Blink Contact Lens Safe Soothing Eye Drops

With the boots brand ones switching to a type of bottle that I can't squeeze, I had to look for a new source of eyedrop. I don't usually need to use them loads, but they're great in emergencies.  Equally, with new contact lenses I have been trying I certainly have days when I need them a bit more and in a bit greater quantity. They haven't disappointed, and I think I like them better than the previous lot!

Cost 1-10 with ten the most expensive: 3
Value for money 1-10 with ten being the best: 8
Durability 1-10 with ten being the most: 7
Usefulness 1-10 with ten being the most: 9
Importance 1-10 with 10 being the most: 8
Smile Factor 1-10 with ten being the most: 1
Cool Factor: 1-10 with ten being the most: 1 

*Do I think its the best in its field: MAYBE
*Could I live without it: NO
*Target gender, age range, and possible further demographic targets : Adults, Teenagers, All genders, Contact Lens Wearers

Disclaimer: No financial interest in this company and no-one else asked me to do this review.

Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel nose strips

These are great, really useful! What they *aren't* is idiot-proof.  In fact, I'd say they require a somewhat higher than normal level of user engagement than most beauty products.

Personally, I found they worked brilliantly, and so did many other people I know.  This is on the backdrop of many others having worked poorly or not at all. I've not met anyone whom they didn't work for, however I will agree that they are expensive, the best way to buy them is on a 2 for 1, where at about 42p a strip they feel much better than usual.  There is also a 3 for 2 offer on sometimes.  (Others are expensive too though, its not a monopoly.)

When it comes to using them, most bad reviews I've read are from users who just failed to follow the instructions or grasp how to use the product.  You do need to actually press it along your skin, not just attach it like a tent to a few points on your nose.  Also, the part about your nose being wet is important to getting it to stick, and the part about your hands being dry is important to not ruining it!  I did mention they weren't entirely user friendly... but they're so worth it.

They can be tricky to take off sometimes if you leave them too long, or just a bit painful.  Still, you do want to wait till it goes all dry and crispy or you won't get good results.  A small amount of glue does get left behind at times, but large amounts are often a sign of having gotten a step wrong (and frequently they won't have worked as well at that point either.)


Cost 1-10 with ten the most expensive: 6
Value for money 1-10 with ten being the best: 7
Durability 1-10 with ten being the most: 5
Usefulness 1-10 with ten being the most: 8
Importance 1-10 with 10 being the most: 5
Smile Factor 1-10 with ten being the most: 1
Cool Factor: 1-10 with ten being the most: 2 

*Do I think its the best in its field: MAYBE
*Could I live without it: YES, BUT MY LIFE WOULDN'T BE AS GOOD
*Target gender, age range, and possible further demographic targets : Adults, Teenagers, All genders.

Disclaimer: No financial interest in this company and no-one else asked me to do this review.

Sainsbury's Distilled Witch Hazel

For some reason many Boots are failing to stock Witch Hazel now, and I was going slightly mad trying to find somewhere that did.  Fortunately, my partner managed to find some hiding at Sainsbury's, and its even ever so slightly cheaper than the Boots ones were.  It works just as well, I haven't noticed any real difference. As I said in my in my previous post, Witch Hazel is an extraordinarily important part of my skincare routine, and since I wrote the last one I've convinced a few other people of this as well. It can function as something of an aftershave for men, but I recommend using it on the in-between days (if you don't shave every day) as well, much the way women would use it daily on their faces.

The key components continue to be that this is a clear no-additive liquid, with a primary use in basic personal care and various secondary uses in first aid and in astringent type routines such as make-up removal.  If anyone does hear of any other shops selling this, I'd be happy to buy and compare their products as well, mostly to make sure no-one is slipping something useless into a fairly small system.  Otherwise, enjoy where you can find it!

Cost 1-10 with ten the most expensive: 2
Value for money 1-10 with ten being the best: 9
Durability 1-10 with ten being the most: 7
Usefulness 1-10 with ten being the most: 10
Importance 1-10 with 10 being the most: 10
Smile Factor 1-10 with ten being the most: 1
Cool Factor: 1-10 with ten being the most: 1 

*Do I think its the best in its field: NO
*Could I live without it: NO
*Target gender, age range, and possible further demographic targets : Adults, Teenagers, All genders.

Disclaimer: No financial interest in this company and no-one else asked me to do this review.

Boots AA extra long life batteries

I use AA batteries fairly sporadically for a lot of things, and I haven't always had luck with rechargeables which are ever so slightly bigger.  I was told that the extra long life ones will in fact have a 'longer' life, but will lose their initial power sooner. I can verify that they do have a long life compared to any AA I've ever had, and they do seem to lose some of their punch a bit faster, but as long as you are running them in a lower usage piece of equipment you won't notice.  I haven't done a strict side-by-side, but I'm favourably impressed. 

