My Magazine Sharing New Year, New You

Thanks to My Magazine Sharing network and Kroger, I got the chance to try a bunch of products for free! (#freesample #ad)

Picture of the free samples and sharing coupons

Here are my thoughts on the products included.

Nature Made® Multi Adult Gummies, 2 ct. - I'm vegetarian, so I can't take gummy vitamins because of the gelatin. My husband tried them. He thought they tasted good and had a nice texture.

Osteo Bi-Flex® Ease, 7 ct. - As a vegetarian, I shouldn't have tried this, but I have horrible knees and wanted to give it a shot. The product prominently advertises that it "Shows Improved Joint Comfort within 7 days!" with a whole bunch of caveats. I used it for the full 7 days of the sample. I didn't notice any difference or improvement. Maybe it would work if I took it longer, but I'm not sure I'm willing to try.

Sensodyne® Rapid Relief Mint Toothpaste - To be 100% honest, I've tried this product before and actually have a full-sized tube in my bathroom. I like it a lot. I'm not sure it works quite as well as the sensitivity toothpastes with potassium nitrate, but it definitely works better than regular toothpaste with the other form of fluoride.

16 Day Trial of Metamucil® - I have not tried this and have not found a willing volunteer. I eat plenty of fiber in my diet and am also recovering from a round of strong antibiotics, so I'm not willing to add more fiber into my system right now.

ChapStick® Total Hydration Lip Balm - This is a good product. Works well, feels nice, okay flavor. I'm not sure that it's that big of an improvement over other products out there. Yes, better than regular ChapStick, but very similar to other brands of lip balm.

One A Day® Nature’s Medley Multivitamin - Again, I'm a vegetarian and don't do gummy vitamins. My husband tried them. He thought the flavor was lacking and that they were too tough to chew. (I appreciate that they have less sugar than you typical gummy vitamin.) I gave the rest of the sample to a friend to try. She says they are fine but nothing special as far as she can tell.

Listerine® Ready! Tabs™, 8 ct. - This is a fun, convenient product. It works really well. It's a bit odd the first time you use it, but once you know what to expect, it's nice. Great to have in your purse or car or wherever for some last-minute freshness. Overall, some good products and a couple that I will purchase in the future. Thanks, My Magazine Sharing Network!

Nutrition Now MultiVites Hair Skin and Nails Gummy Vitamins Mixed Berry

Thanks to Smiley360, I got to try Nutrition Now™ MultiVites Hair, Skin & Nails gummy vitamins for free.

I found some pros and cons.

Pros:

-Easy to take - no glass of water needed

-Nice combination of vitamins - it's more than just biotin

-Flavor is good - nice berry flavor

Cons:

-Not suitable for vegetarians (gelatin) or vegans (gelatin and beeswax)

-High sugar content (6g per serving)

-Excessive amounts of some vitamins, especially the biotin (just because some is good does not mean tons is better - most of this is just getting flushed out of your system)

-Expensive per dose compared to other products (about $.0.85/dose)

-Less than a one-month supply per bottle if taken as directed

The gelatin itself rules out this product for me, along with the cost and sugar content, but it might be okay for some people.

Advil PM

Thanks to Smiley 360, I got the chance to try Advil PM for free.

Advil PM is a combination of Advil (ibuprofen) and diphenhydramine citrate (an antihistamine). Honestly, I probably would not have applied for the mission if I had know the active ingredient ahead of time. I use diphenhydramine occasionally for my allergies, and I can have very different reactions to it. About 80% of the time, it makes me drowsy and sleepy. About 10-15% of the time, it makes me very jittery. Therefore, I don't like to use it for insomnia. Also, very consistently when I take it, I wake up very abruptly about 3-4 hours after taking it. It's like my body just jolts awake once most of the medicine has worked through my system.

As for the Advil PM, I have been fortunate the couple of times I have tried it and it has not made me jittery. However, only one of the two times did it really help me fall asleep, but it did not prevent me from waking up multiple times during the night. It does come in a small package, convenient to keep near your bed. The pills are large, but not enormous. For people who need some pain relief and some help falling asleep, this is likely an okay product, but it is not a product that does anything different for me that one I already have and use. Advil PM

CharcoCaps® from DSE Healthcare

I received a free sample of CharcoCaps from The Upside Community to try and review.

CharcoCaps are from DSE Healthcare and are made from activated charcoal. This is a porous product used to trap toxins. You can find it in all sorts of health and beauty products these days. According to the CharcoCaps website, "Unlike other anti-gas products that use simethicone (an OTC drug ingredient) or enzymes, CharcoCaps® Anti-Gas Formula binds to gas and toxins carrying them safely out of the digestive system. Activated charcoal is naturally gentle on the stomach, and safe with no side effects when used according to label instructions (some users may experience darkening of the stool)."

