Pur-Sleep Aromatherapy - Initial review

[robrdavis]

Bret from Pur-Sleep posted an offer a while back, giving free samples of the Pur-Sleep Aromatherapy scents to anybody interested. The only thing he requested in return was an evaluation. I emailed him the information he requested, and he promptly emailed me back, letting me know that my samples were on their way. I received them a couple of days later and became an official guinea pig.

The scents I received were 'Black Cherry', 'Creme' and 'Paradise'. Due to a mix-up somewhere in the process, I'd received Creme twice instead of getting a fourth scent. No big deal. (More on that later.)

The first scent I tried was 'Paradise'. It's a tropical floral scent which would be good to use for a whole room, but was too much for me to use with my therapy. The scent is not overpowering and I can see how some would enjoy it.

Paradise was replaced with 'Creme'. As mentioned earlier, I'd accidentally received 'Creme' twice, once as a pre-scented pad, the other was a small amount of the essential oil in a small perfume vial. I was able to verify that the pre-applied Creme didn't hold its scent enough to use as a viable test. No problem, I applied a drop of the oil to the pad and was pleased with an aroma that brought be back to my childhood. I'd forgotten that my Mom used to make her own khalua from vanilla beans. Smelling the pure vanilla again was like taking a step back to my childhood. For me, 'Creme' is a definite winner!

After my second night of Vanilla enhanced dreams, I received another email from Bret. Apparently there were a few people who had had Post Office induced problems with their samples, as well as less-than-satisfactory results with the initial "scented pad" samples that were sent out. He offered to send out new samples if people wished. He also stated that the requests could be for different scents if so desired. I wasn't going to mention the doubled 'Creme' sample, but decided to since he'd made the offer. I let him know that I had really been hoping for one of the citrus scents ('Spice' or 'Fresh') in my first set of samples and was a little disappointed that I'd not gotten either. I requested that he send one or the other, whichever was easiest for him to send. He replied to my email shortly thereafter saying that it wouldn't be any problem at all. He also mentioned that his favorite is a combination of 'Creme' and 'Clear'(Mint/Cream), and that some people enjoy 'Creme' and 'Fresh' (orange/cream "DreamSickle").

I have to say, I was not just pleased, but quite surprised when I received an envelope from Pur-Sleep a couple of days later. Contained within were both Spice and 'Fresh' as well as 'Clear', all in vials. He'd also put in pre-scented pads with the 'Bubblegum' and 'Strawberry' scents!

'Spice' was my scent of choice that night, as well as the next. And the next. 'Spice' is an orange/clove blend. This has got to be one of the best aroma combinations ever created. It's has a very home-y smell; soothing and relaxing. I'd have to call this a "winter" aroma as it seems cozy enough to drive the chill away.

Wanting to save some 'Spice' for another day, the next night 'Fresh' was my scent of choice. 'Fresh' is the summer to 'Spice's' winter. It's a combination of tangerine with a little lavender and lime. It's a bright, clear scent that is very clean and soothing.

'Clear' is just that. Clear. As soon as I had my mask on and the air flowing, I knew that I was going to wake up to a bright, sunny day the next morning. The peppermint helped my sinuses feel very open, while the lavender and lime kept it from being overpowering. It brought to mind standing amid a fresh fallen snow with a crisp breeze in my face, very clean and open.

I have yet to try 'Black Cherry' or 'Strawberry.' 'Black Cherry' seems promising. I'm afraid that 'Strawberry' might be too sweet for me, but I'll give it a try. 'Bubblegum' is not one that I'm open to trying however. It's not a flavor that I care for and I know that I wouldn't enjoy smelling it all night. 'Bubblegum' and 'Strawberry' would likely both be a big hit with kids, most likely in that order. Both have received my three-year-old's approval. I had to convince him that the pads are not food and that he is not allowed to lick them. That could probably be marked as an "excellent" review from the toddler/child age group for both scents!

The thing that I'm most impressed with is not the individual scents, but with the level of customer service that Bret offers. He has gone well beyond what could be expected with an offer like this. After all, these samples were offered at no cost to those interested in trying them. Not only was he willing to offer samples, but was willing to send them all out again, just to make sure that people got them and were pleased with what they received. If only some of the companies that I've actually given money to were willing to operate at such high standards!

Best of wishes to Bret and Pur-Sleep. You offer great products and outstanding customer support. That's an A+ in my book.

[graygables]

Thank you for the detailed review! I agree whole-heartedly about your company evaluation as well. Excellent customer service is as refreshing as the scents! I have to admit, I'm a spice girl (not THAT kind ). I LOVE it. So much, that I've been hesitant to try the other ones, but because of your excellent descriptions, I think I've got some ideas for my next order...

[givemesleep]

I received samples during the first go round and although they were not "perfect" they smelled good enough to make me want to purchase a set. I ordered the starter pack 2 with calm, strawberry, and french vanilla. And I'm a huge fan and perhaps now an addict Maybe 2 weeks later I decided that I needed more flavors! And there are so many to choose from, this time I decided to get the Air Candy Sampler. I love the bubblegum, perhaps I still long for the memories of my childhood days.

