Thursday 28 December 2017

How To Repair A Nail

My nails have moments of growing and looking lovely, all longish and even, then one by one they'll break (usually from cleaning and gardening).  I've noticed breakage usually happens as the menstrual cycle approaches as well. Does this happen to you? And breakage begins on my dominant hand first then the other hand until all but one or two long nails remain. Admittedly I am very rough and tough on my nails (gardening, exercise, cleaning).

When they break it is mostly likely at the base of the nail edge, near the nail bed. A painful break if the nail peels back. Ouch!

To repair a nail you will need:

  • A tea bag
  • A quality nail file
  • A quality nail glue
  • Scissors
  • Wooden cuticle stick or toothpicks
  • Tweezers
To begin remove any nail polish. Empty the tea bag contents into a bowl, you can drink these leaves later or make a cup of tea and drink while you repair your nail. Cut a small piece of fabric from the tea bag, around 2-3mm square or rectangle. You don't need much and can cut several small pieces in case you think you will require more (it's always good to have a few small pieces ready to go).

Applying in small batches works best because tea bags aren't very flexible and tend not to curve around the nail, but set firm and straight.  Large pieces do NOT stick to the nail well so stick to small pieces.

If you already have a previous nail repair file this down gently first with a white block file.

Apply a tiny dab of glue to the broken area, then using tweezers pick up the small piece of tea bag paper and place over the glue.  Blow for a few seconds and use the toothpicks, wooden cuticle or tweezers to press the paper in place along the edges.  Press down and hold for a second or two then release, continuing to do so until the glue is dry and the paper is set in place.  Don't hold too long or the glue will stick to the items used to hold the paper down.

File down lightly with a white block file then apply cuticle oil and varnish.

step 1: nail break
step 2: smooth area with soft file
step 3: apply glue
step 4: prepared bits of tea bag cut into small millimeter pieces
step 5: apply small piece of tea bag to glued area
step 6: allow glue to dry
step 7: buff area to smooth
step 8: polish area with a polishing buffer

  

Thursday 14 December 2017

JOLI Reviews

Rose-Leah ★★★★★ I love the way they make my skin feel - fresh and moisturised. And that's just the face moisturiser and eye cream. Then there's the Lolly Musk lip balm - I probably use it too much lol because of the flavour, it's the best lip balm I've ever used. The massage oil is wonderful. Thank you for making such great all-natural, chemical-free products

Rebecca ★★★★★ Joli makes beautiful bath soaks, body creams/lotions, soaps, lip balms and heaps more. The lip balms come in many flavours, and Joli is even willing to blend the flavours to suit your 'tastes', eg chocolate-vanilla, caramel-coffee etc etc. Also, Joli is extremely friendly and offers super quick service. I love Joli Natural!

Jacqui ★★★★★ Lovely personalised service, received my order quickly, beautifully wrapped and with a free gift! :) It's the FIRST time ever I have put a moisturiser on my face at night and not woken up with greasy skin!!! I love the texture of the Fluffy Lime Eye Cream and the Wrinkle Buster [product no longer available] is soooooo luxurious... look forward to adding to this review as I try more products, but I'm off to a GREAT start. Thanks Jodi! :)

Added: Day 3 of the Fluffy Lime Eye Cream and my dark circles (which I have had for as long as I can remember) have started to lighten (I should have taken a 'Before & After' - LOL) and the whole eye area is much plumper. AWESOME!!!

Added: Loving my products! Have added to my collection with the deodorant - the only natural one that I have tried that actually works, the hair wax - also works beautifully and smells good enough to eat, and the face wash - leaves my skin feeling clean but not stripped! Can't get enough of your products... my face is healthy and glowing and NO breakouts this month. What can I try next??? :)

★★★★★ OMG your herbal shampoo bar = divine! I found it hard to believe you didn't have to use a conditioner, but you really don't (I'm still rather excited by all that!!!) Also, my son's eczema (after only 2 days!!) is calming down for the first time in 2 YEARS!! (I really should of taken before and after shots, as I am SO amazed!) He can bath in stuff OTHER then pinetarsol now! NEITHER the soap or bubble bath affect his skin AT ALL! AND finally, he smells nicer!! (rather then smelling like pinetarsol!!) Mixed in with the eczema salve which we use daily, his eczema is really on the mend! I shall be shopping again AND I've been calling my friends telling them about all this! I'm just so AMAZED! Thanks Joli xoxoxoxo

★★★★★ Heavenly Bath Milk: I love the Heavenly Bath Milk. It is nice and soft, and gives your bath a lovely subtle scent. You don't need very much - I only use about half a lid full, and that's probably a bit too much! I like this bath milk better than a leading world-known brand (which I won't mention) readily available by mass-production in their stores and on-line store. Joli's is a far superior product, at an extremely reasonable price. Thanks Joli!

