Takis Xplosion Chips Review

I decided to let my kids pick the flavor for us to try and they chose hot chili peppers and lime. This was a mistake!

Both myself and my husband hated the flavor, my son said it was like eating rolled up Doritos that used too much seasoning to cover up the fact that they taste gross, my daughter said she liked them but she has yet to eat more than the small handful she originally took.

We have found they are somewhat fun to play with since they are rolled up like little sticks but no one seems to want to actually eat them.

My kids were originally pretty excited to try these Takis as they see kids all over their school eating them but they both said they are happy that we received a coupon to get them for free because they think they are a waste of money.

I’m hoping that it is just this one flavor that everyone in my house dislikes because I plan on buying every other flavor for us to try before I say with any certainty that these are not the chips for us.

Mentholatum No Mess Roll On Review

I was beyond excited to receive the Mentholatum roll on for free from family rated, and I was beyond ecstatic when I opened the box to see the cutest little Teddy ever inside, but that is where the excitement ended. 

I was so disappointed with this product!! The box & applicator both said "extra strength" but I swear it had to be mislabeled, I could barely smell any menthol without shoving in up my nose. 

The product packaging boosts "no mess" and while my hands did stay clean the roll on felt really oily, when it worked. I found I had to squeeze the bottle while rolling it across my skin like crazy just to get anything to come out.

I tried this on both of my kids as well as myself and to be honest, I'd rather use Vic's & just wash my hands after application.

Dove Advanced Care Powder Soft Antiperspirant Stick

I regularly buy dove products but only when I can get them on sale. Both my daughter and myself love this antiperspirant though my daughter uses antiperspirant more than I do, I switch between deodorant and antiperspirant depending on what I am doing and where. 

I love the scent of the powder soft, it isn't overpowering like many other brands. 
Dove does have a leg up on other brands as dove always leaves my pits feeling soft and it never burns when I put it on even after I shave.

got2b Fresh It Up Tropical Boost Dry Shampoo Review

After receiving my coupon from ChickAdvisor I excitedly ran to the store to get this dry shampoo but to my disappointment it didn't work at all. I tried it on myself, my daughter and even my son. All three of us ended up with greasy, funky smelling hair. 

I tried this product a few different times with varying amount of greasiness in my hair and it didn't work. The best result I had was 24 hours between washes and the only thing this did was make my hair smell like product.

Aveeno Positively Radiant Exfoliating Body Wash Review

I made the mistake of using the Aveeno positively radiant exfoliating body wash right after I shaved my legs and wow did it hurt... 

I enjoyed the exfoliation on the rest of my body and I felt really clean when I was done. My skin looks and feels wonderful after using the positively radiant exfoliating body wash and when paired with the Aveeno positively radiant body lotion I feel like a whole new person.

I will have to remember to use the body wash before I shave my legs though lol on the plus side, while it may have hurt I didn't get any burns or redness at all so I'm really happy and will definitely be buying this again.

Aveeno Positively Radiant Body Lotion Review

I got the Aveeno positively radiant body lotion expecting it to be just like every other lotion ever and it was so much better than I expected! 

I have spent the last week in and out of doctors offices and my hands have been saved by this lotion. Normally when my hands get dried out by the sanitizer at the docs nothing works or they leave my hands feeling extremely greasy. 

The Aveeno worked wonders helping keep the moisture in without leaving my hands greasy at all. I actually enjoy using this lotion so much that I told my mother in law to get some of her own and I told my daughter the same thing lol I'm not sharing this one, it is all mine!

Neutrogena Bright Boost Collection Review

Thanks to Chick Advisor and Neutrogena I received the bright Boost collection for free to review 

I love it and hate it! The entire collection smells amazing and it does exactly what it says it does, it cleans and hydrates really well. 

My problem is, just like almost every other facial cleanser or moisturizer I have ever tried, it causes breakouts and leaves my skin feeling oily after a couple hours.

I let my daughter try everything and it works really well with her skin type, her skin feels really clean and soft and she had zero issues with her skin peeling or burning or feeling oily afterwards. 

I will be giving my daughter the collection but I will be sneaking some of the moisturizer for myself every now and then lol

The serum alone left my face feeling great and not oily at all, I didn't start running into problem until I used all four steps

As a stand alone sunblock I wouldn't choose this over my usual sunblock, however as a Moisturizer I very much enjoy using this. 

It smells great however it did leave my face feeling extremely greasy, so much so that I ended up washing it off as best I could

I discovered that I am unable to use the micro-polish, my skin started to burn and then subsequently peeled off after only a couple minutes. 

