Gift For Her – The Review Studio

Just Spices Discovery Spice Box for Mother’s Day

Birthday Gifts, Children, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for teachers, health, Mother's Day, 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 never heard of Just Spices (and if you ever go to the supermarket and look at the spice and herbs section, they’re everywhere!) then let me tell you a little secret. You no longer have to blend a whole heap of expensive spices together to make savoury meals or even desserts because Just Spices has an enormous range ready-to-use which does all the work for you.

This Just Spices Discover Spice Box contains 8 ready spices including; Sandwich Seasoning, Potato Allrounder, Pizza Topping, Chicken Seasoning, Pasta Allrounder, Vegetable Allrounder, Avocado Topping and Egg Topping. Each of the sachets contain a mix of herbs, dried vegetables and spices which can be added to food especially the ones recommended on the packet.

For example, the Sandwich Seasoning contains salt, onion, leek, black pepper, cumin and lemon myrtle among other ingredients. It doesn’t matter what sandwich filling you’re using, you can add the Just Spices Sandwich Seasoning sachet to it and enhance the flavours. Alternatively, you could make the same sandwich every day and use different sachets to create different flavours. Your cheese sandwich will taste completely different with the Pasta Allrounder seasoning with the added paprika, chilli and rosemary.

If you usually cook pasta once a week, or have avocado on toast anytime, then the seasoning sachets make a pleasant departure from your usual cuisine. Without Just Spices, you’d have a cupboard full of tons of opened spices and herbs, all past their sell by date and all in different quantities that you’re never going to use anyway! I’m not sure I’d even think of adding a different herb to my egg on toast let along a whole host of the Just Spices ones…

The Just Spices Discovery Spice Box is not only for popping in the post to your Mum or Grandma, but it could introduce your household to the range of Just Spices available in the supermarket without the cost of having to buy a whole jar. The Discovery Box is also easy to post to a student who is just starting out cooking or doesn’t have a lot of room to store anything in a kitchen. It’s the perfect gift for a teenager learning to cook as well as something homely for Mother’s Day.

Available from £9.99 at: https://www.justspices.co.uk/discovery-spice-box.html

Mavogel Sleep Mask

camping, Family Life, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, health, 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.

The mornings are getting lighter, which means the evenings are too and as we approach summer, the nights aren’t as deeply dark. If your circadian rhythms are affected by the daylight then you’ll appreciate some darkness in order to sleep. I know I do.

Mavogel’s Sleep Mask is a handmade mask which goes over the eyes and fits over the nose to give a completely light-tight night time. The mask is designed with an adjustable strap at the back so that you can get a custom snug fit, and the bridge of the nose has a mouldable cartilage to fit over the nose and prevent light entering. The mask is made of black cotton with a sponge inner that makes it more comfortable to sleep in, and there’s no sharp bits that dig in or are too tight. The adjustable straps make it easy to fit and not be uncomfortable when you sleep.

The mask itself is very deep so can accommodate most faces and prevent light seeping in at the top or over the nose, where conventional sleep masks usually struggle to keep out light. This is great for adults and for older children because of how it adjusts. I think this would be excellent for travelling with too as the mask comes with a travel pouch and clip that you can use to keep on the plane seat in front or the back of the car. If you don’t know where you’re staying, it also makes a handy travel companion as it’s so light it can go into main luggage or hand luggage. No doubt a life saver if you need it and you won’t notice it’s there if you don’t!

It’s comfortable too. The nose clip is made of carbon steel and can adjust to nose bridge sizes but also be straightened out in case someone else needs to use it. I found the strap easy to adjust and fitted my head and nose easily. It absolutely blocks out all the light too! It was one of those moments when I woke up in the morning and didn’t know what time it was because it was so dark! If you’re a shift worker, this is also great for sleeping in the daytime.

Great as a travel companion or for anyone who finds it hard to sleep with the amount of light in the room.

Available from £6.99 at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cotton-Sleep-Eye-Mask-Comfortable/dp/B07D3M6892/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3AB6UWQO46YBV&keywords=mavogel%2Bcotton%2Bsleep%2Beye%2Bmask&qid=1707324947&sprefix=mavogel%2Bslee%2Caps%2C213&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&smid=AAJ55L688ECUI&th=1

Seep Plastic Free Cleaning Cloths

eco friendly, Family Life, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, Home & Garden, REUSABLE, Sustainable, Valentine's Day Gifts

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

Granny always knew about cleaning. When I was little, there were so many different cleaning cloths, just in her kitchen that I could never keep up. As time went on though, all her cleaning equipment as well as the cleaning products in my parent’s house whilst growing up were plastic, non-recyclable and not good for the environment. We’ve come full circle though, with cleaning products now becoming more environmentally friendly and from companies other than the big corporations.

