pyrodamsel
Member Since: August 3, 2015Reviews
Jimmy Dean Simple Scrambles
I love how easy these are to use- you really can enjoy them anywhere you have access to a microwave- BUT they do need to remain refrigerated in between store and heating so they are not a great alternative for travel (uncooked.) When prepared they... +
I love how easy these are to use- you really can enjoy them anywhere you have access to a microwave- BUT they do need to remain refrigerated in between store and heating so they are not a great alternative for travel (uncooked.)
When prepared they will fill the cup about half way, which is much more filling than I thought it would be! The eggs fluff up nice and the meat lovers is packed full of hearty meat portions. Both myself and my other half love these for busy mornings!
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Summers eve cleansing cloths for sensitive skin
Let's face it, there isn't exactly a dialogue for how to stay fresh and confident "down there," yet nearly every woman knows precisely what I meant when I began this sentence. Whether it's wearing nylons under a pencil skirt all day, hitting the gym... +
Let's face it, there isn't exactly a dialogue for how to stay fresh and confident "down there," yet nearly every woman knows precisely what I meant when I began this sentence. Whether it's wearing nylons under a pencil skirt all day, hitting the gym for leg day, crossing legs in a board meeting, or a number of everyday tasks each side of a woman encounters; it's easy to be left feeling less than fresh and confident in a big way.
The powerful, yet gentle, formulations of Summer's Eve Cleansing Cloths varieties help me feel fresh and stay fresh while I tackle an entire day of work, to gym, and a night out after. In addition to senstive solutions I love the fragrance packed varieties in the same clinically tested formulas trusted to be pH leveled so I can feel fresh and confident throughout the day.
Summary: These are easy to use- ANYWHERE, public bathroom, at home in between wardrobe changes, or for a weekend away at the hotel. Swipe and done, and it's an instant refresher and clean slate feeling.
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Summers Eve Cleansing Wash
While I typically use 'sensitive' skin formulations I love that SE cleansing wash comes in so many gentle and pH considerate formulations. I have tried nearly all of them with no odd reactions- and I tend to be one of those consumers who has the... +
While I typically use 'sensitive' skin formulations I love that SE cleansing wash comes in so many gentle and pH considerate formulations. I have tried nearly all of them with no odd reactions- and I tend to be one of those consumers who has the worst of luck with 'sensitive' products. I use this daily and feel it definitely keeps my delicate pH in check. Easy to use, not slimy, no foaming, just a nice clean rinse. -
Blue Diamond Nut Thins
These are a very filling option for those looking for an in between meal snack- that being said the Pecan variety is much more snack worthy to me. The texture is a bit hard and they take more chewing than I prefer- BUT they top great with cream... +
These are a very filling option for those looking for an in between meal snack- that being said the Pecan variety is much more snack worthy to me. The texture is a bit hard and they take more chewing than I prefer- BUT they top great with cream cheese and are the perfect dipping cracker in my opinion. -
Greenies Dental Chews
Both of our dogs have been using these since they were puppies but our older dog, despite regular dental care, has shied away from them over the past year. They do tend to get a bit tough for her to chew. You can refresh them by putting stale/hard... +
Both of our dogs have been using these since they were puppies but our older dog, despite regular dental care, has shied away from them over the past year. They do tend to get a bit tough for her to chew. You can refresh them by putting stale/hard Greenies in a bag with a slice of bread overnight and they will soften right up. The teenies are the perfect size for our 2.3lb adult dog! They do work on day to day breath but only for a quick refresher and are not a substitute for daily brushing and yearly oral care/cleaning. -
Cooking Ezentials Cooking Gloves
We do a lot of baking, oven use, in our kitchen (which is quite small and not good for having to constantly pick up and put down mitts and potholders.) We recently invested in a few different styles of cooking gloves out of curiosity. The first pair... +
We do a lot of baking, oven use, in our kitchen (which is quite small and not good for having to constantly pick up and put down mitts and potholders.) We recently invested in a few different styles of cooking gloves out of curiosity. The first pair we bought were all rubberized material, quite stiff, and hard to slip on and off. My father has a pair of fabric gloves (with rubber grips) similar to these and raves about them for oven and grill use, so that was enough for us to give them a chance.
I want to stat by saying- for those who say 'able to feel the heat, if held too long- it burns,' as a review- there is CLEARLY a chart for temperature transfer time on the box. This should be followed as a safety and educational note, and is shown in one of our attached photos. Very few commercially available mitts are intended to conduct an unlimited amount of heat for an unlimited time without transferring warmth. Chances are your standard cloth oven mitts and potholders respond the exact same way- If you're looking to get hands of lava that can touch pure fire without feeling a single thing, you might want to look into professional culinary gear.
