***UPDATED REVIEW*** Tomoson

A while back, I did a quickie review a site (Tomoson.com) that works well for two groups of people: 1) for bloggers/social networkers who like trying products (for free) and creating social buzz about those products,  and 2) for businesses wanting feedback on and buzz about products.

Now that I have been using Tomoson, I can give you some more info from a blogger p.o.v.:

• Applying to review a product is super easy. Basically, you browse through the promotions available. You can even do a category view:

lotta choices

• The more social reach you have - by platform (ex: Facebook, Twitter, etc.), and sometimes based on how strong your reach is (ex: Google blog rank) - the more product choices you have. However, I am happy to say that some promos are open to almost anyone. (I'm still building my Facebook reach, dangit!)
• The variety of products is fantastic. There are toys and books and even furniture. Yep. 
• The process from applying, being approved, to receiving the product, has been lightening fast so far. 
• You get to communicate directly with the supplier via a message system.
• You get to rate not only the product, but also the business.
• Your (as a reviewer) are rated. Your ratings are based on your reach, authority and engagement. It's nice to watch your score rise, in a Klout-like way.
• You can view your status for every promo you've applied for. Also, the messages between you and the businesses are saved. You can sort the messages various ways as you follow-through a promotion.
• If you're like me and need to organize things to keep information straight, every promotion is tagged with an ID#. You can sort your reviews by application date, title, status, and so on.
• You will appreciate the sorting system because, once again, if you're like me, you're going to be trying a lot of products.
• It's fun and easy and more productive than just reading about some new product.
• You get a "due date" for each review which helps keep you on track.
• You can be honest!

I have not had any negative experiences with the process so far. Right this moment, of 14 promotions I've applied to, I have been approved for 5 (and pre-approved/accepted for the others), and I've received and started reviewing 2 of them. (You might have seen part one of the 3-part review I'm doing for Nature's Best Vitamin C Serum from Mystelic.)

I just started applying for products on May 5 and I've already got a steady list of reviews to do.

I really can't think of any negatives about this site. Okay, maybe having a a personal calendar for each user would be nice, but... I made my own!

If you are already doing reviews, or like sharing information with your blog readers or social network groups, I think Tomoson's is actually better than other Word of Mouth sites. I still love my BzzAgent and SheSpeaks, but they don't have nearly as many campaigns available. With Tomoson, you are pretty much only limited by yourself.

(I'm going to have to ask one of the businesses how they like Tomoson. If I get information, I'll post, so watch this space!)

Peace

--Free

Is Truvia a Good or Bad Thing?

I'm trying to kick another habit of mine: sugar.

This is going to be tougher than giving up smoking. Bear in mind that I said I was giving up sugar - not sweetness. Since my biggest sugar consumption is via my oh-so-very-necessary coffee habit, I am giving up the brown sugar I use. So... I have to find a substitute.

First up to try: Truvia. Actually, I'm now trying out the Truvia that my sister got for me. I put it in my coffee this morning and it was so good that I wondered why. Usually, I can't stand any kind of artificial sweetener. I hate the "bite" of the after-taste. Of course, I had to then look up some info.

Apparently the Truvia that my sister got me (because she thought it was the Stevia she's heard about) is not as good for humans as the marketing claims. I say "apparently" because I'm still scanning the online information that seems very anti-Truvia:

• This says that Truvia is less than 1/2 percent of "something made from Stevia".
• Of course, the Truvia site says this: "The best sweetness comes from nature. Truvía® sweetener is natural, great-tasting sweetness born from the leaves of the stevia plant." They make a claim of "from field to table" that I want to be leery of. This is a product associated, after all, with CocaCola.
• WebMD wasn't much help; its article is from 2008 - when Truvia was making its debut.  The article wasn't exactly encouraging. I wish there was an update.
• I'm a little bit worried about the "sugar alcohol" and the "natural flavors" in the Truvia ingredients. (One article noted that the FDA doesn't regulate the term "natural flavors".) I'm interested in the comments in this discussion. Apparently sugar alcohols are not really calorie free.

