Product review: Care Science Hydrocolloid Gel Blister Cushion Bandages, Cushions & Protects Blisters for Foot, Heel and Toe

 These bandages are thin and meant to go over blisters.  They are not meant for open cuts.  The entire surface of the bandage is sticky; they have no pad to create a non-sticky area. The package has three different shapes/sizes.

These bandages come in a nice case, good for taking along when I travel - it is flat, and it closes really tightly.

I purchased these bandages in November of 2020, and the expiration date is April 2023.  I have used these bandages in the past, and they stayed sticky well past their expiration date.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.
 

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Sweet Nature Birch Xylitol Sugar Free Honey - Keto Friendly

 

This product is imitation honey, made with xylitol sweetener, water, honey imitation flavor, and food coloring.  The "honey" is very watery, and I did not find its taste pleasant.  And turns out Xylitol gives me the runs and gas. 

Unlike real honey, this product needs to be refrigerated after opening.  Would I buy it again? No.  However, if someone could not have real honey and is fortunate not to get Xylitol runs, I can see someone finding it acceptable.

This honey imitation came in a terrible container. Half of the cap was smashed into pieces and only slightly attached to the bottle.  This made a bad first impression, which only got worse when I had to run to the bathroom 30 minutes after eating two teaspoons.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.
 

Ali Julia review ★★☆☆☆

Product review: Lotrimin Daily Sweat & Odor Control Medicated Foot Powder, Topical Starch Skin Protectant, Talc free

 Lotrimin is a very fine powder; it uses starch rather than talc and problems associated with talc. It has a scent that I am not fond of, but I can't smell it once I put on the socks. It definitely helps with sweating and itching between toes.

There are some things that I am  not fond of:

The cap has holes, and you can twist it to open or close the holes. However, the holes get covered with powder and I wish the bottle had an extra cap because the powder gets on the outside of the holes and falls off on the floor/shelves and creates a mess.

In general, a powder product is a messy product to use as it is impossible to put it just between the toes.  I wish it came with an applicator, not just a shaker.
You can find it on Amazon by following this link. 

 
Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Arctix Women's Aerial Winter Boot, waterproof, fleece-lined, warm

 

I got the size 8 boots of Arctix Women's Aerial Winter Boot.  I wear footwear with size 7.5, but I like getting boots half a size larger to account for thick socks for winter.  These boots are true to size.
The boots have a zipper on the boot side that faces inside and synch at the boot's top.  This zipper location makes it easier to close the boots with the zipper on the side facing outside. The zipper closes smoothly, and there is the material behind the zipper to protect from the snow coming through the zipper. The sole has good traction.

The boot is comfortable but does not have a lot of arch support, so I added an insole of my own for extra warmth and comfort.

Last weekend we had our first big snowstorm, and I wore these boots.  They were great, warm, dry, comfortable.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Sweet Nature Allulose Sweetener - Gluten and Sugar Free - Zero Net Carb - Keto Friendly

 

The taste of Allulose sweetener is acceptable. I mix real sugar and Allulose to lower the sugar level's overall level for my morning coffee and reduce Allulose's negative side effects. The downside of Allulose sweetener is that Allulose gives me gas and sudden loose stool. However, during the COVID pandemic, I am working at home, so I can handle the unpleasant side effects as I am never too far away from the bathroom.

I purchased both Sweet Nature Allulose sweetener and Sweet Nature Monk Fruit sweetener. To compare both with regular sugar, I used the same amount of each as I use to sweeten my sugar. Monk Fruit is sweeter of the two, and I liked Monk Fruit flavor best; however, both were less sweet than regular cane sugar. Sweet Nature estimate is 1 1/3 cup of Allulose sweetener equals 1 cup of sugar; to my taste buds, that is not correct, to me, it takes more than that to equal the sweetness.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.  

 Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Medd Max LED Ultraviolet Sanitizer Bag, UV Light Sterilization Box Disinfection / Banana Test for UVC light

 

I have a hand full of N95 masks I bought ten years ago, and I wanted to be able to sanitize and re-use them during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Med Max Satinizer box looks to be the right size for the job, and I liked that it operates closed so I would not be exposing my eyes to UV light.

How to tell if the UVC light is actually producing the light in the UVC spectrum and that it is strong enough to disinfect my masks?  Before  I purchased this sanitizer bag, I did a bit of research. I found an article in Discover Magazine, By Jeanne Erdmann, published on August 3, 2020, that describes the "banana" test and provides references to YouTube videos that demonstrate how to do this test. The tests show that UVC light changes the color of the green banana skin to brown color.  To make the color change more obvious, a portion of the banana is covered by tape, so when you peel the tape off, you can clearly see the difference for the products producing enough UVC light to disinfect. If the banana color is unchanged, the product does not generate enough UVC light to disinfect.

I performed this test on the Med Max Satinizer box, which you can see in the attached video. I performed two tests; the first test is a three-minute test because the auto-shut happens at 3 minutes.  And then, I ran the box 10 more times, giving the banana additional 30 minutes of light exposure.  In both tests, the banana color, unfortunately, remained unchanged.

Note that the human cannot see UVC lights. The LED lights in the Med Max Satinizer box are covered by purple plastic, so the light you see in the little window is purple. The purple glow you see is LED light + purple plastic, and that is a gimmick.

Sadly, since this box cannot change banana skin color, it cannot disinfect my N95 masks.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: RAKZU Rechargeable Hand Held Deep Massager for Muscles, Back, Foot, Neck, Shoulder, Leg, Calf Cordless

 

I got this massager to work on my shoulder and upper back. It is just over two pounds with a long handle, so it works very well on the back and shoulder, and I can do it on my own without help from another person. It comes with 6 different massage heads, but the simple round head is my favorite. After trying all of the heads, I am sticking with using just that one. It has three speeds and four vibration modes. The controls are on the handle and very intuitive to use. Overall, pretty good.

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