★★★★★ LipBalm: I absolutely love these lip balm. I have tried them in many flavours, including caramel, strawberry, coconut, vanilla,french vanilla and lastly my favourite, lolly musk. These lip balms are easy to apply and non-greasy. Jodi is even kind enough to blend flavours if you like eg strawberry-vanilla - I can't get enough of Joli's lip balms, and would recommend them to absolutely everyone!

★★★★★ Enliven Facial & Body Scrub: I love the texture and aroma of this product! The lemon myrtle scent is really zingy and fresh. The crushed walnut exfoliates well and my skin is left feeling smooth but not dry or sore. Another great product :)

★★★★★ 'After sun' Tea Tree Moisturiser [product no longer available]: This is the first moisturiser that I have ever used at night that hasn't left me with greasy skin in the morning! It has a lovely light feel, is soothing and sinks right in! Very happy, thanks :)

★★★★★ Fluffy Lime Eye Cream: After using for 3 days I noticed a real difference to the hydration of my eye area, it's general plumpness and the unexpected bonus of lightening of dark under-eye circles that I have had forYEARS! The texture is lovely and I am very happy. Thanks! :)

★★★★★ Light Moisturiser: I loved the sample pot that Joli sent me - it will definately be added to my next order. I have quite sensitive skin and it was lovely to be able to apply lavishly. Non greasy and perfect for the hot humid weather that we experience here in Central Queensland.

★★★★★ Facial & Body Wash: I have dry flaky skin... yet I get so many blackheads on my chin (I know horrible!) every face wash that could get rid of the blackheads dried my skin even more and felt like it was burning (sensitive skin). Yet this face wash I can use daily, does not burn and leaves my skin hydrated and no blackheads. :) Yay

★★★★★ Rich Cream Facial Moisturiser: Within one week of using this cream my face was soooo soft - and I have dry flaky skin normally. I am loving it.

★★★★★ Light Moisturiser: I love the Light Moisturiser. I have it in Rose Geranium scent, which is absolutely devine. I mostly use this as a hand cream, but I do also occasionally use it as a light face cream. I would thoroughly recommend this to everyone!

★★★★★ Moisturising Lip Balm: I love this lip balm, especially without the tint. I have a french vanila lime one, and it is devine and lives in my pocket all day long. Thanks Joli!

★★★★★ Light Moisturiser: This is my favourite moisturiser for the Qld summer - I love the way it lightly moisturises without clogging up the pores and making me perspire in the humidity. I have the most sensitive skin of anyone I know and natural products are extremely important to me - Joli has a definite winner with this moisturiser!

★★★★★ Rich Cream Facial Moisturiser: I have dry, very sensitive skin and I use this wonderful moisturiser for everything - face, feet, legs, arms, hands,elbows! I love having a versatile natural product that I can quickly grab after my shower - saves time and works fabulously!

★★★★★ Facial & Body Wash: I have VERY sensitive skin and this is the first cleanser I have ever tried that I can use every day - love it!

★★★★★ Rich Cream Moisturiser: This product moisturises without leaving my skin feeling itchy or making me break out in acne. My skin is looking healthier, and I am saving money. I used to spend $130.00 on a jar of face moisturiser before trying rich cream moisturiser; what a waste of money!

★★★★★ Lip Balm: The apple flavour is good enough to eat! I have had a lot of trouble with lip balms drying my lips out, but this one keeps my lips moisturised while tasting yummy.

★★★★★ Sandman Soap [product no longer available], "I like this soap. It's gritty." referring to the exfoliating granules within the soap - made especially to exfoliate while you wash.

★★★★★ Rich Cream Moisturiser: Fantastic! Makes my skin feel softer and smoother than any other moisturiser. I used to use Oil of Olay for sensitive skin. Not any more.

★★★★★ Hair Styling Wax: Hair Wax is excellent and I have tried many!

★★★★★ Enliven Facial Scrub: This firm but gentle scrub is great for all ages - my sons and partner always let me know when they need more. I love the moisturising properties, unlike chemical scrubs which can also remove the essential natural oils in the skin. Every member of my family uses Enliven Facial Scrub!

  

Thursday 30 November 2017

Christmas Giveaway with Bamboo Village


WIN the ULTIMATE Christmas giveaway worth over $600 with our partnership Bamboo Village! 

Enter here: http://bit.ly/2j5ywto 

One lucky winner will win one huge prize from Bamboo Village and eight other great Australian companies! More details on the prizes here: http://bit.ly/2AiUeDg 

Australia entries only. Comp ends midnight on Sunday 19th of December. 

(the Facebook page to tag - https://www.facebook.com/BambooVillageEcoStore/

Prizes include:
  • 2 Mulberry Thread Co. Bamboo Bath Towels (colours of your choice) from us at Bamboo Village
  • Limited Edition Blossom Beauty Set from Zuii Organic
  • Trio of Natural Perfumes from Circle Of Life Botanicals
  • P'URE Papaya Renew Cream from Pure Papaya
  • Ultimate Clean Home Detox Bundle from Resparkle
  • Baby Starter Kit from GAIA Skin Naturals
  • Charlie’s Soap washing powder from Clean & Green
  • Deluxe Bath Serum and Lip Gloss from Joli Natural
  • A Skinfood Course from Anna D'Amelio
  • Elderberry & Chia Seed Beauty Serum, Coconut & Blackcurrant Lip Balm , Organic Cacao & Coconut Soap & Organic Cacao & Coconut Soap from Mokosh

  

Tuesday 31 October 2017

Why I Quit Facebook

According to many marketing experts I have essentially committed business suicide by leaving Facebook (FB), because FB is the fastest growing social network with the ability to reach millions and millions of people world wide.

That being said here is why I decided to leave:
1) They changed their algorithms so that businesses are less likely to appear in people's news feeds unless businesses pay for advertising.
2) When businesses pay for advertising it will most likely result in some extra page likes but most likely not customer conversions.  That is up to page owners to publish ongoing page content that results in conversions (which makes sense).
3) Mixing up posts and not just 'selling' to people is what people want to see (makes sense), yet even with mixing up posts with tips, funnies, facts, videos, product information etc. it was rare to get any engagement no matter how varied the posts were.  Comments were rare, post likes were rare, page reach varied anywhere from 25 to hundreds.  This is happening with many business pages on FB leaving many business owners feeling a tad dejected, unloved and unappreciated, and like they're talking to themselves.

These two posts were a couple of JOLI's most popular posts with amazing reach yet they didn't convert to new customers (and it takes time to put images like this together).  Sadly it's a lot of effort for little return.

quality & natural doesn't have to mean expensive
Animal testing, don' support it!
4) While I've been able to hang out with some AWESOME customers and people, most of my customer base is not on FB, or if they are they don't interact via FB.
5) Sometimes people would only make purchases while interaction / friendships were maintained on FB, unfriend someone and they'd stop purchasing.  This is not the customer base I'm looking for.  I want people who are looking for genuine natural products, who have found that in JOLI and want to maintain that healthy skin care choice (FB or no FB).
6) Before FB, before the internet, businesses were successful.  There is no reason why businesses can't still be successful by other means aside from social media.  I'm going to invest in other avenues and see what momentum I can gather from that.
7) From a personal perspective friendships were ignored because FB kept everyone up to date.  No one needed to make actual contact with actual get-togethers because they felt they were keeping in touch (via FB).  Since exiting FB genuine friends are getting back in touch and actually planning catch-ups. Yay!
Not to mention I've escape the shiny happy (fake) people on FB who only ever talk about how rainbows and sunshine their life is.  When things aren't going well, and friends aren't keeping in touch, fake perfect lives can be hard to stomach.  I don't have to worry about that anymore because I'm seeing real friends in real life and keeping it real ;o)

Customers are still messaging me via email (because they have direct access to me once they become customers) and I get to talk to them there, answer their queries and share information.  They can also read the latest news and find out about current specials via the monthly Indulgence (newsletter*).  Or leave comments on the website blog and this JOLI blogspot (where I share recipes, DIY, chemical information, reviews etc. A veritable wealth of information!!).

*Sign up for our newsletter and receive your FREE Essential Natural Beauty Guide ebook.

Look forward to seeing you around and hearing from you via other methods aside from FB xo 

  

Wednesday 18 October 2017

Independant JOLI Reviews

JOLI Natural Skin Care excellent quality at affordable prices
It is difficult when you stumble across a website with products / brands you've never tried before. You wonder if the products are any good, value for money, live up to their claims etc.

