Kan You Kinect?

As some of you may know, I went to Boston as part of my break. We stopped off at a relative's house, who had a massive HD TV (like 64 inches!!) in her living room. She also had a Kinect. 

For those of you who don't know or haven't seen this device, it's a motion-sensing webcam-like box that you place on top of your TV (meant for Xbox 360 owners), and you stand in front of it and act like the controller! Now I'm no gamer, but this thing blew my mind!! It was a little tricky to operate at first, but after a few tries you could easily maneuver yourself around a game. 

The first game I tried was a dancing game, Dance Central 2. In this game, you imitate the cartoon dancers on the screen, the motion sensor detects your moves and gives you points on how skilled you are at following the moves. Check out a demo here. It's more fun to compete with another player or two, but I'm sure playing on your own is good practice!    

I couldn't help but be amazed at the graphics, especially how you could see yourself in the top right corner and could watch your own dance moves as you did the song. It was definitely an entertaining night, as we spent a good chunk of it making a fool out of ourselves with our funky moves! And because this gadget doesn't require any controllers (like a Wii), there's no real danger of hurling objects at the TV! 


Here are some things to note: 

1. There is no point owning a Kinect if you don't already have an impressive TV. While the effect was magical on the huge HD TV, there might not be much thrill on a much smaller TV. 
2. There are about 100 Kinect games, and the numbers are only going to grow from here. 
3. Many of the games, especially the dancing ones, are pretty good exercise! After a couple rounds of the dancing game we had to take a little break :)
4. The concept of you moving around as the clicker is a little confusing from some "less technology-savvy" people. But practice makes perfect! 

Overall, I rate this product 7.5/10. It's really fantastic at the beginning, but from what I've heard, there is not a huge variety in the games. But maybe that does not matter as much, because as we all know, technology is always adapting and improving, and new games could be right around the corner! And because this system involves motion sensors, it's most likely that many of the games involve around exercise, which is important in maintaining a healthy lifestyle! 

Pore strips, meh.

A few weeks ago, my cousin told me about a product by Bioré called Deep Cleansing Pore Strips. She kept raving about it, and briefly explained how it works: 

1. Wet your nose with warm water to open up your pores. 

2. Apply the pore strip on your nose. 

3. Wait 15-20 minutes to dry. 

4. Peel off nose. 

5. Look at all the filth that was festering in your pores. 

Now, for some bizarre reason, this immediately made me want to go out and buy it. But first I ran home to check if the hype was true. The reviews were very promising, and some people claimed it was the solution to their acne plights. I don't have a bad complexion, but who doesn't like to clean up their pores every once in a while? Men, don't be put off by the "feminine appearance" of the box, because loads of guys use it too!

WARNING: the Google images are pretty gross, especially considering everything coming off on the pore strip was once on your face. 

So I bought a box, about $11 for a box of 8, so about $1.30 per strip. Kind of steep, but if you use one strip every week it should last you about 2 months, so I figure it's probably worth it. The box looks like this: 

So after reading and re-reading the instructions, my boyfriend and I each tried a pore strip. After 15 minutes of trying not to laugh (and failing), we peeled them off. 

The results? Meh. Not great. Definitely nothing close to what I'd seen in photos or read in reviews. My boyfriend's was a little better, but still nothing fantastic. Pretty disappointing. First trial was a bust, but why were so many people (including my cousin) so happy with it?? I tried it again three more times, and the last time was probably the best (I tried exfoliating first), but still not great. My boyfriend's, on the other hand, was pretty good! 

WARNING: The photo you are about to see might be kinda gross to some people. If you are easily squeamish I suggest skipping over the photo!

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So yeah, apparently this is what's supposed to happen. Maybe my pores aren't open enough for these strips to work, but if your pores are slightly open, or maybe a little oilier than usual, it would work!

SO! What rating do I give them? They didn't work for me, but they worked for my boyfriend and my cousin. So my rating is 5/10. If you do not have troublesome skin, or visible pores, I don't really recommend these strips because they will not do much. I believe these are for people who have more acne prone skin, but if you really want to try them out, go for it! You might be pleasantly surprised :) 

Magic Sacs really are magic!

My first review! I'll try and make it a good one :)


So in our house, we've always had these bags that we'd call "magie sacs", which were basically cotton bags filled with rice or beans. 
You pop em in the microwave for 3-4 minutes, and VOILA! A heated bag for those cold winter nights, painful cramps or post-gym back soreness. 


So do these things work? Do I recommend them?


YES!!!!!!

When it comes to cramps or muscle stiffness, I'd chose these bags over Tylenol or Advil any day. It works very quickly, and keeps you nice and warm in the process. For those of you who've never tried one, I highly recommend you give it a chance!!


Don't you hate slipping into a freezing cold bed on a typical Canadian winter night? Pop this thing under your covers while you're brushing your teeth, and you'll come back to a toasty warm bed! 


So where can you find these things? Personally, I don't remember where we got any of the ones in the above photo (we have about 5 in total), but I do know a company called MagicBag, and you can buy them at most Pharmaprix and Jean Coutus. However, they are really quite expensive for what they are (35$ for a bag of rice?), so I'd recommend browsing in smaller stores, or if you're feeling creative, make one of your own! 

I'd rate this product 8/10, because though it works very well, it can be a wee bit expensive, and difficult to find. However if you find a cheap one, I would definitely give it a shot :)


Plz comment and let me know if you have one, and would like to share your experience with it!

Hey guys, welcome to my blog! 
I'm gonna use this place to rate and review several products I've tried/used, and let you guys know what I think! I'll try to keep the products interesting and unusual, and for both sexes too! 
I'll be keeping you guys posted on my Twitter if I've made a entry. 
www.twitter.com/LeahFinks


:)