The Hair Bean Review

February 8, 2012 by 2 Comments

The Hair Bean

Since I was pregnant and found out I was having a girl I was so excited and eagerly waited for the day she arrived. At first nervous whether or not she would have hair and desperately wished she did. You see, my entire life I have always been reminded that I was nearly bald until I was two years old and how I was constantly mistaken for a boy. I did not want this for my baby girl. Luckily she arrived with a god amount of hair so I was happier than ever. And for the first year of her little life I eagerly awaited the day I would be able to put little barrettes in her hair or give her the most adorable little pigtails.

 Here we are another year later; her hair is just at shoulder length level. Its at the point where it starts getting tangles, and sometimes it stays in her ponytail, and then most of the time gets all messy, covers her eyes and falls out of her ponytail.  There isn’t much I can do about it and I still haven’t decided if and when she will get her first haircut, and if I get her a haircut, and what style would I even choose for her? Since I hate bangs, I guess I will just keep letting it grow until I see a need to cut it.

Anyways, since her ponytails are always falling out, I have to brush Lexi’s hair and fix it at least two times a day. Up until recently she was ok with me doing so, until she realized she hates my hair brush. Now, when she sees me with the brush she runs away. I happened to be at my local Bed Bath and Beyond just last Friday and stumbled across The Hair Bean. An ‘As Seen On Tv’ product, which promises to painlessly de-tangle hair easily while also minimizing damage to your hair.

The only two things I care about when it comes to testing this product, it whether it is approved by Lexi, and whether it brushes and de-tangles as a regular brush would.

I have to say, it didn’t even take five minutes for the verdict to be in. This product is
approved by not only myself but Lexi as well. She no longer runs when I want to brush her hair. In fact, she actually likes the Hair Bean and is even able to use it on herself at only 2 years of age. She even loves the carrying case and the little mirror inside.

After seeing the infomercial for the Hair Bean I noticed that they had women using it. So my test would not be complete if I didn’t test it out on my own hair. For those that have seen my videos, you know my hair is quite long and I assure you it gets a lot of tangles. Well, Even on my hair, the Hair Bean worked wonderfully! It took a little longer to use than my usual brush but it worked and was completely painless.

So here we have it, yet another great product. I could not say for sure how well this product works on coarser hair or on hair of different ethnicities besides my own, but I guess its for you to decide and try for yourself.
 

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Sheer Cover Makeup Review and Demo

January 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Ok, so even though I’m pretty much hooked on Bare Minerals makeup, I figured I would give Sheer Cover a try and see how it compared.

So instead of ordering online or over the phone I decided to get the starter kit from my local Bed Bath and Beyond. Lucky for me I was mailed a special discount price from Guthy Renker for being a ProActiv customer, which Bed Bath and Beyond price matched for me at $9.95.

I figured the best way for me to try it was buying the kit from the store so I didn’t end up getting automatic shipments, which as my husband can attest, I am horrible about remembering to cancel those types of things.

What came in the box:

Three .05oz Mineral foundation jars of three different shades for skin tones light to medium

One .03 oz container of Bronzing Tan Minerals

One .05 oz container Duo Concealer with colors Light and Medium

One Mineral Makeup application brush

One triangular makeup application sponge

Ok, so the first thing I want to talk about is the application brush. I am slightly disappointed that it isn’t exactly a soft as I had hoped. Not to mention its kind of small compared to some of my other makeup brushes. It seems like it provides less coverage since it is so small, so it takes a little more time to apply the foundation. I also feel like it doesn’t provide as even of coverage as I had hoped.

So before I decided to dive in head first I needed to figure out which shade was best for my skin tone.

Buff- when tested on my wrist and also my first use on my face it looked very yellow. It looked like the foundation powder definitely “stuck” more to where I applied the concealer. It looked patchy and I could clearly see uneven coverage. I had this problem when testing out all the shades

Bisque- this was even more so yellow and didn’t match my skin tone very well, so I did not use this after testing it on my wrist.