The last thing you want is to invest your hard earned money in a product only to try it out and find it doesn't do what it says it will. 

JOLI have been fortunate enough to have their products reviewed by independent reviewers and here is what they have to say:

 ~ All Her Pretty Little Things ~


As you can see from her review the results Sarah is getting and the naturalness of the products are genuine.   It's great to hear from someone about their experience with using JOLI Natural Skin Care.

~ Liv It, Do It ~


"They smell smell just beautiful and they make your skin feel amazing!"

~ Living Safe ~


Nicole is loving her eye cream and says she has become a little addicted to Fluffy Lime Eye Cream, and why wouldn't she... It is an amazing product :o)

~ Blanky4me ~


"The lip balm is incredible.  I got to choose my own combination - so I chose a Pink colour and Lolly Musk flavour - yum."
*   *   *

These are not a paid presentations.  JOLI gave the products knowing that anything could and would be said about them/us while also knowing that our products are highly beneficial and those who use JOLI love their goodies.

Wednesday 11 October 2017

Chemical Toxins in Our Skin Care

don't buy into animal testing and chemical filled products
Propylene glycol, parabens, phthalates (pronounced thy-lates), sodium lauryl (SLS) or laureth (SLES) sulphates… These names do no easily roll off the tongue; however they do roll of the ingredients list on the back of our skin care, makeup and bath products (as well as our cleaning products).


These synthetic scientist made chemicals are cheap and have excellent stabilising properties.  Which means when added to skin care, beauty and cleaning products they have the power to keep the products preserved for a great length of time.  Majority of these chemicals came into play around the 1940’s, left over from the war.  Once it was discovered what these chemicals could do they were added to mainstream products and used to stabilise and revolutionise the cosmetic and beauty industry.  Now products such as soap, cold creams and lipsticks could be shipped out world wide, in hot or cold weather, and still be in ‘good’ condition upon arrival.


Before the use of these chemicals skin care was rustic and pure, it was made in relatively small batches in a ‘supply on demand’, ‘made to order’ fashion.  It was not made in exponentially vast quantities in a ‘consume more’ fashion and shipped world wide, sitting on supermarket shelves for long periods of time, as it is done today. 


Aside from how the use of these and many many other chemicals, have revolutionised the cosmetic industry, their use has a number of down sides. 

1. Numerous chemicals have hormone disrupting properties causing young girls who are exposed to the chemicals to reach puberty at a younger age.  Hormones found in hair care products have strong hormone disrupting symptoms and have been found to cause young girls to develop breast buds… that disappear when they cease use of the product.  Some chemicals cause immune deficiencies.

2. Studies of blood in adults and teens as well as blood of newborn baby’s shows that these chemicals are building up in our systems.  Newborn babies are being found to have parabens and other fetal-developmental toxins in their blood streams, before they have ever been near any skin care product. 

3. Cancerous tissues has been tested and found to contain parabens.  It is not yet know if the parabens cause the cancer or if they are merely drawn to the cancerous tissue, however it does show parabens are definitely building up in our systems.  Keep in mind, these chemicals are hazardous and are designed to kill (bacteria and so forth).

4. One of the more sadder parts to this chemical warfare… the thousands of animals that have been tested on over the years so that scientists can try to determine at what ‘safe’ levels these chemicals can be added to our skin care, beauty and cleaning products (cleaning products have higher levels of the chemicals). 

5. People who clean a LOT and do not use gloves are developing dangerous levels of toxins in their bodies.  More and more of the population are suffering from over-exposure to the constant chemical bombardment in our daily lives. It is no wonder that eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis are all on the rise. 

All this seems a bit ‘doom and gloom’, but rest assured there are organisations and companies working towards cleaning up our skin care, beauty and cleaning products.  One such organisation, The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (www.safecosmetics.org) has set up a database where companies are ask to sign a pledge to eliminate the use of chemicals in their products.  There ARE safe alternatives to synthetic preservatives!  Companies on the database have their products listed with safety/hazard ratings so consumers can make informed choices about their skin care and it notes whether companies Do or Do Not conduct animal testing.  

