Brush Brush Brush Your Teeth

It has been awhile.

I’ve considered blogging again many many times but life is so busy it just hasn’t been a priority. I was recently presented with the opportunity to participate in a review and giveaway, and felt like I couldn’t really give the review I needed via IG alone, so here we are. Perhaps it will be a lead in to starting again. I have kind of missed it.

So onto the real reason why I am here. About a month ago, the company Smile Brilliant (who I worked with awhile back on a whitening system) reached out to me asking if I’d be interesting in a review and giveaway of their electric toothbrush, the CariPRO. Bryan owns an electric toothbrush but I could never bring myself to spent the money on one, despite my dentists recommendations.

I am hooked.

Yes, on a toothbrush. These are the things we get excited about in our 30’s (gulp, almost 40’s).

The CariPro toothbrush cleans with 40,000 vibrations/minute, has 5 different brush modes (see below) and has a 30 day battery life. It is automatically set up to run on a 2 minute timer and stops briefly each 30 seconds so you can move it to another part of your mouth. As an added bonus, if you’re someone who really likes to multitask, it is waterproof so you can brush your teeth in the shower (this may be something I should consider since I’ve accidentally sprayed toothpaste on my mirror more than once)! It also comes with a 60 day guarantee and 2 year limited warranty.

Before you ask, yes, you can get a cheaper electric toothbrush, but none of them come with more than one brushing mode and don’t come near the vibrations per minute. I looked up what I’d consider to be a fair competitor, and even it didn’t get as many vibrations per minute, had a shorter battery life, and didn’t come with a warranty or guarantee that I was able to find. Also, the competitor was more expensive.

We brush and Evie looks bored

I’ve tried each mode and can feel a distinct difference. I actually had to use the sensitive mode for the first few times because the clean and whitening modes tickled my gums too much. After I got used to it, though, I started using the clean and whitening setting regularly. The gum care setting is nice too, especially since I’m not one that is great about flossing! (Not saying you shouldn’t floss – floss people!) Lets break it down a bit:

Clean – pretty self explanatory, but compared to a regular toothbrush, removes up to 7x more plaque. Can’t beat that.

Whitening – works a little harder than the traditional clean setting to help remove stains. I can feel a difference between the two and honestly use this one most often.

Massage and Gum Care – these really should be used in conjunction with a cleaning mode, but gives the gums a little extra TLC and help removing any extra plaque that got missed.

Sensitive – I started out with this mode at first as I found the clean and whitening modes too intense. There is absolutely a huge difference so if you have a sensitive mouth or teeth, this is a great setting to use.

I really appreciate the timer, because let’s be real, I was NOT brushing my teeth for the recommended 2 minutes. Heck, sometimes I’d hold the toothbrush in my mouth with my teeth while I put on my pants and counted that (I don’t recommend that). I only get one set of teeth in this life, and I’m not getting any younger, so now more than ever I need to be more consistent and better about taking care of them.

#smilefearlessly

Now for the fun part! I am giving away one CariPRO toothbrush package, which comes with one ultrasonic toothbrush, 2 replacement heads with tongue scraper and one charging dock. This is a $119 value! Can’t wait or don’t win? Take advantage of 20% off using promo code: acoursetothefinishline20

Take me to the giveaway!

Keeping Track of Time (An Awesome Giveaway)

I think I’ve thought or written about how there isn’t enough time in the day to do everything that needs to be done about a thousand times. So, when I was contacted by the Jord watch company about a review and giveaway, I thought “woo hoo – now I can literally watch (pun intended) time go by!”. Kidding. I really was contacted about a review, and although I’m not much of a jewelry or watch wearer unless I’m tracking miles, I do like to try new products so I happily agreed. What makes these watches stand out from the rest is that they are wood watches. The band and border are made of cherry, maple, natural green or zebra wood with a face of cherry, black, maple, rose gold, mother of pearl, and turquoise just to name a few. I choose to try the Ely – Cherry pictured above. The watch arrived just a few days after I was notified that the order was placed. Immediately following the order I received an email with details on my order and once it was shipped I received an email confirming its shipment with tracking information. The watch arrived in a well sealed box, and, in my opinion, was packaged very nicely. I did need to have the watch sized, but this was something that was easily (and fairly cheaply, it cost me about $10) resolved after a visit to a local jeweler. I admit that I worried a little that the watch would be too big for my wrist, as the watches I’ve owned are about half the size of this particular watch face, but after wearing it for an hour or so it didn’t feel too large at all. In fact, I have received several compliments on it. After wearing it for a couple of days, I noticed that the hour hand had gotten stuck. I was able to move it backwards but not forwards beyond 3:00. It was disappointing but also gave me the opportunity to test out Jord’s customer service. I contacted the person who reached out to me about the review and he immediately shipped me a brand new watch (and  sized it for me) no questions asked. It arrived in about 3 days and contained a return label – all I had to do was repackage the broken watch, put it back in the box, slap the prepaid return label on and put it back in my mailbox. I was very impressed with the level of service. Overall pro/cons Pros:

• The watch arrived in a timely manner from the time it was ordered. I appreciated an email confirming the order and an email confirming and tracking shipping.
• The watch appeared to be well made and while it definitely looked nice on the internet, it was much prettier in person.
• I was impressed with the customer service when I had an issue with the watch. Returning the broken one was super easy.
• The watch was packaged nicely.

Cons

• I had to have the watch sized. This turned out to be a minor issue, but still required an extra trip (and $10) to have it done since I don’t own the tools necessary to do it myself.
• My first watch had an issue, however was quickly replaced and have had no issues with the replacement.

Now for the fun part – Jord has offered a $129 gift certificate which can be used towards the purchase of any of their watches. (This would cover the full cost of the Ely, or Fieldcrest in any color, or all but $10 of the Sully in any color. As previously mentioned, it could also go towards the purchase of any other watch. My personal favorite is the Cora.) With Valentines Day just around the corner, one of these watches would make a great gift. As luck would have it, there are both mens and women’s watches. Click below and enter via rafflecopter. The contest will end Saturday February 7th at 5pm. (The company recommended placing an order for Valentines Day by February 9th, so I realize this is cutting it a bit close but should still give you a couple days to decide which watch you’d like if you are going to use it as a gift.) Good luck and feel free to spread the word!

on my wrist, so you can get an idea of size

Click the link below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway