review: Rogue Lawyer: A Novel, by John Grisham

I am a big John Grisham fan and enjoyed many of his books.  I thought this book was a fun read, especially because it unpredictably does not end with a positive outcome.

The author takes us through several cases each one a mystery of its own, the action is fast-moving, and the main is a defense attorney who represents clients who are bad guys and he himself sometimes pushes ethical boundaries to defend his seedy clients.

I listened to the audio cd of this book with Mark Deokins narrating.  I thought he did an excellent job giving each character in the book their own voice.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Powerslife Dimmable Eye-Care LED Desk Lamp

I won several LED lamps; most of them have touch control switches where just touching them turns the light on and off.  This one is a little different, it actually requires to hold the on/off button for a second or so. Once it is on changing the brightness requires just a touch.  The light is fairly bright (bright enough to read under); with that said, it is not the brightness desk lamp I own.  In the attached video, you can see the brightness level, especially when I zoom in on the text in a book.

This is medium-size task light.  It has 4 levels of brightness from very dim to fairly light, as you can see in my video.  This lamp does not cast a very large spotlight, it does not cover my entire table, but it does light up my entire large-format book shown in the video.

The lamp has a black glossy finish, which attracts fingerprints. It has a nice diffuser, and looking at the lamp even on the brightest setting does not hurt.  It does a nice job preventing ghosting (i.e., preventing showing multiple shadows).  In my video, you can see a pen directly under the light and just one shadow. Many of my other LED desk lights show multiple shadows.

The base of the lamp is 6" x 5". The neck of the lamp is 13" tall, and the length of the panel is 11.5".   The neck has a lot of flexibility in from being horizontal to the desk surface, to be able to title backward about 8 degrees.  My lamp did not stay in the position I put it in, it slowly went down.  However, tightening the screws in the base of the neck fixed the problem.  AC cable is 79".

The lamp is powered by a detachable USB cord that has an AC plug. But because it can run on any USB cord, it means I can also run the lamp from a power bank, which is often very useful because I can use the lamp without having an AC outlet nearby.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.
Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Tiny Flashlight + LED

Thanks to the other reviews I paid attention to the permissions this app required and even though I liked the application I uninstalled it. Why does the app that just turns on the light need full internet access, the right to read & write to sd card, and monitor the phone? To gather information about you...

No thanks.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