Monthly Archives: Mar 2012

bzzagent

Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector B.B. Cream #imabzzagent

bzzagent

I tried Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector B.B. Cream as part of a Bzzagent campaign. I was not able to find this product in the cosmetic safety database, but other products in this line are rated from 4-7. It seems like any skin care products with any treatment or gimmick promised, almost always contain ingredients that up the score.

Right now, I’m using a combination of things I bought free after extra care bucks at CVS, as well as some Mary Kay products. I usually apply a L’oreal anti aging tinted moisturizer with sunscreen, then a little powdered mineral foundation or pressed powder. I don’t generally like face products w/sunscreen, but the L’oreal doesn’t feel greasy.

I was excited because this supposedly is a miracle cream, correcting blotchiness, redness etc. It’s gotten great reviews. Unfortunately, I’m the odd woman out. I first tried applying it to one side of my face only, so I could see the difference, but I noticed no difference at all, unless you count the streaks I saw when I got closer to the mirror.

I applied it to the rest of my face and left it on for the rest of the day, even though the greasiness made me want to wash it off immediately. It never did fully absorb I guess because although the greasiness wasn’t as noticeable at the end of the day, it was definitely still there. My skin is quite dry, and can absorb even heavy creams, so it’s not that my face was just greasy!

I do think it smelled fantastic, but I won’t be using it again. I’m trying to get away from harmful ingredients in my own personal care products, little by little, as my budget allows (my kids come first!) but it’s tough! I have always loved trying new makeup & skincare products, and I just can’t pass up the opportunity, even if it isn’t the “greenest” product!

FTC compliance: I received free product from Bzzagent. I was not otherwise compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own.

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Friday Giveaway Linky Giveaways Linky

Cloth Diaper Giveaways – Roundup for 3/16/12 (Plus Linky for All Giveaways)

Cloth Diaper Giveaway Roundup

It’s Friday, and it’s time to win some cloth diaper giveaways! Every Friday, I round up giveaways for cloth diapers, accessories & baby wearing items.

If you’d like me to list your cloth diaper, accessory, baby wearing (etc.) giveaway next week, send a link and description to maria at change-diapers.com, or Fill out my contact form for readers.

just clean wipe bits 1

*My Just Clean Wipe Bits giveaway ends 3/21 and is open to the U.S. and Canada RC

The Cloth Diaper Whisperer

*Prizes from Fuzzibunz (no set end date, ends at 25k fans) Entry is through Facebook app, must “like” them on Facebook to enter

*Baby K’tan Carrier from A Nation of Moms (ends 3/16) RC

*GroVia Trainer from Happenings of the Harper Household (ends 3/16) RC

*Fuzzibunz Diaper from Changing Diapers & Sapsmama (ends 3/16) RC

*Thirsties Duo AIO from Eco-Babyz Mandatory GFC follow (ends 3/17) Open to the U.S. and Canada RC

*Softbums Diaper from According to Jenny (ends 3/17) RC

*Ones & Twos Diaper from Baby Dickey (ends 3/17) RC

*Babyville Boutique Products from Nicki the Eval Gal Mandatory GFC follow (ends 3/17) RC

Rumparooz Lil Joeys from the Mom’s Milk Boutique blog (ends 3/17) RC

*Knickernappies Diaper from Petite Bottoms & Dibs (ends 3/18) Open to the U.S. and Canada RC

*Rumparooz Diaper from The Green Nursery and Cloth Diaper Geek (ends 3/18) RC

*Glow Bug Diaper from Diaper Deals Two Mandatory Facebook “likes” (ends 3/18) Open to the U.S. and Canada RC

Giggle Life Diaper from Bizzing Bea & The Gnome’s Mom (ends 3/19) Open to the U.S. and Canada RC

Diaper Rite Diapers from Babble’s Baby’s First Year Blog (ends 3/19) RC

*Perfect Bum Diaper from Mama Loves her Bargains (ends 3/21) RC

*Incredibum Wipes from So Easy Being Green (ends 3/21) Open to the U.S. and Canada RC

*Baby K’tan Carrier from 7 Kids & Counting Mandatory Facebook “like” and Twitter follow (ends 3/22) RC

*Flip Diapers & Planet Wise Wet Bag from Abby’s Lane (ends 3/22) RC

Thirsties Duo Diaper from Letters from Momma Open to the U.S. and Canada (ends 3/22) RC

*Glow Bug Diaper from Surf Mommie Mandatory Facebook “like” (ends 3/23) RC

$15 Mud Butt GC from Cloth Diaper Addiction (ends 3/23) GD

*Wee Pantz Diaper from Daily Mothering (ends 3/24) Open to the U.S. and Canada RC

