Flavourly June Unboxing

Hi everyone!

Today I have a Flavourly unboxing. I loved this box the first time I received one as a gift for Christmas and when I saw a Groupon code for another one I knew it was a must have. The customer service was excellent in helping me with the code and as soon as it went through the box was delivered within two days which was super swift. As I have literally just received the box, I have not yet had a chance to sample the contents so this post is simply an unboxing to show you what I received in the June box.

The box costs £20 per month if you wish to subscribe and is full of excellent quality items and snacks.

The box has a booklet which gives background information on Flavourly and all of the products inside and whereabouts in the UK that they are from. I like this touch as it is an interesting read.

When I first opened the box I saw that it was packed full of goodies. It's exciting to find out what you're going to receive inside.

First up is this Creative Nature- Tropical Treat bar rrp £1.09. The brand was established to promote health, respect and creativity for the environment and to provide the highest quality natural ingredients. The bar has no added sugars or preservatives and I'm looking forward to trying this out to sample the natural flavours.

Nimm's Fruit Crisps rrp £1.29. I love fruit crisps so this will make a healthy snack for me. I received the apple but they are also available in Apple & Strawberry, Pineapple & Mango, Apple & Kiwi, Pear & Kiwi and Orange & Melon varieties.

Hectares Sweet Potato Crisps- rrp £1.19. These are hand cooked sweet potato crisps with a sprinkle of sea salt. I love sweet potato so I bet these are delicious.

Quibble's Nibbles rrp £1.39 Indian Hot Chilli Peanuts & Cashews. I love peanuts and cashews so I can't wait to try these. The makers wanted to create healthy and delicious snacks without leaving lots of product on the fingers whilst and after eating.

Flavour 21 by Laura Santtini rrp £2.00 This will be great when creating pizzas and contains triple strength concentrated tomato puree, soffrito and full bodied red wine. This sounds like it's packed full of flavour.

Beanies Flavour Co- Gingerbread Flavoured Instant Coffee- £2.50. I was recently contacted by Beanies and wrote a review for them. I chose four flavours, which was a hard decision, but didn't choose Gingerbread so I'm really pleased that it is inside the Flavourly box. These coffees are super low in calories and use the finest raw materials. 

On the Pulse Foods rrp £1.19 Jamaican Jerk Hot Chicks- Spicy Roasted Chickpeas. I love the packaging on this one and it makes a very handy snack for on the go. Can't wait to test the flavour on these.

Coconom- Organic Coconut Sugar- £3.45. These are organic coconut sugar crystals which can be used in a variety of ways such as in baking, pop in hot chocolate or sprinkled on yoghurt or ice cream. I love coconut and this sounds absolutely delicious.

Finally I received Frank & Co - Scotch Bonnet Jelly £4.95. This can be eaten hot or cold marinated over salmon or as an accompaniment to savoury dishes or great with cheese. 

So overall, I love these Flavourly boxes for the reason that you get to try high quality foods and snacks, you get such a lot crammed into the box and you have the element of surprise because you don't know what you're getting.

The total amount that my box is worth is £19.05p

Love Laura xoxo

Latest In Beauty- British Beauty Blogger Edition- The Dream Box

 

Hi everyone! It's a beautiful day here again. I hope the sun is shining wherever you are too.

I received an e-mail from Latest In Beauty and it advertised a Dream Box by Jane from the blog British Beauty Blogger. I clicked through to the link, had a little peek and there seemed to be so much in the box for £20 that I decided to purchase it as a treat. This is the third box that Jane has collaborated with and the contents are worth over £100. The boxes sold out super quick so it was a good job I made a spontaneous quick decision to purchase one. I have had a Latest In Beauty Glamour edition before, which my mum bought me for Christmas, so I knew I'd love this one too.

The box was literally jam packed with beauty treats inside it and you get a little booklet telling you all about the products contained inside. Each box contained the same but the shades could vary.

I received the Bourjois cream blush in the shade 01 which is Nude Velvet. I love Bourjois products as they last a long time and they have a powdered boudoir scent to them too.

The Essie polish is in the shade Hide & Go Chic which is a blue shade. I would have preferred a pink shade but the one I received will look sophisticated. I have a few Essie polishes and they are a great brand.

I've not tried any Makeup Revolution products before so I'm excited to get a palette in the box. The palette I received is named Lock & Load and has 14 eye shadows and 2 shades for your brows.

