Share Woolite® Extra Dark Care with Your Friends!

Share Woolite® Extra Dark Care with Your Friends!

As I opened the sample and poured the Woolite Extra Dark Care into the washing machine to SAVE my favorite jeans, I thought WOW this detergent smells great! That is always one of my top criteria so we can check that box for one of the things Woolite Extra Dark Care has going for it. So far we are off to a good start!

Woolite Extra Dark Care preparing to SAVE my favorite jeans!

You may be asking yourself, why are there no pictures of friends???? Let me explain.....

My jeans are off to a good start now that the samples are here, but getting the samples was a bit of a struggle. I signed up for the sample and share in June 2012 and had started to plan my party around 4^th of July when I knew I would have a lot of friends over for a big party. I also had two baby showers in July and figured that would be a great opportunity to share samples with some of the busy moms. Unfortunately things do not always go as planned and I received the samples on August 16, 2012…..just 4 days before my report is due.

Timing is not great because my besties are both out of town on vacation and my co-worker I had hoped would help is on work travel until the end of August. I gave samples to some friends but I doubt I will get any feedback from them before the report is due on the 20th. With so many friends out of town, a "wash your jeans" party is pretty much out of the picture as well. 

Despite this setback, I am going to try to be creative and try the Woolite product on both mine and my husband's jeans. He is very particular about how his jeans are washed so he will be a great critic of the woolite product. Rather than stop there I plan to also wash some of our work clothes that we might normally dry clean. Since some people will want to try this product on more than just jeans (i.e. all of their laundry) I plan to also wash workout clothes, whites, and other household items to see how well the Woolite extra dark care holds up. I know this plan is in not the true spirit of what the sample and share was about but I feel I am doing the best I can with the 4 day window I have to complete the action and the report. Considering the challenges to get the samples out to us crowdtappers, I hope Crowdtap and Woolite feel that my effort is time well spent!

Jeans

This is the main event for the sample and share so I wanted to get as many colors and types as possible. My husband’s are both darker with nice stitching on the back pocket. It is crucial that there be no fading and especially no destruction of the stitching. Let’s see the before and after to see if the jeans were saved!

Husband’s Jeans Before	Husband’s Jeans After

I’m not sure if I just took a way better after picture but the jeans definitely look

“brighter” and the color looks “richer”. The awesome scent from the detergent did not come through like I hoped but that is really not a big deal (especially to my husband). The jeans came out of the dryer feeling soft and most important….in one piece! The stitching was not damaged and the jeans look GREAT! So far I am a happy camper! My husband was pleased as well!

I am not as picky with my jeans as my husband, but I definitely do not want my jeans to fade or tear when I wash them. More importantly, I always hang my jeans out to try and HATE that stiff “crunchy” feeling jeans get. I am hoping Woolite Extra Dark Care will fix that problem. Let’s go to the before and after pictures and see how my jeans held out from the wash.

My Jeans Before	My Jeans After

I air dried my jeans all day and unfortunately they had some of that stiff feeling I was hoping would not happen. I guess that is just part of air drying clothes. To solve this problem I put the jeans in the dryer for 10 minutes on Air Fluff mode. There is no heat so jeans don't shrink. Once I did this the jeans were soft and ready to wear. Despite the minor setback with the stiffness from air drying, my jeans all looked great! Similar to my husband's jeans, I feel the color was brighter as if a little life was put back in my jeans. Nice job Woolite!

Work Clothes

Having a product to wash jeans safely without fear of destruction is GREAT. However, why not also use that same product for sensitive work clothes that might normally go to the dry cleaner (where I already spend too much money!). I took some of my husband’s work shirts, my work pants and work capris, one of my favorite delicate work shirts, and a work dress. Let’s look at the before and after to see how Woolite Extra Dark Care did.

Works Shirts Before	Work Shirts After

The color of both shirts stayed true and I was pleased with the results of the wash. We have had bad luck with my husband's work shirts being ruined in the dryer so I always air dry work shirts. The shirts were a bit stiff after air drying but that is nothing a few minutes on air fluff mode in the dryer will not cure.

Work Pants Before	Work Pants After

These are my favorite black slacks and black capris that I wear to work so I always air dry to prevent damage in the dryer. Like my jeans, these were a bit stiff but the 10 minutes on Air Fluff mode in the dryer did the trick. It is hard to see in the After picture above, but I think the color of my slacks looked better after the wash. My capris were already a bit faded but the color stayed the same after the wash in Woolite Extra Dark Care.....at least I can prevent any future fading! Another thing I noticed is that no detergent residue was left behind. This has been a big problem with other detergents on both my black slacks and some darker work shirts. I was really pleased to see that Woolite Extra Dark Care did not leave this residue behind.....another point for Woolite!

