MY Konjac-- sounds like Cognac in my head feels like it too.

This was my second encounter with a Konjac sponge even though two months ago I had no clue what the word meant I would have thought you were saying Cognac and would have that you were offering me a bit a brandy not a sponge to wash my face with. The first one I had was the color of manilla envelopes and this one is black and double the size and fit in my hand better for a much better grip. Here is the video of me using it as part of my daily Noxema cleanse. I liked the string attached but it did not come with a hook, but I had a hook from my last one so I used it. The size and tear drop shape was perfect for my hand and washing of my face yet I felt it got too soft and did not get deep down in my pores like I wanted but using this sponge for a sensitive face like if you had eczema or other sensitivities this would be perfect. I sometimes would not get it completely wet in order to have it be a little harder like a loofah. MY Konjac left my face soft and clean, I just did not feel like my pores got the deep clean I wanted. I still gave it #hippiehappy because of the amazing size, shape and long lasting sponge compared to the other Konjac by another brand I had tried.

I received this product in return for my honest #hippiehappy or #nothippiehappy review.

Home Ec did not prepare me for this

I have not have many times in my life that I have needed to sew until my son entered the Scouts. And then after I spent hours sewing on his badges and threading needles and hating life wondering where all of those Home Economic skills went? I made a bad ass purple and pink felt banner, a gym bag made from material thinner than kite or windbreaker fooshy stuff that never was carried to gym or anywhere for that matter and a pillow not quite square and not quite circular. But I digress. Those were mostly made on heavy duty sewing machine, something I have been asking around for in the family for years. I don't want to buy one but if there is one floating around not being used I would like to try my hand at it. I tried crochet. Not my thing, I could do the first row great and that would be about it.

But in the last six months both my husband and daughter have approached me with "Can you sew this?" or "Can you fix this?" Then they would scowl at me pull the thing away and say. I will check with Nanny or Chelle, like I was chopped liver. How can I learn if I do not keep on practicing? And that is what I plan on doing, just not with they precious clothing, to their knowledge at least.

The Quick Stitch comes with 12 basic thread colors, thimble, scissors, a button, safety pin, straight pin, various sewing needles, a threader and a tape measure. A perfect emergency sewing kit, a college sewing kit or Scouting kit or incompetent mother's sewing kit and maybe link her to some appropriate YouTube sites on how to not make herself bleed and or cry during the process. I give this product my honest #hippiehappy review.

I received this product in return for my honest review of #hippiehappy or #nothippiehappy review.

Free Thinker? Speak your mind? How to make money or at least get lots of free stuff for telling people how you feel!

When I was little I remember my mother taking my brother to a few marketing surveys, one for a happy meal at White Castle and the other for a new concept at the time child proofing lighters. I was so jealous that my preschool aged brother was getting to try new and never seen before products and I had to sit in the lobby reading my Charlotte's Web. Scoot along a few years to my mallrat years and I loved being stopped by the interviewers around the fountains with clipboards, I sought them out. I didn't even care so much about the pay as much as I loved the concept of being in direct (indirectly) contact with large corporations telling them what you think about current products, products you need or flaws in areas of life without any product or the creme de le creme a new product that does what they claim and you now know before every one else. #hippiehappy

Since college I have been finding online surveys for pithily amounts, mostly you do thousands of surveys for little to no pay out. Then as I went on in my own life I found local places in Cincinnati that offer surveys onsite like J and R Coordinating or Various Views, or the Wolf Group.

I swear I am not digressing this time, winks. I love trying products and telling people my opinion on them and I love brainstorming in groups of strangers that I will never see again that is mainly what the local consumer panelists are centered around. When I could no longer get my fix from these groups, I started blogging to get out my opinions on things in between what me and my husband call "STRONGLY WORDED LETTERS" when a product fails to live up to what it claims and it comes with a guarantee on the side. My strongly worded letters are not rude and they are not demanding anything. I truly want companies to know when what they say and what their product does do not meet in the middle. I work, scrimp, save and plan where almost every dime in my budget goes and I expect what I buy to do what it claims especially if there is a money back guarantee. Okay, that was a little digression.

My blog started off as a way to help my writing, all authors have blogs so I started one years ago. I wrote like a blog a year until 2014 when I read a blog that talked about Tomoson a site that united bloggers and companies looking for people to review their products. Ding DING DING. Did I hear you correctly? You will send me things for free or pay me to write a blog for trying your product? Yes please. I signed up with Tomoson last year and slowly only did a few reviews last year mostly because my epilepsy meds kept my mind too foggy to put thoughts in order in a timely manner. The first few blogs for Tomoson took days to write and now without the L med I can write a blog in an hour. No accounting for taste.