I'm going to finish the box of Truvia, then I'm going to try Stevia. Might as well get right to the source. For now, I am kind of enjoying the Truvia but, since it does come from CocaCola, I have a little bit of doubt that it's all that good for me. (Frankly, the more I read about Truvia, the more I'm considering returning it for some Stevia!)

I've got to do some more research. If I can't find a sugar-substitute that I like, I'm going to be a cranky girl. I can't imagine my coffee without cream and sug sweetener, and I cannot imagine giving up my coffee.

It's going to be a looooong couple of weeks!

Peace

--Free

Good Moments, Bad Moments

☹: Stuck doing chores on a nice day because you put them off all week.
☺: Finding the 5 dollar bill you forgot in pocket of dirty jeans.

☹: Spending too much time on your hair because it won't "act right" (and you don't even want to go to job/party/family event anyway).
☺: Your hair looks fabulous and everyone notices.

☹: Having to go to the gym - when you'd rather be doing anything else - because you ate too much at the potluck/party/family event.
☺: Putting on a favorite garment and realizing that it fits the way it's supposed to.

☹: Having to plaster a smile on your face when you really feel like crying.
Good: Running into someone who's having a worse day than you and knowing your smiled cheered them up (or at least didn't make them feel worse).

☹: Waking up freaked out by that strange sound outside your window (after watching crime shows all evening).
☺: Realizing that strange sound is just a cute little squirrel playing in the leaves.

☹: That recipe you've been working on didn't turn out quite the way it did for Guy Fieri.
☺: Your finished dish might not look all that great, but it tastes awesome.

☹: That little skitter thing your heart does because some idiot on the road with you never learned to go the speed limit/use their turn signal/drive on wet or icy pavement.
☺: When you think of all the people who have been killed by idiots like that and you're not one of them.

☹: Finding out that someone you love a lot is sick with a killer disease.
☺: Having one more day, one more week, or even one more moment with that person. And cherishing it more.

(っ◕‿◕)っ♥ 

Peace
--Free

Self-Marketing, Soul-Marketing

Recently, I've been making more of an effort to do more product reviews here. (You guys seem to like those posts most.) I've been looking for sites that work to connect bloggers to brands - I'll do a separate post about all that later - and I had a thought (it happens!) I wanted to share.

The internet has encouraged a lot of people to market their skills and talents; their opinions and perspectives. This is a good thing. I like hearing about everything (from cooking to makeup to learning) from people I might never get a chance to meet in person. I sure hope to become one of the people that other people want to hear from.

I think of this online thing as "self-marketing". Some people are taking that idea waaaay too far. Think about it:

• Where we once thought of celebrities as a talented group, now we have people becoming "famous" overnight for no decent reason.
• Way back, oh say, five years ago, when I thought of Ebay and Craigslist, I thought "online garage sale". That was until I saw a story about someone putting their soul up for sale. (Their soul. Seriously.) The other day, I saw a story about a woman who was offering up her virginity for the highest bidder. Even worse, I think this has actually been going on for a minute and I'm just now hearing about it all...
• Used to be that the only way for a non-actor to get on TV was: a) get on a game show; b) get arrested and featured on the news; or c) do something really positive and awesome - like have quintuplets or something. These days, we have so many reality shows that even media professionals don't know who to call "actor" or "actress" anymore.

Yeah, so...

When I think of all the mess that has become "entertainment" these days, I wonder if people are really willing to just go ahead and market their souls. They've sure stamped a price on everything else.

I think I will just stick to trying to market whatever life skills I've picked up. I won't tell you my most intimate bedroom secrets for a price, but I will accept your free samples in return for a review. Yes, I will.

Keep watching this space.

Peace

--Free

***In Depth REVIEW*** Nature's Best Vitamin C Serum (PART I)

This is the first part of a 3-part review for Nature's Best Vitamin C Serum from Mystelic. I will do the second part of the review when I've used this product for about 3 weeks, then I'll do the third and final part in June - about three weeks before my birthday.

comes with a little stopper
to make application easier.

