Product Reviews - Pocketful of Joules

Loving Right Now: 3 Scented Items

I have a complicated relationship with scents. And honestly, I think most of us are like me — when it’s good it’s really good and when it’s not good… it’s awful.

There are plenty of scents that I don’t like. Obviously, anything stinky like BO, but also things that are *supposed* to smell nice like cologne, but when there is a little too much of it, I want to hurl. Or when you’re walking behind a lady at the park and you can literally taste her perfume on your tongue as the breeze blows it into your mouth. Blegh.

Lots of people have scent sensitivities where they can get headaches. Thankfully, that’s not normally one of my issues. However, I have had asthma attacks from overachieving room deodorant plug-ins.

All this to say, I’m picky when it comes to scents so if I find one I like, I really LOVE it. Here are 3 Scented Items that I currently love:

Hearth & Hand, Canvas – candle, $12.99 and room spray $6.99

I am OBSESSED with this candle. I was wandering around Target one day and decided to check out the Hearth & Hand section. I smelled ALL the candles, but when I smelled the “Canvas” scent, I immediately needed one. The description says it has citrus and lemon, but I don’t think that’s quite right. To me, it has a fresh and clean scent with a teeny bit of a heavier musk to it. I’ve been burning the candle in my home office on workdays, and it gives our entire upstairs a really nice smell. It’s not too strong, but just very homey.

After a couple weeks of loving my candle, I thought I might want to order the ‘Canvas’ oil diffuser for my closet. I like to keep an oil diffuser in my closet to give my clothing a smidge of scent and also keep my shoe area from smelling like shoes. However, the reviews for the oil were terrible saying that you basically had to sniff the bottle directly to smell it at all.

So, I grabbed this room spray for $7 when I was in the store and it’s perfect. I just give the room a few spritzes every so often and I feel like the whole room (and all my clothes) are very freshly scented. It doesn’t punch you in the face or anything, it’s just very subtle like when you shop at Anthropologie and then sniff your new clothes when you get home. {That’s a normal thing to do, right?}

Sparta Candle Co. soaps, $3 and $8

My sister sent me an Instagram Reel with the Sparta Candle Co owners dancing to Taylor Swift music and they were adorable, so I started following them. Well, within a week I put in an order for some of their handmade soaps and I don’t regret it a bit! I ordered a mini Mahogany Rock soap ($3), a mini Fairy Tale soap ($3), a mini Soda Fountain Soap ($3) and two of their Backwoods Bean soaps ($8 each).

I started with the mini Mahogany Rock soap and that tiny little soap has lasted me over a month! It foams up really well, the sparkles are so pretty and it smells AMAZING! The Backwoods Bean soap is also absolutely delicious smelling with coffee, hazelnut and vanilla. It’s currently on sale for $8 per gigantic bar (from $12), so I’m glad I stocked up and ordered two. You can find their adorable Instagram account here.

Neutrogena Body Oil, Light Sesame, $10.99

I have year-round dry skin, so I started using this after my showers. I keep it in the shower with me and apply it to lightly damp skin. I smooth it all over all my bits and it soaks in by time I’m ready to put my clothes on. Not only does it make me feel nice and moisturized all day, my skin smells amazing! I am now a lifelong fan and I’ll buy this when I’m 100 years old!

Disclaimer: This post contains ShopStyle links and an Amazon affiliate link. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Google Lens: The Easiest Way to Track Down Thrift Finds!

A couple weekend’s ago, I had a bit of a thrifting extravaganza. I’ll share a full look at everything at the end of the month, but in the meantime, I wanted to let you in on a little secret I use when I’m tracking down my thrift finds. If you like thrifting and you don’t already have the Google Lens app downloaded on your phone, do it now. It’s FREE and it’s super helpful.

Let’s use this adorable casserole dish I found for an example:

I recognized the pattern on this dish when I saw it jumbled on the shelf with a bunch of other items, simply because I already own the matching pitcher. I vaguely remember it being from the mid 1950’s, but just to make sure, I did a quick Google Lens search.