Latte- this shade was a slightly more orange shade of yellow. The first time I had tried the Buff, and for the sake of testing results, even though I thought this shade was too dark or orange for me, I tried it anyways. I applied the concealer first, used my triangular application sponge to even it out, and then applied the foundation. Even though I used the application sponge, I still saw the same issue I had with the Buff. Because the concealer is a cream, the powder seemed to apply stronger where I had applied it( the concealer), so again, it looked like I had spots of patchy uneven coverage. So even after applying the foundation, once more I needed to use the triangular sponge to even it out. I was slightly surprised that the Latte foundation shade wasn’t nearly as orange as it appeared on my wrist. I kind of expected to look like an Oompa Loompa, but that wasn’t the case.  It did not exactly match my skin tone since I’m so pale, but it didn’t look too terrible, it actually made me look tanner. So I guess my second use of this product turned out better than my first.

The first time I used this product, I had more blemishes than I did today, and as far as the concealer goes, I didn’t really feel like it concealed a whole lot.

Overall, I think I am still going to continue to use my Bare Minerals. I feel like they have a wider range of shades meant for any skin tone. I feel like it gives better coverage, their brushes are softer and apply the foundation more evenly, I feel like my skin is softer after applying. That’s another thing I noticed, because the concealer is a cream, it didn’t feel like I had that natural, soft, clean feeling like I usually get after applying my bare minerals. My face feels more oily and makeup caked.

I should probably also note that since I switched from liquid foundation to my bare minerals several years ago my skin is much clearer and much more healthy. So I was pretty hesitant to even try to use the concealer for fear that it might react poorly with my skin. I did not have any break outs, in case you were wondering.

Another thing I just now noticed is that just upon touching my face, my fingertips are covered with makeup. So if it’s going to come off that easily, I can definitely say I will not continue using it.

Overall I think it’s an ok product, but it’s not for me. I don’t feel like any of their shades truly match my skin tone so it is not something I will buy again. And although I did not take advantage of their online starter kit, which I’m sure comes with more brushes and better brushes, I was not impressed with the brush I got therefore I don’t have high hopes for their others. Also, another dislike I had was how much I truly hate those icky makeup application sponges. They get beyond disgusting and dirty, covered in makeup, they get all brown looking, oily, and they fall apart.

Ohh, and the biggest dislike I had, was that in buying this starter kit, I paid for three different shades of foundation, none of which really worked for me, but even still, if one of them had worked, it kind of feels like a waste since I couldn’t even use the other two foundations. I mean, really?! I paid for three foundations, and I can only use one of them?

 

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Easy Feet Review and Demo

January 12, 2012 by 1 Comment

Ok, so this is something I thought was kinda neat. A nice little footwasher with bristles that go every which way to get in all the cracks and crevices of your little piggies.

My first confession is that I don’t always remember to wash my feet while I shower. Since I was a teenager I have always listened to everyone complain about my half hour showers and me hogging all the hot water. So since shaving my legs takes up the bulk amount of my bathing time, I really try to hurry and get the heck out. Not to mention, scrubbing your feet isn’t always the easiest to do.

Have you ever fallen in the shower? About a year ago I did.  There was soap on the floor, water, and then there was me trying to do a balancing act standing on one foot while I tried to pumice my other… Let’s just say it was an epic fail and I ended up with the water spout of my tub jabbed in my back and a nasty bruise to show for it. Oh ya, and then there was the part where mid fall, instinctively I tried to reach out and grab something to catch myself, and that thing being the shower curtain….. That landed on me too, in addition to the shower curtain rod. I don’t even know why I grabbed it in the first place, I mean, who does that? It isn’t like I didn’t already know it wouldn’t stand a chance of supporting my weight.

Anyways, enough about that…

So I love the idea of the Easy Feet. Its supposed to secure to the floor of your tub or shower, you glide your feet in and out, much a little carwash for your feet, it has a little pumice stone at the heel, and its pretty easy to use. Thus the name “Easy feet”.

When I first used my Easy Feet, I was pretty surprised; it really felt like it got every part of my feet clean. There were even times that I couldn’t help but laugh because it tickled so much as I used it. Now, who can’t use a good laugh every now and again?