This is the driving force behind the company Joli Natual Skin Care (www.jolinatural.com.au). To get ‘back to basics’ when it comes to skin care, and being dedicated to making fresh ‘supply on demand’, ‘made to order’ quality skin care.  A company which does NOT test on animals and is dedicated to not using ingredients that require animals testing.  Joli Natural was started by a mother of three boys, all of whom have had severe skin reactions when using mainstream products (in particular the products handed out in the gift bags given out by hospitals during pregnancy for use when baby is born).  Upon learning about chemicals in skin care Joli Natural set about creating natural skin care for body, beauty, bath and baby that is safe, gentle and effective. 

For further reading and for more information on chemicals in skin care the book Not Just a Pretty Face gives reference to action being taken and the types of things the public can do, such as contacting companies who use these chemicals and demanding they STOP!  As well as moving away from companies who continue to use chemicals in their products and move towards companies who are dedicated to supplying chemical free skin care.

Written by Jodi, founder of Joli Natural Skin Care for Natural Parenting.

  

Monday 4 September 2017

Poachers & Wanna Be Entrepreneurs

Businesses all over the world get copied, ideas stolen and poached and it's even worse for niche businesses who offer something specialised and limited.  From KFC to Coke there are always going to be those who try to steal golden recipes and use them for their own gain.

In all the years JOLI have been operating we've had three people contact us wanting to know the exact ingredients of our products.  Even though it states on our website that we do not share this information readily (only our lucky customers know exactly what's in the products they've purchased).

One enquiry came from a lady who works with and sells essential oils.  Another came from a lady who ran a small gift shop in a quaint county town.  In each circumstance none of those queries resulted in them doing business with us even though they can see from JOLI's ingredients list that our skin care is one of the most natural brands on the market.

The most recent enquiry was interesting.   It came soon after we were approached by a one time customer wanting us to sell our base products to them in bulk for them to repackage and sell as their ownThis particular customer was always starting new business ventures and kept in contact with JOLI wanting us to support their endeavors (even though they only placed one small order with us years and years ago).  Sometimes we gave support, other times we didn't.

It just so happened that this customer made her queries over the weekend when JOLI are not open for business.  By the time we logged on, on Monday morning, she was irate, telling us not to worry about selling to her in bulk, she'd found someone else to supply her with base products.

Within days of this contact another (questionable) lady contacted us wanting to know the full ingredients for a handful of our most popular products.  She was told that information wasn't given out but this didn't stop her from contacting us again and again.  She was quick to reply to all emails after asking for more information.  Various bits of basic information were given while secret ingredients and product adaptions were omitted.  The reason information was given was purely out of curiosity to see what would happen.  Would she then place an order when the naturalness of JOLI products had been proven?  Or was she asking for other dubious reasons?

As soon as she had the information she required she stopped replying to follow up emails asking if she required any more assistance.  No surprise there.

When the second lady (Molly Staey [sic]) made her query I assumed it was related to the customer, D, wanting to place bulk orders.  Perhaps the supplier whom she'd found was now contacting us wanting to know our ingredients to see how her own base products stacked up?  Perhaps it was D pretending to be someone else because she really hadn't found anyone with base products comparable to JOLI's?

[Upon some slight investigation thereafter it was found that Molley Stacey looked remarkably the same as D (FB profiles).  Curious... ?!]

So this makes me wonder... why make the enquiry with no follow through?  Did she have her own agenda?  Maybe plan to try and replicate JOLI's awesome products?  Who knows?  She can give it her best shot, however with only base formulations given with key adaptions missing from the formulations, the attempt will never be as good as the real deal.

I can understand other people's desire to try and poach because JOLI are one of the few companies who make their own products from scratch without additional toxic preservatives.  We do not purchase bulk ready-made skin care to repackage and sell as our own.  Not that there is anything wrong with that, it's just not what we do; and also we've not found any base products that are as natural as we want.  JOLI purchased exclusive rights to their product formulations from a manufacturer with 50 years experience in the natural skin care industry.  There are literately hundreds of formulations for us to drawn from (on file) yet we currently only use a dozen or so of those formulations ~ which have been adapted and altered to suit our customer's needs and desires.

Even if someone tried to poach our base formulations they don't have our product adaptions, quantities, essential oil blends, technical skill set etc.  Not only that getting the company started was intensive with years of training, in depth learning about essential oils, blends and medicinal properties, correct cooking temperatures and amalgamations, safety regulations, liability insurance (a compulsory part of any retail business - which Donna admitted she wasn't going to get), labels, design and so forth.

The fact that we have our own private formulations, that no-one else has access to, without the use of additional toxic preservatives, plus product adaptions to suit individual needs - sets JOLI apart from the others.   No matter who tries to poach and pinch our awesome formulations they'll never rival what JOLI have created in the 10 plus years we've been in the industry.

