Gifts for Him – Page 5 – The Review Studio

Wickedly Welsh Chocolate for Father’s Day

Birthday Gifts, Family Life, Father's Day, Food & Drink, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers

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

Chocolate Lovers listen up… there’s a new chocolate in town (the Welsh town of Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire) where the team at Wickedly Welsh have created a fabulous chocolate hamper for Father’s Day, which you wont’ be able to resist!

You can be the biggest chocolate lover in the world and still find some joy in this hamper. The starring role goes to the varied chocolate flavours which is what Wickedly Welsh are famous for. Boasting three large slabs of chocolate, two whisky bite sized chocolates and two love spoons, there’s plenty here to keep Dad happy, and saves you putting together a gift hamper of your own!

Starting with the chocolate slabs, the three flavours are Moreish Milk Chocolate, Coffee & Biscuit and Welsh Sea Salt & Caramel, each of about 90grams in weight. If your Dad is Welsh, then he’ll love the Milk Chocolate slab with the Welsh Dragon design, but all of the slabs are one piece, not squares. We suspect this is so that Dad doesn’t have to share them with anyone else! We loved all flavours, but the Sea Salt & Caramel was a particular favourite. The sea salt is actually Halen Mon Sea Salt, a locally sourced ingredient to make it a Welsh taste sensation.

Also in the hamper are two Milk & Dark Love Spoons. Welsh Love Spoons are a symbol of love, and these 40 gram bars are no exception. If you don’t want to tuck into a large slab of chocolate, or want to take a snack with you, these Love Spoons are a brilliant choice.

Lastly, the pack also contains two of Wickedly Welsh’s most popular individual chocolates in a cute presentation box. If you’re new to Welsh chocolate or the way Wickedly Welsh present their wares, you’ll do worse than try these first. They’re stunning, and so moreish I bet you, or Dad, won’t be able to stop at just these two. They’re great tasters for the rest of the range that’s available online, and not just on Father’s Day.

The quality of the chocolate is superb with the ingredients sourced locally and all are 100% natural. Whether or yourself or as a gift for someone else, Wickedly Welsh chocolate is an excellent gift choice.

Available from £24.99

Joe & Seph’s Popcorn Ultimate Night In Gift Box

Birthday Gifts, Children, Easter, Family Life, Father's Day, Food & Drink, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Home, Home & Garden, Lunchbox Fillers, Mother's Day

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

Whenever I buy Joe & Seph’s Popcorn, my friend Lisa always asks me, “Have you got any more of that posh popcorn?” so when we were offered the Joe & Seph’s Ultimate Night In Gift Box, I knew we had to review it!

The box is priced at £12.50 with three different flavours of popcorn; Salted Caramel, Caramel & Belgian Chocolate Popcorn and the slightly different Milk Chocolate Popcorn Bites. The Bites are different because they are cups of chocolate with a piece of popcorn set in them. These were particularly nice because the chocolate and popcorn worked together well, and we had them in the fridge as little snacks to eat throughout the day! The chocolate was particularly good quality too which made them more of a treat.

The Salted Caramel and Caramel & Belgium Chocolate Popcorn were for us to enjoy after dinner on a Friday. Both of the flavours are favourites of mine so I was keen to try them. The Salted Caramel is not as ‘salted’ as you might think, but more caramel. I love Joe & Seph’s popcorn because it’s not sticky at all, and the Salted Caramel flavour is no exception. You can pick it up and hold the popcorn without it melting in your hand or feeling sticky which makes it much easier to handle as well as easier to share. The quality of the popcorn itself is much better than your cinema popcorn because there are minimal kernels and unbaked pieces of corn. In fact, there’s no un-popped corn pieces at the bottom of the bag, so all you get is proper, fluffy popcorn!

The Caramel & Belgium Chocolate Popcorn was my favourite of all the flavours. Layered in a light coat of chocolate, you can taste the Belgium chocolate straight away, and the second flavour is the delicate caramel. The see-through grab bags are easy to share, but just as easily pour into a bowl due to the shape of the bag.

The Joe & Seph’s Popcorn Ultimate Night In Gift Box arrives in a presentation box to your doorstep, after being handmade and packed in London, but the boxes can be sent to anywhere in the country. Ordering on the website, you can also add a 60 character message, which makes it a great gift for anyone who loves popcorn, chocolate or snacks in general. I think this Ultimate Night In Gift Box works as either a Girls’ night in with some Prosecco, a movie and a bit of gossip, or as a gift for a teenager’s birthday, along with the Amazon gift card they all crave!