Cost 1-10 with ten the most expensive: 3
Value for money 1-10 with ten being the best: 8
Durability 1-10 with ten being the most: 9
Usefulness 1-10 with ten being the most: 10
Importance 1-10 with 10 being the most: 10
Smile Factor 1-10 with ten being the most: 1
Cool Factor: 1-10 with ten being the most: 1 

*Do I think its the best in its field: POSSIBLY
*Could I live without it: NO
*Target gender, age range, and possible further demographic targets : Most ages

Disclaimer: No financial interest in this company and no-one else asked me to do this review.

Boots Provitamin Volumising Shampoo

I'm less than impressed, I must be honest. Boots does many own brand things well, even exceptionally, but this shampoo is not it.  It does clean fairly well - which is admittedly the main purpose of shampoo and one many fail on.  Also, as a volumising shampoo it made no technical claims about frizz, flyaway hairs, or shine.  So its failure to impart any of these things may be a label technicality issue. Most people who want volume, however, have fine hair. Most people with fine hair have frizz or flyaway issues. Equally, you can't have everything. I guess my final complaint, though, is it isn't really very volumising either! It weighs quite heavily on my hair as compared to other similar shampoos (Aussie, Pantene). I haven't tried other 'own-brand' shampoos, mostly because they have a bad reputation especially for tricky hair. My hair, by disclaimer, is both curly and fine, also described as 'infinitely hard to deal with.'

Cost 1-10 with ten the most expensive: 2
Value for money 1-10 with ten being the best: 3
Durability 1-10 with ten being the most: 7
Usefulness 1-10 with ten being the most: 4
Importance 1-10 with 10 being the most: 10
Smile Factor 1-10 with ten being the most: 1 
Cool Factor: 1-10 with ten being the most: 1

*Do I think its the best in its field: NO
*Could I live without it: YES
*Target gender, age range, and possible further demographic targets : Adults, Female, Teenagers, People with fine hair

Disclaimer: No financial interest in this company and no-one else asked me to do this review.

Boots Distilled Witch Hazel

Just to be very clear, this product is a clear liquid, and has no other additives.  The Boots own brand is sold in a clear bottle with their standard labelling.  Some other places also offer an own brand (Sainsbury's, for example) which theoretically should be comparable.

Witch Hazel is an astringent, and a key part of my skincare routine. I'd even go so far as to say its THE key part of my facial skincare routine, as I occasionally skip moisturiser but never the witch hazel.  Although it shouldn't contain alcohol, it still dries skin out, and as such most people would want to use it alongside a moisturiser (I generally do anyway.)  

It can further be used for a small selection of first aid purposes, and like any commercially available astringent it removes make-up.  It lasts for a long time, is not sensitive to sunlight insofar as I know, but the way I use it makes it prone to collecting skin from my hand in the bottle.  Pouring tends to waste it, though, so decanting it into smaller bottles is likely the way forward.

I particularly recommend it as a form of aftershave for men, and probably less recommend it for drier skinned women.  On the other hand, I'm no pro. My skin is roughly speaking "normal" and has had few spots or blemishes even when I was a teenager. On the other hand, I've been religious about daily simple attention to it, and not overdoing it.  Since I was twelve.  Your results may vary!

Cost 1-10 with ten the most expensive: 2
Value for money 1-10 with ten being the best: 9
Durability 1-10 with ten being the most: 6 (Depends slightly on how you use it, decanting or pouring would help) 
Usefulness 1-10 with ten being the most: 9
Importance 1-10 with 10 being the most: 10
Smile Factor 1-10 with ten being the most: 1 
Cool Factor: 1-10 with ten being the most: 1

*Do I think its the best in its field: NO
*Could I live without it: NO
*Target gender, age range, and possible further demographic targets : Adults, Teenagers, Female, Male,

Disclaimer: No financial interest in this company and no-one else asked me to do this review.

Aussie miracle moist shampoo

Admittedly I've been a long term Aussie fan, because back when my hair was painfully limp, only their volumising shampoo seemed to solve the problem. Since then, my hair has gone through all sorts of interesting phases, but Aussie seems to solve each of them with various shampoos / conditioners. I use salon products for styling, and then the already much mentioned Boots hairspray for finishing, and have to say it all works out very well.

Specifically, though, miracle moist has done a really good job keeping my hair from looking dry and straggly, hasn't killed the volume, and in fact is controlling the fly aways quite well (I most recently switched from frizz miracle/smooth mate/ whatever it is currently being marketed as). I often use conditioner with it (usually for colour treated hair) but not even always, it stays fairly moist on its own. I do wash my hair every day, and rarely vary shampoo, no residue or issues at all.

For men- I promise you I've seen many guys with this shampoo, and not all have long hair or are metrosexual. To be fair, it will be less important for shorter hair, but it still gives great results!

