maryssay
Member Since: July 2, 2015Reviews
Adrien Gagnon Decadent Fudge Nutriforme Bars
I received Adrien Gagnon Decadent Fudge Nutriforme Bars free as part of the ChickAdvisor Product review. First, let me start out by saying a few words about Adrien Gagnon brand. I am originally from Québec, currently living in Ontario. Adrien... +
I received Adrien Gagnon Decadent Fudge Nutriforme Bars free as part of the ChickAdvisor Product review.
First, let me start out by saying a few words about Adrien Gagnon brand. I am originally from Québec, currently living in Ontario. Adrien Gagnon is a very good, reliable and respected brand that offers all kinds of supplements as well as diet products for what is usually a lower price than similar brands, but without it affecting the quality of the product. I do not believe it is a very popular brand in the rest of the country and I personally have had trouble finding the products in stores in Ottawa. Fortunately, I see that it is now possible to order online from the company's website and I fully intend to do that. I had already tried those bars before, as well as the Super Energex, but was still really happy to be given a chance to try them again since they are a bit harder to find in Ontario.
I have to say I am a big fan of those bars. I used to diet a lot when I was younger and Adrien Gagnon's meal substitute bars were always the best available on the market and I am confident that they still are today. I have also used them in the past when I didn't have time to eat breakfast or was looking for something quick and filling to have at work while working without fearing spilling soup into my keyboard or picking up the phone with salad dressing on my hands. I admit it, I am quite the sloppy eater and I don't see it changing in my 40s so a quick and "clean" meal substitute bar can be a good solution for me when I lack time to eat something more nutritious and less processed.
The Decadent Fudge flavour is a safe bet for chocolate lovers. The bars are quite rich and sweet so some people may want to try other Adrien Gagnon flavours, as these are on the sweeter side. The bars are definitely filling and tasty so they "deliver". Right now, I am undergoing pretty heavy medical treatments and I often find myself unable to eat real food and keep it down so the bars can really help on more difficult days. I sometimes eat one half and keep the rest for later so I think that for people who are going through something similar, these bars could be an option. I find that liquid meal substitutes are not as filling.
Please keep in mind that those bars are meant to be a meal replacement. They are not to be used as a protein bar for a snack during the day to give you a boost of energy, that is just not what they are for. Also, when it comes to taste and texture, I think they are the best. Again, they are the best against other similar products, not against a "decadent fudge" dessert in a 5-star restaurant or a 10-course tasting menu in a fancy French bistro. My point is these are meal substitute bars: yes, they are a bit chalky and a bit chewy, but in my humble opinion, they are a lot less chalky and chewy than most and they taste better. I consider that I give fair reviews by not comparing oranges and apples.
Would I recommend them? Absolutely. I would tend to recommend them more as a quick occasional meal replacement when eating in a rush than I would for a diet. I think that eating a bar is better than skipping a meal entirely, but if you are dieting, replacing two meals a day by bars might make you feel deprived. As far as my needs are concerned, I will definitely order more and in different flavours too because I fully trust the brand.
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NIVEA In-Shower Cocoa Butter Body Lotion
Please note that I have received this product for free as part of the ChickAdvisor Product Review Club. First of all, let's start by saying that Nivea's reputation is already very respectable and its brand has been trustworthy for several decades... +
Please note that I have received this product for free as part of the ChickAdvisor Product Review Club.
First of all, let's start by saying that Nivea's reputation is already very respectable and its brand has been trustworthy for several decades. I remember my mother using Nivea products in the 80s when I was just a little kid. However, what makes Nivea's success is that it never stopped bettering itself by not only following an everchanging world creating new needs, but most importantly, by remaining innovative and relevant among newer, trendier and maybe even more exciting brands. The truth is, at 40, I don't care about "exciting" brands anymore, I want a product that works for me. The truth is, even in my 20s, I remember that my favourite most efficient eye makeup remover was Nivea's, although I had paid for haut de gamme brands before.
