When I saw Secret Flawless Touch with Olay on my local grocer’s shelf, I absolutely had to give it a try. How’d it go?

The GOOD: Secret Flawless Touch with Olay glides on smoothly, adding a thin layer of deodorant. The scent is light, but pleasant. And the moisturizing qualities of Olay left by armpits feeling silky all day … without any wetness.

The BAD: The gel-like deorderant doesn’t seem to rise evenly and it can be hard to tell when it’s up enough to use.

MONEY MATTERS: This retails for under $4 and is available at grocery stores, drug stores and other retailers everywhere. It’s also available online at Amazon in a four-pack.

The MOM VERDICT

Sarah says: Honestly, when I went into the deodorant section, I couldn’t remember what deordorant I had just run out of since the packaging on these products changes so frequently. So I searched the shelves and found this. The idea of moisturizing deodorant sounded awesome. And guess what? It was. This is the best my armpits have felt in years. They are soft, smooth and free from the pricklies that I often end up with. Love it!

The GOOD: The Mumbai Pav Bhaji tastes identical to a dish I had at my mother’s friend’s house years ago. It’s easy to prepare (microwave or boil in the bag, I chose the latter), and cooks up nicely. It’s got real ingredients and is imported from India.

The BAD: There are three servings in the box, which is a really odd number — Why not four?

MONEY MATTERS: This is available at grocery stores like Wegmans and online at retailers like Amazon. It retails for about $3 per package.

The MOM VERDICT

Sarah says: I wasn’t excited to try these meals. Honestly, I thought the worst — it was going to be bland, Americanized versions of the dishes I love. Boy, was I wrong. Not only is this a great heat and serve meal for when you are on the run, this is tasty for anytime. I absolutely love the flavors in the Super Khinoor meals and plan to order some to keep in the house. Two thumbs up.

But sweets are filled with calories and fats that just aren’t good for us (or our waistlines). And, personally, I am not a fan of the low-fat varieties. Fortunately, we don’t have to succumb to low-cal, low-fat imitations. Little Debbie now has a line of snacks that are 100 calories (or less) per serving. The new snacks retain the character, charm and taste of the real thing, but with a much more manageable calorie count.

Up today: the 100 calorie Yellow Cake from Little Debbie.

The GOOD: The cake is soft, airy and moist. It’s like biting into the freshest, most tasty cake ever. It’s frosted with just enough buttercreme flavored frosting, so it’s tasty without breaking the calorie bank. The 100 calories is just the right size for me.

The BAD: These are so good that you won’t want to eat just one.

MONEY MATTERS: These are sold in grocery stores around the country and retail for between $3-$5.

The MOM VERDICT

Sarah says: I was so psyched when these appeared on my doorstep. The cake is divine and the frosting is the perfect proportion and taste. Everything about it was yummy. As for the kids, they were in heaven. This is just the right size of sweets for little kids to eat and enjoy. Two thumbs up from this house.

The GOOD: Designed to improve the look and feel of your hands, it’s a double-duty product from a brand we know and trust.  It comes in three different varieties: Pomegranate and Splash, Aloe Vera and Lavender and Silk.  The Lavender and Pomegranate varieties include Vitamin E.

The BAD: I tried the Pomegranate dish detergent and the scent was a bit overpowering, so proceed with caution if you’re not a fan of strong scents.  The bottle is also large (22 oz), so may be a bit inconvenient for those that don’t do dishes often.

MONEY MATTERS: It retails for between $2.99 and $3.69 for a 22-ounce bottle, and can be found at your local grocery store or retail locations (Target, for example).

