Protein is a big focus for me lately, so when a friend from my local weight loss surgery support group recommended Isopure Zero Carb, I decided to pick up a bottle or two and give it a try. She kept going on and on about how good Isopure tasted, so I hit up my local GNC, ignored the employee’s yammering about X products and Z products building muscle and cell mass, and picked up two bottles of Isopure Zero Carb — Alpine Punch and Mango Peach.

The appeal of Isopure Zero Carb is that it has 40g of protein. The downside is that those 40g worth of protein come in a whopping 20 ounce drink. That may not sound like much, but when your stomach isn’t much bigger than a jumbo-sized egg, it is a lot. But nevertheless, I figured I could take a drink with me on the go, or work at one while I was working, and easily drink over half of a day’s worth of protein.

Unfortunately, I’m disappointed with the taste of Isopure Zero Carb. I’m just not that into the flavor. It’s too strong, I guess to mask the underlying taste of the protein — and it doesn’t even mask it that well. I can’t justify spending nearly five bucks a bottle and struggling to consume 20 ounces of fluid in order to get in 40g of protein. I’d much rather eat more meats, snack on more cheeses, and mix up other types of protein shakes that offer 20 to 30 grams worth of protein in just 4 to 6 ounces of liquid.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Island Escape, from Glade’s Relaxing Moments collection, is the newest scent from Glade, and I fell in love with it the moment I smelled it this afternoon. I generally alternate between Glade and AirWick for scented oils, though I continuously use odor-combating Febreze scented oils for my son’s bedroom, the bathroom (mainly because of the cat litter), and the kitchen.

So, what made me choose a Glade scented oil in Island Escape? Well, it just smelled so good! One whiff of the scratch & sniff had me picturing summer, the beach, dragon fruit and passion fruit juices, and peaches. According to Glade, the scent should remind you of the tropics, summer-warmed figs and mangos. Let me tell you, they nailed it. This scent is the perfect combination of that, without being too strong or sickly sweet.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Who says you have to pay a small fortune for glasses? I already pay almost $300/year for contact lenses, and that’s with my insurance discount, which I only get every two years. That means that next year I’ll pay over $300 for contact lenses, and I’ll have to cover the $125 visit & fitting fee, too! Yes, those are some high prices for the convenience of contact lenses, and yes, I’m dreading having to pay for them!

Anyway, I do keep a spare pair of glasses on hand, but since the prescription is going on four years old and the lenses are scratched in a few places, I’m going to replace them soon. I’m not going to bother with the standard route of getting glasses. Since I already have a prescription, I’m just going to check out the eyeglasses that Zenni Optical has. They’re an online exclusive, so you don’t have the normal costs associated with operating a brick and mortar establishment. This means paying for the cost of the frame & lenses only — not the high rates that stores charge in order to cover their own costs!

Psst… don’t just take my word for it — Check out what the Brooklyn Liberal Examiner had to say about Zenni Optical!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Last Saturday afternoon I wrote about Manic Panic. At the time it was still in my hair, so I couldn’t give you much of a rundown on it. Well, my hair is now nicely colored, and it stays that way because I mixed about two tablespoons of additional Manic Panic with my shampoo, and another two tablespoons with my conditioner, so I get a “freshening up” dye every time I take a shower.

Manic Panic is a vegetable-based dye that doesn’t contain ammonia, bleach, or any of the other harsh chemicals that strip hair of its nutrients and vitality. This is a good thing for me, as my hair is already weakened and somewhat damaged from a protein deficiency I am currently battling. The downside is that the lack of the stripping agents prevent Manic Panic from truly “bonding” with hair strands like standard dyes do, so it tends to wash out completely within a few weeks (this is why I added the dye to my shampoo and conditioner; doing this has worked perfectly, as my hair has the same cherry wine shade that it did on the first day I dyed it).

Manic Panic has barely any smell to it, and it doesn’t burn or sting like normal dyes do. It felt very good in my hair, and washed cleanly out — though I had to spend ten to fifteen minutes rinsing in the shower. Oh, and my bath tub and shower curtain are now hot pink. But I’m sure that’ll eventually clear up whenever I stop shampooing and conditioning with dye!

Best of all, Manic Panic did a great job of adding some spunky color to my hair, which impresses me because my natural color is dark brown!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Renewal Vitamin Conditioner is my new favorite conditioner. It’s designed to nourish and moisturize (without glucosamine sulphate or any other additives), but unlike other conditioners it doesn’t over-moisturize. I can use it with shampoo on a Monday morning, and skip my shower on Tuesday morning and not worry about having super slick hair by the time lunch rolls around.

Renewal Vitamin Conditioner also smells nice. It has a dark fruity scent (definitely enhanced by pomegranate) that isn’t too strong, yet it sticks around for most of the day. It also rinses cleanly and doesn’t leave my hair feeling slicked up. Bottom line? This conditioner rocks. Now if only I could find the shampoo and I’d be all set!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A few weeks ago I stopped at my local Bath & Body Works for a particular lotion. But while I was there, I was drawn to another lotion altogether — Aromatherapy Body Lotion Sensual in Sandalwood Fig. Let me tell you, it smells amazing. So amazing that it made me forget how my arms could benefit from some best weight loss pills, haha.

Sandalwood Fig isn’t a scent I would necessarily see myself enjoying, let alone wearing, but it smells amazing. It’s definitely feminine, but it’s strong, potent. The nice thing about it is that it mixes with my skin’s natural scents to create a unique blend. All scents do that, in case you didn’t know. I’ll never forget the time I smelled a Victoria’s Secret perfume on a woman and didn’t realize it was one I already had!

Anyway, Aromatherapy Body Lotion Sensual in Sandalwood Fig is a lotion that I really love wearing. It’s enough on its own; I don’t need to pair a complementing perfume with it. It softens my skin and makes it feel silken to the touch, and it also lasts quite a while. Bottom line: I love it!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I have featured Nicole by OPI nail lacquer here before (here’s the review), but I focused on their standard nail polishes. Since that time I have had the opportunity to pick up a glitter polish containing pink hearts, and another glitter polish containing metallic purple stars. I haven’t yet used the glitter hearts polish, but I have tried the metallic purple star polish, and I decided it was so awesome that it deserved its own blog entry. The polish is appropriately named Get Star-ted, and here it is in action:

Applying the polish was incredibly easy. I first applied a layer of just the glitter only, and once that had a moment to set, I carefully applied the stars. I let them set for about ten minutes, and then I applied two more additional glitter-only coats to protect them. I have used these stars three times now, and in all three instances all but two or three stars were adequately sealed in by the two additional coats of glitter.

The stars seem to last pretty well for 2-3 days. That’s not bad, considering I routinely do dishes and housework, and I work at a computer (read: typing) 6-10 hours a day. And when the stars do “go”, it’s because a point has lifted up and is eventually worn up even more, and the star winds up ripping or peeling off entirely.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars