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Ariel Excel Gel
by emmad5689
I had never actually used Ariel gel before but a few months back I had a £1 voucher and it was on offer at £4 so I decided to give it a try as I thought £3 for 24 washes was decent value for a branded laundry product. The usual selling price is £8 for a 24 wash bottle or £6 for a 16 wash bottle however it is one of the products that Asda ... have reduced at the moment so you can get 24 washes for £4 from there.
The product comes in a mainly white plastic bottle, there are 2 different varieties and I bought the gel with Febreeze which has a turquoise coloured lid which is stands on and then there is a dosing pot which clips on the top of the bottle. On the front of the bottle you are told this can work at 15 degrees, it can be used for whites and colours and that it has actilift technology.
On the back of the bottle you have the dosing information, the dosing pot holds 37mls of product and you are told that for a 4-6kg wash you should use,
Soft water and clothes a little dirty - 25mls
Soft water and clothes very dirty - 46mls
Medium water and clothes a little dirty - 37mls
Medium water and clothes very dirty - 46mls
Hard water and clothes a little dirty - 46mls
Hard water with clothes very dirty - 46mls
You should add an extra 12mls for a bigger washload.
You are also told this isn't suitable for handwashing, shouldn't be used on silks or wool and you shouldn't put the dosing pot in the dryer, I put the pot in the dryer simply because I forgot to take it out when I set the drier off and there wasn't any problems. I personally used about 30mls per wash and I live in a medium water area but I didn't feel the full amount was needed and it still worked well and of course meant that I got extra washes from the bottle.
To use the product you simply flip the lid open and squeeze the bottle into the dosing pot, the gel is thick so doesn't come out of the bottle too fast making dosing easy and it smells nice and fresh and of the original Febreeze. You then place the pot into the machine and then set off your wash, there is a see through strip on the side of the bottle so you can see how much you have left in the bottle which I found useful.
I personally wash my clothes on 30 degrees unless it is bedding or towels when I wash at 60 degrees, I found the gel very easy to use and the bottle was ideal for dispensing the product. I found that my clothes have come clean without any problems and it washed out chocolate, mud and blood so it does have great stain removing power. I will buy this again at £4 for a bottle but there is no way I would ever pay £8 for the bottle as that is far too much to pay to wash clothing in my opinion. I give this 5 stars as I found it left my clothes soft, smelling fresh and clean.
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Homebase Paint
by hlb2009
I feel like I am quite a paint expert. Since October last year I have spent a lot of my time painting the rooms in our house, repainting them and also helping my parents help their house. I have bought lots of different brands of paint over the last year and this Homebase one is one which I was not overly impressed with but if you are on ... a budget then it will suffice.
Options
There are different types of paint which you can buy so if you are a DIY expert and you stand in the paint aisle it can all seem a bit daunting. There are paints for bathrooms, paints for kitchens, paints for various surfaces such as wood, metal, radiators and then even the 'normal' paints come with different types- mat, gloss, eggshell... Homebase paint has a wide choice, you can buy all these different options in this stores brand and it is several pounds cheaper than the big brands (Dulux, Crown etc).
As well as options concerning what surface/type of paint you are requiring there are many options in terms of colour. Unlike with Dulux there are not hundreds and thousands of different shades, instead it's more limited but there is still a good array of paints which you can buy. If you are after a very specific colour then you are probably best looking into getting it mixed up with the Dulux paints.
Once you have worked out what type of paint you require and also the shade then you have another choice- what size tin do you go for? There are very small tester pots which cost around £3 and then there are huge vats of it. My advice would be to not be conservative- you are using a cheaper brand, be prepared to need plenty of coats and to be liberal!
My experience
I bought this paint in a very rich purple colour for painting our bedroom wall. I actually chose this brand instead of others just based on the shade. It was the exact colour I was looking for and was already mixed so I wouldn't have to stand around and wait for them to mix it with the Dulux paint. It was then just an added bonus that it was £3 cheaper than the big brands.
The paint comes in a tin and has a handle which is very helpful as without it would be quite hard to carry especially as it's heavy. The colour of the paint is displayed clearly on the front but always remember that what it looks like on the tin may not be how it looks exactly on your wall so you may need to buy a tester pot first to check.
Taking the lid off requires, as always, a flat headed screw driver to release it. As I have said in previous reviews- a biro will not suffice!
The paint inside needs stirring first. A kind of oil had gathered on the top and it looked a bit streaky. If I applied this directly to the wall I'm sure the outcome would have been quite a miserable one! Most paint needs stirring first but this one looked especially in need of doing so.
