Listerine Total Care Zero - Less Intense Product Review

I recently received a bottle of Listerine Total Care Zero from Listerine and Crowdtap. I've used several different brands of mouthwash in the past, and while I enjoy the benefit of a cleaner feeling, and smelling, mouth - I hated the crazy alcohol burn they all have.

Thankfully the new Listerine Total Care Zero has absolutely no alcohol, and a much less intense feeling in your mouth. But you don't have to worry about it providing less intense cleaning - it works amazingly! I received so many complements from my family members on the scent. It's not the typical crazy mint or fire cinnamon flavor. It has a spicy scent, my son said I smelled like cloves, my daughter said I smelled of eucalyptus. Both of which are favorite scents in our house!

Listerine Total Care Zero made my mouth feel fresh and clean without the burn, and I will definitely be purchasing it in the future.

Enter to win the Lemonheads Superfan IWG

Do You Have What It Takes To Be A Lemonhead Superfan?

Brickfish

Old Navy Outerwear - So many choices!

Thanks to the Old Navy Style Council and Crowdtap, I was chosen to particpate in a Sample & Share promotion involving Old Navy Women's Outerwear.  I was given two coupons, so that I and a friend could pick out new coats for free!

I usually find it very hard to find a coat that I really love, and usually just wear my ski coat all the time.  Unless I'm going somewhere dressy, then I have a heavy leather coat, that is uncomfortable and not at all good at keeping me warm!  Oh the things we do for fashion...

I chose my friend Rose to go with me.  She's not one to usually shop Old Navy, but after seeing all the different styles they had available on their website, I thought for sure that this would be a great way to introduce her to all that Old Navy has to offer.  She does rave about Old Navy socks though, she loves them!

So we met up at Old Navy on Thursday evening. We had a blast! So many styles to chose from, and all in so many amazing colors and prints!

We picked a bunch to try on, because we all know that things can look very different on a body than on a hanger!  

So cute!! The colors were gorgeous!

Great style, but didn't need a Large!

One thing that really stood out to me, was that I didn't need to go up a size or two like I usually do with outerwear. I had originally grabbed all size Large, even though I wear a Medium because it always seems there is never enough arm movement room if I wear my normal size.  But with every Old Navy Outerwear item I tried on, the Medium fit perfectly! The each were cut perfectly to allow movement without looking bulky. 

She loved this coat, which surprised her because she normally doesn't wear white!

We finally narrowed it down to two coats each, and made our final decision.

I never expected to find so many amazing styles of outerwear in one store. But Old Navy really outdid themselves this year. I was expecting lots of fleece and puffy vests, but they had a style and color for everyone. 

Thank you Old Navy and Crowdtap!!

Disclaimer: I was given vouchers through Crowdtap and the Old Navy Style Council to receive two free Old Navy Outerwear items at no cost, one for me and one for a friend. My thoughts and opinions are my own, and were in no way influenced by Crowdtap or Old Navy Style Council.

Have you heard about the Sodastream Fountain Jet Soda Maker??!!

I've attended several twitter parties sponsored by Sodastream, and I must say that the company is truly committed to customer service and the love of home-made soda!

It's amazing the flavors Sodastream has available, and they definitely encourage experimenting with combining your favorite flavors into your own personalized soda. How much fun is that?!  They offer over 30 flavors, including diet and caffeine-free varieties. They even have energy drink and sparkling iced tea flavors.  

The bottles are BPA-free and can be re-used for up to 2 years. Can you imagine how many plastic bottles that saves? They even have a glass bottle that can be used with their Penguin Soda Maker indefinitely!   

Speaking of the soda maker machines, Sodastream offers several stylish models to fit your home's needs. Most models also come in a variety of colors, so they will match your decor.  Remember what I said about the company's commitment to their customers? 

Now, if you're going to be making carbonated soda, you're going to need a Carbonator to infuse the water with all those fun bubbles.  Sodastream offers two sizes of carbonators, which make up to 60 or 130 liters of sparkling water or soda.  When they run out, you exchange the online or at select retailers, and they are cleaned and refilled and reused - another great way to "green" your soda! 

Be sure to check out Sodastream and all their products and accessories they offer over at their website, http://www.sodastreamusa.com

Disclosure:

I'm a BzzAgent and have written this review for the chance to receive a free Sodastream Fountain Jet Soda Maker Starter Kit to review and Bzz about as part of a BzzCampaign.  Find out more about BzzAgent HERE

About.me - A Free Online Business Card

Have you ever wished there was an easy way to share all your social media links? Thanks to the about.me service, now you can easily share contact information, twitter, facebook, website, email and more.