Mini Maestro Diaper from So Easy Being Green (ends 3/25) Open to the U.S. and Canada RC

Lil Helper Package from Manager to Mom (ends 3/25) Open to the U.S. and Canada RC

Cloth Wipes from Water Rolls Uphill Mandatory blog follow (ends 3/25) RC

*Groovycheeks Diaper from Green Mama Jama Mandatory GFC follow and Facebook “like” (ends 3/26) RC

*Thirsties Duo AIO from Jack be Natural & Earth Faerie Momma Two mandatory Facebook “likes” (ends 3/26) Open to the U.S. and Canada RC

*Booty Buns Diaper from Contemplate Cloth Mandatory GFC follow (ends 3/26) RC

CJ’s BUTTer from Contemplate Cloth Mandatory GFC follow (ends 3/26) RC

Cloth Wipes (maybe-mystery prize) from On Being a Mom Two mandatory Facebook “likes” and Facebook comment (ends 3/26)

Rumparooz Diaper from Dearest Diapers & Eco Baby Mama Drama (ends 3/27) Open to the U.S. and Canada RC

*$20 Haute Bottoms Diaper from Oh the Joys of Boys (ends 3/29) RC

Glow Bug Diaper from Cloth Diaper Addiction Mandatory GFC follow and two Facebook “likes” (ends 3/29) GD

Booty Buns Diaper from Baby Giveaways Galore (ends 3/30) Open to the U.S. and Canada RC

Fuzzibunz & Rumparooz Lil Joey Diapers from changing Diapers & The Eco Chic (ends 3/30) Open to the U.S. and Canada RC

*Tiny Tush Diaper from Padded Tush Stats (ends 3/31) Open to the U.S. and Canada RC

Sunbaby Diaper from Earth Faerie Momma Mandatory Facebook “like” and vote (ends 3/31) RC

$25 Squishy Tushy GC from So Easy Being Green (ends 3/31) Open worldwide RC

GroVia AIO from Buttercup Baby & Daily Mothering (ends 3/31) Open to the U.S. and Canada RC

Fuzzibunz Diaper from Snappy Diapers Mandatory GFC follow (ends 4/1) Open to the U.S. and Canada

Thirsties Duo Diaper from The Anti June Cleaver (ends 4/1) Open to the U.S. and Canada RC

$20 Kissed by the Moon GC from Baby and the Chis (ends 4/1) RC

*Planet Wise Wet Bag from Kissed by the Moon and 4 The Love of Sanity Mandatory GFC follow and Facebook “like” (ends 4/2) RC

Booty Buns Diaper from Mama Loves Her Bargains (ends 4/6) RC

*giveaways that have been listed in a prior week’s roundup
RC Entries collected via Rafflecopter
GD Entries collected via Google Docs Form

You may enter any “family friendly” giveaway in the linky below. The form Blog name – Giveaway Item – Ending date works well. Please at least include the item and end date, and link directly to the giveaway.

View my where I list my giveaways post, to find more places to link up your giveaways!

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Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

CJ’s BUTTer Winner

cjs winner

258 people entered this giveaway. The winning entry is #210, which is Bonnie R. Congrats Bonnie, I’m sending you an email so you can claim your prize and choose your scent!

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Personal Posts Potty Training

I Swear I’m Not Avoiding Potty Training Just Because I Love Fluff

Since we use cloth diapers, blowing money on disposables isn’t a factor in my desire to potty train my almost 3 year old son. So my potty training “method” didn’t lead to quick training like it did with my daughter, but I still stand by it. I don’t think there’s a “one-size fits all” method for potty training, and I think when people swear that xyz had their child trained in a weekend, it was simply because the child was ready & the method was right for them & their personality.

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All In One Diapers Cloth Diapers One Size Diapers Pocket Diapers Snap Closure Velcro/Aplix Closure

NEW Style – Tots Bots Easy Fit Cloth Diaper (From Bummis) Review

bummis easy fit 1

I had never used a Tots Bots Easy Fit diaper, but I did use the newborn version, a Tini Fit. Like the Tini Fit, the Easy Fit is made by Tots Bots in Glasgow, Scotland, and distributed in the U.S. by Bummis.