There were only two problems I noticed while using my Easy Feet and the number one problem was that the suction cups didn’t stick to my shower/tub floor. So while I tried to use it as I slid my feet in and out, the easy feet slid with it. So to remedy that, I had to use my other foot to hold it in place while I cleaned the one foot. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like another disaster waiting to happen.

The other problem I experienced was that the top arch of the Easy Feet wasn’t quite tall enough in the respect that as I slid my feet in and out, it hit the top of my foot, making it all red and sore. (you can see this in my video demonstration).

I cannot say for sure whether or not I happened to get a bad Easy Feet, but if they could put better suction cups on this product, this would hold up to my expectations a little bit better. And because the top kept banging against my foot, I probably wouldn’t recommend this for someone with as large of feet as I have. It would probably work better for someone with smaller feet.
All in all I think it’s an ok product, and with some slight modification on my part I might keep using it. Maybe I can UGlu it to my shower floor. LOL

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Salon Express Review and Demo

January 4, 2012 by 3 Comments

Every now and again I love to get all dolled up and go to the nail salon, but with a tight budget these days, it isn’t always possible.

It took me several years to find a great salon too, and unfortunately it is a 45 minutes drive to get there. Being a busy mom, to this day, I still don’t find it easy to go to the salon. Just to get a mani or pedi I would have to be gone almost 3-4 hours. Who has that kind of time? I know I don’t. 

A few years ago I used to get acrylics and sometimes I would forget to go in a timely manner. So of coarse my nails would grow out and then they would start looking terrible. So instead of getting my acrylics I was trying to let my nails grow out, so that way, before wedding they would be back to normal and I could have a fresh set for my big day. So instead of hitting up the salon, every payday I went to Sally’s Beauty Supply and picked up 3 new colors. Before I knew it, I ended up with quite the collection of salon quality polishes. Between 30 and 40 I believe.

To this day I still miss having my acrylics, and I couldn’t even tell you the last time I went to the salon. I bet it’s been a year! Holy cow! Time has gone so fast I hadn’t even realized!

What a great Christmas it was this year, as I was so lucky to get such an awesome gift from my sister. Salon Express. How nifty I thought. And with New Years approaching and then soon after Valentines and my birthday, this was definitely something I could see myself using for all those special occasions in the near future.

So upon opening the package, the first thing I did was peel off the blue protective plastic covering the 5 decal plates. Then of coarse I had to remove my old worn out chipped polish which I had been sporting for over a week and apply a fresh coat (or two) of my desired color. Next I had to choose which of the designs I wanted to choose. And since this was my first time trying out my Salon Express, I decided to go to town and try as many as possible for the sake of testing results. There were so many great designs to choose from I really had a hard time deciding. So once I picked my first design, I painted over the decal plate on the design, then used the scraper to wipe off the excess polish, pressed the stamper over the decal plate and rolled the transferred image from the stamper onto my nails.

For being my first time using this product, I give it 2 huge thumbs up! I couldn’t believe how easy it was to use, and let me tell you, I am in shock over my results! This is no joke, folks! This product is legit and it works. 7 out of 10 of my nails turned out perfect. For being my first time, that’s awesome. And with a little more practice, I bet I could get 10 out of 10 in no time flat. I am really impressed and I think I actually want to try and go to Sally’s later to get a few more colors for my upcoming vacation to TX. I am so stoked at my results I kinda wish that my sis ordered it from the company’s site because I really want the French manicure decal plate. 
 

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Finishing Touch Review & Personal Results

June 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The search for the perfect hair removal method continues… I have tried just about every hair removal method you can think of from buffing to shaving, to lotions, and now I have decided to try this nifty little trimmer.

I remember when this came out several years ago, and I tried it back then, but somewhere along the line I believe it stopped working after I had to change the battery.  It’s been quite a few years since then, but I found it pretty handy for my eyebrows when I didn’t have the patience to tweeze, or I didn’t have the money to get my eyebrows waxed.

The Finishing Touch it extremely easy to use, its painfree, and it’s very quick. Some of the new improvements since the older model, are a great addition. I love the lighted tip, which helps me to see any of my fine white hairs much easier as they light right up. The pivoting head is nice for getting at awkward angles, and with the decorative jewel at the end, it’s just a little prettier and stands out to me when I am looking for it in my bin of beauty products.