  

Tuesday 15 August 2017

Nail Art Tutorial no.1

Purple varnish with while mandala dots.

Step 1: paint purple varnish onto nails over clear base coat

Step 2: using a wooden skewer dip end into white acrylic paint then press onto nail to form a large central dot

Step 3: using pointy end of skewer dip end into white acrylic paint and form four small dots around central dot

Step 4: add for more dots in between previous dots

Step 5: add four dots N, S, E & W of pattern

Step 6: create two dots in between each N, S, E & W

By now you should have a nice circular pattern of white dots

Step 7: place four more dots N, S, E & W of pattern

Step 8: allow to dry before painting over with clear top coat

(You can choose different colours - colours shown for demo purposes)

  

Monday 7 August 2017

Blanky4me Review: we love our blankys!

It started off with one blanky, a large family blanky from Blanky4me.com...  A lovely large red blanky with cheetah print on the underside.  So warm, soft and cuddly.  We'd huddle under the blanky and watch some telly together or read or talk.  Mostly I hogged the blanky because it's so comfortable and big and cozy.

Which then lead to more blankys!!!!

Another read and yellow blanky for one son and a blue and yellow blanky for the other... and we couldn't leave our fluffy white dog out.  He got a dark chocolate blanky with cheetah print underside (that's him - the white furry thing - at the bottom of the photo).

Blanky4me

What I love about the blankys is they're well made and don't come apart at the seems, and my boys can be pretty rough with their stuff, plus they can be washed easily.  Not to mention they're personalised blankys and you get to choose your colours (top and bottom), font and text colour.  They make a great gift that will last a long time and can be cherished.

We've had our blankys for a while now and still love them as much as they day we got them.  Mine (the family blanky) pretty much follows me from room to room... as do my boy's blankys (we might be slightly obsessed with our blankys)... and they're still in excellent condition.

If you or your children are blanky lovers, or you've got friends who are or someone with a newborn baby on the way... pop on over to Blanky4me for your personalised blankys.

  

Master Print Solutions Review

This is an independent review on Master Print Solutions based on my dealings with them.

February 2017 I purchased a cyan printer cartridge from Master Print Solutions after answering an unsolicited call.  While I cannot fault the printer cartridge and like the idea of supporting another small business, I have a number of concerns.

During my initial contact with MPS the salesman I spoke, who was friendly and courteous, was going to offer me his direct line but stopped talking part way through his sentence, odd!  He then said he would send a follow up email to confirm our conversation and attach his contact details.   No email was sent.

I researched the company and could find no customer reviews.  Upon seeing their Facebook page I noticed they only have 12 likes and no feedback / interaction on their page… Somewhat concerning.  I thought maybe they're a new company yet their Facebook page was opened in 2014 (only 12 likes in 4 years?)

I tried phoning MPS several times on the phone number supplied on their website and kept getting the message: There is a problem with the service you are trying to call. Please contact your service provider for more information.

I sent an email to MPS via website ‘contact us’ regarding the issue of not being able to phone. No reply was received.

The salesman rang again some weeks later to see if I required additional printer cartridges - they phoned regularly even though I had already explained I do not go through printer cartridges that quickly.  I raised the above issues with him.  Again I was told I would receive an email with contact details.   No email was sent.

Mid July 2017 I receive a bogus invoice for over $500 from MPS for goods I never ordered and never received.  A letter was sent to MPS outlining these dealings saying:


I understand the concept of MPS sending a bogus invoice hoping it will be paid (then maybe the goods are shipped?), because MPS have no doubt been calling and calling and only ever reaching JOLI's answering-service* and not leaving messages…

Yet I’m not really sure why MPS feel this is a suitable way to operate? Of course I have no intention of paying the invoice… and still debating if I even want to consider supporting MPS at this stage.

*[ALL incoming calls are directed to our answering service because we get FAR too many unsolicited calls and answering them takes up valuable work time].

Four days after my letter of complaint is sent to MPS (around one week after their bogus invoice was sent) they send $500 worth of printer cartridges - WHICH I NEVER ORDERED!!!!

Can you imagine if all business operated this way?  Sending invoices and goods you never ordered and requesting payment anyway!

As soon as the courier delivered the printer cartridges I KNEW I would not be dealing with MPS again - their tactics are not ethical.  Now I have to figure out a way return the goods which is an inconvenience at best. Returning to sending via the courier they've used means I either pay for postage or try and get the company to agree to pay the return postage - and with a company operating in this manner who knows if they'll be agreeable to paying return postage.