Joe & Seph’s Ultimate Night In Gift Box costs £12.50: https://www.joeandsephs.co.uk/gifts/gift-box-ultimate-night-in

Kelly Loves Sushi Kit

Birthday Gifts, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Vegan, Vegetarian

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

I love sushi, but I have never made it at home before. I’ve eaten it as take-away lunch at work, at a restaurant for dinner and I’m a fan of the raw fish too but I’ve never thought of making it for myself.

The team at Kelly Loves asked if we’d like to sample their Sushi Atelier kit for our Mother’s Day Gift Guide and even added some extra treats for me to be able to start my sushi journey. Well, when the kit arrived, I was in for a treat! The box contains a double bento box (for keeping the sushi fresh when out and about), sushi rice, wasabi, picked ginger, a bamboo sushi mat, spicy mayonnaise, a packet of 7 nori seaweed sheets, sushi vinegar and fried onions. There wasn’t much missing from the kit apart from the fresh ingredients of course!

The kit includes a postcard with a QR code to access lots of recipes of Japanese and Korean food, including different sushi rolls you can make. Using the code and a bit of knowledge of sushi, I started with the rice which thankfully has instructions on the side. It isn’t as simple as just boiling up the rice; you also have to add the sushi vinegar to flavour once the rice has been cooked and cooled. I also used the spicy mayonnaise to affix the fried onion but you can fix the onion by wetting the seaweed first too. The mayonnaise added more flavour but was very messy to use.

The instructions tell you how to cut the nori seaweed sheets in half and fill them with the rice and fillings (I chose smoked salmon, cucumber and avocado) and then roll them using the roll mat. You will need a sharp pair of scissors to cut the seaweed and a very sharp knife to cut the sushi once it’s rolled, which meant I had to sharpen my knives several times otherwise it tears through the seaweed and leave the roll in a heap!

Once the sushi is cut, you can arrange it any way you like and add the pickled ginger, wasabi and we were also sent soy sauce to dress the sushi with. When it came to serving, if you’ve never had wasabi before, it would be worth trying the tiniest (and I mean tiniest!) amount as it’s extremely hot. If you’re used to sushi with wasabi though, it’s great added with the pickled ginger, which is a generous amount in the jar provided with the pack.

Nothing beats freshly made sushi which is completely different to most shop bought varieties. I made up only half of the rice in the pack, which is just as well because as you can see from the photos, this was only half of what was available, and with the other ingredients only half being used, there is plenty left for another meal. I think this amount could feed 4 people, depending on what fillings you use.

The sushi tasted AMAZING and now that I know how to make it and how easy it is, I will be making it more often, topping up the items in the box with what I need and perfecting my rolling technique! Everything from the rice to the fried onion is of high quality and has the authentic sushi taste, all of which adds to the overall effect.

As a gift, this is a super great idea for anyone and especially any foodies, and as for Mother’s Day, it will make a fabulous present for Mum, especially if you make it for her!

Kelly Loves also has some other sushi products online including a ramune carbonated drink, which is much like lemonade. They also have spare ingredients online like the fried onion, pickled ginger and sushi vinegar. There’s also roasted sesame seeds, cabbage kimchi (delicious!) and a variety of different soy sauces online if you want to add to the gift to Mum on Mothering Sunday.

I loved this kit, not just for the quality of the ingredients but because it was all there and so easy to use but resulted in a delicious meal which my Mum really enjoyed. Despite it being the first time I made the sushi and it being a bit of a mess (see photos!) I loved making it and Mum actually commented that it was like the sushi you eat in a restaurant, which was a nice compliment. I can highly recommend Kelly Loves sushi kits for Mother’s Day gifts, and to start a love of homemade sushi for all the family!

Sushi At Home Kit currently on sale at £29.99 here: https://kellyloves.com/collections/sushi-at-home

LensPen Smarty Smartphone Camera Cleaner

Birthday Gifts, Family Life, Father's Day, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home & Garden, Mobile Phone, Stocking Fillers, Tech

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

If you’ve received a new smartphone for Christmas, or take a lot of photos on your camera you’ll know that the smudge factor is real when it comes to the camera lens. I hate it when I take what I think is the perfect photo, only to find that when I view it, there is that misty blur on all the photos because the lens isn’t clean. It’s the price we pay for handling our phones all day, but there are ways of reducing the smudges.

LensPen Smarty Cleaner for Smartphones is a tiny yet useful gadget for cleaning your camera lens on smartphones. Suitable for all makes of camera phone, the pen is only 4cms long and can fit in your pocket, or in the bottom of your handbag without even noticing it’s there! The cap screws loose to reveal the head of the pen which is a carbon cleaner. There’s no detergent or alcohol involved, just a pad which is small enough to fit through any camera phone casing and erases away all the grime.

