Redbox Instant by Verizon

Unfortunately, I have not been impressed with Redbox Instant by Verizon so far. I received a free one month trial from BzzAgent (though anyone can sign up for a free trial here). The trial included access to streaming movies on their website, as well as four credits for renting from any Redbox kiosk.

My husband and I have not really used Redbox in the past, so we were excited to try out the new service. We used all four of our DVD credits at kiosks in our area. The great thing about that is that we learned where the kiosks are closest to our house! The Redbox website makes it easy to browse the movies available to rent at the kiosk and reserve one for a certain site. It's equally as easy to browse at the kiosk. We also liked that you could return movies to any kiosk, not just the one you picked up the movie from.

However, all of that nice stuff above is not new - it's part of regular Redbox, and has been for awhile. The new product is Redbox Instant, the main purpose of which is supposedly streaming movies online. And this is the part I found very disappointing. We found very few movies we were interested in watching among the selection available for streaming. The service claims to have new releases and a good selection, but I just did not find that to be true.

The most frustrating thing to me was the service's website. I found it confusing and difficult to tell which movies were available to stream versus to rent at the kiosk. Then I discovered that there is a whole other category: movies available to PAY to stream. These aren't part of Redbox Instant, but you can pay (usually $4.99 or more) to stream them from your computer. It needs to be clearer which category you're browsing through on the website. I would find a video I was interested in seeing, see the words "WATCH NOW" and think I could watch it as part of the Redbox Instant subscription. Only to find that when I clicked WATCH NOW, it said I had to pay.

I understand that part of the issue with having certain movies available for streaming is with copyrights and the people who make the movies. But if similar subscription-based streaming services (Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu Plus) can provide better choices, why can't Redbox Instant? I've tried all three of those other services, and as of now, I'd take any of them over Redbox Instant.

When I did stream a movie, I used my Mac laptop. The quality was great, and it took NO time to load. This is definitely an improvement over similar services - if Redbox Instant had better choices, I would recommend it for the quality.

I also tried to use my Chromebook to stream, but that didn't work, since you need Microsoft Silverlight for this service. There are a few quirky things sometimes too - like the sign-in window continuing to pop up even after you've signed in - but I can overlook those, since it's still in beta. I'm sure those will get fixed.

Also, it would be nice if we could have streamed the movies through our Sony DVD player or Wii. I understand the service is already available on some devices like those, and I assume they are working on adding more devices, hopefully including what we have.

I'm glad this free trial exposed me to the Redbox kiosks, and I think I will continue to use those - something I hadn't done before. The Redbox Instant subscription comes with four DVD credits a month, but costs $8 a month. Renting four DVD's from the kiosks directly would be a few dollars less than that. So for me, it's definitely not worth it to continue paying for Redbox Instant. I won't continue my subscription until they add more movies or somehow make the service better than similar ones already out there. I'll stick to the kiosks for now, and use Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu Plus for streaming movies and TV shows.

Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream

I recently received free Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream as a BzzAgent. I had used other Neutrogena products in the past, but had not tried the Norwegian Formula, which is a concentrated glycerin-based formula meant to repair and protect very dry and damaged skin.

  

As you can hopefully tell from the pictures, I certainly fit the bill for having very dry skin. In winter, my knuckles are often so dry they crack and bleed. I have the bad habit of picking at the skin of my cuticles whenever I am nervous or bored. And I have one nail that grows in completely split down the middle (my problem nail). I would love to get professional manicures more often, but with a new baby, that isn't easy.

I usually end up taking care of my poor hands myself, often doing one or two steps a day, instead of all at once. After trimming and filing my nails to the length I like (ok, I admit, sometimes what I really mean is biting them to the right length...), I take care of my cuticles. I clip off all the little pieces that I would otherwise be tempted to pick at, using an angled cuticle trimmer like this one. I trim away all I can and try to get them as smooth as possible.

Then I move on to my problem nail. I have experimented with many products over the years to try to get this nail under control. If I don't, it gets caught in everything I touch, rips further down the nail bed, and causes me lots of pain and headaches! Here's what works for me: I trim a piece of fiberglass or silk to fit over the split, squeeze a little nail glue and powder on top, then wait for it to dry. Then I shape the nail with a file and buffer, and apply some clear polish (I like Hard as Nails from Sally Hansen).

If I'm feeling ambitious, or have a hot date that requires painted nails, I can then paint over the broken one with no problem. I will admit I don't paint my nails too often though - especially recently - so it's important that they look at least ok without any polish.

After working on my nails, I always apply some type of hand lotion. I have found that the Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream really helps my dry skin and cuticle problems. In addition to after manicures, I also apply it each night before bed, and again in the morning before going to work. The bottle says you only need a little bit, because it is so concentrated. But I find myself going back for more and more to rub into each cuticle. Once I do so, my cuticles stay soft and moisturized for longer, so I am not tempted to mess with them!

I used to use a special cuticle cream on them, and have also tried plain old Vaseline. But the Norwegian Formula keeps every part of my hands moisturized, and isn't greasy like Vaseline.

Here's what my hands look like now, after a few weeks of using Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream:

  

Hopefully you can tell that the skin around my cuticles looks much better, and the dry knuckles are almost gone! I really like the Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream, and will continue to use it. Now I just need to stop picking at my nails!