Sand Gone Review/Giveaway! Ends Aug 22!

Congrats to quiet ct! I think you'll be happy with this. It smells so yummy! Please watch for my email.

Are you planning a trip to the beach soon? Do you live near a beach, or do you frequently visit one? If so, you're probably sick of that irritating feeling of sand plastered all over your body. Sand Gone generously sent me a 12 oz Family Sized container of their all natural powder to test out, & is offering one lucky reader a 12 oz Family Size as well! The giveaway ends on August 22, 2011 at 12 Noon CST. As usual, the Giveaway details will be at the bottom of the Review.

Don't forget to enter to win an itti bitti d'lish SIO Diaper! There's still time. The giveaway ends Aug 11, 2011 at 12 Noon CST.

About The Product:

Tiffany Smith is a Mom of 2, who spent a lot of time at the beach with her children. She grew tired of using water to wash the sand off her kids, so formulated a powder that became known as Sand Gone.

Sand Gone is made from all natural products. It contains vegetable starch, plant starches, & fragrance.

Sand Gone is available for purchase on their website. You can pay securely with Paypal. You can purchase an 8 oz Family Size for $12.95 plus shipping. She also sells a Sand Gone Beach Bag, with all kinds of goodies in it: an 8 oz Family Size, a 2 oz individual size, Almond Coconut Soap, & display bag. The Beach bag currently sells for $26.00 plus shipping.

My family finally made it to the beach this past week! I love the beach & Summer just isn't complete without it. Nothing says Summer like the smell of the ocean, the feel of sand between your toes, & the sound of waves & seagulls. However, as much as I love the beach I do not enjoy the feel of sand stuck to my body on the drive home. It seems like no matter how much you rinse off with water, towel it off, or try to brush it off with your hands it just lingers in the most uncomfortable way!

About a week ago I received a sample of Sand Gone. It's said to be perfect for beach goers. It claimed to remove sand with a dry body powder, leaving your skin clean & soft. I thought it sounded too good to be true, but couldn't wait to test it! I'll admit to being skeptical.

I live in a suburb of New Orleans, & have grown up going to the beach every Summer - Grand Isle (pre BP Oil Spill), Biloxi, Ship Island, Florida, & now Alabama. All are within driving distance to me.

I'd always heard how clean & beautiful AL beaches were, & that they rivalled FL beaches. Since I have a 5 month old baby that I'm nursing every 2 hrs, I wanted to keep the car drive reasonable, but I also wanted to go to a clean beach that was as far away from last year's oil spill as possible. Let me just give a shout out to Cotton Bayou Beach in Orange Beach AL. It was BEAUTIFUL, & well worth the 4 hr drive to get there!

My Experience:

We spent several hours on the beach & in the water, but before we knew it the time had flown by. It was time to hit the road. We had to walk about 25 yards across the beach to get to the pier that led to the parking lot, flip flops sending sand up the back of our wet legs. We had a pretty decent amount of sand on us by the time we reached the parking lot. My 13 year old daughter used the outdoor public shower to attempt to wash her sand off. I used the Sand Gone. My husband multi tasked by holding the baby while shooting video of me using the Sand Gone. Later he used the towel to try to remove his sand. Out of the 3 of us, I definitely fared the best. Unfortunately, they were too shy to let me take pictures or shoot video of them! However, I can tell you that when we arrived home at 9:00 that night, they both couldn't wait to jump in the shower to wash the sand off! On the other hand, I was too tired & waited until the morning to shower - that's how well this product worked!

It's hard to see the sugar white sand on my feet & legs, but I did my best to show you.

When I opened the container of Sand Gone, the very first thing I noticed was the lovely tropical scent of coconuts! It smelled so good! There was a powder puff inside to apply the Sand Gone to the sandy areas with a brushing/sweeping motion. I used it in the exact same way that I would normally use my hand or towel to attempt to brush the sand off with, dipping the powder puff into the coconut scented powder often. I started off using the powder sparingly, but quickly learned not to be shy about really digging into the powder. I could see the sand flying off of my skin with each sweep. I didn't feel like I was rubbing my skin raw with sand paper, which is how I usually feel when trying to brush off sand with a towel or my hand. Instead, the Sand Gone went on smoothly & gently. All I felt was the powder & powder puff. As stated earlier, I did use the powder very generously because I found that worked best.

Here are the after pics. The white that you see near my toes in the bottom pic is the Sand Gone powder.

My hubby attempted to video me using the product. I apologize in advance for not resembling anything near a swimsuit model! The most important thing is to watch the sand flying off of me! You'll see it as little sparkly flecks. You will hear my know it all 13 year old in the background doubting that it works (gotta love teens!). However, you will literally see the sand flying off of me - especially on the 2nd leg.

Video of me testing Sand Gone

I think the video speaks volumes! However, if you're still skeptical, you can check out the videos on Sand Gone's website.

This will be a permanent part of my beach bag from now on!

Pros:

1) Smells delicious! I would use this powder any time - not just at the beach! I've been tempted to use it after baths except that the powder now has sand in it (as you would expect it to).

2) It works! I found that it removed much more sand than any other method.

3) It leaves your skin feeling so soft, & leaves a lovely tropical scent of coconuts.

4) Is a pleasant & relaxing way to remove sand. You feel like you're pampering yourself.

Cons:

1) This isn't really a con, but something I want to mention to my readers to make using the product easier for you. I think some people might try to put it on sparingly. I was guilty of that myself at first, but quickly learned that it was more effective to really dig into the powder with the powder puff.

2) I suppose some people might find ordering it online to be a con, though this doesn't bother me in the least! I tend to do most of my shopping online, but some people are a little afraid of making payments online (mostly people in a more advanced age group). Paypal is a very secure way to make payments!!!!!

3) It does take some time to rub yourself down with the powder puff, but honestly so does any other method of sand removal. I don't think there's a quick fix to getting rid of sand. :o) Besides, I found it to be pleasant & relaxing. It was so soft & smelled so good!

There you have it! I don't think there are really any cons to Sand Gone at all! If you're planning a trip to the beach, or frequently visit beaches, I highly recommend this product!

The Giveaway:

This is open to both new & existing readers. However, if you're already following me you still need to comment to let me know. This is for residents of the USA who are 18 & older only. Please play fair & enter with only one email addy. You have the opportunity to enter 6 times by completing the tasks & commenting with your name & email addy. However, the 1st task is mandatory for all entries! I will be checking to make sure that all tasks have been completed, & if they haven't the comment will be deleted. The drawing will be on August 22, 2011 at 12 Noon CST. I will use random.org to select the winner.

Mandatory Task

1) Follow me publicly with GFC. Comment with your name & email addy letting me know that you've done so. This applies to those who are already following me as well. :o)

Extra Entries

2) Subscribe via email & comment with your name & email addy.

3) Follow me on Twitter (@heartnbutterfly) & comment with your Twitter ID, name, & email addy.

4) Tweet about this Giveaway. Include the link to your Tweet, name, & email addy in your comment.

5) Follow @SANDGONE on Twitter. Comment with your Twitter ID, name, & email addy after doing so.

6) Like Sand Gone on Facebook. Post a thank you for the Giveaway on their wall & tell them that my blog sent you. Please comment with your Facebook name & email addy letting me know that you've done so.

Good luck!