Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
The Rubik’s Phantom is a mind-boggling, challenging puzzle related to the famous 80s Rubik’s Cube that many of us grew up with. This one is different though because it has a major difference. You can’t see the colours on the stickers unless you heat them up with the warmth of your hand. Without the warmth of your touch, all the sides are black!
Once you solve the first puzzle (ie getting into the intricate packaging) then the Cube itself looks harmful enough. It has the same black squares all the way around until you put light pressure on each one to reveal the colour. Quickly you realise that you can’t just sit and hold your finger over one sticker at a time, so you have to find ways of warming up the whole face of the Cube at the same time in order to reveal the different colours. The photo shows what the Cube looked like before touch, then after. This however, was only after I worked out how to hold the Rubik’s Cube in my hand long enough to get the full colour through.
The sides are in 6 colours (white, green, orange, blue, red and yellow) and each sticker seems to have a different ‘warm up’ time to it. Some of the stickers kept their colour for longer too, whilst others seemed to fade quickly. The trick is to get as many of the sides warmed up (and it took a good 30 seconds to get a true colour to come through) then work on solving the puzzle with one hand at least constantly on one face to keep from going cold.
The Rubik’s Phantom is one of the more challenging hand puzzles available with a 5/6 scoring for difficulty. The added pressure of remembering which colour each tile is or indeed remembering to keep the faces warm, adds to players’ cognitive memory, as well as using fine motor skills and general problem solving skills – vital if you’re to work out how to get the tiles warm enough! Incidentally, the heat sensitive faces need a temperature of 26C (79F) or above to change colour. How long it will take to complete the puzzle in anyone’s guess.
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
The world is divided into those who love dark chocolate and those who detest it. I am definitely a lover of dark chocolate, and the higher cocoa content the better so this 70% advent calendar from Divine was mine for the taking. Plus, I’m never one to pass up the opportunity to try chocolate, so when it came with Divine’s Joyful Christmas chocolate in caramel, hazelnut and candied orange flavour, there was no stopping me!
The advent calendar is packed with 24 windowed chocolate pieces, one for every day of advent up until Christmas Eve. The calendar itself is beautiful, in black packaging to illustrate the dark chocolate and brightly coloured with decorations and figures of the farmers who product the cocoa. Unlike other calendars, this one is vegan too.
Every bar of Divine Chocolate helps to directly change the lives of cocoa farmers around the world. Divine Chocolates are made with only Fairtrade cocoa and sugar, so the majority of the ingredients are sourced from the right farmers who are given the right compensation. That alone should make you feel good about buying Divine Chocolate but it doesn’t stop there. All of the flavours and ingredients are natural, and they use only 100% pure cocoa butter. Additionally, Divine are helping to save the environment and habitations too by using NO palm oil.
This is an advent calendar clearly children will enjoy but adults will too, and anyone with a conscience will appreciate that somewhere in Ghana, there is a farmer and his family whose life will be improved by you supporting Divine Chocolate.
What is the Joyful chocolate like though? As a special edition for Christmas, this chocolate is 45% cocoa so a higher amount than typical milk chocolate without being bitter. You can feel the texture of the hazelnut filling and there are lovely pieces of caramel to give it the slightly sticky, sweet taste too. I can’t say that the orange flavour is very strong, so if you’re a fan of citrus or candied orange then this isn’t overpowering. The whole bar is a grown-up way of celebrating Christmas though, and very moreish. I would suggest this is a good treat for when you’re Christmas shopping, or to have one dark evening after dinner. If you give chocolate and money as gifts to adults, I would recommend the Divine Joyful Christmas Chocolate every time, but don’t expect it to last past Boxing Day!
Disclaimer: We received this game free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
We love going away in our caravan, it’s a great way to relax and it also gives us the perfect opportunity to get the children away from electronic devices for a few hours each evening when we get out a board game to play. Space is tight in the caravan so travel games like the Catch Phrase card game from Ginger Fox are great as they don’t take up much room.
Based on the popular TV show the game is very easy to play and doesn’t need a large table so it’s great to play in the caravan. You place the buzzer card and the blue edged Catch Phrase cards in the middle of the table and the oldest player turns the top card over. Once you think you know the Catch Phrase you put your hand on the buzzer card and shout out the answer. You can then turn the card over to check the answer – if you are correct you score 100 points but an incorrect answer means you are frozen out for that round. If no one guesses the Catch Phrase another card is turned over. After 6 cards have been played the Bonus Catch Phrase round (silver edged cards) is played and the player with the least points hosts the round. This round is played in the same way, but a correct answer now wins you 200 points and the opportunity to guess the bonus Catch Phrase. If you have internet access this is done by scanning the QR code on the card and tapping the screen to remove a random square to reveal a section of the picture. If they are correct, they win 500 points but an incorrect answer means you go back to the main Catch Phrase cards.
If you don’t have internet access then a Bonus Catch Phrase card is placed in the cardboard sleeve with the cover card on the top. The cover card is moved to the next line on the cardboard sleeve, revealing a small section of the card.
The winner is the player with the most points.
Being a rather competitive family the buzzer card tended to be hit rather than having hand placed gently on it but this added to the fun and it’s a good job we have a sturdy table in the caravan!
We all enjoyed playing Catch Phrase, it’s a fast paced game and great fun for all ages and kept us entertained all evening. At £12.99 it is the perfect stocking filler and will be great fun to play on Christmas day with the family.
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Chocolate is no longer just for children, nor is it the over-farmed, unfair trade that it used to be, or at least it doesn’t have to be if you choose the right retailer. Divine Chocolate is co-owned by cocoa farmers to give them a better deal on their wares plus improves the standard of the chocolate. It’s a win/win for everyone and their 2023 advent calendars are no exception!
