The June 2017 (BBQ) Degustabox

I honestly don’t know where time is going lately. Life has become incredibly busy and whilst I usually try to do a thorough review of each Degustabox* this month it’s more of an over-view and summary as I’ve literally run out of time to try everything included in the box!

This month the box had a BBQ theme, perfectly fitting for June even if it is currently pouring with rain and really quite chilly. I’m not 100% sure how everything in this box fits in with the theme to be honest but as ever there was a good selection and I’ll never not enjoy this monthly delivery.

So first up is an interesting sounding Brazilian chilli and coconut quick cook sauce from Capsicana which retails at £1.99. This is one of the products that I haven’t had a chance to try yet but the flavour combination sounds delicious and I’m looking forward to trying this out with chicken, peppers and onions as the brand suggests.
As is probably common knowledge by now I’m not a soft drinks girl but these energy juices from ENRJ do look appealing. The flavours sound great- Mango & Passionfruit and Apple & Berries. I’m definitely going to give these a go ASAP- at £1.75 they aren’t cheap but made from real ingredients (nothing artificial), no added sugar, under 100 calories per bottom and one of your five a day I think they’ll make a great occasional splurge.
Haribo! Here’s a product I immediately found time to try! These Summer Frenzy editions of classic favourites Starmix and Tangfastics are both delicious in my eyes. The Tangfastics have the edge for me with their ice cream flavours, the Starmix are berry flavoured which are also good but I’m a sucker for the sour. RRP £1 per pack.
Another product I haven’t tried is these light bites which I’ve seen for sale in my local Superdrug. I’ve been hesitant to try these because these are clearly marketed as a diet product but they do sound tempting and I think I will tuck in soon (solution- eat twice as many!) The mango and vanilla yoghurt fruit chips sound great, and at 46 calories per bag are great for anyone watching their weight. The superfood fruit bar is packed with goji berries, chia seeds, strawberries, blueberries and pumpkin seeds- all for under 100 calories. The fruit chips cost £1.49 per bag and the bar is £1.25. Expensive, but great for dieters needing convenience.
This month’s product of the month is these Original O’s savoury cumin and sesame nibbles. These are ridiculously addictive, I didn’t think I liked cumin until I tried these. These are great for sharing, if you can bring yourself to…at £2.99 probably best reserved for special occasions only but worth the splurge.
Cider is a staple at any summer BBQ around these parts so these Westons Ciders are bound to go down a treat. Here we have Rosie’s Pig flat tyre- a cloudy cider with rhubarb and Rosie’s Pig handbrake is a cloudy cider with damson. I haven’t tried these, I’m not a cider fan at all- although as soon as someone cracks open the Rhubarb one I’m sneaking a swig.
Schwartz packets are a staple in our cupboards and these new Authentic American Flavours are very exciting to me. There are five products in the range and here we have BBQ pulled chicken and Spicy Buffalo Wings. I haven’t had time to make them yet but as soon as the weather improves enough to get the grill out I’m there.
Eisberg alcohol free wine has popped up a few times in Degustabox and always goes down well at gatherings for the designated drivers and dieters. Made in the same way as your favourite wine but minus the alcohol this has only 28 calories per 125ml glass and is really quite excellent served with ice.

Berrywhite Organic Drinks have also turned up in Degustabox before and here we have an organic lemon and lime variant. Another expensive beverage at £1.39 each but 10% of the profit goes to the Berrywhite Foundation and they have no added sugar or artificial ingredients AND contain one of your five a day (oh, and it tastes really rather good!)

I’m not sure what granola has to do with BBQs but I am a fiend for granola so I was excited to see this in the box until I realised it has peanuts in which I can’t eat. Still, it sounds delicious and I’ve passed this on to my equally addicted Grandfather- I’m awaiting his verdict and will report back.
I’m also not sure what shortbread has to do with BBQ but who doesn’t love a biscuit? I’m a long term fan of Walkers shortbread and these Scottie Dogs are adorable- almost too good to eat. I could eat these all day every day if nutrition wasn’t a concern…shortbread fans seek these out!
For those who don’t know Degustabox is a monthly subscription box filled with 10-15 food/drink products, most of which are brand new to the market so it’s a great way to try things out. On a month by month basis the box costs £12.99 (with a discount for longer subscriptions) but the contents are generally worth far more than this.
If you’re persuaded to give Degustabox a go (and really, you should) you can claim a brilliant £7.00 off of your first box (making it just £5.99!) by entering the code 6HZJ8 at the checkout. It’s been a pleasure to work with the brand regularly over the last couple of years and it’s without a doubt something that I will continue to purchase long after our partnership ends. I love the monthly surprise and excitement as well as the chance to discover products I’d otherwise pass up on the supermarket shelves.
Let me know if you’ve tried any of these products and what you thought of them.

