Home – Page 5 – The Review Studio

iWalk Portable Phone Charger for iPhone

Birthday Gifts, camping, Days Out, Family Life, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Home, Mobile Phone, Summer

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Most people are off to some kind of outdoor event this summer whether it be a concert, festival, picnic or even camping so if you’re taking your phone, you’d be prudent to take some extra battery charge for your phone too. The iWalk Portable Phone Charger for iPhone (Android also available) holds 4800mAh of charge for your phone, and all in this tiny little charge bank you can take anywhere!

Available in white, pink or black, the iWalk Portable Phone Charger takes around 90 minutes to charge but gives more than 100% of charge to an iPhone. So if your phone is down to 0%, the iWalk Charger will charge it up to 100% with a little charge left over to charge again, or hand to another friend to charge instead! (This is from me testing the charger, not official statistics from the manufacturer.) This particular iWalk is USB-C so fits newer iPhones and nowadays there are multiple other devices which aren’t phones but still have USB-C connections which can also charge from the iWalk. It’s handy to have around so I keep it in my handbag so that I can charge my phone if it goes low.

As the iWalk Portable Charger is so small (it measures approximately 3 inches long or 7.5 centimetres) it is roughly the width of your phone so you can still either type or talk on our phone as it’s charging at the same time. The compact size also makes it easy to pack away or even put in your hand luggage so that you never run out of charge. It is charged with a USB-C cable which comes with the packaging and as it doesn’t take long to charge, you can add it to your laptop as you work or even use an adapter and plug it into the wall. The two items together are so compact you can take them anywhere and the extra charge they provide will be invaluable if you lose charge.

The iWalk Portable Phone Charger also differs to other chargers because there’s a handy display on the front. When you press the button on the side, the front display shows you how much charge the device holds as a percentage. As it charges, the number goes up until it’s 100%, which doesn’t take as long as you think. The charger is lightweight but also really robust so you can keep it charging whilst moving around, even if you’re doing sports or on bumpy transport.

I really like having the iWalk Portable Charger on hand and knowing that it will reliably keep charge and then transfer it to my phone whenever I need it, and it’s especially handy as it charges as you use your phone. Not all the portable chargers can do that. Makes a great gift for a teen or for someone going travelling too.

Available from £29.99 at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/iWALK-Portable-Charger-Charging-Compatible/dp/B0CFL1Z99Y?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1

Hoover HL4 Upright Pet Vacuum Cleaner with Anti Hair Wrap

Family Life, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, Home & Garden

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

With 2 children, a collection of pets and farmer in our house it’s no wonder I seem to spend a lot of time vacuuming! Whether it’s crumbs, hair, or the ridiculous amount of straw that seems to find a way into the house, courtesy of the boy’s wellies, I find myself having to vacuum every day to try and keep my house looking presentable. I was therefore very pleased to be given the opportunity to try the Hoover HL4 Upright Pet Vacuum Cleaner with Anti Hair Wrap which was voted BEST UPRIGHT VACUUM CLEANER by Good Housekeeping in 2023.

The Hoover HL4 comes in a large box and I was really pleased to find there is no plastic packaging at all, well done Hoover! The vacuum does requires a small amount of assembly before use but it is really simple – even without reading the instructions! The vacuum comes with a crevice tool and mini turbo pets brush which optimise the cleaning performance of the vacuum. It weighs under 5kg and is very easy to manoeuvre, gliding easily over my floors, sucking up everything in its path. I was really impressed with how well it works, we have a mixture of carpet, tiles and vinyl flooring and it coped equally well on all surfaces.

There are three ways to use the vacuum – upright mode where you use the vacuum in the traditional way, upright accessory mode where you detach the handle from the unit and attach either of the tools to the wand, allowing you to reach into corners and along skirting boards and in this mode it is prefect for cleaning the car. The third option is my favourite of the three – it’s quite ingenious and certainly makes cleaning the stairs a lot easier. For this mode you remove the body of the vacuum from the brush head, detach the handle, and you then have a much lighter vacuum, giving you the freedom to manoeuvre around furniture and awkward spaces, either at floor level or higher up, and it made short work of the spiders webs that I can’t normally reach with my hoover, up the top corners of my rooms .

For the majority my cleaning I usually use it in the standard upright position and as it has a 7.6m power cord I don’t need to keep unplugging it as I move around the house. The vacuum manoeuvres easily and cleans right up to the skirtings and it has a low profile head to duck under furniture getting all those stray pieces of straw that appear all over my house. There’s two settings, one for hard floors and another for carpets and it is easy to switch between them when in use. The Anti Hair Wrap brush bar stops hair accumulating around the brushes so is perfect for those with pets or with family members with long hair!!

As I generally vacuum every day, I thought we had relatively clean carpets until I switched to this vacuum – the amount of dust that was in the dust bin after cleaning the carpets for the first time was astounding – our old vacuum was obviously not doing a very good job!

Talking of the dust bin, once it is full it is simple to remove and empty and after a quick wash it looks as good as new again. For optimum performance Hoover recommend washing the filters every month, they are easy to get to and once you have removed the excess debris they can be cleaned under a lukewarm tap and left to dry for 24 hours before refitting.

Overall we have been very impressed with the Hoover HL4 vacuum, we like how you can remove the body of the vacuum from the brushes allowing you to clean the stairs and awkward places easily and it is fantastic at picking up both dirt, straw and pet hairs. The vacuum is easy to operate, the filters are easy to clean and it comes with 3years warranty.

RRP £219 but currently on offer at £168

Thorntons Chocolate Pearls

Birthday Gifts, Children, chocolate, Family Life, Father's Day, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Home, Stocking Fillers

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Chocolate isn’t just for Easter, or Christmas but all year round the family can enjoy these Thorntons Chocolate Pearls – or would you give them to Dad for Father’s Day?

These new offerings from Thorntons are boxes of delicious individually wrapped chocolates (in the shape of a pearl) in two distinct flavours –Brownie Deluxe and Salted Caramel Sensation. Each box contains 167 grams of chocolates, which is about 18 chocolates per box. The chocolate is the same world-famous Thorntons chocolate you’re used to, with a rich smoothness to the milk chocolate but with new fillings to keep you happy!

Starting with the Salted Caramel Sensation Pearls, this flavour is relatively new given the history of chocolate but it’s everywhere now. More of a flavour for grown-ups, children will actually appreciate this variety because it’s not overpowering nor too different. The shell is made of milk chocolate with the salted caramel soft centre easy to enjoy. There’s only a hint of the salt in there, but mostly the pleasure comes from the caramel which is very rich, but not so rich that you couldn’t eat just one pearl at a time. Thorntons have really got the balance right between the size of the bite and the richness of the chocolate and filling.

The second flavour we were sent was Thorntons Brownie Deluxe. These are the same pearls with a milk chocolate shell then the filling is rich chocolate with tiny biscuit bits to make it a Brownie. The filling is not the same chocolate as the shell; it’s softer and more like a chocolate cake piece, as the name suggests. There’s not too much biscuit in it, which is something I hate in chocolates, it is more of a rich chocolate fondant and a tiny amount of small bits of biscuit. It add texture but without taking away from the chocolate indulgence!

These Thorntons Pearls could be shared by the whole family, but if Dad is a chocolate fiend, he’ll love these sophisticated chocolate flavours and will be able to drown in as much or as little of the lovely chocolatey tastes Thorntons is famous for.