We were sent two to try, the first one being the Seriously Smooth Milk Chocolate Advent Calendar. With 24 days (or nights if you’re being pedantic) of chocolate to taste, it’s the usual size and structure of an advent calendar. Slightly larger than A4 size, it can be posted and most of it is recyclable due to the cardboard involved. The windows open to reveal a Christmas-themed chocolate which appeals to both children and adults. Nothing complicated about that? Well there isn’t anything complicated, it’s just that the chocolate has secret powers… Secret powers to change lives. Let me explain more.
Every bar of Divine Chocolate helps to directly change the lives of cocoa farmers around the world. Divine Chocolates are made with only Fairtrade cocoa and sugar, so the majority of the ingredients are sourced from the right farmers who are given the right compensation. That alone should make you feel good about buying Divine Chocolate but it doesn’t stop there. All of the flavours and ingredients are natural, and they use only 100% pure cocoa butter. Additionally, Divine are helping to save the environment and habitations too by using NO palm oil.
What is the chocolate like though? Well as you would imagine, it’s smooth milk chocolate, and it has a more authentic chocolate taste because it has pure cocoa butter and contains no palm oil. No substitutions mean that it’s a richer, smoother chocolate both in texture and taste.
This is an advent calendar clearly children will enjoy but adults will too, and anyone with a conscience will appreciate that somewhere in Ghana, there is a farmer and his family whose life will be improved by you supporting Divine Chocolate.
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Before the very end of summer looms, and Christmas celebrations start we are in that autumn phase where some of the days are hot and humid and sometimes, like today, it is pouring with rain and you don’t want to leave the house. The evenings are getting darker quicker but with brilliant sunshine and unseasonal heat it’s difficult to say goodbye to summer for good.
Wavey Ice produce these gorgeous alcoholic frozen ice pops aimed solely at adults. With flavours such as Kola & Spiced Rum, Black Grape & White Rum and Watermelon and Vodka (All at 6.25% ABV) then there’s no excuse to not get the party started, no matter the weather! This array of flavours is enough to keep anyone happy and the fact that they’re alcoholic too makes them all the more delicious. You can eat them on their own or add them to a mixer as a coolant, just keep them away from the kids!
Wavey Ice have also launched their own range of refrigerated cocktails. This includes two flavours of mocktails; Virgin Mango & Pineapple Mojito and Virgin Sex on the Beach. The mojito flavours are obvious but if you’re not familiar with Sex on the Beach as a cocktail, it is peach, orange and cranberry. Each 200ml pouch is enough for a tumbler sized glass and the pliable pouches fit nicely into any fridge. You can either drink them straight from the pouch for a picnic, add them to alcohol as a mixer or even make up a bigger bowl with them to create a punch. I had them one afternoon to rehydrate after a day out and they’re very refreshing; a nice alternative to fruit juice and as they’re made with real fruit juice. Even better, there’s no hangover because they’re alcohol free and the Mango and Pineapple Mojito has just won Silver in the Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards!
As Wavey SIPS are freshly made with fresh fruit juice and ingredients, there is a limited shelf life to them. Pop them in the fridge and drink them as soon as possible, or they can also go in the freezer for later.Wavey Ice SIPS and Ice Pops are available from £16.99 per box at: https://waveyice.com/collections/sips
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Opies Christmas fruits will surprise you. Not just because of how tasty they are but because of how versatile the fruits are, especially at Christmas. We were sent 4 different fruits in their iconic round glass jars to try as part of the Christmas 2024 range, including the exclusive Fruits of the Forest which is out now. Baby Pears, Black Cherries and lastly Peaches were also sent to us. The uses for them are endless, but have you thought about giving them as gifts too?
Great for Secret Santa, or as part of a Christmas hamper, the fruits are preserved in juice and alcohol and already stoned ready to eat. There’s a minimum of 460 grams net in each jar too, which is plenty for cooking or baking with. The suggestions on the website are endless and include using them in cocktails and punches at Christmas, but I prefer eating them just as a dessert with cream or ice cream, or baking with them!
In the photos, I’ve used the Black Cherries in some homemade almond cookies. Made with butter and almond flour, the cookies are flavoured with the cherry pieces and I added some of the juice from the jar to give the deep purple colour. Once cooked, there isn’t the alcohol taste at all but instead it left the cookies soft and with the cherry fruit as the main ingredient.
Taking each of the baby pears, I wrapped them in pastry and added sugar and cinnamon to create these little desserts. They only took 20 minutes in the oven and I actually cheated and used ready-made pastry so that I could concentrate on the flavour. These freeze really nicely so that you can bring them out at Christmas or as a dessert one evening with a little ice cream, especially if they’re warmed slightly. I also used the pastry to make these gorgeous little Fruits of the Forest tarts. Some of them had pastry crust and some of them I left open to bake but they were all so colourful and so delicious that they looked fantastic for snacks or dessert!
Other uses for the fruits include making a tart with the peaches, creating a flan with gelatine using all the different fruits and my favourite way of using them is to add them as a filling to croissants, especially useful if you’re making the croissants out of a ready-made tin. Opies Fruits are great to use with kids as they’re nice and sweet and easy to handle, and if you are baking them then the alcohol burns off. The juices from each of the jars can be added to alcoholic drinks or jelly mixture too. Ever thought about Opies Fruit juice and gin lollies?
Each of the jars is packed to the brim with real fruits and Opies make sure they’re the best quality and well preserved. There’s so much in each jar that I had to put them in the fridge each time I opened them in order to use them again and again. They’re handy to keep in the cupboard too, unopened so that you can have a dessert on hand or add the juice and fruit to something you’re baking. If you’re a real Christmas food connessuier though, Opies Fruits are delicious this time of year and a gorgeous reminder of summer fruits as we go into winter.
