Synthetic Blend Oil? Gimmick?

I thought so but it seems not. Bob has lots of great info. Kim
Good idea.

Being a "gearhead" I'm curious and just want to educate myself on lubricant types and what they're made of... I'm ok if my vehicle is ok with the lubricant(s)

I use both synthetics(whatever that means) on my newer cars conventional on my older, pre catalytic cars
This breaks it down in great detail. If you want the Cliff's Notes version, just read the first couple of paragraphs of each section, mineral and synthetic.
https://bobistheoilguy.com/