Social Spark- Has a great set up. Once you complete the registration, there will be a part where you can bid on projects (twitter campaigns, blogs, etc) and when you click on the title of the project and see who the company is, what they are expecting, and when they will take bids till. I am still learning this one and I will continue to report on Social Spark and their partners in the weeks to come. I put in three bids, the amount a free account allows you (I don't pay anyone to make me money, seems counter productive.)
https://socialspark.com/r1GKQ


Tomoson-- Almost all of the reviews I have completed so far have been from Tomoson. I love this company and use it daily. I have received over thirty items so far to review and the application process it simple. Tomoson has a daily updated composite list of companies looking for product testers


Influenster-- I have received 2 boxes from them so far. They give you a voxbox with a product in it, for instance I got a pack of Carefree pantyliner's with the assignment to tweet, Facebook, and Instagram #freshisfierce for a month. It is two fold. You get free products and get to let brands know what you think about their products.

Use this link to sign up: www.influenster.com/r/921134


Boost Insider-- USing this one, have to make 10 dollars.  Use this lead http://bst.is/Rm7NW8
This one gives you assignments like Diet Combo: Garcinia Cambogia XT + Natural Cleanse Plus where I am asked to share a link like this http://bst.is/dnDPW8 and for each link that people click http://bst.is/dnDPW8 I will get a set amount of money like a cent to fifteen cents for a person to click on the link you have listed.  But you have to hit the $10 limit to cash out. So you are going to do some work for this money not out of the universe, defintely a light at the end of the tunnel and even easier the more work you put into this one.
The other great part of Boost Insider is that it some of the businesses are so super cool and give back to the greater good and not just for profit companies. The first assignment I got was a program called Kidstarter fundraiser site for STEM learning projects for kids.

I thought Danyel wanted to write Novels? Why do I see these weird blog thingys?

I wanted to clarify to anyone who may actually take to read this blog to understand why I took a break from writing and editing on my novels. In October 2013, I was off work and unable to drive for 3 months due to my epilepsy. I was put through battery of tests and on a couple meds, off a med then up-ed and up-ed the dosages until I was drugged up enough for them to feel that I was safe to not have seizures. Then I had to take the meds long enough to not be a walking zombie in order to get the okay to get my driving privileges back.


Needless to say my brain stopped working properly, during my time off I struggled to help with my then 3rd grade son's homework as the meds were in me it got a little better. It took me over six months before I could read a book and even longer before I was writing again. I started reviewing products for two reasons-- one I LOVE FREE STUFF, especially nice free stuff like 75 dollar face cream; and finally it kept me writing even if it was a few hundred words here and there. Its wasn't novels but it was words and something was better than nothing.

A moon or two ago I realized my seizures did not seem to be under control the way I wanted them to be. Each month the I seem to be adding another bad day, I was not eating gluten, I could not figure it out. Long story short, New neurologist, titrated off Lyrica and every day in the weening process has been another day closer to a clear head. Today is day 3 with no Lyrica. Maybe I will return to my real love-- my books. I can say my muse has been whispering in my ear in the shower and when I am driving. That is where I started writing this blog.

Well today's review is for Smooth Viking Beard Conditioner. Hubby started growing a beard last summer and the only part of his transformation that I did not love was that facial hair is not very soft. Smooth Viking beard conditioner does make the facial hair softer so it does what its name suggests. Their ingredients are 100% Natural: Shea Butter, Mango Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, Argan Oil, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Jojoba, Beeswax, Pure Essential Oil. The product was high quality balm and came in teeny manly burlap sack. There is only one thing I didn't care for. The scent was not appealing enough for my hubby enjoy the softness of the conditioning that close to his nose though, just personal preference of scent not product.

One of lifes greats-- a cup of coffee is back in my life again

When the letter-cup single serve coffee craze began, I was so stoked. I struggle with making a consistent cup of coffee. It was either too strong, too weak or I would just get sick of the whole filter coffee struggle. If the coffee maker was on the cheap side chances are the filter would fall down and I would end up drinking more grounds than ended up in the filter. Ugh. Then my hubby bought me the coffee maker that takes those cute coffee cups. And I loved that, perfect cup every time. Then it didn't. I started getting grounds and the single serve cup was all busted open when I opened the top. In the news single serve coffee machine started exploding opening, now I never got burned but my machine did start popping open. The Letter-Cup coffee company did replace the first one that had issues. When the second one started having issues, I was done and I think it was right about summer time when my letter-cup brewer died so I replaced my coffee habit with a new kick in the head drink by Dew of the Mountain.

