Review & Giveaway: Happytails Spa from Vitacost.com

Today we are reviewing the services of Vitacost.com and two of the products they have to offer: Happytails Spa’s Sleepytime Tonic and Happytails Spa’s Fur Butter.

 photo 0ef3f4d3-e784-403c-90ca-8d35b588695a.jpg

Vitacost.com is an online store where you can buy discount vitamins and other health care supplies for yourself and your pet! They have a large variety of brands to offer and excellent customer service.
Our package arrived in an adequate amount of time and the box it came in even had a recipe for gluten free cookies on it, neat! However, it was a rather large box for the two little items I had and they were both just freely rolling around in it. Both my items were in good shape regardless, nothing broken and nothing open. When I asked them about it, I was assured that they otherwise package their products very well.

Vitacost.com is easy to navigate, they have a large variety of brands to choose from and great prices.

 photo FurButter227px.jpg photo 1207fa0c-0d05-4f28-80e4-48c89eb990dd.jpg
(image source: Happytails Spa)

Now we are already long time fans of the Happytails Spa products, especially their Fur Butter, a deep conditioner. That stuff is pure magic for Lassie and Petal’s coats.
As you probably know, Petal recently had a bath. She was covered in dirt and debris from outside. Like foxtails, dreaded foxtails. We really hate those itchy, sharp little nasties. In the past I’ve never really used the Fur Butter on Petal, who is already fairly easy to brush, but this last bath I did. While she did not enjoy standing in the tub for ten minutes while it worked it’s magic (for best results, you must leave the Fur Butter in their fur for 5-10 minutes before rinsing, and it really does make a difference), I however greatly enjoyed that the Fur Butter did some of the work for me. The majority of the foxtails rinsed right out of her fur as I rinsed out the Fur Butter and what remained was easily brushed out as I blow dried her. So much easier than usual.
I’ve already been a long time lover of Fur Butter when it comes to Lassie. It makes him so soft and so much easier to brush. It’s amazing for any stubborn tangles. Love it, love it, love it.

 photo bb27b8c4-f435-4f0b-83c2-2e5aa0cea213.jpg 
Lassie after yesterday’s bath.

Being a conditioner it doesn’t suds up as you rub it in, but you can feel it, so it’s easy to feel where you have and haven’t applied it. As you rinse it out, it suds/bubbles up a bit which is really convenient for knowing where you’ve rinsed it all out and where you haven’t.
It works best on long coats, from my experience. I used it once on Ella and while it did make her a tad softer, it felt pointless to use it on her short coat. I never use it on her again and I wouldn’t use it on Penny, simply because there is no real need.
While it smells amazing while using it, the scent seems to get rinsed out for the most part. But at least it smelled great while you worked and my dogs do smell good afterwards, just not as great as, let’s say, opening the container and taking a whiff (yes, I have been know to do this often. It smells incredible, okay? ;P).

 photo 220ef00e-8a2c-4f74-96e7-51155f0999c0.jpg

While I’ve been a fan of Fur Butter for awhile, I had never tried the Sleepytime Tonic before now.
Sleepytime Tonic is a herbal remedy made to calm nervous, anxious or over active dogs without making them sleepy. I’ve looked into it many times for Lassie’s fear of thunder and fireworks and for Ella’s general nervousness, but I never got around to actually buying a bottle of it. So I was pretty excited to finally try this stuff. Especially since Penny has put Ella to shame as far as the constant nervous energy goes.
Penny goes bonkers whenever it’s feeding time. For anyone. The cats, the humans, but especially when it’s her own feeding time. She literally screams and cries and barks. We have to put her in a crate while we dish the food out or else she’ll just go crazy running and pacing and jumping anxiously around the family room. I thought with time she would get over it, and maybe she still will, but she has been with us for months now and there was no improvement before Sleepytime Tonic. I’ve noticed some improvement since using it.
Sleepytime Tonic can be used twice daily or as needed. Penny has been getting it twice daily for past three weeks (tomorrow will mark 3 weeks). Petal gets some only when she needs it. The amount you give is based on the weight of your dog.
It seems to work best if I give it to Penny 20-30 minutes before feedings, directly in her mouth. Luckily she will eat anything, so she happily allows me to squirt some in her mouth with the dropper. At first I was hiding it in her food, thinking that would be easier, but as the bottle says, it does work best if put directly in their mouth.
Penny still cries at feeding time, but it’s not as bad and her frenzy is not as intense. I went a weekend without it just to see and I noticed she was much more tense and desperate. 
I know I’ve mentioned before that Petal has a fear of popping gum and my sister has a gum popping addiction. Not a great combo. Petal paces, pants, and crawls on top of or behind me or any place she feels she can hide. I was really hoping Sleepytime Tonic would help her with this. She won’t happily take it like Penny will, but she doesn’t fight me when I lift her lip and squirt it in her mouth. Before I would hide her under a blanket and rub her, which would sometimes help. That combined with the Sleepytime Tonic was excellent. It worked so well and pretty quickly too. I was very happy with the results and as the bottle says, it didn’t put her or Penny to sleep. It just aided in calming them down.

