Book review: How the World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination by Sally Hogshead

This book was rather boring to read because it has a lot of "fluff", a lot of platitudes, a lot of self promotion, and self branding.  The book could benefit from a good editor that could trim out the redundant text and highlight the main points so they are not lost among all the platitudes.

Putting aside the annoyances I had with the style of the book, what about the content? I found it interesting in the beginning.  However, it became less and less interesting as the same idea was repeated over and over and it became more boring with every page.

I have a good understanding of who I am, my strength and my weaknesses. I had hard time fitting myself into one category. It felt to me that the model was oversimplified. 

The take away from the book is to concentrate on your strength and ignore your weaknesses and that seems to me to be naive and unpractical in the real world.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★☆☆☆

Product review: Burt's Bees 100% Natural Moisturizing Lip Balm, Pink Grapefruit

Burt's Bees pink grapefruit is my favorite lip balm, with Mango flavor being my second favorite. Before I settled on Burt Bees lip balms, I tried a large variety of lip balms keeping notes on what I liked and did not like about them.

In this review I am including a comparison of 5 lip balms as I experienced significant difference in satisfaction with them, and I thought a comparison between them might be useful to others.

For many years I used the original Chapstick, which provides a very good moisturizer, it spreads well and provides long lasting effects. Its flavor however is pretty boring and led me to seek out alternatives. Blistex raspberry lemonade has a strong but nice flavor. When you just put it on it taste like a burst of lemon and raspberry almost like licking a candy. This strong flavor does not linger however, it mellows out pretty quickly. I liked the flavor, but found that the moisturizing effect on my lips did not last as long as some of the other balms. It also has many more chemical ingredients than the other lip balms. Mentholatum Natural Ice had a flavor that I really did not like, it was hard to spread, and the moisturizing effect did not last. Then I tried Burt Bees Mango Butter and it combined everything I was looking for - taste and longevity.


_______________________________________________________
Burt's Bees Pink Grapefruit
--------------------------------------------------------
Sunblock: None
Taste:.................Grapefruit, slight sour and slightly sweet
Effect:................Long lasting
Stick:.................Fairly soft and easy to spread
Cost:..................2.98 per stick, sometimes on sale at 2.00
Ingredients:...........Ingredients: helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, cera alba (beeswax, cire d'abeille), aroma (flavor)*, ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, lanolin, citrus paradisi (grapefruit) seed oil, rosmarinus officinalis • (rosemary) leaf extract, tocopherol, ammonium glycyrrhizate, canola oil (nuile de colza), glycine soja (soybean) oil, limonene natural flavor

________________________________________________________
Burt's Bees Mango Butter Burt's Bees Nourising Lip Balm
--------------------------------------------------------
Sunblock: None
Taste:.................Mango, light and very pleasant
Effect:................Long lasting
Stick:.................Fairly soft and easy to spread
Cost:..................2.25 per stick
Ingredients:...........helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, cera alba (beeswax, cire d'abeille), aroma (flavor)*, ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, mangifera indica (mango) seed butter, lanolin, ammonium glycyrrhizinate, tocopherol, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, glycine soja (soybean) oil, canola oil (huile de colza), limonene, linalool. *natural flavor
________________________________________________________
ChapStick, Original ChapStick, Original
--------------------------------------------------------
Taste:.................Light almost not noticable
Effect:................Long lasting
Stick:.................Fairly soft and easy to spread
Sunblock:..............None
Cost:..................1.40 per stick
Ingredients:...........Active Ingredients: Padimate (1.5%), White Petrolatum (44%). Inactive Ingredients: Arachidyl Propionate, Camphor, Cetyl Alcohol, D&c Red No. 6 Barium Lake, Fd&c Yellow No. 5 Aluminum Lake, Fragrance, Isopropyl Lanolate, Isopropyl Myristate, Lanolin, Light Mineral Oil, Methylparaben, Octyldodecanol, Oleyl Alcohol, Phenyl Methicone, Propylparaben, Titanium Dioxide, Waxes.