I'm pretty excited to try this for several reasons:

• I've got a birthday coming up next month that starts with 5 and ends with 3.
• I manage to do a lot of smiling, despite life & it's worries. And all that smiling is showing up in the corners of my eyes and around my mouth!
• In the past few years, because of my illness and the meds, I gained 60lbs and have now lost 40 of those pounds. My face joined my body in the game and went from "elfin" and "aquiline" to "round" and "chubby". And that pendulum is now swinging back to the thinner version of me.
• I've always had youthful skin and I really want to keep my face at thirty, even if my body insists on celebrating every freaking birthday...
• You'll see why I'm trying the product when you get a look at the pics posted below!

Also, right off the bat, I like what that this product is vegan (even though I'm not!) and not tested on animals. Yay. Nothing had to suffer for my vanity. Another plus: read the disclaimer at the bottom of this post. Now, on to my pre-use expectations as I begin using today (note the date of post):

• I want to see some change in skin texture (less dry, a little plumping).
• A decrease in the wrinkling around my mouth and outer edge of my eye-line.
• An overall better make-up free look to my skin.
• Any improvement that I can get with the fine lines.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Directions are simple enough

I actually have heard of all the ingredients!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            What the product promises to deliver (paraphrased): 

• Clinically tested & proven to stimulate collagen, reversing the effects of aging.
• Highest quality Vitamin C serum available on the market. Guaranteed to work.
• Serum will remove toxins & create collagen, diminishing fine lines & wrinkles.
• Organic ingredients make the product perfect for all skin types (dry, oily, sensitive).
• Mfd in the USA by a top of the line FDA certified cosmetics lab.

Customers are advised to use the product for 45 days, then check for results. If not happy with those results, that's when that money-back guarantee kicks in. (I want to finish the review before my birthday, so, I'll give it 5 weeks. Close enough!) 

And.........Here we go!

These are pics of my face on this day, before I start using the product. I tried to do with and without makeup, before and after applying the product and my regular moisturizer (Anew). 

Ewwww... no makeup to hide the imperfections!

Not as bad in B&W! Note the smile lines at my mouth.
(Looking at the pic,I'm sure not smiling now!)

Better. Much better with some color,
even without makeup.

Ewww Pt 2! Hate the age spots.

All makeup removed from this area
to show mouth lines. Ugh!

This is with product and moisturizer,
 but no makeup.

Creepy eye! LOL

Lines & pores! Oh, my!

Forehead lines.
(Gotta do a dye job on the hair.)

MAKEUP! Yes!!! I should super-size this pic!

That right there, posting those closeup/no makeup pics? Sheer act of bravery! By the way, as far as how my skin feels - when I first applied it, I realized that it does dry fairly quickly. It goes on smoothly with a sort of slick feeling. When my skin dried, there was a very subtle tightness, which felt similar to when I use a toner product. Once I applied my moisturizer, my skin felt normal. 

Peace

--Free

***DISCLAIMER: I recieved this product free of charge to try for this review, but was not otherwise compensated.***

• 
  

Makeup for Black Skin You Might Not Have Heard About

Since I've already ranted about the hard time I and other black women have in finding appropriately shaded makeup, I decided to go positive. I went looking around the web for makeup that does come in a wider range of shades - not just for black women, but for any woman who does not fit the trendy molds in place.

There are actually quite a few products to choose from, though you won't be able to make a quick Walmart, Target or Walgreen run to pick them up. (And, yes, I did cull some from lists I found posted by other people!) Here we go:

Sleek Makeup - Wide range of products. The CC and BB creams come in good shades for light & dark tones. Good pricing. They even had a cream-to-powder testing kit with varying shades.

Black Radiance - Nice shades in all their products - lips, eyes, foundation. The "custom coverage" foundation comes with 2 blendable shades. Nice. More brands need to follow that trend. Available in a lot of Walgreens & CVS stores (not in Alaska though!) Best of all: the prices ($1.99 for some lipsticks; $5.99 for the BB cream. That's more than affordable.) Since I can't find these in Alaska, I'm glad they are on Amazon.com for the cheap.

All those nice shades & for that price?!

Interface - This was under the Flori Roberts flag. While the shade were off for my liking in some products shown, there is variety for darker tones. Pricey though - especially after seeing the Black Radiance line. (By the way, I'm not sure why a black cosmetics brand like Flori Roberts would have a sub-line of black products.)

