For those of you who don’t know, I’m a web development and graphic design consultant, and my profession often leaves me with a very unpredictable schedule.  On Friday of last week, I had to get up in the wee hours of the morning to head to a consult after being unable to sleep (for less than 4 hours) the night before and I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it through the day without SOMETHING.

So despite my qualms with energy drinks and the like, I dropped by a gas station on the way there to pick up a 5 hour energy shot.  Unfortunately they didn’t have any, so I opted for their suggested alternative: NOS Power Shot.

I’d never heard of NOS before and quite frankly I was a bit concerned with the warning label on the front (”Not reccommended for people with sensitivity to caffeine”).  I started to limit my caffeine and sugar intake in February and I figured any sort of overload would have noticeable effects on my body/work performance.  I decided to air on the side of caution and drink half of the energy shot at first to see how it affected my body.

Within about 10 minutes I noticed my eyesight becoming sharper (my blurry or what I call “sleepy eyes” dissipating) and I definitely began feeling more energized.  My energy sort of leveled out after a while, but I was able to make it about half way through the work day before feeling my energy level declining.  With no adverse effects from the first dose (remember, I only drank half) I decided to drink the rest of the NOS Power Shot to get me through the last few hours of work.  As expected I got the same sort of boost as before and was able to make it through the rest of the day.

Then I got home.

That’s where things started to go downhill, and fast.  Within an hour of getting home I had fallen asleep on the couch while folding laundry.

In all fairness, I have to say my lack of sleep and the amount of work I had done that day was probably what made me crash so abruptly.  However, caffeinated drinks DO have that “crash factor” and it’s the norm for people to use these sort of energy shots to get through days after little or no sleep.  By “it’s the norm” I mean this is what energy drinks are usually used for, not that all Americans regularly use energy shots (although it’s not that uncommon).

Overall I have to say I was pleased with the results, although this is something I wouldn’t reccommend doing on a daily basis (as your caffeine tolerance would build).  So here’s my rundown of NOS Power Shot:

Overall Rating:

Pros:

• Pleasant taste (even for a picky person like me)
• Small container
• Does what it promises

Cons:

• Noticeable crash once it wears off
• Unhealthy for repeated use
• Possible dependency if used regularly
• May not last very long

When rinsing out your wax warmer after using sugar wax, be sure not to let water get into any openings that may expose the inner components.  Also, be sure not to leave your wax warmer unattended!

Cranergy is made by Ocean Spray and contains cranberry juice, grape juice, green tea extracts, and a healthy dose of B vitamins (not 150% of suggested daily intake like most energy drinks). From what I’ve seen it comes in two flavors: cranberry and raspberry. It’s a mere 50 calories per 12 fl. oz. bottled serving. Cranergy has a very low amount of sugar because it’s made with Splenda and is jam-packed with vitamin C.

I really think this is the way energy drinks should be. It doesn’t give you a jittery burst of energy that’s way over the top like other caffeinated drinks. It delivers a subtle and natural boost to help you along.

A lot of people use energy drinks as a suppliment (or substitute) for sleep. Cranergy will by no means support this unrealistic and unhealthy lifestyle because it’s subtle. I think if we had more products like this on store shelves, people might make the healthy choice to stop overworking themselves and foregoing sleep.

I had a bottle of this one morning before I went to the National Zoo and I have to say it really boosted my energy, especially after having been sick for a week from getting my wisdom teeth pulled. I was more energetic than the other two people I went with, which I found pretty surprising. I went into the day thinking I would be dragging the rest of them down! I didn’t have any sort of crash, but ask expected I was pretty exhausted at the end of our 7 hour trip to the zoo.

Keep in mind, a good energy drink shouldn’t perform miracles! If it does, chances are there will be an equal and opposite reaction: a crippling crash.

Image Credit: MuchMoreThanAMom.com

Fast Heat-Up Time; Variable Temperature Settings; Non-Stick Well; Locking Lid; Compact unit holds standard containers up to 16 oz; Convenient handle on warmer for transporting. (From Spilo.com)

It’s pretty simple. Turn the dial to your desired setting, the light turns on to let you know it’s warming up and once it’s at the correct temperature the light goes off. Or so you’d think. The dial is a bit finicky and the labels for each setting aren’t exactly accurate. I use a sugar-based wax but set the warmer to parrafin. It does come with a little holder to lift out wax cans/containers that you place directly in the warmer, so I thought that was pretty nifty. Also, the handle REALLY helps out because you can just hold up the warmer while it’s plugged in and bring it closer to yourself when waxing.

It does it’s job, but even though it has a dial, there are really only 3 settings. There really is no fine-tuning, and in my opinion it makes the wax a bit too hot. While the lowest setting barely melted the wax, the medium (parrafin) setting nearly burned my skin. I can only imagine how ridiculously hot the actual wax (high) setting is. However, I do like that the inside of the warmer is designed not only for warming containers but also raw wax. The inside is non-stick, so it’s supposedly easy to clean.

