Sunday, 19 April 2015
Saturday, 18 April 2015
Glossybox April Edition - The Iconic Edit
For those of you not aware of the concept, Glossybox is a monthly beauty subscription box containing 5 hand picked beauty samples wrapped in a signature pink box.
Some of these samples may actually be full size products.
This month Glossybox is paying homage to beauty and Hollywood royalty.
There are four collectors' boxes featuring Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Rita Haywood and Marilyn Monroe.
Guess which one I had!
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| Lift the lid to reveal the cute pink ribbon and tissue paper |
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| April goodies: the box contained 3 full sized products and 2 sample products |
I was a bit underwhelmed by the contents of this box which I was particularly looking forward to.
The problem is that the size of this month's products don't really fill the box, even though the actual value of the box is £20.60 plus the value of the two samples.
However, given that the cost of each box is £10 plus packaging (£3.25), I don't think this box is as good value as the previous two I have received.
The box contained:-
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| Lord & Berry Lipstick Pencil in Kiss - full size £10 |
Long-lasting and softening, it has a matte finish. Lord & Berry are a boutique Italian fashion house based in Milan, whose philosophy is to turn make-up into a true fashion accessory.
They say their products are for women of all ages everywhere - without cultural or national borders.
Lord & Berry make-up is available at www.selfridges.com.
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| POP Beauty Kajal Eyeliner Pen - Full Size £6.50 |
The second full size product in this month's box is the POP Beauty Kajal eyeliner pen which Glossybox say is ideal for creating Elizabeth Taylor's iconic cat eye. (If only I could!).
The pencil has a smudger on the other end to help blend. POP has grown from having a cult following in London to having a worldwide fan base.
They aim to bring backstage secrets and make-up artistry to the street, bringing the essence of POP culture from the world of fashion, art and music.
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| Color Club Barely There Nail Polish, Full Size £4.10 |
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| Darphin Exquisage Beauty Revealing Cream - Sample Size. Full size £65 for 50 ml |
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| Nougat London's Soothing Bath Pearls - sample size - full size £6 for 35 ml |
One of Glossybox's new strengths is that they include discount codes, make-up how to leaflets and video tutorials.
The April tutorial video is certainly worth a watch.
Am I happy? Yes.
What the box lacks in content value is made up for by the support from Glossybox.
Everything arrived in pristine condition and was nicely packaged.
I'm looking forward to the May box and it will soon be time to decide whether to renew my subscription.
Do you subscribe to a monthly beauty box?
Which one is your favourite and are there others I should check out?
Glossybox can be contacted at www.glossybox.co.uk, on Twitter at @glossyboxuk and on Facebook as www.facebook.com/GlossyBox.co.uk
*This is a completely independent review; The Glossybox subscription is my own purchase.
Thursday, 16 April 2015
Save £700 A Year Say Birds Eye - Stop Wasting Food & Freeze!
Did you know that the average family household throws away £700 of food and drink every year (850,000 tonnes) - that's the cost of a new TV or a designer handbag.
Much of this waste could have been avoided if this food had been frozen instead of thrown out.
Much of this waste could have been avoided if this food had been frozen instead of thrown out.
Birds Eye have been working in partnership with iFreeze, Hotpoint and Love Food Hate Waste to encourage the nation to use their freezers to save money and combat the issue of food waste.
To illustrate the issue, a 20-foot frozen billboard made entirely of ice and cash has been unveiled at Southbank, London to urge Brits to stop this costly waste.
The billboard contains £700 in notes and coins and was commissioned by iFreeze, iSave.
The billboard contains £700 in notes and coins and was commissioned by iFreeze, iSave.
Made with more than four tonnes of ice, the billboard took a team over a month to freeze and a further eight days to build.
Showing Brits how their freezer can help put money back in their pocket, passers-by were able to collect the currency as the billboard melted throughout the day.
Showing Brits how their freezer can help put money back in their pocket, passers-by were able to collect the currency as the billboard melted throughout the day.
Watch the video here:-
The billboard follows new research conducted by iFreeze, iSave looking at how consumers use their freezer and the impact this has on Britain’s food waste.
The initiative to help encourage a change in habits is being spearheaded by Birds Eye and supported by Love Food Hate Waste, Hotpoint and the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF).
The initiative to help encourage a change in habits is being spearheaded by Birds Eye and supported by Love Food Hate Waste, Hotpoint and the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF).
According to the findings, Britain’s freezers are often not being used the way they should! Almost two million (three per cent) put money in the freezer while a whopping 2.5 million (four per cent) use the freezer to store clothes.