bummis easy fit 2 side bummis easy fit 3 back

Bummis sent me one of the new version Easy Fits to review, although they won’t be available to purchase until April. I don’t have an old version, and I’ve already sent along my Tini Fit to a new home (it would still fit my son, but I wanted to send all the newborn diapers to my friend at once!) So, I don’t have a side-by-side comparison for you, but I will point out the features that have been changed (including the wider back elastic, which you can see above!) I’m not sure if this is new, but I noticed that the PUL is really soft. It definitely has a different feel than all my other diapers.

bummis easy fit 4 velcro closures bummis easy fit 5 rise snaps

Whether you choose hook & loop or snaps (poppers) for your diaper (nappy), they are now color matched. Tots Bots are made in the U.K. so the Tots Bots Facebook page is full of “popper” and “nappy” talk. Tee-hee! The closure tabs are rather stiff on the Tini & Easy Fits, so I really wondered if they’d stay folded back and attached to the laundry tabs. Both the newborn and the big version didn’t give me any trouble. They have a snap down rise to fit babies 8-35 pounds, and the rise snaps are color matched as well.

bummis easy fit 6 leg elastic and fleece liner bummis easy fit 7 inner
bummis easy fit 8 soaker

Above left, I’ve pictured the fleece liner that was included with my diaper. The Easy Fit still has a half sewn-in soaker and brushed polyester side guards to prevent compression leaks. However, instead of a 2 layer soaker made of microfiber & rayon from bamboo, the soaker is 3 layers of color matched minky. This gives you more absorbency with less bulk.

bummis easy fit 9 soaker tucked in bummis easy fit 10 materials

The soaker is super easy to tuck in. It comes out on its own in the wash, but it doesn’t bunch or turn the whole diaper inside out. It gets cleaner & dries faster than an AIO with a completely sewn in soaker, and it’s quicker to stuff the soaker back in than it is to match and stuff pocket diapers. The pocket also allows you to add additional absorbency if you need it. The flap covering the pocket opening on my Tini Fit was the same brushed polyester as the side guards, but this Easy Fit is a different, even softer polyester.

Here is the small setting measured folded & stretched:

bummis easy fit 11 small folded bummis easy fit 12 small stretched

Below, I closed the left side of the diaper first. You can overlap the tabs (both of them,) and if you notice, the right tab extends further, allowing you to close the diaper even more tightly if you close the left tab on top of it.

bummis easy fit 13 small bummis easy fit 14 small side
bummis easy fit 15 small back

Medium:

bummis easy fit 16 medium folded bummis easy fit 17 medium stretched

You can better see what I mean about the overlap in this picture!

bummis easy fit 18 medium bummis easy fit 19 medium side
bummis easy fit 20 medium back

Large:

bummis easy fit 21 large folded bummis easy fit 22 large stretched

bummis easy fit 23 large bummis easy fit 24 large side
bummis easy fit 25 large back

My older son is 2 years, 9 months old and in the neighborhood of 29ish pounds. I put him in the large setting, and he looks like he has room in this one.

bummis easy fit 26 on 2 yr 9 mo old bummis easy fit 27
bummis easy fit 28 on 29 lb toddler

My little guy had just turned 3 months old last week when I took these pictures. He’s around 11 pounds (guessing…he was 10 lbs a month ago) and he’s somewhat slender since he’s a bit taller.

The small setting fits him with no leg gap, without struggling or double checking that it’s snug enough. This is what it looks like all the way closed, with that entire overlap being used.

bummis easy fit 29 on 3 mo old bummis easy fit 30 on 11ish lb 3 mo old

The Tini Fit was one of my favorite newborn diapers because it gave me the absorbency I needed (with the booster, it was as absorbent as (if not more than) a one-size diaper, but fit far better. The Easy Fit fits my little guy with no gapping or readjusting, and fits my big guy too. Plus, it’s absorbent enough for both of them! My younger son can soak a one-size microfiber insert in 2 hours, and so far the Easy Fit has lasted longer than that without a hint of leaking. That said, I have a hard time comparing the absorbency of inserts since both boys can really have a wide variation in their wetting habits. Since I can’t remove this insert it’s not as easy to tell how wet it is as it is when you yank a sopping wet microfiber insert out of a pocket. I’m still trying to find a good way to test insert absorbency “scientifically,” but Bummis says the old style Easy Fit can hold 17.6 oz (wow!) and I believe this is more absorbent.

You will be able to find the new style Easy Fit (and new prints) at Bummis Retailers in April. The new Tots Bots Easy Fit diapers will still retail for $23.95. You can see new prints & colors in Tots Bots’ Facebook album and they have photos of the inners as well. I pretty much want one in every color. 😉

FTC compliance: I received the pictured diaper at no cost for review purposes. I was not compensated for this post and all opinions are my own.

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