Before painting the wall always make sure that you prep it properly first- so tape up areas you want to avoid like plug sockets and skirting board and adjoining walls. Cover up your furniture and carpet to protect it.
I always use a paint try whilst painting. My experience over the last year has just proven that this is most practical for me. If I just used it directly from the pot then it would involve me carrying it around and it's heavy and I'd probably manage to knock it over. Also if you are using a roller it is the best way to get the paint onto the roller and for it to be evenly spread out along it. You do not need to pour a lot of paint into the tray, if you put too much on then rolling it out can be awkward, the roller can stick if it's too full and you can end up just wasting paint as it drips off the edge of the roller.
When applying it to the wall you need to do so in even strokes and make sure you don't have too thick patches in one place and too thin patches in others else it will dry quite patchy and streaky. I found that this rolled onto the wall quite well, it spread quickly and it looked as though a little bit went a long way. I felt positive that perhaps I would only need to do one coat and then a quick coat over the top the next day.
The paint does smell quite strongly. We made sure all the windows were open and even after I had finished painting we kept them open as the smell lingered.
As the paint began to dry I noticed it was quite patchy even though whilst I was rolling it out it didn't look like it was. There were several areas which looked like they had been missed entirely and it was quite disheartening. I do know that paint usually takes two coats but upon watching this dry I could tell that it would need at least another, perhaps even two.
It is advised that you leave it 12-24 hours before applying the second coat. This meant that it then took us into another day. I painted over it which was a much faster job and then once it had dried I was disappointed to see that there were still some patches. It did look much better but it wasn't perfect so two days later I applied the third and luckily, final coat.
The final coat, number three, was finished and I was glad that I had bought two medium sized tins. I will definitely recommend that if you buy this that you think in a liberal manner and over buy instead of try to be conservative and buy less. you can always return unopened paint that you haven't used.
The outcome
Three coats of paint later and the wall was finished and I was very pleased with it. The colour of the paint is a very rich purple and it has a mat finish. This makes a big impact upon the wall and looks really very nice. You cannot see any streaks of patches in it at all, even when looking closely I cannot see any.
I have had to touch it up in a few areas over the last week because Hope has managed to grate a biscuit into it! Because it is a mat paint there has been no problems with just touching up small areas, it doesn't leave a mark.
I am very pleased with this paint. It was very hard to clean off the roller and brush though because it is a dark, rich colour it did take quite a while and I found that if I didn't rinse it off immediately it would be even harder to clean so I advise if you are using a paint like this then you clean your utensils right away!
What I don't like about the paint is that it took a long time to actually get it on the wall- having to do 3 layers of paint was quite time-consuming and frustrating so I'm subtracting a star for that but it definitely deserves a full 4 stars. The finish of the paint is just as good as any other brand and it's a lovely colour that I am very pleased with. It is quite true to the sticker on the front too which makes a change!
I recommend this if you're on a budget and you have the time to be prepared to do several coats of paint. If you are trying to do a paint job as quickly as possible then you may want to use a more expensive paint which won't involve having to use 3 layers!
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Yankee Candle Jar Warm Spice
by thriftygiftyisme
I was brought this last year from a friend who knows that I am mad on Yankee candles. Although my budget normally is a wax tartlet.
=Price=
After having a look on the internet the general price was around £16.99
=Burn time=
The candle says it has a burn time of between 65 and 90 hours, I had about 85 hours ... from mine so I was very impressed
=Scent=
The scent was a lovely mix of spice, which was cinnamon, clove, coriander seed, star anise and with a hint of vanilla. I use to burn mine for a couple of hours in an evening, then the scent would stay with me for another few hours. It was weird as it was the first candle that I had, but I found that the wax tartlets seemed to last longer in terms of the scent. To me although this was a summer purchase, I kept the candle for winter evenings.
=The Candle=
The candle is contained within a glass jar, with a matching lid. The candle has one wick, which is based in the centre of the candle, I was impressed as even with one wick, the candle burned evenly. The advice given by Yankee Candles, is to ensure you trim the wick so that it is not more than 1/4in in height.
=Smokey Mark=
I did notice that on some occasions there was a smoky ring around the top of the jar, but when the candle was cool I gave it a quick wipe down with a baby wipe.
=Safety=
The candle should be placed out of the way of children, animals, flammable materials and textiles, to prevent any risk of fire, and also ensure the wick is fully out before going to bed,
=Would i recommend=
I would highly this fragrance, as its spicy but not too strong, and lovely for the winter evenings. Although whether I would pay that much for a candle is a different matter, gifts yes, my pocket no.
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