Delicate Work Shirt Before	Delicate Work Shirt After

Looks perfect! All stitching remained in place, there are no tears, and I did not have to take this shirt to the dry cleaner to get it clean! 

Work Dress Before	Work Dress After

This was another item that I thought looked brighter after a wash and I was really pleased that this one did not feel stiff after air drying. The bonus of air drying is that my dress kept some of the great scent of the detergent.

Workout Clothes

I am a bit of a gym rat and I want to look good while I workout so I thought I would try Woolite Extra Dark Care of my favorite workout gear as well. Let’s check out before and after.

 Woolite Extra Dark Care tackling my favorite gym clothes!

Workout Outfit #1 Before	Workout Outfit #1 After

Workout Outfit #2 Before	Workout Outfit #2 After

The material of my workout clothes is pretty hard to destroy so usually any detergent will work. However, I am glad to see that Woolite Extra Care does a good job with all of my favorite workout gear as well as jeans. 

 

White Clothes

I know that the name of this product is EXTRA DARK CARE but let's say I am lazy and do not feel like having more than one detergent in the house. I am on a roll here so I washed some of my white cotton tanks and t-shirts. Let’s look at the pictures to see if Woolite Extra Dark Care can take on whites!

White Tanks Before	White Tanks After

White T-Shirts Before	White T-Shirts After

Call me crazy but I  think the whites looked brighter after the wash! It sounds funny to say that a detergent for Extra Dark clothes would brighten whites but it did! I'm impressed. Note: I used one sample of the Woolite Extra Dark Care detergent on a Warm setting. I did NOT add any bleach.

Final Thoughts

As frustrating as getting the samples was, I am happy that I was able to sample this new detergent and share with my jeans loving friends a way to stop destroying their denim! I know the intent of this event was to get feedback from friends, but I think I took the challenge and met it in my own unique way. By using the product on a variety of different clothes and other laundry, I feel I have shown the strengths and weaknesses of the product. I feel Woolite Extra Dark Care is a great detergent working best with dark colors (as advertised) but also working well for all laundry needs. The scent is fantastic! Maybe Woolite should consider putting this same scent into a fabric softener if one does not already exist.

OK.....that is enough blogging for today. I am off to Target to use my coupon to get my bottle of Woolite Extra Dark Care!

Get Stoked for Summer with Old Navy Shorts!

I was definitely STOKED when I got into this sample and share opportunity!! I am a BIG fan of summer living in San Diego and was excited to get a new pair of cute shorts. I already have several pair of Old Navy denim shorts and also a pair of bermudas. I was already confident that Old Navy would have options that fit me well, but I was hoping to get something very colorful and bright to add to my collection. Old Navy did not disappoint!

I brought the same girlfriend who came to the dress sample and share with me to check out the new shorts collection. We were super excited about the 3 1/2 inch canvas printed shorts and I think we tried on every color and pattern we could find in the store! Check out some of the pictures:

Option 1 - Caspian Sea Blue

Option 2 - Bright Rose

Option 3 - Black Floral

Option 4 - Patchwork Blue

I really like the fit and the patterns and all 4 were super fun but my top 2 picks were the Blue Caspian (option 1) and Black Floral (option 3). I had a tough time deciding but my friend thought the Blue Caspian looked best.....probably because it matched the shirt and cardigan I was wearing very well. Maybe I should wear a more neutral color (black or white) next time I try on clothes!

Before I could make my final decision I had to try on some denim and the neon pinksycle was calling my name! This HOT pink definitely brought me back to the neon fad of my youth in the 80s! I know I rocked this color back then but after I tried them on I quickly realized that neon pink is a thing of my past....not present. However, this gave both me and my girlfriend a good laugh.

Neon Pinksycle Denim Short

Maybe if I were a bit younger I could pull off the more trendy look so I put these in the no pile.

We made our final choices and headed back to my place for an afternoon BBQ. What a perfect opportunity to take some pictures in our cute new shorts!

We both giggle telling my husband (a.k.a. my photographer) about the crazy bright neon pink shorts. He laughs when I show him the picture and remembers all the crazy neon in the 80s as well. He agrees that the neon option was not for me and he likes the patchwork shorts that I picked.

My friend and I both agreed that the shorts fit great and we really liked the fun colors we selected. I think we will both be going back during the memorial day sale to get another pair....or two!

Thanks again to Crowdtap and Old Navy for the sample and share opportunity! I have already worn my new pair of shorts to another BBQ and can see these being a go-to pair for the summer!