Available in supermarkets or online for £5.28:

Brownie Pearls: https://www.thorntons.com/uk/en/p/pearls-brownie-deluxe/77233281

Salted Caramel Pearls: https://www.thorntons.com/uk/en/p/thorntons-pearls-salted-caramel-sensation/77226875

Just Spices Gin Making Kit

alcoholic drinks, Birthday Gifts, Drinks and Mixers, Father's Day, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, Summer

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Let’s BeGin!

For an extra different novelty gift this Father’s Day, Just Spices have this fabulous Gin Making Kit available, complete with a set of their famous different spices. If you’ve never made gin from scratch before, then read on to hear how it’s done plus how Just Spices have created this exciting kit that can be used again and again.

To make gin, you need a base alcohol. Vodka is best to start with as it’s tasteless and colourless. There isn’t any vodka included in this kit so you’ll have to buy a bottle which is at least 350ml in size, to accommodate the size of the provided bottles and the amount of spices included. The kit does have 2 glass bottles with cork stoppers, a funnel and sieve for adding the vodka and the botanicals and then tons of spices, botanicals and lovely things to make the gin taste as you wish!

The process is easy – add vodka to a bottle then add a measured amount of juniper to your bottle using the funnel. Close with the cork and shake vigorously – this is what releases the flavour into the vodka and make it gin. Add the botanicals (it’s all in the instructions) Then the gin then has to rest for any period of time (days, weeks etc) and the longer it rests the more of the botanical flavour seeps into the alcohol, thus allowing you to control the type of gin flavouring you like, plus how strong you like it. Careful though! The gin will be nearly 95% proof and too potent to drink so you need to dilute it with water before drinking or adding to a cocktail!

All the detailed instructions are in the enclosed booklet. There’s also a history of gin (originating from Holland) and a history on the different types of gin plus a rundown of the botanicals. They’re all included in the kit and are some of the expected ones like juniper and rosemary but then there are some more interesting ones like lemongrass and rose petals. You can mix up the botanicals so that you use different ones at the same time or one after the other but it’s best to stay with simple ideas and build up your knowledge as well as your pallet. There’s lots of recipes for making different flavours of gin then there’s recipes for cocktails using your new gin too!

I’ve never tried to make gin before but this is a really simple, all in one way of making it. All you need to do is add a bottle of vodka and you have the perfect gift for Father’s Day plus a new hobby which he can try. The personalisation of the gin labels and a kit which can be used again and again makes it all the more enjoyable as each bottle of homemade gin will last ages – unless your Dad likes testing the cocktails just as much!

Available from £45.99 at:

https://www.justspices.co.uk/gin-making-kit.html

Kora Organics Turmeric Brightening & Exfoliating Mask 2-In-1

beauty, Birthday Gifts, cruelty-free, Gifts for Her, health, Home, Mother's Day, Summer, Women

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

As summer is here, there’s always a need for a more enhanced beauty regime and what better way to brighten up your skin than with a face mask. Face mask that also exfoliate, like the Kora Organics Turmeric Brightening & Exfoliating Mask have the added benefit of allowing your skin products to absorb into the skin better, which also helps with summer make-up. I tested the Kora Organics Face Mask this week, knowing that I haven’t used a face mask in the winter and my skin needed some serious brightening!

Kora Organics was started by Miranda Kerr in 2009 under the belief that healthy skin is beautiful skin. Miranda and her team wanted to make a brand which was organic, cruelty-free and natural to detoxify and nourish your skin. The Turmeric in Kora’s Brightening Mask has anti-inflammatory properties and also reduces pigmentation of the skin, which is often found in older women. There are other natural ingredients too, including aspen-barn and peppermint for their antibacterial properties, and papaya enzymes which clear pores. There’s finely crushed amethyst creates the glow and the positivity of this popular crystal.

To use, it’s a gentle cream which is spread over the face, avoiding the eye areas. It’s best to massage into damp skin, so I used this in the bath and let myself soak for 15 minutes, but you can let it work in just 5 minutes. To remove, you can wash away but I liked the idea of the extra exfoliation of massaging away with finger tips or a damp cloth.

The smell of the turmeric is very powerful so if you’re not a fan of spices, you are in for a shock! The turmeric left a slight tingling on my skin but it was nothing like the sensation of a hot curry or burning so it soon went away. I assumed it was the ingredients which were working to clear away the dullness of my skin. It’s very refreshing and doesn’t feel heavy on the skin while you let it sit and work. I rather enjoyed the feeling of the exfoliating taking away the winter and allowing the summer to hit my skin, and it wasn’t drying at all so my usual face products glided on and absorbed beautifully. I could feel that my skin was cleaner, clearer and it looked brighter and after just one application of 15 minutes, there were tiny improvements to some of the discolouration of my face through age. Added bonus!

I’m very happy to continue using the Kora Organics Turmeric Brightening & Exfoliating Mask throughout the summer and seeing the long lasting effects of the Kora organic products.

Available from £47.00 for 100ml at:

https://www.cultbeauty.co.uk/kora-organics-turmeric-brightening-and-exfoliating-mask-30ml/12701160.html?affil=thggpsad&switchcurrency=GBP&shippingcountry=GB&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw48-vBhBbEiwAzqrZVKTWjR4EKEAZUWw19OVmUJXpiAEJ-MU7pEZr39D21ibWX0WRyGIQAhoCukcQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Cherry Blossom Ultra Cleaner, Shoe Protector and Regimental Gloss

Family Life, Fashion, Father's Day, Gifts for Him, Home, Home & Garden

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Cherry Blossom are synonymous with shoe cleaning and shoe maintenance. We all grew up with the Cherry Blossom polish being used on our school shoes on a Sunday night, but I wasn’t aware that the Cherry Blossom range now extends to a many more products including cleaners and protectors too. We were sent a 3-step shoe product gift box of the Cherry Blossom Platinum Eco Ultra Cleaner, Cherry Blossom Shoe Protector and the Cherry Blossom Shoe Protector.

The Platinum Eco Ultra Cleaner is a 200ml bottle of water based cleaning fluid, which dispenses as a foam which makes it really easy to apply either straight to the shoe or onto a cloth to clean. The Eco Cleaner is gentle to use on any type of footwear including leather and suede and is aimed at uppers, but you could easily use it on the soles of shoes especially trainers and durable boot soles. It’s non-abrasive so it won’t change the appearance of the shoes or leave any scratches but just gentle removes dirt, even ground in dirt. I tried it on my black leather boots which had some mud on but mostly scuffs and every day dirt. Along with the heel, the leather came up nice and clean! Which meant onto the next phase of shoe restoring…

The Cherry Blossom Platinum Regimental Gloss is 40 grams of high shine polish to be used on leather. I used the black colouring on my leather boots and was surprised at how soft the polish was compared to other brands which take a lot of work to get the polish out of the tin and onto the shoe! Using a rag, I applied the polish to all areas of black leather on my boots and left it overnight to see the full effect. The Carnauba wax in the polish leave an exceptional high gloss shine and nourishes the leather for longer. A quick buff the next day left my boots with a lovely new-looking shine. Along with Black, the other colours in the range include dark tan, mid tan, light tan and neutral.

Front boot has been polished with Regimental Gloss

Finally, the Cherry Blossom Shoe Protector is great for the extra protection which some shoes and boots need when worn all day. After I applied the Platinum Regimental Gloss Polish and removed the excess polish, I sprayed each boot with Cherry Blossom Shoe Protector. This protector is suitable for leather, suede, nubuck and fabric footwear as well as some accessories like handbags and wallets. It helps protect against rain to keep your feet dry, but also prevents stains and maintains the colour and look of shoes. This week has been great for testing the Cherry Blossom Shoe Protector with the amount of rain, and puddles there have been!

