The Consumer’s Corner

A few days after I wrote an article complaining about my oily skin, I received this product in the mail. Someone is paying attention to what I write, apparently! Thanks, who ever you are! Hope it was someone I knew; kind of freaky thinking someone has my address.

This blogger is a big fan of body washes; haven’t bought one bar of soap since these became popular. Never tried anything real special; just what was on sale that didn’t smell like flowers. I figured ’soap is soap.’ I was wrong!

Popped the cap on this to wash my face one morning (rest of my epidermis is actually ‘dry’), not at all buying it’s claim that it could control my oily skin, and proceeded to scrub. My mug remained shine free for the entire day! Might not sound like a big deal to many of you, but it was nice not having to soak my face in irritating chemicals 2-3 times the rest of the day! It did wear off after about 8 hours, but that was more than I could have asked for, and far more than I expected!

I found very little info on the web about this, and I haven’t seen it in a store yet, but I’ll update this article with more details at a later date. Unless it’s ridiculously high priced, this will be a permanent fixture in my bathroom. Highly recommended for other people with ‘well lubricated’ skin

Gillette Has An Official Site, But It’s All Shaving Stuff

–Jeremy Hobbs

My skin is oily. Each one of my pores is registered with OPEC; I’m not kidding. I expect the current administration to declare war on me for control of my natural resources at any moment. It’s hard to sleep at night.

All kidding aside, I’ve gone to extreme measures to keep my face from looking like an oil slick. Peroxide. Alcohol (the strong kind you’re not supposed to use for such purposes), witch hazel, dish detergent. Everything. These little salicylic acid pads are the only things to every really do much good.

Me, ever the bargain hunter, decided to try the store brand version, as they were a whole buck cheaper than the name brands. A buck is a buck, right? 1/5 of my web hosting fees! Did they work? Very well. The pad was a tad smaller than I’m used to, but it had plenty of ‘juice’ on it, and was more than willing to do the job.

This one gets a solid recommendation from me if you use this type of product; aside from the horrible razor fiasco, I’ve been quite pleased with CVS’s offerings. Add in their customer reward programs, you could end up saving a good bit of money over time.

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

After my little store brand ‘value’ experiment, I realized that sometimes you really do get what you pay for. Check out my review of CVS M3 in the Health & Beauty section.

So, needing a clean shave (I’m pretty picky about that), I did what any sane person would do. Instead of buy the cheapest handle & blades on the rack, I went to the completely opposite end of the spectrum and bought the most expensive package I could find.

Got a little lucky, and found a promotional pack that had a ‘free’ can of Fusion Hydra Gel. So, even at $12, it was a somewhat decent deal. I didn’t buy the replacement blades yet, that’s where these companies really rape you, I wanted to make sure it was worth it first.

Hands down, the Gillette Fusion gave me the best shave that I’ve ever had. There’s none of that back tracking to get those couple pieces of stubble left behind; one swipe is enough. My first time using it, my face was as smooth as the day I was born, and the performance of the Fusion has not backed off in the least. It’s a five blade system, and if you flip it around, there is a handy little trimmer blade. Everything is easy to clean, doesn’t clog up, and is very comfortable.

This is one item I recommend splurging on. Even with blades that are twice as expensive, they last twice as long, so you’re coming out pretty well. And if you’re a good consumer, you can find some deals; check your weekly coupon books and what not. Do enough searching, you may find a free handle offer; that would be an amazing deal!

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

gillette, gillette fusion, razors, shaving

I’ll be trying to hit up a few budget brand products that may be appealing to consumers. Last time I reviewed CVS Chap Block, this time it is the M3 razor blade, and handle. One is kind of useless without the other, because the blades are not interchangeable with the Mach 3, as I had assumed.

The handle is quality, and feels substantial. On par with a lot of the major brands; it didn’t feel cheap at all. And, having said that, the compliments stop right there.

The shave is atrocious. I’ve used five shave old disposable single blade razors that have given me an easier, closer shave than the CVS M3. Ridiculous. Took multiple passes to get my skin anywhere close to smooth. Only plus; it didn’t cut me. Trouble is, it didn’t cut much of anything else, like hair. Saving a few dollars just isn’t worth it if you have to sacrifice that much quality. Ignore these completely; there are far better options for marginally more money.

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

cvs, m3, m3 razor, shaving, health & beauty

Part of being a thrifty consumer is being able to stretch your money as far as it can go. Contrary to popular belief, store brand items can often be just as good (if not superior) to their name brand equivalents. Yeah, some things aren’t so great; sodas, potato chips, etc, but most of your pharmaceutical goods work just as well.

I started using CVS Chap Block in place of Chapstick a few months ago, and I’ve been happy with the product. There are only two active ingredients in your average lip balm, so it’s hard to mess up. I prefer the spearmint variety (couldn’t find a picture), but they carry multiple varieties.

My lips are perfectly moist, protected from the sun (SPF4), and the cold. I saved around 40% versus the leading brand, and 150% compared to the pricier brands (Burt’s Bees, etc). I easily recommend CVS Chap Block, especially if you go through a lot of the stuff. Thumbs up!

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

(Update: Found the pic!)