At this point in time I would not recommend dealing with Master  Print Solutions.

*    *    *

Have a review of your own to share?  Leave a comment.

Tuesday 18 July 2017

How To Delete Hotmail Account

Have you ever tried to delete your hotmail email account?  There are a number of posts out there outlining how you can do this.

Let me begin by saying the email address I want to delete has been inactive for YEARS!  Microsoft claim that inactive email accounts are automatically closed (after 200 days I believe it is).  However, when I logged onto the email account it still let me access the account so it isn't deleted at all.

To delete the account I tried following the blog post above and this is what happened. 



1) Firstly I get a message 'Call us overprotective...' (Ok I will!!!!), asking me to choose an email to send a security code to.
I click 'I can't verifying my account' and 'next'.




 


2) Another screen pops up prompting me to offer a mobile number they can phone or text a code to.  I don't want to give them my mobile number so I click on Account and I'm taken to a home page.

[They give the option, in a drop down menu, to choose another email address to have the code sent to.]


 
3) As per the steps in the blog post I click on Security.





 

 4) Then I click on More Security Options.



 




5) Whereby I'm asked to protect my account via Microsoft's annoyingly frustrating security code verification system, where they offer an (inactive) email address for the code to be sent to.  They also offer the option to give a mobile number instead of email address.






6) I choose 'I don't have any of these' because I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO GIVE Microsoft personal details such as a mobile phone or private email address, then click NEXT.



 I am then taken back to the same screen in step 2) Since you don't have access to your current security info...

And the process repeats itself.  As explained in a previous post... even when I try to do this via getting a security code off Microsoft it still doesn't work - I get the run around there too.  Hence here I am almost a year later after having already tried to access the account to delete it.... STILL TRYING TO DELETE THE ACCOUNT.

I'm not really sure what Microsoft's deal is but I wish they would just give customers the SIMPLE option to DELETE their accounts if they so choose to!!!!  How hard can that be for a company who specialises in coding and product design????

  

Sunday 16 July 2017

Celebrity Endorsement Gone Well

Unlike Sarah, Tracey Spicer and Ben Price were two celebrities who received JOLI Natural Skin Care products with delight and courtesy.

Both expressed gratitude at having received their skin care products.

Tracey said: "I love it (Whipped Cream Moisturiser) - will be spreading the love on social media this week - thank you!!!"  Whereby Tracey promptly gave JOLI a 5 star rating on Facebook.
And also: "I absolutely love it! Very moisturising."

Ben was decidedly helpful in tracking a missing parcel *Australia Post lost.  It had been sent to Ben via express post so the products would reach his wife in time for her birthday.  Sadly and frustratingly the parcel was never received, which JOLI found out via sending a follow-up email.  While the parcel was never found, Ben put JOLI in contact with the the postman who delivered the parcel who was very helpful in figuring out what happened to the missing parcel.  A replacement parcel was sent.

Ben's lovely wife is now enjoying delightful Skin Serum and Moisturising Lip Balm and Ben has been quite gracious for receiving the products. 

*Australia Post delivered the overnight parcel, placed it on Ben's doorstep [not in the letter box or left a collect card because it doesn't fit in the letter box] and that was it.  The parcel was promptly stolen as it was in plain site of any passers-by on the street.  However, since the parcel had been marked as 'delivered' Australia Post took no responsibility for it going missing.
Their statement to JOLI was: once a parcel has been delivered Australia Post take no responsibility for it being stolen.  Australia Post no longer leave cards in letter boxes when a parcel doesn't fit inside the letter box.  Parcels are left in a safe place and will not be left it it is deemed there is no secure place for a parcel to be left.

Poor service from Australia Post.  I remember the days when all oversized letters/parcels meant collect cards were left in letter boxes so items could NOT be stolen.  Gone are the days of decent service I guess...  And Australia Post wonder why their profits are dwindling...

You can also read JOLI's post: The Lady Stripped Bare

And purchase Tracey's book: Good Girl Stripped Bare - by Tracey Spicer 

  

Thursday 6 July 2017

Hello All You Super Mums (and Dads)

< Keywords: hello all you super mums, glass impressions, joli natural skin care > Recently I decided to give myself a gift.  I purchased a special Acapulco Coffee Mug from Glass Impressions shop.
What I really like about this mug is it's thick and sturdy and hard to break (perfect for someone clumsy like me).
Glass Impressions etch the glass and offer a range of designs to choose from.
I, of course, chose Super Mum.... because who wouldn't :)


When I got my mug the first thing I did was make myself a special Super Mum drink (also known as Irish Coffee).






