Sorry for the layout....

I have no idea why my page is all out of whack. My sidebar and all of it's contents are currently at the bottom of the page. Thanks for your patience as I try to figure out what is going on!

10 Postcards to Go!

A little postcard update! We have only 10 more postcards to collect and then we will have collected from all 50 states! Can you help? Here's who we need in alphabetical order:

1. Arkansas
2. Connecticut
3. Delaware
4. Kentucky
5. Maryland
6. Mississippi
7. Nebraska
8. Oklahoma
9. Oregon
10. South Dakota

Thank you so much to those that have already participated. Today we sent out return postcards to Utah - so please check your mail in a couple of days! If you sent us a postcard and provided us your return address but have yet to have received one from us please feel free to send me a message at SHARKritzler@aol.com. I try to keep track of everything but you know how that goes!

Here's what we have so far. Don't see yours? Let me know so I can track it down!

Post It Note Tuesday!

My dear friend Stephanie saw my status update on Facebook and told me I should also post it on here via "Post It Note Tuesday". Granted it's already Wednesday in most places of the world but what the heck! Here we go:

Might I add that this was all in one aisle...and then repeated just about every other? *Sigh*

Have something to say or want to read more? Join in the "Post It NoteTuesday" fun!

WEN Cleansing Conditioner - Product Review

WEN - Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner

Do you love haircare products? For the longest time I was in search of the ultimate shampoo and conditioner. I tried everything I could get my hands on! Matrix products, Paul Mitchell, etc. Now that I am a stay-at-home-mom on a budget I don't have the luxury of buying salon products as much as I would like. So when I was recently presented with the opportunity to try Wen's Cleansing Conditioner I jumped at the chance.

To give the product a fair review I read the information and instructions carefully. Before actually stepping into the shower I noticed that the Cleansing conditioner is advertised as a single step process that cleanses and conditions your hair. (Cool! Save me some time!) It is made with natural ingredients, and contains no sodium laurel sulfate or other damaging detergents found in other shampoos (Excellent! It's great to go green when you can!) The natural ingredients helps prevent stripping your hair and scalp of their natural oils (We certainly don't want that!)

Okay. So far so good. But then I began to wonder about the words they used to advertise. "Cleansing Conditioner". How is that any different from a "2-in-1" or "shampoo plus conditioner" product? Is this all just semantics? A play on words? After all, most shampoo plus conditioners are just that, a one-step process to shampoo and conditioner your hair?

Then I noticed that the instructions say to use between 16-24 pumps of the stuff! WHAT? That's a LOT of product! But wait a minute, according to the website it says for long and/or coarse hair to use 32-40 pumps! Wouldn't that be, like, the WHOLE bottle? Hmmmm. Interesting. (But I have to admit, I find this much more realistic than the "apply a dime size amount" that other shampoos instruct you to do! )

At this point I'm beginning to feel a bit skeptical because 1) the above mentioned reasons - is this all a marketing gimmick? (Use more so you have to buy more?) 2) I didn't want to be that person that fell for a product being advertised on an informercial and 3) I love my current shampoo and conditioner! This is going to be a tough sell!

So I tried it. My first experience with the cleansing conditioner was....(drum roll please....) "Wow. This stuff really wakes you up!" It made my scalp tingle and it smelled so good! For a second I even thought, "Could this be just as good as my morning coffee?" Yeah. It was THAT invigorating! (But no, it has not replaced my morning cup of Joe!) But something was missing - the LATHER. It even states on the bottle that the cleansing conditioner doesn't lather but I didn't realize how much I liked lather and bubbles and foam until I lacked it! *Sigh* That's okay because when I stepped out of the shower and combed through my hair it was like butter. It was SO SLEEK that I decided to try some in my 7-year old's hair. She loved it. NO CRYING afterwards when it was time to comb through. THAT right there should be enough to get every mom in America to buy the stuff! :)

I continued to use the product for about three weeks - every other day. I really went back and forth with, "I love it" and feeling as if I needed more conditioning. My hair definitely felt really, really clean but it still lacked that silky, soft feeling. As recommeded by the website I started adding a small amount of the product as a leave-in conditioner. I still wasn't getting the results that I wanted so I ended up conditioning my hair with my regular conditioner.

So my final thoughts and recommendations are a bit mixed. As for MY experience with the product I liked it enough that I was scraping the bottle for the very last drop. And while I felt that the Cleansing Conditioner cleaned my hair really well I felt as if it did not condition enough. Would I consider using it in conjunction with my own conditioner? YES. However, the cost is a deterrent. Actually it's not even the cost, it's the ordering of the products.

Currently their website is offering the entire Wen haircare system for $29.95 plust $5.95 shipping and handling. The system includes:

• 12 oz. Wen Cleansing Conditioner
• 2 oz. Wen Styling Cream
• 2 oz. Re Moist Intenstive Hair Repair Mask

And these bonuses:

• 10g Wen Texture Balm
• Wen Wide Toothed Shower Comb

So that's about $1.00/day if you use all the products. Not bad if you break it up that way. However, I don't like the fact that when you order the system at that price you are also committing to the automatic renewal system - every three months you are automatically billed and sent a 90 day supply of the products. Personally, for me I like the option of being able to walk into a store and purchase what I want, when I want without having to commit to anything. Maybe Wen will eventually have that option? If they did I would probably continue to use the Cleansing Conditioner (in addition to my conditioner) as well as try some of their other products.

For more information on Wen haircare products please check out their website here.

DISCLAIMER: I was given the opportunity to review this product as a result of my membership at The Product Review Place . The Wen Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner was provided at no cost in exchange for my unbiased review.

Edited to add:

ENTER TO WIN:

While scouring some blogs I found a couple of contests/reviews giving away Wen products. Check them out! Maybe you can win and try it out for free!

Simply Stacie - win the entire system! Contest ends January 13th

Mommy's Online Garage Sale - win a bottle of the Cleansing Conditioner! Contest ends January 20th