Shower Together With The Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 In 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo!

The Good: Easy to install, Easy to use, Surprisingly good flow, Affordable
The Bad: No "full stop" option, Base is not wide enough to allow the hose to go much to the side.
The Basics: The Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo works surprisingly well and is a great showerhead!


When it comes to things like showerheads, I tend to leave the shopping to my wife. Indeed, I am very complacent when it comes to leaping in the shower, getting clean, and then getting out and getting on with my day. But, as one who is always looking for ways to spend time together (and, frankly, methinks, someone to wash her back!) my wife has been retrofitting our apartment's bathroom so we can share showers easier. Given that, like with many people, there is a bit of a height difference between us and that our shower area is not huge, showering together has been more of a chore than an act of love. That changed, however, when my wife bought us a Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo!

The Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo is a showerhead that is actually two heads; one rooted to the wall and a second that is hand-held, connected to the base of the first by a long, flexible, tube. This allows two people to comfortably shower with one another without forcing one person to be constantly standing somewhere other than right under the flow of the water!

The Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo is a stainless steel showerhead assembly that easily screws into a pipe in one's shower. The primary showerhead sticks out 6" from the shower pipe. At its base is a 3 1/2" wide piece that is perpendicular to the showerhead and features the control dial and the cradle for the handheld showerhead. The handheld showerhead is connected to the primary wall-based unit by a 4 3/4' flexible hose. Both showerheads are 4" in diameter; the handheld showerhead is on a 5" handle, which allows one to grip it firmly when it is out of its cradle.

Installation of the Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo is shockingly easy. When my wife purchased the Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo, she announced that it had arrived and before I could leap up from my writing to muck up her efforts, she had already unscrewed the old showerhead and properly installed the new one! The Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo is so easy to install that it took her less than four minutes to assemble and attach the Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo to the pipe. The screw-on ring that attaches the Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo to the wall's pipe is tight and secure enough that we did not even need to use any pipe tape; in fact, we've switched up which shower in our apartment has the new showerhead and neither shower has shown any leaks where the pipes connect to the showerhead. The same cannot be said of the old, cheap, plastic shower heads out landlords originally had installed in our showers, so this is a clear benefit of the Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo!

Using the Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo is fairly simple after it has been installed. On the left side of the base of the Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo is a dial. Turning the dial controls whether the water goes exclusively to the main showerhead, the handheld showerhead or both. On the right side of that same base is the cradle for the handheld showerhead, which allows one to have two showerheads shooting water from the wall, as opposed to forcing one to actually hold the handheld showerhead. One of the few strikes against the Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo comes in its basic functioning; the dial has the three options, but for those who are conscientious about water conservation, there is no option to shut off flow entirely. Instead, one must turn off the water source completely, which then forces one to take a blast of cold water when turning it back on.

The Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo has multiple flow settings on each head. The showerheads are adjusted through a dial lever on each of the two heads and it changes the water flow from a powerful blast coming through the center-most holes in the showerhead to the misting function that comes from water flowing out all of the holes in the showerhead. The result is a wide variety of pressures and water coverage options and the fact that each head has adjustable dials allows each person in a shower to adjust their showerhead to their own preferences. This is pretty wonderful function and it works exceptionally well. In fact, one of the true pleasant surprises of the Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo is that the water flow/pressure remains extraordinary across all permutations of the settings. We noticed no perceptible change in water pressure between our prior small-head showerhead and installing the Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo. While there is a minor, predictable, fall-off in water pressure from opening both showerheads up fully, there is minimal water pressure falloff before that! In other words, it is very easy for two people to use the shower with the Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo at the same time and both people get clean and feel clean!

The only other real detraction to the Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo is in the flexible hose, or more accurately, the way the hose connects to the base. Part of the reason the water pressure is so good is that the hose that attaches the base to the handheld showerhead of the Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo is a straight shot, which conserves the water pressure by maintaining the water's direction from the pipe through the shower head. Unfortunately, it also means that to use the handheld showerhead, one must basically bisect the shower space with the hose; the person using the handheld showerhead has to lift the hose above the other person in the shower or the hose will brush against the other person, who is getting cleaned from the primary nozzle. This is a design issue that would have been prevented by a wider base which would offset the hose, but it is understandable that Hydroluxe might not have done that because the water pressure would have suffered.

That said, the Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo does what it promises. It is easy to install, easy to use, easy to clean and it allows two people to shower together comfortably; it is hard to ask more from a showerhead than the Hydroluxe Full-Chrome 24 Function Ultra-Luxury 3-way 2 in 1 Showerhead/Handheld-Shower Combo delivers!

8.5/10

For other movie reviews, please check out my Film Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Lather Quality Is All That Saves Charmed Life Shower Gel From A Truly Dismal Rating!

The Good: Good lather quality, Decent cleaning ability.
The Bad: Expensive, Scent does not endure, Odd scent, Not anti-bacterial
The Basics: A pretty solid disappointment from Bath And Body Works, Charmed Life cleans well enough, but is not at all interesting or useful for the price.


Every now and then, when my wife and I are out shopping, she will fixate on a scent when shopping at Bath & Body Works that completely loses me. 90% of the scents in the store, I “get” and can see the appeal for. Charmed Life was not one of them. And yet, my wife eagerly picked up several of the products with the Charmed Life smell and I have made the mental journey from unimpressed to confused to absolutely loathing the vague scent that occasionally permeates our home. After some objective testing in the shower, I thought it was time to properly review the Charmed Life shower gel.