Then for Lent I gave up my Kicks in the head and I cannot afford to drink four dollar coffees, especially if you have more than one cup of caffeine in a given day. Then Tomoson had an opportunity to review Francois et Mimi 50oz Glass French Press, I jumped at the chance to try a new way of having coffee. My Aunti is a full fledged hippie and my source for all things awesomely natural and organic. She is a healer, masseuse and was the first person I ever knew to have a glow that draws people in and in the last thirty some years that glow has only grown brighter. I digress, wink. So the only time I have had experience with a french press is when Aunti has made me coffee in her french press. It was great, rich, but sometimes grinds got through but with enough sugar it was yummy enough.

So when I opened the box, I was happy to see a single piece of equipment, strange that there was not any peanuts or styrofoam, just a plunger inside the glass coffee carafe. To be honest my first batch was a little weak, mostly because of my ability to grind my coffee beans. I am working with the fine-ness of the coffee to find the richness of the taste of the joe. The Francois et Mimi Glass French does not allow any grinds to get through so far. It says it is dishwasher safe, but I have only hand washed mine-- mostly because I don't want the kids to have the opportunity to eff it up.

But after just a few weeks with the press I feel a nice comfort with it that I think will only grow that I am glad that makes me feel good about the less processed version of coffee. Sort of primitive simplicity in life that makes me smile. #hippiehappy


I received this complimentary in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

BEST OF THE YEAR--Seaweed Complex Lotion [Natural & Organic] Review--

Wanna know what the T is?

I have been using different subsided products from companies through Tomoson and I have been given multiple serums, lotions, and moisturizers intended for the face and neck. And I have been truthful in my reviews without lying. I made complete truths when I spoke about what each of those products did.

But this is the best. Hands down, this is the best product I have used ever on my face-- free or not. I look forward to putting this on my face every day, for the rest of my life. Seriously, I look forward putting this on my freshly cleaned skin like I look forward to that first drink of great Mocha latte before an early morning meeting.

First, you only need to use a small amount of this product-- and it went a long way. Then there is the tingle as it penetrates the skin. I used it on my whole face and on my neck. The final and the most surprising part of the use evaluation is the smell. It invigorates my soul in some way that I cannot explain. The closest thing I can say it smells like is hot guy as you are rubbing it in then dissipates into your skin and leaves no noticeable smell past a few moments of lustful moments of inhaling.

My skin awakens before I do and looks vibrant with no makeup. I feel good and I think I look good too.

This awesome feeling has not dwindled on my skin. Weeks have gone by and I have used serums and eye de-puffers in conjugation and this is still the one I cannot put down. I should be moving on and just switching out but this will stay as my moisturizer. This is MY lotion. Period. My face cannot go a day without my Seaweed Complex by Foxbrim.

YALMEH Super Youth Eye Cream 15g 0.5 OZ Review

Over the last year I have been losing weight and one of my worries has been sagging skin. I have seen people lose weight and their faces look bad and I almost wonder if they wouldn't look better heavy. So I have been trying different products to keep my skin and face from looking like a sad hollow pumpkin a week after Halloween.

So I was sent a product from Yalmeh, Super Youth Eye Cream. I have loved using it before I go to bed under my eyes and on the squinty place between my eyes that my husband notices when I forget to put my glasses on. The cream is thick and only requires a small amount. The amount seems that it will last a few months.


When my daughter saw me using this new product she asked about it and I was telling her about puffy eyes and wrinkles. It reminded me about a friend of mine in high school that started using eye creams and wrinkle creams in her teens-- and I thought we don't have wrinkles and wont have to worry about that shit for years.


Spring forward twenty years, and I am just now starting creams and serums. That friend of my looks amazing because someone told her some secret that she started two decades before me. But now I feel like I am catching backwards with my friend who had the forethought. I have seen a decrease in my squinty lines, its like the eye cream really has erased some of the normally deep trenched lines. And I thought that was not possible.



It is pretty brilliant. But don'

t take my word for it, check it out.