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Snacking with Dr Zak

I might not be your typical gym-going, exercise mad protein filled snack consumer but I am a serial grazer and on a mission to pack as much protein in to my diet as possible right now to help me re-build some strength. I also have a notorious sweet tooth and do have to keep an eye on how much sugar I let myself inhale in lieu of healthier options (I was that child who filled their boots on Haribo then couldn’t manage their dinner!). Therefore I was very interested when I got an e-mail from Dr Zak’s about their new range of high protein, low sugar cookies which boast an impressive 15g of protein per 60g cookie whilst keeping sugar content minimal. They very kindly sent over the range of cookies for me to try as well as some high protein clusters and I thought I’d pop up some thoughts here in case anyone else is in the same boat- or is in need of something to munch post workout.
All products c/o Dr Zak’s for blog consideration.
Kicking off with the protein clusters which I found made the perfect little snack to pack in my bag for work. These come in three flavours- chipotle chilli, fruit & yoghurt and chocolate. These 30g packs contain up to 12g of protein, are free from palm oil, made with high quality pea protein isolate and have under 130 calories per bag.

I’ll start off by saying the fruit & yoghurt variety wasn’t my cup of tea. They weren’t bad but did have that distinct “protein” taste about them and I had expected them to be much sweeter. I happily ate the pack and they certainly made for a filling snack for something so small but I wouldn’t go out of my way to have these again.

The chipotle and chocolate fared better. The chocolate were my favourite for sure, a good strong flavour and less after taste. The chipotle were also pretty good although I had hoped for a bit more heat. Again the stronger flavour of these took away the protein taste and I would pick up both of these flavours again if I saw them for sale.

The cookies also come in three flavours- salted caramel, chocolate chip and triple chocolate. These are made with high quality milk proteins and have a soft bake texture which reminded me more of a cake than a cookie. Again these are free from palm oil and contain no more than 3% of your daily sugar allowance. The 60g cookies are dense and filling but are fairly low calorie for a protein filled snack- each contains less than 220 calories for the whole cookie.

My favourite flavour was the salted caramel, hands down. This surprised me as I’m not usually a fan of this flavour at all but here it was a winner. The chocolate chip (sugar free) was a close second though and not far behind was the triple chocolate.

In short, I really enjoyed these. I gave some to my boyfriend to try and he wasn’t convinced at first but later said this is because he went in to it expecting a typical cookie- I mentioned before these have a more cake like texture and won’t compare to say, a cookie from Millie’s cookies or a bakery but in their own right they are really very good.

There are a whole host of items from Dr Zak’s I’d like to try- the peanut spread with it’s range of flavours looks especially intriguing!

Check out the website to find out your nearest stockists and if you are already familiar with the brand then please tell me which products I should be looking to try next!

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Beauty- SENSSE Anti-Ageing Facial Cleansing Brush and Exfoliator

I feel like I should preface this post by saying I am a complete novice in the field of facial cleansing brushes. They’ve been on the beauty scene for a little while now but it wasn’t until my Mum got one for Christmas a couple of years ago and raved about that I started to think about actually getting one myself.

I never did get around to it though. My skincare regime is basic at best and I always had other places where my money could be better used (judging by my current collection that use appears to be lipstick…). Since I’m now at that grand old age of 30 and noticing more fine lines and wrinkles by the day, when I was given the chance to try out the SENSSE Anti-Ageing Facial Cleansing Brush and Exfoliator* I pretty much jumped at the chance.

As I mentioned at the start of the post I don’t have any prior experience of facial cleansing brushes so I couldn’t tell you how it compared to some of the most popular brands out there so sorry if you were hoping for that.

The SENSEE Anti-Ageing Facial Cleansing Brush (and exfoliator) has super soft bristles that are designed to gently massage your skin to stimulate the production of collagen which in turn reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
I really like that there are three different intensity levels, I started myself off on the lowest one as I didn’t know how brutal it might be or how my skin would react- the higher levels are designed for deep exfoliation so best saved for occasional use I think.

The device has a built in battery which apparently lasts for up to 60 uses (I can’t confirm or deny at this point!) and it can be used anywhere. Probably my favourite feature is the built in timer which sounds every 20 seconds to remind you to move on to a new area of skin. I’m pretty sure without it I’d have scrubbed my face raw by now.