Charmed Life is sold in a 10 fl. oz. container by Bath and Body Works as part of their Signature Collection line and it is a shower gel. Shower Gel is essentially body wash and given that it was more than ten dollars for the 10 fl. oz. bottle (they had a 3 oz. that was $5.00!), I figured it had to be something incredible in the bottle to justify the price. It was not.

Charmed Life is an “adjective scent,” an aroma whose title tells you nothing about what to expect when you open the product. I seriously wish I could be more helpful with that. Charmed Life starts off with a vaguely citrus, lightly orange scent (think very sweet oranges, like Mandarin oranges) that turns into something slightly floral on the skin. Oddly, as I continue to smell my hands, it smells like a combination of seriously diluted rosewater and vanilla frosting. The scent may be vague, but it is a clean bouquet that is light enough to not be distracting, but also too light to be truly intriguing.

Charmed Life is a translucent light blue fluid that is thick like a decent shampoo. It has about the same consistency as a shampoo, maybe slightly more watery.

As a shower gel, a quarter-sized dollop of Charmed Life can clean most of a person, especially when it is applied to a loufa mitt or other cleaning device. Charmed Life is a smooth product, so it is not like it has exceptional cleaning powers on its own. As a body wash, Charmed Life cleans off the skin and eliminates any odors one might normally be blessed with, but if one gets rather dirty, they'll need something with friction to clean off with. Charmed Life is a decent cleaner and skin conditioner, but does not have granules or other components like a scrub would to exfoliate or deep clean the body. This shower gel foams right up and washes right off, as appropriate for a shower gel!

For those who are health conscious, the Charmed Life Shower Gel is primarily comprised of water, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, and TEA-Lauryl Sulfate. As one who is more accustomed to reviewing all natural teas, I'll say I know what water is and this product is not recommended for human consumption, so don't eat it! It does soften the skin some and the scent stays on the skin for about an hour and a half even after washing the lather off.

For the price, I would have wanted Charmed Life to have a more distinctive scent, anti-bacterial properties, and/or some exceptional cleaning ability. It struck out on all three fronts, making it impossible for me to recommend.

For other Bath And Body Works products, please visit my reviews of:
Sassy Strawberry Mint 3-in-1
Polar Bear Figural Soap Dispenser
Vanilla Bean Anti-Bacterial Soap

3.5/10

For other health and beauty product reviews, please visit my index page, where you will find a complete listing of my reviews of that type by clicking here!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Delightful, If Subtle, Aroma Helps Sell The Suave Holiday Pear Refreshing Body Wash!

The Good: Amazing aroma, Decent lather, Easy to open bottle.
The Bad: Not antibacterial, No scrubbing grit.
The Basics: I would not have guessed that I would really fall for the limited edition Suave Holiday Pear Refreshing Body Wash, but it truly is well worth picking up!


When my wife went away for the summer, one of the things she took with her that I, to be candid, coveted, was her limited edition Suave Peppermint Bliss Shimmer Body Wash (reviewed here!). I was a bit (unjustly) dismayed. After all, with its mentholated formula, I figured it could help keep me cool over the summer while she was gone. No dice. So, it was with a strong sense of sour grapes that I used the body wash that she left behind, the Suave Limited Edition Suave Holiday Pear Refreshing Body Wash.

Sour grapes gone!

As something of a pretty big surprise to me, Suave Holiday Pear body wash is actually pretty awesome. The 18 fl. oz. bottle usually sells for $1.99 and is only available around the winter holidays. The Holiday Pear Refreshing Body Wash is an effective, easy-to-use product that leaves skin feeling soft and the consumer relaxed, even if it is not the most effective cleanser! Sure, my mother gave this body wash to my wife, but she left it behind!

Body washes have been a product I am less eager to review because they usually seem disproportionately expensive to me, but Suave is known for providing high-quality personal cleaners at affordable prices. Suave's Holiday Pear Refreshing Body Wash initial price is very reasonable and finding it after the holidays for less money is even better, though it is virtually impossible to find now. In addition to being a decent consistency that lathers up exceptionally well, the Holiday Pear Refreshing Body Wash actually relaxed me with its soothing aroma.

The Holiday Pear Refreshing Body Wash is a very liquid translucent green fluid about the consistency of most shampoos. This is a smooth body wash, so there is no grit in it to help exfoliate the skin. Using the Holiday Pear Refreshing Body Wash is simple. The bottle features a flip top that opens with the flick of the thumb. The bottle is easy enough to open and close one handed as to make it convenient in the tub or shower, especially if one is using a loufa or washcloth in the other hand. The bottle of Holiday Pear Refreshing Body Wash is fairly flat on the front and back and rounded on the sides. It is not overly slippery when wet, unlike some body washes I have used!

Dispensing the Holiday Pear Refreshing Body Wash is very easy. Simply squeeze the bottle and apply the fluidic body wash to your hand, loufa or cloth. In my experience, the body wash is more liquid than creamy and, as a result, comes out much like a hand soap or dishwashing liquid. As a result, about a half dollar-sized dollop is all that is necessary to clean my whole body when it mixes with the water from my shower or bath. I've found it most effective to dole out the body wash in dime-sized dollops in order to get the most out of each application, but generally it takes very little of this body wash to go a long way.

Part of the reason the product washes off so well is that it lathers exceptionally well. Used sparingly, like in dime-sized portions, the Holiday Pear Refreshing Body Wash may be spread over an entire limb the way it lathers up. Simply agitating it on the skin yields a foamy, clean lather that both moisturizes the skin. Without a loufa or other rough applicator, it does not remove dirt or grime beyond what one expects from water running. As the water flows over it, it washes off easily leaving behind no film or residue, only clean, soft skin and a faint, incredible smell.