Old Navy Dresses - Part 2!

I was so excited about the dress that I picked during the sample and share that I came back during a couple of Old Navy sales and bought 2 more dresses. I picked one for a wedding and another for a wine tasting bachelorette party. Here are some pictures of both events:

Wedding (April 21, 2012):

I thought the bright blue color and floral pattern were perfect for a spring wedding and I got a lot of compliments on the dress. Apparently one of the drunk guests liked it too and decided to ruin our cute picture (see the dufus sticking his arm in the first pic). You cannot see in the picture but I also picked a pair of cute shoes from Old Navy to complete the look.


Bachelorette (April 29, 2012):

I took advantage of another Old Navy sale and got the Mexicali Teal dress for $8!!! You can see me in the middle in the first picture and second person in on the right in the second picture. I paired with a white short cami for a super cute look. Again, I received a lot of compliments on the dress and the shoes (which you can see better in these photos. I told everyone about the great deals at Old Navy and that they should go check them out!!

I also have a follow up picture of my original sample and share dress purchase. I went to Phoenix for Cinco de Mayo and finally got to wear my cute sleeveless ruffle dress!!!

I am the second one in on the left side. See how perfect my dress looks with our festive sombreros!! It was also super light and comfortable in the high 90s heat of the Arizona desert. Again, a great pick for summer and I can't wait to wear it again!

Thank you to Crowdtap for giving me the sample and share experience. Now I have several FUN dresses for the summer!

Get Dolled Up in Old Navy Dresses!

My first sample and share was in February 2012 for a free Old Navy dress. I was really excited about this opportunity because I needed a new dress (or a few) for the upcoming spring and summer months. I had a Mexican vacation planned for April so I really wanted to find something fun to bring on that trip. I knew my girlfriend was going to St. Croix for vacation in March so I figured she would be perfect to give the other coupon and go shopping with.

We had to kind of rush the shopping experience and in hindsight I wish we would have taken pictures of each of the dresses we tried on. For example, we were both super excited to try on one of the new Maxi dresses. Unfortunately the dress fit us both terribly in the upper body and it might have been good to show a picture as part of the feedback in my report. I did my best to describe but a picture is worth 1000 words!

After a few misses we ended up selecting a couple really fun dresses. I like the bright color and pattern of the dress I chose (Ruffled Crepe Tube Dresses). I also liked the ruffles on top which gives the dresses a super feminine flare.  Check out the pictures of us looking super cute! I was hoping for a nice day to take a few pictures outside but the weather did not cooperate.

 

I had such a good experience with the Old Navy dresses that I went back and bought a couple more dresses that I tried on: Floral Chiffon Keyhole Dress and Printed Wrap Dress in black jack print. I have worn them both several times to work and have got a lot of compliments. I wore the chiffon dress to a wedding last night and got a lot of compliments there as well. I am always excited to tell people that I got the dresses as Old Navy and they were both a GREAT deal!


Unfortunately my Mexican vacation was very cold and rainy so I still have not worn my free dress shown in the pictures. I have a bachelorette wine tasting party coming up next weekend so I hope the weather will cooperate for me to wear the dress then. I think this dress will get a lot of good use in the summer months to come. I can't wait!

Background - Why I'm starting this blog

I am a newbie to blogging so bear with me as I get the hang of how this works. I never thought of myself as a blogger but I recently became a crowdtap member and noticed that many of the other members have a blog.

For those that don't know about crowdtap, they are a marketing company that use people like me and you to provide thoughts and information on a variety of products via survey type "quick hits", focus discussions, sample and share, and hosted party events. Check out their web page for more information on their mission http://crowdtap.it/about-us/.

I received an email from Old Navy to join with the promise of getting free product samples.....twist my arm! My husband thought I was crazy and wasting time but after putting some time into it I am finally getting selected for sample and share (i.e. get a free product and tells us about it).

My first sample and share was a dress from Old Navy. I received one coupon for me and one for a friend in the mail. After picking out the free dress, I filled out the required report and posted a couple pics of me and my girlfriend in our cute new dresses. I got an excellent report which I thought was awesome for my first time. However, I think I can do better and I think starting a blog about the sample and share experience might be my ticket to a top report!

The reports have a character limitation so I was limited in what I could say in response to the questions. Blogging about each experience will allow me unlimited characters to say exactly what is on my mind. My plan is to write a blog post about each experience and post pictures of all the items we try on. I will blog first so this will help me focus on the points I really want to get across in the final report. I believe top reports can get cash awards so I really hope this plan works. Wish me luck!