Interface (love the 2nd from left, but not for $18.50)

Those are just a few to get you started. I recommend checking out Amazon by doing a general search. There are a lot of brands that don't get the attention they deserve. Two brands that I had never heard of are: LAMIK and Joy Lorraine, (check Facebook); and one that I had heard of but didn't realize they had a wide range of shades - Kiss New York. That one was tricky. I had to see a YouTube video to know about the BB cream that can be found the Kiss page on Amazon. I could not find that cream on the brand page.

What I am realizing is that there are plenty of brands with shades of cosmetics to fit every woman. The problem is that companies are making too many wrong assumptions about women who wear makeup. It's as if, unless the customer lives in a major city - or one that is predominately brown - they're not likely to see "Mocha", "Chocolate" Deep-Deep" or other such shades on the shelves of the local drugstore. I always want to write to cosmetic companies and remind them that Blacks, Mexican, and Pacific Islanders do live here in Alaska. The Alaskan Natives and Asians aren't exactly one shade of whatever the brands seem to thing.

I also notice (now that I am back on Facebook - which you are not allowed to tease me about) that smaller brands aren't using the social networks effectively. Aren't you in business to do business? So, get yourselves out there on Google Plus, (and, okay, Facebook too) and Twitter - and promote, promote, promote. Send out samples and offer trial sizes. Hit up all those blogs and sites that discuss the lack of quality makeup and show them your stuff. I mean, come on, people...

Until I find more products, I'll stop this rant for now!

Peace
--Free

***REVIEW*** Well, Well, Well... Miss Jessie's, I Got Ya!

***UPDATE May 14, 2014: When I shampooed my hair last night, I discovered that where Miss Jessie's is only so-so as a styling product, it is TOPS as a conditioner. I failed to take a photo, but I almost cannot describe how wonderful my hair felt and looked. I had tons of big, soft curls. I washed my hair prior to dyeing it, but I really hated to mess with those curls. I have now re-applied Miss Jessie's (my way) and can't wait for my next rinse-out to see if I get those same luscious, soft curls.***


So... 'Memba when, a while back, I was interested in trying out the products by Miss Jessie's? And remember how I mentioned there was no way I could afford the products? And how, even if I could find samples to purchase, that I couldn't afford to have them shipped to me?

If you remember all that, then you remember that I never heard back from Miss Jessie's when I emailed them trying to find another way to get samples for purchase. I pretty much wrote off the company. I figure that, if I don't deserve a customer service response, they don't deserve what they want to charge for a product.

I was done with Miss Jessie's.

~dusts hands~

Until yesterday.

Apparently, no one in Anchorage is willing to pay the originally marked price for a product most of us up here are unfamiliar with. Miss Jessie's products were marked down a bit at Target. Not much (just 5 bucks off for the Pillow Soft Curls), but enough that my sister surprised me with a tube for an early Mother's Day gift.

Still about 18 bucks - on discount! Hmmph.

(You might be thinking that this is a strange Mother's Day gift, but, to me, it was perfect. That's the way we roll, my sister and I. Flowers die, cards get lost, but curls are a beautiful thing!)

Now, is Miss Jessie's worth the price? Well... Not really.

The instructions are to apply a "capful" of the product to "damp, freshly washed, conditioned and detangled hair". When you have "good coverage", you are to scrunch your hair to "encourage" the curls.

Maybe I'm still pissy because of my pre-ownership experience with Miss Jessie's. Right off, I'm irritated that I'm going to have to wash and condition my hair three days after my last wash. That's my own doing for being so anxious to try this stuff.

Next, I'm thinking, "What capful?" There's no cap to fill. (Yeah, so I am being really pissy about this!)

Like I said, I'm determined to make this last (or have as full a tube as possible when I return it to the store), so I'm careful not to over-saturate my hair. I do the scrunching thing and wait for my hair to air-dry.

Results: super-crunchy hair. I mean Cheetos-crunchy.

My dried hair felt like it had a light coating of shellac. Seriously. And I hate that. Crunchy hair is the one of the enemies of a naturalista. (Amen, girls?)

The worst thing about products that crunchy-coat hair - any type of hair - is not just the icky feel, but also the breakage. One of the reasons I went natural was to be good to my hair, to encourage its health and growth. Okay, and because I love the look and feel. Crunchy is not the feel I'm going for. Crunchy is for snacks, not hair.