The Holiday Pear Refreshing Body Wash smells amazing. Pear is not usually the most robust scent and this body wash is very pure in its scent. It smells just like fresh-cut pears, not pears with cinnamon or in anything, just a bold concentration of pear scent. But it works! Smelling this body wash in the steam of a shower, I find myself relaxing and feeling rejuvenated in an unexpected way. In addition to leaving skin soft and having no residue, the Suave Holiday Pear Refreshing Body Wash leaves a faint fruity smell on the skin for about an hour after the shower! As one who has a strong scent memory, this is a decent side effect!

Perhaps the biggest surprise for me about Suave's Holiday Pear Refreshing Body Wash is that the primary ingredient is water. For a body wash that is so aromatic and cleans as well as this one does, it is astonishing to think it is primarily water in the ingredients. That it contains actual pear extract is entirely unsurprising, because the aroma is so incredible.

Suave Holiday Pear Refreshing Body Wash lives up to its name, cleaning nicely, but relaxing consumers in a way few healthy and beauty products actually manage to do!

For other body cleaning products, please be sure to check out my reviews of:
Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel
Softsoap Body Butter Coconut Scrub Body Buff Wash
Bath & Body Works Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin Anti-Bacterial Foaming Hand Soap

8/10

For other health and beauty product reviews, please visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Wonderful Bath Begins With Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel!

The Good: Aroma, Lather/Suds quality, Energizing effect, Company’s ethics.
The Bad: Expensive.
The Basics: The Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel lives up to its promises and justifies its price.


I have to give some real credit to Kiss My Face. A few years ago, I reviewed a Kiss My Face toothpaste (that review is here!). As is my habit, I went online to promote the review by putting links on Facebook and elsewhere. The link on Facebook was not up for more than half an hour before it had a response. Someone from Kiss My Face read the review, which was a pretty brutal panning of the product, and responded publicly with a comment that was something like “I’m sorry you did not enjoy this product. Please feel free to try and review our other fantastic products.” No anger, no defensiveness, they just took the bad review and moved on. That’s classy.

Fortunately, my next experience with Kiss My Face – this very review – was overwhelmingly positive, so I can return their courtesy with a good review of their product. In this case, the product is Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel. And it is pretty wonderful.

Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel is a translucent fluid - a little thicker than shampoo, a little more viscous than hand cream – that has a very slight yellow tint to it. It comes in a translucent 16 fl. oz. bottle and locally it is available for $14.99. That’s a bit steep for me. In fact, that’s almost unreasonably steep for me. The reason I am still so heartily endorsing Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel is that, despite the expense, it works, making it a good value. Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel delivers on its promises to relax and clean and that’s enough of a selling point for me!

Using Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel is very easy. Simply start adding bath water to your tub and pour about an ounce of the Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel into the water, directly under the spout and watch it foam up! The Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel has one of the richest distributions of bubbles I have seen from a bath gel in recent memory. With little agitation to the water outside the water’s natural movement out of a spout, the Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel creates a dense, rich lather for consumers.

What sets Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel apart is its scent. Many pine scented beauty products have a very rich, masculine, strong pine scent that forcefully opens the nostrils in a way that usually only mint will do. The Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel does not have that. Instead, this has a much more subtle version of pine scent, the smell of an old pine forest. Nothing is decaying, but the needles aren’t aromatic in the same way. Instead, it is a softer, more subtle scent, but it is very true to the outdoors and a pine forest!

But what I loved – outside the rich lather – was how the Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel actually worked. Laying in a steaming bath treated with Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel, I found myself inhaling deeply and relaxing in a way that I do not otherwise do. There are bath gels that invigorate and this one calmed me. Without music, without candles, with only Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel, I found myself truly relaxing and letting go of stress in all of my muscles!

When used as a shower gel, Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel delivers as well. It lathers up nicely and offers a decent amount of cleaning power. In addition to making my aching hands go limp with relaxation, the Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel washes off perfectly, leaving no residue or film.

As one who has a strong scent memory, I like Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel because the soft pine scent does linger in an unobtrusive way, even after the gel has been rinsed off. I like this because it does not interfere with any other scents I might have on, but when I put my nose to my skin, I can still smell the pine and ginseng scent and it causes some of my stress-related strain to dissipate!

Ultimately, the Kiss My Face Woodland Pine & Ginseng Anti-Stress Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel is a wonderful bath gel, despite the expense, because it truly does calm one while providing a mild, yet memorable, scent!

For other bath gel and skin care reviews, be sure to check out:
Bath & Body Works Frosting Forever 3-in-1
Suave Peppermint Bliss Shimmer Body Wash
St. Ives Ultra Gentle Apricot Scrub

8/10

For other health and beauty products, please visit my Health & Beauty Product Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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After The Initial Scent, "Frosting Forever, "Might Be A Worthwhile 3-In-1... But It's A Lot To Go Through!

The Good: Good scent after the initial one, Versatility, Success at cleaning all over
The Bad: Initial scent, PRICE!
The Basics: The awful initial scent and the price eliminate the benefits this 3-in-1 offers in getting the user clean and smelling yummy.

As a reviewer, I am eager to write in categories that are new to me and I started writing reviews on health and beauty products and Celestial Seasonings teas. One of the first products I enthusiastically reviewed from outside my traditional comfort zone was Bath and Body Works' Cinnamon Bun Heaven 3-in-1. Recalling how much I enjoyed that product, I found myself eager to find more when I was near a Bath & Body Works again recently. They were out, but in their clearance stack of Temptations products, there was Frosting Forever 3-in-1. Recalling how I had warned my readers that there was a product that looked like Cinnamon Bun Heaven and having been happy with that 3-in-1, I gave Frosting Forever a cursory sniff and bought it.

