Review: Glossybox February 2015 Reveal: The Love Edition

I first took out a subscription to Glossybox a couple of years ago when they launched in the UK.  

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.

Glossybox February - The Love Edition

Lift the lid to reveal the cute pink ribbon and tissue paper

I think it's fair to say, that in the beginning, there were a few issues with the safe delivery of the samples and the perceived value of the items in the box.  

I cancelled when the HD Brows compact in my box arrived smashed, having covered the remaining box contents in black brow powder! 

February goodies

That said,  Glossybox  has certainly built its profile on social media, together with a faithful following and the company now offers an 'Beauty Unboxed' tutorial video which shows you how to use the products you have received and a website which highlights trends and features new products. 

The price has remained pretty constant too - depending on your subscription plan, boxes cost around £10 per month plus delivery around the £3.25 mark.

The other previous gripe I recall is that, despite entering details of hair colour, eye colour, etc, early customers felt that the boxes were not sufficiently tailored but, in fairness to Glossybox, doing this would be a logistical nightmare and I think they would be better off concentrating less on individualising the boxes.  

I'm also interested to see how appropriate the samples may be across the age ranges, or whether the products are firmly aimed at the 20-30 age group.

So I have taken out a six month subscription to see if I can 'feel the love' again for Glossybox as I like the concept of the beauty box.

It's a monthly treat at a relatively budget friendly price (speaking as someone who seems to be unable to leave Boots these days without having spent at least £30 just on basic toiletries).

So, what's in the box? 

The box contains 3 full sized products and 2 sample products

- a Wilkinson Sword Hydro Silk (full size - £9.99) razor which has a water-activated bar of moisturising serum infused with marine extracts and shea butter.

- a Marsk mineral eyeshadow (full size - £14.49) in "Fifty Shades" (no prizes for guessing which movie this refers to), a highly pigmented, mineral, powder-based eye shadow which is 100% natural.

- a Royal Apothic Tinties lip balm (full size - $14 for 3.4g) - this is a Los Angeles brand allegedly favoured by Victoria Beckham.  

The balm contains shea butter and a trio of oils (argan, grape seed and almond) to nourish lips.

- a So Susan Rose Quartet Lip & Cheek Palette (sample size) in pinks or crimson

- Vichy Liftactiv Plus (sample size) - a cream that works to banish the signs of ageing as they appear.

I estimate the value of the box to be at least £30 which is certainly good value given the £10 cost of the box.

Am I happy?  

So far so good.  

Everything arrived in pristine condition and nicely packaged.  

I'm looking forward to this month's tutorial video to give me some more information about these products.  

And the March box will contain a full sized Naobay moisturizing peeling, a facial milk which is said to gently peel skin with the natural properties of Acai and Gotu Kola (a herb used in traditional Chinese medicine).

My feelings towards Glossybox have certainly warmed up.

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.

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Can You Spot The Signs Of A Stroke? Get Your Blood Pressure Checked!

Can you spot the signs of a stroke? All you need to know is HERE at Stroke.org.uk/fastforward. 

This is a new campaign to raise awareness of the FAST test which highlights the importance of treating stroke and mini stroke symptoms as a medical emergency and calling 999. They want as many people as possible across the UK to know how to spot the signs and to act swiftly to ensure that patients arrive at a specialist stroke unit as quickly as possible.




Every 3 1/2 minutes stroke strikes in the UK but since the FAST campaign began, there has been a 66% increase in stroke and mini-stroke related calls to 999.

So how do we prevent a stroke? Factors which can increase your risk of stroke include things such as your genes, age and diet, the amount of alcohol you drink, whether you smoke, how fit you are and any other medical conditions you may have.

It makes sense, therefore, to take good care of yourself and get a medical check-up if you are concerned.



Free blood pressure check at Cardiff Radisson Blu Hotel

If you are worried, why not come along to the Radisson Blu Hotel in Cardiff on Thursday 12th February between 9 am and 1 pm to talk to someone from the Stroke Association and for a free blood pressure check? High blood pressure is one of the major causes of strokes so it makes sense to know whether your blood pressure is normal.

You may be glad you did.