The box is unprofessional and misleading. The warmer is shown with a multitude of waxing supplies and in small, barely legible text it states that those accessories aren’t included. I really think they could have placed the warmer in styrofoam to protect it from damage.

It may look good in the pictures, but the fact remains that the majority of the parts are cheaply made. The dial is made of cheap plastic and the painted logo on the front chips very easily. However, I have to give them credit for not underestimating the importance of using good quality materials for the main components.

So overall, I guess I’d have to give it 3 out of 5 stars. An average product, but an extraordinary price. I guess you get what you pay for! It ended up costing me around $24 on Amazon.com, and ended up being $33 with shipping. Damn UPS.

(Image credit: BeBeautiful.com)

Well, they sent another one out to me and it arrived today on time (the scheduled arrival date).  This one worked just fine, and all I had to do to send the broken one back was stick it in the box it came in, close it up, and adhere the new sticky label.  They included easy instructions for the shipping illiterate.  Now all I have to do is hand it off to the UPS guy that comes by my mom’s work every day.  If that weren’t an option, all I’d do is schedule a pickup for free online with UPS.

So here’s what I think of CacheBeauty:

They’re easy to contact when you have a problem, especially since they plaster their toll-free number all over their websites, profiles, and receipts.  The amount of time it takes for them to solve your problem is next to nothing, and they’re very pleasant during the whole process.

The only complaint I have regarding ‘ease of ordering’ is that they have quite a few websites, all with different items.  Unless you know exactly what you’re looking for, it’d be hard to find a product.  Other than that, they accept all standard payment methods and have both a catalog and online stores.

My only beef with CacheBeauty’s pricing is that their very low prices mislead you.  Yeah, sure, paying $20 for a $30 product SOUNDS great, but when it comes down to it, they use a really expensive shipping service that jacks up the price quite a bit.  Regardless, I did find a lot of good deals on their Amazon profile.  Even with shipping, a lot of their items are still cheaper than most.

CacheBeauty is pretty lucky they didn’t get a 2 on this, because I have to say I’m not very fond of their preferred shipping service.  UPS may be great for a business owner, but the customer ends up paying a hefty price.  UPS is CacheBeauty’s shipping choice, and it’s nearly double the cost of shipping via the USPS.  Not only that, I’m convinced the first warmer they sent out was damaged during shipping because it rattled as if a component had been dislodged inside.

This recipe can be found on hundreds of places online, but only here on TinkerBot will you find an accompanying solution for storing the wax so it can be easily used in a warmer.  I recommend using a warmer because it is the safest method of heating wax.  NEVER heat wax in a microwave unless a product instructs you to do so because it is VERY easy to burn yourself.

This wax is designed to be spread over your skin and covered with muslin (cotton) strips, then pulled off.  You can either cut up old tee-shirts or drop by a craft store to pick up fabric for the strips.

So, on to the recipe!

Ingredients Needed:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Supplies:

• Fork
• Small frying pan
• Flexible heat-resistant plastic container (ie: chinese take-out soup container)
• Ice cube tray
• Saran wrap
• Sturdy heat-resistant container

Prepping the kitchen:

• Make sure you have an empty sink to use.  Set a flexible heat-resistant plastic container such as a take-out soup container in the sink.
• Line an ice cube tray with saran wrap, making sure the saran wrap lines the inside of each compartment.

Making & Storing the Wax:

Click for Larger Image

1. Heat a small stove-top burner to medium-high.
2. Mix the ingredients (sugar, water, lemon juice) in a small frying pan using a fork.
3. Cook the mixture for 8 minutes once it begins to boil.  The mixture will bubble up so be sure to keep on stirring it with a fork to make sure it doesn’t bubble over.  Keep away from the center of the pan with your hands because the bubbles will burst and hot steam will rise.  You’ll know it’s done once it becomes a viscous brown colored liquid.
4. Pour the wax from the pan into the heat-resistant container in the sink.
5. Transfer the wax from the flexible heat-resistant container to the ice cube tray by squeezing the container to create a narrow lip to pour from.
6. Allow the wax to harden in the ice cube tray at room temperature.
7. Once the wax has hardened, peel away the saran wrap from the wax cubes.  If any saran wrap sticks in the crevices of the cube, simply cut away the wrap with a small paring knife.
8. Store the wax cubes in a sturdy heat-resistant container.

Waxing is a popular alternative to shaving that removes the hair by the roots. Hair typically does not grow back for 4-6 weeks. Over time with continued waxing, hair may grow back lighter and less coarse.