Here's the thing: it's near impossible to truly smell anything in Bath & Body Works because the whole place is filled with scents and colors and it's a bit overwhelming. When I took my first shower with this product, I began to regret my decision.

Frosting Forever is well-named, once the initial scent wears off, as its scent is precisely the aroma of a vanilla frosting. It's the vanilla frosting atop a carrot cake, fresh-baked. Anyone who has ever had a wonderful experience in a bakery or bistro that was dominated by cake as is bound to have a wonderful reaction to the aroma of this product.

That is, after the initial scent. The first scent that comes out of the bottle is a throat-closing, acrid scent. "Chemical" is all my mind registers. It's like my olfactory nerves shoot a message to my brain while it is first smelling this nasty-scented fluid and it reboots my brain to register it as a frosting scent instead. Seriously, there is a plastic, burning, sulfurous, dangerous smell that puffs out of the bottle each and every time that makes my hair stand up on the back of my neck - even in the shower - before the frosting scent kicks in. As I write this, my mind is forcing me to type "tires." I don't know why, but there's something associated with that scent that is triggering it, so there you go. The initial scent lasts approximately ten seconds before my brain registers this as frosting.

As I surmised in my prior review, I have long suspected there is little chemical difference between shampoo, body wash and bubble bath and this 3-in-1 product seems to confirm that. It is a body wash, a shampoo and a bubble bath all in one. Bath and Body Works charges $12 for a 16 oz. bottle of the product, at least when I bought it. Rather cleverly, the clearance section still had Frosting Forever at $12, they just wanted people to know it's on the way out. And frankly, it's easy to see why by the scent!

As a shampoo, Frosting Forever was fine to use, after the initial scent changed over to the scent it is supposed to be. Despite the bulky shape of the bottle (I've used it for over a week now and the only reason I haven't dropped it is that I got used to how to hold it from my prior product experience), the cap is a simple hinge spout that makes getting the product out very easy and getting the bottle closed equally easy. Not having to screw the cap on or off means it's easy to simply open and close with one hand while depositing a quantity into the other hand before putting it in your hair.

I have rather long hair and I found I had to use a whole palmful of the Frosting Forever in order to get it to lather through all of my hair. Because there is only sixteen ounces in the bottle, the speed at which I went through the product at the first two days alarmed me some. I discovered that I could get away with using a little less than a palmful of the Frosting Forever and diluting it a little in my palm before applying it to my hair and it stretched a little farther (hey, why not get the most out of it!?). I ought to be able to make the bottle last at least two months as a shampoo.

As a shampoo, Frosting Forever cleaned my hair wonderfully with no residue. I have dry hair and the product did not dry it out more, nor leave a greasy residue. The result was very clean hair that smelled fresh and vaguely like cinnamon buns! As well, the product did not dry out my scalp. The product is mild on the eyes, which I discovered when I got some of the lather in my eye. It does not taste like frosting, for those who might be curious. Frosting Forever's scent does not withstand exercise that involves perspiring, but then, why wouldn't you wash your hair after that kind of exercise?

As a body wash, Frosting Forever is wonderful and possibly the best value from this product. I use a very discreet dollop of this 3-in-one when I am using it as a body wash. I'm rather tall and my "discreet dollop" is about the diameter of the hole in a compact disc. Applied to a washcloth, lufa or latex pouf, it lathered up quickly with such a small quantity. I've been using my lufa mitt (reviewed here!) and that lathers up with less than a quarter-sized dollop quite well and stretches for a full washing.

As a body wash, it worked very well, not drying out my skin at all. It appears to have gotten me clean and I noticed no adverse effects. After a week of using it as a body wash, I'm satisfied that it is getting me clean, not reacting to my skin (I do not have sensitive skin), and not causing any problems. I have cuts on my hands from work almost constantly and this was mild enough that it did not bother my wounds.

One of the nice effects of the Frosting Forever as a body wash that I noticed right away was that the scent lasts on the skin. Even after the first washing with this product, the scent permeated my skin and remained there. The scent endured without significant fading for one normal day. I have a night job at a hellish place that smells of oil and human misery and whenever I escape into the bathroom to wash up, I find myself able to smell my frosting-scented skin, which allows me to escape from that place for a few moments anyway. This is quite an accomplishment as I wear rubber gloves constantly and until I started using Frosting Forever, my hands just smelled (and tasted - yech!) of latex gloves.

As a bubble bath, it was wonderful, scenting the entire bathroom and upstairs of my house with the scent of frosting! The suds that the 3-in-1 created as a bath were wonderful and ample, despite my using only one capful of the product in my bath (the directions recommend two to three). As before, there were no adverse skin reactions, but marinating in my tub for an hour with this did leave the scent on me for an entire evening.

Frosting Forever is a mixed bag. It works at cleaning. However, the price is stifling and the initial scent is so terribly unpleasant that I cannot in good conscience recommend it. Bath And Body Works gets a lot of its products right, but this one is just not one of them. It's easy to see why this one might get discontinued. The novelty of it wears off quickly (unlike Cinnamon Bun Heaven, which I'm still looking for a year later!) and if I wasn't working at a place that smelled even worse than the initial scent that comes out of this bottle, I would certainly get rid of it.

For other 3-in-1 products from Bath and Body Works, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Cinnamon Bun Heaven
Orange Freeze
Sassy Strawberry Mint

4/10

For other health and beauty product reviews, please click here to see what I've written!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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The Unique Joy Of Cinnamon Bun Heaven 3-In-1 Becomes A Series Of Luxurious Experiences

The Good: GREAT scent, Versatility, Success at cleaning all over
The Bad: PRICE!
The Basics: With a wonderful, enduring and specific aroma, Cinnamon Bun Heaven gets the user clean, smelling great and energized in a way that overcomes its steep price.