Further information: Radisson Blu Hotel, Cardiff, Meridian Gate, Bute Terrace, CF10 2FL
Phone + 44 (29) 20454777

Stroke Association Tel: 0303 3033 100 www.stroke.org.uk

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PDSA - Take The Big Pet Survey & Win Prizes

The PDSA are carrying out the UK's largest pet survey in partnership with leading research agency, YouGov.  The survey takes just minutes to complete but it could make an immense difference to the animals we share our daily lives with. The results will be used in the PDSA Animal Welfare Report 2015 and you can download last year's report here.  The report is full of facts and figures about the nation's pets' health and wellbeing.  In it, you'll find lots of top tips an expert advice on pet care.

Plus if you spare a few minutes to take The Big Pet Survey, by leaving your details you have the opportunity to win prizes worth over £450 including:-

*  £150 of Vetstore.co.uk vouchers
*  6 months' supply of pet food
*  6 months' supply of joint supplements
*  SureFlap microchip pet door
*  SureFlap pet feeder 

This year, the PDSA celebrates 98 years of caring for the sick and injured animals of people in need.  They are the UK's leading veterinary charity.  They provide more than 2.7 million treatments to sick and injured pets each year and they are funded entirely by public support.

Find out more at www.pdsa.org.uk. Twitter @PDSA_HQ, Facebook www.facebook.com/pdsa.

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Review: ClaireaBella Jute Bags - Handmade With Love

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few months, I'm sure you will have seen these lovely personalised jute bags made by ClaireaBella. 

These are loved by celebs and have been featured on ITV's This Morning. 

I managed to get one from their stockist Toxic Fox at a marvellous £20 discount, but there are frequent offers to look out for.

My Claireabella Jute Bag

How are the bags personalised? Simply go to the Toxic Fox website, click on ClaireaBella and then select the most appropriate dress design, hair style, hair colour, eye colour, skin tone and name (up to 12 characters) for you, then sit back and wait for your unique bag to arrive. 

You can design your own 'aBella' character in about a minute and it is really easy to do. 

My only quibble is that a few extra variations of hair colour would be good.

Claireabella Jute Bag - Detail

In terms of quality, the bags are very well made and the jute is of a sturdy quality. 

Mine is a large bag which measures 40 cm wide x 33 cm high with a 17.5 cm gusset. 

The handles are nicely rounded so that the bag is comfortable to carry.

The Hand Made With Love silver charm

The bag also features Swarovski elements, a cute rosette bow, a 'hand made with love' silver charm, 2 painted hearts and some sparkle and glitter.  

Because there are so many ClaireaBella impersonators out there, each bag also says "yes it's a ClaireaBella" on the reverse.

Proof of authenticity!

Large Jute Bags can take up to 15 Working Days to produce as they are hand-made with love. 

Because each bag is hand painted by a fully trained ClaireaBella artist there may be some slight colour variations, but this makes every bag unique.

It's all mine!

The large jute bag is currently priced between £39.99 to £44.99 but Toxic Fox are offering a £5 discount at the moment and, for orders over £40, delivery is free. 

The medium jute bag measures 30cm wide by 27cm high with a 17cm gusset and is priced at £34.99 with the smaller Polo Fashion bag measures 21cm wide by 15cm high with a 10cm gusset and is priced at £24.99. 

There is a range of other types of bags too, including canvas, satchel and occasion. 

Better still, there is a whole range of merchandise bearing the ClaireaBella name, from suitcases to wine glasses, mobile phone cases, stationery and cushions.

If you want to treat yourself, or find a unique gift, I recommend that you visit ClaireaBella at Toxic Fox. ClaireaBella can also be contacted at @ClaireaBellaLtd on Twitter or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ClaireaBella.Designs.

And, you might want to draw your loved one's attention to the fact that there are only 20 or so left of ClaireaBella's 2015 Limited Edition Valentines Jute Bag featuring two gorgeous feathered angel wings.

*This is an independent review based on my own ClaireaBella purchase.

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My Son Is A Hamster And Other Suspicions

Right.  I've blummin' well had enough now. The husband has legged it to his annual jolly (or 'sales conference' as he refers to it) and, whilst he is building camaraderie by walking up snowy mountains in Canada, I am going quietly mad trying to feed his offspring.

This is how every mother is in the kitchen, isn't it?

I had hoped that, by now, both Caitlin and Ieuan would be vacuuming up food to nourish their ever increasing frames. To be fair, Caitlin will try most foods and is pretty good at eating - as long as you have about 90 minutes to spare for each meal. Ieuan is STILL vegetable averse, although he claims to eat carrots and broccoli in school and has developed the trick of hiding pieces of food in his cheeks to make it look like he is eating. Last week, I presented him with a plate which had a microdot of cucumber and a slither of greenery and he promptly burst into tears. Hamster-boy will eat fruit till it comes out of his ears but we have got into the bad habit of designing meals around what he may, or may not consume. This makes meal planning nigh on impossible unless we eat pizza or curly pasta on rotation.