I love Too Faced products and received the Better Than Sex mascara. I love mascaras and this one claims to give more volume. It has a collagen infused formula and is in a deep carbon black shade.

Kneipp Enjoy Life Bath contains natural essential oils to improve your mood and give you a feeling of contentment. I've not heard of this brand before but I'm interested in finding out what effects it has when you add it to your bath.

I then received the Janjira Thai Lime & Ginger handwash and this is a very grown up scent which exudes luxury. The other variety which the boxes contained were an Argan Oil hand wash instead. 

Elemeis spa@home foot cream. I needed a foot cream so this will come in very handy. I love the brand and I can't wait for my feet to be smoother.

L'Occitane Immortelle Divine Lotion is a softening lotion for the skin to be used before you moisturise. I've had L'Occitane travel sized products before and they were excellent. My favourite is the almond shower oil as it smells gorgeous and makes your skin super smooth.

La Roche-Posay - Thermal Spring Water spray takes the heat from your complexion after exercise or after spending time in the sun. This will come in very handy over the summer months.

Bee Good- Honey & Wild Water Mint Cleansing Water. This cleansing water dissolves make-up and tones the skin without any need for water.

REN Satin Perfection BB cream contains a SPF 15 is in a cute little tube and will be handy for travelling with to add to smooth out my complexion.

I love Benefit so much and was extremely pleased to see the It's Potent eye cream which I have owned previously. This is a brightening eye cream which fades dark circles.

Lola Kabuki Brush will come in very handy for adding either my blushers/ bronzers.

Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick Kisses in the shade So Marilyn which is a red shade and my favourite out of the three varieties that I could have received. Can't wait to try out the little sample and see what the formula is like.

Finally I received a Roger & Gallet Gingembre Rouge perfume sample which contains ginger and I quite like it. 

Did y0u purchase one of these boxes?

Love Laura xoxo

Glossybox June Unboxing

 Hi everyone. Hope you're all well.

Today I have my review on my June Glossybox which seemed to arrive out of the blue. I don't remember seeing a dispatch e-mail so it was a nice surprise when it turned up. This box is a lot better than the one I received last month as I seemed to receive lots of cheap products compared to other boxes.

So onto my unboxing ...

First out of the box I pulled out the Schwarzkopf got2b  Rise ', Shine souffle which is a full sized product and retails for £4.07. I love hair products and I'm looking forward to seeing if it adds shine and helps to hold my curls. I'm not sure about the statement of creating stand-out-styles as I don't want to have my curls sticking up everywhere but maybe it will add bounce. It also has a jasmine infused fragrance which is subtle but will smell divine on the hair. I also like the look of the pink whipped souffle cream inside the pot.

Next up I received the So Susan Concealer Quad which retails for £20. I was confused with this brand as it seemed to merge at first with Jelly Pong Pong (which I loved) but then is a sister brand now. A concealer is always handy to have but I think the products are overpriced for the brand and the size of the product.

Here you can see the four colours in the quad and they can be used for contouring.

Teeez Trend Cosmetics- Beautiful Flat Stiff Brush which retails at 19 euros. I'm familiar with Teeez as I own a mascara which I chose to go into my You Beauty box and it's a fab mascara.

The design on the brush is super pretty as it has flamingos on it! This brush is used to apply powder and cream eye-shadows.

Roger & Gallet Fleur de Figuier discovery ritual Shower cream, Body Lotion and Eau Fraiche Fragrance. These are available at Marks & Spencers and although they are probably lovely products I'm disappointed that these are just sachets and a tiny perfume vial compared to other full products which were sent out.

For the full sized products the Eau Fraiche would be £32 for 100ml. The body lotion is £13 for 200ml and the shower cream retails for £9.50.

 The perfume does smell lovely and fruity however and it's very light and fresh.

Nailgirls is a new launch and I received the 3-in-1 base/topcoat & nail strengthener which retails for £13.50. I think this is a bit pricey too say I've not heard of them but this may well change my opinion if it hardens my nails (which I need) and as a topcoat to make my polish last longer too.

So there we have my June unboxing. What do you think? Did you receive the same as me?

My favourite items this month are the got2b, the Nailgirls and the perfume sample (I just wish it was a larger bottle.)

Love Laura xoxo

Beanies- Delicious Flavours - Coffee Review

Hi everyone. 