 photo a9f3367e-0015-43d0-97d8-e97b5b129893.jpg
“She’s lying. Nothing scares me.”

I didn’t get a chance to try it on Lassie (no thunder or fireworks since the arrival of Sleepytime Tonic), but I think it may be just the trick.

While Sleepytime Tonic wasn’t the cure-all for Penny (I wasn’t expecting it to be either) it has helped. As for Petal, it has helped her a lot, which I am very grateful for!

Overall, I give Vitacost.com 4 1/2 out of 5 hearts for their easy to navigate website, great prices and their kind customer service. I docked half a point for the packaging, but only half since it seems to have been just a fluke.
 photo heartrating2.png photo heartrating2.png photo heartrating2.png photo heartrating2.png photo halfheartrate2.png

I give Fur Butter a million 5 hearts for effectiveness (and it’s incredible scent ;)).
 photo heartrating2.png photo heartrating2.png photo heartrating2.png photo heartrating2.png photo heartrating2.png

And 4 hearts for Sleepytime Tonic’s effectiveness.
  photo heartrating2.png photo heartrating2.png photo heartrating2.png photo heartrating2.png

Now how about a giveaway?
Interested in getting some great products from Vitacost? Maybe your pooch is in need of some shampoo or treats. Or maybe you’re in need for some health care products. Whatever your need may be, you can enter to win a $25 gift card for Vitacost.com!
The winner will be announced here on the blog within 48 hours after the giveaway ends, so be sure to check back! This giveaway is open to US residents only. You only have to do the two mandatory things to enter. The others are all optional, but they will earn you more entries if you do them.
Enter here to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! 😉

Discloser: I was sent 1 (one) bottle of Sleepytime Tonic and 1 (one) container of Fur Butter, free of charge, from Vitacost in exchange for an honest review. I was not otherwise compensated for this review. All opinions expressed here are my own and based on my experience with the products and with Vitacost.

Review: Maqnifiscent Grooming and Finishing Splash

 photo cottoncandy4_summer2013.png

It’s summer time, a time for swimming and carnivals and cotton candy.
Delicious cotton candy.

 photo cottoncandyy_summer2013.png

I don’t know about you, but I think cotton candy smells amazing. So sweet and pleasant.
More things should smell like cotton candy.
For example, Collies.
Collies should smell like cotton candy.

Today we’re reviewing Maqnifiscent Grooming and Finishing Splash in the Cotton Candy scent.
Yes, my dogs smell like cotton candy.

 photo cottoncandy3_summer2013.png

Maqnifiscent Grooming and Finishing Splash comes in many different unique scents such as Dark Chocolate, Raspberry Bubble Gum, Pina Colada and others. They even offer custom* fragrances!

 photo cottoncandymaqnifiscent.png

Here’s what they have to say about their product:
“Maqnifiscent Grooming & Finishing Splash is a non-toxic multi-purpose unisex formula that has been designed to keep your pet and home smelling Maqnifiscent. This product instantly eliminates odors and conditions and detangles your pet’s coat while keeping your loved one fresh between baths.  Our preparation contains a long-lasting, non-sticky, first of its kind, scratch-n-smell formula that is immediately reactivated when you comfort your pet or they rub themselves.  All of our fragrances are alcohol and paraben free. It can be used as often as necessary.”
You can read a little more about the company here.

 photo cottoncandysplash.png
Made in the USA! Yay!