When you join about.me (it's even FREE!), you can customize your own about.me page with a photo, stock or one of your own, you name, a short bio and then the fun part... You can add all your important contact links right on one page.  On mine, I have links to my Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Google+, Blog, and email.  The address is easy to remember too - http://about.me/ and your user name comes after the slash. So mine is http://about.me/renea - how easy is that!!?

You can browse featured profiles to see how others have really used about.me to market their "brand", whether they are an artist, musician, blogger, or business person - you can really make your about.me page work for you!

And for a limited time, you can receive 50 free MOO Business Cards showcasing your about.me page, when you sign up for your own about.me page.

I learned about about.me through the bzzagent program.

Tango Card Review

I wanted to share a new gift idea I recently found out about - it's called Tango Card and you can check them out on their website http://www.tangocard.com/ and find them on twitter @TangoCard

Basically they are a way to buy someone a gift card, but allow the recipient to decide how to actually spend that gift card.  They can choose from quite a few popular retailers, give to charity or cash out for cash!

I recently won a $10 Tango Card from Tiny Prints - a great place to buy personalized greeting cards, stationary and more.  You can check them out at http://www.tinyprints.com and on twitter @TinyPrints .  My prize arrived in the form of a personalized Tiny Prints card, with the Tango Card information printed right on the card.  You can actually order cards the same way at Tiny Prints!

So after I received the card, I went online to check out Tango Card.  I had never heard of them before, and wasn't quite sure what exactly they were!  The process of registering, entering your card information and choosing how you want to use your Tango Card is very easy and user friendly!  I was intrigued to see that you can also use the Tango Card mobile app (available for both the iPhone/iPad and Android) to keep track of your gift cards, and works like a mobile wallet - you can actually have the retailer scan your phone to use your gift card! 

Now came the hard part - actually choosing how I wanted to spend my $10 in Tango Card Dollars.  Here is a list of available retailers as of the time of writting this review:

Recipients can choose a gift card from one of the retailers or below:

• Amazon.com
• Gap
• Home Depot
• Nike
• Pottery Barn
• REI
• Rixty
• SpaFinder
• Starbucks
• Target
• Zappos

Or donate to any of the following charities:

• America Scores
• Grameen Foundation
• Habitat for Humanity
• InSTEDD
• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• National Park Foundation
• Summer Search
• USO

(list thanks to Tiny Prints!)

After selecting the retailer I wanted, Target, and which design card I wanted, the gift card arrived by mail quickly. 

I haven't purchased a Tango Card yet - but plan on doing so for the holidays. It will be great for those picky people on your list - or those who you just never know what to get.  You can also purchase gift cards from the above retailers as well, and you can choose to have cards sent to multiple addresses in one order also.  So Tango Card can be a one-stop-shop!  I'm really looking forward to using Tiny Prints though - I think it will be a great way to look like I spent a million bucks on my family, but they only cost the same as an average greeting card!


Disclaimer - I won the Tango Card from Tiny Prints - but was not compensated in any way for this review. This is simply my opinion on the Tango Card service and product.

Spring sure did Spring! Into Action

I'm not sure where spring went. It seemed like the last few months have went by in a flash. The poor blog has been gravely neglected, and I'm going to try and change that - starting now!

I've become much more active on Twitter. I had no idea the amazing resource it had become! I feel like it went from a place to occasionally go check out and tweet a blog update or blog contest entry to a place to get connected, educated, and really have a ton of fun! Companies are realizing the importance of social media - and not just having a Twitter or Facebook page - but actually USING social media to connect with potential, as well as loyal, customers. You can now chat with tons of companies - tell them your likes, dislikes, questions and suggestions.

Companies are also realizing the power of the Twitter Party. That is, a group of people all chatting about a product or company - or even just a topic, like keeping your child healthy, all using a common "hashtag". A hashtag is simply a word prefaced with the number sign "#", such as #spendingimpaired, that allows a Twitter user to quickly search for a particular topic and read what people are saying about it. You can also use web-based or even smartphone-based programs like TweetDeck or TweetChat or TweetGrid to follow the conversations easily. Sometimes the party moves quite fast - but all the more fun, and all the more chances to connect with more people!

You don't need a cell phone even to use Twitter! Just follow along on the web - which I find easier.  I only send some people's tweets to my phone - such as when a company may be having a contest or giveaway.