Batisete Dry Shampoo

I have to confess that I now hate doing my hair... Yes I have become one of the women in a swimming pool who can swim and keep their head hovering above the water simply because they don't want to rewash their hair. One of my guilty addictions (and I am only just admitting ONE in this post at the moment...) I go every week at least and get my hair washed and blown out by my hairdresser. Now I am going to say what I say to everyone one... "don't judge me" and feel free to use that anytime someone gives you a hard time about any of your own guilty pleasures. It actually really works.  People are kinda stunned when you say it and don't really know how to respond.
So in between my visits to my hairdresser I will sometimes spray dry shampoo on my roots. Now my hair is really dry and I don't have to wash it more that twice a week and that isn't the case for everyone. But this is a great thing to have in your beauty arsenal for the times you have put in too much of a shine product or just in between washings. This stuff is a little scary at first let me warn you because it really is just baby powder in a spray can. When you spray it on your hair your whole head can look like you dumped baby powder on it so my advice is to go light at first and to try it at a time when you aren't going out. What happens is that the baby powder absorbs all the oil in your hair and then you take a natural bristle brush (not yor favorite one because you will now have baby powder in it) and brush through your hair until you don't see any of the white powder anywhere. Once you have used it a few times you will be able to just spray on a small amount. I also use this when I have been out somewhere where there is a lot of smoke because you know how cigarette smoke just clings to your hair and this takes the smell right out.
So for my Ask Aimee review I give this a grease hair stopping 3 stars because it works in a pinch but can be a little hard to use.

Sensodyne Iso-active Foaming Gel Toothpaste

The purpose of my blog is to tell you about all my likes and dislikes from the outrages to the mundane. Well here we are at the mundane I guess.....toothpaste. Everybody uses it (I hope!) and we have all found ourselves in front of the toothpaste isle at the drugstore staring at all the different types of brands trying to choose which new one to buy or to just stick with our old standard. Well I found myself somewhat giddy when I saw the new Sensodyne foaming toothpaste. I know I am easily excited but I threw it in my cart and off I went with thoughts of tingly foaming action later that night when I brushed my teeth. My first impression of it was pretty good. It foamed a bit and tasted fine and initially I liked the new funky looking container. the next day I went to use it and there was a little bit of the toothpaste that seems to leak out of the spout from the night before. I threw the clump in the garbage and and didn't pay much attention to it. Well 30 days have past and that damn clump is driving me crazy!!!! Yes you heard me CRAZY! ( I'm also easily driven crazy too) let me say that it is like having some toothpaste fairy come every night and take the top off your toothpaste and squeeze some out. I have put the cap on thinking that would fix it... NOT. I have run the top of the toothpaste container under hot water to make sure there is not any toothpaste left in the spout to see if that would fix it...NOT... Ok maybe I am being a little dramatic here and for those people who don't mind to brush their teeth with a wad of hard dried up chuck up toothpaste attached to their toothbrush then this is certainly the right toothpaste for you but for me this is just annoying. So I am not saying I don't like Sensodyne because I do, just not this new foaming one in the poorly designed space age bottle they were trying to go for. But also, as a fun side note, and nothing to do with my personal angst against the new Sensodyne bottle but my father was the inventor of the flip top that goes on shampoo bottles, ketchup bottles and anything that has that hinged flip top. Cool Huh? Now don't get all excited thinking I am living on some yatch near my personal private island next to Oprah and Richard Branson counting my roalities from every bottle with a flip top out there...I'm not.
( even though in my fantasy world I am. That and being super slim and able to eat anything I want) actually my dad had it pattened and then sold the patten a few years later before I was even born. So i don't live on a yacht or my own private island and have never met Oprah or Richard Branson........And it was funny but my Dad told me that most companies thought it was a ridiculous idea can you believe that? I wonder what they told the Velcro man...you'll have to ask him if you are ever driving by on your yacht next to his private island located right near the man' private island who invented the pet rock.
So for my Ask Aimee review of Sensodyne Foaming Toothpaste I give this a solid " its enough to drive me crazy" 1 Star!

Snap Tell app

There are certain things that in my gadget geek filled world still make me feel like we are in some Star Trek episode and SnapTell from the iTunes app store is still one of them. This is not a new app but with new people getting iPhones everyday I feel I should still sing the praises of SnapTell! With this app you take a picture with your iPhone of a book cover, DVD or CD and then it will automatically take you to the name of the item and check the lowest prices for it online, look it up in Wikipedia, Google and Amazon. From the Amazon button it will tell you the price, description and details about it and current reviews. You can also buy it right there as well, once you have a Amazon account. I read a lot so when I am in the book store I also take pictures of the books I am interested in and keep them in "my snaps" so I can remember them later when I am looking for a book I might like to read later.  I use this mostly for books because I am addicted to reading the book reviews by the people on Amazon. I even use this at my book club when we are picking out our next months picks. Everyone always says "Aimee did you read the reviews on Amazon?" so if I haven't, I just pull out my iPhone and take a picture of the book and it takes me to the Amazon reviews and I fill everyone in. There are a million apps out there and sometime the newest and latest ones get all the attention but if you haven't got SnapTell yet go download it. And you know what's even better?? It's FREE ...yes it's free...Yay!
So for my Ask Aimee review I give SnapTell a Snappy 5 Stars

Poo~Pourri

 Since I started my blog reviews, my friend Angela (A.K.A editor at large), keeps making fun of the fact that ALL of my ask Aimee review are 5 stars.  Well, I can't help it.  I have started with my "Favorite Things". That's a wishful Oprah reference, I know, I promise I will write reviews in the future that will be of things I didn't like at all or of things that are just so so. SO, back to my favorite things. I am going to tell you about another of my favorite things that I found when my other best friend Kelly and I went up to Grail Springs Inn and Spa in Bancroft Ontario. You see, Grail Springs was our attempt at losing some pounds and detoxing our poor abused bodies from too much wine and generally not taking care of ourselves. Let's just say that we had a GREAT time and met some super people BUT I didn't lose any weight and of course could not give up my wine. Oh well, I can always try again right???
  While we were eating our totally vegan food and detoxing, we found this cute little bottle in the gift store (you know we became permanent fixtures in that gift store!) it is called Poo~Pourri and the bottle says "Spritz the bowl before you go and no one will ever know".  Now how funny is that!!  It comes in this little spray bottle with this little silver "P" charm around it and on the back it says; "Before you go blend of natural essential oils creates a barrier to embarrassing bathroom odor: to anoint shake well, lift throne lid and seat spray directly onto the surface water until covered ( 4-6 sprays) proceed to use the throne as usual." The 2 oz bottle is $9.95 on the Poo~Pourri web site but I also have bought it on Amazon as well. Not only does this stuff really work but it is all natural and smells great! Not to even mention how adorable it looks on the side of my sink in my guest bathroom. Now another idea is to get a beautiful little frame and put their very posh directions on how to use the Poo~Pourri next to the bottle since most people aren't familiar with how to use it. I have also tried spraying it in the air like an air freshener and it works great that way too.
So for the ask Aimee review i give this a odor taming 5 Stars ( I know Angela don't say it...)

Latisse

About a year ago, I saw a commercial for Latisse on television for prescription drops that can make your eyelashes grow. I looked like scooby doo and my ears perked up and I said "whaaa"
That was all I needed.  I called the doctor and made an appointment to get my Latisse NOW! I know a little dramatic,  right.....but it is the promise of long luscious eyelashes.  I went to the doctor and they told my how to apply just one drop of the liquid to the application brushes and apply like I would liquid eyeliner to the top of each eyelid and wait for the magic to happen. Well it has been a year and my crazy excitement over the whole thing has thankfully calmed down. My lashes are twice the length they once were and that is really awesome but on the downside they aren't thicker. Well, you can't have everything...right? Or at least my husband keeps telling me that. But what does he know. Anyway, it has also darkened the skin on my eyelids  but with coverup it's livable. I did stop using it for about four months and my eyelashes went back to the way they were before so, it is something you have to keep up with. Also when I first started the Latisse, it did take about four to six weeks before I started to see any difference.
So for the Ask Aimee review I will give Latisse four stars since the long lashes are great but the darker eyelids not so much.