Since I have to wear glasses all the time, sometimes when I shave my legs or bikini line, I am not able to see well enough in the shower to tell if I missed any spots. So once my shower is done, if I find I did in fact miss some areas, this is a really great tool to touch up those spots without having to jump back in the shower. Another great thing I use my Finishing Touch for is the tops of my feet and toes. Some people might not realize they have hair there, but if my fine white hairs get too long it drives me crazy. Forget the nice pedicure I just gave myself, all I can think of is the hair… Especially when it’s glowing in the sunlight, or if I actually happen to be tan during the summer, I have light white hair, on tan skin, so then they really stand out. And because it’s such a small area, I would never consider shaving my toes, since my razor is just too big, and I run the risk of cutting myself.

On occasion, I find my finishing Touch to stop working, but it’s usually because it had too much hair in it. Simple solution is to take an old DRY toothbrush to it and brush out the tiny hairs. It’s always good as new after that…

I can’t help but think that I wished I had this when I was a teenager. I guess I didn’t have the best eyebrows or anything, and I was a little late to catch up on tweezing and waxing. I don’t even think I started waxing my eyebrows until about 4 ½ years ago. So I think this might be a great gift idea for teens just learning to primp and preen. I would definitely considering buying this product again, as in fact I already have, but I would also probably buy one for my daughter 10 years down the road.

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Wen By Chaz Dean Review & Video Demonstration & Results

June 7, 2011 by 1 Comment

I live in Washington, and because of the humidity, my hair is a giant frizzy mess. It seems to reek havoc on my hair.  I have spent years upon years trying to grow my hair out long, and because of the severe heat damage I caused with my old straighteners, my hair was so dry, and covered in split ends…

Every time I went for a trim in the past, it felt like my stylist had to take so much off just to get rid of the damage. For that one reason, my hair was never able to grow out and remained the same length for such a long time. I was stuck in a self perpetuating cycle. The humidity made the frizzies, which made me flat iron them out, which damaged my hair, which made it remain short, and because I hated the way my hair was, I continued to straighten it every day.

I have mentioned in previous reviews about how much I love my Instyler. That nifty little styling tool was my saving grace when it came to those nasty little frizzies. But although I have my awesome Instyler, there are still some days I like to let my hair go naturally and show off my waves. As long as I was using my regular shampoo and conditioner, that was never a possibility because my hair was still frizzy.

My favorite time using Wen, has to be the first time I tried it. Because I wanted to start everything off on a fresh note, I had decided the first thing I should do was get a trim. That way I could notice the full effect of Wen on some healthy undamaged hair. As soon as my Wen arrived, I booked my appointment with my stylist and proudly brought my Wen with me. It smelled so amazing, it was almost like a mini aromatherapy session right in the salon. I honestly don’t know if there is anything better than having a stylist wash your hair and give you that amazing scalp massage.

When my hair was all trimmed and styled, I almost couldn’t even recognize myself. It looked so light, soft and silky. It looked healthy! For once in my life, I had amazing hair and I couldn’t wait to show it off!

I have been using my Wen for nearly 6 months and in that time I have been fully converted. I have healthy, gorgeous, long hair now, and I wouldn’t give it up for anything. I honestly don’t think I could go back to using anything other than Wen ever again. Since November, I have noticed a dramatic change in the lack of damage to my hair. This, to me, is a huge deal. Especially since I regularly dye and straighten my hair.  

After Using Wen
After Using Wen
After Using Wen

Because of Wen, my hair is no longer straw like, or dry and even the color in my hair has improved. Because I regularly dye my hair, I used to notice that about two weeks after coloring, the color eventually washed all the way out. Leaving it to actually resemble the color of straw.  Now that I use Wen, my color stays and I can finally feel comfortable in letting my hair dry naturally, without worrying about frizzies. I can finally show off my naturally beautiful wavy hair. My waves are more defined, they are wavier, and they are just so soft and smooth. I actually get compliments just about every time I go wavy. Now that I am able to reduce the amount of heat damage from styling tools, the old self perpetuating damage cycle is OVER. For once, I love my hair, and for once it is finally long.