Other items that have found their way into freezers include remote controls (one per cent) and household keys (one per cent).
Other items that have found their way into freezers include remote controls (one per cent) and household keys (one per cent).
The study found that 92 per cent of people in the UK are unaware that items such as eggs can be frozen (out of their shells) and over half (56 per cent) did not know that herbs could be kept in the freezer.
Despite one in five (21 per cent) shopping baskets in Britain containing at least 50 per cent frozen food, almost two million people throw away items in their freezer after two weeks believing they have gone off by this point.
The study also found that:-
Brits aged 55 and over are the most freezer savvy when it comes to knowing what food can be frozen. Awareness was lowest amongst those under the age of 25
Nearly one in five women (19 per cent) believe that food can only be frozen for less than one month before being thrown away
Wales claims to be the least freezer savvy region, with three quarters (75 per cent) of those in Wales saying they are unaware that herbs can be frozen, and almost half (45 per cent) not realising that cooked meat can be kept in the freezer.
Almost a fifth of Welsh people (18 per cent) admitted to keeping clothes in their freezer
Almost a fifth of Welsh people (18 per cent) admitted to keeping clothes in their freezer
People in Northern Ireland claim to be the most freezer-friendly, with 100 per cent owning a freezer.
Seven per cent of people in the South East don’t own a freezer at all
Seven per cent of people in the South East don’t own a freezer at all
Londoners claim to be easily the most wasteful, admitting that the main reason they throw food out of the freezer is because they can’t remember how long it has been there.
More than one in ten (12 per cent) bin food in their freezer after just two weeks (12 per cent)
So how can we make better use of our freezers?
Here are some top tips from food blogger Katie Bryson who is supporting the iFreeze, iSave inititiave.
She also stars in Birds Eye’s ‘Mix Up Your Menu’ campaign launched earlier this year.
More than one in ten (12 per cent) bin food in their freezer after just two weeks (12 per cent)
So how can we make better use of our freezers?
Here are some top tips from food blogger Katie Bryson who is supporting the iFreeze, iSave inititiave.
She also stars in Birds Eye’s ‘Mix Up Your Menu’ campaign launched earlier this year.
- To reduce costs, batch cook a large meal and freeze your left overs to enjoy at a later date
- When buying more unusual ingredients, it’s likely that’ll you’ll have to buy larger portions than you need – don’t bin the leftovers, freeze them instead! Fresh herbs are a great example of this
- When freezing food, do so in realistic portions so as not to waste food once defrosted – for example, when buying a pack of frozen chicken breasts, freeze the chicken breasts in individual freezer bags so you can just cook just the one if you need to
- Frozen vegetables are your best friend! They offer so much versatility and can be used to accompany a range of meals – keep your freezer stocked up with frozen veg instead of fresh; it lasts longer and it’s more nutritious, too
- Save over-ripe bananas from the compost heap, just peel and chop and pop in a bag in the freezer. Perfect for smoothies straight from the freezer or once defrosted bake into a batch of banana bread
- Stock up on berries when they're on offer or close to their sell-by date, freeze in small portions then use them to make smoothies or to sprinkle on yogurt or ice-cream
- Bread keeps brilliantly in the freezer, so always have a supply of rolls, muffins, crumpets and sliced loaves in the freezer as it tends to go mouldy really quickly in a warm kitchen
- Freezing small cartons of fruit juice are brilliant little cool packs to put in your picnics at the beginning of the day. By lunchtime they'll have defrosted and be ready to drink, but will have kept your picnic nice and chilly
What would your top tips be? And do you keep your clothes in your freezer?!
Tuesday, 14 April 2015
It's Beauty Awards Time - Here's How We Can Really Decide The Winners
It's that time of year when magazines a plenty are coercing us into voting for brands we've never heard of, on websites we've never seen, for prizes we're unlikely to get our mitts on.
Vote for us and our green eco-forward sack cloth range cry the Eco Gnomes of Zurich.
Vote for us and our nano-oxy-toxy-poxy anti-ageing serum shrieks a European company nobody has heard of (although obviously the Daily Mail will have run a full page article about it (i.e. it's actually advertorial written by a marginally less wrinkly journalist).
Is it me or are the voting mechanisms for these awards rather, well, biased?
Anyone can vote and select items from ranges they've never used in the hope of winning the odd £50 of products.
How is this fair?
Let's be honest.
There's a very, very simple way of judging the top products in most sectors, not least in the Beauty Industry.
Release details of your annual sales.
Let's see what percentage of the market you hold and whether it's gone up this year.
