Review: Burt's Bees Chemical-Free Sunscreen SPF 30

I promise that I wanted to love this, I really did. I've been trying to use a daily facial moisturizer with an SPF of 15 or preferably 30 for a long time. And none of them have really worked out. And then I saw some blurb for this product and it had those buzzwords that really got me going like...creamy, and moisturizing and smooth. So I thought I'd give it a go.

First of all, it is creamy and smooth. To a point. It has quite a nice texture if you're working on a small area of skin. It is a little hard to rub in, as are all chemical-free sunscreens, but it's not too bad. Except I would go to the mirror a little while later and see white fuzz around my hairline and on my eyebrows - not that that's an issue for this product alone, as again, it's a "feature" of using a physical sunscreen, but it bugs me to think that other people might be thinking that I have a dandruff problem on my eyebrows.

As for using it as a facial moisturizer, it is not quite emolient enough for me. I wouldn't hold that against it if it were the only problem, though, as it's not marketed as a facial moisturizer so I don't expect it to perform wonderfully on that score.

Oh but the smell. I can't deal with the smell. Maybe you'll love it. Maybe it's just me. And I'm assuming the smell comes from the hemp seed oil, as I don't know what that normally smells like, but I squeeze some out of the tube, and am immediately transported to my elementary school, and more to the point, to the disinfectant that they used in the bathrooms. Now, I didn't grow up in the States - maybe your elementary school disinfectant experience was different than mine, and this product won't create any such associations in your mind. But, I can't escape it, and I don't like the thought of putting toilet cleaner on my face.

So, I tried using it for its intended purpose, as a body sunscreen. I had an outdoor event to go to, and decided to slather some on my arms, neck and shoulder areas. Except I have got used with sunscreen to squirting a lot out, smoothing it a little over the entire skin area I wish to cover (for example, my arms, neck and shoulders), and allowing it to soak in a bit while I am rubbing it in. This is not the way to use this sunscreen. If you don't use a small amount on a small area, rub it in well, and then move to another small area and reapply another small amount, and rub that in well, you are facing disaster. It dries out easily and becomes impossible to rub in if you leave it sitting on your skin too much. I ended up with flaking, balling, nasty dry sunscreen. I tried to go and wet my hands to see if I could improve it, but then ended up with flaking, balling dry sunscreen with a wet yellowy layer of milky stuff on top. Ugh. I rinsed it off and started again with a different product.

I am still using the product, as a daily sunscreen for my hands. And it's not so bad. After all, the backs of my hands are a pretty small area so it is hard to go wrong with that. It's moisturizing enough as a hand cream but I have switched to something else for my face.

I'm going to go with 2 and a half stars. It could work for some things, if you are careful with how you apply it.

Review: Kiss My Face Whitening Toothpaste

I've resisted reviewing toothpastes up to now. I just couldn't get inspired by them. I mean, JASON makes one that tastes really great (Powersmile) but it doesn't contain fluoride and my teeth always start hurting after a while of using a non-fluoride toothpaste. And then Tom's of Maine makes lots of toothpastes that are often fairly reasonably priced. So I would usually whatever variety of Tom's was cheapest, and would use both a non-fluoride and a fluoride containing toothpaste at the same time, alternating them randomly. But I found that the bacteria in my mouth must have got used to Tom's of Maine (or something) because it wasn't doing me much good on the breath-freshening front.

I saw the Kiss My Face toothpaste on special offer at Whole Foods, in a "buy one, get one free" deal. So I snapped up a couple of tubes to try them out, even though I would normally never pay $5.99 for a toothpaste.

First of all, the color. This stuff is bright green. And although it foams up to a white color fairly quickly, as it starts out, it is...green. I have to say, it's a bit weird at first to be brushing green stuff on your teeth. Then the taste. When I first tasted it, I thought it was far too sweet. It didn't taste like toothpaste at all, but rather that you're applying candy. Or perhaps dessert. But then the minty-ness hits, and it's a very pleasant herbal minty taste, so I got over my thoughts on it being too sweet fairly quickly. More importantly, it's a long lasting mint taste, so your breath feels like it stays sweeter for longer. And, after a few uses, the sweetness was no longer odd, but refreshing, and tasty too!

