{"id":10217,"date":"2011-09-19T00:00:55","date_gmt":"2011-09-19T10:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/?p=10217"},"modified":"2023-08-14T18:25:01","modified_gmt":"2023-08-15T04:25:01","slug":"review-mentos-up2u-gum-sweet-mint-bubble-fresh-and-daylight-mint-mintnight-mint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2011\/09\/19\/review-mentos-up2u-gum-sweet-mint-bubble-fresh-and-daylight-mint-mintnight-mint\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: Mentos UP2U Gum (Sweet Mint\/Bubble Fresh and Daylight Mint\/Mintnight Mint)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mentos<\/a><\/p>\n

On the growing list of things I do not look competent doing, gum chewing is right in between “throwing a football around with the guys” and dancing. After a marathon of John Woo films in college (Dolph Lundgren wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t so bad in Blackjack<\/i>, right?), I caught myself in the mirror chewing gum. Instead of that cool and casual look almost everyone has when they chew, I looked like a hamster with a bunch of sunflower seeds in my cheek. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hate gum chewing; I just hate myself chewing gum.<\/p>\n

Having a pleasant breath is important to me. My job entails a lot of talking to an audience, a great deal of whining, some begging, a bit of folding my arms as if I am making a point and an uncomfortable amount of quiet farting. \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6You know what I am talking about. <\/p>\n

Speaking of unwanted odors, I am hyper aware of bad breath. I habitually pop Altoids in my mouth and avoid gum. I one time had a piece of Wrigley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because I was out of mints and the result was at Hindenburg levels. I was just nibbling the gum which made me look like I had that “grinding teeth” problem and I ended up biting the side of mouth. The mint gave way to the copper taste of blood that my unforgiving teeth drew. That was the last time I can remember chewing gum.<\/p>\n

As I was in the line of impatient customers waiting to check out at Target, I saw the usual suspects of candy bars and ultra-mint gums that promise refreshment that will give you icy cold breath that act like Mr. Freeze\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ray gun. However something caught my eye. It wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that pack of Stride with Shaun White eerily staring and beckoning me to walk into oncoming traffic. <\/p>\n

It was gum made by Mentos and I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stop staring at the package because the name was so weird if not a bit annoying. UP2U gum by Mentos and the name was boldly stamped across the pack. The UP2U was in all caps and the name was so strange. It felt like I was reading those awful vanity plates on the road that say “B Kewl” or “IM Awz0m”. UP2UdamnU! UP2ME? Well then I had to try it since it was UP2WHATIWANTED2DO and NO1 can tell me what 2DO. <\/p>\n

See what I mean? A bit annoying, L-O-L. L-M-F-A-O and all that jazz.<\/p>\n

The package proclaims “2 Flavors. 1 Pack. You Decide.” Kind of like our electoral process don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ya think? <\/p>\n

I felt compelled to try them since I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been a fan of Mentos from the early days of their odd Eurotrash-like commercials. Each package had two flavors, and there were two varieties so I had to try both of them, which is really four of them since, so I had to try all four of them\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6God, this is more complicated than string theory. <\/p>\n

Okay, to simplify I bought the pink pack which had Sweet Mint and Bubble Fresh while the blue-green pack had Daylight Mint and Mintnight Mint. I believe there are other flavors but my Target only had these two.<\/p>\n

\"Mentos<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n

I have to admit that the packaging is quite chic, albeit a bit pretentious. In fact it looks like a sleek compact minus the brush and makeup. They both open like a mini book where one flavor resides on each respective side. The pink one with Sweet Mint\/Bubble Fresh has a quote by poet John Millington Synge while Walt Whitman (it would be cool if they called him Walt Whitmint) greets me on the other one. <\/p>\n

The effect is no different than cracking open a fortune cookie and scoffing at the supposed inspiration (i.e. “You have many friends” or “A man with a great heart is richer than the man with the great wallet”—pphht!). It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s chew time. <\/p>\n

\"Mentos<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n

Mintnight Mint is not as minty nor as mintnighty as I would like. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a bit like that tiny bottle of no name hotel mouthwash that sits next to the shower cap. The mint tastes like timid spearmint but an unappealing rush of sugary sweetness overrides everything. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve smoked menthol cigarettes that had a stronger mint taste. Hell, the Girl Scouts\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Thin Mints cookies are more minty. The flavor also dissipates quicker than your average stick of mint gum. The name however, is amusing as I picture a vampire with fresh breath.<\/p>\n

Daylight Mint, its resident brother has a weird texture. It was stiff not unlike those crappy sticks you would get from ripping open a pack of baseball cards and had a give like gummi bears. The mint was even less intense than the Mintnight one. <\/p>\n

If you consume saltines or seltzer water, this mint will struggle to mask your breath. The mint tastes like the wintergreen variety but after the first few chews, this flavor goes away and again is replaced by that syrupy sugar taste. I wanted to spit this out immediately. Like Neil Tennant sang in Brit supergroup Electronic, “Dissapointed…”<\/p>\n

Do not depend on the package containing Mintnight and Daylight mints to do anything to freshen your breath. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure what qualifies as a daytime or nighttime flavor but they should not be chewed anytime.<\/p>\n

\"Mentos<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n