When I encounted Cinnamon Bun Heaven 3-in-1, I found myself thinking of Popcorn Heaven. Popcorn Heaven was a small, local shop I used to frequent as a young adult that I loved because of its eclectic collection of a multitude of flavors of popcorn. My favorite was always "Blueberry Muffin" in their sweet line. The very first time I tasted a kernel of blueberry muffin popcorn, I was blown away because the taste was so precise. The carmelization was not blueberry flavored, it was not blueberry pancake, it was the exact definition of the taste of a blueberry muffin. I mention this because I was overcome with a similar sensation when trying Cinnamon Bun Heaven 3-In-1 from Bath and Body Work's.

Right off the bat, Cinnamon Bun Heaven is perfectly named as its scent is precisely the aroma of a cinnamon bun bakery at 5 AM, before the coffee is brewing. The scent is not cinnamon, it is cinnamon bun, infusing the scent of cinnamon with the sugary aroma of icing. Anyone who has ever had a wonderful experience in a bakery or bistro that was dominated by cinnamon buns is bound to have a wonderful reaction to the aroma of this product. The response with me was very visceral; in the store when I opened the cap, I began to salivate.

Which leads me to this specific product. I have long suspected there is little chemical difference between shampoo, body wash and bubble bath and this 3-in-1 product seems to confirm that. It is a body wash, a shampoo and a bubble bath all in one. Bath and Body Works charges $12 for a 16 oz. bottle of the product, at least when I bought it. The question is, is the product worth it?

I'll admit Cinnamon Bun Heaven had me at the scent. The scent is so compelling and real that it astonished me and made me feel . . . energized. Honestly, the quality of the scent brought back mornings where I was on the run, grabbing a fresh-baked cinnamon bun and rushing off to work or school. That alone was enough to get me to buy it (though that's uncharacteristic of me!).

Now that I have it and have used it in its various forms, how does it work?

As a shampoo, Cinnamon Bun Heaven was a treat to work with. Despite the bulky shape of the bottle (I've used it for over a week now and I've dropped the bottle twice), the cap is a simple hinge spout that makes getting the product out very easy and getting the bottle closed equally easy. Not having to screw the cap on or off means it's easy to simply open and close with one hand while depositing a quantity into the other hand before putting it in your hair.

I have rather long hair and I found I had to use a whole palmful of the Cinnamon Bun Heaven in order to get it to lather through all of my hair. Because there is only sixteen ounces in the bottle, the speed at which I went through the product at the first few days alarmed me some. I discovered that I could get away with using a little less than a palmful of the Cinnamon Bun Heaven and diluting it a little in my palm before applying it to my hair and it stretched a little father (hey, why not get the most out of it!?).

As a shampoo, Cinnamon Bun Heaven cleaned my hair wonderfully with no residue. I have dry hair and the product did not dry it out more, nor leave a greasy residue. The result was very clean hair that smelled like cinnamon buns! As well, the product did not dry out my scalp. Sorry, readers, I've no idea how it affects the eyes and I'm not dumping any in there to find out! :) I will say that it is not pleasant to taste, so if you're worried about having this product around children, I doubt it would be a problem very long!

One of the nice effects of the Cinnamon Bun Heaven as a shampoo that I noticed right away was that the scent lasts. Even after the first shampooing with this product, the scent permeated my hair and remained there. The scent endured without significant fading for one normal day. What I mean by that is that if you rinse your hair and dry it normally, the scent will remain in your hair throughout the day. At night, I sometimes smell my hair and catch a wonderful whiff of cinnamon bun. This is great when I'm feeling low-energy and want to perk up, bad when I'm already feeling hungry!

Cinnamon Bun Heaven's scent does not withstand exercise that involves perspiring, but then, why wouldn't you wash your hair after that kind of exercise? I've also noticed that after three or four days of washing my hair with this, even after an active day, my pillowcases began to carry hints of the scent. I'm not sure how or why that happens (there are no stains or anything like that!) but what I am saying is that Cinnamon Bun Heaven as a shampoo is a commitment to the scent, at least while the bottle endures.

As a body wash, Cinnamon Bun Heaven is wonderful and possibly the best value from this product. I use a very discreet dollop of this 3-in-one when I am using it as a body wash. I'm rather tall and my "discreet dollop" is about the diameter of the hole in a compact disc (honestly, who measures these things precisely while showering?! :) ). Applied to a washcloth, lufa or latex pouf, it lathered up quickly with such a small quantity.

As a body wash, it worked very well, not drying out my skin at all. It appears to have gotten me clean and I noticed no adverse effects. After a week of using it as a body wash, I'm satisfied that it is getting me clean, not reacting to my skin (I do not have sensitive skin), and not causing any problems. I was cut on my palm the other day and this was mild enough that it did not bother my wound.

The scent of cinnamon buns dissipated from my skin within an hour under normal conditions - how much less I do not know. No other odors took its place, so I'd say it was quite effective as a body wash.

As a bubble bath, it was wonderful, scenting the entire bathroom and upstairs of my house with the scent of cinnamon buns! The suds that the 3-in-1 created as a bath were wonderful and ample, despite my using only one capful of the product in my bath (the directions recommend two to three). As before, there were no adverse skin reactions, but marinating in my tub for an hour with this did leave the scent on me for an entire evening.