When I was first contacted about this product I had my doubts about it’s scratch-n-smell ability. I was worried about what would go into this bottle to give it such an ability. But according to their FAQ page all their splashes are made up of “… a food-grade based gelatin, water, and Virgin Coconut Oil which conditions the skin while keeping the coat shiny.”

Sounds good to me!
And guess what?
It works. And it really does smell like cotton candy. I crave it every time I spray it.
I sprayed some on Petal’s back, chest, each side, and back end and rubbed it in. Probably didn’t need that much, I went a little crazy with it. But it made her smell wonderful and it lasted for several days, nearly a week, even after being rolled through the dirt by Penny. Several times.
And it really does work like a scratch and sniff!
One day my sister buried her face in Petal’s hair and claimed she couldn’t smell the cotton candy. I told her to try petting her a little first. She looked at me like I was insane. “What is she, a scratch and sniff?”
I smirked, we were about to find out, “Just try it!”
She did and her eyes were rather wide when it actually worked.
The more you pet Petal the more she smells like cotton candy.
Love. It.
While the bottle claims that it works best on short haired dogs, it seemed to last longer on Lassie and Petal than it did on Penny. The spray lasted 5-7 days on both Petal and Lassie, but on Penny it only seems to last about 2-3 days. I really feel that that may have something to do with the fact that she hates to be sprayed with anything. So while Lassie and Petal get 3-4 spritz on various parts of their body, Penny gets 1 or even just half a spritz before she runs off. It’s too bad, because she needs it the most if you ask me. Smelly dog.
 photo pennysmelly.png
“I resent that. I do not smell.”

Regardless of that, it is the most effective dog body splash I have ever used on my dogs. It’s also the best smelling one and the most cost effective one, too. I’ve had previous sprays that were $9.99 or more for a tiny little 2 or 4 ounce bottle. This bottle was a very impressive size at 8 fl. oz. for $12.99 and a little goes a long way so I think it’s going to last us a good long time.

We give Maqnifiscent Grooming and Finishing Splash 5 out of 5 hearts for their wonderful cotton candy fragrance and effectiveness.
 photo heartrating2.png photo heartrating2.png photo heartrating2.png photo heartrating2.png photo heartrating2.png

4 hearts for their excellent prices.
 photo heartrating2.png photo heartrating2.png photo heartrating2.png photo heartrating2.png

And the dogs give it 4 out of 4 paws up for being gentle on their skin and not sticky in their fur.
 photo pawprintrating2.png photo pawprintrating2.png photo pawprintrating2.png photo pawprintrating2.png

We really love this spray. Go check them out here and tell them we sent you! 😉

*When ordering custom fragrances, they require that you order two bottles minimum.

Discloser: I was sent one bottle of Maqnifiscent Grooming and Finishing Splash free of charge for review. I was not paid or otherwise encouraged to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own based on my experience with the product.

All groomed and handsome

Wednesday I spent hours and hours brushing, bathing, drying and then brushing again.
It took me allll day (thanks to the few occasional breaks), but it was worth it.
Because now I have a super soft and super handsome Collie.
Photobucket
He was really patient through some of it and reallyyy whiny at other times. Like I was killing him or something. But then when we were all done, he was so proud and pranced around the house showing off his lovely coat.
We used a large slicker brush, a pin brush, a undercoat rake, a scrub brush, two towels, a bathtub, a blow dryer, a grooming table (thank goodness for that back-saver) and shampoo and conditioner from Happytails.

And simply because I’m in love with their products, I’m going to ramble about them for a moment.

Here, have a picture, because pictures are great.

Photobucket
Sparkle and Shine shampoo (I always dilute it in water for Lassie) and their deep conditioning Fur Butter.
I love Fur Butter.
It smells so amazing that sometimes I open it up just to smell it.
It makes Lassie’s fur so soft and it helps a great deal with tangles.
And it smells amazing
And a little goes a very long way which is always nice, especially with a big and super furry dog like Lassie. 
One of the best things I’ve ever bought for Lassie. I bought it months ago and still have more than half of the container left. I bought the shampoo at the same time and have about half of it left. They last much longer then they look like they would, gotta love that.
And it smells amazing.
Did I mention that?

P.S. The very next day, after I spent all those hours grooming him, Lassie stuck his head in the trash and came out with chili around his eyes. Lovely.

Photobucket