Pros:
*I guess the color could be a pro- it is for the girlfriend, but I think the pink could be taken a little sexist, so go with a neutral color if gifting unless your recipient is specifically into the whole pink thing.
*These slide on and off very easy and offer maximum mobility. The fabric is thick, but we can still grip can lids, spray down pans, and stir with them on.
*Ambidextrous- The rubberized grip coating is on both sides of the gloves, making it easy to grab one and put it on without fussing over which hand you're using.
*Per the very well labeled CAUTION instructions these gloves claim to hold heat at bay for 15-20 seconds for heat up to 482F (a very odd number in my mind, but the manufacturer clearly looks to Celsius measurements, which equals an even 250C), or temperatures over 600 (such as those at a grill) 10-15 seconds. We found this to be truly accurate. As a caution I would not continue to hold or handle hot materials past these suggested times, but we did find we could comfortably handle 450F degree pans for about 30 seconds. It should also be noted that the product advises the gloves are intended for temperatures up to 480F- despite the heat guard indicating suggested heat transfer times exceeding that.
Cons:
*Pretty much our only cons were the packaging arrived beat up (and not from shipping as it was IN a shipping box,) and the coloring of the gloves seems to be streaked or stained with a yellowish off tint. I think this might be from some of the heat treatments?
*While these fit well I have very long and slender fingers and I still observed about an inch hang off of length in the fingers, which is fairly annoying.
Notes:
*It is crucial that you treat these gloves like fabric and do not use them if they get wet. Moisture will transfer heat rapidly, even with the rubberized grips.
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Tate And Bauer Elite Bluetooth Headphones, Red
I am an audio tech junkie- we constantly have music playing in ear or throughout our environment and our audio needs are always evolving. For example, I don't take my $180 Bose earbuds to the gym, or on a bike ride, and the same rich, immersive... +
I am an audio tech junkie- we constantly have music playing in ear or throughout our environment and our audio needs are always evolving. For example, I don't take my $180 Bose earbuds to the gym, or on a bike ride, and the same rich, immersive audio earbuds I use while gaming are not necessary the same noise filtering ones I need to use for aware driving at night. We were not familiar with the Tate and Bauer brand of electronics, and further research, when shopping didn't help us much on Amazon so this purchase was based mostly on the compact and stylish design.
Pros:
*These are very compact while still maintaining some design sense and style consideration. The flat cable lost it's kink fairly quickly and did not feel heavy when wearing. The flat facing of the earbuds and control configuration made these a bit tricky to learn (operation when on and in use) at first, but soon became intuitive. The bright red color is beautifully vibrant and accented by the black and clear custom earbuds. I do with these came with a small carrying case for protection in storage- we have taken to storing them in an empty Altoids can.
*Easy to set up- Comprehensive instructions are provided though must who have used a Bluetooth device in the past will be able to pair it with no difficulties. Simply hold the aide button on the right ear piece for three seconds to send the earbuds into discovery mode and pair your device with the "KX9" connection. Voice commands are enabled to help guide the process, as well as the visual cues of a red/blue indicator light.
*Custom ear buds in 2 different colors (black and clear,) 3 sizes each, with stabilizers, for a comfortable fit. We found swapping these out was a bit of a pain, but no more so than any other interchangeable earbuds.
*Wear and fit- Comfortable enough to wear over 3 hours at a time without fuss or irritation. These do not feel 'heavy' on the ear and do not seem to need adjustments with normal movement and even moderate jogging (as tested on a treadmill.) We like how the cord falls behind the neck with enough length to allow full range of movement, but with minimal excess. We can't really detect the cord swinging or on our neck.
*Audio- These are not the best, clearest, bluetooth headphones we own. It would be a lie to say so. That being said they have an impressive amount of Bass and clarity for mid-range Bluetooth headphones. We especially noted how clear we came through on phone calls with the earbud's mic feature. There was no muffling for the recipient of our call. Music was equally sharp though lacking an overall depth. Some of the finer mixing of tracks was missed with Bass and vocals taking prominence. In general, some outside noise filters through- making these good for a bike ride, gym workout, dog walk, or other situation where you may wish to be mildly alert of your surroundings.
*We liked that these were partially charged out of the box, and we could begin playing with them right away, important when gifting.
*We were a bit bummed we could find no published information about the anticipated charge time or listen time. From our own experiments, we noted about 2 hours to a full charge, which lasted us about 6 hours or solid music streaming time.
Cons:
*The controls are all on the Right ear, which is clearly labeled as R, for right, because these buds do not offer rotation or orientation adjustments for those who are ambidextrous. This could be a pain for lefties.
