Hoover Platinum Series Upright is a Royal Pain

I hate to complain about products on my blog, but I'm going to do it today anyway. About a year and a half ago I needed a vacuum. I researched different products and prices and found one (the Platinum series bagged upright) that I thought would be an excellent buy and exactly what I needed. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The vacuum is lightweight and has a high and low setting, and has a heavy duty, large bag--all of these things are great about it, but the one thing that the company must have thought would be a good thing, is what is driving me and everyone else who uses it in my home, crazy. There is this little feature that turns the machine off if something it things is bad passes under the brush. You know when you get too close to a shoelace, or yarn and it gets all twisted onto the spinning brush? On most of my machines, if this happens, I have to turn it off or else the brush will keep spinning and spinning and will over heat and melt the drive belt or something. Or maybe the whole vacuum could explode or something, I really don't know. I just know that it can mess up your vacuum. So, this Hoover Platinum series vacuum touts a little component that trips if it thinks you've got ahold of somthing that is going to get caught up in the brush. The only problem is that this thing trips all the time! One little crumb on the carpet and it turns off. One piece of fuzz and the thing turns off. One small bump of the machine into the wall and it turns off. What a pain! I talk and swear at this vacuum constantly. The really sad thing is that it really does a good job of vacuuming when it decides to do the work. If you are looking for a new vacuum, my advice would be to stay away from the Hoover Platinum Series Upright unless you have the patience of Job and nerves of steel. It just isn't worth the $200+ pricetag and the frustration.

Burt's Bees Chemical-Free Sunscreen--Two Thumbs Down!

Here is a quick review of a new product from the Burt's Bees line of skincare products. I purchased a 3 oz. tube of Burt's Bees Natural Sun Care sunscreen that is supposed to be chemical free. I usually try to smell products that I am going to put on my body because I am very sensitive to certain odors. This product happens to be safety sealed so I could not sample the fragrance, which was a big mistake. I thought, "It's Burt's Bees, how bad can it smell?" Well, let me tell you, it smells pretty bad. There is nothing pleasant or appealing about the fragrance. It may be chemical free, and infused with hemp seed oil, witch hazel, and other stuff, but the combination is simply odious! Even my daughter couldn't stand the smell and washed it off immediately. The other problem with it is the texture of the stuff. It has a very unpleasant feel to it once it is on your skin. It felt like my skin was as dry as sandpaper. It was awful. This characteristic was also noticed by my sixteen year old who put the stuff on before even talking to me, so I did not influence her opinion in the least. She reported her dislike of the product when she caught up with me at the neighborhood pool. To add insult to injury, the cost of the product is criminal. I hate to admit it, but I paid $13.00 for this awful stuff. I would not recommend this product to anyone. Chemical-free or not, it's just not worth it!