If you’re looking at this Cherry Blossom gift set for Father’s Day, then at less than £15 for all of them, they will prolong any pair of shoes at a fraction of the cost of a new pair. If you buy the set online at www.cherryblossom.co.uk and spend £20 in total, customers receive free shipping too.

Cherry Blossom Regimental Gloss £2.95: https://cherryblossom.co.uk/products/regimental-gloss

Cherry Blossom Shoe Protector £5.95: https://cherryblossom.co.uk/products/shoe-protector?variant=41808837378247

Cherry Blossom Platinum Ultra Eco Cleaner £5.95: https://cherryblossom.co.uk/products/eco-ultra-cleaner?variant=41817849757895

Grangers Footwear & Gear Cleaner Eco Refil Pack

camping, Children, eco friendly, Family Life, Home, Home & Garden, National Walking Month, Sustainable

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

We are all aware of the need nowadays to protect the environment and use less plastic and packaging, so when Grangers sent us the Footwear & Gear Cleaner Eco Refill pack, we were very happy to be able to use the refill pack for our existing Grangers bottle and help save resources. Refills are also cheaper too!

The Footwear & Gear Cleaner is brilliant at getting rid of absolutely anything from your shoes including mud, every day dirt and bad smells. Use on the uppers of shoes (although it doesn’t hurt the soles of some shoes such a walking boots and trainers) and you’ll start to see the dirt come away. I used it on some running shoes with the Eco Refil pack replenishing what was in the bottle and just following instructions – spray onto the shoe upper and work into the material, rinsing away with a damp cloth.

Shoes come up cleaner and noticeably remove odours if they’re present. It also restores a lot of the original waterproofing if it was originally there on the shoe upper. Cleaning with Grangers Footwear & Gear Cleaner also extends the life of shoes, so these refills are even more economical!

Available from £3.85: https://grangers.co.uk/products/footwear-gear-cleaner-eco-refill

Fabsil Universal Protector

camping, Family Life, Father's Day, Home, Home & Garden, National Walking Month, Sport, Summer

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Fabsil are well known for their outdoor care products, and the Universal Protector is perfect for tents, marquees and gazebos. Did you know it can also be used on outdoor furniture too, such as parasols, and materials such as suede, leather and sheepskin. The possibilities are endless!

We tried the 400ml aerosol spray on furniture covers that are a couple of years old now. The 400ml size was easy to use liberally on the covers which extends to a large table, two sofas and several chairs. It’s important to get the covers clean first though, so after a wet winter, it takes some effort to clean the covers and then water proof them!

An alternative use for the Fabsil Universal Protector is on shoes and outerwear. For smarter shoes, Fabsil Universal Protector works wonders because it’s clear and doesn’t change the colour of suede or leather, it just dries naturally. If you have a new pair of shoes and don’t want them to get splash stains or to penetrate too much water, Universal Protector really helps. It doesn’t make shoes waterproof as such, but they are splash proof and prevent water seeping in and staining or changing the texture.

Fabsil Universal Protector is one of those products you buy for one use but then end up using it on everything. Best keep one spare in the shoe cupboard for your next pair of favourite boots!

Available from £9.25 at: https://www.fabsil.com/products/universal-protector

Ikago Smart Mug and Heat Coaster Pro

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, coffee, Family Life, Father's Day, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Home, Mother's Day, Plastic free, Sustainable, Tech

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

I had seen heated mug warmers on Instagram and wondered how good they were and whether the price (much more than a coffee mug!) was worth it so I was intrigued to find out when we were sent the Ikago Heat Coaster Pro. Perfect as a gift that you didn’t know you needed, this is brilliant for parents whose coffee always goes cold when there are small children around, or if you’re in a long meeting and want hot coffee throughout!

What is it? The Ikago Heat Coaster Pro is an electric heating pad which plugs into a normal electrical socket. The ceramic mug which is part of the set is placed on top of the coaster and is kept at a constant temperature using the infrared emitter. This means that as long as the coaster is plugged in and your mug is sitting on it, the temperature of your coffee (or other beverage!) is kept constant until you either drink it… or top it up!

To use, unpack all the equipment. As well as the heated coaster the ceramic mug is included, along with a lid and a spoon. The mug is actually quite attractive and 100% handmade and I was surprised it was a slightly bigger size than I expected. The lid is needed to keep the heat in so that the temperature can be kept constant and the spoon works with the infrared emitter.

Plug the coaster into the wall and the lights come on, but you need to press the power button at the side. The coaster will only heat up with the mug on the plate so make sure you have your coffee made and in the mug before you put it on. To change the temperature, use the display – and + signs to reach temperature sup to 65 Centigrade (150 Fahrenheit). You probably don’t know the exact temperature you like your coffee to be at, so this may take some trial and error before you get the right temperature! Don’t worry about remembering the exact number though, the Ikago Heat Coaster Pro will remember the last temperature and make sure your coffee is heated to that.

This is actually a really fun gift to receive because it’s not just a novelty item, it’s really useful and has longevity, it’s easy to use and the fun of getting it set up and discovering ‘your temperature’ and getting it right is all part of the process. It took me just 2 attempts to get the temperature right and actually allowed me to have a hot drink and not be distracted by filling up the mug when it got cold. I think it’s a brilliant idea for anyone working from home or who needs to concentrate as in time, I will get used to having the Ikago Smart Mug Warmer by my side and can rely on it.

It’s not ideal for warming a cup from cold, so it’s always best to have the drink hot first and either warm it slightly or keep it at the same temperature. NEVER use anything other than the ceramic mug as infrared and the radio waves can affect plastic, glass and quartz so best to stay away for safety reasons.

I think I’ll be using the Ikago Smart Mug and Heat Coaster Pro for a long time to come, and you can expect this gift from me in the future!

Available from £54 at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ikago-Smart-Mug-Warmer-Thermometry/dp/B0BML12VKN?th=1

Just Spice BBQ Seasoning

Food & Drink, Home, Summer

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

It is finally BBQ. Well, for the fire lovers amongst us who love to fire up the BBQ but even if you can’t BBQ this weekend, Just Spice have a new BBQ flavouring which can be used on any foods, not just those outdoors!

The New BBQ Allrounder is a smoky barbeque seasoning which can be used on almost anything including meat, fish or vegetables. You don’t have to BBQ the food for the flavour to come out. Instead, spread it liberally on meats and fish to cook them in the oven or grill, and the same with vegetables such as peppers and onions. Why not try adding BBQ Allrounder to mashed potatoes? You could add them to boiled potatoes too or jackets with lashings of cheese if you’re cooking indoors and for outdoor BBQing, adding butter and BBQ Allrounder to sweetcorn will have it popping with taste with the mix of flavours.

You could also try it in the air fryer. The dry BBQ Allrounder seasoning works really well with vegetables that might have some moisture to them already like tomatoes or squash. I tried it on avocado though, with seasoning on top of the avocado on toast to give it more of a deep, smoky flavour.

As another seasoning in the Just Spice flavour rack, there are endless items of food you can add BBQ Allrounder to, and you don’t have to get the BBQ out in order to do it! BBQ Allrounder is found on the herbs and spices section of the supermarkets, or you can buy from the Just Spice extensive range online.

Available at Waitrose from £4.00 https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/just-spices-bbq-seasoning/624786-824829-824830

TermaBurn Post-Sun Aloe Wrap

beauty, Days Out, Family Life, health, Home, Summer

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

If you’ve ever had sunburn you know what it feels like to have burning skin and your underlying fear of what comes next once the skin dries out. It inevitably isn’t pleasant and isn’t healthy either.