A temporary lull in tea time hostilities

Caitlin has a fear of peas but will eat olives. Ieuan's food of choice would be Quavers. Now I know you are all probably tsk tsk-ing at this point, but short of sitting on them and feeding them intravenously, I am a woman short of a strategy. Some would make them sit there until they eat and reserve the hated dish for each subsequent meal. Some would just remove the uneaten food but offer nothing else. I find myself worrying that they may starve or wake up hungry, ignoring the fact that they are both already so tall they reach my chest.

I watched the BBC's Eat Well For Less programme recently which featured various families and looks at how they can reduce their shopping bills whilst not compromising on the taste and quality of their food. I was transfixed not by the advice being handed out (although I recognise I have a weakness for a BOGOF and yellow stickers call to me from miles away), but by how the children ATE ALL THEIR FOOD. Not only did the kids eat but they managed to do so in about 30 minutes - not the hourly endurance test the Husband and I have to sit through.

The Husband finds it equally hard to deal with and after half an hour of cajoling, threatening and pleading, resorts to shouting "eat, eat" like a malfunctioning robot.  I caught the kids shouting "eat, eat" at one another behind our backs the other day which adds fuel to the Husband's suspicion that, as usual, we are being "royally played".

Still, I'm not giving in. I have just bought Nadia Sawalha's "Fabulous Family Food" and will be trying out old fashioned cottage pie (Ieuan hates mashed potato - go figure) and other family favourites because our current family menu plan is duller than a rainy bank holiday Monday.  

I'm not expecting them to turn into foodies overnight but, since Ieuan is given a pot of strawberry jam for his chicken nuggets when we go to Cafe Rouge (as bribery so he'll eat them), something needs to be done.

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Primark SS15 - Favourite Pieces

Primark SS15 - Favourite Pieces by linda-hobbis on Polyvore

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Water Way To Spend A Day With Brecon Carreg

To celebrate the launch of their new kids pack, we had a fun time yesterday with the lovely team from Wales' favourite mineral water, Brecon Carreg, learning how to be eco-friendly and crafty with our used water bottles. 

Brecon Carreg are doing their bit by making slimmer, lighter bottles which use 24% less plastic and are reducing our carbon footprint by 450 tonnes per year.

Since restocking the kids' craft supplies is currently costing me enough to refinance a small nation, the chance to be creative with something that is generally just thrown out into our council's delightful recycling bags was welcome.

Ensconced in the warmth and culinary happiness that is Waterloo Tea, we were fed and, erm, watered and then it was over to Caitlin and Ieuan and the lovely Amy from @ScienceBurp to unleash our inner Mr Maker.  

My own inner Mr Maker has sadly transmogrified into Anne Teak from Gigglebiz but still, I gave it a whirl.

The suggested brief, which was of course swiftly overridden by the male contingent of the party, was to make an animal.  

True to form, Caitlin chose to make a puppy.  

Ieuan, egged on by The Husband (whose birthday it was, and who was clearly remembering a childhood now in particularly dusty and far off hills), decided to make a robot.

Here's what they both used:-

- two water bottle ends (just cut the bottoms off carefully, and under supervision)

- sticky tape

- double sided tape

- coloured paints

- googly eyes

- coloured card

So you need to:-

1. cut the end off two same sized bottles

2. create a hinge between the two bottles using sticky tape so that one end will sit on top of the other

3. stick on your googly eyes (we used double sided sticky tape for this)

4. cut a tongue shape from red card and, using double sided sticky tape again, attach it to the inside of the lower lid by creating a fold so that the tongue sticks out.

5. paint the inside of the bottles and leave to dry.

Let the creation begin...

Assembling the body

Making a puppy

Not entirely sure of the breed though...

The fearsome Stewart

And, voila, introducing Lucy the Puppy and Stewart the Robot.  

Ieuan had a lovely time racing Stewart around with his fellow crafters' creations and The Husband was particularly proud of the antennae he'd fashioned out of green card. 

Caitlin was just happy to be 'doing crafts'.  

Puppy Lucy and Caitlin

It was a great way to spend the afternoon.  

Big thanks to Brecon Carreg, Waterloo Tea, Science Burp and Brighter Comms (who I suspect had more than a hand in the mayhem).  

The finished creations

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