At first I thought it was just dead skin flaking off but the burning and redness afterwards proved me wrong 

I did let my daughter try and it worked really well for her despite her sensitive skin. She is now in love with the entire bright Boost line

Schmidt's Lavender + Sage Deodorant Review

Thanks to chick advisor I received the sage + lavender scent natural deodorant for free and while it didn't wow me it didn't really disappoint me either.

Initially I wasn't really a fan of the scent but it is slowly growing on me. 

The scent starts off really strong when I first put it on but once I start to sweat the scent disappears completely, the plus side is I don't smell like sweat either, I smell like nothing.

When my pit hair starts to grow this deodorant clumps up really badly, fortunately it melts when I sweat but until then it is uncomfortable as the deodorant itself feels gritty. 

For me there is nothing special about this that makes me want to jump up and buy it but I will continue to use the stick until it's gone so it's not something I hate either.

Motrin Super Strength Liquid Gel Capsule Review

Motrin has been my go to pain relief medication forever! Fortunately I don't need to take pain meds too often but when I do I rely on Motrin.

The liquid gel capsules are really great at getting the medicine into your system quickly, much quicker than the candy coated pills, which take twice as long at least. 

There are a couple down sides to the liquid gels, one is that they tend to be a bit harder to swallow, partly because of their shape but mostly because the capsule itself gets sticky when it's wet and it sticks to my tongue, the roof of my mouth or in my throat. The second down side is the liquid gels are designed to deliver the medicine fast, which means it doesn't last as long as a regular pill so they aren't the best option if you are looking for long lasting relief. 

Aside from those two minor things I absolutely love Motrin liquid gels and the Motrin brand, it is the only pain relief medication that works for my family and the only brand I trust.

Canada Dry Cranberry Ginger Ale Review

So I didn't exactly get much out of the case, my family (aka my kids) who all originally said "ewwww!" to cranberry ginger ale, drank the entire case without leaving me a can lol 

I did manage to sneak a few sips in from my kids can when they weren't looking and I loved it! My kids obviously loved it too because everyone was disappointed when it was gone. 

I'm stocking up for a huge team fundraiser now that I know how much everyone likes it, and hopefully I get a whole can to myself this time lol

Dove 0% Aluminum Deodorant Review

I adore that this is aluminum free! The scent is wonderful considering the fact that I don't like wearing scents. 

What I didn't like was how sticky it felt once I started to sweat... It felt really gross and the more I sweat, the worse it felt. And then there was the scent, when I first put it on it smelled great but that quickly disappeared once I was sweating. 

To be fair I really put it to the test, I went out in 30C heat and spent close to 8 hours walking around, carrying groceries and exercises. 

I have also spent a few days sitting around in my basement, playing games & not doing much. It is a great deodorant if you aren't sweating much but it didn't stand up to a full day of sweating.

Canada Dry Lemonade Flavored Ginger Ale

If you like to put lemon in your Ginger ale then this is for you! It doesn't taste like a lemonade, it tastes like someone put actual lemon slices into your Ginger ale and it is awesome. 

I absolutely love Ginger ale, Canada Dry to be specific, but I never thought to put any flavor in it, now I am convinced that lemon is a must add. 

I took this with me on a long walk in the heat and it was a great drink to have, even once it warmed up it was still refreshing. 
I did however find out the hard way that lemonade flavored Ginger ale plus banana on a really hot day isn't the best mix, k should have added some crackers lol 

I shared with my family, they had mixed opinions. My daughter loves it, my son however asked me why they didn't add more lemon, he thought it was too bland. My husband said it was just alright, he wouldn't go out of his way for it but he would happily accept it if that is all that is available.

Breathe Right Review

I received a couple breathe right strips in my latest package of products to review so I put them to the test on my husband and myself.

I was expecting them to be softer but they were a hard plastic which was a surprise. Following the instructions I washed and dried my nose, removed the backing and attempted to place the strip in the correct position, which was a lot easier than I had anticipated on myself but hard to do on someone else lol.




My first thoughts on the product were that contrary to my opinion beforehand they actually did exactly what they were supposed to. They opened up the nasal cavity and increased air flow, while making my nose look really big.
My daughter noticed the strip on me and asked why my nose looked so funny.





My husband struggled with one side of his strip staying in place, it kept lifting up but mine stayed on so well I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get it off in the morning.

While the strip might seem like an odd thing to add into your nightly ritual it really does work.