If you find yourself burned this year, especially whilst on holiday, TermaBurn Post-Sun Aloe Wrap combines the healing properties of aloe vera with a revolutionary wrap format which makes it easy and much quicker to apply than aloe vera gel. The 100% organic aloe is combined with Vitamin E, and Green Tea for anti-inflammation to create a moist web which when placed over the sun burnt skin can help healing. It can also prevent further burning as the aloe and ingredients take away the damaging heat and also leave your skin moist to prevent peeling too.

The whole roll is 52 inches (1.32 metres) which you can cut to any size. So if the burn is on your face, across your back or chest or even on your hands, you have plenty TermaBurn to use liberally to cool your skin. It can be worn under clothes and doesn’t leave a residue and doesn’t need to be refrigerated first.

Even if you’re not going on holiday, many people find TermaBurn great for grazes and household burns, itches and allergies and generally keeping cool in the summer especially for children and the elderly. There are no drugs involved so you can use as much as you need and keep it on your skin for as long as needed. Rashes and insect bites are often soothed as well, especially if you put any ointments on underneath and let the TermaBurn do the cooling and sealing on top.

Whoever came up with this brilliant idea has obviously had some serious sunburn in the past, but hopefully it won’t be as serious anymore with TermaBurn around.

Available from £19.95 at: https://termaburn.co.uk/products/termaburn-aloe-wrap

My Little Sudocrem

Baby, beauty, camping, Children, Days Out, Family Life, health, Home, Sport, Summer

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

It’s that time of year again, when we start to think about the summer beauty products we need. Probably best not to rely on what’s left of last year and instead start anew with some beautiful, yet practical summer products.

My Little Sudocrem 22 gram pots are great for summer, family, taking to work and even better for taking on holiday! The hand-held pots are filled with Sudocrem but their size makes them so much easier to carry around and to use. Not only for children, I use my Sudocrem as a hand cream when I’m sitting at my desk, or after a bath or shower on any skin area but particularly on hands and feet when they’re dry. You can rub it into knees and elbows too and with a bit of work, any area of skin to create a barrier as well as deep hydration.

If you’ve never used Sudocrem before, let me explain. Sudocrem includes zinc oxide which helps reduce the loss of moisture from the skin. It’s incredibly rich, not like a face cream, but this richness which eventually works into the skin will create a barrier to reduce fluid loss but also create a barrier. Great for the child who loves to amble through the long grass or bracken. Sudocrem also contains benzol alcohol, which has local anaesthetic and antiseptic properties so if you are out in nature, it allows for the odd scrape or irritant to touch the skin. It’s also packed with Anhydrous hypoallergenic lanolin to both soften and soothe skin, which is great for outdoor life, children and even in the kitchen.

The small 22 gram pot might not sound like much, but as it’s so rich and so powerful, it’s the perfect size for a small area of skin because it goes a long way. Just a tiny dab on the back of the hands needs real effort to work in but when it does, it covers both hands and leaves them smooth and mega hydrated.

I’ve currently got my office using the My Little Sudocrem pots as we are in our busiest time of the year for paperwork. The dry fingers and chapped thumbs from using so much paper is much soothed by Sudocrem, and even a super dry face enjoys a little hydration, although I use it sparingly as it leaves a bit of a film on softer or more delicate skin!

There are other Sudocrem items available online, but the My Little Sudocrem pots are all-rounders in the summer when virtually anyone can use them from day to day.From £5.95 each at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/TOSARA-PHARMA-My-Little-Sudocrem/dp/B07MXR26G3/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3BISM2WA5U3J&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Hp2noYSexjFvxATmJJ5Oxo4NcP2ZtCRH7KtFl-goMRlSYm4MvY0Rs-cKYa5GBQDfRK9o0YXHQlL8okbLJX_Pcjh6GT0O0yOz7POfdx1E-8yrs_sfoWji1BwRAp7J_GpqdPjFY4d5Iae3RyHxLYuFMlxBfufoPxLKky_y3-lfWf2vat1FvIS6qgfeR2mDdFaP7zdt-L_f6zIHrsjTIcp7RbTiEimreILQdVdRy8BOhjkpNkQaLhGm1qzLLj0E95ZIPdeKZPRqwYm8g7C12qRx0DDiuhWv8e1YJmKiSz3SO40.j4p4X5gH_-WvHSOQ-xA77BZjesaxN3jG02f4Y8ZC2cQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=my+little+sudocrem&qid=1715275193&s=drugstore&sprefix=my+little+sudocrem%2Cdrugstore%2C157&sr=1-1

Woodwick Linen Large Hourglass Candle

Autumn, Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Family Life, Father's Day, Fragrance, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Home, Home & Garden, Mother's Day, secret santa, Spring, Stocking Fillers, Summer, Valentine's Day Gifts, Winter, Women

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

Scented candles are an easy way to create a cosy and relaxing ambiance in your home and I find lighting one in the evening really helps me unwind after a busy day at work. I have lots of candles around my house and I love to change the scent to match the seasons. Fresh scents like linen are perfect for Spring so I was really pleased to receive a Woodwick Linen Large Hourglass Candle which not only looks stylish but smells fantastic too – just like freshly washed linen blowing in the breeze.

The candle has Woodwick’s exclusive, patented wooden wick, Pluswick®Innovation which creates the sound of a crackling fire which helps create a cosy ambience when the candle is lit. The wicks are handcrafted and produce a generous wax pool which helps release the beautiful fragrance into the room. Our lounge is very high and sometimes it takes a while for the fragrance to permeate around the room but I found that once lit it didn’t take long for the sublime fragrance to diffuse around the room. The linen fragrance is nice and fresh and is perfect anywhere in the house, creating a welcoming feel in your hall or a tranquil oasis of calm in a bedroom or bathroom. The fragrance is lovely and not too overpowering and it fragranced my room beautifully, lasting long after the flame had been blown out.

The candle weighs 610g and whilst there isn’t a burn time given it’s such a big candle I know it will last a good while. The scent is nice and consistent and so far the candle has burned nice and evenly. It is advised to burn the candle for 3-4 hours at a time and trim the wick to 1/8” before each use.

The candle is in a tall, solid glass jar and looks very elegant, the simple design will suit any style of décor and not look out of place whether it’s in the hallway, lounge, bedroom or bathroom.

Woodwick candles are beautiful to look at, smell absolutely gorgeous and as they have such a great selection of fragrances they make perfect gifts for any occasion whether that’s a wedding, housewarming, birthday, Christmas or why not just treat yourself ??

To view more of their range, or find out more about Woodwick candles head over to the Woodwick website.

RRP £32.99

SJCam C200 Pro Action Camera

Birthday Gifts, camping, Children, Family Life, Father's Day, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, Sport, Summer, Tech

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

What’s better than taking up a new action hobby or sport in 2024? Making a movie of it! Father’s Day has cranked up a notch this year with the high definition SJCam C200 Pro Action Camera.

This camera is absolutely tiny! At less than 7 centimetres tall, it fits inside your pocket, let alone in your hand luggage to go on holiday, or even to take on days out. The 20 MP quality can record in 4K at 30 fps and has an impressive average of 120 minutes battery time. The field of vision is 135 degrees and records in jpeg with features such as time lapse, slow-mo and can even be used as a webcam.

