Category: Product Reviews

Blistex Silk & Shine

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What the heck is going on lately? Am I having unusually bad luck with corporations or am I just getting a kick out of complaining to see what will happen?

This post is brought to you by Blistex Silk & Shine and their misleading packing which resulted in a very unhappy camper, aka me.

On January 25th, after breaking open the package of my new lip balm and slathering it on, I was taken aback by the overwhelmingly sickly sweet scent and flavor of berries. Quite surprising, given the fact that the packaging hadn’t indicated there were any flavorings at in in this particular balm. So I went to their website to complain.

I normally purchase Nivea lip balm, but saw that your Silk & Shine was on sale this weekend and decided to try that instead. I am very disappointed in the fact that nowhere on your packaging is there a mention of the product smelling/tasting like berries. If I wanted a berry flavored lip balm, I would have actively chosen one. I, apparently incorrectly, assumed that since your product didn’t specify a “flavor” that it was just a regular lip balm. Since the berry flavor is too overwhelming, I now feel like I wasted my money on a product due to the misleading packaging. If you are willing to refund my money (I can send a scan of the receipt, if necessary), that would be ideal. But I think at the very least you should change your packaging to let a consumer know exactly what they are purchasing. Thank you.

The following day, I received a response.

Dear Nicole;

Thank you for taking the time to contact us about your recent experience with the Blistex Silk & Shine Lip Balm. Your comments are receiving our close attention. Blistex Inc. takes great pride in the products and services that we provide. Feedback from consumers, such as you, helps us continually improve our products and services. We do list the word “flavor” in the inactive ingredients. We need to ask you to please provide the lot code number that is located on the bottom of the tube.

We sincerely regret any inconvenience this occurrence may have caused you, and if you will please provide your address, and what you paid for the product, we will be happy to send you a refund for the product. We certainly hope that you will continue to use and have confidence in our products.

If we can be of any further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly.

My reply followed the same day.

I appreciate your prompt attention to my concern. While true, there is an item in the ingredient list labeled “flavors”, I think you will agree it’s quite vague and still does not indicate the very overwhelming berry flavor the balm contains. I do hope your company considers adding this to future packaging.

The lot # on the bottom of the tube is S020918. I paid $1.74 total ($1.62 plus 8% tax).

Again, I appreciate your prompt reply. If you could tell me which of your products do not have a flavor, I will definitely consider Blistex in the future thanks to your excellent customer service.

I never received a reply, but today in the mail I received a check for $1.88 and two 25 cents off coupons. I really do hope they change their packing, though, because for now I will stick to Nivea since I can’t trust I will be getting a flavor-less balm with Blistex.

Best of 2009

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So this is my slapped together at the last minute best of 2009 entry. Sorry I didn’t put more thought into it but the end of the year kinda crept up on me if you can believe it.

Music

Favorite album discoveries:

Songs in heavy rotation on my iPod (not necessarily released this year):

iPhone Apps

Favorite Games:

Favorite Apps:

  • Cardstar – store all your reward cards on your phone. The best part is how amazed the cashiers are to see it in action. I’ve gotten a comment every time I’ve used it at Blockbuster and Petsmart.
  • Comcast – Believe it or not, Comcast’s app isn’t half bad. Pretty handy when looking for something to watch. Even better than the on-screen guide.
  • Dropbox – Great way to keep files synced for access away from home.
  • eBuddy – An inexpensive alternative to Trillian. It only keeps you logged in for a half hour after exiting the app, but it supports multiple chat platforms.
  • Echofon – The only Twitter app I’ve used and liked.
  • Evernote – Great way to keep notes on things you might want to look up later. Allows tagging.
  • Facebook – Self explanatory.
  • Genius – Nice camera app that’s better than the built-in camera.
  • IMDb – It took them long enough, but I love using this app when I’m on the couch watching TV.
  • Pandorabox – Great way to find new and discounted apps. You can add apps you’re interested in to a favorites list and it will notify you when they go on sale.
  • Shazam – Best way to find out the name and artist of a song on TV.
  • Shopper – Eliminates any need for me to keep a paper grocery list.
  • Todo Lite (until the $10 full version comes down in price) – I can’t be without my to-do app. I use it daily to remind me of all sorts of things.
  • Yelp – Not as robust as the site, it has come quite in handy when out shopping and we’re looking to grab something to eat.