Surprisingly, I haven't had any tooth sensitivity issues since using this toothpaste, and I've been using it exclusively to see if I'd get that familiar "ouch, I need some fluoride" feeling. Many people think that fluoride in our water and our toothpastes is contributing to thyroid issues, so I do try to limit my intake as much as I can. However, I don't want to be without teeth as an older person, and I do have some enamel quality problems with a few soft spots that can get sensitive, so I flip flop on this issue. I must say though, if I can get good results without extra chemicals, then I think that's the way to go. The pain just hasn't come, though, and I've finished one whole tube now, so it's clearly doing something different from the other non-fluoride toothpastes I have tried.

And finally, efficacy. It's a bit hard to say how effective a toothpaste really is, apart from on fresh breath issues. I don't know if it's actually helped keep my teeth whiter or not. But I'm pleased to say that my dentist told me this morning that I've been doing an awesome job with brushing lately. I also cringed less when he was using the long pointy torture device to check for cavities, so I think some of my sensitivity issues have really lessened quite considerably.

I checked the price of this on the internet, and it seems to be in a broad range from $3-something up to $6-something. One comparison site showed a general price drop this month, so it could be that the price is coming down but not all retailers have caught up.

I'm going to surprise myself here and give it the full 5 stars. I really like this!

Review: Physician's Formula Organic wear Concealer

I'm so glad that I didn't review this concealer quickly. I bought it and used it without too many problems for a while. It didn't sink in to my skin much, so required a lot of rubbing so as not to look obvious. But it seemed to do its job adequately. I was, if not pleased, at least not displeased.

And then the stick broke off.  I mean, the actual concealer, not the holder part of the stick. I wasn't even doing anything - just trying to smudge the darn thing into my face. It obviously wasn't a solid enough formula to put up with everyday usage. I pushed the stick back into the holder and decided I would continue using it anyway, although of course it became a bit more difficult to use, so I used it less and less.

And then I dropped it, and the stick dislodged again. Again I pushed it back in to the holder. Again I tried to keep using it but it got annoying, so I put it aside for a month.

Today I went to use it again, and as soon as I took the top off, the smell of rancid grease hit me. It's gone off!!  I've had this less than six months. Now, OK, I accept that organic items have either no preservatives or fewer preservatives than their chemically-laden counterparts.  So I try not to horde them, and try to pay attention to "best before" dates. But to have something give up the ghost on me in less than six months is really quite annoying. Not to mention, nasty.

So, I'm sorry, Physician's Formula, this one is a dud. I still like your tinted moisturizer and wear it every day, along with your powder foundation. But the concealer? No stars for you.

Review: Alba Botanica Pineapple Quench Lip Balm

If you were to dredge through my various handbags, work bags, cosmetic baskets, and cabinets, you would get the distinct impression that I am a lip balm fiend. I have many, many of the little buggers. But the actual truth is that I am often tempted by a cheap, shiny, new little stick of potential heaven, and then I am often sadly disappointed when I go to use it. Sometimes they are too greasy, sometimes sticky, sometimes the stick breaks when I go to apply it. Sometimes they are OK but just don't live up to the hype. Sometimes they start out well but then the texture breaks down over time.

But there is one lip balm that I reach for again and again, and has a fairly permanent place in my most-used bag. And that is Alba's Pineapple Quench lip balm. It's not colored, it's nothing fancy, it doesn't taste (or smell) too pineapple-y. It has nothing really to mark it out as being a winner. And yet, it works for me, and somehow I find myself reaching for it in preference to most other balms in my collection. It goes on smoothly, it is not too greasy, and it keeps my lips moisturized for a long time when the weather turns cooler. 

It's about $3.49 and lasts a good long time. I think I might stick my neck out and give it 5 stars.

Review: Lavera Anti-Age Sunscreen SPF 20

I may have very strong cheap tendencies, but that doesn't stop me wishing that I could slather my face with the likes of Creme de la Mer on a regular basis. There's a part of me that secretly thinks that using a $100 face cream will have me looking 20 again. Even when nobody ever thinks I look as old as I really am, and my $15 face cream is working just fine, thankyouverymuch.

But still, seductive catalogs can still draw me in. There I was, perusing a natural beauty type catalog, sighing longingly over all the Lavera organic vegan anti-aging goodness, which had an average retail price of about $65 when the anti-aging sunscreen caught my eye. At a price of $28 or thereabouts, I wondered if it might be worth spending a little more than I usually do in order to get some anti-aging benefits at less than half the price of their night creams.

