Product Review: Colgate Gum Health Mouthwash

A while ago I noticed that my gums were receding along a particular stretch of my upper teeth. That was followed by a dark red line along the tooth. My dental coverage wasn’t great at the time, so I consulted my friend, Dr. Google, who told me it was probably gingivitis.

We’re still several months away from getting dental coverage that we can use (the current plan doesn’t seem to be accepted by actual dentists and a basic cleaning here goes for around $250), so I wanted to minimize the spread of the gingivitis and do what I could to help my gums out. After a lot of searching online and a trip to the store to read ingredients, I settled on Colgate Total Gum Health Mouth Wash.

The label says it’s alcohol free, which was a plus. I tried it as soon as I got home and to my surprise, it burned like the devil was playing with matches inside of my mouth. Holy hades, the fire was real.

Fortunately, the burning quit after what only seemed like a solid year of swishing. In reality was probably like 15 seconds, but when you feel like you’re swishing liquid fire, every second counts.

I’m pleased to report that the swishing became less intense with use and that the mouthwash left my breath fresh all morning long, even after drinking coffee. My gums seem to be improving and the angry redness along the tooth in question is slowly fading. Overall, I’m very pleased that I added this mouthwash to my daily routine and I’ll continue using it.

Despite the initial discomfort, I think this mouthwash earned a solid 5 stars!

 

Product Review: Babies R Us Diapers (Free Sample)

If you don’t already know, I’m a member of Influenster, which is a company that connects people that love doing reviews (that’s me) with brands that want exposure. Influencers get sent samples of some of the newest products on the market so that we can try them out and let everyone know how they work before they go out and try them.

The latest campaign is from Babies R Us and it’s for diapers. Specifically, it’s for Babies R Us brand diapers. They come in a pack that looks like this:

I was given a pack for free to try out and review, but normally they’re priced at $7.99. They’re a pretty good value at that price, but in true Babies R Us fashion there always seems to be some sort of promotion happening so you can get an even better deal.

When I first opened the package I noticed right away that the diapers were soft and thin. We normally use LUVS, and these were significantly thinner and softer — similar to Pampers.

Next came the fit test. I grabbed my 2 year old and strapped one one. They seem to run smaller than our usual brand, but they still fit. The leg gussets were extra stretchy, which was a bonus. The tabs are super wide and are very secure. Much more than I was expecting from a store-brand diaper.

Up next: The leak test. I put a diaper on my son and put him down for the night. The next morning… it was like the Hoover Dam broke all over his bed. Hello laundry! Thinking it was maybe just a fluke, we used the diapers again the next night. More leakage. So either my son is a super wetter or the diapers just don’t have the same capacity of our normal brand. Either way, I’m going to recommend you use something else over night.

My overall rating is:

4 stars. While they failed the overnight leak test, they’re soft and they fit well. They work great for daytime diapers and they’re affordable compared to name brands. Pick something else for overnight and enjoy the value of Babies R Us diapers during the day.

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2017. The year is young and we’re all still in that lovely phase where we haven’t broken too many of our resolutions yet. Isn’t it grand?

I noticed that I’ve been suspiciously absent the last couple of months. There’s no particular reason why, other than the fact that I’ve been busy. Busy with work, busy with the kids, busy with life. I started wondering where all of my time went and shockingly, I don’t know.

Then today happened. Today, I started off with a list of things I wanted to get done and as of 2pm I’ve crossed exactly zero items off of my to-do list.

That’s pathetic.

So what happened? Facebook happened. Like so many other people, I sit down in front of the computer to get stuff done and I think I’ll just hop on for a second to message someone or to check a sale post or something. An hour later, you’re wondering why your to-do list is still staring you down.

So instead of resolutions to lose weight (even though I need to) or to organize the house (even though I need to), I’m going to make a resolution to spend less time plugged in. I’m going to leave my phone on my desk and make a conscious effort to spend less time getting sucked into Facebook.

I’m hoping that by doing that I’ll have more time to do the things that I want to do or need to do, like exercising, cleaning the house or getting organized.

What are your resolutions this year and how are they going so far?