Well, that’s it. Another decade is over. Welcome to the 10’s. That sounds so weird.

Happy New Year!

Domo @ 7-11

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Domo Group Photo

7-11 is currently offering limited edition Domo Slurpee cups and straws, so we took the kids and headed over there early this afternoon to secure some. They were perfect to wash down the microwave popcorn I made when we got home and watched a movie together – Race to Witch Mountain. We were originally going to go see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs but they didn’t want to see it. Guess hubby and I will catch it on our own later. In any case, even though the Slurpees cost $17 total it was still cheaper than going to the movies.

Does anyone know how many cup styles they are offering? I could only find three unique designs:

Cup 1
Cup 2
Cup 3

In any case, I have serious acid indigestion at the moment due to the Coca-Cola Slurpee I drank along with the popcorn. I don’t really care for Slurpees, so that is why I chose the Coke one. I’m paying for it now!

iPhone 3GS

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So it’s been a week since my beloved iPhone arrived and I can’t help but wonder what I ever did without it. I haven’t been on my computer as much since I can do my surfing and keeping in touch on the phone. It’s so nice when we’re out to be able to look something up right away than try to remember when I get home. In general I just feel more productive with the iPhone.

The first thing I did when it arrived was take a picture of the box and then the contents inside (once I removed the phone). Then I plugged the phone into the wall to charge and “went back to work” as I was working at home and it was delivered about an hour and a half before my shift was over, right at the end of my lunch hour. :(

When I talked to Joe and he asked what I had done with his new phone (just a regular flip phone since he has a Blackberry through work), I sheepishly admitted it was still in the box. “You’re just concerned with your own phone”, he remarked. Of course! But I did then take out his phone and plug it in to charge after our talk. We also had to call AT&T later on that evening to get his old number ported over since they had assigned a new one to his phone.

The rest of that evening was spent customizing my phone with apps I had already downloaded, as well as syncing my contacts and e-mail. Poor Joe was neglected to the point that he even had to make dinner! But he understood how excited I was so he didn’t get mad at me.

The next day at work my fellow iPhone owners were excited to hear that my phone had finally arrived. One asked me “do you LOVE it?” When I replied yes, he asked, “even more than your husband”? I replied, “Not quite, but it’s a close second”, to which he replied, “Give it time. It will be #1”. LOL! He confessed that he sleeps with his iPhone next to him. I can’t blame him – it’s the coolest phone ever.

I guess right now you can call me obsessed. I’m sure eventually some of the novelty will wear off but for the time being I’m enjoying myself immensely. I’m subscribed through my feed reader to a bunch of iPhone related sites and constantly bookmarking apps I might want to download but am too cheap to pay for, hoping they will be discounted down the line. I did buy two apps so far – one that estimates battery power left for certain tasks and one that tracks um, female stuff, but there are others on my wish list. We went to Coinstar the other day to cash in some change and I got an iTunes code worth $25; we’ll see how long that lasts.

I’ve got 61 apps total and haven’t decided which ones I like the most yet other than the no-brainers like Twitterfon and Facebook. I’m trying to decide on a To Do app as well as a Grocery one. There are so many it’s really hard to choose and I’m loathe to pay for one that might not do everything I want.

What are your favorite iPhone apps? Please share them in the comments.

Pepperoni & Provolone Stromboli

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stromboli I picked up a new frozen item at the store the other day – Stouffer’s Pepperoni & Provolone Stromboli. It is described as “Thick-cut pepperoni with aged Provolone cheese and chunky tomato sauce in Italian-style crust”.

Mmmm… is it good! I’m not a big fan of tomato sauce but there’s just the right amount inside. Not too much that it leaked, but enough from keeping it from being dry. The combination of flavors is perfect and it’s large enough to be filling but not so big you’ll be disgusted. Plus it isn’t greasy at all. I’ll definitely be buying more.