Now when it comes to Nivea In-Shower Cocoa Butter Body Lotion, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. These new "in-shower" products seem to be all the rage right now and they all have different claims, purposes and instructions. I have actually tried a few of them and Nivea's was quite interesting. Of course, as with all its products, Nivea offers quality at a very decent price. This product is not any different as it is cheap, but efficient.
Although I am big on almost all beauty products and cosmetics (yes, I was always a girly girl), one thing I could never get used to is body lotions, whether you call them milk, cream or butter as if they were food from the dairy counter or any other cutesy name, no matter if it is almost liquid or very thick, I am a woman on the go and frankly, I have always found them too time-consuming. Now don't get me wrong, I like having soft skin and I just love all the different fragrances, but I have bought hundreds of them (hmmm, yes, hundreds) always hoping I would find "the one" and I never have. Fortunately, I have never had really dry skin (until recently, I guess turning 40 will do that) and I always had perfumes, body mists and similar products to rely on for fragrances. Now that I have come clean about my bad habits, I can say that this is the product I and all other lazy or busy ladies out there have been looking for! We want the smooth and silky skin, we want the delicious cocoa butter fragrance and we want time!!! Yes, we want our cake and we want to eat it too! And why not? Time is money and this product shows me that Nivea understands I have better things to do than to "grease myself up" for 20 minutes every night (or day) with products that I have to "rub in" for them to penetrate the skin and do what they are supposed to do.
If I had one little criticism, and it certainly would not prevent me from buying or recommending this product, is that it is a little thick and sometimes I can't really tell whether it's completely rinsed off or if it is still on my skin. No big deal, I just quickly rinse again. I also figure it just might take a bit of "getting used to" since it is an added new step to my shower.
So now what? Just waiting on a whole collection of different fragrances for the very same product from Nivea. The cocoa butter is great, but let's see with what else Nivea can come up to delight us all!
As mentioned above, I would definitely buy this product again and recommend it to a friend. After all these years, Nivea continues to reinvent itself and impress!
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NIVEA Q10plus Anti-Wrinkle Serum Pearls
Please note that I have received this product for free as part of the ChickAdvisor Product Review Club. First of all, let's start by saying that Nivea's reputation is already very respectable and its brand has been trustworthy for several decades... +
Please note that I have received this product for free as part of the ChickAdvisor Product Review Club.
First of all, let's start by saying that Nivea's reputation is already very respectable and its brand has been trustworthy for several decades. I remember my mother using Nivea products in the 80s when I was just a little kid. However, what makes Nivea's success is that it never stopped bettering itself by not only following an everchanging world creating new needs, but most importantly, by remaining innovative and relevant among newer, trendier and maybe even more exciting brands. The truth is, at 40, I don't care about "exciting" brands anymore, I want a product that works for me. The truth is, even in my 20s, I remember that my favourite most efficient eye makeup remover was Nivea's, although I had paid for haut de gamme brands before.
Now, let's talk about Nivea Q10plus Anti-Wrinkle Serum Pearls. The bottle, with its little yellow pearls inside, is definitely attractive and will catch people's attention on a shelf. Although I do not know how the "pearl technology" works better than just a cream, I really liked the texture of it. I found it to be non-greasy and thought the product penetrated the skin really easily without having to "work at it" like other similar products that do not use the little pearls. I have to confess I have trouble picking up a routine when it comes to my facial care and am not very loyal to a specific brand. I tend to try them all, use them for a few days and leave them to expire and be thrown out. Because of the texture of this product, which I appreciate so much, I strongly believe that I could easily incorporate it into my daily skincare regimen.
Unfortunately, the one downside here is that the product only arrived to my mailbox a few days ago and I feel like I cannot give a complete review because it only gave me six days to try the product before I had to write my review. So as far as Nivea's claims when it comes to reducing fine lines and wrinkles' appearance, I would not be able to judge, which is the reason I could not give it a perfect score. Given my short experience using the product, I would not be surprised at all if it did help with the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and I will certainly keep using it to find out what kind of long term results can be expected, but for the time being, I cannot say for sure.