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Are you the type of family who open advent calendars in the morning before school? When coming in after school? Or do you wait until after dinner to indulge in the daily Christmas chocolate? In our house, we always had chocolate after dinner but now that I’m an adult I have to remind myself that I can have chocolate any time of the day, even when it’s not Christmas!
Cadbury make a whole range of different chocolates and this Cadbury Heroes Share Good Times is an ideal adult or teenage gift. The Heroes range of chocolates include Eclairs, Fudge, Wispa, Dairy Milk, Crunchie, Twirl, Dairy Milk Caramel, Double Decker and Crème Egg Twist. These are all the miniature varieties of the bigger bars but just as delicious and probably better for your health overall! They’re individually wrapped behind 24 windows and make up 230 grams in total of chocolate inside.
Probably aimed at older children, teenagers and adults, the variety of chocolate bars appeals to anyone who loves chocolate. Even if there’s one or two you don’t like, there are 9 different bars to choose from so you can guarantee there’ll be another one the next day that you will. If like me you don’t usually buy chocolate bars throughout the year, you’ll be surprised what’s on the market now. I’d never seen Crème Egg Twisted before, and it’s been a long time since I had a Double Decker so these brought back memories!
I really like the idea of having so many different bars in one calendar, and yes, they are much smaller than the full sized bars but they’re just the same taste, and give the same chocolate hit I’m always looking for mid afternoon. It’s reminded me how much I love a Fudge bar or Twirl and made me look forward to opening the next window in the Cadbury Heroes Advent Calendar throughout Christmas.
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Atmospheric autumn nights turn into festive Christmas advent when 1 December comes around. As the children delight in their chocolate advent calendars, Yankee Candle have grown-up versions for adults which will spoil you just as much. The Yankee Candle Advent Wreath has 24 days’ worth of pretty candles to light up your evenings.
The wreath, which has fixtures on the back to be able to be mounted on a wall, contains 24 scented tealight candles of 8 different fragrances, and one glass tea light holder, which is in the window on 1 December. The scents are all Christmas themed and include Letter to Santa, Christmas Cookie, Twinkling Lights, Christmas Eve, Amber & Sandalwood, Silver, Sage & Pine, Soft Wool & Amber and Pink Cherry Vanilla. Each tealight weighs enough to give you over an evenings’ worth of burn so you can keep them going night after night or save up until you have several of the same scent and dot them around the room to give a luscious scent throughout the house. The addition of the glass tealight holder means that you still have an attractive candle vase long after Christmas and can purchase more Yankee Candle tealights in the New Year to use around the home.
This is a lovely indulgent gift for anyone who loves candles or Christmas, and doesn’t want chocolate or alcohol at Christmas time. Although the box is large and an awkward shape, it is still fairly easy to post because it’s not very heavy or thick. There’s a lovely array of different scents which will evoke Christmas and the festive spirit even more once you have the decorations up. I think this is lovely for teenagers who might just be getting into candles but don’t want childish chocolate or toys at this time of year.
The candles and scents are beautiful and are a fabulous alternative to sweets plus they can be enjoyed by the whole family!
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Who here DIDN’T have chocolate coins for Christmas as a child? Were they part of your stocking? Perhaps Gran gave you some chocolate as part of your Christmas present along with a few notes when you were a teenager? I know I used to get a bar of chocolate at Christmas with something monetary sellotaped to it because that’s all I wanted by the time I was that age!
Cadbury have a range of chocolate gifts for every occasion and you’ll be pleased to know that their famous chocolate coins are still going strong. Available everywhere for the festive season, there’s something nostalgic about getting the coins, then trying to prise open that plastic netting that I swear is stronger than steel… only to have to spend the next half hour delicately peeling off the foil from each of the coins before devour them. I’m not sure they were ever meant to be an exercise in dexterity, but the satisfaction of getting the foil off of a chocolate coin on one go without bending or tearing it is something every child should experience.
The Cadbury Snowballs Chocolate bar and grab bag are relatively new to the range. Slightly crunchy shells are covered in a light dusting of sugar and filled with milk chocolate to give a contradictory crunch and smooth chocolate sensation. Deliciously more-ish, they’re perfect for stockings, Secret Santa or as a part present for either adults or children. Whichever Cadbury chocolates you choose, don’t forget they won’t be around for the rest of the year, so snap them up when you can!
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
There is so much choice on the markets for phones nowadays, and with choice comes complicated tech words, specifications and all sorts of apps which just adds to the confusion.
The IMO Q2 Pro Smartphone is an Android model, with all the features you’d want on a modern phone but without the pricetag, or the complications. For as little as £34.99 and available at High Street shops, it saves so much money compared to the bigger players on the phone market without the worry of breaking it or losing it.
As for the specifications, it has what you would want to keep a phone safe. There’s facial recognition to unlock it, so you don’t have to worry about passwords or pin codes. The phone is a standard 16GB of memory which is enough to hold the random photos we all take as well as video but also has an extra Micro SD slot so that you can add 32GB of memory if you need to. I personally find it easier to have a remote hard disk that backs up all your photos and videos so that there isn’t the worry but depending on what you need the phone for, you might prefer just using the memory on the phone.
Speaking of photos, there’s a 5MP rear camera and 2MP front camera (for taking selfies) which isn’t the most powerful phone camera on the market but it is a good quality to be able to take photos to upload to social media. As with all apps too, you can add filters to whichever social media you are uploading to, even if the photo isn’t perfect when you take it.
One of the universal problems with smartphones is the life of the battery when on full charge. The IMO Q2 Pro Smartphone has a battery life of approximately 15 days when on standby and not being used. I found that I didn’t have to charge it for several days with light use and taking some photos, which is much better than most smartphones. The speed when connecting to the internet was excellent too. The IMO Q2 Pro Smartphone is 4G, which is the standard frequency in the UK. The new 5G is rolling out now but doesn’t cover the majority of the country yet and if you have a phone that is only 5G, it won’t convert to 4G when there’s no 5G frequency. The most common frequency is 4G still.