In short, Cinnamon Bun Heaven is a wonderful product so long as you love the scent and want to walk through the world committed to the scent for the duration of use of the product. I've no problem with people thinking I might have hung out for a day in a bakery, so it fits me just fine!

As this is my first review of such a product, I've decided that ultimately my standard by which I will recommend or not recommend a product in this field will be based on value. Honestly, some of these products are ridiculously expensive and for $12, I know I can get 16 oz. (or more) of a shampoo, a bubble bath AND a body wash. The thing is, this Temptations product from Bath and Body Works has the advantage in the scent. The precision of the scent and the quality of the product imbibe it with a value that cannot be found (yet) in a less expensive alternative.

And, truth be told, if the trend continues and the company designs a four in one (yeah, I'd love it if this conditioned my hair, too!), that is Cinnamon Bun Heaven, the value would increase again (as long as the price did not). As it is, this is a fabulous product and perhaps once a year I will indulge myself in a $12 bottle of this 3-in-1 to enjoy its many benefits!

[As a footnote, Bath and Body Works had another scented 3-in-1 in the same line that was the identical color; be sure you pick up Cinnamon Bun Heaven and not whatever that other one was, if shopping in the store!]

For other Bath And Body Works products, please visit my reviews of:
Orange Freeze 3-in-1
Sassy Strawberry Mint 3-in-1
Plumeria Anti-Bacterial Hand Gel

8/10

For other health and beauty product reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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No Freeze Out On "Orange Freeze" 3-in-1 (Though It's Not Terribly Hot, Either)

The Good: Good scent, Good functionality
The Bad: Expensive, Scent does not endure
The Basics: Average in virtually every way, Orange Freeze cleans well and smells good, but the scent does not endure on skin or hair very long.


Health and Beauty reviews are reviews I seldom write, mostly because when it comes to health and beauty supplies, I tend to be much more concerned with function than style. I'm not into trends and I have a pretty basic litmus test for my health and beauty reviews. If a product works the way it is supposed to, it's average, if it does more or does it exceptionally well, I knock it up. If it fails, it falls below.

I mention this as a preface to my review of Orange Freeze 3-in-1 by Bath & Body Works because when I sat down to review it, I realized how little I actually had to say about it (and I discovered I don't have a health and beauty form I follow, as I do for many of my other non-media reviews). Orange Freeze works well as a three in one (body wash, shampoo, and bubble bath) and the scent when it is out of the bottle is good, but it is not the most extraordinary product of all time and it is not going to light the world on fire. It cleans and as a bubble bath, it seems to have some minor skin softening properties, but beyond that, it is a remarkably average product.

Orange Freeze is sold in a 16 fl. oz. container by Bath and Body Works as part of their Temptation line and it is a three-in-one. This works as a shampoo, body wash, and bubble bath. It does not have any hair conditioning properties and this product comes with a fairly expensive price of $12.00 per bottle. Orange Freeze is marketed as smelling like an orange creamsicle and it more or less lives up to that. Actually, this product smells exactly like the Orange Sherbet Jelly Belly jelly beans (reviewed here!) taste! This is a good scent and anyone looking for something that has a decent citrus smell to it, without it being overbearing will likely enjoy this for the scent.

Orange Freeze is a pearlescent pumpkin orange fluid that is thick like a decent shampoo. Actually, it has a bit more leg than the average shampoo, more properly analogized like a shampoo/conditioner as far as consistency goes. The color is not as pleasant or bright and cheery as one might expect out of something that smells like a creamsicle. Instead, it is darker, thicker and the citrus smell is only slightly muted to make it smell more accurately like an orange frozen dessert.

As a shampoo, Orange Freeze quite adequately cleans one's hair. Orange Freeze strips away grease, dirt and other scents to leave the hair clean and smelling fresh. I tend to take showers hot and when I've used Orange Freeze as a shampoo, the scent effervesces well in the steam, making one's shower smell like an ice cream stand! It's a delightful scent and the product easily gets rid of pretty much anything one gets in one's hair.

As a shampoo, Orange Freeze 3-in-1 requires very little to use. I have very long hair and a quarter-sized dollop lathers up quite well enough in order to clean all of my hair. Used judiciously in this way, the Orange Freeze might well last for two months, maybe a little more than that. Given the relative expense of this 3-in-1, people with shorter hair might get away with using less, but people with long hair will be lucky to make it last two months.

The problem with Orange Freeze as a shampoo is that it cleans the hair and smells wonderful when in the shower or bath, but the scent fades quickly from one's hair. Within half an hour of being dry, my hair no longer smells like a creamsicle. As someone who recently found a benefit in having pleasant scent memories tied to my hair, this is a bit of a disappointment.

As a body wash, a quarter-sized dollop of Orange Freeze can clean most of a person, especially when it is applied to a loufa mitt or other cleaning device. Orange Freeze is a smooth product, so it is not like it has exceptional cleaning powers on its own. As a body wash, Orange Freeze cleans off the skin and eliminates any odors one might normally be blessed with, but if one gets rather dirty, they'll need something with friction to clean off with. As a body wash, Orange Freeze is a decent cleaner and skin conditioner, but does not have granules or other components like a scrub would to exfoliate or deep clean the body.

As a bubble bath, Orange Freeze is hardly economical. It takes about two capfuls to get a decent amount of bubbles out of this product and then they do not last more than half an hour. I've used this as a bubble bath and in order to get full, rich bubbles out of it, I needed to use four capfuls. This quickly depletes one's bottle of Orange Freeze, but it does have the benefit of leaving one's bathroom and body smelling like orange creamsicles for about an hour or two after one is done soaking in it! At $12.00 a bottle, it's tough for me to get thrilled about using this product this particular way.