Today has been so beautiful outside. I love fresh air blowing into the house!

I was contacted recently by a company named Beanies who have been making coffee since 2009 and asked if I would like to choose four of their instant coffee flavours to review. I love flavoured coffee so I gladly accepted and then I ummedd and arrrreddd over which flavours to choose as they all sounded delicious.

The mouth-watering flavours to choose from were Amaretto Almond, Caramel, Chocolate orange, Christmas Pudding, Cinnamon & Hazelnut, Double Chocolate, French Vanilla, Gingerbread, Irish Cream, Mulled Spice, Rich Hazelnut or Winter Warmer. 

I decided to go with *French Vanilla as I love the vanilla scent as it reminds me of cakes, *Cinnamon & Hazelnut as I love both of those, especially cinnamon, *Amaretto Almond and *Caramel as it reminds me of caramel lattes I have when I meet up with my friend Lucy.

Beanie's are available in Sainsbury's stores UK or you can buy online here. They also sell Yogart too which is a yoghurt kit that you make yourself at home. They also sell ground coffee too if you prefer your coffee to be fresh.

I like the name of the comapny 'Beanies' as you can tell what products they are selling especially with the coffee bean symbol on the jars too. Each flavour is easy to spot too as they have a different coloured label on for ease. The instant coffee is low in calories and has been made with the added flavours so that you can drink it without the need for sweetening it further or reduce the amount of sweetness that you add.

Upon opening the coffee jars you are met with a delicious aroma of the scents with my favourite being the 'Amaretto Almond' as it reminds me of those sweet almond cakes that are available. The coffee is super easy to make as all you do is add one heaped teaspoon of your chosen coffee flavouring and pour over your hot water and stir. I always have milk in my coffee and usually a sugar too. The flavourings do make the coffee sweeter but I still needed to add half a sugar to mine. I drink a cup of tea without sugar now and have done for a good few years but coffee is a little too bitter to have on it's own for me.

Upon my first try I only added a teaspoonful instead of a heaped one and found that my coffee was a little too watery. This was easily solvable as next time I just added more coffee. The coffees smell amazing and tastes great too. They are not overly sweet and still retain that coffee taste whereas in the past when I've chosen a cinnamon coffee, the coffee shop has used syrups and this makes it deliciously sweet just as I like it. 

With the caramel one, my fiance doesn't like coffee at all but the scent and sound of it lured him in and as he tasted it he stated that he wants to try more. 

So if you love coffee and are after a subtle flavouring but still want the great taste of coffee then these are the ones for you.

Love Laura xoxo

*PR items kindly sent for my honest review.

Denman's Hair Fitness For Men

Hi everyone! Hope you are all well.

With Father's Day arriving this Sunday I thought I would show you a couple of small presents I am giving to my dad. My dad loves fishing and antiques so I have got him a few surprises too. He styles his hair quickly and without fuss so the black design of these are perfect for him. I have previously reviewed Denman's brushes and love them so what better way to give great quality products. 

The latest range by Denman is 'Hair Fitness for Men' and here I have the *Easycare Styling brush which retails for £5 and The *Carbon Pocket Comb which is £2.50. 

The design of the tools are made to optimise hair and scalp health with the Easycare brush having super-soft pins that gently massage the scalp to encourage blood flow. The pocket comb has carbon fibre infused in it which makes it incredibly durable and also prevents against static to ensure that there aren't any fly-aways. (We can't have them going out with their hair out of place can we?!) Again the design is gentle on the scalp and the wide yet narrow teeth enables a range of styles to the hair.

I love the new designs that Denman bring out and not only do they think of the design of the product, they think of the benefits that are needed for hair too.

The Hair Fitness for men is available in selected Boots stores.

Love Laura xoxo

*PR items kindly sent for an honest review.

Cutagen- Product Range Review

Image credit: Cutagen

Happy Saturday everyone! It's my favourite day of the week.

I have recently been reviewing the *Cutagen product range samples and today I'm sharing my findings with you.

Biotherapeutic's scientist Dr Rizwana Alvi and her business partner Dr Faiza Awan used their 23 years of research and medical knowledge and believe that the Gentlecare range from Cutagen bridges the gap between cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. I was kindly sent a range of their samples to try out. 