The phone also connects to Wifi and Bluetooth for downloading information or if you want to connect another device (such as a speaker) to play any of the MP3s stored on the phone.
Usability wise, it’s very easy to navigate with just 3 simple buttons and a simple Android 11 userface. It only measures just over 12 centimetres long and 6 centimetres wide so it can fit in your pocket or a handbag, or even in the glove compartment of the car. It’s great for taking on holiday and using with a spare SIM card in case it gets lost or you don’t want to use your expensive phone on adventure days out.
Lastly, this phone is great as a first phone for children that isn’t complicated or expensive if it gets lost or broken or for older people who aren’t familiar with smartphones. It’s easy to use so it doesn’t need much explanation. The long battery life means you can charge it less frequently and it’s still usable.
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Advent calendars aren’t just for children anymore. They mostly are, but now we have these bigger, more sophisticated marketing calendars that cater for all kinds of whims and fancies. Adults who love chocolate are spoiled for choice though. Cadbury have an extra special Dairy Milk Advent Calendar for Someone Special which contains squares of Dairy Milk chocolate chunks which are individually wrapped. There’s caramel, Dairy Milk or wholenut contained in random behind the 24 windows.
This advent calendar is aimed at chocolate lovers but not necessarily children, so it’s great for teenagers, adult children or even partners. There’s no gimmicky marketing with this calendar, just the 24 windows with little individual bars behind each of them. The packaging is largely recyclable, apart from the wrappers and the cocoa is 100% sustainably sourced.
If you love milk chocolate and especially for adults who love chocolate, this is a great gift! There’s a whopping 259 grams of chocolate in this calendar, which is more than 2 bars worth. The individual chunks of chocolate make it easy to share this calendar too, and if you don’t want to eat the pieces, you can save them for later. The individually wrapped chunks are the same Dairy Milk chocolate and quality you’d expect from Cadbury, and I, as a chocolate lover, especially love the fact that there is this variety of flavours to look forward to each day too. It also helps that the Dairy Milk Advent Calendar for Someone Special also has the proper 24 windows, not the new trendy 12 days of advent!
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Christmas is always a difficult time to buy gifts for some people. There’s the Grandparents who say, “I don’t need anything,” and the distant relative you don’t really know, plus the need to update everyone in the family on how big the kids are getting. Nowadays, there are some brilliant customisable options for personal gifts which can keep everyone happy.
MyPicture.co.uk is a website designed to allow you to upload photos and create custom-made gifts for the home. There’s everything available from canvas prints, photo cushions, framed prints, photo blankets and some specially designed items like this city map poster. We were sent the instructions on how to create this city map poster of London (where our reviewer lives and grew up) to show how easy it is to create as a Christmas present.
From the www.mypicture.co.uk website, click the dropdown for Photo Gifts and you can start the new City Map Poster process to customise your city or town to your own taste. You can search for a city area using a postcode or name and the diagram instantly updates to show you how it will look. It also allows you to add a marker (for instance if you wanted to mark a place where you met), add some text or co-ordinates and change the type of font. To make it extra special, it can arrive pre-framed and with the right accessories to be able to hang it straight on the wall!
There’s the choice of whether you have it portrait or landscape and different types of frame (black, white, silver, walnut, oak or without a frame at all) and the whole canvas is delivered to your door.
The whole process is completed online with the image updating in real time as you make your choices. I thought I knew what I would want when I started creating it, but as the live updates showed, I changed my mind and was able to adapt it to what I wanted. There’s a choice of sizes too which was handy to be able to choose which wall space I wanted to fit it in.
Once the frame arrived, tightly packed and in perfect condition, it was ready to be hung without any DIY needed to it. The enclosed fixtures (which are part of the design request and at a small added cost) are specifically for this type of print so they take the right weight. The sizes are a nice variety of 30cm x 40cm, 40cm x 60cm and 60cm x 80cm. The chunky frames are nice and sturdy too and as the print is already mounted in the frame, there’s no fiddling around with trying to fit it and get the grips on the back to move.
The result when it turned up really exceeded my expectations! The London city map poster was crisp under the Perspex covering and the black frame really added to the look. It’s a brilliant gift as well. I chose London for the city map poster because I was born and live here but you could choose a town or a co-ordinate of where you met your partner, or where you got married. The possibilities are endless!
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Clean Co are the specialists in creating non-alcoholic spirits, starting with their famous Clean Gin and Clean Rhubarb Gin. Now, they have ventured into other spirits including this Clean Co Rum – a spiced spirit which is also non-alcoholic but with the Caribbean flavour of rum.
Clean Co Rum Alternative has won the International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) bronze award in 2021 for its vanilla on the palate and pineapple and raisin on the tastebuds. It’s certainly a welcome alternative to the other non-alcoholic spirits that don’t have much depth, taste or mix very well with other drinks to make cocktails.
Clean Co Rum Alternative has a dry, vanilla taste with smokey fruitiness that’s. typical of rum. There’s a slight sugar taste in there too which gives it the fuller flavour of a spirit and it’s delicious with a cola drink or mixed into a cocktail thanks to the added Jamaican spices. You can also try it with ginger ale and lime to give a different skew on its tropical flavours.
The good news is that Clean Co Rum Alternative is also vegan, has no sugar at all and is only 12 calories per 50ml serving. It has less than 0.5% ABV which classifies as non-alcoholic and is lactose free too.