________________________________________________________
Blistex raspberry lemonade Blistex Raspberry Lemonade Blast
--------------------------------------------------------
Taste:.................Strong raspberry lemon, burst of nice flavor, almost like candy for a second
Effect:................Not long lasting
Stick:.................Fairly soft and easy to spread
Sunblock:..............SPF 15
Cost:..................1.21 per stick
Ingredients:...........Active ingredient: dimethicone 1%, octinoxate 7,5%, oxybenzone 2.5% Inactive ingredients: alumina, beeswas, diethylhexyl adipate, ethylhexyl palmitate, ethylhexyl stearate, flavors, glyceryl stearate, hydrogenated coconut oil, isopropyl myristate,
isopropyl palmitate, isopropyl stearate, jojoba esters, microcrystalline wax, myristyl myristate, phenoxyethanol, phenyl trimethicone, polyethylene, polyhydrixystearic acid, saccharin, silica, tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, titanium dioxide, tocopheryl acetate.

________________________________________________________
Mentholatum Natural Ice Medicated Lip Protectant SPF 15 Mentholatum Natural Ice Medicated Lip Protectant
--------------------------------------------------------
Taste:.................Medicinal and Minty
Effect:................Not long lasting
Stick:.................Hard and hard to spread
Sunblock:..............SPF 15
Cost:..................1.17 per stick (note when I bought it on sale for 60 cents per stick)
Ingredients:...........Active Ingredients: Dimethicone (1%), Octinoxate (7.5%), Octisalate (5%). Inactive Ingredients:..Fragrance, Lanolin, Menthol, Mineral Oil, Ozokerite, Petrolatum.
________________________________________________________

Burt's Bees Grapefruit lip balms is my winner. It is all natural, great flavor, and it works well as a long lasting lip moisturizer. With Burt's Bees Mango a close runner up.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Batiste Dry Shampoo, Beautiful Brunette

Sometimes when I running late I skip washing my hair and use dry shampoo instead.  It is a timer saver!  When I first heard about dry shampoo product description did not answer all my questions and now I know the answers.

1. I got a dry shampoo that matches my hair color. Even though I got the brunette shampoo it still left white powder when I used it. The white powder disappeared after I worked the shampoo with my finger tips and then the styling brush. You are supposed to work it in the same way as you would the wet shampoo under the shower. I did not see any powder on the vanity so there was no "dirt" I had to clean up after using the shampoo.  My hair felt different compared to the texture it has after I wash it with wet shampoo. It felt "pooffier", this was not bad just different.

2. My hairdresser told me not to use the dry shampoo more than twice a week and never two days in a row.  Dry shampoo works by soaking up the oil in your hair and scalp. Having some oil on the scalp is normal and healthy. If there is not enough oil from dry shampoo over-use the skin and hair folicles can become irritated and lead to problems.

3. I only use dry shampoo on dry hair.  If you just washed your hair, my hairdresser said,  dry it thoroughly before applying dry shampoo.  Even on clean hair the dry shampoo adds volume although this volume does not last all day.

4. I asked her if the dry shampoo can cause dandruff and she said no.  Dandruff is caused by an inflammatory reaction of the skin to the natural yeast that lives on the scalp (this is called seborrhea dermatitis) and a dry shampoo has no effect on this condition.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Intock Kinesiology Tape, Therapeutic Athletic Tape for Injury Recovery and Pain Relief

Intock kinesiology tape worked as expected - it adhered well, it has graph paper backing so it is easy to trim, and it comes in three different colors.