Because I didn't want to damage my hair, I had to spend long minutes massaging the curls to loosen that shellac-like coating. Then I spent another fifteen minutes or so gently combing through in sections. The whole process kind of defeated the "Pillow Soft Curls" thing. When I finished, there were no curls. I had a big, dried-out looking pillow-puffy 'fro.

~sigh~

Since I had already washed my hair more in three days than is good for it, I didn't even want to do a rinse. What I ended up doing is babying my scalp with my good old reliable Jamaican Black Castor Oil, and easing up my dried out hair with some StaSofFroand and a gentle massage.

By now, it's dang near bedtime. I've neglected my laundry and cleaning for longer than I intended. I decided to just braid my hair for overnight. I was thinking that, maybe in the morning, I can apply this expensive crap to my dried hair to "encourage" the curl and (hmph!) actually have some "pillow soft" results.

Here is a pic taken before Miss Jessie's

It's dry, as you can tell by the part behind my ear

And here is one I just took (post MJ)

I really need to get a better webcam, but...

I know that bottom pic is not the best, but I think you can tell that my hair does look softer and more moisturized. The downside: By touch, you can tell that there is product in my hair. If StaSofFro could get therapist certified to "encourage" more curl, it would be my choice over Miss Jessie's. It's waaaay cheaper, very softening and non-greasy to the touch - plus you can find it almost anywhere.

About 4 bucks & available at most retail stores

By the way, StaSofFro is one of the products I used frequently for a couple of months while growing out my hair from this stage:

Looking like mugshot...

Summary: Miss Jessie's did "encourage a nice curl; left my hair soft and moisturized. Of course, I had to tweak the directions a bit, and I can feel the product in my styled hair. Is this product good? Yep. Is it worth the price? Nah. I could get a cheaper curl cream to use in conjunction with the almost SIX bottles of StaSofFro.

I'm thankful to my sister for the gift, and I will use it up, but I won't be purchasing any more of this particular item in the future.

Peace
--Free

The Good Old Days

It hurts my vanity a little to know I can even use the term "good old days", but ~sigh~ I'm approaching zzopfiftythreeuu...

When I posted about our love/hate relationship with technology, I started thinking about what I miss from days before my cell phone:

• That little vent-window on cars. You know the one that isn't in the newer cars?
• Ashtrays in cars. I don't even smoke anymore, but I just miss the ashtrays. Memories, maybe...
• Sitting curled up in bed, playing with the curly-cord on the phone while I talked to a boyfriend or best friend. For those of you who don't know phones not named Android or "i":

I think everything from the 1970's was this color!

• Wood-slat swings. Remember those? Your butt didn't scoop down like it does on the soft plastic seats.
• Getting a letter in the mail. Not a bill - or offer from Ed McMahon or Capital One - but a real letter. Addressed to you and written in ink or pencil. (Letters from Grandma with those loose dollar bills don't count because you probably still get those!)
• Hanging out in the yard with your friends, watching the glow of lightning bugs. 

Aww... so cute!

• Should I admit here that my friends and I used to tear off the "light" part and make temporary earrings or do this:

...til we used them as ornaments

• Telling secrets to your very best friend, mouth-to-ear, where no one else could hear, instead of texting her.
• When your "network" of friends were your in-real-life friends who lived down the street, or around the corner, or up the way.
• I kind of miss the cars with the single seat. You know the one where it was a group effort to slide it forward? (I couldn't find an image, but older folks will know what I'm talking about!)
• I miss going to gas stations where someone ran out to clean the windshield and pump the gas for you. (Except when I'm broke and don't want anyone to see I'm stopping at twelve dollars and eighty cents so that I don't overdraw my bank card! Of course, back in the day twelve dollars would satisfy a monthly gas budget.) By the way, here's an interesting article.

Don't know when this pic was taken, but... wow!

