Treat for my Teeth - the Oral-B Genius 9000 Smart toothbrush

A DHL truck outside my house can only mean one thing, well two actually; either I have forgotten about something that I have ordered online or the wonderful people at BrAun have be kind enough to send me to try out.  So always willing and able here I go!

Since I am still only on week 11 of the initial 12 week course using their Silk Expert IPL Hair Removal system and Sonic Body Exfoliator (still to write a blog post on the overall results of using the system after after 12 weeks about that keep following) I am super lucky to have been chosen to tooth-test the new Oral-B Genius 9000 before it goes on sale!  So see it here first folks.  


The box contains a mixture of familiar and unfamiliar pieces.  This is my third Oral-B electric toothbrush I am pleased to find the the unit is lighter than my current Triumph model.  The new black body is also sleeker and looks much cooler than the old white ones associated with the brand (though for those of you that prefer white it will be an option on this model).

New features are the bits that I like to get my teeth into (excuse the pun!).  So we have a mobile phone holder and bluetooth connectivity icon on unit.   This readers can only mean one thing to tech geeks - this is a Smart toothbrush and we need an APP!  

I presumed that scanning the QR tag in the instruction booklet would take me straight to the app in the appstore, this however is not the case it took me to Product registration - which needs to be done as this will extend your guarantee but this model isn't there yet! To find the app I had to do a traditional search and hope that I am downloading the right one. Bearing in mind that this product is not on sale yet so perhaps this will change.

Unboxing video!

App downloaded.  Toothbrush unit needs to charge.  The nice touch with this model is that you can either mount it on the traditional vertical stand or inside the Smart Travel Case which charges the toothbrush and mobile phone!  I am going to be trying out the latter.

I will then need to pair my phone to the toothbrush and this can't be done while its charging so that's all for now folks!  Check back later for more!

A little time later...... its all charged and ready to go!  I unfortunately made a little video because this is more of a show and tell gadget (apologies in advance as this is clearly NOT my day job!).  In summary nice lightweight unit which feels good to hold and is the same size but lighter than previous models.  Some older brush heads are compatible and will fit on the top and the app once you have positioned the phone correctly seems to work well

but needs a little practice.

Pros buying the new Genius 9000:

• The lightweight handle
• The Smart Travel Case with inbuilt charging for toothbrush and phone!
• Easy to pair phone with toothbrush
• The app reminding me to use my mouthwash and clean my tongue
• The feel after you have finished cleaning your teeth - definitely more effective leaving that smooth feeling
• The 'oh so pretty' personalised 360 degree LED colour ring

So far so good!  I'll be back with more updates in a few days!

14/06/16 - UPDATE
Err.....The app is REALLY annoying.  I hope they refine it before they release but I am unsure what they can do to make it better.  The technology needs work I think it just can't accurately tell where I am brushing so sometimes takes twice as long because you have to hold it in the same place for ages in order for the app to pick up on it.  Being a Mum as well I sometimes want to just 'brush my teeth' - that was the beauty of the Smart Meter, it just quietly sat in the bathroom and would automatically count down as soon as you started your toothbrush.  No phone to find, then unlock, then open the app, then make sure the app sees the brush, then confirm the prompts, then brush your teeth which when you have precious time before the next fight or 'Mum' request is so important.  I don't want teeth brushing to start becoming another thing I need to maintain the app needs to make the process easier not more complex.

The toothbrush itself is great though and you can feel that you get a really great clean.  It will be the first electric toothbrush I take on holiday I think this year I am so enamored - despite the failings of the app.

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Bedroom Makeover with Walltastic Disney Collages

I know I promised to update you on my holiday purchases and that post will come, in the meantime I decided to dive in and FINALLY decorate the boys' bedroom yesterday which up until now has been a sea of neutral paint.  We moved here late last year and whilst I have had the ideas all lined up it was, as is often the case, a real lack of motivation and time that was holding me back from making them a fab bedroom.  Not to mention the weather.  We needed a sunny day to ensure speeding drying to deter the boys from peeling before bedtime!  

Anyway, the weather was right and Walltastic Disney Collage was the answer! So, what are they all about?  Well, 64 sheets of Disney characters in a box in either a blue or pink background.  We went for the blue set which comes with the Disney pictures, a small instruction booklet and a pouch of enough wallpaper paste to make seven litres (I used a fraction of it!).

What I like about them:

• I'm not a decorator and found the slightly larger than A4 sized sheets were less intimidating and required significantly less set up than normally wallpaper 
• The variety of characters, and there are loads, 78 as quoted by the box, this means that when the time comes that they no longer go loopy for the Lion King there are plenty more characters to choose from.  
• No arguments; one loves Olaf, the other Nemo? No problem they are both on the wall!
• If they get ruined or damaged you can just replace the one sheet without having to redecorate the whole room

I decided to write this post after I had finished because I really was unsure at how the whole thing would pan out but trust me readers - it was easy.  Done in two stages in a little over two hours.  

Equipment:

• One bucket to mix the paste in
• A stick to mix the paste (once you add the water its ready in 90 seconds
• A smaller bucket with water and a cloth (to wipe down the pasting bench)
• A flat surface (this is the great bit, you don't need a decorating table! I used a piece of wood and lay it on the floor)
• Two cloths; one to clean your pasting bench the other to smooth down the designs
• A brush (I used an ordinary clean painting brush)

Doing four sheets at a time I would lay them out and stick them up and once you get in the swing of it it really was easy.  The margins inside the designs aren't straight this means you don't even need a spirit level when you are putting them up, I just followed the ceiling and gave each one a very slight overlap (because they expand with the moisture of the paste and will shrink again as they dry).

Tips:

• Worth sticking them up with blue tack to see how they will lay out first.  I didn't do this with the window which resulted in a couple of fill-ins - and actually thats the only downside the box could do with a couple of blank sheets that you can use where your room may leave a couple of gaps so that you can cut them down and use them to fill in those areas.

All in all - the boys were absolutely thrilled and I couldn't help but be impressed, we kept the blinds and walls neutral because there is so much colour and all for a bargain price of £29.99! 

These pictures are superb quality making them an excellent option to quickly transform a bedroom and you can use as many or as few as you like!