Once the product arrived, I was a little taken aback at how little it was, although I knew I was getting 50ml but somehow the size of the tube brought home the idiocy of trying to go cheap on high end products.

The sunscreen is a titanium dioxide physical sunscreen, which means that you have to rub it in or you'll end up looking like a 16th century lady who has painted her face in white lead powder. This product seems to require more rubbing in than others of the same type. I have regularly gone out of the house with a big unnoticed smudge, or a white eyebrow, or what appear to be white hair roots around my forehead. In fact, sometimes I stand in front of the mirror and carefully check for no white smudges, only to find some a few hours later. I guess I rub my forehead and some of the sunscreen forms into new smudges.  Otherwise, it has a pleasant texture. It is designed for sensitive skin, and as I don't have sensitive skin I can't comment on that, but I am not careful with it around my eyes and haven't noticed any stinging or other problems.

As for the anti-aging benefits, if you concentrate really hard after putting it on, you can feel some slight skin tightening. The dark shadows under my eyes appear to have lessened, but that could be due to the time change and getting more sleep.  Overall, I can't really ascribe too much difference to this product, not that that's a really fair test, as nothing is really going to give a dramatic effect.

I'm undecided on whether to buy another tube of this. I like it well enough, and am willing to hope for more anti-aging benefits with continued use (after all, that slight tightening might be doing something). But it's not wowing me, I have to say. If this was a $12 product, I'd probably be gaga over it, though, so perhaps I was expecting too much.

3 stars.

Review: Burt's Bees Radiance Night Creme

Stephanie persuaded me to buy this moisturizer on the basis that she'd review the day cream and I could review the night cream. So hopefully she'll come through with that review soon!

It costs $14.99 or thereabouts for 2oz, so it definitely fits within my budget. However, at first I hated it. It seemed too thin, I didn't think it moisturized enough, and I wasn't happy at all. I was ready to write a review of how me and Burt's Bees just don't get along (apart from their lip balm) and that I'd never waste my money on their stuff again.

But I kept using it, just to give it a fair trial. And something strange started happening...I started liking it. I still would like it to be a bit thicker. I still probably use a bit too much because I want a bit of extra moisturization around my eyes, but it has definitely grown on me. It is slightly sticky when first applied, but sinks in well. It has a very pleasant apple scent (at least, to my nose - it doesn't list apple on the ingredient list, so perhaps it's supposed to smell of something else). It leaves my skin feeling soft and nourished, and, yes, plump and not too lined and wrinkly. It must be the royal jelly or something in there that my skin is enjoying, but I definitely feel like something is working.

Three and a half stars.

Update: I'm revising my opinion of this cream upwards. I've just bought my second jar because my skin has been feeling silky smooth, and well, moistened. So I'm going to go for four stars.

Update #2: I'm revising this upward again, to 5 stars. See also this post. This is really working well for me. I've also got very used to the consistency so I don't mind that it's a bit thinner than the moisturizers I previously liked. I am hooked!

Review: Boscia Willow Bark breakout treatment

Part of being frugal, I think, isn't always about being cheap. It is about making the most of your money, cutting back where it isn't important or necessary to spend extra money, but equally being prepared to spend a little more when it is worth it.  Although the Boscia skin care range isn't terribly expensive (products are typically $20-$30), it's also not the cheapest out there, but I think some of the products are worth it. In particular, the breakout treatment. 

Boscia is a natural brand, rather than an organic brand. There are no preservatives, and the products contain a lot of herbal and natural plant-based ingredients, but that also doesn't mean that it's necessarily as pure as the driven snow. However, when I have any breakouts, I mostly want something that will work.

Willow Bark breakout treatment contains as its major ingredient, willow bark, as the name implies. For those of you that don't know, willow bark is what the first salicylic acid and hence aspirin was made from, as people had known for millennia that willow bark included a pain reliever. It also contains willow herb, which reduces inflammation, and soapberry peel which is rich in saponins which cleanse, purify and heal.  It's a clear gel that is slightly sticky, but which absorbs well. It isn't going to prevent future breakouts, but dab some on a breakout you already have, and the redness and inflammation will go down remarkably quickly without it seeming to dry the skin out. In fact, I think this works far better than most harsh chemical-laden breakout treatments, which always dried my skin out so much it would peel. Or made it redder than it already was to start with.