Less of the technical details though and more about what fun you can have with the camera! The small size makes it easy to adapt to different environments and because it’s waterproof and has a touch screen, you can use it for all sorts of activities. On holiday, it can be used at the beach or by the pool, or you can attach it to one of the enclosed mounts and put on a bike or take on a hike with you. Inside the box is a waterproof case, back clip, frame mount, base mount, curved and flat mount and other accessories including a cleaning cloth, adhesive stickers and USB cable. Everything you need. In case you were worries about how much room this takes up as a box, everything packs into a box which is smaller than the size of a brick!

The SJCam C200 Pro has a built-in stabiliser, giving you anti-shake video thanks to gyro technology and it has automatic face recognition so that you can focus on the action, and not just randomly filmed footage. This makes sense when you realise this is a camera that you don’t look through the view finder, it’s very much a ‘stick it up and go’ type camera where you rely on the settings and view the content later. The controls are all from the 1.3” touch screen which is easy to use, but it’s not obvious by looking at the camera that it’s also waterproof to 30 metres (98 foot). It’s excellent for all adventures, but imagine taking it on a high-speed boat ride? Or even surfing or sailing?

You can share all the footage via Wifi too, so anyone with a phone or device can see a copy of what you’ve captured. I prefer to remove the SD card from the device though and put the card in a computer to transfer the data faster. I wish I could say I was an expert at editing film, but with the right software, you can have some expert level editing going on with really high quality movies from the SJCam C200 Pro.

There are more features to the SJCam C200 Pro but they’re all a bit high tech for a beginner like me. What I will say though, is that taking this camera out and playing with it has really encouraged me to try out some different sports that I wouldn’t normally, just to see how good it can look on camera. It’s also made me explore my video editing software on my Mac so that I can start to use the video I do have and learn how to use the more advanced features of SJCam S200 Pro. So if you’re looking for a project this summer, or want motivation to get into a new sport and keep your hand in photography, this is an excellent way of discovering a world I hadn’t even thought of.

Even better, if you want to get your teenager off their phone and outside more, you could do worse than buy them an SJCam C200 Pro and tell them to go out and explore, just to get the camera working for them. For less than £130, you never know what Kelly Slater or Bode Miller it might inspire.

Available from £129 at: https://shop.sjcam.com/product/cameras/action-cameras/c200-pro

Edifier WH700NB Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones

Birthday Gifts, camping, Family Life, Father's Day, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Home

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

In preparation for the holidays, or just as a gift for Father’s Day, headphones can be used by everybody and not just for listening to music. These wireless headphones connect to Bluetooth but are also noise cancelling and are fantastic for gaming.

If you’re not familiar with Edifier, then read on to find out about their top range of headphones and earbuds. The WH700NB Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones are super all-round headphones thanks to their Bluetooth connection, titanium coated 40mm dynamic drivers and Active Noise Cancellation.

These headphones are in ivory, but also come in black, grey and navy. Perfect for holidays, they fold up smaller so that they can be taken on a plane or as hand luggage, plus they can be connected to two devices at once – that means you can be listening to the TV on the plane and also be connected to your phone. Or even connected to a work call but also listening out for a personal call on your mobile without having to switch over at short notice.

Connecting to Bluetooth is easy, just like any other Edifier appliance. By pressing the Bluetooth button on the headphones and making them ‘findable’ it means the paired device can connect and stays connected, even when you turn off the headphones or the other device. My laptop finds these WH700NB headphones as soon as I turn them on at the headphone power button and just opens my usual Music app so that I can start playing straight away.

The headphones have a few buttons on the right headset which allow you to adjust what you hear. There’s a skip up and down button and a central power button. Under that, there’s the Bluetooth connectivity button and the charging point which is for a C-USB charger, the same as the newer Apple laptops and iPhones, so you’ll only need one charging cable. Like most headphones now, they are Active Noise Cancelling so even if you don’t want to play music, they block out outside noise but allow for human voice to get through. These are BRILLIANT on a plane when you want to sleep with no sound playing, or if you want to listen to music or a movie and not be disturbed by the engine noise. It does allow for you to hear the cabin crew when they try and speak to you though, which is always a bonus when you’re waiting for your inflight meal before you go to sleep!

The charging takes a few hours, as is normal for headphones of this size. You do get 45 hours of Active Noise Cancellation hearing time with a full charge though, and 68 hours of hearing when you switch off the ANC. If you think about it, that’s a whole holiday’s worth of listening and assumes that you don’t charge the headphones the whole time you’re away. You can get 8 hours of listening time in with just 10 minutes of charging, making them easy to charge in the car or whilst you go for breakfast. Think of how useful they are when camping though!

For the price of (currently) £39.99 these are a steal too. They’re high end enough that you won’t get annoyed by tinny music or not connecting properly but not so pricy that you can’t take them on and off all the time. I like having headphones in when I’m commuting to work so that I can not only listen to music but it drowns out the chatter around me, or worse, the engine noise of trains and buses. They’re really lightweight too so I don’t notice when I’m carrying them in my handbag or rucksack.

Available for £39.99 at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edifier-WH700NB-Active-Cancelling-Headphones-Black/dp/B0CFVLVD46

St Michel Choco Snacks

Children, chocolate, Family Life, Home, Lunchbox Fillers, snacks, Summer

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

The St Michel Muffin, Waffle, Burger and Donut Choco snacks have recently been launched in the UK and we were sent a sample of each to try for this summer.

Made completely free from palm oil with no preservatives, interestingly they are made with cage-free eggs, giving a better life to the hens. St Michel is France’s premiere cake and biscuit brand, in business since 1905 and very proud of how they select the best quality ingredients.

Each box has 6 individually wrapped cakes, each one weighing around 30 grams each. Each variety has a different shape and use of the chocolate, so you’ll soon have a preference as to whether you like your chocolate in the middle (Choco Burger) or a Choco Donut, dipped in chocolate instead. The Choco Muffins are just as tasty and probably more suited to adults wanting a snack in the office or on the go and the Choco Waffles make a fun treat for anyone.

They’re made in France with French ingredients including French wheat with each sponge cake in a different shape or formation and topped or filled with smooth chocolate. They certainly have that chocolate-y taste which gives you the sweet hit when you need it. The sponges are feather light and contain sunflower oil instead of palm oil to not only save the palm oil forests but the sunflower gives a different hit to the texture of the sponge. The chocolate, which is made of hazelnut paste, is deliciously decadent and just what you would imagine from French patisseries. Just keep them less than 25 degrees centigrade otherwise you’ll end up with a sticky mess this summer!

St Michel Choco snacks are a fabulous snack idea for anyone who loves cake, needs a snack or wants something with a bit more goodness than sweets during the day. Perfect for chocolate lovers too.

Available from £2.00 at Tesco, Waitrose and online at Ocado: https://www.ocado.com/products/st-michel-doomino-chocolate-584037011

Clearspring Japanese Condiments

Family Life, Food & Drink, Gluten Free, Home, Spring, Summer

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Clearspring produce authentic Japanese fine foods and have recently added five new condiments to its offering: Organic Shichimi, Organic Irigoma Whole Sesame and Black Sesame, and Organic Gomashio Whole Sesame and Black Sesame flavour. Of course, we were eager to try them ourselves so the team sent over a batch of them, including some gluten free Soba noodles and Brown Rice noodles to make a proper meal of it!

The box of treats also included some recipe cards, so I had a go at making Zaru Soba with cold dipping broth. Using the Buckwheat Soba Noodles, Clearspring Organic Irigoma Sesame Seeds, Shichimi Togarashi Seven Spices and Clearspring Sushi Nori and Clearspring Organic Instant Noodle Broth Tsuyu (both not shown) I got to making the quick lunchtime recipe. All it took was boiling the noodles as instructed on the pack, diluting the noodle broth and adding the sesame seeds and the sushi nori with some radish and spring onion. Literally just 10 minutes and you have a lunch, or snack, which you can add to chicken, beef or any other main dish. The noodles themselves were a lovely meal though and I’d happily have them as a snack too.

