ANNOUNCEMENT: It’s The Impulsive Buy’s Season of Giving (2018 Edition)

Marvo 13 Comments

Welcome to The Impulsive Buy’s 2018 Season of Giving!

(I’ll pause here to let you all celebrate)

Starting next week, we will be giving away something (mostly gift cards) EVERY DAY until the end of the year. The gift cards are from a variety of stores and fast food chains we’ve covered throughout the year. You’ll have to visit us every day to find out what’s being given away.

The title of the posts will begin with “TIB’S SEASON OF GIVING 2018.” Because we’re having a new drawing every day, we’ll be accepting entries (via the comments) for each prize for only a 24-hour period.

The prize drawing posts will go up at 9:00 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time (11:00 p.m. Pacific, 2:00 a.m. Eastern) and once the 24 hours have passed, the comments for that post will close. The winners will be selected and announced soon after TIB’s Season of Giving is over.

For those of you who regularly enter our prize drawings, you might notice the time each 24-hour period starts is different from the usual 12:00 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time. I moved it up because I now want to go to sleep at a normal time.

As with all our prize drawings, it’s only open to those in the U.S. who are 18 years old or older (gift cards can be used only in the U.S.).

So, keep an eye out for the first post, which is going up on Sunday, December 16 at 9:00 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time.

Good luck!

QUICK REVIEW: Kit Kat Chocolatory Special Butter (Japan)

Rachel 4 Comments

2018 12 14 KKB

What is Kit Kat Chocolatory Special Butter?

While in Tokyo recently, I made a stop at the Kit Kat Chocolatory store & café and brought home some goodies. Now, there’s always one errant flavor in the group that everyone raises an eyebrow at and this is it: butter.

2018 12 14 KKB2

I’ll let the Google translation of the text inside the box describe them: “I kneaded butter powder between the layers of the wafers, making full use of the sweetness of chocolate, I finished it tastefully to feel the richness of butter.”

How is it?

The aroma inside the package reminded me of baking and raw dough. The taste was an instantly familiar one, yet novel to this format – creamed butter. When making cookies, you usually start by mixing sugar and butter together – creaming. Those of us with no willpower are very well-versed in the flavor of creamed butter, and this Kit Kat has captured it perfectly.

2018 12 14 KKB3

I thought these would be less sweet and heavier on the butter, which is why I wasn’t sure about them at the start. I’m surprised at how much I enjoyed them. If you prefer your sweet/butter ratio on the savory side, you probably won’t like these. But if you’ve had your hand slapped by Mom or Grandma for dipping into the mixing bowl early, you’ll love them.

2018 12 14 KKB4

Is there anything else you need to know?

I now regret only buying one box.

2018 12 14 KKB5

Conclusion:

I’ll just say it – I loved Butter Kit Kats. If you’re buying gifts for a baking junkie, track these down. If you’re a novelty junkie, track them down. If you’re a butter junkie, they’ll still make you happy, but not as ecstatic as the baking freaks. But that’s probably OK since your heart might explode if they did.

Purchased Price: 400 yen (approx. $3.52 US)
Size: 46.4 g box (4 mini bars)
Purchased at: Kit Kat Chocolatory main store, Ginza, Tokyo
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per 11.6 g bar) 65 calories, 3.8 grams of fat, 4-24 milligrams of sodium, 7.2 grams of carbohydrates, and 0.45 grams of protein.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES – 12/14/2018

Marvo 1 Comment

Here are some interesting new and limited edition products found on store shelves by your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of the products, share your thoughts about them in the comments.

Frito Lay Holiday Sweet Salty Mix

Frito-Lay Holiday Sweet & Salty Mix

Frito Lay Winter Fun Mix

Frito-Lay Winter Fun Mix

(Spotted by Kelly S at Walmart.)

Great Value Lightly Salted Shelled Pistachios

Great Value Lightly Salted Shelled Pistachios

(Spotted by Bob K at Walmart.)

BarkThins Dark Chocolate Nut Pretzel Medley with Sea Salt

BarkThins Dark Chocolate Nut & Pretzel Medley with Sea Salt

(Spotted by Dorothy at Sam’s Club.)

Diet Snapple Takes 2 to Mango Tea

Diet Snapple Takes 2 to Mango Tea

(Spotted by Rachel J at Fred Meyer.)

Sun Tropics Moch Rice Bites Sea Salt and Tamari Soy Sauce

Sun Tropics Mochi Rice Bites (Sea Salt and Tamari Soy Sauce)

(Spotted by Rachel J at Safeway.)

Happy Inside Bold Blueberry Cereal

Happy Inside Bold Blueberry Cereal

Happy Inside Simply Strawberry Cereal

Happy Inside Simply Strawberry Cereal

(Spotted by Sarah D at Hy-Vee.)

If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you’ve tried the product, share your thoughts about it in the comments.

Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if the product is old, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES: Jello Play Unicorn Slime and Monster Slime

Marvo Leave a comment

Jello Play Unicorn Slime

Jello Play Monster Slime

I’ve seen The Blob and enough anime to I know what monster slime is. But I’m not sure what unicorn slime could be. Does it come out when I pull down on a unicorn’s horn? (Spotted by Bob K at Giant Eagle.)

Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if the product is old, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

QUICK REVIEW: Dairy Queen Secret Menu Coffee Oreo Blizzard

Joe 2 Comments

Dairy Queen Secret Menu Coffee Oreo Blizzard

What is the Coffee Oreo Blizzard?

The Coffee Oreo Blizzard fulfills my childhood dream of being an ice cream secret agent. This “secret” menu item tasks my alter ego secret agent DQ7 with requesting coffee syrup to be blended with the standard vanilla base and Oreo cookie pieces.

How is it?

Dairy Queen Secret Menu Coffee Oreo Blizzard 2

The basic request for a coffee infusion added a flavor so light that I thought it was undercover itself. A slight mocha note peaks its shy head up in the bites that are light on Oreo magic. A spoonful consisting of cookies galore on the other hand drown out the faint whispers of coffee flavor found in their absence. This raises the vanilla floor, but the Oreo cookie ceiling isn’t even raised enough for Oddjob. The coffee syrup is a pleasant but uninspiring addition.

Is there anything else you need to know?

I take any opportunity to don a tuxedo and affect a terrible, and probably offensive, British accent. It is however completely unnecessary when ordering from the “secret” menu. At least based upon the lack of a convoluted plot to slowly lower me into a gigantic bladed Blizzard stirrer.

Dairy Queen Secret Menu Coffee Oreo Blizzard 3

To order the Coffee Oreo Blizzard for yourself, simply ask for coffee syrup to be added to the Oreo Cookie Blizzard. If you want more than just a hint of coffee, ask them to double it. Just don’t ask for it to be shaken and not stirred unless you enjoy exasperated eye rolls. I was not charged extra for the coffee flavoring, but they may have been scared of my license to chill.

Conclusion:

My first mission as a Dairy Queen secret agent ended satisfactorily. Coffee flavor fans will find this hack to be neutral at worst, and at best, an incremental upgrade unworthy of Q. Next time, I will ask for a heavier hand with the java juice.

Purchased Price: $4.19
Size: Medium
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: None available.