Let's see how many patents you hold.
Let's see some accredited medical /scientific research that proves your products work - based on samples of MORE than 25 women (yes I know the arguments for the benefits of sampling and Qualitative Market Research and I'm not convinced) done over a reasonable time span (i.e. years rather than after using three sachets and filling in a questionnaire).
The Beauty Industry, like many others, is very clever at swathing fact with layers of multi-coloured (or is that multi-tonal) fiction.
An industry that relies heavily on airbrushing to sell its products is never likely to be particularly forthcoming with the unsexy nuts and bolts of marketing performance, is it?
In fact the current trend seems to be to promote the packaging rather than the products (Benefit, Urban Decay, No 7, No 17).
After all, how many red lipsticks can you manufacture and how different can they be?
I love beauty products; always have, always will and I find the older I get, the more brand loyal I get.
I'm unlikely to be swayed by freebies, twee boxes, samples or this season's palette.
Because, you know what (and whisper this carefully), lots of the products out there aren't actually very good.
The same handful of names tend to win these awards because they ARE consistently good (e.g. Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish, Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Cream, Yves St Laurent's Touche Eclat) and their sales figures have elevated them to a practically untouchable status in terms of branding.
So, in the meantime, let's at least acknowledge that 'awards' are, at best an good way of raising brand awareness and at worst, cheap and ineffective PR.
It's more, one suspects, about securing advertising revenue for the next sales quarter (particularly at Christmas which is absolutely critical in terms of sales for many businesses), than it is about discovering which of the many millions of red lippies available I may or may not shell out for.
And you can be sure that, as a woman of 50 with many years' experience of using make-up under my belt, when I find a cosmetic 'superstar', I'll be reviewing it on this blog.
Vote for us and our green eco-forward sack cloth range cry the Eco Gnomes of Zurich.
Vote for us and our nano-oxy-toxy-poxy anti-ageing serum shrieks a European company nobody has heard of (although obviously the Daily Mail will have run a full page article about it (i.e. it's actually advertorial written by a marginally less wrinkly journalist).
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| If Beyonce wears it, will you vote for it? |
Anyone can vote and select items from ranges they've never used in the hope of winning the odd £50 of products.
How is this fair?
Let's be honest.
There's a very, very simple way of judging the top products in most sectors, not least in the Beauty Industry.
Release details of your annual sales.
Let's see what percentage of the market you hold and whether it's gone up this year.
Let's see how many patents you hold.
Let's see some accredited medical /scientific research that proves your products work - based on samples of MORE than 25 women (yes I know the arguments for the benefits of sampling and Qualitative Market Research and I'm not convinced) done over a reasonable time span (i.e. years rather than after using three sachets and filling in a questionnaire).
The Beauty Industry, like many others, is very clever at swathing fact with layers of multi-coloured (or is that multi-tonal) fiction.
An industry that relies heavily on airbrushing to sell its products is never likely to be particularly forthcoming with the unsexy nuts and bolts of marketing performance, is it?
In fact the current trend seems to be to promote the packaging rather than the products (Benefit, Urban Decay, No 7, No 17).
After all, how many red lipsticks can you manufacture and how different can they be?
I love beauty products; always have, always will and I find the older I get, the more brand loyal I get.
I'm unlikely to be swayed by freebies, twee boxes, samples or this season's palette.
Because, you know what (and whisper this carefully), lots of the products out there aren't actually very good.
The same handful of names tend to win these awards because they ARE consistently good (e.g. Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish, Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Cream, Yves St Laurent's Touche Eclat) and their sales figures have elevated them to a practically untouchable status in terms of branding.
So, in the meantime, let's at least acknowledge that 'awards' are, at best an good way of raising brand awareness and at worst, cheap and ineffective PR.
It's more, one suspects, about securing advertising revenue for the next sales quarter (particularly at Christmas which is absolutely critical in terms of sales for many businesses), than it is about discovering which of the many millions of red lippies available I may or may not shell out for.
And you can be sure that, as a woman of 50 with many years' experience of using make-up under my belt, when I find a cosmetic 'superstar', I'll be reviewing it on this blog.
Disciplining Boys - Should We Do It Differently?
Ieuan is 5, nearly 6 but already there are moments when he likes to take on the "man of the house" role and directly challenge his dad.
They have an excellent relationship with a healthy amount of rough and tumble, wrestling and general bloke-ish mucking about, but I can sometimes "fast forward" in my mind to a time when as a teen, this behaviour may cause more problems than fun.
Already, it is clear that Ieuan's and Caitlin's reactions to authority differ widely.