This is a great gift for anyone who is into spirits but doesn’t necessarily like rum yet, so that they can try it and supplement cocktails at home with an authentic rum flavour. Rum lovers, especially those doing Dry January, will love having the rum flavours and none of the alcohol to feel guilty over!
Disclaimer: We received these products free of charge for the purpose of this review but all thoughts and opinions are our own.
I’m sure I am not the only one who finds applying eyeliner tricky – I struggle to apply it evenly and invariably end up poking myself in the eye in the process! Over the years I have tried lots of different eyeliners and now favour the pencil style ones like these from Annabelle Minerals which I find are much easier to apply.
They recently sent me a selection of Eyeliner Pencils and Jumbo Eye Pencils in the most gorgeous shades of purple, the pencils are extremely gentle to the delicate eye area and incredibly easy to use, the creamy texture glides onto your eyelid and lash line without dragging the delicate skin. The intensity of the colours is fantastic, they are very rich and vibrant and highly pigmented.
I especially like the Jumbo Eye Pencils as they can be used as eyeshadow, eyeliner and primer and I have been using all three shades – Catmint, Fuchsia and Midnight – to create both day and night looks. Fuchsia is a gorgeous deep purple which is the perfect colour for anyone who’s looking to make a change from traditional black or brown but doesn’t want anything too bright just yet.
I don’t have the steadiest of hands, but the eyeliner pencils are nice and soft and I found it easy to apply to my lash line, adding a little flick at the corner of my eyes to lift them and make them stand out more.
After applying for the first time I went to work and put the eye pencils in my makeup bag, fully expecting to have to reapply at some point during the day. I was therefore quite surprised when I found I didn’t need to as the colour lasted on my upper eyelid for the whole day. As well as being easy to apply the eye pencils were easy to remove too, a wipe with eye make up remover and the colour was gone.
Annabelle Minerals products are based on only 4 ingredients and are 100% organic. Their products are suitable for every skin type as well as vegetarians and vegans.
Disclaimer: We received these products free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
Christmas has come early at The Review Studio as we’ve been trying a selection of fabulous APHRODITE gift sets that will make fantastic presents or Secret Santa gifts for loved ones this Christmas.
APHRODITE are a Greek skincare company who were founded back in the 90’s by George Zacharioudakis. George’s Greek heritage meant he was already aware of the benefits of olive oil for skincare and used this knowledge to cultivate an exceptional grade of organic extra virgin olive oil on his home island of Crete which he then used to create APHRODITE products.
When I looked at the APHRODITE website I discovered they have a fantastic selection of gift sets, so I guarantee you won’t have any problems finding the perfect gift for everyone this Christmas – these are a few of my favourites.
Happy Feet Gift Set €13.20 Containing a Sage & Lavender deodorant foot cream, Olive oil soap with lavender and a pumice stone this set contains everything you need to pamper your feet. After washing my feet with the soap and then leaving them to soak for 5 minutes I used the pumice stone to remove dry skin. The foot cream smells divine and it was a lovely relaxing self-care ritual rubbing it into my feet each night.
Donkey Milk Collection Hand & Foot Pamper Set €9.90 – Containing 30ml tubes of hand cream and foot cream this set is perfect as a stocking filler or Secret Santa gift. The hand and foot cream are lovely and hydrating and will keep hands and feet soft over the cold winter months. The handy sized tubes are perfect for travelling too.
Anti-age Face Care Treats €16.50 This set contains Day Cream, Night Cream and Face Scrub and is the perfect introduction to APHRODITE skincare. Specially formulated for mature skin types they offer round-the-clock hydration while fighting early signs of ageing such as fine lines and sagging skin. The creams absorb easily without needing to rub and the face scrub gently exfoliates leaving skin clean and refreshed.
Olive Oil & Donkey Milk Soaps €4.95 I am trying to be more sustainable and have switched liquid soap for a bar of soap so was pleased to see APHRODITE have some lovely soap gift sets. The Olive Oil & Donkey Milk soaps lather nicely creating a creamy foam that washes dirt and grime away leaving hands beautifully soft and gently fragranced.
So, if you have a friend or family member who loves beauty products, have a Secret Santa gift to buy or need a few thank you gifts for teachers then have a look at the APHRODITE website – I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
Disclaimer: We received these products free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
Last week my inbox was bombarded with Christmas gifts and whilst we’re only in September it does make sense to start shopping early as it means you can get gifts before they sell out it and it also helps spread the cost too.
I’m on a hunt for stocking fillers at the minute and when the Palmers Cocoa Butter moisturisers arrived I knew they would fit nicely in the stockings this year. Palmers are a natural cocoa butter and coconut oil skincare and haircare brand whose products are not only reasonably priced but are brilliant at caring for dry skin. I’ve used Palmers products for years as I have dry, eczema prone skin and the moisturisers really help care for my skin, leaving it lovely and soft and hydrated.
The Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Daily Skin Therapy Body Lotion (RRP: £5.99 – 400ml) smells amazing and is gentle enough for sensitive skin. The pump action bottle makes it easy to dispense the lotion and it is easy to apply, absorbing effortlessly. It has really helped soothe the dry skin on my arms and legs after only a couple of applications.
When my skin is particularly bad I find a thicker product is best to help soothe the redness so the Palmer’s Original Solid Formula Jar (RRP: £7.49 – 200g) is perfect when my skin flares up. This is more of an intensive moisturiser and the balm is thicker and greasier than the lotion, but my dry skin just soaks it up and it does a brilliant job at keeping my skin soft and smooth and calming the redness. I let it warm in my hands first to make it easier to apply and find it is Incredibly soothing on my skin.
With a uniquely rich and creamy blend of Cocoa Butter, made from ethically and sustainably sourced cocoa beans, and Vitamin E these moisturisers are just what you need in the winter months to keep your skin hydrated and soft. As well as buying some for stocking fillers I will be treating myself too!
Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own
It’s the start of September and the month that advent calendars start to hit the shops. With so many fantastic calendars available I’m finding that you do have to buy them early as the popular ones quickly sell out. Swizzels sweets are a favourite in my house so I’ll be picking up a couple of Mr Swizzels Sweet Shop Advent Calendars for them to enjoy this December.
The calendar has a bright sweet shop seasonal theme and behind the 24 numbered doors you will find a miniature version of iconic Swizzels sweets, will there be Love Hearts, Fizzers, Refresher Bars, Parma Violets, Stinger, Banana Skids, Drumstick or a Snap Crackle behind your door?
At a very purse friendly £5 this is the perfect way to count down to the big day.
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
The go-to present for my family to buy me each Christmas is the novelty slipper. I wear slippers throughout the autumn and winter and probably a long way into summer too so they get good wear but they don’t normally last that long.
Anna Elshafei, the founder of Shaffay is a similar slipper lover. A former London lawyer, Anna changed careers mid-life when she wanted to create an elegant luxury slipper that women could wear all year round, were comfortable and stylish too. Now based in Canterbury, Anna has worked with her designers to create a range of Signature slippers in different colours to appeal to all slipper wearers with names such as Cairo, Paris, Shanghai and London. Although Anna was brought up in London (hence the name) she also lived in Shanghai with her husband. So the names of the slippers are born out of Anna’s love of cities and it was a pair of London Shaffay luxury slippers that were sent to us to try.
If you’re buying Shaffay as a luxurious gift for someone this Christmas, then you won’t be disappointed. The box opens to each shoe being individually wrapped, and there’s a shoe bag to keep them clean – or perhaps it’s to prevent losing one? The slippers come in UK sizes 4-9 and each of the 4 designs has a different colour upper as well as insole. These house shoes have grey upper leather with comfy furry insides and are more or less backless so you don’t need to horn your foot into them. Easily slipped on, they’re hands free but provide support to the whole foot. In order for them not to fall off, Anna and designer Jess realised that the front of the slipper had to come up high on the foot. There’s a small wedge in the heel too, which gives a bit more overall support and I found it made it easier to transition from soft carpeted floor to a tiled floor without changing my posture to correct the friction difference.
As for the design, this has been carefully thought about. Luxury slippers don’t create themselves so there’s a lot of research been taken in order to get the Shaffay slippers just right. Firstly, you’ll notice the memory foam inner sole. This is to create a comfier walk but it also provides a little more insulation. On top of the inner sole is a contrasting insole, also in lamb leather. The sole is made of rubber to give a genuine grip and is non-slip. You’ll notice the difference when you walk on a tiled or stone floor because the grip is much stronger than other slippers.
Comfort wise, they’re very snug, warm with the pile lining and the toe is squared off to give it a contemporary look but also hugs your toes more. I love that they’re leather (this is not a gift for a vegetarian or vegan!) but then most outdoor shoes, especially hard-wearing shoes are leather and the alternative material, plastic, is far more harmful to the environment and doesn’t last as long. I know it’s not fashionable but I’m a fan of leather shoes and slippers. I have only just started wearing these so I have no idea how long they are going to last, I hope it’s longer than the 6-8 months most of my slippers last but the indications are that they will thanks to the materials used, the design and how well they’re made.
We need to talk about the price too. £95 is a lot of money for a pair of slippers. My slippers usually cost around £10-£15 for the novelty range and as I said, last about one cold season. So at £95 a pair, that means these slippers would have to last around 6-10 years for them to be cost effective. It’s not unusual for a pair of leather shoes, worn outdoors all the time and in all weather would last 5+ years. I know I have well made leather shoes and boots that are over 10 years old and need little maintenance and that’s with commuting in all terrains. Shaffay the company has not been in operation that long for us to be able to ask them, but I will say that there is no reason why someone who loves slippers wouldn’t make these last.
But then there’s people who have bad circulation who would benefit from having much warmer shoes. Those who are older or disabled and can’t put on slippers easily so the design of the Shaffay London slipper makes it easier to put on without bending down. The memory foam sole is also more comfortable for them and the design won’t fall off your feet, thereby not causing a trip hazard. The rubber soles are a better grip than most slippers too, reducing the risk of slipping on a hard floor, or worse, falling up the stairs when climbing. So although they are expensive, for some people, these could be the slippers that make life much easier, and safer for a very long time.
Aside from the practicalities, they’re most certainly a luxury to anyone who is hard to buy for and one that will be appreciated!
Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
It is lovely to go out for cocktails with friends but as we all know it’s not a cheap night out. Luckily staying in is the new going out so our evenings out at cocktail bars have now been swapped for the comfort of friend’s houses, thus enabling us to still enjoy our girlie cocktail nights but in a more purse friendly way.
This weekend we’ve been trying some O’Donnell Moonshine which in a nod to the history of moonshine is bottled in cute glass mason jars. The brand, who have featured on Dragons Den, was created back in 2016 after founders August Ullrich and Philip Morsink took a road trip through America learning more about the Prohibition era when the production and sale of alcohol was illegal. Alcohol production went underground, becoming known as Moonshine, as it was made at night to reduce the chance of discovery. The alcohol was stored in mason jars before being handed over to smugglers called ‘bootleggers’ who then sold it on.
Fascinated by the history surrounding Moonshine the friends decided to create their own at home and O’Donnell Moonshine was born.
We have been sampling the following flavours – Very Cherry, Blood Orange, Tough Nut, Sticky Toffee and the new Passion fruit which is lovely and refreshing, especially with some fizz and ice. The Very Cherry is very nice on it’s own and I think it will be a lovely addition next time I make an almond Tart.