Cost 1-10 with ten the most expensive: 4 (Its still only shampoo)
Value for money 1-10 with ten being the best: 7 (I haven't tried EVERYTHING out there)
Durability 1-10 with ten being the most: 8
Usefulness 1-10 with ten being the most: 10 (Shampoo is second to, like, toothpaste and contact lenses. Your priorities may vary, but clean good looking hair is important)
Importance 1-10 with 10 being the most: 9 (see above)
Smile Factor 1-10 with ten being the most: 2 (Nice packaging)
Cool Factor: 1-10 with ten being the most: 3 (Australia is cool...)

*Do I think its the best in its field: NO
*Could I live without it: MAYBE, BUT I'D BE UNHAPPY
*Target gender, age range, and possible further demographic targets : Male, Female, Teenagers, Adults, People with long hair

Contact Lens Solution - Boots Wins (+General Discussion)

Disclaimer: No financial interest in this company and no-one else asked me to do this review.

I realise not everyone wears contacts, but lots of us do! Now, I want laser eye surgery, don't get me wrong. But since I can't at the moment... my contacts and glasses are vital. And hard to keep up on.

Now, I was specifically told to go over to the hydrogen peroxide based solutions, which you have to keep out for six hours whilst they neutralise in a special case. The main reason I was sent that way was so I kept them out of my eyes for six hours a a time... which is good for you! The downside is I can't pop them out for a few hours here and there, but you could have a second case with saline (I think they feel weird afterwards though, I no longer like the other solutions). The benefits outweigh the downsides heavily for me.

As a side effect, I found they clean much better as well! Particularly the all in one solutions, using 3-4 products seems a recipe for something to go wrong, and all the steps are inconvenient. Now, don't go against your eye doctors rather specific instructions, but most aren't and don't need to be too involved. In that case, hydrogen peroxide based eye care solutions are a go! Boots is hands down my favourite, but there are others that are ok if they don't feel as good. Particularly in the USA where they don't have Boots, you will have to find another - Clear Care by AOSept seems to be decent. Some people will find they dislike some brands and like others better, so trial sizes are great.

My strongest recommendation is for the general product type, but I champion Boots, and will apply my numerical evaluations to Boots brand specifically.

If someone who isn't used to these asks, that weird noise is in fact the contact lens case... not escaping air or an alarm or whatever else!

Cost 1-10 with ten the most expensive: 5 (It is about £10/mo)
Value for money 1-10 with ten being the best: 6 (See above... not saying you can do any better!)
Durability 1-10 with ten being the most: 4 (Expiry dates, can't be exposed to sun, just exploded one in my luggage tho badly packed!)
Usefulness 1-10 with ten being the most: 10
Importance 1-10 with 10 being the most: 7 (Can wear glasses, but rather not. I'm taking the general point here, obviously Boots specifically can be replaced if necessary)
Smile Factor 1-10 with ten being the most: 1 (Doesn't mean it makes me UNhappy, so won't be tagged negatively)
Cool Factor: 1-10 with ten being the most: 2 (Only awarded for the fizzy case which is fun.)

*Do I think its the best in its field: YES
*Could I live without it: YES, BUT MY LIFE WOULDN'T BE AS GOOD (Would say "NO" if meant all contact lens solutions...)
*Target gender, age range, and possible further demographic targets : Male & Female, Most ages, Anyone with contact lenses really!

Hairspray - Boots, its the best

Disclaimer: No financial interest in this company and no-one else asked me to do this review.

This is a simple but heartfelt one. The best hairspray I've ever come across - and its Boots own brand. But, not all of them. To be really specific, the extra firm hold which is not perfumed. Any lighter or heavier of a hold doesn't really seem to work as well, and I'm not alone in thinking this, I've had this discussion with a handful of people. In interest of full disclaimer, I've never tried the perfumed versions, but I personally prefer products without added perfumes where I can, anyway. Its the light purple spray bottles, for those of you who want ease in shopping. And the large cans are a lot easier to work with, but they do all work. No frizz, no mess, doesn't weigh your hair down, and can be used as much as needed. ACE.

Cost 1-10 with ten the most expensive: 1
Value for money 1-10 with ten being the best: 10
Durability 1-10 with ten being the most: 8
Usefulness 1-10 with ten being the most: 10
Importance 1-10 with 10 being the most: 10 (I never really go a day without it)
Smile Factor 1-10 with ten being the most: 6 (Its important, but more relaxing than giggle inducing)
Cool Factor: 1-10 with ten being the most: 3 (Hairspray is cool... ish?)

*Do I think its the best in its field: YES
*Could I live without it: NO
*Target gender, age range, and possible further demographic targets : Male & Female (absolutely recommend for both), Any age over about 10 years of age, and honestly pretty much anyone who has hair more than about an inch in length that isn't dreaded or braided full time.