Caitlin will mutter, say "ok" and stomp off to her bedroom.
She is 7 but already behaves like a "pre-teen".
Ieuan will instigate a face off and is remarkably stubborn.
As a mum, I have to be honest and say that I find the issue of discipline difficult.
The very word makes some people's hackles rise but I see discipline as "education to avoid consequences" - that is, teaching kids that fitting in with what society expects is important and that their actions may have unfavourable consequences.
The simplest example is that running out into the road may result in injury.
But when it comes to family 'rules', the area is a lot greyer.
There are times when you have to question whether what you are asking is unreasonable.
We have never sat down and written out family rules which I think is something we need to do.
It is difficult, isn't it, balancing the needs and, indeed, rights of the child, whilst maintaining a happy, functioning family unit that allows everybody space to grow.
The methods we generally use to instil discipline tend to be sending the child to their room or withholding toys / iPads or pocket money but the effect of these is short term at best.
We tried the 'naughty step' which never really worked.
The kids have both had a slap on the back of the leg once or twice when particularly naughty but this made me feel so terrible (and it had so little effect) that we do not use smacking as a deterrent.
I was smacked as a child and I'm pretty sure my behaviour never improved as a result!
The whole issue of disciplining children is now such a minefield (the Welsh Assembly recently tried to make smacking illegal) that we have got ourselves into a position where even discussing it is fraught with difficulty and social embarassment.
This is one of the few issues that the husband and I argue about.
He says that I am not consistent with my parenting and can be much too lenient.
I think he is much too strict sometimes and does not always know when the challenge is made in fun.
He says, probably rightly, that bad behaviour should be nipped in the bud whilst we can still influence behaviour; that by the time Ieuan reaches his teens, it will be too late.
And Ieuan is a good kid.
His behaviour is generally good.
He is doing well at school.
How much more difficult must it be for those parents who are struggling with children who are more defiant?
I am well aware that having a partner is a great help here.
It must be a nightmare for single parents who constantly have to play the role of "good cop / bad cop".
So, if physical discipline is a no-no, if negotiation falls on deaf ears and when faced with a defiant young lad, what do you do?
How can you avoid damaging fragile self confidence and self esteem without allowing boys to run amok?
Do you have a set of family rules? Please share.
They have an excellent relationship with a healthy amount of rough and tumble, wrestling and general bloke-ish mucking about, but I can sometimes "fast forward" in my mind to a time when as a teen, this behaviour may cause more problems than fun.
 |
| Ieuan in defiant mode |
Caitlin will mutter, say "ok" and stomp off to her bedroom.
She is 7 but already behaves like a "pre-teen".
Ieuan will instigate a face off and is remarkably stubborn.
As a mum, I have to be honest and say that I find the issue of discipline difficult.
The very word makes some people's hackles rise but I see discipline as "education to avoid consequences" - that is, teaching kids that fitting in with what society expects is important and that their actions may have unfavourable consequences.
The simplest example is that running out into the road may result in injury.
But when it comes to family 'rules', the area is a lot greyer.
There are times when you have to question whether what you are asking is unreasonable.
We have never sat down and written out family rules which I think is something we need to do.
It is difficult, isn't it, balancing the needs and, indeed, rights of the child, whilst maintaining a happy, functioning family unit that allows everybody space to grow.
The methods we generally use to instil discipline tend to be sending the child to their room or withholding toys / iPads or pocket money but the effect of these is short term at best.
We tried the 'naughty step' which never really worked.
The kids have both had a slap on the back of the leg once or twice when particularly naughty but this made me feel so terrible (and it had so little effect) that we do not use smacking as a deterrent.
I was smacked as a child and I'm pretty sure my behaviour never improved as a result!
This is one of the few issues that the husband and I argue about.
He says that I am not consistent with my parenting and can be much too lenient.
I think he is much too strict sometimes and does not always know when the challenge is made in fun.
He says, probably rightly, that bad behaviour should be nipped in the bud whilst we can still influence behaviour; that by the time Ieuan reaches his teens, it will be too late.
And Ieuan is a good kid.
His behaviour is generally good.
He is doing well at school.
How much more difficult must it be for those parents who are struggling with children who are more defiant?
I am well aware that having a partner is a great help here.
It must be a nightmare for single parents who constantly have to play the role of "good cop / bad cop".
So, if physical discipline is a no-no, if negotiation falls on deaf ears and when faced with a defiant young lad, what do you do?
How can you avoid damaging fragile self confidence and self esteem without allowing boys to run amok?
Do you have a set of family rules? Please share.
