Hello, and welcome to In My Bag! My name is Jenn, and this is my product review blog. 
You’d be surprised at the types of items that coupons are available for. Around the holidays, you may be able to easily find special promo codes for tungsten rings. Many pet items will contain coupons within the packaging – a prime example of this is with Comfort Zone refills, which cost $40 (each package has a $10 coupon inside).
Of course, it’s easy to find coupons for food, drinks, household products, and personal products – just check your Sunday newspaper, as well as coupon sites like Coupons.com, and Target.com/coupons.
Are there any other coupon sources I’m missing?
Lavanilla 2-in-1 Shower & Shave Body Wash is a body wash I treated myself to with a Sephora gift card I received as an early Christmas present. I’m lazy when it comes to shaving. While I insist on shaving every time I shower (which is daily, unless I am really sick), I can’t be bothered with using a separate shaving cream or foam. So I do my best to find body washes which are richly lathering and moisturizing, so that I can scrub up, lather up, and prep my underarms and legs for shaving all in one fell swoop.
For the most part, Lavanilla 2-in-1 Shower & Shave Body Wash doesn’t disappoint. It has a lovely, soothing scent (neither the vanilla nor the lavender are overpowering), and the body wash does lather well and spread well. For shaving, it’s adequate, but that’s about it. While I’ve dealt with worse, I’ve also dealt with better – from body washes that say nothing of using them for shaving purposes. Lavanilla 2-in-1 Shower & Shave Body Wash leaves my skin feeling smooth and moisturized, without any drying effects of annoying feeling of residue.
In any case, I do really like Lavanilla 2-in-1 Shower & Shave Body Wash, and will most likely purchase it again.
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Sleeping is one thing I rarely have trouble doing. I may wake up once or twice in the middle of the night because I have to go to the bathroom, but generally once I’m asleep, I will stay soundly asleep until my alarm goes off in the morning – though lately I’ve been waking up a few minutes before my alarm is set to go off, which I suppose is okay too. But what about those who have trouble falling asleep? Sometimes something as simple as a noise machine can be enough to help you fall asleep. I for one always seem to sleep more soundly whenever we used our window air conditioning units. Of course, we no longer have those (we upgraded to central air conditioning last April), so I now have to settle for the soothing hum of our ceiling fan. Generally speaking, I can’t sleep in absolute silence – believe it or not, the “hum” of the various electronics in our bedroom has helped me fall to sleep on those nights when I just can’t seem to close my eyes and easily drift off.
One of my favorite daily routines, believe it or not, is washing my face. This is something I do at the end of the day, while I shower, and it feels so good to let the warm water run over my face before I use cleanser. When it comes to facial cleansers, I prefer ones that lather, clean well, and leave my skin feeling clean, fresh, smooth, and free of makeup, oils, and impurities.
Apothederm contacted me back in the fall and provided me with the opportunity to review one of their products. I chose the Brightening Cleanser, and I couldn’t be happier with my choice. Apothederm Brightening Cleanser promises to refine, brighten, and tone skin, by loosening and removing dead skin cells, along with everyday impurities and debris, leaving skin feeling and looking refreshed and renewed. And let me tell you, after several months of using Apothederm Brightening Cleanser, I can assure you that it delivers on that promise.
Apothederm Brightening Cleanser contains several key ingredients, including malic acid (non-irritating acid that reduces the appearance of fine lines); mandelic acid (another acid that absorbs oils and reduces imperfections); salicylic acid (exfoliates, reduces pore size); oligopeptide-10 (contains anti-inflammatory properties); glycerin (draws moisture to the skin); aloe leaf extract (soothes and calms); mugwort extract (skin conditioner); and ubiquinone, a powerful anti-oxidant.
One thing really want to emphasize about Apothederm Brightening Cleanser is that my husband uses it, and he likes it! Prior to Apothederm Brightening Cleanser he rarely cleaned his face with anything more than water and basic soap, due to all of the store-bought facial cleansers always burning or otherwise irritating his skin. But Apothederm Brightening Cleanser doesn’t irritate his skin at all, and so my husband and I are sharing the bottle.
You can purchase a 6 ounce bottle of Apothederm Brightening Cleanser from Apothederm.com for $28.00. Trust me when I say that this 6 ounces will last you a long time – even though both my husband and I are using it, there’s still a good half of the product left! Additionally, Apothederm.com carries many other products for general cleansing of the face and body, as well as specialty products designed for anti-aging, acne, and sensitive skin.