For those who are health conscious, the Orange Freeze 3-in-1 is primarily comprised of water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, and Cocamidopropyl Betaine. As one who is more accustomed to reviewing all natural teas, I'll say I know what water is and this product is not recommended for human consumption, so don't eat it! It does soften the skin some when one soaks in a bath with a liberal amount of this in the water, but I am sure there are more economical ways to condition one's skin. It does not particularly sting the eyes or any open wounds when it ends up in them, but I didn't exactly let any stay in my eye when I got some near there.

In other words, Orange Freeze is an adequate 3-in-1 that has the potential to energize and excite a used when cleaning themselves with it, but it does not endure very long, making it a poor choice for those who rely on health and beauty products for scent memory enjoyment.

For other Bath And Body Works products, please visit my reviews of:
Sassy Strawberry Mint 3-in-1
Polar Bear Figural Soap Dispenser
Vanilla Bean Anti-Bacterial Soap

5/10

For other health and beauty product reviews, please visit my index page, where you will find a complete listing of my reviews of that type by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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Showering Under The Sea; The Smooth & Renew Loofah Mitt

The Good: Seems to exfoliate a fair amount, with a gentle quality
The Bad: Not abrasive enough, Does not last particularly long, Not great on sensitive areas
The Basics: Robbing me of dexterity and tearing off dead skin and scabs, the Smooth & Renew Loofah Mitt is a fair concept poorly executed.


As I review health and beauty products, I've been critical of foul smelling anti-bacterial hand lotions and generally disappointed with the ineffective apricot scrub from St. Ives , but I think I've found the weirdest health and beauty product yet for me to review with The Body Shop's Smooth & Renew Loofah Mitt. I started using the smooth and renew loofah mitt about a month ago and - until it disintegrated, it was what I was applying my prized Cinnamon Bun Heaven 3-in-1 with.

The rough road to smooth skin, the by-line to the smooth & renew loofah mitt, is apparently not a terribly useful or enduring road, either. The loofah mitt is designed to take the place of a washcloth or pouf and it is basically a glorified potholder with texture. There, I said it. This is basically a cotton mitten that has loofah fibers on the palm that one is supposed to use in the shower to clean.

I have nothing against the idea of a loofah mitt, but there are several problems with the execution of this particular idea. First, what does this product do right? The loofah mitt is basically a one-size-fits-all hygiene product. I have big hands and I have no problem fitting my hand into this mitt. So, it has that going for it. Even though the cotton seems to shrink with repeated use (I take very hot showers and the mitt is 100% cotton . . .), the mitt never stopped fitting.

As well, the loofah side is fairly abrasive. Up until the moment the product began falling apart, this was stiff, rough on the skin and seemed to do a good job of exfoliating medium-wear areas. I feared - before using this product - that it would essentially act like spaghetti; get it wet enough and it would simply go limp. That was not the case, though. This was very stiff constantly, which I think is what one wants from a loofah.

But therein starts the problems. The Smooth & Renew Loofah Mitt is poorly designed because it robs the hands not only of the fingers' dexterity, but of any real use of the hand as a useful appendage. The loofah is very stiff, which is what allows it to be abrasive to the skin, in essence acting like a Brillo pad on the skin. That's good. However, because it is so stiff and remains so stiff, the fingers cannot bend inward while wearing the mitt. This means that the loofah mitt is problematic to use around the more abrupt curves on the body. For example, cleaning around the ankles becomes a weird exercise in movement while wearing the smooth & renew mitt. Instead of being able to wash by wrapping the fingers around the ankle, the user is relegated to washing using a sanding motion up and down going around the ankle. Sigh.

Because the loofah is designed to be rinsed out, wrung out, and dried, the "grain" of the loofah mitt is maintained. After a few uses, I could bend my thumb in toward my palm (the loofah mitt does not prevent - in fact it encourages - a cupping motion of the hand) but this barely increased the functionality of the smooth and renew loofah mitt.

The loofah mitt is a weird middle ground as far as function as well. The loofah mitt is nowhere near as abrasive as a pumice stone, so it's not as good for taking care of the bottoms of feet or hand calluses. Conversely, it's way too abrasive to be comfortable on any remotely sensitive areas . . . . sigh. I understand that we want nice looking skin, but tearing up sensitive areas is not the way to do it. Added to that, this loofah mitt will tear off any scabs you might have and that's just not nice.

Why isn't this a complete wash of a product? Knees and elbows. As I've begun gardening for the season, its my knees and elbows where my skin suffers the most and within two showers with the loofah mitt's abrasive qualities, they become human again. The experience of exfoliating using the loofah mitt on the knees and elbows is not so delicate as to be ineffective nor so abrasive as to be overkill. It's just right for that function.

But . . . then it fell apart. After a month's use, the loofah side of the mitt began to break down. Once the first fibers of the loofah began to fall out, I only had a week before the product became useless. After the first fibers fell, it was less than a week before there were two holes in the loofah that were over an inch in diameter. The cotton mitt never gave out, nor did the stitching holding the loofah to the mitt, but it became disheartening to watch the thing fall apart and have to constantly clean up the shower drain. I tossed the mitt when I started finding loofah pieces in my hair (as opposed to vice versa).

Gardeners, I'd recommend this for use on your knees and elbows, but otherwise, I can't justify the expense when a washcloth with a good scrub ought to do what this sells itself to do.

For other health or beauty products, please check out my reviews of:
Burt's Bees Medicated Lip Balm
The Body Shop Strawberry Body Butter
Christmas Tree Vanilla Bean Noel soap

3/10

For other health and beauty product reviews, please check out my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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If Sass Smells Like Plastic, Sassy Strawberry Mint 3-In-1 Works. Otherwise...

