Bzz Agent Product Review: Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean Power Sprayer

I've done a product test run for Bzz Agent on the Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean Power Sprayer. When people ask me if I want to try a new cleaner, I'm pretty good for it. When they tell me that it is supposed to keep things cleaner longer, both hands are raised in the air as I yell, "Ooooo! Pick me!" like the 6 year old in my house would yell.

The little things that bring us hope, happiness and a lift to our day.

So, now that I've used the Extend-A-Clean for 5 weeks now, I can give you my scoop.

1. Each bottle of cleaner gave me 4 cleanings. I'm a clean the bathroom once a week girl (touch-up's in between), so for me, that was a month worth. At $3.99 a refill, I considered that a bargain. The starter kit is $8.99. My friend reports that she's been running on the same batteries in hers since December 2009.
2. It was so easy to spray. It has a power sprayer, so you don't get a sore arm from continual pumping of the trigger.
3. It is foamy, so you can see where you have sprayed.
4. The sprayer makes it easy to clean the shower curtain liner. Easy to spray and easy to wipe off.
5. One shot with the spray, let it sit a few minutes and NO! scrubbing has to be done to soap scum. Just a quick wipe, rinse and you are done! The invisible grime barrier is activated each time the surfaces get wet, so less wiping makes me very happy!
6. I had a discussion with my friend Cj about the Extend-A-Clean. I've talked about her on my blog before. She has Multiple Sclerosis and as a result, suffers from some balance and dexterity issues. I was thrilled to hear that she's been using Extend-A-Clean since about November, she loves it and it has made cleaning so much easier for her. Even on a very limited budget, she finds the initial investment well worth it.
7. My mother-in-law suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritis. I was thrilled to see in the information included that the Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean Power Sprayer has received the Ease-of-Use Commendation by the Arthritis Foundation. I could really see my mother-in-law get a lot of use out of this product, particularly with her strength issues in her hands.

My thoughts? I'm going to continue to use the Extend-A-Clean! Hooray for easier cleaning!
Disclosure: Yep, I was sent the Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean product to test for Buzz Agent. No, I wasn't paid, though that would have been great. Other than a clean and great smelling bathroom, I received nothing else. What more could I want, though?!

Smiles in my day:
- When I got home, our public school system had left a message stating that a science camp would be available, on a limited basis, to the children in our district. It is at our elementary, so we are familiar with the grounds. It is FREE! 9 AM - 3 PM. They provide breakfast, snacks and lunch. I checked into the lunch being provided and it is a box lunch, so K- can eat it. (It is a healthy lunch.) They'll be having a Nature Day, Earth Science Day, Science of Sport, Mad Messages (microscopes, I think) and a Space Day. K- is so excited and I am thrilled that we were able to sign up for such a neat opportunity!
- The money drop in the sandbox. I'm supposed to be picking chicken up for a family that I'll be helping on Saturday with a graduation party. They stopped in this morning and wanted to drop money off, but no one was home. I just had her drop it in the sandbox and put the lid back down. She thought I was nuts, but it worked perfectly well!

Have a great day!

Bzz Agent Product Review: L'Oreal Lash Boosting Mascara and Serum

I was contacted by Bzz Agent to a product review of the L'Oreal Paris(R) Lash Boosting Regimen. It was a 4-week challenge.

What did they send me?
- A tube of L'Oreal Double Extend Mascara with lash boosting serum to use during the day.
- A tube of Lash boosting serum to use under mascara during the day and on bare lashes at night before I go to bed.

I'll start by saying that I'm always cautious about make-up. I have very sensitive skin. My eyes? They are important to me, too!

From the Bzz Agent Bzz Guide:
What are women already saying? After 4 weeks of Double Extend Lash Boosting Serum use?
71% say, "It seems I have more lashes."
75% say, "My lashes seem thicker."
78% say, "I have less lash loss during makeup removal."
81% say, "My lashes seem to be in better condition."

So what are my eyelashes like? They are full, long and dark. When they are wet, they hang like mops on my eyes. I use mascara sometimes, but it can make me look like Raggedy Ann if I'm not careful.

I decided that I was going to do a bit of an allergy test before running into this full steam. First, it arrived somewhere when the holidays fell, perhaps right after, but at a time that I wasn't willing to risk a potential allergic reaction, so I held off a little while.

The first day I tried the product, I wore the mascara only. Good news! No allergic reaction. The mascara wasn't very plumpy though. It wasn't the fault of the mascara. I didn't put the serum underneath. I was trying one layer at a time. So, mascara was fine.

The second day, I tried the lash boosting side of the mascara, then put the mascara on top. Wow! Did that make my eyelashes look like they spanned across my face. I don't know what is in that magical serum, but if you are looking for plumpness, that'll take you where you need to go. There was one thing though, I noticed lash loss. In fact, my best friend was around to witness the plumpness and the loss. The plumpness? "WOW!" The loss, "Oh." I told her that I was doing a product review for Bzz Agent. I said that I'd still give it another try.