Ingredients:
Brewed coffee (you can use instant)
45ml Tia Maria
A pinch of chilli powder
A pinch of chocolate powder (I used maca powder)
Whipped Cream

1) Brew some hot coffee and fill the glass 2/3 with coffee.
2) Add 45ml Tia Maria.
3) Gently dollop whipped cream on top until glass is full.
4) Sprinkle chilli and maca powder on top.
5) ENJOY!!!!

Contact Glass Impression: enquiries.glassimpressions@gmail.com

  

Thursday 22 June 2017

Celebrity Endorsement Gone Wrong

Some time ago JOLI approached Sarah Wilson (of I Quit Sugar fame) because she seemed like a like-minded individual with the same interests in ethics and chemical free skin care and so forth.

Upon speaking with her PA to enquire about whether Sarah would be interested in trying some JOLI products, emailing back and forth to determine if JOLI were inline with Sarah's ethics, then determining which products Sarah would like to try etc.  JOLI sent Sarah 100ml Light Moisturiser, 100ml Enliven Facial & Body Scrub, Moisturising Lip Balm and sample pots of Soothing Salve and Rich Cream Moisturiser (a value of around $80 plus postage and packaging).

As you can imagine JOLI were quit excited to be having a celebrity (of sorts) try our products and were, of course, hoping she would LOVE them so much she would write a wonderful review about our ethical and environmentally friendly chemical free natural skin care.  One of the most natural brands on the market.

Imagine our surprise and horror when not only does Sarah not thank us for the products and doesn't even have the courtesy to let us know the products are received, let alone let us know that's she's using or enjoying them... but instead writes an awful article [titled: this makes me angry] making it sound as though our sending her products was unsolicited and wasteful, and that we're an unethical company wasting the earths and Sarah's resources.

It was slightly shattering and... well... just a little bit rude.  


Sarah states that every item received either requires a polite thank you note or detailed email saying it doesn't sit well with her ethics.  Sarah didn't send a polite thank you note or detailed email nor did her PA.  JOLI heard nothing until we read her article and saw the products we'd sent featured in a picture.  The only real waste of resources in sending these products to Sarah was the time and effort I personally put in to gifting this to her (put together by hand by me - no junior PR staffer here).  In hind site I wish I hadn't put the products in a reusable box with a reusable pretty ribbon although it might have made no difference to Sarah, if the products were packaged our usual way with recycled bubble wrap and recyclable packaging.

After the article aired I contact her PA to ask if Sarah had been expecting the JOLI Natural Skin Care because she'd included them in her 'guff' and was told yes Sarah has said yes to receiving them... yet still no thank you for taking the time to send them or whether they're being used/enjoyed.

Image from Sarah Wilson .com
 

JOLI's Response [which was deleted from Sarah's blog]:

I have to say I find this rant a touch on the humorous side.  Not all is as it appears with the guff you were sent.  As one of the senders of guff featured in your picture above I would like to say that I did contact you to ask if you wanted to receive my guff.  After some understandable scrutiny on your part I was kindly given permission to send guff to you.
I take great care in my packaging choices and am an avid believer in reusing and recycling. A lot of my packing is reused and recycled packing, i.e. been sent to me which I then reuse such as bubble wrap.  Or recyclable.  Nothing is wasted.  What isn’t recycled is Australian made, which supports small local businesses, our economy and cuts down on overseas shipping and extended carbon emissions related to that.
Any paper work scent with the items is important information about the contents, otherwise you’re running blind.  There are no toxic chemicals in said items, and no sugary snacks.
Postage may be a vast drain on the countries resources (employed postmen might disagree), all that sorting and traveling and carbon emissions, yet, as one good person pointed out to me – the postmen are going that way already.  Giving them extra mail doesn’t negate that fact.
Airplanes (on which you fly) are the biggest environmental polluters there are.  Of course your carbon footprint is offset by your commendable bike riding and healthy lifestyle.  The point being, many of us have our own carbon offset.
Regardless of all that, I truly hope you are thoroughly enjoying the guff I sent you, which is perfectly inline with what you stand for.  Natural and good for the environment.

To this day Sarah never sent a reply, feedback or thank you note regrading the products she was gifted.