We Talk Shop

My toddler son got some of that fancy foaming soap for Christmas last year. We finally finished the bottle, which tells me that we don’t do a good enough job washing our hands. In attempt to do better, to use more soap this cold and flu season I bought another kid-friendly soap: Huggies Clean Team Hand Soap.

It’s a cute bottle with a hippo’s head for the spout. It dispenses a foaming soap — which I love because it just is cooler than regular soap, but more importantly for young kids is that the soap can 1) be seen by the kids and 2) stays on their hands. My only complaint is that I’d like more soap to come out with each pump. I have to double-pump to get enough soap to wash my hands.
But the really cool part is that there is a red light that flashes in the hippo’s head. It stays on for 20 seconds — the amount of time you are supposed to was your hands. Try it folks. Even if you don’t buy this product, try to wash your hands for a FULL 20 seconds. It’s longer than you think. Great idea, especially this time of year. With the MRSA virus speading like wildfire, the best thing we can do as parents is to all wash our hands.

Watch an animated demo.
Read about hand washing on my Mom blog.

Get it: It’s about 3.99 for the dispenser. I got mine at the grocery store so I’m sure you can find it most places you normally purchase hand soap.

We love the frog toy holder and how it looks on the bathtub wall. I especially like how many toys it holds and that you can hand a wash cloth from his foot — and that you can place shampoo and soap on top. This gadget holds quite a bit and keeps Junior’s bathroom organized!

We’ve had this up for about 7 months when it came crashing down. I think the glue just wore out, but I am hopeful that we can buy new glue and get it back up. I’d give it 5 stars, but will have to deduct one since it fell down.

Get it! Target carries it in the baby section, but you can find it almost anywhere you buy baby stuff. It retails for about $24.99.

This summer I was hanging out with my family at my nephew’s wedding when I came across a product that I knew I wanted to try — Tresemme’s Shampoo and Conditioner. Yes, I know this sounds strange, but stick with me and you’ll see the picture.

My very cool, teenage neice was standing near me; the top of her head is about the exact height of my chin (you catching on yet?). I kept smelling this wonderful, fresh smell every time I was standing near her. Finally, I sniffed her head and asked her what product she is using. She said that she loves Tresemme! Oh, Tresemme I thought — that’s so very Project Runway! I must try! So try I did.

The results are average. It’s not bad, but just not as great as I had hoped. I’m not even sure I can put it into words except to say that I don’t feel the shampoo is thick enough for my tastes. And, the results are so-so. I don’t think that my hair looks as glossy, shiny or as great as my neices’ hair does. 

Get it: Cost is great — it’s only about $5 for a large bottle and you can buy it practically anywhere, including the grocery store.  

Ok, so all of the cuts on my knees and legs are not because I am clumsy, I just can’t get the hang of this razor.  I am really trying, because it is nice that it lathers as you shave - but that is part of the problem.   Because the razor is encased around the moisture rich shaving bar, you have to press down to have the razor touch your legs and from the looks of my legs, I am not very good at this.  So I will keep trying because I hate to throw things out, but I am thinking that my old bic razors are still the best. 

I had time to peruse a couple of my favorite beauty websites this weekend and what do I find? Fresh.com is having a sale! Starts August 22nd to August 25 (I hope my fellow shopgirls will remind me since I tend to forget these things sometimes). I’ve never bought anything from them online, but I have used a couple things from Fresh. However I must warn you that their products are uber-expensive, so proceed to the website with caution. Of course knowing me I didn’t pay full price for the Fresh products that I have. I highly recommend their glosses (Gloss absolute in Desire is my favorite color) and some of their Sugar products (sugar shea butter, sugar face polish, and lemon sugar perfume). I will probably review these products soon.
Let me know if you buy anything! Just don’t complain to me about the ridiculous prices!

Some time ago, when I actually paid attention to tv infomercials, I was intrigued by this mystical towel that promised to absorb water from your hair and help it dry faster. I was blessed (or cursed, as I sometimes feel during bad hair days) with uber-thick hair. It is so thick that sometimes it takes almost one whole day to dry my entire head. If I put my damp hair up on a pony tail, it will still be damp by that evening. And all the frizzy-hair people in the world would agree with me that damp hair + humidity equals impending hair frizz ball disaster.

So during one of my many trips to Marshall’s, I found this in their bath and skincare section for $14.99. The price is a tad steep for one towel, but I’m quite gullible when it comes to hair products. Went home and tried it, and although it didn’t “dry” my hair like I wished it would, it did absorb most of the water from my hair, so when I blowdried, it only took about 15 minutes instead of the usual 30.

Four years later I am still using the same towel. Not much has changed but the color faded a bit (but what item doesn’t fade after 4 years of washing?). It is made of microfiber so when you wash it, it also dries faster than your usual garment. My main beef with this towel is that I think it’s too small (39 inches wide by 19 inches height). When you have thick hair you’d have to manipulate the towel so your head wrap will not unwrap.

If they sell a bigger towel, I’d give that one a five, but because I have to maneuver the wrap some for all of my hair to fit (and that takes a lot of work!), I can only give it a four.

Git it! Can be purchased at Marshall’s, or at Bed Bath and Beyond for $15.99 and up

Aroma, yes. Therapy, not so much. The fresh scent of the eucalyptus spearmint will linger in your shower for days, but the scrub itself leaves a oily residue on your skin. It’s suppose to be a soothing, refreshing exfoliator, but that residue doesn’t make an enjoyable experience.