The process of using it is really simple. You remove makeup first which automatically means it’s getting me back in t to the habit of doing this! You then apply your cleanser of choice to moisturised skin and glide the device over your face in circular motions for 20 seconds per area. Finally you rinse and dry your face and revel in that deep clean, fresh feeling.

For my skin using this every day is a bit too much- I’m down to about three times a week which suits me perfectly. Whilst I can’t claim I suddenly look ten years younger my skin does look brighter and healthier for having a decent cleansing routine again and if I can keep up regular use I am hoping it’ll keep any further fine lines from appearing just yet.

It’s also a very easy on the eye piece of kit. White and rose gold is a colour combination destined to please any beauty blogger and the compact charging stand and USB connector keep things neat and tidy. At the moment you can get this for £69.99 which seems reasonable when you compare to other brand leaders so if you’re in the market for a new cleansing brush or are looking to try one for the first time this is definitely one to consider.

Have you tried any of SENSEE’s products before? It’s not a brand I was familiar with before now and I’d be interested to know what else people would recommend.

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Get Cara’s Camo Look with Rimmel

Rimmel have recently launched a limited edition collection exclusive to Superdrug. The range is fronted by Cara Delevingne and is called Cara’s Camo Collection. As the name would suggest the products are all based upon the bang on trend camouflage look- from the shades of the products to the packaging itself, and it’s all finished with Rimmel’s trademark Union Jack print.
I haven’t reviewed the entire range as some of the products are ones I’ve tried and featured before- the brow gels for example [the clear and dark brown are staples of mine]. Same goes for the lipstick, although I’m certainly glad to have a back up of this shade as it’s the most perfect nude I’ve found on the high street!
I’m not a black nail polish kind of girl but the other two colours in the collection are right up my street and perfect for pulling together an on trend look this Summer. I’m already a huge fan of Rimmel’s 60 second shine range and camo girl and desert disguise are fantastic additions to the collection.
Most people by now know I love my mascaras and I’m always on the look out for great new additions to my ever-growing army of them. The Extra 3D Lash Mascara is the first mascara by Rimmel to give a multi-dimensional look and one swift coat of this gives a voluminous, defined look that I’m seriously loving.
One of the first makeup items I ever owned was the original Hide the Blemish concealer stick from Rimmel and it’s been an absolute staple ever since. This is the same product we know and love bought up to date with it’s camouflage disguise. The main reason I love this product so much is that it’s a great all-rounder. It hides blemishes and conceals dark circles equally well and it’s perfect for me at the weekend’s when I’m staying at my boyfriend’s and don’t want to pack endless makeup products.
Another multi-tasking product I love from this collection is the Highlighter Pencil. You can use it to life the brow arch, or to highlight the brow bones and I’ve actually also been using it in the inner corners of my eyes for a wide-awake look when I’m really not feeling it!
The entire collection is available Superdrug and as well as being ridiculously affordable in the first instance it’s also currently on a 3 for 2 offer so now’s the time to snap it up!

Have you tried any products from this collection? What limited edition packaging would you like to see from Rimmel?

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Products sent to me c/o Rimmel for blog consideration. Post contains affiliate links.

My Must Haves from Essence

Another week and another new product from my favourite budget makeup brand Essence. The “My Must Haves” eyeshadow palette is something I’ve seen pop up on a few blogs recently and I just knew it was going to be a winner.

Eyeshadow palettes are tricky territory if you’re buying them pre-made, they can be a bit of a false economy really- I’ve lost track of how many I’ve bought only to use one or two of the shades and ignore the rest, then feeling horribly guilty when the rest of the palette sits there neglected and unloved.

As with all Essence products this is an absolute bargain. The empty case costs £1.50 for a four colour palette and £2 for an eight colour one. The individual products themselves then cost a mere £1.50 each making it a great way to create on-trend looks for every season.

Although my palette is filled with eyeshadows (which live up to the usual highly pigmented and long-lasting Essence standard) you can also get blushes, a lip base and powders, highlighter, bronzer and fixing powder. With the 32 product strong selection the opportunities for customisation are endless.

My personal palette is embracing my current love for all things pink when it comes to beauty- it might look a bit scary but the shade “raspberry frosting” is so bright and fun for summer and also works well as a blusher shade too.

The palette is super easy to pop together with a secure special click mechanism meaning your shades are safe and secure, but also easy to interchange.

You can pick up these products from selected Wilko stores and the Wilko website. For the full range of shades available hop on over to the Essence site and customising. I highly recommend these as a fun and affordable way to update your makeup, and perfect for taking away on holiday where you don’t want to lug your full makeup collection with you.

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Products in this post sent to me for blog consideration, all opinions are my own.