If you want to buy it here is the place:

Peppermint Oil - 100% Pure & Natural Essential Oil Review-- trying to use my DIY skils

One of the key ingredients I have noticed in many of the Pinterest recipes for DIY home products is essential oils. I received Pure Body Naturals 100% pure and natural Peppermint essential Oil from Tomoson for my review. I was excited to receive it just in time for Christmas and for the chest cold the family all got at the same time. My first use was the steam therapy for the family. I boiled a few drops of the oil in water when a few of my family members were sick and to help the dry air and to put the peppermint in the air which seemed to make it easier to breathe. The essential oil burned clean and was easy to work with. The cap and top of the bottle makes it easy to not pour but add drops-- which is all you need. The peppermint oil is very strong. Another way I used the Pure Body Naturals Peppermint oil was to add it to my DIY cleaning products I make with White distilled vinegar (which does not smell yummy at all). And just one drop of this is all you need in a full size water bottle of cleaner I made. This product was perfect. I used it in many different ways and this large 4oz bottle still has so much left. I am so excited about using it in concoction with other essential oils as I increase in my skills in alchemy of cleaning and home products. If you would like to pick this up, here is the link

Car Seat Back Protector/Cover Review

I recieved a car seat back protector/cover from Dot Dot Travel and it couldnt have come at a more perfect time. I have a new 2014 Nissan Sentra with dark charcoal interior and in Southwest Ohio in December and January there's many things you can count on and the main one is salt on the roads. Salt on the roads is salt on my kids shoes and salt on the back of my seat. The seat cover was there to keep the salt from my seat and saving my car, it was and is brilliant. I promised myself with the new car the kids would not get the seats all nasty this go around. Well my kids are being trained but car seat protector is really doing all the work. But all I really want is clean seats. It took a second to install and did not block the seat belt and doesn't look tacky and matches my interior niceley. My teenager wants to know why she doesn't have one on her side of the car. From the outside of the car no one could see that there was any difference between one seat and the other. This was easy product use, the install took less than a minute and has not moved since then. The fasteners are thick and secure. I would recommend this to anyone to keep the back of their seats.

Australian Tea Tree Oil - Including FREE Recipe Guide Review

For the last year or so I have been trying to change how the McDaniel household is living its life. Now my Princess and Bubbers really only have begun to notice the subtle changes I have made by eliminating harsh chemicals from our foods and from the things I use to clean and use around our home. I stopped buying the thousands of different sprays and started making my own last summer and this year I was able to move into some new territory with Essential oils being added to my homemade earth friendly products. The first Essential oil I worked with was Australian Tea Tree Oil. And I picked a great one, with such versatility. I intended just to use it for a few things I had heard about-- toe fungus treatment and bug repellant. But the recipe guide was filled with tons of other uses that I could spend all year trying all these out. And as big of a bottle as they give you 4oz when you only need a drop for most recipes-- believe me a drop goes a long way. I feel good using this product in my home and I love that I am replacing chemicals with natural essential oils. Here is where you can buy it http://www.amazon.com/Australian-Potency-Aromatherapy-Household-Cleaning/dp/B00GF1NZLY/ref=cm_rdp_product I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Zip and Block Soft Block Anti Allergen Bed Bug Proof Breathable Waterproof Pillow Encasing Review.

It is kinda hard to review a pillow case but it was soft and no noticeable allergen got through. I still put my own matching case over one of them for matching the bedding but otherwise I really didn't notice the difference from a regular pillow case. It wasn't like a hard plastic, which was nice. I normally struggle with seasonal allergies and worry about dust mites. I regularly buy new pillows to help with this issue and with this case I don't have to. I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

V.2 Garcinia Cambogia 1600 MG Upgraded Strength 100% Pure and Premium Review

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial. The over the years I have used and seen so many diets over the years. Garcinia Cambogia is popping up every where now. I cannot attest to those products but I was allowed to try Life and Food's Garcinia Cambogia over the last few weeks. I already eat a gluten free diet and took these. These are not a miracle drug for those looking for an overnight miracle. But they can help curve a little bit of that overwhelming obsession with "I need to eat" that some seasons bring. I am working on the rafflecopter giveaway! a Rafflecopter giveaway I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

MIRA Instant On Digital Bathroom Scale with lighted display Review.

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial. A month ago I received the MIRA Instant ON bathroom scale to review and it has been a welcome addition to our home. In years past I have had scales you have to click some button on the side or tap it with your foot once before you step on it to get it to work. This scale is simple and to the point. Step on, see your weight. Just that easy. The backlit screen was easy to read both in the dark or during the day. It gives you a accurate reading down to the tenth of a pound. The only thing I would be able to say negatively is this scale showed me that I have a few unlevel places on my floor! LOL! Seriously I could not find anything wrong with this scale. My kids, husband and myself were all able to use it with ease. And I found it particularly great because I lost 17 pounds this month! This is the best scale I have ever owned. Thanks MIRA! I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.