Day three came. I decided to repeat day two, since I had noticed lash loss and wanted to see if it was just a weird coincidence. Y'all, eyelashes kept falling out as I was trying to pay attention to Pastor and his sermon. Hmm.

I should add that losing lashes is not something that I have a problem with. They stay put. Rarely will one decide to jump ship. I provide a happy eye home for them. They like staying where God intended them to be, around my eyeball and not in it.

After church, I talked to Hubs about my lash dilemma. Of course, he looked at me cross-eyed.

I talked to my mom about the product review, the mascara, what it designed to do and that my lashes were falling out. I said that I would give it a few more days. She said not to. She said that she suffered from something similar and ended up with a half naked eye.

No thank you.

With that, I discontinued use of the mascara and decided not to use the additional lash boosting serum at all. The lashes weren't falling out with just the mascara, so I believe that the serum may have been the issue for me.

So, my personal take on the L'Oreal Double Extend Mascara with Lash Boosting Serum? It might work for you. I give it a thumbs up on plumpness. I give it a thumbs down on lash loss, as it claims that after 4 weeks reports were 78% had less lash loss during makeup removal. I wasn't even removing my makeup and my lashes were falling out. The price would probably be a bit of a hold back to me, but if you feel like you have skimpy lashes and it is important to you to plump them up, the price-point may be something not so bad.

More information to note:
- The L'Oreal Paris(R) Double Extend Lash Boosting Mascara is available in Black and Blackest Black at a suggested retail price of $12.95.
- There is a 24-Hour Lash Boosting Power System which includes both items I received (mascara in black) for the suggested retail price of $24.95.
- It is Ophthalmologist and allergy tested, safe for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers.
- It is available at Wa*lmart, Target, CV*S and Walg*reens beginning this month.

I received these products from Bzz Agent to do an honest review. Other than sending me the Double Extend Mascara with Lash Boosting Serum and the additional Lash Boosting Serum, I received no payment. The opinions included in this review, including loss of lashes, was completely my own.

Smiles in my day:
- My last day of inventory is done.
- The snowplow came down the street before I arrived home and while I had to baja into the driveway, I was given the opportunity to shovel the very heavy road snow out of the end of the drive to make way for Hubs' little Tercel. This exercise hopefully worked off some of the massive caloric intake that I have been partaking of during said boring inventory week.

Prayer list updated with some pretty big stuff. If you will, take a minute to run through the sidebar listing. Thanks!

Bzz Agent Review: Children's Claritin

I'm currently reviewing Children's Claritin for Bzz Agent. K- has pretty moderate seasonal allergies. This requires her to take a children's allergy medication from mid-March until mid-June. Prior to K- being 2, our pediatrician wanted K- to take nothing more than Dimetapp. It worked okay, but K-'s allergies were in need of a bit more high-potency. When K- reached the magical age of two, our pediatrician put her on Zyrtec. K- has been taking Zyrtec ever since.

Some time back, I received an e-mail from Bzz Agent about this review of Children's Claritin. My friend has always sung the praises of Children's Claritin with her children, so I figured, why not?

I should tell you that K- loves it. She said that it is tasty and easy to take. The Zyrtec is a liquid. The Children's Claritin that they sent along is in chewable tablet form.

Now, I admit that I looked at the price of this at Giant Eagle recently. It was $10.99 for a 10 pack. I admit that to me that seems a little steep, but I also admit that I don't know how many 1 teaspoon doses of Zyrtec are in the bottle that we use. The Zyrtec was $9.99. Walgreen's advertised Children's Claritin on sale this week. When I went to purchase it, there was a coupon for $2.00 off on the shelf and it was the bonus 25 pack. I paid $12.99 for 25 doses of Claritin. I call that a deal. (I had coupons, but I forgot about them!)

Now to the nitty gritty, I gave the Children's Claritin the ultimate test. I decided to wait to try it until the pollen was horribly high. You know what? It worked like a charm. Truly. You would have never known.

Now, I should back peddle and tell you what type of symptoms K- suffers from when she has allergies. Her allergy attacks produce a severely runny nose. Her runny nose drains to her stomach, giving her stomach aches that can result in vomiting or diarrhea. (Gross, but true.) Her eyes will swell and do nothing but water. She'll also have an allergy cough. If not properly tended to, all of this will go straight into a wonderful sinus infection. Often, that sinus infection will also decide to involve the ears and infect those, too. That means antibiotics, fevers, missed school/activities, sick kid, worried mommy and it is not worth it. I find that simply giving K- allergy medication during those few months in the springtime, as the pediatrician directs me to, it buys quality of kid life for my allergy suffering kiddo.

So what do I think of Children's Claritin? Good stuff! I admit that I like having the option to toggle back and forth, but since Claritin is what K- seems to like the best, we'll stick with that as long as I can find it on sale. We do have a bottle of Zyrtec that she will need to finish off, so as to not waste.