I've tried CharcoCaps two or three times now, usually after very veggie heavy meals, typically in the early evening. I have to say that I am pretty impressed. They haven't totally gotten rid of my gas, but they have definitely made a huge improvement. I've only done one dose when I've used them, so I imagine if I took a follow-up dose that they would totally relieve the issue, but one dose has been enough to make me pretty comfortable. I can definitely see these being a brand I do to again and again. Even a half dose provided me enough relief on one occasion to be comfortable.

Thanks to my free sample of CharcoCaps, I now have a great way to manage those days when I'm gassy or bloated. The product is easy to use and has no taste. I also had no issues with any side effects. The blister packs that it comes in means that you can just take a dose or two and slip them in your purse or pocket when you are out which is very convenient. I would definitely recommend this product to others.

Please note, due to the way this product works, it can interfere with the effectiveness of other medications you take. Do not take within two hours (either before or after) of any other medications you may take.

Ripple Plant Milk

I got the chance to try Ripple plant-based milk for free thanks to MyMagazine Sharing Network. In the interest of full disclosure, I have purchased the Unsweetened Original flavor in the past on my own and did not like it at all. I typically use this type of product as a drink or over cereal, and I found the taste to be very strong and unpleasant. I drank about half a cup and then gave the rest of the bottle to a friend.

So for this free product trial, I decided to try the Chocolate variety seen here. My usual morning beverage is chocolate soy milk, but I still have mixed opinions about consuming that much soy, so I was hoping this would be a great alternative.

Upon opening and pouring the product, I found it to be very think. Almost the consistency of cream versus milk. I took a small sip and found it to be far too thick, so I added some water. However, even that first sip was not very promising. This does not taste like any chocolate beverage that I have ever had. The chocolate does nothing to mask the underlying flavor of the pea protein. I've been trying to come up with some way to describe the flavor of the pea protein base, but I really just can't. In addition, there is an almost metallic undertone to it and it is very bitter and leaves a very bitter aftertaste in my mouth for a long time. Finally, I found myself to be very upper-GI system gassy after drinking this. I burped regularly for at least an hour after finishing one glass.

I have since had a second glass that I again watered down and this time added ice before drinking. I still don't like the product, but if I drink it quickly, I can get it down so I will not waste the bottle. However, this brand (and I have tried the yogurt as well) is not one I can recommend. I'll stick to soy milk for now.

Ripple Greek Yogurt Alternative

Thanks to MyMagazine Sharing Network, I got the chance to try Ripple Greek Yogurt Alternative for free. As a coincidence, a friend of mine had also given me one of these as she had purchased them but didn't really like them. So I ended up trying both the maple and blueberry flavors.
I tried the maple first. It wasn't horrible, but it also wasn't very good. There wasn't really much actual maple flavor. If you had given it to me and not told me what flavor it was, I would not have been able to tell you. And it contains real maple syrup according to the label. I could definitely taste the pea-protein base (Ripptein is their trademarked name for this). It's a pretty strong, distinctive flavor. I also found the mouth feel to be a bit astringent. After eating it, my mouth felt really dry. Also, the consistency is much closer to regular yogurt, not Greek yogurt. It is pretty thin. And finally, the aftertaste of the product, which was not good, lasted for a long time. I went ahead and tried the blueberry, hoping that the flavor of blueberries would do more to cover up the Ripptein flavor. No. It was actually worse. I took one bite and threw the rest away. I'll stick to soy yogurt for now when I want a non-dairy product, which probably says a lot about how I felt about the Ripple. If you want to find out more about the line, check it out here: Ripple

Kroger spa line

Let me start by saying that I am not a girly-girl. I don't wear make-up and my typical beauty routine is nothing more than washing my face and using sunscreen. However, as I get older, I realize I should probably do more, so I was definitely intrigued by my free samples from the Kroger Spa line.

I started with trying the exfoliating facial mask. I have to admit, I have never used a sheet mask before, but I've seen videos on the internet, so I figured it would be pretty easy. I have to say, it was a lot messier than I expected it to be. First, when I pulled it out of the packaging, it had already come partially free from the backing, so even just unfolding it was a challenge. The backing basically just fell off as I pulled it out. Once I got it out and unfolded, I found it to be very wet, almost to the point of drippy. It took me a while to get it on my face and it didn't really seem to fit very well. It seemed too narrow at my eyes and was far too big from edge to edge and top to bottom (and I have a fairly big head). I actually had to tear it a little to keep it from being over the outside corners of my eyes. Also, if you wear glasses, plan on not doing anything for 20 minutes since you will no be able to wear them with the mask on. I waited 20 minutes and removed it. The directions tell you to then just pat in the remaining product, but there was so much product left on my face that this was just not possible. I had to rinse. Parts of my face were quite red after use, but this went away within 45 minutes (maybe less). My skin did feel smoother after use, but that's the only difference I saw. By the next day, I couldn't really see anything different about my skin. I'm not sure how I feel about trying the other masks, so I gave the hydrating one to a friend to use.

For the price, I think about $3, these are fine. But they aren't something that I am likely to buy in the future. I am interested in checking out the bath products, so I will look for them in the future.