The different types of sesame seeds can be used for sushi, rice, noodles, salads or tofu. All of the condiments featured here are staples in Japanese kitchens, so why haven’t we seen them before? Clearspring are bringing us these new flavours, and textures, to your cooking to make a difference to every day meals or helping you try something new – have you ever made your own sushi before?

One example is Shichimi, or Seven Spices. Containing chilli, citrus notes and complex umami rich flavours of nori and sesame, it’s quintessentially Japanese but also flavoursome enough that you can use it anywhere. This was a great addition to the Soba noodles I made, but actually, it goes well with meats too and I found it to be a lovely addition to salads. It’s ready made with all the mix of flavours so you can add it straight from the bottle with no thinking. Like all the Clearspring ingredients, it’s organic too.

You’ll also find similar uses for the different types of sesame seeds which were included in the pack sent to us; Gomashio and Irigoma in both toasted black and whole sesame seeds. These are traditionally used in noodles and some are used in sushi and tofu too but mixed with sea salt, they give a different flavour to any dish. Try mixing it in rice to give a different blend, or adding to sushi too. The noodles are a great cupboard stash for you to go to whenever you need a quick meal, and the Clearspring condiments are your secret power to be able to add an extra flavour element to not only Japanese meals, but to any meals you make.

Which Clearspring flavour are you going to experiment with this spring?

Available online from £3.99 at: https://www.clearspring.co.uk/collections/condiments

The Garden of Eva Relish and Chutney from the American South

Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Home, Lunchbox Fillers, Summer

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

You know it is summer when your neighbours start advertising on WhatsApp that they’ve got a free BBQ to give away, which is what happened to me this morning… and I realised that it probably is outdoor weather from now on. The Garden of Eva have a lovely array of condiments which are made of garden products you probably wouldn’t have ever thought of making relishes out of! I’m all for trying new flavours and new ingredients so the lovely team at Garden of Eva sent us some to try. Any excuse to get the posh cheese out!

The Garden of Eva array include American Southern Chili-Watermelon Jam, American Southern Chow Chow and American Southern Pickled Watermelon Rind. Starting with the Chili-Watermelon Jam, this watermelon heavy relish contains garlic, ginger, chili peppers and cinnamon with a generous helping of Jalapeno chili to give a beautiful rich flavour. You can taste the watermelon in it because the juicy sweet flavour comes through, but the hot Jalapeno gives it a beautiful kick that certainly makes you remember it! I tried it with a very strong Cheddar cheese and the two flavours hit it off.

Inspired by the use of watermelon, I then tried the Pickled Watermelon Rind. These are chunks of watermelon rind which have been marinated in sugar and vinegar with only a little salt and cinnamon. They’re absolutely delicious though! They’re not hot to taste, but you can taste the watermelon in them and the slight cinnamon. They’re not tough either, which is what I was expecting from a rind. Instead, they’re really soft and like marinated garlic pieces you get with sushi. The sweet watermelon taste is there and I can totally see these being eaten straight out of the jar although I’m thinking on a salad to give a different taste, or definitely in a sandwich.

Lastly, the American Southern Chow Chow contains tomato, cabbage, bell peppers onion and spices with some mustard and celery seeds too. This again wasn’t too hot, so children could have it, but it does have a tang to it from the vinegar. It was again wonderful! It would go really nicely at a BBQ or with a burger. I’ve never tried Chow Chow before but Garden of Eva makes it taste like it’s homemade. The flavours of the mustard and spices are all there, and the different textures really make it stand out. Delicious!

If you’re making up a charcuterie board or a hamper for someone who loves food, I guarantee that these are going to be a winner! They’re unusual ingredients but exquisitely put together with just the right amount of vinegar and time to make them a new addition to your fridge this summer. I’m already planning my BBQ around which relishes I want to use up first!

Chili Watermelon Jam £4: https://www.gardenofeva.co.uk/products/chili-watermelon-jam

Pickled Watermelon Rind £6.49 : https://www.gardenofeva.co.uk/products/pickled-watermelon-rind-coming-soon

Chow Chow £5.99: https://www.gardenofeva.co.uk/products/southern-chow-chow

Annabelle Minerals Pressed Powders

beauty, Birthday Gifts, eco friendly, Fashion, Gifts for Her, Home, Stocking Fillers, Summer, Women

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Spring is here! Which is another excuse to start looking at your make up collection and trying out some new pieces from Annabelle Minerals. We were sent some pressed powders (which I’ve never tried before) to see how we like their summer shades and award winning foundation.

Annabelle Minerals work to the theory of natural make up to bring out your own natural beauty. The ingredients nourish the skin and help prevent clogged pores, inflammation and excess sebum.

The Annabelle Minerals Pressed Powder Foundation comes in a beautiful metal compact with mirror and a separate sponge applicator. The Pressed Powder Foundation is a concentrated powder which has a slightly different colour to their loose counterparts so it’s worth trying it out first – I put too much on the sponge and found that I had applied the foundation too thickly so I had to reverse the coverage. With a bit of time though, you can soon get the coverage as well as the colour. This is why it’s won the Global Green Beauty Awards in 2023!

The photos show my face without any make-up and then half my face with the Pressed Powder Foundation. As my skin is very light and it’s the beginning of spring, I have the shade Natural Light but with refills online and 20 shades available at Annabelle Minerals’ shop, you can change your shade throughout the year. You can see the coverage that just one application of the Pressed Powder gives, and with some blending and a proper base (I didn’t use any primer or foundation this time) you can see that the age spots and some of the blemishes are evened out. The make-up itself feels really light especially as you don’t need much of it to make a difference. Having the second colour (I was sent a refill of Natural Fair) you can blend both colours together to match your skin tone or the tone of the contour look you’re trying to achieve.

The Pressed Powder is a really good idea because of how concentrated it is and how easy it is to apply. It’s not a liquid foundation so you can take it on a plane with you but it’s so light that you don’t need much and can apply it quickly, in the knowledge that it gives great coverage. It allowed my skin to breath as well, giving a lovely glow as all Annabelle Minerals products too. A lovely new product to add to the handbag this year!

Pressed Powder Foundation (in Natural Light colour) £23.90 at:

https://www.annabelleminerals.com/en_gb/face/1387-1923077-pressed-powder-foundation.html#/486-options-metal_compact/501-foundation_shade-natural_light

Sharp Tokyo DR-P420 Radio

Birthday Gifts, camping, Christmas, Family Life, Father's Day, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, Mother's Day, Tech, Valentine's Day Gifts, Women

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

I’m a real fan of the radio and as well as listening to it in the car I also enjoy listening to it at home on my portable FM radio. As an avid radio listener, I was very pleased to be given the opportunity to try a Tokyo DR-P420 from SHARP as not only is it much newer and nicer looking than my ancient radio, a DAB radio offers a much wider choice of radio stations.

The Tokyo DR-P420 is a small, portable radio which offers both digital and analogue radio along with Bluetooth streaming. It can be powered by 4 AA batteries for portable listening or from a USB supply using the provided cable.

Setting up the radio is really simple, the radio automatically searches for radio stations and then up to 20 favourites can be stored for both DAB and FM radio. Three of the favourites can be recalled using buttons on the panel, the rest with an extra button press. The time is picked up automatically and is displayed when the radio is in standby.

When you’ve had enough of the radio, you can also stream music from your phone using Bluetooth 5.0 and the buttons on the front panel can then be used to play, pause and skip tracks as well as controlling the volume.

