Freshwater Pearl Necklace by Created By Carol

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

This one is for the jewellery lovers who love the water, especially freshwater pearls. Created by Carol is a one-woman business in designing and making silver jewellery, based in Yorkshire UK.  Carol is a self-proclaiming pearl enthusiast and has won various TV competitions for her design and production of jewellery. Using real silver in the form of antique cutlery, buttons and anything else she can find, Carol is an advocate for those with disabilities and teaches metalworking, pearl knotting and stone setting. When she’s not working (which sounds like a lot of the time!) she’s repairing sentimental jewellery at her local repair shop.

Her website, Created by Carol, is a treasure trove of what you can buy an all of it unique. From spoons and buttons made into jewellery items or refashioned using their unique patterns, Carol has created a library of silver jewellery which you won’t find anywhere else.  Her love of pearls is also evident in the great body of work she has which includes rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces. We were sent this absolutely gorgeous handmade solitaire pearl necklace to review, but you can see from her website that there is a whole host of jewellery for you to discover.

Pearls have been harvested long back in history, even in Roman times but especially for monarchs throughout time, and mentioned in the Bible. For anyone who works with chakras, the pearl is especially meaningful with the third eye due to its association with balance and wisdom and wearing it at your throat chakra (or heart chakra depending on the length of the necklace chain) can bring purity and diving feminine wisdom too. In fact, there are a lot of lovely properties of pearls that make them great gifts.

This timeless freshwater pearl necklace comes on a chain, ready to wear. You can see it’s a natural, freshwater pearl because of the slightly irregular shape and texture of it, but the iridescent reflective surface reminds you that it’s real and totally wearable with anything.  It’s exceptionally well made by Carol, as you’d imagine, with absolute precision and sympathetic to the beauty of the pearl. You don’t need more than just one pearl to make the statement as I found out as soon as I put it on! The silver fine chain and bar will never date and once you wear it, it’s so addictive to add more to your collection and have matching sets. The slight difference in pearl colour, sizes and textures make it almost a hobby in itself to hunt down the next piece for your collection.

In fact, you can’t go wrong with a pearl for a gift, and I am loving my first ever freshwater pearl necklace!

Available at £35.00 online: https://www.createdbycaroluk.com/product-page/pearl-solitaire-necklace

Peppersmith Mints

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

One of my favourite sandwiches is cheese and onion but they do make my breath smell, so I try and avoid eating them when I am meeting people.  After hearing about my cheese and onion addiction Peppersmith kindly sent me a selection of their delicious mints, pastilles and gums to enable me to continue to eat my favourite sandwiches without worrying about bad breath. Do they work – absolutely! A couple of mints after lunch is proving very effective at freshening my breath, enabling me to talk to people confidently without worrying about my oniony breath.

Peppersmith are one of the leading mint and gum brands in the UK and all their mints are made with 100% natural flavours. They use real British mint plants grown on a small farm in Hampshire to flavour their mints and they are sweetened with Xylitol, a plant based sweetener which contains 40% less calories than sugar. As well as being nice and minty the mints are approved by the Oral Health Foundation as Xylitol has been proven to help reduce tooth decay.

With a choice of Peppermint Mints, Peppermint Gum, Extra Strong Mints, Spearmint Gum, Lemon Mints and Strawberry Pastilles there is something to suit every taste.

The peppermint and spearmint mints are nice and refreshing, cooling your mouth and leaving it feeling nice and fresh. My favourite are the Lemon Mints – made with Sicilian lemons and Hampshire mint the zingy flavour is perfect for freshening my oniony breath, much to the relief of my colleagues!!

The mints are packaged in little cardboard boxes so they get full marks for having environmentally friendly packaging! Each box contains approximately 25 mints and they are the perfect size to keep in your bag or desk drawer. The Peppermint Mints and both flavours of Gum are also available in larger boxes aptly called Mighty Boxes.  

All Peppersmith products are sugar free, gluten free, vegan friendly, free from palm oil and nut free.  

Available individually or in a mixed taster box or you can even take out a subscription for a regular delivery every 4,8 or 12 weeks

Available directly from Peppersmith or health shops and supermarkets nationwide