I tried this on my iPhone, especially as I frequently get blurry smudges and I can’t clean them away easily with just a tissue or corner of my shirt. The LensPen is small enough to fit, comfortable to use and with minimal effort, it dissolved away the greasy fingerprint on my camera lens. To prove it works, I used it on the front of my camera phone on the touchscreen. The pen does indeed eradicate fingerprints anywhere!

Available online from $5.99 at: https://www.manfrotto.com/us-en/lenspen-smarty-smartphone-cleaner-black-ln-smarty/

Edifier GX Gaming Headset

Birthday Gifts, Children, Christmas, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Tech

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

Christmas is fast approaching and this gaming headset from Edifier would make a perfect present for the gamer in your family – young or old!

Made of a grey plastic with leatherette ear cups and a lined headband this headset has a really good feel – they certainly don’t feel cheap and are light on the head and comfortable for long periods of gaming.

With any headphones the quality of the sound must be the most important feature and with a pair of 50mm titanium drivers and Hi-Res audio this headset does not disappoint. The earcups provide plenty of insulation from external sounds and music is clear over the whole frequency band.

Three different cables are provided enabling easy connection to a variety of devices. USB-C can be used to connect to most modern smartphones and tablets, A standard Type-A USB cable allows connection to PCs and PS4 consoles whilst a standard 3.5mm jack is provided for connection to pretty much any other device. At 1.2m long they might not be long enough for everybody but can easily be extended / replaced.

For gamers a good microphone is essential and the microphone on this headset works well. It includes a noise cancellation system to give better clarity and when not in use it easily stows away inside the earcup.

The headset has four controls, on the left earcup is a mute button for the microphone and a scroll for volume control. On the rear of the right earcup are controls to switch between gaming mode and music mode and also to control the RGB LEDs. Different colours can be selected and a long press turns them off completely.

These controls are all dependent on power taken from the USB connection which does mean that they do not work when using the 3.5mm jack.

I have worn these for quite some time and find them very comfortable and the refined styling with the ability to turn off the LEDs appeals to me, I had intended to give these to my teenage son but I don’t think I want to part with them now!

I do have one niggle to mention but it is only minor – the controls on the left earcup are well positioned but on the right earcup the controls are positioned right where I hold the headset when taking it off meaning I’m always pressing buttons by mistake.

Overall I am very impressed with these headphones, they are lightweight, comfortable to wear and the sound quality is excellent and at £69.99 are excellent value for money.

Specifications

Frequency response – 20Hz-20kHz

Driver unit – Ф50mm dynamic driver

Sensitivity – 97±3dB

Impedance – 32Ω

Product weight – 345g

Interfaces – Type-C/USB/3.5mm

Oclean X Pro Elite Smart Electric Toothbrush

beauty, Birthday Gifts, Children, Christmas, Family Life, Father's Day, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, health, REUSABLE, Tech

Disclaimer – We received this toothbrush for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

Did you know that 90% of gum disease and cavities are caused by incorrect brushing? In fact only 1 in 10 people actually brush their teeth correctly (that’s pretty worrying isn’t it!).

Luckily the OCLEAN X Pro Elite is also one of the smartest brushes on the market with a fantastic battery life of up to 35 days and Qi Quick Charge technology enabling it to fully charge in just 3.5 hours!

The X Pro Elite certainly knows its stuff when it comes to oral hygiene and it can help you improve your brushing technique via the Oclean app! The app connects to the X Pro Elite via Bluetooth and gives you derailed analysis of your toothbrushing technique.

Using an ingenious AI algorithm, the X Pro Elite analyses the way you brush your teeth and recommends how you can improve your technique, using a dental model on its 0.96-inch touch screen display which enables you to develop good brushing habits with its 4 modes and 32 intensities for clean mode.

To ensure its users get the deepest clean possible, the X Pro Elite’s motor spins at the speed of sound, delivering a maximum of 42,000 rpm that helps you reach and defeat difficult plaque and stain build ups with ease.

OCLEAN’s new self-developed WhisperClean™ technology also means that the toothbrush emits just 45dB when operating at maximum power: a drastic decrease compared to it’s more pricey big name competitor’s (55-65 dB).

The Xpro Elite also benefits from a wall-mounted holder which was easy to attach to my bathroom wall and it helps to keep it dry to prevent the growth of bacteria.

