Arm & Hammer Sensitive Toothpaste

First off, I apologize for my absence. Things have been a little crazy the past so many months, but I'm back and will be doing some reviews and things here and there again. Today I am writing about a product that I received from Smiley360 to try and share. If any of you have kept up with my blog, then you know that I have done a couple of these in the past. It's the Arm & Hammer Sensitive Toothpaste.

When I saw this opportunity on their site, I knew I had to take advantage of it. I have extremely sensitive teeth. They have been this way since I can remember. It's so bad that I cannot drink anything with ice in it, or even a chilled drink from the coolers at the store. It has to be room temperature. My husband thinks I'm weird, and has no idea how I can stand a soda at room temp. I guess it is a little weird, but it keeps me from having to experience the pain I do.

They sent me 3 travel size tubes (about 1 oz each) and I started using it right away. Firstly, I love the mild taste it has. Some toothpastes will set my mouth on fire, and I brush once to twice daily. It's worse when I am brushing my tongue. This does not cause that sensation, but still leaves my mouth fresh and clean.

Another aspect that I liked is that it is by arm & hammer, so it also is a whitening toothpaste. I couldn't believe that a whitening toothpaste would also fight sensitivity. It's an oxymoron for me. Whitening strips, toothpaste, gels, you name it usually causes sensitivity. I was a little skeptical to be honest.

Of course the main reason to love this toothpaste is that it decreases sensitivity...yay!  I mean, that's the whole point right? Well for me it is. It is from the makers from Orajel, so if anyone knows about oral pain it's them.  I have been using this toothpaste for about 3 weeks and I really have noticed a difference. Don't get me wrong, it's not a huge difference, but a little. I am able to drink a soda from a cooler with no problems, though I still can't tolerate ice in them. Plus, my teeth are a nicer shade of white. So really, it's a win, win.

Now, this probably won't do miracles like prescription strength, or Sensodyne, but it is a cheaper alternative, and people with minor teeth sensitivity would probably see much more positive results, but I think it would be worth a try for anyone who is looking for some relief.  I would recommend that if anyone is interested, that you consult with a dentist first. I did not, but that is just my personal choice.

GIVEAWAY!!! CLOSED Winner Announced

Sorry it's been a while since I posted, but there have been some things going on and I haven't been able to update. Anyways, I have a great post and a giveaway! I'm very excited about this.

If anyone of you have read some of my previous posts. I am a member of Smiley 360 and the link is here. You qualify for certain products and if you do qualify, they send it to your home and give you a chance to try it out and share with your family and friends. So check it out if you are interested.

One certain product I was chosen to test was Sears/Kmart and I received a $15 gift card to use on their Decorate it Forward Christmas decor and such. I don't have a Kmart within a 50 mile radius of where I live, so I did my shopping online.

I absolutely love shopping online, I am able to see what there is in an organized setting which really helps. I was actually able to make the 15 dollars stretch. I will post pictures and their links of what I purchased below. The shipping was fairly quick and I was surprised to get both packages on the same day. One item I purchased was from Sears and the rest were from Kmart, so I figured I would get one package one day and the other the next. I did think it was a little waste of packaging since I only had one item shipped from Sears and the box was a lot bigger than the item itself, but I was still happy with everything. I was able to get free shipping from a trial version of Shop Your Rewards MAX. There is no commitment and it is a 90 day trial. So you can shop online for that entire 90 days and get free shipping on everything and anything. They have their own online Christmas Shop and you can either use that to get some ideas for when you visit their stores, or you can go ahead and get started by purchasing online.

Another great thing about Shop Your Way Rewards is that you get points for every purchase you make and then use those points towards future purchases. This is completely free and you get a little card, or if you have an IOS device, you can use a digital copy for your Passbook. I'm not sure what the differences are between this one and the MAX one other than free shipping, but you can check out this page and they will be able to give you more information.

Right now Kmart has a Decorate It Forward Sweepstakes and you can enter to win a shopping trip with Sandra Lee or Jacklyn Smith. The page has all of the details and it's very easy to enter. Personally, I would love a day with Sandra Lee. I watch her show almost everyday and love her decorating style.