I would definitely buy this product again and recommend it to a friend. After all these years, Nivea continues to reinvent itself and impress!
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McCain Sea Salt Crinkle Cut Wedges
These potato wedges were excellent. The added sea salt flavour was just right, as you definitely do not want to overdo it. Actually, I have tried different wedges and other newish McCain frozen potato products and so far, I have enjoyed all of... +
These potato wedges were excellent. The added sea salt flavour was just right, as you definitely do not want to overdo it. Actually, I have tried different wedges and other newish McCain frozen potato products and so far, I have enjoyed all of them. -
LoveFresh 100% Natural Deodorant
I absolutely agree with the first reviewer: this is a great product. It is natural, smells goods, works well and is made in Canada, what more could we possibly ask for? Well, yeah, I guess have it in a stick, which is probably not possible, given... +
I absolutely agree with the first reviewer: this is a great product. It is natural, smells goods, works well and is made in Canada, what more could we possibly ask for? Well, yeah, I guess have it in a stick, which is probably not possible, given the consistency of the product. The fact that it takes a bit more time and attention to apply, I have to admit, I do cheat and stil resort to a stick of "not at all natural" antiperspirant, just because it is easier, but that should not take anything away from this great product.
I will buy it again, maybe try other scents as well although the Lavender Tea Tree is going to be hard to beat!
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Julep Party's Over Glitter Nail Polish Remover Kit
This nail polish remover comes as a kit, but it is easy and much cheaper to buy refills once you have made your first purchase. I think this product is extraordinary. It is meant to remove glitter polish and it totally does. I have always found... +
This nail polish remover comes as a kit, but it is easy and much cheaper to buy refills once you have made your first purchase. I think this product is extraordinary. It is meant to remove glitter polish and it totally does. I have always found glitter polish to be such a pain to remove that I stopped using it because it was just too frustrating. Well, no more! Let's not "save" the glitter for Christmas anymore, we now have a way to remove it before Easter! The starting kit comes with these little rubber caps for all your fingers, that is what you need to make the remover really penetrate I guess. Anyway, I am no chemist, but I can tell you this: it works and it works well. Nothing else matters, right? -
Julep Gel Eye Glider
I got stuck in the 90's for the longest time (well, you do the math, it is now 2016), only able to use liquid eyeliner, trying all sorts of pencils, time and time again, with no satisfying result. I actually received this Julep pencil in a mystery... +
I got stuck in the 90's for the longest time (well, you do the math, it is now 2016), only able to use liquid eyeliner, trying all sorts of pencils, time and time again, with no satisfying result. I actually received this Julep pencil in a mystery box, I probably would not have tried it otherwise, but am I glad I did! Finally! This product is easy to apply and looks great. The other fun thing about it is that it is available in so many different colours (and I have already tried several of them), it really allows you to play with your eye makeup. Regular price is a bit steep, but it is easy to get at a discount several times a month. Excellent product. -
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Omg!!! Where has this product been all my life? I think I started doing my nails when I was around 10 and for the last 30 years, all sorts of brands have been coming out with "miracle" products that would make your polish dry super fast and yet... +
Omg!!! Where has this product been all my life? I think I started doing my nails when I was around 10 and for the last 30 years, all sorts of brands have been coming out with "miracle" products that would make your polish dry super fast and yet, none of them ever worked... until now! It is just amazing. I even used it on polish that wasn't dry and after a few minutes, everything was completely dry. Plus, it is a pretty top coat if you like the wet, really shiny finish. -
Pantene Curl Defining Mousse
I have been using Pantene mousse for curls for years. Yes, they changed the format and most likely the product itself, but it never mattered because it still does wonders with my hair. Yes, there tons of good curly hair products on the market... +
I have been using Pantene mousse for curls for years. Yes, they changed the format and most likely the product itself, but it never mattered because it still does wonders with my hair. Yes, there tons of good curly hair products on the market, unlike 25 years ago, but if you don't want to spend a lot and still want a good product, this is it. -
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