I also received an email about resending out the samples. I asked for different ones this time so I could smell everything, because I know I will be purchasing more.

My suggestion is maybe to put samples into each customer order, scents that they have not tried yet.

I think my next order may be the big pack!

Just from the sending out of the samples I have ordered twice and will be a customer for life! Thanks so much!

[ractar28]

I like the "french vanilla" and nothing else smells as good (from the samples I received). I like VERY muted scents. I thought a orange or lemon mixed with vanilla would be awesome, but didn't realize something existed already.

[betsy946]

I got a lavender sample and ordered a three pack - I'm usually a super light sleeper - "anything" will wake me up. Well, last week I got hosed up and took an afternoon nap (I'm a preschool teacher, I deserve it ). Hubby comes in house, calls my name; I'm snoozin'...comes into bedroom, calls out my name, still snoozin'...touches my foot, still snoozin'...tells himself "she must be alive, her foot is warm" Finally, he shakes me awake - this stuff rocks! This from a person with "no" REM sleep in first sleep study - they told me my quality of sleep fell in the range of "horrible"...

I agree with the suggestion of a small purchase price for several samples with a coupon good off a purchase...best wishes to everyone.

[profish]

I also received the free samples, but only a few days ago. I didn't receive them on the first go round for some reason, I assume a screw up somewhere with the Post Office from the email that I received. I really appreciated getting a followup email from the company, tells me they care about their reputation and their customers. When I wrote back and said I hadn't received any samples yet, almost immediately I received an email telling me they were going out that day, two days later I got them.
So far I have used the "Fresh" and "Spice" both two nights. I love this stuff!. It is just a mild scent, but enough to get rid of the plastic smell in the air I breathe coming out of my little bedside friend. I found it very relaxing and soothing. My wife even made a comment about it, either she is getting a whiff through my exhaust fumes or from the pad on the table.
I would recommend this product to anyone, and I will be placing an order when I finish the samples and know which flavors I like the most. Thank you Pursleep for this opportunity. Great product, great customer service, and obviously great staff!

[robrdavis]

Two nights ago I finally samples "Black Cherry." The scent was very similar to a cherry flavored cough drop. Fortunately I happen to like cherry flavored cough drops. Compared to the other scents that I've sampled, this isn't my favorite, but neither is it on my list of dislikes. I'm sure that I'll enjoy using the remainder of my sample.

Still to be sampled: Strawberry. Maybe tonight.

Just to make sure that this isn't starting to sound like a paid advertisement, it's not. I'm not receiving any compensation for my reviews other than the initial samples that Bret (sleepguy) offered to the rest of the cpaptalk.com forums members.

(Now Babs, with the way that she rants about Pur-Sleep... She's probably on the payroll. Either that or now that Bret's got her hooked, he's denying her her aromatherapy fixes if she doesn't plug the product occasionally!)

[SleepGuy]

Thanks to all. And Rob's right--no one is on the payout. Actually, the strong sentiments remind me of my own experience (forgive me for repeating myself): In one moment I went from almost not using my CPAP at all (and not once having slept with the machine past 2 am after a year of trying) to sleeping flat out, all night, every night with my CPAP.

No kidding.

And all I did was start using aromatics. The very first time all I kept thinking was "This is too good to be true; this is too good to be true . . ." as I drifted off to the very first full-night sleep on my cpap (ever) and my very first real deep sleep in probably four or five years (my diagnosis took several years). The feeling in the morning was nothing short of euphoric!

And the same thing happened the next night. And the next. Until two years later and it happened again last night. It has been such an amazing transformation that I've just felt constrained to invest whatever it takes to bring this product to market and I've invested heavily in research and development to find the optimum way to do just that, using the widest variety of aromatics I could put together (with a lot of help). I didn't do this myself. Hey, I'm just a dumb lawyer. I've hired plenty of people to make this happen and I'm pleased that it's finally come together rather well. The business has a long way to go to make net-net profit so this is not really about money. Obviously that's a part of any business but not the main focus here.

So I'm having a lot of fun now that I've found out a way to give away samples at a relatively low cost to me. I just sit back and watch the fireworks and wish I could be there. People just get excited when they find a simple way to finally tolerate (and maybe even enjoy) their therapy! It's an amazing experience.

For those who have asked, the sample program is alive and well. Just click this link and follow the directions in the first post: viewtopic/t34658/FREE-PurSleep-Aromatic-Samples.html

And bring on the comments (good, bad, or otherwise)!

[Georgio]

Good Morning,

I used the, "Dark Chocolate" last night. A very rich chocolate scent! I slept like a baby with an AHI of 0.8. I only woke once during the night when I tried to take a bite out of my cpap hose thinking it was a big tootsie roll!

Georgio