I actually just got my hair cut again, about a month or so ago…. I brought my Wen to my stylist again and had my hair cut and styled as he had done about a year before. Just recently I watched the instructional video on YouTube for the first time. To my surprise, my stylist had actually done the same thing to my hair, giving me gorgeous hair, with some light curls at the ends, some body, all with NO styling agents! No curling iron, no hair spray, no mousse, no gel. My hair was outstanding all on its own. Just a blow-dryer and a round hair brush. I have to say the product is a bit pricey, but well worth it.

Wen, to me, means beauty, It means confidence, and it means strength.

Whenever I think of Wen, I think of beautiful, soft, and silky hair.

What has it done for me? Wen has given me an amazing new self image. Something I only wished I had as a teen and young adult. I feel beautiful everyday because of Wen.

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Smooth Away Review & Personal Results

June 2, 2011 by 1 Comment

Visit Manufacturer Website: Smooth Away Official Site
Free Gift: Buy 1 bag get 1 free

Still on the search for a better hair removal method, I decided to try this out last Fall… Sick and tired of nicks and cuts from using my razor, I decided to give Smooth Away a try. When I first tested it, I was pretty impressed. It actually did what it advertised, and it was pain free. It’s just too darn bad, hair has to continuously grow…

Seems to me that the results last equally as long as a regular shave.

I definitely stress using extreme caution to anyone who decides to try using this on their face. I happen to have some really fine light colored hairs near my hairline, and near my jawline, which, thanks to my genes, there isn’t much I can do about it. Normally I have to tweeze or just wax away those fine semi translucent hairs, but at least once I decided to try the Smooth Away. Boy, was that a mistake! Although the Smooth Away worked decently on my legs and other areas, the skin on my face proved to be way too sensitive to tolerate that kind of hair removal method. After I was all done, I was pleased with the results, however, the next day I happened to notice how dry and irritated the skin on my face had become. It became extremely dry and flakey, quite rash like and took nearly 4 days to heal.

Because this product is essentially sanding your skin and hair, you should still use caution when using it. You do not want to over dry and take off skin in the process. The one thing I did find nice was that I could use is almost anywhere, it was so easy I could do it mindlessly. The even better part was, that if I choose to use it prior to showering, I don’t have to shave in the shower, and it could save me tons of time. I think it’s kinda neat that you don’t need water to use it. My husband constantly complains that I take half hour showers, heck, my family used to complain when I was growing up. With my legs hair free prior to showering I could get in, wash my hair and body, and get out in ten minutes.

I have since found a somewhat more effective product, but I would still somewhat recommend this to others, mostly to parents with a young girl or preteen that they are not quite ready to hand over a razor to. That’s probably the only one I would recommend the product to…

I probably wouldn’t buy this again, and I have to say to my readers, that my search for the ultimate hair removal product continues. Until then, I will stick to my razor.

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Depil Silk Review & Demo

May 31, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Well everyone, I’m still on the path to finding a better hair removal system. I tested the Depil Silk hair removal spray it on my husband’s and my own arm at first. Mostly because it thought it would be amusing for there to be a hairless patch, but most importantly because I wanted to know how it would work on thicker darker hair.  I was really surprised.

Firstly I would like to say, it actually was completely painless. Have any of you ever tried Nair? Cause not only does that stuff  smell really horrible, much like rotten eggs,  but it burns like hell. I remember trying Nair for the first time and it burned so bad I had to dance around just to take my mind off it. I looked like I was doing the potty dance…

One reason Depil Silk is nice is because if you can spray it just right, you won’t even have to touch it to disperse it. And also, the Depil Silk didn’t have a pungent odor either. It didn’t smell great at first, but it didn’t smell disgusting either. However, after you wipe it off, it actually does leave you skin smelling really good, not to mention smooth.

Having liked the results I saw on my husbands arm, I then tested it out on myself. I am pretty fair in complexion and skin tone, so one thing I hate it the super light colored hairs on my arms. I always felt like whenever I looked at my arms, I noticed the hair more than I ever really saw my skin. And anytime the sun shone on me, the hair looked like it was illuminated and practically glowing or something. Worse than that, whenever I get chilly from a breeze it becomes more noticeable with all those little white hairs standing on ends.  I always thought shaving my arms was an absurd idea, so I know it is never something I would ever consider doing. Who wants to feel stubbly arms??? Not me, that’s for sure.  Over time I just figured this was something I would have to live with.