Some facts they would like you to know about Children's Claritin?
1. It has a great grape taste that K- thinks is completely awesome!
2. It is a pill vs. a liquid, so K- and other kids feel like they have a bit more control in their medicine taking. That and if it falls on the floor, it doesn't do so with a splash.
3. #1 Pediatrician Recommended non-drowsy brand. Though good to note that I do give it to K- before bed and it has never caused a problem.
4. Recommended for children 2 and up.
5. One dose lasts the whole day and doesn't make the kids jittery.
6. Two million school days are lost due to seasonal and indoor allergies. 4 out of 10 school children are affected by allergies. Yikes!

So, I have coupons! To the first 5 people who send their address to my e-mail, I will send a $3.00 off coupon for Children's Claritin. The coupon is off of a 4 oz syrup or a 10 count or larger box o' chewables goodness. Coupons are good through June 30, 2009.

Any feedback to give on Children's Claritin-- good, bad or otherwise? Pop it on into comments. The Bzz Agent people will be by to read all about it!

Bzz Agent Product Review: The Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner

I'm bzzing today about a product that I'm checking out for Bzz Agent. The product that I'm giving a whirl is the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner. The product advertisements boast the following:

Safe for use on most shower and tub surfaces. This includes fiberglass, tile, acrylic and plastic. This DOES NOT INCLUDE showers that are natural marble, have finished wood surfaces or brass fixtures. Good to know.

Better cleaner, same affordable price. Actually the suggested retail price has been lowered to $14.99 for a full set, so that is much better than hovering around the $20.00 mark when I checked them out in the store previously.

One-touch use for ease and convenience. The cleaning solution starts working as soon as it hits your shower/tub. There is a 15 second delay, but don't worry. There is also a warning on the bottle to remember that it is not to be used as bath wash. Yuck. I can't imagine.

No more water spots. The cleaner is supposed to combine with your shower water to remove soap scum and mildew and also prevent the build up of water spots. I could care less about the water spots. I do, however, care about the mildew. Again, yuck.

One bottle lasts up to three weeks, when used once daily. Just press the button when you are getting out of the shower.

Here are some things that I discovered:
1. Putting the hanger on was a little tricky. I'm thinking that other people thought the same, as the directions were written as such.
2. My husband has a shower caddy. I have to remove the shower caddy to use the automatic shower cleaner, then after the cleaner is done, I have to put the caddy back. I've discovered that I can hang the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner from the shower curtain rod and just cover it with the shower curtain. No one sees, and hubs isn't mad at me for taking his shower caddy down.
3. Being that it is in use in my tub/shower, one side of the tub will be skipped. Yuck.
4. My shower curtain will get cleaned without my putting it into the laundry. That's a good thing.
5. You have to rinse before taking a bath or shower, as it makes the floor of the tub slick. Yes, I read this before getting into the tub. I'm thankful for having known that. Remember folks, read the directions.
6. It says that it is safe to spray on all personal care products like shampoo, sponges and soap. It is a chemical, though. If it makes the bottom of the tub slick and you aren't supposed to use it as a bath wash (not that I would have), I'm thinking that washing with it isn't that good of an idea. It will dry to a non-slick surface between showers, so that is good to know.

Now that I have used it, I have to say that this product is probably not well suited to us. I will continue to use it to give it the full test run. If I decide it isn't for us, Mom is waiting in the wings for the unit. She would like to use it in the shower in their vacation trailer on their river property. Honestly, I think that it would be a better application for this device. Shower only and no tub.

When I received the shower cleaner, I also received the Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel wand. I was really excited to get this little bonus in my box. It was easy to put together and equally easy to stamp onto the inside of the toilet bowl. (Gives a new meaning to Stampin' Up, huh Rachael?) It smells wonderful and I am curious to see if it keeps my toilet bowl as clean as giving it a weekly cleaning with the standard liquid and brush. I admit that this was something that I really did want to buy to try, so it was a super-duper bonus in the box.

Included in the automatic shower cleaning kit was one of their flushable wipes. Another nice little bonus. I'm not generally a disposable wipe user in the house (same for Swiffer), but it's a one sheet thing. I'll give it a try.

So, anyone interested in a coupon for $5.00 off a Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner starter kit? If you are, feel free to e-mail me your mailing address and I'll get it sent out. I only have 5 coupons, so I'll send them out to the first 5 who request them. Don't like their product after you buy it? They have a money back guarantee!

If you do buy one or have any experience with the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner, let me know-- good, bad or otherwise. I'll bzz back to Bzz Agent with all the feedback that you give me. Thanks! :)

Edited to add: Don't hang the Automatic Shower Cleaner from a tension rod. It will fall down in the middle of the night with a very loud boom, leak cleaning solution on your fabric shower curtain (strip the color out of it, as per the listed warning), and leave tiny shards of broken casing on the floor. On a bright note, the unit still works, but clearly isn't a good fit for us. We just don't have the ability to leave it hanging from the shower as the directions would wish. Bummer.