Kinesiology tape is elastic tape that allows full motion of the joints and muscles.  I was first introduced to it after a back surgery in the physical therapy facility.  They PT therapist first put a small patch on the inner part of my arm for 24 hours to test me for allergies, when I had no adverse reaction he taped an area of my back where I felt pain. He always rounded the corners of the tape he used on me, this kept it better adhered to my skin. Note applied to unbroken skin - he did not put it over the surgery scar which was relatively fresh at the time.  He explained the effects as the tape reacting with the pain receptors under the skin providing relief.  I wear it whenever I think I might put extra strain on my back muscles and I find it helpful.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Book review: Photoshop: The Beginner´s Guide to Mastering Photoshop byEdward Bailey

I read a couple of other books by Mr. Bailey which were decent.  This book is not one of his better works. The book spends 25% of the content on history of Photoshop and that this software allows one to improve photos. Then it lists the tools included in Photoshop by giving two sentences for each - no tips on how best to use them or anything beyond a very high level description. Then the author spends 6 pages on layers, but I thought the explanation in on-line Photoshop tutorials was more helpful and detailed. The books ends with many pages of promoting other books by the same author.

There were two specific tips where I learned something, such as how to create a color-accented photo and how to change someone's eye color. Each of these is a one page description and a photo. They had a nice amount of specific steps.

Bottom line: 2 useful pages for $2.99.

Here is a link to Amazon, a book to avoid.

Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: Intock Self Adhesive Bandage Wrap Tape, Cohesive Bandage Medical Tape

I sprain my ankle almost every year and I use elastic bandages during the first 24 hours after the injury.  It works well to stabilize the ankle and the pressure restrict swelling.  These self adhesive bandages make it very easy to bandage your own foot, they stick to themselves and hold well.

I like that the elastic bandages come in different colors, this makes the injury look and feel less annoying. The youngsters like being able to pick their own color too.

I can get several uses out of each tape. The colors are color-fast (i.e. they do not bleed when washed). I wash them in a mild detergent and air dry. I do not use the drying not to damage the thin elastic that makes these bandages stretchable.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: TravelChair Slacker Chair Folding Tripod Camp Stool - one flaw and a fix for it

After several surgeries on my back I have trouble walking for a long time without sitting down for a few minutes to release the stress on my back. I purchased this chair so I would be able to walk without having to worry that I would have no place to sit down. This chair is almost perfect. It has only one flaw. Both the flaw and the solution to the flaw are detailed in the second half of the review.

The chair turned out to be more comfortable and more stable than I imagined from the photos. I sit on it as I would sit on a bicycle seat. My butt is on the wide part and it feels pretty comfortable. Not armchair comfortable but not unpleasant.

The travel chair is pretty light. It weighs 1 pound 14.1 oz. The feet of the chair have a pretty good friction and don't slide.

The chair is 24" long when folded. and when I wrap my measuring tape around its width the circumference is 7". When it is open, the seat is 17" from the ground. I am short and I find that height very comfortable. My husband thinks it is a little too short but not bad (he said it was like sitting on a toilet).

So now, the big flaw. What makes this chair valuable to me is the ability to carry it around. However the strap is too short to comfortably carry it over my shoulder even for small person like myself. And what I really wanted is carry it like a sling across my back. I want it rests on my back and be totally out of the way.

I     solved this problem by enlagring the strap. Before the alternation the strap is 21.5 inches long. The distance before anchors for the strap is 19". So you get only a couple of inches of slack. To fix this problem, I cut the strap I extended it with a regular black strap you can buy at any craft store.

The key to working with these straps is to singe the edges of them so they don't unravel. The strapping material does not burn, it melts. This forms a protective coating on the edges so you don't need to worry about them coming apart. Also it allows you to connected the two straps with minimum bulk, you don't need to fold them under.

After singeing all 4 ends I connected the two straps with my sewing machine. I made the strap long enough to be comfortable for both myself and my husband, which required doubling its original size. I can make the strap shorter by feeding the access strapping material into the buckle. I also attached an extra Velcro strip in case I wanted to tuck away the dangling strap while I am sitting in a chair and not bother with the buckle.

With this simple fix the travel chair is absolutely perfect! I can now take long walks like I did before my back problems.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★