My husband, like a lot of men, snores when he sleeps. Of course I wanted to know, do breathe right strips actually reduce or eliminate snoring? Well I got my answer, they do help to reduce the snoring but they don't eliminate it completely.





When I woke up the next morning one side of my strip had come off completely during the night so I had no problem removing the rest. My husbands strip, though he struggled with one side initially, was still in its original place.

The side of my nose where the strip had come off was stuffy in the morning while the side with the strip still in place had really good airflow. I noticed that the inside of my nose on the side that still had the strip was extremely dry in the morning, I assume that is due to the added airflow I received while wearing the strip. My nose bled a bit but that is a really common occurrence when the air is dry so I can't say for sure that the strip increased the odds of my getting a nose bleed or if it was just a coincidence.

The skin on my nose where the strip was placed was quite red in the morning and felt really greasy after removing the strip. In fact, several hours after removing the strip my skin still felt really greasy.

I've read a few other reviews that said the strips were better being used as pore cleansers than breathing apparatus' so I did take a good look at the glue of the strip once I removed it. I personally didn't find a lot of black heads on it though I did notice quite a bit of dead skin.





My nose still seems to be getting better airflow after removing the strip and to me, it still looks bigger. I was expecting my nose to spring back into place after removing the strip but it seems as though it will take quite a while for it to actually go back to normal.

All in all, the breathe right strips really work and may be worth picking up if you have mild sleep apnea or want to increase your airflow during the night. I personally don't think I would use the strips on a regular basis but I will definitely keep a box on hand for nights when my nose is stuffy.

Air Wick V.I.Poo Review

I recently received the new vi-poo toilet spray from the home tester club and wrote a short review for them but I wanted to go a bit further into detail here.





Initially I thought this was a joke product instead of a real thing but it turns out this really is a product that they really are selling.
The first thing I do when I receive any product to review is read through the instructions, ingredients and warnings.

I really can't get over the Caution warning placed all over the product that says
"eye and skin irritant" "keep out of reach of children and pets" "may be harmful if directly inhaled. May cause allergic reaction in some individuals. Avoid contact with eyes, skin and clothes: Wipe immediately with damp cloth. For adult use only. Contains solvent and fragrance"
So that is actually a really disturbing thing to see on a product you are supposed to use on your toilet water before you poo.

This product also does not have any ingredients listed, instead it provides a 1-800 number for you to call if you want a list of ingredients or other information.

Regardless of the potential to burn your ass I did follow the instructions for use, shaking then spraying it into the toilet about 4 times before sitting down to take a shit.





Does it work as intended, trapping the nasty shit smell and leaving your bathroom smelling better than before? Umm, yes and no at the same time...

It does leave your toilet smelling like lavender or whichever scent you buy, and it does help eliminate the shit smell to a degree but as my husband pointed out, much of the stink in the bathroom comes from gas not actual shit and the vi-poo does absolutely nothing for gas. Also, if you have diarrhoea, this product really does not trap the smell, it just makes the toilet smell like shit and flowers.




I was reading some other reviews on the home tester club site and I'm not alone in my fear that this product will hurt me at some point. I'm scared that one of these days I will end up with the inevitable toilet water splash that we all eventually receive and this product, in my mind, is going to splash me and cause a bad chemical burn that will land me in the ER.
Of course this is just my imagination, the reality is, if I get splashed by the product I probably won't get any kind of burn or reaction at all.

All in all I really don't see myself buying this product. It's an interesting idea and it has great potential for sales but I just can't picture my family jumping on this. We share a very small washroom so the idea that we won't smell each other is great but honestly, trying to get in there, spraying the toilet then doing our business is really more of a hassle than a saver.





I will give this product props for the scent though, it really lingers in the air after its used. We really put it to the test because right after receiving it we ended up having to turn off the water for a few days. It was fun for the kids getting to spray the toilet instead of flushing it but the fun wore off pretty quickly. The scent did help the washroom smell better, especially with the water being off but since turning the water back on, using this product is definitely not a priority for us.

I can see us using this on the rare occasion that we have a big family gathering but it is not an every day thing for us.

Get Out Movie Review

When I first watched the trailer for Get Out I honestly thought it was going to be another lame thriller relying on jump factor for its scares... I was wrong!

Get Out was a great movie! It is definitely not your run of the mill horror/thriller movie. I'm not going to add any spoilers to this review because I really do want you to go watch it!

I love that the movie is focused on a black male, watching white people get slaughtered gets boring, so it is great to see someone of colour as the leading character in a horror film.

Nods towards possible racism were thrown in at the absolute best points possible and really keep you guessing where the movie is going.