The Good: Initial scent, Versatility, Success at cleaning all over
The Bad: Foul enduring scent, PRICE!
The Basics: A nasty scent condemns what could have been a great three-in-one to the lowest corners of health and beauty hell.


I am a huge fan of mint. I absolutely love all things mint and I am a bit of a fan of strawberry scented and flavored things as well. So, when Bath and Body Works had a chance to wow me with combining the two scents: strawberry and peppermint, I was very much there and ready to try the product. Unfortunately for me, I went to the store, tried to smell it there and then returned home to discover it was something very different from what I anticipated.

The product is Sassy Strawberry Mint 3-in-1, part of the Temptations line at Bath and Body Works. It is part of their three in one line that I have had mixed experiences with. This little experiment in olfactory stimulation rather rapidly turned unpleasant, though.

Sassy Strawberry Mint is poorly named for the named scent only lasts a brief moment. Then, there is the main scent. The initial scent is the pretty generic strawberry scent that we have all become conditioned to accept as the scent of a strawberry, followed by a slight hint of menthol from peppermint. This primary scent lasts about three seconds, enough to open the user up to the scent and idea of strawberries, then it sucker punches the user with the main scent. Unless "sassy" smells like burning plastic, this product is not living up to the expectations I had.

The second scent that comes out of the bottle is a throat-closing, acrid scent. Plastic and heat is all my mind registers it as. It's like my olfactory nerves register the strawberry, the hint of mint and then it's burning plastic bottles for the next two minutes. The scent is not pleasant and the only decent thing about this is that this main scent does not linger on the skin the way the prior 3-in-1s did.

I have long suspected there is little chemical difference between shampoo, body wash and bubble bath and this 3-in-1 product seems to confirm that. It is a body wash, a shampoo and a bubble bath all in one. Bath and Body Works charges $12 for a 16 oz. bottle of the product, at least when I bought it. Rather cleverly, the clearance section still had Strawberry Mint at $12, they just wanted people to know it's on the way out. And frankly, it's easy to see why by the scent! But more than that, as someone who lives on a very tight budget, it should be noted that this is the first Bath and Body Works product I have ever thrown out before using it in its entirety. That level of foul deserves to be noted.

As a shampoo, Strawberry Mint was fine to use, after the secondary scent dissipated. Despite the bulky shape of the bottle (I used it for over a week now and the only reason I didn't dropped it was that I got used to how to hold it from my prior product experience), the cap is a simple hinge spout that makes getting the product out very easy and getting the bottle closed equally easy. Not having to screw the cap on or off means it's easy to simply open and close with one hand while depositing a quantity into the other hand before putting it in your hair.

I have rather long hair and I found I had to use a whole palmful of the Strawberry Mint in order to get it to lather through all of my hair. Because there is only sixteen ounces in the bottle, the speed at which I went through the product at the first two days alarmed me some. I discovered that I could get away with using a little less than a palmful of the Strawberry Mint and diluting it a little in my palm before applying it to my hair and it stretched a little farther (hey, why not get the most out of it!?). If I hadn't tossed it, I'm sure I could have gotten two months of shampoo out of this bottle.

As a shampoo, Sassy Strawberry Mint cleaned my hair wonderfully with no residue. I have dry hair and the product did not dry it out more, nor leave a greasy residue. The result was very clean hair that smelled pretty neutral after I washed all of the three-in-one out! As well, the product did not dry out my scalp. The product is mild on the eyes, which I discovered when I got some of the lather in my eye. Fortunately, Sassy Strawberry Mint's scent dissipates.

As a body wash, Sassy Strawberry Mint is wonderful - as a cleanser, the scent is still rank - and possibly the best value from this product. I use a very discreet dollop of this 3-in-one when I am using it as a body wash. I'm rather tall and my "discreet dollop" is about the diameter of the hole in a compact disc. Applied to a washcloth, lufa or latex pouf, it lathered up quickly with such a small quantity. I've been using my lufa mitt and that lathers up with less than a quarter-sized dollop quite well and stretches for a full washing.

As a body wash, it worked very well, not drying out my skin at all. It appears to have gotten me clean and I noticed no adverse effects. After a week of using it as a body wash, I'm satisfied that it is getting me clean, not reacting to my skin (I do not have sensitive skin), and not causing any problems. I have cuts on my hands from work almost constantly and this was mild enough that it did not bother my wounds.

As a bubble bath, it was wonderful, as far as lathering and bubbling up. Unfortunately, it also scented the entire bathroom and upstairs of my house with a plastic smell. I can't remember the last time I let a whole tub of bathwater go down the drain, but I could not bring myself to soak in this! The suds that the 3-in-1 created as a bath were wonderful and ample, despite my using only one capful of the product in my bath (the directions recommend two to three). Fortunately, they all washed down the drain fine (I was worried it might gain a consciousness and come back up the drain, but it did not. Fortunately.).

Sassy Strawberry Mint is a mixed bag. It works at cleaning. However, the price is stifling and the scent is so terribly unpleasant that I cannot in good conscience recommend it. Bath And Body Works gets a lot of its products right, but this one is just not one of them. It's easy to see why this one might get discontinued. The novelty of it wears off quickly (unlike Cinnamon Bun Heaven, which I'm still looking for a year later!) and the main scent is just cripplingly bad.

Go for virtually anything else in the store before you try Sassy Strawberry Mint 3-in-1!

2/10

For other health and beauty products, please check out my index page!

© 2010, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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