The liqueurs are delicious on the rocks or can be topped up with some fizz to produce a delicious ‘spritz’ drink. They also make lovely cocktails too, our favourite was the Passion Fruit Moonshine which went down really well with my friends this weekend – here’s the recipe if you want to try making it yourself?
30ml Passion Fruit Moonshine
60ml Vanilla Vodka
1tbsp Lime Juice
1tbsp Simple Syrup
Prosecco optional served alongside
One thing that O’Donnell pride themselves on is that their Moonshine is vegan friendly and allergen free so they can be enjoyed by everyone.
The 20ml mini sets consisting of 4 x 20ml bottles make a lovely gift and are perfect for sampling the flavours before you commit to a larger bottle – which I guarantee you will once you’ve tried them! They also make lovely gifts too.
Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
Bank Holidays are a great opportunity to get together with friends and this weekend we have been reliving our youth and reminiscing about music of the time with the I Want My MTV card game from Ginger Fox Games.
The game covers music from the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s and is great fun to play, especially in teams. There are a good mix of questions with categories including In What Year?, MTV 80’s Party Anthems Compete the Title and the questions are a mix of trivia and music videos.
The aim of the game is to answer the music based questions to win pieces of a MTV jigsaw. There are two categories of question on each card and the player can choose which category they prefer. There are 4 questions on each card and if they answer them all correctly they choose one of 4 jigsaw pieces that make up the MTV logo. The winner is the team who completes the logo first.
If they pass or give an incorrect answer the other players can try and take control of the card by shouting “I WANT MY MTV”. It’s one of those games that is best played in teams and there’s a slight twist in the game to make it more fun.
There are questions for everyone in the box so whether your era is the 80’s, 90’s or 00’s and you love rock, pop or boybands there’s plenty of questions to challenge everyone. So, if you can remember who sang that iconic anthem in the 80’s? What was the name of the first album released by the popular 90’s band xxx? Or which music video featured a custard pie battle? then you’re well on your way to collecting your puzzle piece!
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Boy, have we got a treat for you! Joe & Seph, our friends of gourmet popcorn, have sent us their range of NEW Limited Edition Cake Collection flavoured popcorn – perfect for celebrating birthdays!
If you’re wondering what gourmet popcorn is, then let me explain. Not all popcorn is created equal. Gourmet popcorn is air-popped (not fried) and coated in butter. Usually, UK popcorn is made with oil and coated with sugar but Joe & Seph’s coat their gourmet popcorn in butter. This allows yummy flavours to coat the popcorn and creates the varieties which Joe & Seph’s are now famous for. If you’re not familiar with their flavours yet either, then feast yourselves on tastes such as Salted Caramel, Toffee, White Chocolate & Raspberry as well as savoury flavours like Cheese, Marmite and even Olive Oil, Mozzarella & Tomato!
The new Cake Collection which is available online already, has several flavours based on our favourite desserts including Chocolate Fudge Cake, Peanut Butter Blondie, Millionaire’s Shortbread and Birthday Cake. These flavours are designed for celebrations, hence the Birthday Cake variety which makes an excellent birthday gift. They all make excellent gifts though, especially if you stock them up and give a bunch of them at the same time to anyone who loves popcorn.
We first tried the Chocolate Fudge Cake. It’s similar to the other chocolate coated flavours by Joe & Seph’s but much richer and you get more of a chocolate flavour. There’s definitely a fudge flavour in there too. I’m a big lover of peanut butter anyway, so the Peanut Butter Blondie popcorn is fabulous! It tastes of peanut butter (rather than peanuts) and the texture of the popcorn really reminds me of the crunchy peanut butter I love. Millionaire’s Shortbread is a mixture of chocolate and caramel with a bit of crunch in there too from the shortbread. It’s not the strongest flavour overall but you can taste the caramel and chocolate in there and it’s very rich, similar to the Chocolate Fudge Cake. Lastly, my favourite was the Birthday Cake flavour. Very sweet, with raspberry and cream cheese flavouring, it was delicious and so moreish, particularly as we ate it as a replacement dessert after dinner. I think children would like this one the most as it’s both the fruit flavour and sweet together and really reminds me of the birthday cake it’s styled after.
It’s always great to try new flavours, and these Joe & Seph’s Cake Collection flavours are not only a great idea, but will be universally loved by anyone who adores popcorn or is a fan of cakes and desserts.
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Anyone who knows me knows that my nails are always painted – fingers and toes! Since my teens I have always had colour on my nails and it’s very rare that I’m seen without it. I think this is why my nails are usually very strong and hardly ever break. However, if you’ve been in and out of the pool in the summer, or doing housework, gardening or anything else that puts a strain on your nails or gets them wet, it’s a different story.
Thanks to each of the above, I have had particularly weak nails for several weeks. Being in the pool doesn’t help, but I’ve also been on long term medication which has slowed the growth of my nails therefore making them difficult to condition and grow stronger. I had no idea how to go about getting advice on them or how to improve how they look.
Protein Formula For Nails works on the protein aspect of nails called Keratin. Keratin gives nails their strength and resilience and the proteins help cell turnover to provide room for newer, healthier cells. Protein Formula For Nails offer a Nail Analysis online which tells you which formula is best for you. I came out with formulae 2 and 4; (2) I Grow for thin, peeling nails and (4) I Strengthen for weak, damaged nails.
Each 15ml formulae are clear nail varnishes which are worn on clean, bare nails. You paint on the solution and reapply every other day to allow the proteins to work and build up strength over time. Every 7 days, remove all traces of the formula with non-acetone remover and repeat. Your nails should start to improve fairly quickly and just one coating leaves them with an even, nourished texture. Once you’ve worked on one formula, move onto Protein Formula 1, which maintains nourishment of nails.
