In My Bag

Secret Platinum deodorant is an antiperspirant deodorant that comes in a variety of scents and forms. I have found the gel to be sticky, the hard (or “invisible”) solid to not roll on evenly or enough, so I prefer the soft-solid. While it will show up on clothing (especially if you put clothes on over it right away), it provides ample protection against smell and dampness.
I have been using this deodorant for over seven years and have no plans to change any time soon.

I tried out Sally Hansen Hard as Nails polish, and I have five words for you: don’t waste your time. At the time of testing, I was working in a fast food restaurant, so my hands were in constant motion - coming into contact with other people’s hands, foods, plastic trays, plastic and metal cookware, money, and soap and water. LOTS of soap and water. The nails Sally Hansen is referring to are obviously made of little more than paper, because the polish began to chip, crack and flake off within a few hours of being at work.

What does work? Maybelline!

You’ve been living under a rock if you haven’t at least heard of the websites that promise to give you free electronics and money, among other things, in exchange for you completely an offer. There are plenty of banners, images, pop-up windows and websites floating all over the internet advertising these types of websites.

Well, I’m here to tell you that some of these sites are in fact legitimate. That’s right. Legitimate. I’m not crying foul or scam on these!

These “free gift” sites all work in the same manner: You, the user, complete a specified number of offers. These offers vary from signing up and getting approved for a credit card, ordering stamps from a US stamps website, or signing up for various trials at various sites, some of them well known (such as Blockbuster and Netflix). Then, depending on the site, you either complete several offers and are approved for your “free gift”, or you complete one offer and refer a certain amount of people to do the same, and you are then approved for your “free gift”.

There are some things you should know before trying out these free gift sites:

First, do your research.
There are hundreds of websites offering free gifts in exchange for you and/or your “referrers” completing offers, but how many of them are legitimate and follow through on their end of the deal? Off of the top of my head I can tell you of two that are legitimate, and this is from my own personal experience: Gratis and OfferCentric. Each company operates a handful of “free gift” sites. These sites each offer specific items - ipods, gaming systems, and computers, just to name a few of the types of things offered. All of the sites also offer cash (via Paypal) in lieu of the other items on the sites.

Second, read the rules.
Like I said earlier, these sites are legitimate and will pay out - if you follow the rules. Standard rules include only one account per household (mailing address), no signing up as your own referrer, no spamming email lists, message boards and the like, and no walking your referrers through the process of signing up and completing an offer.
Another big rule has to do with the trials themselves: read the rules of each offer carefully. Don’t just sign up for an offer and then cancel as soon as your account is credited, or worse yet, before. Ultimately these free gift sites are aiming to drive traffic and sales to advertisers (such as Blockbuster and Netflix). To sign up, get credit and then immediately cancel doesn’t do that.
There are assuredly other rules, so be sure to read each and every one of them.

Third, know what you’re getting into.
Some sites require you to complete one offer, and refer a certain number of other people to do the same. This number varies, but is generally based on the monetary value of the free gift. Other sites require or allow you to do ALL of the offers required to get your free gift. A lot of the sites give you one “credit” per offer. Other sites allot certain offers 1/4 of a credit, others 1/2 of a credit, and still others one full credit. Typically this is based on the cost of the offer itself.
Make sure you have a clear understanding of what you need to do. Don’t just jump in with both feet, because you may find you don’t have the time, desire or ability to complete a certain number of offers or get a certain number of other people to do the same.

Fourth, document everything.
Save all sign up and confirmation emails, both from the free gift company and from the offers themselves. You’ll need these emails in case there is some sort of quirk and you don’t get credited for an offer, or you need to cancel a trial or contact a company directly.
Also keep track of the time spent doing offers and referring other people. Some sites, Gratis and OfferCentric included, are now placing time constraints on accounts. Users are granted 90 days to complete their offer and refer others to do the same. If after 90 days you do not have all offers completed, your account is closed and you will not be able to sign up again. Of course there are some exceptions to this - why is why I stress again how crucial it is to read the rules and know what you’re getting into!

Still feeling skeptical? Well, that’s perfectly understandable. I felt that way too. But then I decided to take the plunge, and here I am, two years later, with a free iPod from Gratis and a free laptop (view my photo on notebooks4free.com gallery!) from OfferCentric, and in the process of getting a Nintendo Wii from Gratis’ new venture, Shop FreePay.

My daughter tossed a package of Betty Crocker chocolate chip muffin mix into our shopping cart a few weeks back, but I didn’t notice it until I got home and began unpacking groceries. I put the mix in the cabinet, and came across it today while trying to find a snack for my daughter.

The muffins are very easy to make - just add a half of a cup of water, mix, spoon into a muffin baking pan, then bake for about ten minutes (I didn’t follow the box instructions) at 375 degrees.

The good: they’re easy to make, quick to make and very tasty

The bad: the mix made exactly four and a half muffins. But this is also good, because it’s the perfect batch for the kids, or for one or two people.

After re-reading what I wrote about Lane Bryant fashion jewelry, I decided to write to Lane Bryant about my experience with their jewelry and their salespeople.

Today I received this response:

Dear Jennifer,

Thank you for taking the time to contact me directly regarding your recent store experience. I understand your comments and concerns and appreciate the feedback you have provided. Please know that the number one goal at Lane Bryant is to create a shopping experience that exceeds our customer’s expectations. When a situation occurs that compromises a customer’s experience it is taken with the highest level of concern. Please understand that the incident which occurred at [store] is not our typical business practice.

Tracey, I truly value your feedback and appreciate you contacting me directly. I look forward to your continued feedback to ensure that Lane Bryant is your shopping destination of choice. I have enclosed a 20% off coupon valid anytime at any location. Please feel free to return the bracelets for a full refund.

Thank you,

[name]
District Sales Manager: [location]
Lane Bryant

Go ahead. Read that again. Take note of the bolding. My name is not Tracey. Funny, but I don’t feel that my feedback is truly appreciated, and I certainly don’t feel that my experience was treated with the highest level of concern. How can that happen, when they can’t even get my name correct? This is obviously a fill-in-the-name template (there is extra spacing after Tracey).

What a waste of paper and postage.

So there you have it - a review of a store product, its salespeople and its corporation, all wrapped up in one website!

I first tried Schick Intuition about four years ago, when I got a sample in the mail. I loved the idea of being able to lather and shave in one step, rather than having to lather up with shaving gel and then shave. Better still, not having to buy shaving gel and razors? Awesomesauce! I was thrilled with the idea.

So I tried the Schick Intuition. The blade was decent, the shave is decent. The lather was… okay. The shaving gel/cream/soap seemed very drying. At one point the entire clump of shaving gel/cream/soap fell off the razor, so I had to lather by hand and then shave. Wait, wasn’t that what I was doing before??

When the shaving gel/cream/soap stayed on the razor, using the Intuition to shave was okay. The soap was a little drying, which didn’t make me happy. Also, the whole bar seemed to be used up in one or two leg shave, which made me feel like I was wasting my money.

Overall, I wouldn’t use the Intuition for anything more than underarm shaving.

The Act II Movie Theatre Popcorn is to die for. Literally. I think I’m allergic to it! This popcorn, like the rest of Act II’s flavored popcorn, is wonderful. It’s inexpensive, easy to find, and very easy to make. And it is delicious!

However, I stopped after the second bite. My lips have puffed up, are bright red, tingly, and my tongue is burning. All of those symptoms point to an allergy, so rather than risk a serious reaction I shall be foregoing this delicious popcorn!