• When waxing, always apply the wax and strips in the direction of hair growth. If you apply the wax against the direction of hair growth, you’ll slowly and painfully rip out hairs one by one.
• As you remove the wax or strips, always pull against the growth of the hair (pulling from the tip towards the roots). Make sure you don’t pull the strip up and away from your skin. The aim is to keep the strip as close to your skin as possible while removing it.
• Make sure to remove the strips or wax in a single pull. Keep strips shorter than 1 foot. The more pulls it takes to remove a single strip, the less hair you’re going to remove.
• Your hair must be at least 1cm (about 1/4″) long in order for the wax to stick to it.
• Avoid any scabs or abrasions of any sort. Be sure to wax around them and instead shave that area until it heals.
• Make sure the wax isn’t too hot. Test it on a small area on the back of your hand before using it on any other part of your body. If you apply wax and you discover that it’s beginning to burn you, run the area under cold water or spread the wax thinner over your skin so it will cool quicker. Panicking and trying to pull the wax off your skin will cause a burning goopy mess that will burn a larger area of skin or even your hands.
• Applying baby powder or talcum powder to the area before waxing will keep the wax from sticking to your skin, ensuring easier removal and increased adherence to the hair.
• Always take a shower or rinse the waxed area after you’ve completed waxing. Any residue left from the wax will attract nasty little specs of dirt, dust, and lint. Be sure to moisturize/lotion your legs afterwards.
• Avoid varicose (spider) veins… erm- not that I would know anything about those.
• If you end up waxing your armpits (not recommended) don’t put on deodorant for a few days.

And perhaps the most important tip of all is:

• The only type of pubic waxing that is safe to do at home without the aid of a professional is your bikini line. I really wouldn’t recommend anything further because of how sensitive this area is.

Unfortunately, I discovered that the tape did not remove ALL the hair. Also, the hair it did remove took a few strips of tape on the same spot.  However, I did test the tape on both my and my boyfriend’s legs and it seemed to work MUCH better on him.  The majority of the hairs that didn’t come up off my legs were the few short blonde hairs I had.  On my boyfriend (oh, the things I’ve put him through over these past three years) after a few tries almost ALL of his hair came up from the one spot I was trying.  I think it was the fact that his hair was coarser and the tape stuck to it a lot easier.

Overall, I think it worked fairly well, and it DOES remove the majority of the hair.  However, I would end up waxing some spots afterwards.  I think it would be a good method to use if you would like to limit the amount of wax you use when waxing your legs.

Some things to keep in mind if you’re going to wax your legs with duct tape:

• Don’t keep the tape on for a very long time (no longer than a minute or two), and make sure you’re in a cool room.  If you sweat underneath the tape it will lose stickiness and not pull off any hairs.
• Avoid any scabs on your legs.  Chances are the tape WILL rip them off and possibly any skin around it.
• Make sure your hair is at the very least 1cm (a little more than 1/4″) in length.  Chances are the tape won’t pull up any little blonde hairs.
• ONLY use duct tape on your legs.  Do NOT use on your pubic area.  That’s a really sensitive area… if you aren’t aware of this you’re either 11 or a dumbass.

When I tried tape waxing, it was pretty straightforward and very similar to using hot wax with muslin strips.  But for those of you who need a how-to guide:

How to Wax Your Legs with Duct Tape in 10 Easy Steps

1. Read up on any and all risks/precautions involved.  I’ve included my own handy bulleted list above.
2. Grab a roll of duct tape from your local hardware, tractor supply, office, or craft store.  I’ve found that both InterTape and Staples brands work well.  Be sure not to use utility/aircraft grade tape!  Have a pair of scissors handy.
3. Unroll the roll about 4cm (an inch) and “tab” the end.  Basically just fold the exposed piece of tape in half so the two sticky sides are facing each other.
4. Unroll the tape about another foot and cut it while holding on to the tab.  You’ll be left with a foot-long section of tape.  Make sure not to touch the sticky side of the tape.
5. Place the tape on the section of your leg that you’d like to wax, making sure the tab is facing the direction of the hair growth (away from the roots).  Be sure to rub on it a bit to ensure it is sticking to the hair.
6. Pull the tab back, keeping it as close to your skin as you remove the tape from your leg.  Do NOT pull up, pull BACK against the hair growth.
7. Gawk at the amount of hair that was just removed from your leg (not required, but pretty cool in my opinion).  Fold the used piece of tape in half (sticky sides meeting) and begin your makeshift pile of hairy tape.
8. Repeat steps 3-7 until you’ve removed as much hair as the tape will pull up.  You’ll have to do the same spot at least 3 times.
9. Any remaining hairs may be able to be removed using conventional wax.
10. Take a shower or rinse off your legs.  There won’t be much visible residue or any residue you can feel, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.  Then lotion those babies up!

I may try this again soon, or even pit wax against tape in an all out waxing battle royale!  Three cheers for implied violence!

I popped by CacheBeauty’s profile and was a bit disheartened to find the last bit of feedback that implied the buyer had to pay shipping to send a product back after she was not satisfied. I wasn’t optimistic to say in the least.

I called their toll-free number and I had to admit I was a bit angry. I had ordered the warmer on the 23rd and it didn’t ship out until the 27th. I recieved it on the 30th and took it out of the box only for it to not work!

A woman answered immediately; there was no time spent waiting or on hold. The lady was very kind and soft-spoken. Within about 5 minutes she had put me on hold briefly as she checked out my invoice number and told me they were sending out another warmer immediately along with a shipping label to send back the broken warmer at no extra cost to me.

I’ll update you guys once I get the replacement in the mail. Let’s see if things are really as good as they sound!