It’s really easy to apply the treatments, it’s just like putting on nail varnish and the bottles are handy enough that you can take them with you on holiday and apply before you go in the pool and protect them from the chlorine or sea water. I started with the I Grow Formula 2, which built up over the week so that my nails were rock hard. The solution is clear so you can’t really see it and it doesn’t look like a varnish but it did protect my nails, nourishing the nail bed underneath. You can continue to use any of the Protein Formula For Nails until your nail condition improves enough that you can paint them again but I found a week was enough to see a difference. I will continue to keep using the formulae to see how strong I can get them especially as we go into winter and I want my nails in the best condition possible for Christmas!
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Emily is rich. Well her husband Mark is, working for an investment bank and Emily is very happy spending his money. That is, until something happens and Mark has to admit that their lifestyle has to change and Emily isn’t going to like it.
The story picks up their move to The Algarve, with frequent visits from their son Alex and several unintended adventures along the way. We see how both Mark and Emily have to adjust as well as how their social lives, bank balances, family dynamics and even Mark’s tennis game changes over time, and all because of a tiny tax problem Mark didn’t foresee.
With little hints about how the economy in the UK has been affected in the last 2 years (remember all the Prime Minister changes last year?) this light hearted holiday read really takes you out of rainy Britain and into the heart of The Algarve and the ex-pat community. Although it might be described as ‘chick lit’, the characters are well defined, the storyline flows and there’s a lovely style about it which makes each of the characters likeable; even Mark!
Throughout the novel there are some merry moments and thankfully, for a holiday read, there are no maudlin or heavy plots which get you down. Towards the end there are some great plot twists which are hinted at very subtly earlier in the book, but not obvious until the end. I found myself liking all of the characters, based on Emily and her family and friends, and the story was fun to watch unfold. If you live in London, especially in any of the Chelsea squares or work in City finance, you’ll recognise some of the characters and especially some of the tax legalities! You may well have friends or acquaintances who are in the same position as Emily and Mark and can empathise with. How will it end though? And I bet you didn’t think it would end in that way, did you?
Emily’s Algarve Escape is just that – the escape from Britain’s dreary summer this year and an adventure to sunnier climes with Emily and Mark making the mistakes for you along the way.
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Christmas is a time to get out the best of the best, or if you prefer, gift the best to your loved ones. Due Vittorie’s award winning Balsamic Vinegar of Moderna comes in a beautiful gift box this Christmas, ready to send to someone who loves their food as much as Due Vittorie… or will you keep this for yourself over the festive season?
Made with 80% cooked grape must and 20% wine vinegar, this is the best selling premium brand of balsamic vinegar in the whole of Italy. It’s made in the famous Modena, giving it the branded name and contains no other preservatives or additives, just the authentic Italian Modena balsamic vinegar taste. It can be added to salads, on cheese or as part of a dessert – the Italian chefs have no end of uses for it so with a bit of imagination, you’ll discover it’s not just for dipping bread into! The balsamic vinegar spends time in oak barrels to transfer the tannins, and give it a heartier, full bodied taste.
The 250ml bottle is not only beautiful but will last a whole year before you buy your next instalment! I loved trying this with bread and on salads as it’s got a slightly sweet taste and is thicker than usual shop bought balsamic. I can see why it’s one of the best selling as it’s so flavoursome. I would rather use this alone on salads rather than mixing it up to make a dressing, and it’s to die for on its own with bread or on pizza. Even the design of the bottle makes it easy to hold when you’re cooking or dressing a dish and it looks fabulous on the shelf!
Anyone who is interested in food, or specifically authentic Italian food will love this as a gift. If your loved ones prefer ‘practical’ gifts which they can use, the Due Vittorie Oro Balsamic Vinegar of Modena Gift Box is an excellent choice and at £20.00 it’s an affordable luxury – and one that will last meal after meal.
Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
We often ask for gifts at Christmas which we wouldn’t normally buy for ourselves, but an even better gifts is one which we hadn’t even thought of!
Silk pillow cases are one such present. I’d never really thought about buying them for myself, thinking that they were not what they cracked up to be or a bit cliché. Given the chance to review them though, I was pleasantly surprised. I was sent two pillow cases, one in Ivory and one in Powder Pink. Each pillow case measures 52cms by 76cms (housewife size) and is made with 100% pure mulberry silk.
Opening the delivery, I found each individual pillow case was housed in a beautiful presentation box with ‘Cocoonzzz The Secret In Silk’ elegantly detailed on the box. If you’re buying Cocoonzzz pillow cases as a gift, this is the perfect way to present them as it’s not obvious that they’re silk pillow cases at first, but they do look classy and the word ‘silk’ is very intriguing! The pillow cases inside are wrapped in paper and sealed, so when you open them, the soft fabric falls out into your lap and you immediately feel the quality.
As for putting them on the bed and sleeping with them… they’re really easy to put onto the pillows as you can imagine because the pillows just glide in so easily! When you sleep on them at night, they’re lovely and cool and stay reasonably cool all night. Just like the claims on the website, they prevent creases forming in your face and your hair doesn’t go static or lose it’s shine because the silk keeps the moisture in your skin and hair, not soaking it away like cotton fabric does. It takes 20 minutes to get used to the frictionless surface though and stopping your head falling off the pillow! I would suggest only having your top pillow as the Cocoonzzz Silk Pillow Case whilst you get used to the texture then increasing your accessories.
The pillow cases are washable by hand only, as you would imagine with silk, and only ironed on a low heat. Each case is 100% real mulberry silk and reduces the likelihood of allergic reactions.
I’d never tried real silk pillows before but these are revolutionary! They do indeed prevent the moisture from leaving your skin, and they make bedtime even more luxurious and look fantastic on the bed!
Available in various colours for £108 each (but on sale at £54 at the moment) from Belledorm at:
The Review Studio 