The OCLEAN X Pro Elite is available to purchase online for RRP £74

More information can be found at: https://www.oclean.com/products/oclean-x-pro-elite

Oclean Flow Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush

Birthday Gifts, Children, Christmas, eco friendly, Family Life, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, health, REUSABLE, Tech

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

If you’re looking for an electric toothbrush, you will be astounded at both the range available and the price of them! Oclean have launched a reasonably priced toothbrush at less than £25 which is both rechargeable by USB and sonic. They sent us one this week to try out.

The Oclean Flow toothbrush has everything you would expect but at that surprising price. It has Sonic Technology, so that’s sonic speed to the brush oscillation which is 38,000 strokes per minute. It has 5 easy to use brush modes (Morning, Night, Standard, Whitening and General) with a 2-minute smart timer. Flicking through each of the modes is just at the touch of the one on/off button so there isn’t anything complicated to learn or read up about in order to get your routine. You can even do two of the modes back-to-back if you want to go the extra mile.

The toothbrush comes with one brush head which is made of DuPont bristles. I liked the bright orange bristles, which make it much easier to see in the dark mornings! They also act as an indicator to let you know when the brush head needs replacing.

Charging is easy with the USB Type-C lead which comes with the toothbrush. The Type-C port is at the base of the toothbrush which is accessible from a lid which flips open. You know when there is 10% or less charge left in the toothbrush because the round button flashes red to indicate it needs charging. One single charge can last up to 25 weeks though with morning and evening brushing.

When using it, the instructions give you a warning that it may make your gums tingle if you haven’t used an electric toothbrush before, but as I usually do, it wasn’t a problem for me. I liked the firmness of the bristles and how easy it is to use especially with just one control button and nothing too complicated for late at night or early in the morning. The same goes with the 2-minute timer so you don’t have to think much. My teeth were left clean and fresh afterwards, as you would expect!

It is surprising that this brush is so cheap and that it’s aimed at adults and teenagers because it’s rather sophisticated for what it can do, but easy to use. I think most children would be able to use it easily, and the white look and packaging makes it universal for everyone. Perhaps good for taking on holiday, especially with such a long charge amount and the ability to charge from a USB outlet? It’s a fabulous present for anyone and looks like it’s a lot more expensive than it is!

Available for £21.10 at:

Sennheiser Momentum Ear Buds

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Father's Day, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Sport, Tech, Women

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

The first time I had headphones I was a teenager in the 80’s and back then headphones were firmly attached to your Walkman. Thankfully technology has evolved and improved a lot since then and I was really pleased to be given the opportunity to try out the Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 3 earbuds

The stylish grey fabric charging case is nice and solid and closes with a satisfying click. It holds the earbuds securely and once placed in the case the earphones start charging automatically. The USB-C connection makes the case easy to charge and there is also the option to use Qi wireless charging too. A single charge provides 7 hours of playback with the case providing an additional 21 hours of charge, so in total you can enjoy 28 hours of playback before you need to charge. When it does run out of charge, 10 minutes of ‘fast charging’ offers an hour’s playback and a full charge takes just 90 minutes.

Included in the box are four pairs of silicone ear tips, three pairs of ear fins, and a charging cable. The earpieces are IPX4 rated for water resistance, and each earbud has three microphones for voice and Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) functionality.

When I first received the earbuds, I found that they had 40% charge, so I was able to use them straight away – all I needed to do was fit the ear fins and then pair them to my phone.

Pairing the earbuds was simple – just touch and hold both earbuds and then select them on your Bluetooth device and they pair to your device easily. The earbuds power off when placed in the case and the lid closed and power on and connect automatically to your device the moment you open the case.

Once paired, I downloaded the Sennheiser Smart Control app. The app not only allows you to control settings on the earbuds but there is also an option to go through a ‘Sound check’ where you select your preferred sound from a choice of 3. There is also the option to set “Sound Zones” where you customise locations you frequent, like your home, gym or workplace and save preferred Active Noise Cancellation and Equaliser settings. Once you enter the radius—set by you on the location map—your settings automatically change to the saved setting when you are in that Sound Zone.

The earbuds feel light, well made, and with IPX4 sweat resistance they are perfect for the gym or when I am out walking.

So I’ve talked about the fit, pairing and app so what is the sound quality like?

Well, it’s excellent, the sound is crisp and clear with no distortion, every song I played sounded amazing, whether it was rock, pop or classical music.

You can also use the earbuds to make and receive telephone calls – if you are playing music it stops whilst you are on the call. I found that the call quality (for both people) was very clear and background noise was minimal.

Answering calls, skipping tracks and turning on/off different modes can all be executed by tapping the earbuds. Once you get the hang of tapping they are very simple to use, the sensitivity is very good and works well all the time.