The MOM VERDICT

Cate says: I’m not really brand loyal when it comes to dish detergent.  While I will usually go for a name brand, it doesn’t matter which one and I’ll usually stock up on whatever is on sale.  In the past, I’ve found Dawn’s dish detergent to be a little drying, but this version with the extra Vitamin E seems to fix that problem a little bit.  Were my hands softer?  Hard to tell.  Since I put lotion on my hands multiple times daily, can’t unequivocally point to Dawn as the cause.  It did do a good job on dishes, cutting through the grease with ease, but I wasn’t a fan of the Pomegranate scent.  In the kitchen, with food, I’d rather have a lighter scent and something along the lines of lemon, not something fruity or floral.

Sarah says: Dawn is fabulous for cutting through grease and grime and this was no exception. I turned my bottle over to a clean dish loving lady. Her feedback? She would definitely buy this detergent — she loved everything from the scent (unlike Cate, she didn’t find it too strong or overpowering and liked the fruity scent for dishes) to the clean results it gave. And she said that her hands did feel a smidgen softer for using it. What do you know? It’s a home run.

The ITySE BiTySE contains one solid black “rip-stop” bag and four nylon mesh bags. All are in a similar shape to a plastic shopping bag that you’d get at your local supermarket. ITySE claims that these bags can hold three times as much as a regular plastic shopping bag.

How do they really work?

The GOOD: Instead of carrying a mish-mash of bags, the ITySE BiTySE shopping system carries five sturdy bags in one compact and cute bag. It’s easy to grab and go and could fit  nicely into a larger purse, diaper bag or you could even just tuck it under a car seat. The bags are just as durable and sturdy as ITySE claims — I was shocked with the amount and weight of food my grocery bagger managed to stuff into it. The black bag is ideal for meats. I wasn’t sure that this would be enough bags for my big grocery trip recently, but it was. However, if you think you need more bags than this, you could definitely fit additional bags into the roll as well.

The BAD: You might get funny looks from baggers and cashiers when you hand the ITySE over, since it looks so much like a purse. The bag cannot hold any of the larger reusable bags with flat bottoms. And it’s on the pricier side – although, when you break it down to actual cost, less than $10 per bag isn’t that bad.

MONEY MATTERS: The ITySE BiTySE is available online and retails for $49.99.

The MOM VERDICT

Sarah says: I was skeptical that the nylon mesh bags in the ITySE BiTySE would be as durable as the company claimed. Still, I couldn’t just ignore the cute bag system, so off to the grocery store we went. I bought drinks, milk, eggs, several pounds of meats and cheeses and more. And guess what? It held it all. I did get a funny look from the cashier when I handed over this bag, but that’s not a big deal. I love how cute and fashionable this bag is. It definitely makes being green a little more fun. I’m a big fan.

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The GOOD:  These bags are quite roomy at a generous 15×12x8 and are made in the USA with 100% upholstery weight cotton.  You can choose from a wide variety of prints or solids, one more gorgeous than the next.  The solid color bags are made from recycled fabric.  Grosgrain binding is used for the interior seams and the handles are heavy poly webbing, so these bags can definitely hold their own and you won’t have to worry about fraying or excessive wear.  They are very soft and quite luxurious to the touch and machine washable.

The BAD:  Only available for purchase online or at select retailers.  A little bit on the higher end for reusable bags, but keep in mind, these are really more like tote bags versus the usual 99 cent ones you see for sale at the grocery store.

MONEY MATTERS:  The print bags retail for $24 and the solids for $26.  They are available for purchase online or at these retailers.

SOMETHIN’ EXTRA: Custom bags are available with a 200 bag minimum.

The MOM VERDICT

Cate says: I have a small, but growing, collection of reusable bags and totes, but in my defense, I use them all the time, and for different things, so I’m always on the lookout for a new one.  These bags from b, happybags are unlike my others.  They are ultra-soft and have very pretty feminine prints (although there are some that guys can safely use too, I promise!).  We’ve been using our bag to tote books to and from the library and it withstands the weight with no problem.  These bags would be a great alternative to boxing up a present … add the gifts into a colorful tote bag and it will do double duty … as the wrapping and another present to boot.  Love them, and you will too.