It really isn't until the end that you find out the real twist of the plot and the twist is so far from what you think that it leaves you looking back to other points in the movie trying to figure out the hints.

The best way I can describe this movie is weird, and I mean that in the best way possible. It is weird in such a great way.
I wouldn't exactly say this is a horror film though, it is more a mystery/thriller but that doesn't take away from it at all.

Without giving away too much, I have to recommend that you watch this movie if you are a thriller fan. If you are looking for a movie that doesn't rely on blood, gore or jump factor then this one is great. It really plays into the psychological thriller aspect and doesn't give away too much which keeps you guessing.

Wish.com Review

Is wish.com really worth using?

It is a great knock off shop if you enjoy buying low priced off brand or knock off's, but is the low price worth the cheap quality and long waits?




Shop at wish.com

I have purchased a few things from wish.com now ranging from pants to wigs to breast forms to sex toys. The wait time for shipping is terrible and the nearly non existent tracking keeps you wondering if your product will ever arrive.

I have had to file two complaints about non received items after waiting 6 weeks and not being able to track the items.

The customer service they have was really great to deal with and responded the same day, offering a full refund for both the item and shipping costs. In one case wish.com actually contacted me first asking if I had received my item yet and gave me various options to request a refund and file a complaint.

I was happily surprised with the pants I bought, knowing they were a knock off I was expecting them to be poorly cut and cheap quality but they were surprisingly well made.

I really wanted to be able to review the products I bought but out of the four purchased, only two arrived.

I do have a major concern with one of my purchases, which were breast forms for a sub of mine. I bought them excited to see how they would look but concern soon set in when the description on the product changed right after my purchase. Originally the forms were advertised as a pair of silicone breast forms, then the description changed to a single breast form, then the description changed again stating the form was made of memory foam.

After 6 weeks of waiting I contacted wish.com and requested a full refund. I had absolutely no problems getting my money back and I did receive an apology from wish.

Honestly I think it really comes down to the sellers rather than wish itself as wish seems to be like amazon where there are multiple sellers for the products.

I can't say that I'll never use wish again because I honestly will buy from them again in the future. I want to see a seller rating and I hope that gets added but that won't stop me from buying the odd product here and there.

Mayim Pads Review

Something unusual happened to me this month, I got my period right in the middle of the afternoon while I was out shopping! I know some of you are shaking your heads saying "thats not unusual" but for me it is, I normally get my period either first thing in the morning when I roll out of bed or right at bedtime and I always know it's coming because of the severe pain associated with it, so getting my period in the afternoon without warning was a very unusual occurrence.

I don't keep pads on me when I'm out, I keep them at home, so when I got my period I wasn't about to run to the store and buy yet another big ass box of pads to carry around with me that day, I instead went to the washroom knowing they always have a machine to get pads from for a couple coins. Well after seeing the price of a single pad in a machine that looked like I might be buying air, if it even worked at all, I decided to take my $1 and head over to the dollar store to buy a small box of pads instead.

This became the perfect opportunity to try out a product that I normally wouldn't even consider trying under any other circumstance and I quickly decided that I would use these cheap pads for my entire period and really put them to the test instead of wearing just one to get me home.

Now some people have asked me why I use pads instead of tampons and the answer is, I have endometriosis! Wearing tampons causes indescribable pain and if I'm being completely honest, my flow is way too heavy to actually use any tampons, I bleed right through them within an hour.
I'm forever looking for a new pad that won't look like I'm wearing a diaper, smell foul and actually last throughout a day. On a light day I change my pad about every four hours but on a regular day I'm changing my pad every hour, and that's using the super heavy overnight flow pads that look like giant diaper bottoms strapped into my panties.

Browsing the isles looking for pads at the dollar store I came across Mayim brand pads mixed in with the panty liners and saw that they actually had more than one flow, so I bought the heaviest flow pads available to me and ran to the washroom to try them out.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that these Mayim pads had wings on them and they didn't sport that fresh out of the package, chemical scent that most cheap pads (and some expensive brands) have. I thought the pad looked a bit thin for a heavy flow and I was slightly concerned with how long this was actually going to last before I was running back to the washroom to change it, after all I was right in the middle of my day and I didn't want to run home just for pads.

The pad was surprisingly comfortable to wear and it didn't look huge in my tight leggings either (yes I checked my butt out in the mirror lol haven't we all?) I was feeling pretty self concious already due to the fact that my abdomen swells nearly 8 inches when I'm bleeding so I was happy when I didn't look like I just put on a diaper under my pants.