Brookstone Eye Mask

I love love love to sleep in a pitch black room. I therefore have blackout drapes on every window in my bedroom but when I travel that isn't always the case. I also don't like eye masks that you can't open up your eyes once you put them on. Well, I haven't had that problem for awhile since those clever people at Brookstone made the Memory Foam Eye Mask. They call it Nap Form Eye Mask. It blocks out 100% of the light and it is curved so that you can open your eyes!!! And if you have eye makeup on it won't mess them up. Even better right? Now I usually keep my silk eye mask on a plane that has " Do Not Disturb" embroyered on it. Not being bitchy.....just honest.  BUT back to the Brookstone Eye Mask this is one of my favorite things because it does the job perfectly AND it feels so soft and cushy.  It's not inexpensive at $35 but it has been worth every penny. I also use it when I have a bad head ache to block out light so I would imagine anyone with migraines would love this mask too.
So for the ask Aimee review I give this Brookstone Eye Mask a five star!!!

Ipad

This is a simple review because everyone has probably seen, looked at, ogled and been told about Apple' s iPad BUT I just have to say one more time that it is simply AMAZING!!!! There really isn't much that I can say that isn't great about it. Now I was the person who preordered it the minute it was online that day from Apple. Yes if you haven't gathered already I am a complete gadget junkie. I simply drool over the latest and greatest and this was at the top of the list! I read my books on it.  I do also have a Kindle and a Kobo. Well I did say I was a gadget junkie and accepting you have a problem is the first step...right? Although I have no desire to be cured! Anyway I check email, play games,surf the web, check weather and anything else you could possible imagine in the world of Buck Rogers. (Anyone born after 1980 won't get the reference by the way) ohhh and did I forget to say shop?? Yes I did well as if you didn't already assume I do like to shop and one of my favorite places is Ebay. I really don't know what I did before Ebay??? I should almost mark my life as preEbay and PostEbay really. I have my eBay app on my iPad and love to look for all the million things I just can't live without and could never normally find BUT that's a whole other post.
So for the Ask Aimee rating for Apple's iPad I give it a rocking 5 stars!

Cicaplast by La Roche-Posay

I came across this cream one day when I was roaming around Shoppers Drug Mart. I have to say that this store is one of my "happy places".  All the makeup, creams, perfumes!!!  And while I'm buying makeup I can still pick up some toilet paper and Advil Cold and Sinus.  Isn't that GREAT!!! I also get to know the ladies that work in the cosmetic area and they always let me know when a special event or new item is coming in. Now you gotta like that!
Now getting back to Cicaplast. It says that it is an Epidermal Recovery Accelerator (you gotta love cosmetic companies ability to word stuff!). Well, I still had break outs in my 30's and now my 40's....UGH and I thought after I got my braces off in high school, my days of zits would be behind me. I guess not! And I won't even go into the little black hair that keeps growing out of my chin that my mother never told me would happen. So now every time I get a zit after it clears up I get this red colored type scar left behind and it takes months before it fades. But after the zit is popped (sorry for being gross but we have all been there) or gone down I cover the affected area with this cream and go to bed every night until the red is gone. I can now have all the redness gone and hopefully not a scar ("thou shall never pick" I keep telling myself or at least my dermatologist keeps telling me that) and it's gone in a week. Now my hairdresser just had a baby and said that every cream that she has tried for stretch marks isn't working so I told her that as long as the stretch marks are red then I think this should work so I will have to update you on how it's worked for her in a few months.
So the Ask Aimee review I give this a 5 stars

Medique AHA/BHA Facial cleanser

One of my long time searches is for the perfect facial cleanser. I have tried every possible cleanser out there from the most expensive ones at Neiman Marcus to one of the oldest, Noxema. Most are either too expensive for what they do or too greasy and make my eyes blood shot. I know people say you should take off your eye makeup first with an eye makeup remover but, to tell you the truth, most of them ARE the stuff that makes my eyes red and really, I am mostly just too lazy to do it. So about ten years ago I found this facial cleanser at my dermatologist office. Of course every dermatologist raves about their products and makes you think every other product is far far inferior from theirs but I never said I wasn't a sucker for beauty products, did I? So I, of course, bought the Medique products. Now I have been using this facial cleanser for the better part of ten years and to be honest I haven't stuck with anything that long EVER!..... except my husband and that doesn't count cause I couldn't get rid of him if I tried...Just kidding! But ten years is just a great testament as to how great this cleanser is. I can take off my eye makeup at the same time and as long as I don't get it in my eyes it takes my eye makeup off perfectly and washes my face in one lazy step YAY!!! It cost $39 dollars and I buy it in Windsor at Cygnus Skin Rejuvenating Clinic. What I really like is that it lasts forever because you really only need a little bit. I use about the size of a nickel and with the AHA in there it exfoliates your skin on a daily basis which is good for both people with acne and people who are fighting those dreaded wrinkles. It would also be good in the shower for men who have problems with acne on their backs. So there might be stuff out there that is cheaper or pricier for that matter but this bottle will last me six months and it makes my skin look great.
So for the Ask Aimee review I give Medique a skin soooo beautiful 5 stars!