Boscia is available from places like Sephora and Amazon. There are two sizes - the smaller one is a pen that you click the base of and a little gel pops up, and the larger size is a pump. I have the smallest size (0.14oz), as my skin has got drier in recent years and I don't need to use it very often. It has lasted me quite a long time! The pen usually retails for $15, the larger 0.5oz pump is $22.50.

Just good stuff. Four stars.

Review: Alba Pineapple Enzyme Scrub

One of the things I have tried to do as I go more "green" is to look at my usage of products, and try to decide if I actually need them. When you think that the average woman uses 12 products a day which include 168 chemicals (according to Environmental Working Group), it's easy to see that we shouldn't just be making sure each product is green, but that if we cut out a product or two, we'll save adding a few more chemicals to our systems. Because even green products have chemicals, so unless you are prepared to make everything from scratch, it's hard to avoid them.

So, toner has gone from my shelves, as has eye cream, as has shower gel. I'm trying to cut down on my perfume addiction, but it's hard. At least I'm trying not to buy more! But then I got to exfoliants. You could argue that it's a product that we don't really need, and therefore it's an easy one to ditch. But my skin reacts well to exfoliants and they definitely help me to feel like I'm looking more fresh-faced and healthy, so I don't really want to give them up. What I try to do is not use them in addition to cleanser, but to find an exfoliant that I can use once or twice a week instead of cleanser.

I quite like the Alba pineapple scrub, but there's something lacking. There aren't many exfoliating grains in it, as presumably it relies more on the enzymes than on a physical scrubbing action. But half the time, I don't think the enzyme are really enough. I want more grains! The scrub has quite a creamy feel, and has a pleasant pineapple-papaya scent to it. It doesn't really lather, but that's just fine in my book. It is quite gentle on the skin, and would probably be good for sensitive skin. It also has a nice cleansing action, so I don't feel like my skin has been cheated out of a step if I use it in place of cleanser in the morning. However, I always want to dump a teaspoon-full of brown sugar or something into the mix, in order to boost the exfoliating power.

Maybe one of these days I really will become a proper greenie, and start making my own exfoliant, but in the meantime, this one is average-to-good. It usually retails for about $11.99 although I notice that drugstore.com currently has it on sale for $9.59.

Two and a half stars.

Review: Juice Organics Brightening Moisturizer

I've had a mental block with this moisturizer. I've been meaning to review it for days, if not weeks. And yet, I haven't been able to come up with anything insightful to say so I kept putting it off thinking I would be inspired by something - but perhaps that's the real problem with this moisturizer. It is just kind of blah.

I picked this up from Target for $14.99 at the same time as I picked up the Juice Organics Brightening Cleanser. I've been using it on and off ever since, but it is not inspiring me at all. It has the consistency of a lotion, which is fine for daytime (if it had an SPF in it, that is, which it doesn't) but for nighttime, I tend to want more of a cream. I want to at least believe that my nighttime moisturizer is doing something special, even if it isn't really. This is too thin for me to believe that. It is in a pump container, which is a good thing as keeping the air out means potentially having to use fewer preservatives and anti-bacterials. But one pump leaves me wanting more moisturizing (especially around my eyes), and two pumps leaves me feeling like I'm drowning in the stuff. The scent is nothing to write home about, slightly orangey/appley but it's the type of smell you get if you've left the juice sitting around just a tad too long, so there's something mildly unsettling about it. There's a hint of stickiness once it's on your face, which isn't necessarily what I want either.

It's not bad, but it's not special either. Two and a half stars. It might work more on someone with oilier skin than mine, who just needs a light dose of moisturizing at night.

Review: Burt's Bees Soap Bark & Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream

[Our first guest review! Hopefully the first of many.]

By Stephanie

I have been on the lookout for a cleanser that will CLEAN my skin. I didn’t want something that just made me feel good about the greenness of the product I was buying or the fact that it doesn’t flood my body with harmful chemicals.
Lots of other cleansers left me feeling more oily than before I used them. I never felt clean and my skin felt clogged and congested.

I’m selfish and picky- I wanted something that really made me feel like it was BETTER than the chemically choices I had out there. Not just something that I lived with because it was better for me.