Every female alive that wears pads knows that tight pants and a ton of walking around on a hot day with a pad strapped to your underwear is a chaffing nightmare waiting to happen and that is exactly the circumstance I was in, tight non breathable leggings on a hot summer day walking everywhere because I didn't have my car. I was terrified of what the outcome might be, knowing that even the expensive brands have caused bad chaffing and even chemical burns in the past.

Surprisingly I was chaffing less than I did with the always pads! After a couple hours I went back to the washroom to check if I needed to change my pad yet and see if there were any visible burns or chaffing blisters I just wasn't feeling. Everything was great, I wasn't swollen, burnt or chaffed after hours of sweating and bleeding, I still didn't need to change pads and I couldn't even smell myself unless I put my face right next to my undies.

After 10 straight days of using the Mayim pads I am delighted to say that I have found my new brand! A box of 10 Mayim pads only costs $1.35 at my local dollar store (shout out to Dollar Tree for always having great products) which means I can get just as many Mayim pads as I can always pads for half the cost without having to seriously cheap out on the quality, an impressive feat for a cheap brand of product. I really do love these pads, I love the price and I love the fact that I am getting, in my opinion, equal or better quality than I do with expensive brands like always.

Rubbermaid Freshworks Produce Saver Review

Thanks to ChickAdvisor I received a full price coupon for the new Rubbermaid Freshworks Produce Saver and I absolutely love it!

I'm not a big fan out Tupperware type containers, they always end up lost at the back of my cupboard never to be seen again, with good reason, very few actually keep food fresh for long but this Rubbermaid container is amazing. I cannot tell you enough how well this product works at keeping produce fresh.



My family couldn't decide on what berries to test this with so I decided to try out something a little different, I bought peppers and stored them in the container. Usually food of any kind doesn't last any longer than a day in my tiny fridge before the food starts to get mushy, freeze or go bad but after a week in the freshworks container my peppers were still crisp like I had just bought them, a little dry on the edges I'll admit, but the container does say not to cut up your produce before storing.

So what is the secret that Rubbermaid has stumbled upon that keeps fruit and veggies so fresh? I'm guessing it has a little something to do with the fresh vent lid and crisp tray.

This is what the packaging says


"Fresh vent Lid: Patented membrane naturally regulates the flow of O2 & CO2 to create the optimal environment so your produce stays farm fresh

Produce Container: Sized to optimally fit and keep produce fresher, longer

Crisp tray: Elevates produce away from moisture and promotes proper airflow to help prevent spoilage"
The Freshworks containers come in three sizes
Small 2.5 cups/591ml = One pint of berries
Medium 6.3 cups/1.5L = One pound of strawberries (16oz)
Large 17.3 cups/4L = One head of lettuce

I would love to get all 3 containers but to be honest, the medium size I received was at full price with tax $15, a high price I personally would not pay for a container that wouldn't get used much in my house. My family never stores fruits or veggies, we eat them all way too quickly but I know my mother in law would absolutely get great use out of this as she and her husband don't eat nearly as much as my family with two growing teenagers. This is a great product for anyone who actually waits to eat their fruits and veggies!

Snapple Kiwi Strawberry Review

I received a full price coupon from ChickAdvisor to try out the new Snapple Kiwi Strawberry drink and I have to say, I Love It! Snapple absolutely nailed it with this flavor, it is the best.

The Snapple kiwi strawberry really is the best version of this flavor combination I have tried, it isn't too sweet or too watery like some others that I have tried over the years. It is perfect!
I am loving the new plastic bottles as well, I'm a clumsy person, I drop my drinks all too often and having a plastic bottle literally saved me from having to buy two because I dropped the bottle as I was fumbling for my wallet at the cashier.

My only complaint about this product is that it is sold out everywhere, it took three days of visiting every store within walking distance to finally find it in stock. Shoppers Drug Mart was the only store I found the kiwi strawberry flavor at because it is always sold out everywhere else.

I have now officially tried every single Snapple flavor available at every store I can get to and hands down, kiwi strawberry is my favorite. While every Snapple flavor is great, I found that I am partial to this one most.
It is clearly made with natural flavors and that is a huge deal breaker for me because nothing beats a natural flavor, artificial sweeteners and flavors are gross and never taste the way they should so I am ecstatic that Snapple uses natural ingredients in their products.

This is the perfect drink to take with me while I am out and about during a warm summer day. It is actually refreshing and not saturated with sweeteners that cause that dreaded sugar crash in the afternoon. I am keeping this on hand at all times from now on for my family. Do they sell it by the crate? because if they do, I will take ten!