Vtech Baby Monitor

#gotitforfree from #hometesterclubna. #vtech #babymonitor

This came just in time as my baby is growing and moving a lot more in her crib. I can keep an eye on her when I'm away from her.

The quality of the camera is good, it's clear. The camera can be moved up and down, left and right but not that much. It has good mic and sound. Great lullabies. The night light function is good but a bit too dim even on the highest setting.

The cords are not interchangeable so you have to use both cords. Connecting to phone is a bit hard because it can only use 2.4g wifi and not 5g. We use 5g at home on our phones so changing to 2.4g is really slow. It made the monitor very laggy.

Inputting letters and numbers on the little monitor was really hard because you have to keep moving to get the letters and numbers, it's not like a cellphone where you can just type it in. It would be nice if it had a turn off function so we can shut it down when not needed. It's always on as long as its plugged in and it heats up. So just unplug it when you don't need it.

Overall, it's an ok monitor but I was expecting it to be a bit better since their other products are pretty good.

Conair Infiniti Pro Cool Air Styler Review

Got this curler for free from Home Tester Club.

The curler was good, it made nice curls. The length was right and it wasn't heavy to hold for a long time. 

The instructions on the buttons were a bit confusing. Maybe they can add pictures with the instructions. They had pictures for how to curl your hair though. 

I thought the cold air button can be placed a bit higher so it's easier to press while you are curling your hair. Maybe also have a separate button for the cold air because if you press once by accident it changes the temperature. 

The cold air function didn't really make the curl last longer but it was a little bit better and seems better for the hair after the heat. When the cold air function is on there is a light fan sound. It's not as loud as their detangle brush. 

My hair felt a bit dry after the curling. I guess I need to invest in a good hair spray/heat protector. 

Overall, it does the job, not bad.

Conair The Knot Dr Review

Got Conair the knot dr for free from Homes Tester Club. 

The product claims to detangle hair and it does. It makes my hair nice and straight. It does dry your hair but takes longer than normal hair dryers. It's not as hot as hair dryers so don't expect to dry your hair the same way. Pretty much have to turn it up to level 3 to really feel the heat. It's good in a way so you don't burn yourself or your scalp. I believe you have have press on the cold air button for cold air but it feels warm to me.

I'm not too sure about volumizing hair. I guess it kind of does if you comb underneath the hair? I've seen their other knot dr it comes with another attachment for it I think. This one did not have it.

It was easy to remove hair on the brush with the big gaps in between. I thought the gadget was quite long in size but good thing it's light or arms will feel tired. It would be nice if they made it smaller so it's easier to store and take on trips. 

I also thought it was very loud, much louder compared to a hair dryer. It's like having a vacuum cleaner right beside your ear. 

They should also use a different font colour on the packaging because it's super hard to read the white font on a light blue box. Other than that I think it's a pretty good detangle device.

Arc Blue Light Teeth Whitening Kit Review

I received Arc blue light teeth whitening kit for free from Shopper Army. The kit claims to whiten teeth in 3 days and yes it did. After using it my mom and husband said my teeth were a bit whiter after just one use.

First of all, you have to stick the strips on. The strips don't stick when they are wet so try to dry your teeth before sticking the strips on. The top is easier to stick but bottom layer is a bit harder to stick because it gets wet from all the saliva.

During the whole process, the strips at the back of the teeth weren't really sticking and felt like it was coming off. But the front was still stuck on my teeth, I guess that's what matters the most. It didn't slip or slide at all, like it claimed.

I'm just a little confused with the time because the package says to leave it on for 60 minutes but their website says 30 minutes. Well, I left mine on for 60 minutes with last 5 minutes with the blue light. I find the whole process a bit time consuming and I had to spit quite a few times during that hour. I was afraid to swallow any of the ingredients although it said online you can drink water during the process if you like.

I didn't feel any teeth sensitivity but it gave me this light sore feeling after the treatment. Kind of feel like after you get your teeth cleaned at the dentist but not as intense.

I was also looking at their website and it said you throw the blue light away after one kit plus 2 refills. I thought that isn't very eco friendly but good thing they offer a recycling option on their website for the product.

I would recommend this product for people that wants to whiten their teeth. You do see a difference after one use with no sensitivity problems.

Typhoon BBT Cafe Review

Hubby decided to try this place for dinner. I've actually never tried this place before, friends have gotten BBT from them and that's it. We were like the only table eating there for awhile but lots of take outs. They actually do more covid checks than other places. We had our temperatures and vaccine cards checked. They also had to sanitize our hands. However, there weren't any barriers/plastics between tables.

We ordered the typhoon house special chicken nuggets with noodle ($10.45+$3.45) and salty peppery chicken nuggets with noodle ($9.45+$3.45).

