Winter – Page 4 – The Review Studio

O’Donnell Moonshine

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.

Mini set £21.90

700ml bottle £26.90

I Want My MTV Game

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Family Life, Father's Day, Games, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Mother's Day, secret santa, Stocking Fillers, Winter

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!

Currently £4.48 from Amazon

1000 Mile Fusion Walk Sock

Autumn, Birthday Gifts, camping, Christmas, Days Out, Family Life, Fitness, Gifts for Her, health, Mental Health Awareness, Mother's Day, Sport, Winter, Women

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

May is National Walking Month and is the perfect opportunity to get outdoors and explore the countryside. I have set myself a challenge to do a walk every day in May as walking is not only a good form of exercise it is a great way to destress after a busy day at work. We are fortunate to live in a beautiful part of the country with plenty of good walks on our doorstep, so I am hoping that it won’t be too difficult a challenge!

When you are going hiking it’s amazing the difference a good pair of walking socks makes and this pair of Fusion Walk socks from 1000 Miles are going to be doing plenty of miles this month.

The socks are a double layered 3 /4 season sock with extra padding on the heel, toe and Achilles tendon areas. Combined with the high volume Merino wool, the socks offers warmth and volume, making the socks ideal for wearing from Autumn right through to Spring.

As soon as I put the socks on my feet I noticed how comfortable they are, and that’s before I even started walking! The Merino wool and Tactel mix gives a comfortable, breathable sock that wicks moisture away from the foot and elastane ensures a close fit that doesn’t slip or bunch in your boots The ribbed cuff is a comfortable fit and not too tight around my leg and the socks are a mid-calf length and they fit nicely in both my walking boots and trail shoes meaning I can wear them for both hiking and fell running.

I was especially pleased when I saw the sizing of the women’s socks, the medium size is for UK sizes 6 to 8.5 and it’s nice to find a company who recognises that women do have feet bigger than a size 7!

The socks come with 1000 Miles’s blister free guarantee and they will give you your money back or a replacement pair of socks if you experience either blisters or the socks wear out within 1,000 miles – provided that the socks have been cared for following their guidance and are returned with the receipt.

The socks are mid length and easily cover the bottom of my walking trousers, the heel padding comes up the back of the heel and finishes slightly higher than the back of my walking shoe, meaning the backs of my ankles are protected and comfortable. Available in Ladies (3 to 8.5) they cost £18.00 but don’t be put off by the price, given the excellent warranty they really are a worthwhile purchase

Menthoderm®

beauty, health, Winter, Women

Disclaimer: We received these products free of charge for the purpose of this review but all thoughts and opinions are our own

I have suffered from eczema most of my life and it is especially bad on my hands and feet. It has flared up again due to the cold weather, so I was very pleased when SK1N sent me some Menthoderm® to try.

If like me you haven’t come across Menthoderm® before, it is a Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) free menthol in aqueous cream which can be used to soothe and cool heated, dry, irritated and itchy skin conditions. The unique formula has two preservatives, which provides double the protection and helps to reduce the risk of cross contamination, especially if hygiene is an issue. The preservative Undecylenic Acid also helps to protect dry and irritated skin.

I received a 100g tube of the 2% formula and a 30g tube of the 1% formula and since I started using them I have seen a huge improvement in the skin on my hands and feet, they are no longer red and itchy and the chapped skin between my fingers has finally started to clear up. I have been using the 2% cream at night, leaving it to soak in overnight to help calm the redness and itchiness and keeping the smaller tube of 1% cream in my handbag, using it as a hand cream during the day to top up the good work the stronger cream is doing at night.

The cream is really easy to smooth in, you don’t need to rub too hard, and it is absorbed quickly. The consistency is perfect, it’s not runny or sticky so is very easy to apply and it doesn’t leave your hands feeling greasy after application. When the cream is applied, it feels instantly cooling and soothing and I really like the menthol fragrance, which has had the added benefit of helping clear my airways as I seem to have picked up a cold this week!

This is a very soothing and moisturising cream and I would definitely recommend it to anyone with eczema or other dry skin conditions.