*No storage or carry case.
*Short USB charging cable (though most cables you likely already have at home will be interchangeable if micro USB.
*This is a minor thing but some people are picky about being able to properly clean the internal ear bud (under the silicone cover) piece- many high end buds have a grate or screen to prevent dust or earwax from building up inside- it does not seem these do (as seen in our photos.)
In summary we are pleased with these for the price, and feel these earbuds have a lot going for them and would make a great gift for any teenage or casual audiophile. Consider a pair of these for the gym or other mobile activities where you'd like the convenience of sharp sound without the safety risks of full immersion. I'm not sure these are the headphones you want if noise cancelling is your sole goal, though they DO block outside noise better than many earbuds in the same price bracket.
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Camin Universal Camera Strap
I've been begging for a 'fashion' strap for my Cannon T3 Rebel for years now and I finally smartened up and invested in one- only problem? Now I wants more CAM-in straps! I noticed, when shopping, that designer straps can range upwards of $90... +
I've been begging for a 'fashion' strap for my Cannon T3 Rebel for years now and I finally smartened up and invested in one- only problem? Now I wants more CAM-in straps! I noticed, when shopping, that designer straps can range upwards of $90, especially the scarf style I've been eying, so I was unsure how this, more traditional, strap would go over. At $20, it seemed like a bargain, and this style in particular was very colorful and kitschy, which matches me all around.
*The strap arrived in a very basic semi-translucent plastic packaging and the strap itself had some branding imprinted on the brown leather straps.
*The packaging included basic instructions, to install the strap, and conversion hardware (two matching leather tabs and round brackets) for older cameras, or newer Polaroids such as the Fujifilm Instax Mini 8. If you have a DSLR then you likely installed the original straps- these go on very much in the same way so instructions were not needed, but are nice to have. We really though the extra touch of conversion hardware was of great value- it's nice to know these straps can add beauty to a wide variety of cameras.
*The length of this strap (excluding the adjustable nylon straps) was about 2 inches longer than our standard Cannon T3 Rebel strap. In all, it offered about 4 inches of extra length when installed and at maximum length.
*The width of the strap itself if the same consistently through to the more narrow nylon strap- unlike the traditional Cannon DSLR straps, which are wider at the neck for more even weight distribution. The interior of this fashion strap is also made with a uniform material- unlike the stock/traditional Cannon strap, which has a rubberized grip coating at the widest, central, point. Noting these things, this strap is beautifully constructed and well made. The interior material is a soft suede material that adds a richness to the design and wear we truly appreciate.
*The detailing of the woven design is quite well done, and the colors are very vibrant and rich. My girlfriend is in love with the strap, despite the fact she initially thought she'd wanted something with a primary black base. In the end, she says that this strap has a great vintage vibe that pays homage to traditional photography, and she doesn't mind the contrast of brown to black at all.
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Minwax Color Based Stain
We own several Selfie Sticks as it seems many companies are now giving them away as swag at industry conferences. The downside? Those free sticks are often riddled with logos, come in bright colors that may not fit your style (and in general look a... +
We own several Selfie Sticks as it seems many companies are now giving them away as swag at industry conferences. The downside? Those free sticks are often riddled with logos, come in bright colors that may not fit your style (and in general look a little cheap,) and are often built in bulk with manufacturing discounts to a poor quality standard. We have several selfie sticks and they all have their flaws. I was skeptical about a $20 ($50 retail) selfie stick in what seems like a tourist and fad driven product demographic. I received a discount from Seller PTP Direct in exchange for my honest thoughts on this product, which I am about to provide, which helped give us an open mind towards trying this out.
Pros:
*The packaging is what stood out to us immediately- I could tell these was a higher end photography/tech accessory. The box was well sealed and made from a beautiful (yes, cardboard can be beautiful) cardboard material with an inner plastic shield that held all of the products parts in place perfectly. This was not your usual stick attacked to a cardboard backing covered in plastic. We can't say that the term 'memory journalist,' means anything to us, but it certainly sounds fancy.
*Our first reaction was a sort of awe. The brushed stainless steel finish of the selfies casing is beautiful and matches some of our more expensive photography equipment. The matching silicone grip seems well seated around the trigger button with no loose seams. In fact, that button is a big selling point for us, as it sticks up and offers an easy press that will not cause jerks when taking your photos. In the past we have leaned towards remote based selfie sticks because of such issues, but these trigger is seamless and easy to engage with minimal effort.
*The device grip has a great range of adjustments and a full range of pivoting motion for left handed or right handed photography and a wide array of angles. It does NOT come off of the stick (like some do,) so it cannot be attached to gorilla pods or other stands. We use the removable grip selfie heads to transition our photography gear into quasi phone stands- but we like the idea that the Memory Journalist is securely one piece. We take it as a sign that it is sturdy and well built.