Follow Apothederm on Facebook and Twitter.
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Disclosure: Apothederm provided me with a free product in exchange for my honest review.
While we don’t have acer laptops at the present time, we do have a lot of HPs – my husband, myself, and my brother each have one. My friends Amanda, Brandy, and Krystal are here, and both Amanda and Brandy have Macbook Pros. Krystal has a Windows-based laptop, though she didn’t bring it. Then there are our two iPads (the kids’, anyway), and our cell phones, ha.
How many devices are in your household?
For those of you that don’t know, I’m a crazy cat lady that is only somewhat reined in by the dimensions of my house and the number of people in it. Currently we have four cats in our household, along with a dog, as well as two hamsters, and four fish (three different tanks). The hamsters and fish are dirt-cheap to take care of, and it’s not often I have to stock up on supplies for them. But when it comes to the dog and especially the cats, I don’t go more than two weeks without having to purchase something, whether it be food, litter (for the cats), treats, or the occasional medication.
Mr. Chewy is an online store worth checking out if you have cats or dogs, and are interested in the good deals and convenience that go hand-in-hand with online shopping. Mr. Chewy carries a large selection of dog and cat food (including prescription foods), treats, litter for cats, housebreaking pads for dogs, and a small but decent selection of flea and tick medication for dogs and cats.
The people at Mr. Chewy were kind enough to offer me the opportunity to review their website. I just completed my checkout process, which couldn’t have been quicker or easier. Browsing the store was easy, thanks to the organized presentation of everything, and easy-to-navigate categories and sub-categories. Free shipping is offered on orders of $50 or more (an easy promotion to take advantage of if you purchase any flea or tick medication, or any of the higher end brands of food and treats), so I used the sort by price feature to pick out the right combination of items in order to qualify for that. The checkout process was simple, and I already received my order confirmation.
So far, I’m impressed with the ease and elegance of Mr. Chewy. I’ll update with a full review once I have received my order!
Follow Mr. Chewy on Facebook and Twitter.
When I grew up, this is the nifty device my mother and grandmother used to take my temperature:
By the time I was a teenager, we had upgraded to one of under-the-tongue temperature takers. While they were quick and definitely more high-tech than the old-school forehead strip, they had their disadvantages. I never felt a comfortable way to hold it under my tongue, it seemed like we were always running out of those one-time-use slip covers, and it’s not easy to take a baby or small toddler’s temperature with one of those.
The Exergen Temporal Scanner is definitely the ideal thermometer. Unlike the forehead strips, which are not only outdated but unreliable; and unlike the under-the-tongue thermometers, which can be uncomfortable and tricky, not to mention downright unhygienic; the Exergen Temporal Scanner couldn’t be easier to use — or more accurate. To use, simply hold the device in your hand, depress the scanning button, then glide the soft-tipped top part of the device across the forehead. It’s across the forehead that the temporal artery runs, and this particular artery is directly connected to the heart, via the carotid artery, so you can be assured of its presence, and of the device’s resulting temperature reading, which is accurate to within +0.2°F.
Exergen sent us a Temporal Scanner to review, and the timing couldn’t have been better. Between my husband, myself, and our two children, we have been using the Temporal Scanner at least once a week since early December. It runs on just one 9V battery, which Exergen thoughtfully provides along with the device. Using the device requires only one press of a button, then the continual depression of that button during the forehead scan – a beep from the device, along with a red LED light, indicate that the scan has been done correctly.
One of my favorite features of the Exergen Temporal Scanner Artery Thermometer is just how quick and non-obtrusive it is to use. More than once I have been able to sneak into my sick, sleeping child’s bedroom to take his or her temperature without disturbing him or her from much-needed rest. The thermometer only requires two seconds to take an accurate temperature, and the results are displayed instantly, so I know right away whether I have a child who is feeling better, or one who is still sick and may be need of more medication, a sick day from school, a visit to the doctor, or all three. Also, unlike other types of temperature-taking thermometers, there is very little risk of transmitting germs or bacteria via the device – I simply wipe ours clean with a disinfecting wipe after my child is no longer sick.
You can purchase the Exergen Temporal Scanner from many retailers, including Rite Aid, Walgreens, Target, Walmart, BJ’s, Sam’s Club, Babies ‘r Us, and Toys ‘r us. It retails for under $50, though you’ll want to check around with individual stores in order to get the best price (I found the same model at Target for $34).
Follow Exergen on Facebook and Twitter.
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Disclosure: Exergen provided me with a free product in exchange for my honest opinion.