Bose QuietComfort 15 noise canceling head phones

As I write this post, I am listening to my Bose Quiet Comfort 15 Noise Cancelling Headphones and they are a pure slice of heaven! I just came back from a long flight on Delta this last month and I tell you they are amazing how they block out all that background noise on the airplane. They come with a hefty price tag at $ 349.99 Canadian plus tax but I just have to say they are worth every penny. I know I say that about lots of stuff but really they have such a great sound and when you are someplace like an airport I can just put my headphones on and all that I hear is my music in one of the best headphones ever made. Now I haven't tried on the other ones like the Dr Dre Beats but really I just can't see myself as a 40 year old mother of two wearing Dr Dre's but that's just me..... This is even my second pair since I had my first pair stolen out of my car when it was broken into. I loved them that much I bought them again. I know it's easy to put on the Apple ear bud and I will keep them in my purse and use them as well but if I am going to listen to music for any period of time or want to block out the background noise of my kids ( just saying) then I will use my Bose ear phones.
So for my ask Aimee review I give this a sweet sound 5 stars

Michele Tahitian Jelly Bean Watch

I love love love watches! They are such a great fashion statement and when you pick a classic look it will never go out of style. But the question can be what is that watch that will stand the test of time literally. I mean it would be easy to say go out and buy a gold Cartier or Rolex but not everyone has fifteen thousand to drop on a watch (although if you can afford it RUN RUN and get it you lucky duck!) but let's talk about a watch that is certainly not expensive, but loaded with style and that is the Michele Tahitin Jelly Bean watch. I was just on a cruise through the carribean and am like a junkie looking for stuff to buy that I haven't seen fifty million times before. I knew I wanted a white ceramic watch but of course I want the original Chanel one for ten thousand but that's not going to happen so I started looking at the Michele watches.I own the deco diamond watch already and really like it alot. So while we were in St. Thomas, I saw the black and gold Michele Tahitian Jelly Bean one and they retail for $295. After a little negtiation, I bought it at $260.  I also just ordered the white one, when Nordstroms had a forty percent off sale this weekend. I just HAD to,  right????
I have to say that the gold is very rich looking and this watch looks waaaay more expensive than it is. It is more casual with the rubber bands and it is that perfect in between watch that can go from the pool to a night out on the town perfectly. I happen to like the gold better even though they come in the steel as well. So my thoughts on this watch is go out and look on different web sites and shop around. I didn't think that Nordstroms would do forty percent off but they did and I got a great watch at an even greater price!
So for the ask Aimee review this Michele Jelly Bean Watch gets 5 Stars.

Ask Aimee D

La-Brasiliana hair straightener with keratin.
I went to a local salon that charged $150.00 plus tax. They put straightening cream in my hair and left it in for 20 minutes. Then the hairdresser dried my hair with the product still in and then used a 400 plus degree flat iron to get it straight and seal in the keratin. I had to leave the product in for four days and could not get it wet. If I got it wet I was told to use my flat iron to fix it. I then went back four days later and they washed out the treatment with the La- Brasiliana shampoo and conditioner.( the cost of $150.00 did not include the shampoo and conditioner that I bought after for use at home.) Voila.... I had frizz free hair. It was so easy and my hair felt amazingly soft for the first time since it was so damaged by going from dark to blond. I can now let my hair practically air dry and just use a flat iron. Even though I still blow dry it with a round brush and use the flat iron at the end it is still one thousand times better than before. It even feels straighter and smoother a few hours later as it fully dries.
I will be doing this every four months, for sure. I was told by a reputable hairdresser that overdoing this process more than every four months can seriously damage your hair because the keratin will break down the hair shaft from being over applied. Good to know huh?
So for the ask Aimee review I give this a 5 stars!