Menthoderm® is available in 4 strengths – 1% and 2% are available in a 100g tube, 500g pot and 500g pump and the 0.5% and 5% versions are available in a 500g pot. Prices start at £5.76 for a 100g tube and £21 for the larger 500g size.

Available to buy here

Cranes Cranberry & Blood Orange Liqueur

alcoholic drinks, Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Drinks and Mixers, Father's Day, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Valentine's Day Gifts, Vegan, Winter

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

Love is in the air at The Review Studio this week and we are currently surrounded by a fantastic selection of Valentine’s products and looking forward to sharing our favourites over the next few days.

One present that always goes down is alcohol and this delicious Cranberry and Blood Orange Liqueur from Cranes will make a lovely gift for the special person in your life.

This striking red liqueur has been created by the founders of Cranes – twin brothers Ben & Dan along with one of the UK’s top mixologists. Made from Wisconsin cranberries and infused with blood orange juice and orange rind, this double award-winning liqueur is sweet with underlying, but not overpowering, sourness – imagine a ‘sour’ candy sweets but add a 17% alcoholic kick!

The bottle comes with minimal cardboard packaging and the distinctive square glass bottle is nice and chunky and is the type that look good on a drinks trolley.

The liqueur can be drunk neat, on the rocks or why not add some Prosecco to make a delicious Cranbellini cocktail.

Talking of cocktails there are a couple of ideas on the box to try

Cosmopolitan (Cranes Liqueur, Cranberry juice, Vodka and lime)

Lemon Berry (Cranes liqueur, Limoncello and Sicilian lemonade)

Shaddock’s G&T (Cranes liqueur, Gin, Tonic water and Pink Grapefruit Juice)

Cranes Spritz (Cranes liqueur, Soda water, Prosecco)

It a sweet, fruity liqueur but there is a hint of sharpness, and like any liqueur is best drunk slowly so you can savour every sip. It also goes well in cocktails and having tried all the ones above (well someone has to!!) we decided that the Cranes Spritz was our favourite, it’s a light and refreshing cocktail and the accompaniment toa Valentine’s Afternoon Tea.

It makes an ideal Valentine’s Day gift or why not buy a bottle and make some delicious cocktails to accompany a romantic night in.

RRP 50cl £19.99 from Cranes

Other Cranes drinks we have reviewed are

Cranes Cider

Cranes Cranberry Gin

Cranes Cider Gift Sets

Hada Labo Anti-Aging Facial Sheet Mask

beauty, Birthday Gifts, Gifts for Her, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day Gifts, Winter, Women

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

Hada Labo Tokyo is Japan’s favourite skincare brand, and it’s now available over here in the UK, selling at Superdrug. The team at Hada Labo sent me some lovely Anti Aging Sheet Masks to try out, and seeing as the weather has got so cold and the heating has been turned up, I am going to need some hydrating, and anti-aging!

Each mask costs £2.99 and although they can only be used once, you can use a mask three times a week. The mask itself is infused with hydrating serum, in fact it’s dripping in serum so you can adhere it to your face but also top up the mask whilst it’s on your face, or on the neck and décolletage. The Hada Labo Anti-Aging Facial Sheets are pre-cut with the holes for eyes, nose and shaped around the hairline. The sheet is left on for 15 minutes.

I left the mask on for the given time, but I did find that it was a bit big for me, and I had to wrap the edges a bit like hospital corners. The mask does stay on though, probably due to the amount of serum used. I could feel the cooling effect of the products seeping into my skin, and thankfully, the mask didn’t dry out, even with the heating on.

Taking off the mask, my skin was still covered in hydrating serum so I let it sink in a little and rubbed in the remaining amount in the packet. As it started to dry, I could feel that my skin was more hydrated and smoother, taking away the dryness from the central heating after I’d been indoors all day.

From £2.99 at Superdrug: https://www.superdrug.com/skin/face-skin-care/face-masks/face-masks-sheets/hada-labo-tokyo-anti-aging-sheet-mask/p/805545