I opened the app, took a photo of my item and hit search:

Once I saw a bunch of similar pieces pop up with a descriptors of “Cronin” “Tulip” and “Stoneware”, I used these terms to better focus my search. I added the words “Cronin Tulip” next to the photo, so that the Google image search would use all that information to find me similar links:

Just by doing this super simple (and quick) search, I could see that similar items ranged from $30 -$55, which was all the information I needed to pull the trigger on my $5 purchase (yellow tags were on sale, yay).

When I got back home, I did a bit more of a deep dive by using the information I found and searching on regular Google Search.

That is how I found out that Cronin (aka Cameron Pottery) was founded in Cameron, West Virginia in 1936 and destroyed in a fire in 1964. In the mid 1950’s they produced the blue tulip pottery, which was the mid-century dinnerware choice for many American households in the 1940’s and 1950’s. While it’s not super pricey to collect, it’s the perfect addition to my china cabinet which already has a beautiful mix of vintage Pyrex and Lu-Ray Pastel items.

There are many, many ways you can use Google Lens — just in the last few weeks I’ve used it to identify a cute dog’s breed, find a similar skirt to one I liked that was $$$$, do a quick price comparison of a Lego set Jack wants, and of course figure out a little more information about some of my recent thrifting finds!

3 Overhyped Products and 3 Affordable Alternatives that Outperform Them

*Photo by Mathilde Langevin on Unsplash*

It’s time for another Products that Suck post of products that I’ve tried and just don’t see what the big deal is. I’m not going to leave you hanging though, after I tell you what I DON’T like, I’ll give you a cheaper alternative that I DO like…

NOT WORTH IT: Tatcha The Dewy Skin Cream (find it here)

I read a ton of reviews about how this skin cream was absolutely amazing. It is supposed to be a rich anti-aging moisturizer that plumps and hydrates skin for an enviable dewy, healthy glow. I paid $70 for a jar of this stuff. SEVENTY DOLLARS. And it is so thick and greasy and smells terrible. Even if I use the smallest amount, it sits on top of my skin and never soaks in. I don’t look dewy. I look greasy.

THIS INSTEAD: Derma-E Hydrating Night Cream (find it here)

This cream costs $20 for a jar and actually does moisturize, rehydrate and nourish your skin while you sleep. It goes on easy and soaks right in, so you’re not a greasy mess. If you feel like you want a little extra something, I will add on the Lanege Water Sleeping Mask (for $30) every so often to give a little extra boost of hydration. This is extra good if you’ve been out in the sun or wind in the summer!

NOT WORTH IT: Fancy Hydra Boost Renewal Cream from my local Medispa

When I got my BBL for Sunspots, I purchased a fancy face cream from the medispa for something like $80 while I was there. They told me that is was the best on the market and exactly what my skin needs for daytime or nighttime. Yeah, I’m going to call BS on that… it’s lame. It was totally not worth the price, as it barely moisturizes even if I’m using it as a daytime moisturizer.

THIS INSTEAD: Sunday Riley C.E.O Hydration Cream (find it here)

It’s not a TON of savings, but still savings at $65 for the jar that lasts a really long time. I like this Sunday Riley cream a million times better than the medispa version. It’s very hydrating, but soaks into your skin so that you can top it with your SPF and move on with your day. It also has a light citrus scent when you put it on, which is a nice little bonus.

NOT WORTH IT: Maelove The Glow Maker (find it here)

You guys, I was FINE with my Vitamin C serum. FINE WITH IT. So why did I get sucked into a million YouTube videos telling me how amazing the Maelove The Glow Maker serum was?! It wasn’t crazy expensive at $32, but literally works and feels exactly the same as the $10 version I had already been using. Don’t get sucked in, it’s not worth it!

THIS INSTEAD: Eclat Vitamin C Face Serum (find it here)

I’ve been using this for almost a year and it’s great. Depending on the day it ranges from $10 – 12 on Amazon and it’s just as good as the fancy $32 version. Save money and get this one instead!

I’m unhappily working my way through the Tatcha skin cream, Medispa cream and The Glow Maker because I hate wasting money. So, learn from my mistakes and skip the overpriced products that totally don’t live up to the hype!

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.