• I miss getting long-distance calls from the guy who loved me so much that he would pay for a long-distance international call. These days, some ladies are lucky to get a gift of virtual roses from inside a Facebook game.
• Waking up to the National Anthem playing on TV because you went to sleep just before those multi-colored bars came on. You know - back when TV went off air at night instead of playing informercials or really bad movies round the clock.
• Speaking of TV, I miss TV Guide. I think it's still around, but who needs it? We have that handy little on-screen guide that comes with subscription services. The guide with so many channels and recording or scheduling options that make me glad I don't own a TV set.

Whatta know. Still around. They have a webpage...

• I miss my old-fashioned childhood that my nieces and nephews won't get to have: going for hayrides at Christmas; licking the spoon after Mom mixed a cake from scratch; not talking back to the teacher because you didn't want a meeting with her "board of education" that hung from a strap behind her desk; not talking back to any adult because, well, they were an adult; and being excited to be grown so that you could drive, have your own phone and make your own rules. These days, kids are too "grownup" before they are really grown up.

I could go on and on. The older you get, the more memories you have! The thing is, I don't want to sound ungrateful for the fact that I'm still around. I just hope that when kids today get old enough to look back on their youth, they will have their own good memories.

Peace

--Free

Happy Mother's Day (for the non-moms)

I wish a happy Mother's Day to all the women out there who didn't give birth to kids, but sacrificed for them anyway.

Many thanks and blessings to every woman who didn't have her own children and still forfeited time and money and personal freedoms for the benefit of kids.

This society celebrates men and women for being a "mother" or "father" - and for doing what any good parent is supposed to do. There is no day, however, for the people who do what they do because it is the right thing to do.

The forgotten people are the ones who don't get titles such as "foster", "step", "god" and "grand". the forgotten people are the one who never asked for a title. These are the people who were there for a child when they didn't have to be, yet chose to be. They sacrificed out of love. And that is never really a sacrifice.

So, I want to give all of those people a special shout out. I know that they will appreciate it. I know this because I am one of them. I've endured all the remarks about not knowing what it's like to "be a mom" (or dad); I know what it feels like to sit by while the flowers and cards and candy is handed out. Kids only know what their parents teach them, so don't be offended if they never thank you.

Years ago, my sister and I were involved in foster care. A lot of the kids we fostered had parents who were constantly failing in efforts to become better parents. They didn't always show up for planned visits with the kids; some of them had hurt their children - physically or emotionally; and they sometimes expected the kids to be more in control than they themselves were. But, no matter how badly the parents had messed up, those kids were always, always, so happy to see Mom or Dad. That's the way it should be. No one wants to not love their parents.

In some cases, my sister and I learned, the kids ended up back with their "bio-parents" and we always hoped that things would work out well. In a strange way, we hoped that the kids would forget us - you know, because life with their own family would be so good. And that's the way it should be.

Still, I know what it feels like to want to be acknowledged with a little bit of return love.

So, bless all you non-parent parents! Your only reward might be in Heaven, but that's just fine.

I heart you

Peace
--Free

Smoothie-licious

Some days I'm better at taking care of myself than others. Usually, those days come right after I've felt the effects of not taking care of myself. The last few weeks have been a little draining so I am making a renewed effort to be good to myself.

You've already heard about my love affair with the blender I purchased a while back. Here's one of the reasons I fall in love all over again just about every three days:

blueberries, raspberries, honey, spinach & flax

Two tablespoons of flax. Daily limit.

And bananas & Silk Almond Milk. And more raspberries!

It's ready to mix. How pretty!

Kind of pretty, ain't it?

And then... The yummy is ready for my tummy.

Tastes SO much better than it looks.

I like using bananas in my morning smoothies because  it makes me feel full. When I'm out later, running errands, I won't try sneaking in an Auntie Anne's pretzel.

Now that berries and veggies are a little more reasonable (fingers crossed!), the only complain I have about buying things for the smoothies is the price of Silk products. I've tried other brands of soy vanilla and almond milk, but they just don't taste as good. Maybe that's why Silk is priced higher? Hmmm... I am open to suggestions, folks.

I'm going to take some photos of my weight loss soon. It's a matter of sunlight and angles. I'm dark-skinned and I don't photograph well under less-than-perfect conditions. Now that it's nice and sunny in Anchorage, I will make an attempt to get some shots. I can't wait until you see the difference between now and last year. Serious, serious changes!

Peace
--Free