Overall, I was very impressed with the Sennheiser MOMENTUM True wireless 3 earbuds – superior sound, excellent Bluetooth connectivity and a secure and comfortable fit. They are definitely a premium pair of wireless earbuds and anyone receiving them this Christmas won’t be disappointed.

RRP £219.99 available from the Sennheiser website here

Edifier TWS1 Pro True Wireless Earbuds

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Family Life, Fitness, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Tech

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

I have never had wireless headphones before, and with all the commuting I do and going to the gym, I really should have done before now! Opening these pink Edifier ear buds, it was nice to have them in their own case, which also doubles up as a charging unit. The buds fit snugly in the magnetic case where they snap into place and fit the connectors to charge.

Placing them straight into my ears was obviously the first thing I did, but like any good reviewer, I tried to connect them to my iPhone X without reading the instructions. It turns out that these TWS1 Pro headphones are super easy to set up. From my phone, all I had to do is go to the Bluetooth settings and the headphones were already there. I just clicked on ‘connect’ and the headphones were working, playing the songs from my phone straight away. They turn themselves on when you take them out of the case and turn themselves off again when put back in place.

Using the headphones was easy too. It was just a matter of tapping once (on either ear) to play or pause, twice on the left ear for the previous track and twice on the right for the next track. Volume up and down is a hold on either ear bud. It’s one tap to accept a call and 2-3 taps to disconnect a call on your phone too.

The ear phones stayed in for the whole of my cycle and weights workout which I was surprised about. The sound is balanced between both ear buds but there’s not the best bass on them and I can’t find a way of changing the settings. There’s a long battery life on them and they’re very sharp when listening to audio books etc.

For the price, these are great stocking fillers or for teenager who already have a smart phone. It’s difficult to go wrong with how easy they are and compact but well designed in the case and they come with not one but two sets of spare ear pieces. I am converted to using these headphones now instead of my wire ones for everyday use and I’m not going back!

Available for £59.99 at:

Edifier W240TN True Wireless Noise Cancellation In-Ear Headphones

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Family Life, Father's Day, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Tech

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

I love music, especially heavy metal and rock, but my music choices aren’t to everyone’s taste, so a good set of headphones is a must for me.

The Edifier W240TN headphones are the perfect choice for me as they not only look great in a stylish gunmetal black (available in gunmetal black or white finish) they feel comfortable and most importantly the sound quality is astonishing!

I have had in-ear headphones before both wireless and wired that didn’t fit well, had connectivity problems and sounded very tinny.

Thankfully, the Edifier W240TN ticks all the boxes and is a cracking set of earphones with fast charging, meaning you can use them sooner (a 10 minute charge will give you approximately 2 hours of use).

Connecting them to my devices was simple via Bluetooth and the booklet gives a rundown of all the settings available.

When it comes to earphones, one size does not fit all and Edifier has helped with this by including 4 different sized pairs of rubber earbuds XS, S, M and L meaning the Edifier W240TN can fit all.

The active noise cancellation with ambient sound mode is a great feature, meaning you won’t be disturbed whilst listening and you really will be immersed in your music, calls, film or game, etc.

Advanced Bluetooth V5.3AI DNN noise cancellation is another great feature meaning calls using the Edifier W240TN are crystal clear, which is what we all want!

Long-lasting battery life with almost 7 hours playback per charge, the Edifier W240TN has by far the longest battery life I’ve experienced in earphones and I am really impressed with them.

Customized settings can be created via Edifier Connect App, which I downloaded from the Google Play Store.

Overall, the Edifier W240TN are a tremendous pair of earphones, the sound quality is superb, and the appearance is very sleek and trendy, the W240TN is inspired by the shape of a robust piston head and looks effortlessly stylish.

The metallic design carries the legacy of the TWS1 Pro and the finished product speaks volumes about Edifier’s pursuit of style.

The result has an iconic profile that balances modern lines with a retro, almost 80s-like character; think Robocop meets Blade Runner 2049.

RRP £79.99

Available to buy from Amazon

Edifier X3 Wireless Headphones

Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Tech

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

True Wireless Stereo Earbuds

Qualcomm® aptX™ audio decoding delivers high-definition audio with rich details
Compact and lightweight design for optimum wearing comfort
6 hours of playtime per charge and 24 hours in total with the charging case
Bluetooth V5.0 ensures a stable and faster signal transmission
IP55 rated dust and water resistance for outdoor activities
Easy operation by touch control

Immersive music experience

The crystal-clear sound offer you as close as possible to the sensation of hearing your favorite music live.

24 Hours Play Back Time

6 hours working time per charge for the earbuds, 24 hours of total playback time of full charge by the charging case. X3 wireless stereo earbuds brings extended playback time and enjoyment.