*This stick is a bit heavy in the hand, in a well build way, but very light to hold when extended. The phone grip locks into it's angle with the side twist clamp and does not roll or move during photos. In fact, we'd say our Samsung Glaxay S4, in bulky case, feels very easy to manage at the maximum 34" extension length.
*When not in use this is one of the most compact selfie sticks we've seen as the head actually folds down along the rod, as to cradle it.
*The Bluetooth functionality is a very slick innovation in selfie stick technology. Full charge time seemed to be about an hour and we've gotten hours of paired shooting out of it so far on that single charge. Note, the light on the bottom (by the charging port) will turn blue when it is charged and also when you turn it on. And pairing? It was intuitive and our Galaxy S4 discovered it in no time.
Cons:
*This selfie stick is so nice we consider it a photography aid- I really wish it came with a storage pouch for protection.
*It's a pet peeve of ours when a device comes without some sort of charge out of the box. We want to play with our tech right a way and it was a bummer that we had to immediately plug it in and wait.
*The included charge cable is a little sorter than we'd like.
In all we are more than pleased with this selfie stick and think it will be hard to find any model better- The other half says it is too pretty to haul around and is worried it will get scuffed up, but so far so good. I'd have to say the biggest pro with this stick is that trigger button and how easy it is to engage without jerking the stick around!
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Memory Journailists Sefie Stick
We own several Selfie Sticks as it seems many companies are now giving them away as swag at industry conferences. The downside? Those free sticks are often riddled with logos, come in bright colors that may not fit your style (and in general look a... +
We own several Selfie Sticks as it seems many companies are now giving them away as swag at industry conferences. The downside? Those free sticks are often riddled with logos, come in bright colors that may not fit your style (and in general look a little cheap,) and are often built in bulk with manufacturing discounts to a poor quality standard. We have several selfie sticks and they all have their flaws. I was skeptical about a $20 ($50 retail) selfie stick in what seems like a tourist and fad driven product demographic.
Pros:
*The packaging is what stood out to us immediately- I could tell these was a higher end photography/tech accessory. The box was well sealed and made from a beautiful (yes, cardboard can be beautiful) cardboard material with an inner plastic shield that held all of the products parts in place perfectly. This was not your usual stick attacked to a cardboard backing covered in plastic. We can't say that the term 'memory journalist,' means anything to us, but it certainly sounds fancy.
*Our first reaction was a sort of awe. The brushed stainless steel finish of the selfies casing is beautiful and matches some of our more expensive photography equipment. The matching silicone grip seems well seated around the trigger button with no loose seams. In fact, that button is a big selling point for us, as it sticks up and offers an easy press that will not cause jerks when taking your photos. In the past we have leaned towards remote based selfie sticks because of such issues, but these trigger is seamless and easy to engage with minimal effort.
*The device grip has a great range of adjustments and a full range of pivoting motion for left handed or right handed photography and a wide array of angles. It does NOT come off of the stick (like some do,) so it cannot be attached to gorilla pods or other stands. We use the removable grip selfie heads to transition our photography gear into quasi phone stands- but we like the idea that the Memory Journalist is securely one piece. We take it as a sign that it is sturdy and well built.
*This stick is a bit heavy in the hand, in a well build way, but very light to hold when extended. The phone grip locks into it's angle with the side twist clamp and does not roll or move during photos. In fact, we'd say our Samsung Glaxay S4, in bulky case, feels very easy to manage at the maximum 34" extension length.
*When not in use this is one of the most compact selfie sticks we've seen as the head actually folds down along the rod, as to cradle it.
*The Bluetooth functionality is a very slick innovation in selfie stick technology. Full charge time seemed to be about an hour and we've gotten hours of paired shooting out of it so far on that single charge. Note, the light on the bottom (by the charging port) will turn blue when it is charged and also when you turn it on. And pairing? It was intuitive and our Galaxy S4 discovered it in no time.
Cons:
*This selfie stick is so nice we consider it a photography aid- I really wish it came with a storage pouch for protection.
*It's a pet peeve of ours when a device comes without some sort of charge out of the box. We want to play with our tech right a way and it was a bummer that we had to immediately plug it in and wait.
*The included charge cable is a little sorter than we'd like.
In all we are more than pleased with this selfie stick and think it will be hard to find any model better- The other half says it is too pretty to haul around and is worried it will get scuffed up, but so far so good. I'd have to say the biggest pro with this stick is that trigger button and how easy it is to engage without jerking the stick around!
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