This cleansing cream really hits the mark. I worried, at first, because being an oily skinned girl, the idea of a “cream” usually means that it isn’t a good choice for my skin. Usually, the foaming gel type ones are the only thing for me. Unfortunately, the sulfates that make those gels foam are a no-no for a green type gal.

So, when I was overnight at a hotel for a work conference, I noticed that my co-worker roommate (who is also working on trying to be as green as possible) had this cream. Well, I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to try before buying so, I asked her if I could try it.

I was really impressed. It is a thick cream but, it spreads easily on a slightly damp face. It smells nice, too. A little different than what I’m used to- sort of an anise or licorice type smell. It also had a tingly sensation which, for me, replaced the need to feel foamy to feel clean.

I removed it with a warm, wet washcloth (I rinse in the shower, too) and I felt velvety soft and clean and with just the right amount of emollient feeling- like I was clean but not stripped.

I was in love. And, for about 8 bucks depending on where you buy (Whole Foods, Burts Bees online, Ulta, Target) you really can’t go wrong.

Sometimes, I’ll even use it at the sink before I shower and leave it on for a few minutes before I rinse it off in the shower. It sort of “digs deeper” during that time and acts a little like a deep cleansing masque.

Obviously, for me, this is a 5 star product

Review: Juice Organics Brightening Cleanser

I want to like Juice Organics more than I actually do. I mean, what's not to love? Their sister range, Juice Beauty, which is available at places like Sephora, is three times the price, so with Juice Organics it always feels like you're getting away with something. Their products are made with certified organic ingredients, no animal testing, 100% vegetarian products. All of the products have a minimum of 70% organic ingredients. Like I said, what's not to love?

The problem is, I think, the organic juice base that all the products are made out of. Sometimes (well, a lot of the time), it just feels like you've put orange juice on your skin. And as you know, orange juice is kind of sticky and not exactly the sort of thing you want on your face (as opposed to in your face). I haven't had much luck with the Juice Organics moisturizers, as they have a bit too much of the orange juice-like thing going on. The Juice Beauty range suffers much less from this little flaw, and their moisturizers suit me much better.

Having said all that, I think the Juice Organics Brightening Cleanser might be a winner. It's $9.99 for 6 fl oz at Target. My local CVS used to carry Juice Organics, but doesn't these days for some reason. It's a little bit runny, but not too bad - at least it doesn't run through your fingers like some organic cleansers. One pump does your whole face, so it should last quite a long time. It doesn't lather much, but actually feels quite creamy while you're using it. The cleanser smells lightly citrusy if you sniff it hard, but it's a very mild scent. And it does make your face feel nice and clean, and seems to remove make up well. It contains glycolic acid, so you know you're getting some good wrinkle-fighting effects along with all the organic goodness, and it is definitely leaving my skin feeling smooth. I do find it slightly drying, though, and I find that I need to put on some moisturizer fairly quickly, so if you have more mature skin it might not be the best thing for you. It's probably best for twenties or early- to mid-thirties type ages, unless you have oily skin, then you can probably use it well into your forties without too many problems. They have a Nourishing Cleanser that is probably more suitable for mature skin, although I haven't tried that one yet (yes, I'm still feebly trying to hang on to my youth but perhaps I'll own up to mature skin with my next bottle).

Three stars.

Physician's Formula Organic Wear Eye Shadow Duo

It may seem like I'm obsessed with Physician's Formula, but I kind of am. It's the first drug store range of organic/green makeup. I like some of the things better than others, and I hope they either improve the line or that another drug store range comes out. But for now, I think it's a great start. I mean, it's all very well that other organic lines are lovely, but $80 for a foundation (or whatever) is too steep for me.

The eye shadow duo is 15.9% organic, and is formulated with Organic Jojoba Seed Oil to moisturize the eye area, Organic Corn Starch, and Mica. According to their website, it is 100% free of harsh chemicals, synthetic preservatives, parabens, GMO's, synthetic colors, synthetic fragrances, and is 100% cruelty free. There are four color ranges - green eyes, which is two complementary shades of green and is pictured here. Blue eyes, which is two shades of blue, brown eyes which is a brown and cream, and hazel eyes which is two mauve shades. I have the hazel eyes version. Personally, as someone who doesn't want to spend too long agonizing over the right shade of eye shadow, I like this system as it takes the guesswork over what colors to pick. The product comes in mostly cardboard packaging, so it's good that they've cut down on the amount of plastic involved. It doesn't include a brush. It is retailing for $7.95 - $9.95.