Whatever you’re listening to, the sound quality from the single speaker is excellent and is loud enough to fill most rooms. If the rest of your family don’t appreciate your choice in radio stations or music then don’t worry as you can also listen through headphones as there is a headphone socket on the rear of the radio.

The radio now has a permanent spot on my desk but it can also be used as a clock radio when powered from USB. Two different alarms can be set with options for weekday or weekends, and each allows a choice of alarm with either a radio pre-set or buzzer to wake you.

I really love the Sharp Tokyo DR-P420, it is easy to set up has excellent sound quality and with all the extra stations I’m finding I’m listening to the radio even more now!

Available in Black, Steel Blue, Blossom Pink and Snowy White

RRP £39.99 available from Currys, Robert Dyas, Amazon and The Range

Hay-Band for Hay Fever suffers

camping, Children, Family Life, health, Home, REUSABLE, Spring, Summer, Theatre

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

I wish I could tell you that I tried out the Hay-Band in some tropical climate, in the middle of summer when all the pollen is in the air and the humidity is a scorcher, but alas, it’s only March here in England and the pollen is only just getting started! However, I am a hay fever sufferer and it does start around this time of year for me, probably with tree pollen from the blossoms.

I am not good with medications; antihistamines make me drowsy even if they’re the non-drowsy type, so I have to reply on lots of other methods to keep the pollen out, including air purifiers indoors and washing my hair daily to keep levels low. Hay-Band works on non-medical principals – the acupressure points from Chinese Medicine. The pressure point is called LI-11 and is on either arm, and works to alleviate allergy symptoms.

The Hay-Band is an elastic double band with a plastic pressure button in the middle. The acupressure point is at the end of the elbow crease when you bend your arm, so it’s at this point you need to slide the band onto your arm and position the button in the right place. There’s a really clear video on the Hay-Band website here: https://hay-band.co.uk

You can wear the band discreetly at all times, and it can be preventative or used when symptoms start. There are no side effects, so you can use it all times, even in bed at night but it is not advised to be used when pregnant. If the symptoms aren’t waning, then you can make little adjustments to where the button lays on your arm to hopefully help. The Hay-Band can be re-worn over and over and is washable too – it won’t affect the button position if you put it through the washing machine!

I found that putting the band on was a bit tight as I have quiet muscly arms and the band is only available in one colour and one size so far (15cm – 40cm circumference). Once it sits on your arm, you hardly notice it’s there but I think once the button hits the right place when your allergies are flaring, you suddenly feel it. It would be perfect for children or people who have to work without having to take drowsy medication and of course, as soon as you take it off the effect will stop working so if you don’t get on with it, there’s no harm done.

I can’t wait to use it when summer is finally here, and in conjunction with other non-medical methods it should work perfectly especially when out and about or needing to work. Just pay attention to the tan lines it may create if you wear it on holiday…

Available online for £13.09 at: https://hay-band.co.uk/buy

Tower Aquajetplus Carpet Washer

Family Life, Home, Home & Garden, kitchen appliances, Spring, Tech

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

With spring here, most of us are thinking about the Spring Cleaning jobs we have to do, especially as its warm enough to open the windows and get some air into the house! This year I really need to concentrate on getting a proper clean done before the really hot weather when it’s so humid so I was delighted to be able to review the Tower Aquajetplus Carpet Washer.

The Tower Aquajetplus Carpet Washer is a mid-range cleaner which means it isn’t the heavy duty, really expensive carpet cleaner you typically hire for a weekend. Instead, this is a cleaner which can clean a whole carpet or just spot clean heavy use areas and then be put away until you need to use it again 6 months later. This is reflected in the cost, which is usually £119.99 but is on offer at the moment for £79.99.

The carpet washer comes mostly assembled with just the handle to put together with the 3 screws included. You’ll need to read the instructions and have a screwdriver handy to attach it but it literally takes a minute to assemble. The rest of the carpet washer comprises of the body (mostly assembled) and a detachable water tank and dirty water reservoir. They fit together with a click so again, it doesn’t take long. There’s a 5 metre cable to the washer which makes it easier to move around a room and probably fits most UK room sizes.

Using the detergent provided, I filled up the clean water tank with warm tap water. The tank clips back into the midsection and once you make sure the dirty water reservoir is properly attached (I didn’t and water went everywhere!) then you’re good to go. Make sure you dry vacuum the whole area first with your usual vacuum cleaner to get rid of large particles. You can decide whether you want to do a whole room or just the busy areas as it does leave the carpet wet for at least a day. If you have small children around or pets it might be best to do a few rooms and then go away for a weekend without people walking on it and let it dry. Alternatively, you can do smaller areas in the summer when everyone is at work and the heat of the day will dry it quicker.

There is definitely a knack to how you use the washer, and it took me a while and a bit of YouTube to find out how to do it. The Tower Aquajetplus Carpet Washer washes as you push it away from you and then vacuums up the water as you pull it towards you. You have to compress the trigger on the handle as you push it away to deploy the water and detergent otherwise it doesn’t work. It is the backward motion of the washer that vacuums up the dirty water otherwise the water sits in the carpet and takes ages to dry. It takes a few tries on each stretch of carpet to clean and then vacuum the water for the washing to be really effective. Think of it like mowing a lawn – long straight lines at a slow, even speed but instead of just going over the line once, you have to drag the washer backwards over the same line several times.

It took a while for me to get used to the noise too. It is incredibly loud so I would suggest doing the cleaning when the neighbours aren’t home and especially when no one else in the house is on a call or asleep! Ear defenders or noise cancelling headphones were a must for me. The washer isn’t particularly heavy so you don’t need to be super fit or have a lot of strength to use it. The clean water tank isn’t that big (maybe 1 litre?) so that brings the weight down but I found that I had to fill it up several times just for my small landing carpet. As you clean, you can see the dirty water being sucked up into the reservoir so you know it’s working, and it becomes a challenge to see the state of the water at the end! To remove the reservoir, just unclip using the blue bar and remove the plug at the back. Be warned though, if you pick it up at the wrong angle, the water runs out through the inlet and not through the plug!

How did it work? Well after I went over the carpet a few times with an empty water tank and just vacuumed up most of the water, I found that it had cleaned the carpet plus it wasn’t soaked as I imagined. It took about 36 hours to dry, so not the next day but the day after it was dry enough to see that there was a difference in the colour of the carpet as well as the stains.

Tower Aquajetplus Carpet Washer

Pros:

Much cheaper than the hire carpet cleaners and lighter to lift
Easy to store as it’s the same size as a vacuum cleaner
Gives a very good clean of carpets and doesn’t take long to dry afterwards
Great for spot cleaning or heavy use areas and whole rooms if you have time

Cons:

Very noisy!
It takes a while to work out the knack of how to clean in one direction and vacuum in the other
Works better on smaller areas
Fiddly to get the clean water tank and dirty water reservoir lined up without water going everywhere.

Available from £79.99 at:

https://www.towerhousewares.co.uk/carpet-washers/tcw5-aquajetplus-carpet-washer

TOZO Tonal Dots T12 Wireless Earbuds

Birthday Gifts, Children, Family Life, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Home, Summer, Tech

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

The TOZO Tonal Dots T12 Wireless Earbuds are some nifty headphones which for the price, do everything you expect them to do and more. We were sent a pair to review this week, which are perfect for the summer and those sports activities that are starting again soon.

