Money – The Fragrance of Success

If you watch The Shark Tank on ABC, you probably saw Money – The Fragrance of Success on the episode that aired Friday, February 3rd. Well, I do and I did and I had to have it! I won't lie, I LOVE money! Whoever said "money doesn't buy happiness" was 99% wrong. Does it directly buy happiness? No - but it buys security which leads to happiness - but I digress. I also love (and have a mild addiction to) cologne. My all-time hands down favorite is Essential by Lacoste. It's delicious. When I saw this product, I had to have it. I don't know if I'd want to actually smell like money. Does money smell good? I'd say that it doesn't really smell good per se, but it does have a distinct smell that most people enjoy. So I immediately purchased Money.

My bottle of Money arrived on Wednesday. My first impression was the packaging. The plastic wrap used to protect the box is very odd. When I tried it unwrap it, the plastic wrap broke off in pieces rather than unwrapping. Think of an old tortilla shell rather than Saran wrap. Not a great first impression. Upon opening the box, I found the shredded real US currency. I love that bit! Once I removed the shredded money, my impression went negative again. Talk about a roller coaster: Shitty plastic, then "Oh! Cool!", then "Really?". The box makes the cologne look like a similar size to my Lacoste Essential bottle (big enough to last a while, but small enough to throw in a messenger bag or car storage counsel), but it's pretty damn tiny. At 1.7oz (does anyone really bother to read that before ordering?), it's less than 1/2 the size of my Lacoste and almost the same price. I wasn't impressed.

Even though it was almost 7pm by the time I opened the box, I had to put the cologne on. It doesn't smell anything like money. At all. With that said, however, it does smell good. It's a familiar fragrance, but I haven't taken the time (and won't be doing so) to figure out what other cologne it reminds me of. I like it. I'm used to having strangers stop me to say how good I smell and ask what I'm wearing, which probably means I'm wearing way too much cologne, but I like to smell it! Strangely, no one at the office has ever mentioned my cologne so they either dislike it or just don't notice/care. I wear Essential pretty much every single work day so I thought that wearing Money on Thursday would make people notice. They didn't. So overall, I like Money, but I'm not blown away. They'll need to improve upon the packaging and double the bottle size to make me a repeat customer.

Money - The Fragrance of Success passes The Trav Test with a B-/C+. 


• Category: Products
• Location: Online
• Cost: $42.50
• Ease of use:
 Easy
• The Trav Test grade: B-/C+. I couldn't decide. It's not an F and it's not an A.

LinkedIn DirectAds

I was recently looking for a new day job and, being a technophile, I used the internet to my advantage. At first, I solely used SEO (search engine optimization) so when you Googled my name, my LinkedIn profile would be in the search results and also appear as an ad.  I then received $100 in free LinkedIn DirectAds advertising through a promotional mailing, so I figured that was even better than the Google AdWords platform since folks are only on LinkedIn for professional things whereas they are on Google for many things. My experience with LinkedIn Ads was largely negative. The only good thing about it was that it was easy to set up. Since I had the free Ads to use, I set the maximum budget for my ad at $100, but it quickly used it somehow. When I noticed this, I immediately turned the ad off. The DirectAds platform reported that I caught it before any clicks sent me over budget, but soon after I was charged $79.56 because the system failed to turn my ad off. I spent approximately 2 months dealing with customer service trying to get a refund. The Ads Specialist I dealt with at first, Troy, was extremely rude and unhelpful. I told him I wanted to escalate to a supervisor and he said he was the person who made decisions about refunds. I went over his head and got my refund anyway.


This past Friday I received an email from a LinkedIn Product Manager asking me about my experience with LinkedIn DirectAds. I told him exactly what I wrote above. In fact, I copied most of the above from the email I sent back to him. Now last night I got an email from LinkedIn's "social media guy" asking if I'd like to participate in a social media ad campaign for LinkedIn DirectAds. Really? I mean, you obviously got my information from the Product Manager - the one that knows my experience was bad. You want to share that? Apparently he doesn't want to share it, so I'm doing it for him.


Don't get me wrong, I find LinkedIn to be a fantastic product, but LinkedIn DirectAds is like LinkedIn's step-child that the parents lock in a dog cage so they can go bar hopping every night. The Ads Specialist (read: customer service) was rude and unhelpful. Now, months later, they ask for my experience? Check your records and you'll have an answer. Then I sent the answer that they should already have had and they obviously didn't even bother to read it or else why would they pass it along so I could potentially participate in an ad campaign for them? Come on, LinkedIn DirectAds, and therefore LinkedIn, get your shit together! I'm so glad you chose not to hire me for the position I applied for! I guess they only want incompetent illiterate folks - that's not me!


PS - Google's AdWords ROCKS. If you want to do an SEO campaign, go with Google.

LinkedIn DirectAds fails The Trav Test with an F.


• Category: Products
• Location: Online
• Cost: Expensive since their shit doesn't work properly
• Ease of use:
 Easy
• The Trav Test grade: F

New Year's Eve Essentials!

Well, it's that time of the year again... the end! First, I want to thank you, the readers, for a wonderful 2011! I'm so happy that you enjoy this tiny consumer reports operation I started! While you're generally void from the comment section, I love reading your emails and seeing you repost my reviews! Thanks! 2012 will be awesome with you all around!


With that said, most of you will be going out on the town for New Year's Eve. The Trav Test has 3 essential items to make your night an A!


1. Agloves. I've told you about Agloves before and Tweeted about their newest products. You'll want to use your touchscreen phones, but it's cold in many places! Stay warm AND connected with Agloves!


2. Blistex. I'm not sure if it genuinely counts as prevention, but if you'll be kissing people at midnight, 50%-80% of them have herpes! Blistex claims to relieve cold sores so you'll want it in your purse or pocket! (On that topic, grab some condoms, too. Even if you won't need them, someone will.)


3. Numbers for taxis or a taxi finder app. You'll probably be a drunk mess, so don't drive. It's simple!


If you have these 3 (ok, 4) items, you can be confident that you'll have a great time!*


*The Trav Test is not responsible if you have a shitty time. If you do something stupid, it's on you. If you have a really annoying significant other, that's on you, too. If you have nowhere to go on NYE, have these items anyway - you can go to see a movie. Using the Agloves, use your iPhone to get a ride and have the Blistex ready when your lips are super dry from the salty popcorn! All kidding aside, be safe, have fun, and see you next year!

New Year's Eve passes The Trav Test with an A+. 


• Category: Fun!
• Location: Everywhere!
• Cost: Depends!
• Ease of use:
 Easy!
• The Trav Test grade: A+!

On SOPA

Just an FYI: The Trav Test is 100% AGAINST SOPA! 

(Image from Gizmodo)

• Sign This SOPA Petition to Get Obama’s Attention

• All the Companies Supporting SOPA, the Awful Internet Censorship Law—and How to Contact Them*

  
  
  *TheTravTest is NOT registered with GoDaddy!

SOPA fails the Trav Test with an F-∞. 


• Category: Politics
• Location: USA
• Cost: If it passes, it will cost your freedom!
• Ease of use:
 If it passes, it will be very difficult!
• The Trav Test grade: F-∞

Bissell Little Green ProHeat Pet

As you can tell, I've been too busy to post lately. I do have reviews queued in my head, but they haven't been "exported" yet. So, here's a super fast review of a product I tried today.


 The Bissell Little Green ProHeat Pet. It's a piece of shit. Don't buy it. The end. :)

Bissell Little Green ProHeat Pet fails The Trav Test with an F. 


• Category: Products
• Location: Stores
• Cost: About $100
• Ease of use:
 Medium
 • The Trav Test grade: F