I love this stuff! It goes on easily, the two colors blend very well together, and it lasts for a very long time without dissolving into creases on my eyelids. It hasn't irritated my eyes at all, nor do I find myself rubbing it off later in the day. The colors aren't garish (at least, not the mauves that I've tried), and I've been complimented on how pretty my eyes look twice since I've started using this. That might be because I wasn't regularly wearing eye shadow before, but I think it also shows that it's hard to go wrong with this, otherwise people would have just commented on the fact of me wearing eye shadow rather than that it looks nice.

Five stars!

It's Not Green: Be Fine Exfoliating Cleanser

Here's one for the "save your money" files.  I was in my local CVS the other week, perusing the cleansers, and close to their exceedingly small group of "natural" skin care products was the "Be fine food skin care" range.  Needing a cleanser, and not having tried Be fine line before, I grabbed it.  I suppose I didn't study the ingredient list on the package, and as I no longer have the outer packaging I'm beginning to wonder if there was one there to start with!  I'm sure it must have had an ingredient list, but I guess I was in a hurry. The line touts itself as containing food-grade ingredients, no parabens, allergen free fragrance, vegetarian proteins, and that it has had no animal testing whatsoever.  So, even though I knew it wasn't claiming to be organic, I thought I'd give it a go as it seemed to be kind of green.  At $12.79 at least it fit into my price range.

Using it was fine - it is quite nicely exfoliating, and lathers very well. However, because it tries hard to be very foody, it feels like you are exfoliating your face with a brown sugar paste. Not that that's a bad thing, but it kept making me wonder why I didn't just go to the kitchen cabinet and make a brown sugar paste that would probably do the job as well.  For a lot less money.

It was only later that I went and checked all the ingredients.  For a start, it contains sodium laureth sulfate, which is a no-no in my book.  But hey, no wonder the product lathered well. Worse still, it also contains ingredients that I hadn't really come across before, and which I now know are nasty preservatives - one being methylisothiazolinone, which is apparently a neurotoxin.  Another is methylchloroisothiazolinone, and I found a website that claims it is an extremely potent allergen that "was responsible for an epidemic of contact sensitivity, in some geographical areas, in the 1980s and early 1990s".  

So clearly I was the victim of some green washing here.  They took out the parabens so that they could claim that the product was "paraben free" and replaced them with some equally nasty, if not nastier, preservatives. Shame on you, makers of Be fine!

Don't make the same mistake that I did!  Zero stars for this one.

Review: Physician's Formula Organic Wear Tinted Moisturizer

This is a lightweight tinted moisturizer that I got at my local CVS. It's currently retailing for $11.99 which is a bargain when you compare it to the stuff available at Whole Foods or Sephora. It doesn't include any parabens or other nasties that I can see, and I liked that the sunscreen component (SPF15) comes from titanium dioxide rather than a chemical sunscreen.

It has a pleasant smell, and goes on easily. I've got to say, though, that I don't find it all that moisturizing, nor do I find it offers very much coverage. I'd like one that is a bit more emollient, but that may be due to my skin starting to dry out as I age! It is perhaps, a tad thinner in consistency than I'd ideally like. As for coverage, it is, of course, a tinted moisturizer and not a foundation, so it's not supposed to completely cover all those imperfections. At best all I get is a bit of softening of the edges of blotches and things - perhaps you could describe it as putting the imperfections in soft focus. It is enough to allow me to leave the house on a Saturday morning without anything else and without feeling too self-conscious, but it's not enough for work. I usually wear a mineral foundation on top.

In all, I'm going to go with 4 stars on this one. I think it's definitely enough to make me want to buy another tube and keep it in the general rotation. I still can't quite believe that I am getting organic goodness for only $11.99. However, it probably won't stop me trying something else when the next latest and greatest thing comes out.

Update: I have spotted this at Walmart for $9.93 and Target for $9.94 - a big variation from the CVS price I quoted. It seems to be readily available at most of the drug and big box retailers, so shop around.

Update #2: I've had some reports of people developing an uncomfortable burning reaction to this. I am still using it daily with no problems, but please post comments if you have had an issue.