Here's what they have to say about their products;

"British skincare brand Cutagen was founded in 2011 by Dr. Rizwana Alvi, a medical microbiologist with 15 years in the biopharmaceutical industry, and Dr. Faizan Awan, a medical professional with eight years in hospital medicine and General Practice.  Cutagen applies scientific knowledge to create exclusively-formulated products with ingredients proven to deliver benefits for skin.  The cosmetics can be used by everyone, even people with complaints such as eczema, acne and psoriasis."

The moisturisers I received were:

•  Gentlecare Calming moisturiser for extremely dry, sensitive and atopic skin.
•  Gentlecare Clarifying moisturiser for combination, oily, blemished and acneic skin.
• Gentlecare Intensive Moisturiser for extremely dry, sensitive, dry and normal skin.
• Gentlecare 24hr Hydrating moisturiser for all skin types.

I also received:

• Moisturising creme cleanser hand wash and bath and shower for extremely dry, sensitive skin.
• Refreshing wash gel hand wash and bath and shower sample for normal, combination, oily and sensitive skin.
• Mositurising creme wash for hands and bath and shower sample.

Positiveness:

 I really like the amount of research that has gone into the products. 

They have many natural ingredients contained inside them.

I like how they have thought about the wide range of skin types and conditions that people may have.

The RRP of the products ranges from £4.49 to £9.99 so they are affordable.

The creams/ gels are easy to distribute over the body and feel smooth.

A little goes a long way so the products will last a while.

The moisturisers hydrate the skin well.

Improvements I think are needed:

I'm really not keen on the scent of the products on initial application. I can't pinpoint the scent but it could be made to smell fruity or sweet instead to appeal to a wider audience.

There's far too many words in the titles of the product samples. They need to be made clearer as I started to get confused.

The moisturisers felt sticky on my skin after rubbing them in for a good ten minutes until fully absorbed and I prefer them to sink in straight away.

It's quite hard to choose which one you should be buying as each product has a wide range of skin types that they are suitable for. I think if I was looking in a shop at them I wouldn't find it clear and move on to buying something else.

I found the moisturisers to perform all the same on my skin. This might well change with a larger sample size over continued use however.

Overall I think that Gentlecare from Cutagen are excellent quality products and with a few tweaks will be successful for their intended audiences.

You can find out the latest news from Cutagen on their Twitter , Website and Facebook pages.

Love Laura xoxo

*PR items kindly sent for honest review purposes.

Beauty Works - Flower braid

Happy Thursday everyone! 

I adore headbands, braids and the whole hippy vibe so when I received this flower braid from Beauty Works, I wore it straight away for cocktails at the weekend. I sent a photo over e-mail of my hair colour in natural daylight and they coloured matched for me so it was perfect. 

Beauty Works sell such a wide range of hair extensions and accessories on their website and going by the flower braid they will all be great quality.

I love the flowers on it as it gives the festival feel too and adds a cute touch to the braid.

The braid is attached to elastic at the bottom and it was so easy to wear in my hair. Once in place, it was so comfortable and lasted all night without me having to adjust it. As the elastic is at the bottom too, the rest of my hair covered it as it was underneath so it wasn't at all noticeable.

Overall it's a gorgeous hairband and one that I will be wearing with many outfits. It's also on sale at the moment too so that's perfect timing for the Summer season arriving shortly too.

Love Laura xoxo

Denman's Dolphin Tangle Tamer

Hi everyone!

What do you think of my new brush? It's the *Denman Dolphin Tangle Tamer . It's designed for children and has the sweet dolphin artwork printed onto it. I prefer brushes to look pretty because everything I have is like an extension to my personality. If items are plain they don't stand out to me so I won't use them as much. Is that just me or do you do that too?

I use Tangle Tamers / Teezers each time I brush my hair. I used my cupcake Tangle Teezer in the shower before I received this one but after trying it out, this one is gentler on my hair and I prefer the handle to use too. As my hair is wavy, the super-soft nylon bristles are what my hair needs to detangle gently and with ease. I use this brush after conditioning as my hair is silky soft then and it glides through my tangles. My hair was left sleek and silky and seems to be softer overall too.

The pad is cushioned with air and follows the contour of your head to make brushing swift. It is designed for children and it would be perfect to take in their swimming bags to detangle hair after a swim. The only difference I noticed from an adult brush is that the handle and the body of the brush is a little smaller but with small hands this wasn't a noticeable difference to me.

The brush retails for £6.98 and you can buy it here.

Love Laura xoxo

*PR item kindly sent to review.