I never thought I would ever like having hairless arms, but I’d have to say I quite enjoy it and I am pleased with the results I got on my arms. Now, I feel like I can actually see me, and not the hair.

I tried the facial applicator and it didn’t dispense very well and when I wiped it off I had little to no results. I think it is probably because it didn’t dispense enough on the skin to really make a difference. If perhaps it had a better application method for the face, I’m certain I would have had the same great results.

Because the Depil Silk goes deeper into the skin, it has longer lasting hair removal effects than the other methods I have tried like shaving and the Smooth Away. Plus a benefit, was that there was no stubble. I wish the bottle came in larger sizes, or had refills to go with it because with the one bottle, I was only able to do both my arms and legs one time. So if you are looking for a cost effective hair removal method, it will cost you just about as much as some razor refills, which will get you at least 4 blade cartridges and weeks of use from vs. one or two singular uses from the Depil Silk. It’s likely a better deal to stick with your good ol’ razor.

I feel like I had a difficult time noticing results on my legs, and I’m a little puzzled why. It worked great on my husbands thick arm hair, so why not my leg hair? I guess it isn’t something I will ever find out, but I still love this for my arms. Now that I’m starting to notice the regrowth on my arms, it is definitely something I will continue buying just for that one purpose.

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ProActive Review & Experience

May 27, 2011 by 1 Comment

Growing up I had a pretty bad acne problem, and even on occasion I still have a problem as an adult. Several years ago I started using ProActiv, then stopped for awhile because of money reasons, then I was able to start using it again about a year and a half ago. This stuff is the real deal and I have never been happier. I noticed a huge difference in the time that I was using it, vs when I wasn’t using it. My skin is clearer now than it has ever been.

 I noticed that when using the recommended amount my skin had a tendency to dry out too much . So the simple solution was to use slightly less than reccomended. I use it about once a day, or every two days to keep my skin from becoming too dry. I still have the occasional breakout, but then I’m able to just use the refining mask, a small dab, sleep with it on and when I get up, the problem is practically gone.

I have tried so many facial cleansers, and so far nothing has compared to the results I get with ProActiv. I recommend this to anyone, family, friends, or anyone who knows someone with an acne problem. I especially recommend this to parents, because if you don’t remember, high school was tough enough without the teasing, and taunting. I actually wished I had this stuff ten years ago when I was in high school because I would almost bet on it that I would have had much better luck with boys and more self confidence. Now, now all you protective fathers out there, just because you don’t want your princess to start dating before you are ready to letting it happen, doesn’t mean she doesn’t deserve to look her best… I’m sure we can all agree that treating acne, or any problem for that matter is most effective when prevented in the first place.

What is it?
It’s a 3 step advanced therapy acne system made by dermatologists that can effectively help treat and clear current break outs, while also preventing future breakouts.

Why it works?
The prescription strength acne fighting ingredients; Benzyl Peroxide, and Glycolic acid help clean your skin, while the gentle botanicals help to soothe and hydrate your skin. The micro crystals penetrate your pores quickly, removing all the impurities, oil, and  destroying bacteria, while also exfoliating dead skin to leave it silky smooth and gorgeous.

How to have clearer Skin in just 3 easy steps: (or the 3 R’s, as I like to think of them)

  1. Renewing Cleanser: Made with micro-crystallized Benzyl Peroxide, this tiny exfoliate will get deep into pores killing bacteria, while also unclogging and cleaning your pores by removing the yucky dirt, oils, and dead skin to further prevent your pores from clogging. 
  2. Revitalizing Toner: an amazing alcohol free toner which helps remove excess oils and impurities, leaving your skin to feel and look soft, clean, and refreshed while also helping to balance out your skin tone.
  3. Repairing Lotion: this super light-weight benzyl peroxide medicated lotion gets even deeper into clogged pores while still managing to be gentle on your skin. Its also oil free, so its safe for your skin
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