The TOZO Tonal Dots T12 are wireless stereo earbuds which come in their own carry case which acts as a charger case too. The charge case has a digital display to show you how much charge the headphones have, so that you know to charge them or that you have up to 15 hours of full charge left- which is pretty much a whole plane journey or 2 weeks plus of running, gym or walking. I haven’t needed to recharge them yet, but judging by other TOZO earbuds, it shouldn’t take long with a USB cable fast connection.

The Tonal Dots are easy to connect with Bluetooth 5.3. Yes, you need a phone or appliance with Bluetooth 5.3 but most of us do nowadays, then connecting is easy because my phone (and laptop) could ‘see’ the TOZO headphones when they were in the charge case and kept the connection. There’s a great range to them too; I could walk all over the house and still be connected and the connection didn’t drop at all. Even going outside was no problem. These TOZO Tonal Dots T12 are great for sports because of the distance they connect over, but also because they are waterproof and sweatproof! You can wear these swimming, although I haven’t tested them yet, but with a long connection range it means you can be at the gym and still connected to your phone nearby, or at the pool and your phone be on a lounger somewhere.

There are 16 preset EQs with the Tonal Dots so that you get the sound you need with whatever music or even audio files you listen to, but you can personalise it too. I liked the quality of the sound with these TOZO earbuds, and how easy it is to change the presets. The Smart Touch control is a must on earbuds, and they work perfectly on these headphones, plus are quickly responsive.

The carry case and compact design make them perfect for travelling and for sports. The wireless charging also makes them easy to charge on the go, so that hotels and planes can charge for you whilst you are travelling or getting unpacked. The waterproof quality makes them doubly useful and at such a low price (and currently on offer at some places) means you can keep them for work or children are going to love them for their ease and quality but without such a high price. Perfect birthday presents too!

Available from £39.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/TOZO-T12-Headphones-Cancelling-Waterproof-Black/dp/B0C8NNCWGL/ref=sr_1_3?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ZiSbXPGeasQZix3NSt-dCoSV0TYrPr5_RFgDTIrue3r0xNMQ4v9cRQrcLO-dJa1G7BplSvG5Y8yzzcqzSeFDd66dWqNgjUA9NIs06yPPqkPzgp-tBG22WG46R2Ce3Nlidqpk6tZnDicuCEJF7KZo3Q.reyIJ45G6hWblS4_hEZaHAypzEL7pFgOVfszDcE42Ic&dib_tag=se&keywords=TOZO+tonal+dots&qid=1710172852&sr=8-3

Lola’s Cupcakes Mother’s Day Cake

Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Home, Mother's Day, Vegetarian, Women

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

You can never spoil your Mum enough on Mother’s Day, but you probably struggle to find enough in the way of presents. Lola’s Cupcakes have the perfect Mother’s Day Cake which Mum can enjoy, or you can enjoy with the whole family with their range of sponges, fillings and sizes. Lola’s Cupcakes sent us this special delivery today and we can’t get enough of it!

This cake, which is available for delivery nationwide, is the lemon and elderflower version in size medium. There is the option of three different cakes; lemon and elderflower, chocolate sponge with chocolate buttercream filling and vanilla sponge with buttercream and raspberry jam filling. The wording on the top is either “Happy Mother’s Day” or you can leave it blank to personalise yourself later. This lemon and elderflower version is lemon curd and buttercream filling with an all-over lemon buttercream icing and delicate, edible real flowers. It’s a pretty pink board and well fitted into a Lola’s Cupcakes box so it’s easily deliverable.

The lemon sponge is incredibly light and fresh, with the hint of lemon which only comes from using real lemons as a flavouring and not artificial flavourings. The lemon curd filling is evenly matched with the buttercream filling so that the lemon taste isn’t overpowering but it’s definitely there. The elderflower mascarpone makes a nice change to the usual flavours and overall, the combination make for a light, tangy taste. The flowers, including daisies, also add some flavour to the icing. Even better, this cake is vegetarian so more people can enjoy it!

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This medium sized cake, which is about 4 inches tall (10 centimetres) has 14 generous sized portions so could easily be used for a meal on Mother’s Day this Sunday. It’s available from today (6 March) to be delivered over the weekend and can be ordered online or over the phone – details are available on the Lola’s Cupcakes website: https://www.lolascupcakes.co.uk

I’ve never tried Lola’s Cupcakes before and certainly not a home delivery service for cake but I was overly impressed with this. This cake is beautiful, and huge, and is delivered in perfect condition. The taste is exquisite, with a stunning combination of flavours that really work together to create a memory for Mum on Mother’s Day. It looks straight out of an Instagram page as well, but rest assured, it didn’t stay looking like that for long once my family all had a piece!

Available from £27.50 (£40.00 for the medium size shown) at: https://www.lolascupcakes.co.uk/Web/Sites/Cupcakes/OrderingPage.aspx?ID=1529

The Official Tower Single Basket Airfryer Cookbook

Birthday Gifts, Books, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, Home & Garden, kitchen appliances, Mother's Day

Disclaimer : We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

I’ve had an air fryer for a couple of years now and whilst I hear of people creating amazing culinary delights in theirs, I must confess that up until now ours has only been used for cooking chips and fishfingers! When I received the Official Tower Single Basket Air fryer Cookbook from Tower Housewares it was just the push I needed to liven up mealtimes and I have been enjoying experimenting with some of the delicious recipes – it’s fair to say my family have been thrilled with the meals and our air fryer has had a new lease of life!

With over 100 years of experience in manufacturing everyday kitchen appliances the new Air Fryer recipe books have been carefully created by the Tower development team to make the most of Tower air fryers. There are recipe books for all three styles of air fryer so whether you have a Dual Basket, Single Basket & Oven there is a recipe book for you.

With 249 pages the book is organised into the following sections, Breakfast, Starters & Light Bites, Midweek Dinners, A Taste of Takeaway, Meat Free, Sharing Snacks & Sides, Pizza & Savoury Bakes and Puddings & Sweet Treats. It contains a really good selection of recipes and there is something to suit every taste. Many of the recipes include “Top Tips” which suggest alternative ingredients or serving suggestions and they all show the Prep time, Cooking Time, Number of servings and difficulty level.

Each recipe spans two pages, one for the ingredients and method and the second for a colour photograph which shows you what the finished dish should look like.

The step-by-step instructions are easy to follow and as we’re trying to save money at the moment we decided to create our own Chinese meal rather than going to the takeaway. The dishes were surprisingly easy to make and the whole family were really impressed with the air fryer versions of our favourite dishes.

The Sesame Prawn Toast was simple to make and tasted amazing – so good that we all agreed that we won’t be buying it from the Chinese take away any more!

Another favourite is Crispy Chinese Style Chilli Beef, this was a really easy dish to create and cost a fraction of what we normally pay at the Chinese take away.

With the Chinese dishes going down a treat we tried a mix of Indian dishes next, Tandoori Style Chicken, Onion Bhajis and Crispy Bombay Potatoes. As our air fryer only has 1 basket, in order to have everything ready together I did prepare the Onion Bhajis and Crispy Bombay Potatoes earlier in the day and then reheated them at the last minute and this worked really well. The Tandoori Style Chicken was much easier to make than I expected, only taking 5 minutes to prepare and was a real winner with my family.

This book contains an excellent selection of recipes which are easy to follow and actually turn out exactly like the pictures. It’s been fun experimenting with the air fryer and I’m looking forward to working my way through the recipe book. I’m so pleased I’ve upped my air frying game and whilst I might still cook the odd basket of chips and fish fingers our air fryer is now fully occupied cooking much more exciting cuisine!

RRP £19.99 but you can save 25% off by using promo code RECIPEBOOK