Monday, 13 April 2015
22 truths about taking kids to the cinema
Much as I love the cinema, I do find taking the kids a bit challenging.
Here's why. Perhaps you can relate?
1. Both children will firmly deny needing a wee before the film starts
2. They will make this denial at the top of their lungs in a lengthy ticket queue
3. At the ticket desk, both children will claim they are there to see a completely different film. (Last time Caitlin announced she was there to see "Fifty Shades of Grey").
4. If left to fill their own pick 'n' mix bags, each bag will be worth at least £7.50
5. Neither bag will contain any sweets I actually like.
6. Any bagged sweets I buy will be the 'wrong' sweets.
7. Any drink provided will be drained within the first 5 minutes of sitting down and at least 20 minutes before the film starts.
8. The lid of any take-away drink purchased will not fit.
9. Within 5 minutes of the film starting (i.e. after 30 minutes of adverts), Caitlin will announce she has a tummy ache but does NOT want to go to the toilet.
10. Within 10 minutes of the film starting, Caitlin will admit she might want to go to the toilet.
11. After a further 5 minutes of voices hushed to violent hissing, Caitlin will agree to go to the toilet if "one of us holds her hand in the cubicle" and on the basis that there is no automatic flush.
12. We leave for the toilet during a pivotal moment in the film's plot.
13. When we get there, she can't go.
15. Having drained an extra large diet coke, I now have to go to the toilet.
16. The family behind us have all brought coats suitable for a nuclear winter and have created a barricade of furry parka and anorak behind our heads.
17. They are all eating crisps. Loudly.
18. Caitlin will now announce, a propos of nothing in general that "I feel lonely".
19. Ieuan will burst into tears as soon as anything vaguely sad happens and sob uncontrollably on his father's lap. He will then demand to go home immediately.
20. On the other hand, he will laugh extremely loudly at all the unfunny bits.
21. Thanks to the diet coke, I have to go to the toilet again.
22. When I get back, the film has ended, the lights are switched back on but it still takes me 10 minutes to find the rest of the family. I generally have no idea how the film ended.
Needless to say, the kids have had a lovely time and are booking their next film screening on the way to the car!
I spend the journey home waiting for my hearing to return and longing to clean my teeth.
Happy days!
Here's why. Perhaps you can relate?
1. Both children will firmly deny needing a wee before the film starts
2. They will make this denial at the top of their lungs in a lengthy ticket queue
3. At the ticket desk, both children will claim they are there to see a completely different film. (Last time Caitlin announced she was there to see "Fifty Shades of Grey").
4. If left to fill their own pick 'n' mix bags, each bag will be worth at least £7.50
5. Neither bag will contain any sweets I actually like.
6. Any bagged sweets I buy will be the 'wrong' sweets.
7. Any drink provided will be drained within the first 5 minutes of sitting down and at least 20 minutes before the film starts.
8. The lid of any take-away drink purchased will not fit.
9. Within 5 minutes of the film starting (i.e. after 30 minutes of adverts), Caitlin will announce she has a tummy ache but does NOT want to go to the toilet.
10. Within 10 minutes of the film starting, Caitlin will admit she might want to go to the toilet.
11. After a further 5 minutes of voices hushed to violent hissing, Caitlin will agree to go to the toilet if "one of us holds her hand in the cubicle" and on the basis that there is no automatic flush.
12. We leave for the toilet during a pivotal moment in the film's plot.
13. When we get there, she can't go.
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| The kids always enjoy a snack after the cinema |
14. When we get back to our seats, Ieuan will announce to the auditorium that he is hungry. He refuses anything made by Cadburys and demands fruit. Which we have forgotten to bring.
15. Having drained an extra large diet coke, I now have to go to the toilet.
16. The family behind us have all brought coats suitable for a nuclear winter and have created a barricade of furry parka and anorak behind our heads.
17. They are all eating crisps. Loudly.
18. Caitlin will now announce, a propos of nothing in general that "I feel lonely".
19. Ieuan will burst into tears as soon as anything vaguely sad happens and sob uncontrollably on his father's lap. He will then demand to go home immediately.
20. On the other hand, he will laugh extremely loudly at all the unfunny bits.
21. Thanks to the diet coke, I have to go to the toilet again.
22. When I get back, the film has ended, the lights are switched back on but it still takes me 10 minutes to find the rest of the family. I generally have no idea how the film ended.
Needless to say, the kids have had a lovely time and are booking their next film screening on the way to the car!
I spend the journey home waiting for my hearing to return and longing to clean my teeth.
Happy days!
Sunday, 12 April 2015
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