5 Hour Energy Shot for Smiley360 mission

Let's just start by saying how I came across this mission to try 5 hour energy and why I am writing this review. I am a member of Smiley360. They are a company that sends you samples from some of the biggest manufacturers to try, evaluate, and share your opinions to your friends and followers. They have a huge community, and all of the reviews for these products are from the members. I really like that the pages dedicated to these products are created by the members as well. I've been a member since the beginning of June, and this is my first sample that I received. Well they aren't really samples, but full size products that you received which is awesome by itself. So I didn't have to wait that long to receive something. You have to be quick though, because these missions fill up extremely fast. I missed out on two others due to timing. I really like the site and that it is made for the consumer and very user friendly. So once you get approved for a mission, you will have a mission page, and this page will instruct you how to share your opinion through Facebook and Twitter, and you receive "smiles" for everyone that clicks on your link. You also have a section for sharing by word of mouth to family and friends. You will just click on it and let them know how many people you told on different occasions and how you think it went overall buy clicking on a number from 1 to 10. You can receive up to 50 smiles for each mission, and these smiles help towards getting chosen for more products to review. It's a great little site.

5-Hour Energy

Okay, a little information about 5-hour energy. I first started seeing commercials for this product around 2005, 2006 area. I was working at a nursing home as a CNA, and was living off Monster and Rockstar. I worked the 12 hour graveyard shift usually 3 days a week, but I put in a lot of overtime, so I needed energy to actually get me through the night sometimes.

I'm going to be honest, at first I thought this was like those weight loss pills, and was either going to be bad for my heart, or was just a scam. They're commercial was low budget and it just made me feel wary about the product. In about a few months, a friend of mine brought some to work. We were all getting kind of worn out and I thought, hey, what do I have to lose, and I really didn't feel like hitting up a gas station on my 30 minute lunch break to go grab a Monster. I just remember downing the little bottle. I just knew it was going to last about 30 minutes and I was going to be jittery as well.  However, neither happened. It actually worked. Now it's not a noticeable change, you just gradually feel better and more awake. For me, it lasted the rest of my shift. I did not crash afterwards at all. I was hooked.

B12 is the vitamin that gives you energy. Doctors will give elderly patients a B12 shot, to make them feel better. When you get to a certain point in life, you lay down and takes naps a lot and just feel weak. Which is expected. Your body is wearing down. My grandfather gets these shots about once a week. You can see an instant change in his behavior and mood. He feels better, and moves around a whole lot better and he is 85.
That is what 5 hour is trying to do. They have put a more concentrated amount of this vitamin in this drink. It is a natural energy drink that isn't going to mess up your body. That is why it works, and that is why it is safe (in moderation!). You don't want to down 5 in one day. Of course, too much of any vitamin is not good for you. Well same rules apply here.

They com in a variety of flavors. Pomegranate, lemon-lime, grape, and orange. Then they have their decaf and extra strength (comes in cherry and grape). You can find all of that information on their website.

 I received Pomegranate and Berry. I have tried Pomegranate and I loved it! Plus it is really fun eating the little beads inside. I was ready to try the shot. I pretty much love anything pomegranate flavored. Well no I love one less thing. This tasted awful. It was like drinking really bitter cough syrup. I took a couple of gulps and couldn't finish it. Maybe I have turned into a wuss, or it's been too long since I have drunken an energy drink and lost my built of tolerance to the bitterness of them. Either way, I don't have to tolerance these days to force myself to finish something like that. I'd rather be tired honestly. I had also just woke up, so maybe if I had tried it later in the day, I would have forced it down. I am not to be messed with when I first wake up and extremely irritable. I will be trying the berry soon, but since I know this stuff works, I felt comfortable enough to write a review without having to consume both bottles. Also, the couple of gulps I got down, really helped get me woke up enough to accomplish a few things.

The two flavors I received, Pomegranate and Berry

 I will edit this later when I do drink it, so at least you can read the review on the flavors. Their site has a Q&A section, plus you can go to Smiley's website and read the reviews there. The price for a six pack is 14.99 on their site and a package of 12 is 25.99. It does seem a little high, but for a large can of your popular energy being about 4 or 5 dollars, and a pack of six will last almost to a week. You are definitely going to get your money's worth. I remember being able to buy these single at convenience stores, but I don't know if that option is still available now. It doesn't hurt to check though! The links will be down below.

5-Hour Energy's Facebook page
5 Hour's Twitter
Smiley360's website
5 Hour's FAQ