The typhoon nuggets looks pretty much like the normal salty peppery nuggets but it had green onions and garlic on it. The nuggets had some kind of sour sauce to it and later made the nuggets a bit soggy. It tasted very different compared to the regular ones, it was sour, very garlicky and had something else to it but not sure. I think I prefer the normal ones better but it's always nice to try new things.

The salty peppery chicken was crunchy and the chicken was tender and still juicy. I find them a bit more garlicky compared to other places but still good. You will just have this strong garlic after taste for awhile.

The noodle was normal, nothing too special. The soup and noodle had enough flavour, not overly salty.

Overall, it's ok, not bad but I think I had other better salty peppery chicken somewhere else. They also have lunch and happy hour special, pretty much around same price but you get a listed drink for free.

Saw a double rainbow while at the restaurant, hopefully all the bad luck will be gone from now on!

Dharma Garden Review

We were celebrating a friend's birthday and decided to try this place in Richmond. It's not very big in there but looks tidy. It's actually a vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant.

When we entered my friend said for 4 people and the woman that worked there talked to us in this way that didn't sound very nice. She asked for our vaccination card and ID, doesn't say thank you or anything. She also acted so annoyed that she has to check these cards or just unhappy that we entered their restaurant. Another friend entered and we saw that woman look at our friend but she was just doing her own thing while my friend waited for her to check her vaccination card and ID. It took so long that my friend decided to sit down with us until that woman was free to check her cards. We didn't see her treat other people like that. It was probably the worse customer service ever. If she was the boss, she needs to change or no one would come back after one time. If she just works there I hope her boss can retrain her on customer service.

Anyways, aside from the horrible customer service, the food was not bad. We all ordered the crab meat tomatoe soup and the chicken noodle soup ($12.75). A friend wanted beef noodle soup but the woman said no beef. It's like how is it possible for a Vietnamese restaurant not to have beef (vegetarian)? Isn't that one of the main ingredients?

Friends said the crab meat tomatoe was very tomatoe and nothing really special, something they can make at home. They used the round thick type of noodle, different from normal pho. The taste was really plain as well.

Another friend and I thought the chicken noodle was actually not bad. It tasted like normal pho to us. They actually used the normal flat type of rice noodle in this one, I thought they only used the round ones for everything. The rice noodle was a bit overcooked, it was so soft that it breaks apart very easily. Some noodle were stuck together. The vegetarian chicken was not bad as well. Friend thought it was similar to real chicken. Large size was ok filling for me.

Their washroom had this really strong smell, not washroom smell but kind of like this oil smell that's been at the restaurant forever. I could even smell it through my mask. My clothes had that smelly smell on it too when I got home, had to steam it out but could still smell it. It was a bit gross.

Overall, food was not bad but really need to improve on their customer service. I was going to bring my hubby again but I don't think I will because of the customer service. We may go to the one in Burnaby someday but we'll see.

Belgian Fries Review

Hubby wanted to give me a surprise and he seemed to know I wanted to try this place and I never told him about it. I wanted to try this restaurant because of their well known poutine, tons of different toppings and looks very yummy.

This restaurant is more of a serve yourself restaurant. You order and they give you a vibrating disk. When your order is ready, you go pick it up. When you are done, you put the dishes in a bucket. 

The restaurant is ok size but not a lot of people inside, most were sitting at the patio because of covid.

We ordered the medium triple decker poutine ($15). The size was pretty big and more than enough for us two. Hubby said the large size is as big as a tray, probably can feed an extra person or two. It was really yummy but we thought it was a bit on the salty side. It had a good amount of gravy which I like because some place don't give you a lot and it seem so dry. Some of the fries were still crispy with the gravy. Nice amount of cheese, bacon, beef and chorizo.

Overall, very good and I would come back again to try their other flavours.

Viveau Sparkling Mineral Water Review

I got this as a sample from Social Nature. You can purchase this sparkling mineral water at any Save on Foods or Price Smart Foods locations. They should be in the soft drink or alcohol aisle.

The glass bottle was quite nice and easy to hold.

There are 3 different flavours and I got the apple cider one. It has a light apple juice/ apple cider smell to it. The drink tasted like a sparkling apple juice/ apple cider but the after taste was a bit plain or water like to me. It would be nice to have that apple cider after taste as well.

I forgot the original price for this product but I think it wasn't that expensive. 

Overall, quite good and refreshing, would love to try all the other flavours as well (blueberry and cherry I saw at the store).

Clairol Nice n Easy Root Touch Up

I have always wanted to try this and finally get a chance to try from BzzAgent for free. I tried 3 black, it was a bit darker than my natural hair colour but it looks nice and dark. I really like the Clairol Nice n Easy Root Touch Up, it only takes 10 minutes to say bye to my greys. The smell of the dye isn’t good but dyes never smelled good. I also like how I can apply the dye with the brush because normal dyes, you have to squeeze from a bottle and rub with your hands. The dye lasted about 2-3 weeks on my hair. Overall, I’m very happy with the product. 

Sample Source Box #2

My second sample box from Sample Source. Loved the Brookside chocolates the most. They were crunchy and chewy, it was a nice combination. The Softsoap body wash was good. Had a nice coconut smell, very smoothing and moisturizing. The Jergens lotion was smooth and moisturizing as well. It had a vanilla ish smell to it.

P&G Sample Box

Had the opportunity to try a P&G sample box from BzzAgent and had 10 extra ones to give away to friends.

I couldn’t gather everyone at once so I had 2 gatherings and gave 2 boxes to my coworkers. They were all surprised when I gave them out. They have used most of the products before, such as Tide, Pantene, and Olay. They all wanted to try the Swiffer and Magic Eraser to clean things. My friend’s boyfriend wanted to try the Old Spice products. They wanted to try some of the products before but didn’t know if it’s good. Now they have the chance to try them.

I personally love Tide, Pantene, Olay and use them on a daily basis. I tried the magic eraser on my shoes. It cleaned my Converse very nicely but it didn’t work on my Adidas. I used the Swiffer inside my car, it dusted off pretty good. Haven’t tried the Old Spice products because I think it’s for guys? However, the smell is neutral and seems like anyone can use it?

Crest 3D White Brilliance Toothpaste and Boost Polishing Treatment

I have been trying the Crest 3D White Brilliance Toothpaste and Boost Polishing Treatment for free from BzzAgent. Both are pretty good. I like the packaging, it has my favourite purple colour and the white part has this shine to it. It gives people the feeling that their teeth will shine after using this toothpaste and polish.

Brilliance Toothpaste

At first I was thinking will it really whiten and shine my teeth after one use. It kind of did, I did see this shine on my teeth and somewhat whiter. I think it takes time to see the whitening on the teeth. I think they can improve on making different flavours because I share my toothpaste with my family and they didn’t like the flavour. 

Brilliance Boost

I only use the polish at night because I don’t have time in the morning. Before using the product I didn’t know what it was and will it really do what it claims. After the first use, my teeth felt smooth and they look shiny. The polish has this rough feeling when rubbed against the teeth which is normal because it’s a polish. However, after rinsing out the polish, the inside of my mouth felt wrinkled up. I’m not sure if that’s normal or not. Also, if you have sensitive teeth, this may feel uncomfortable? I don’t have sensitive teeth but using this for the first few times, my teeth felt sensitive to the polish. After a few times, my teeth got used to it and it was fine. I didn’t really like the flavour of this polish.

Secret Outlast Clear Gel Deodorant

This time I got the Secret Outlast Clear Gel deodorant for free to try from BzzAgent. They sent me the lavender scent and it smells really nice. I love purple so I really like the sparkly purple design on the packaging. I have never used gel type of deodorant before. I have always used the normal white solid kinds so I wasn’t sure what it would feel like.

After trying it for awhile I thought it was pretty good. The gel dried pretty quickly after it was applied. Sometimes the white solid deodorants would have this sticky/creamy feel after applying it and I didn’t feel that with the gel. It was white mark free as it claims. I didn’t have these white marks that I would get from those white solid. Not sure about the 48 hours protection because I didn’t timed myself but I have 7 hour shifts and I could still smell the lavender scent after work so I guess that’s good. Overall, it's a great product compared to the normal white solids.

Clairol Nice ‘N Easy Hair Colour Kit

I got the Clairol Nice ‘N Easy hair colour kit to try from BzzAgent. I picked the colour black because I like keeping my hair black. If they offered brownish red or dark purple I would pick it. I actually bought another one and used the dye on my mom’s hair because she had a bit more grey hair and she wanted to dye it. Before using it, I wasn’t sure if it would show much of a difference because it’s the same colour as her hair but it turns out to be much darker than her normal hair. Our opinions were pretty similar for the product. 

The package came with 3 bottles, the color-blend formula, color-blend activator, and color sealing conditioning gloss. It uses the normal dye procedures, mix the first 2 bottles and use conditioner at the end. When I was putting the dye onto mom’s hair, I notice the smell isn’t too bad. I remember using other brands with a really bad smell. The conditioner smelled pretty nice too, kind of like coconut. In addition, the process can take up to an hour so make sure you have plenty of time. It took me around 45 minutes to put everything on mom’s hair and she waited another 25 minutes before washing it. My mom thought it took quite long because she uses this Japanese or Asian brand that only take 5 minutes to cover her greys.

After the wash and conditioner, the dye completely covers the grey hair on mom’s head and it was very black. Mom said her hair feels very soft and smooth after dying her hair. It’s not like other brands that make the hair really dry afterwards. Overall, mom was very happy with it.

I did take before and after photos but it was really hard to tell the difference from the picture due to lighting so I decided not to post it up.