Balega Socks Review

I'll say upfront no one is paying me to say this. I did get a free pair of socks, but not because of the company. I ran the Sasquatch Trail 5k race in September and the local running store had a coupon for a free pair of these brand socks.

OK, so I finally got around to wearing my Balega socks I picked up back in October. The Sasquatch 5k was sponsored by a local running store and had a coupon for a free pair of socks. When I hit them up in October for the new sneakers I took my coupon with me and picked up a pair of socks too.

Sunday morning I threw these on for my 4 mile run because they matched my outfit. Yup. This here is a girl blog, yessiree. :-) I was a little unsure of them because they are fairly thin and have these odd cushion thing in the back. And just before I started running I thought, you shouldn't wear new stuff before a race. Then I realized I was only doing a training run. LOL! Apparently, the socks had gotten in my head.

After my run, I'll be honest I was pretty happy (and surprised) by them. I showed hubby I wore them and he asked how I like them. The first thing I noticed is how light they are. It doesn't feel like I'm wearing socks at all. Kinda an odd sensation. Which leads to my second observation in that they are really comfortable. They are soft and stay in place nicely. Lastly, I was a little nervous about the cushion on the back of the heel, but it was fine. Didn't interfere with my shoes and maybe helped my ankle? Not sure. But, I do know it didn't do anything weird which I expected it to.

So, if you're looking to pick up a pair of running socks for your running friends this Christmas, I would say go for a pair of Balega. I am contemplating grabbing a pair or two myself.

Review: Emjoi Divine Cordless Epilator

A couple weeks ago I was given the opportunity to try and review the Emjoi Divine Cordless Epilator by Tina at For The Love Of The Run.  I'll be honest, I was both excited and terrified at the same time.  Excited because I shave every.single.time. I shower.  Seriously.  Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall, it doesn't matter, I shave every time.  It's annoying, but I can't stand the feeling of hair on my legs.  

The terrifying part is I hate pain.  Yea, yea.  Who likes it?  I can handle pain pretty well overall, unless I am administering it to myself - i.e. pulling out a splinter, ripping off a bandage, pulling out the hairs in my legs/arms.  LOL!  I was scared about how badly it would hurt.  I kinda got myself in a slight tizzy about it really.

I received an email from Tina saying the Emjoi had shipped and a tracking number.  Two days later it was at my door.  I was impressed with the speediness of delivery.  I pulled it out of the box and looked at all it's parts.  The blade attachment you see on the Emjoi is the epilator.  The other blade is a shaver attachment.  My purpose in agreeing to try this and review it was for the epilator (no more shaving!).  So, I pulled all the pieces out and was going to give it a whirl.

Then I started reading the directions.  See, Tina and I had a lovely email about reading directions for the little boy and I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing.  Turns out, there's one time a month they don't recommend you use it and for me, it was that time.  So, I waited.  Ugh.  And I shaved in the shower.

Then finally it was time I could use it.  I took it to the bathroom and plugged it in because in all the time I had it, I didn't charge it.  But, it works with a cord or you can charge the machine and use it cordless.  I decided to try my underarms first.  I figured it was a smaller area than my legs and I could get a feel for it.  I didn't have much time to work with though as hubby and I were about to head out shortly.  I plugged it in and started using it.  

Oh heavens!  There was pain.  I'm not going to lie to you.  I liken it to tweezing, which I'm not a huge fan of either.  LOL!  Initially, it didn't seem to be doing much and I was getting a little annoyed.  So, I decided to look at the directions again.  And...uh...I wasn't holding it upright...or at a 90 degree angle.  Yea.  I was to blame for why it wasn't working right.  You can add me to the dorks who blame the machine when it reality it was user error.  For helpful purposes, the top is the side with the writing on it.  Just saved you some time.  You're welcome.

But, even after getting it in the right direction, it seemed to take longer than I anticipated.  I stopped the arms, thinking they are are a tad bit awkward in shape and my legs should be much easier.  I took my left leg and started.  Ouch!  That hurt!  But, I kept at it.  And felt the same way on the legs as my arms, it was taking longer than I thought it would.  Since I was in a hurry, I had to stop and go back to it another day.

Two days later, I went back to it.  Sat down with the little boy and determined I would get all set.  I worked on both legs and after an hour, I was still not done.  Now, I don't know if this means I'm really hairy or what, but I was not thrilled that I have now tried twice to rid myself of hair and it is still not done.  I didn't get to my arms this time around due to work constraints and just shaved normal.

Today, I went back to try and finish off the last little bit.  I was able to get the underarms done, but the legs are still not completely hair-free.  There are patches that are great and smooth, but other areas where the hair is at that just after a shower growth stage.  I've now used it three times and I'm still not hairless.

As much as I'm slightly disappointed in how long it is taking to get the hair off, I have this desire to keep using it to see how long it will take to get smooth.  I really think this device can make my life much easier and shorten my shower time.  I just have to get the thing to remove all my hair.

Thank you to Emjoi for the opportunity to try the Emjoi Devine and to Tina at For The Love Of The Run for suggesting me to the lovely people at Emjoi.  I'm not giving up on it.  I want the ability to not shave every shower.  I have high hopes that I just have to get over some initial issues and eventually it will work out!

PROS: cordless, shaver and epilator, use with or without cord, nice bag to hold all the pieces, cleaning brush included, potentially less shower shaving

CONS: takes longer than shaving, did not get all the hairs in one shot, slight pain (tweezer-like)

I was given Emjoi Devine Cordless Epilator free from Emjoi to try and then write a review.  The above review is my opinion, without any leading questions from Emjoi.