Seep (Sustainable, Everyday, Essential Products) is the only B-Corp certified cleaning product company which means they can be proven to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. They have an extensive and ever-increasing range of products too, and these Valentines Eco All-Purpose Sponge Cloths are one of their latest innovations.

The pack of 2 cloths are zero plastic and long lasting, made from sustainable wood pulp. That also means they are compostable! Each cloth measures around 15 centimetres square and is spongey to the touch. They soak up loads of water and are easily rung out. You can add them to the washing machine to give them a longer life but they dry really quickly on the side of the sink or over the tap. They’re hardwearing too, but when they are at the end of their life, they can be compostable. Just cut them up and add them to your compost or food waste bin.

Each of the designs is suitable for Valentines, but they can be used by anyone! If you’re like me and don’t particularly relish the thought of cleaning products as a Valentines present, then any of the Seep products can be used as part of a bigger present, or a hamper for your Mum, Nan or a friend at Valentines. I think the best use of these Valentines Eco All-Purpose cloths is to use them as a date marker – start using them on 14 February and you can easily tell how long they last before you need to buy new ones.

Available from £4.95 for 2 at: https://theseepcompany.com/products/keep-it-clean-sponge-cloths-valentines-design

Pact Coffee – Cafeina by Elenita Nogueira for Valentines Day

Birthday Gifts, coffee, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, Mother's Day, Stocking Fillers, Valentine's Day Gifts

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

Nowadays, everyone who drinks coffee LOVES drinking filtered, roasted, blended real coffee rather than the instant coffee we used to buy in jars. I noticed after coming back from lockdown that there are a lot more coffee brands out there, but that’s probably because there are a lot more ‘real coffee’ drinkers than there ever used to be.

Pact Coffee send packets of specialty coffee to your door as part of a subscription, but with the assurance that this is the very best coffee available. There’s an ever expanding range of coffee available from a company that is a Certified B Corporation – that means they act in a sustainable, ethical way and are using business as a force for good for their farmers, the planet and you.

As part of their changing range, Pact have brought out a new coffee called Cafeina, by Elenita Nogueira. This Brazilian coffee boasts hints of dark chocolate and strawberry. We were sent Cafeina in a Pact reusable tin, so it can be given as a gift or kept in the cupboard. For those interested, it was a coarse ground coffee, not the beans.

Elenita Nogueira is the first woman in her family to farm, aided by the Cafeina group; a cooperative in pursuit of gender equality for women in the Brazilian coffee industry. Her Arabica bean coffee is competition standard and grown at an altitude of 950 MASL. Upon opening the tin, the coffee is darkly rich with a strong almost earthy aroma, much stronger than the High Street varieties you buy off the shelf. When brewed, it gives berry tones and slightly bitter, deep chocolate flavours. This is a strong coffee for serious coffee lovers who don’t want the run-of-the-mill coffees but instead appreciate subtle flavours. It’s strong, so if you’re not used to coffee it might take a while to get used to the hit. On the plus side, if you like strong coffee then this will definitely wake you up!

If you’re not up for getting a subscription from Pact yet, then this Cafeina from Elenita Nogueira makes an excellent gift, especially for Valentines Day. At £13.95 for the tin as well as the coffee, it makes approximately 15 cups or more if you prefer it less strong. If you and your partner are coffee lovers, it’s the perfect gift to show you care – especially about the quality of your coffee together.

Available for £13.95 at: https://www.pactcoffee.com/coffees/brew-for-two

Pocket Trowel Multi Tool

Birthday Gifts, Father's Day, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home & Garden, Summer

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

Gardeners will love this Multi Tool from Kikkerland! The fold out trowel fits nicely in your pocket, but also extends to add more tools including a weeder, saw, root remover and pruning knife. Each tool folds away for safety and convenience too.

Made from stainless steel and beechwood, this 5-in-1 tool has everything the serious gardener needs to go out and garden, or to use on the allotment and not take up too much space.

It’s also a great gardening gift for him or her, to be able to give them something useful as well as thoughtful. The stainless steel tools and beechwood handle will last for years if looked after well. It would be brilliant for anyone with a small garden, or just starting out on their gardening journey.

I used it in my garden as an all-round tool where I could keep it in the shed or the greenhouse and get to it quickly when I need to do a few odd jobs. It’s quite heavy, but fits into a standard pocket but has the durability to actually be useful with the tools. For example, the trowel isn’t that much smaller than my normal garden trowel which does all my gardening jobs.

It’s a lovely gardening tool as well as a super useful present for anyone with limited space or who is just cutting their teeth into gardening!

Available for £20 from: https://www.standaccused.co.uk/products/pocket-trowel-multi-gardening-tool