Category Archives: review

Gift Guide: Garden Pharmacy

17th October 2016

Ok, I really can’t hold off any longer, the official gift guides are beginning properly. I like to think of myself as an organised person and I like to be ahead with my Christmas shopping. Figuring I can’t be alone in this (the ever increasing crowds of people in the shops being a huge giveaway) I’m taking the plunge. Click away if you’re one of those who can’t even begin to think about gift buying until the start of December…

I was recently sent a couple of items from Garden Pharmacy to review and given the vast array of beauty and fragrance products they sell I thought I’d combine my mini reviews with a little list of other items that I think would make for wonderful presents. They currently have some good offers on many of their products meaning you might just manage to bag yourself a bargain in the process.

The first item I was sent was this beautiful tin of Steam Cream. This stuff has been around for a fair few years now but somehow passed under my beauty radar. To be honest I think I was put off by the presence of lavender which I often find over-powering but having now actually had the chance to both smell and use these cream I can see what the hype is about. I’ve mostly been using it on my hands which suffer dreadfully when the weather gets colder and it’s working wonders. The gorgeous packaging (of which there are many variations available) means it makes a beautiful girly gift too.
The Selfie Powders Palette palette from Too Faced (currently only £24.00) has been an item of intrigue to me since it first burst on to the beauty scene. This trio of powders are designed to be instagram filters for real life providing either brightening warmth, a bronze glow or a cool ethereal light. It took me a while to brave using these, I feared yellow and purple streaks all over the shot- actually these blend wonderfully in to the skin and do give an added edge to my every day makeup. I’ve been getting so many more compliments on my skin since I started using these!
And now for a few other items that have made it on to my beauty christmas list- hopefully providing a little inspiration to help you along your way (or enabling a self indulgent spending spree in which case I am sorry!)

Here | Here | Here | Here | Here

Happy Shopping! Let me know if you have any specific gift guide requests…

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Posted in beauty, christmas, gifts, review, shopping

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New in from Essence

16th October 2016
After (rather excitingly) being awarded “blogger of the month” from my favourite affordable beauty brand Essence I was also lucky enough to receive a parcel with some of their new makeup lines to try out. In the spirit of living up to my new title I thought I’d do a quick review of my three favourite products which have very rapidly become staples in my Autumn/Winter makeup.
The first product is the “light up your face” luminizer palette which retails for a very purse friendly £3. I am absolutely loving this little selection of highlighter powders; used either alone or together these give the most amazing glow to my skin in a way far more expensive products have failed to do.

Secondly was my current go-to lip colour. This is the “matt, matt, matt” lipgloss in the shade ‘girl of today’. I often steer clear of matte lip products as they are notoriously drying. This product isn’t in the slightest bit drying and the colour is the perfect berry toned deep pink. The formula is a new one on me- almost mousse like and so light. The colour lasts a good half a day without need for a touch up which I think is pretty damn impressive from something that only costs £2.30

Finally on to the mascara. This is “the false lashes mascara” which promises dramatic volume unlimited. I’ve said before about how much Essence have impressed me with their budget mascaras. At £2.80 this is one of the cheapest I’ve ever owned and yet still manages to pack a powerful punch in terms of dramatic, voluminous lashes. There’s no flaking or clumping either which is a problem I’ve often had with cheaper mascaras.

There seems to be quite a few new essence products on the block which I hope to try out sooner rather than later. Let me know if anything in particular has impressed you lately, or if there’s anything you’d like to see reviewed in future posts.

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Posted in beauty, brands I love, make up, review

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Gin & Elderflower treats from Holly’s Lollies- with a discount for you too!

12th October 2016
I love gin and I love sweets so when an opportunity that combined the two came my way excited was an understatement! In this post, and for the next couple of months I have teamed up with Holly’s Lollies to review some of her seriously tempting treats AND offer some exclusive discounts and surprises for you too.

Holly’s Lollies is the brainchild of Holly Brook, a 24 year old psychology graduate. What initially began as a summer holiday hobby soon became a full time job- in 2015, bored with office life Holly quit her job and began her confectionary business full time. At the time of conception Holly’s Lollies are the only handmade sweets made with real alcohol.

Every product is hand made with real alcohol- when a bundle of Gin and Elderflower goods arrived at my door I couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

Everything looks almost too good to eat doesn’t it? These are hands down the prettiest sweets I’ve come across. Obviously looks aren’t everything though and the real question is how do they taste? Well…

There is certainly a taste of summer about these goods, the lollipops especially bring back memories of sunny days with an ice cold g&t (and to further that experience you could dip a lolly in to an ice cold g&t). These are delicate and delicious- a real grown up twist on a childhood favourite.

The humbugs are incredible. As a fan of the humble mint humbug I wasn’t too sure what one could expect from a gin and elderflower take on tradition. Get past the lurid yet some how enticing green colour of the sweet and you have the sharp tang of gin balanced beautifully with delicate elderflower. These would make for a wonderful gift for any gin lover…the trouble being I’m finding it hard to imagine purchasing a jar then being able to part with them!

Finally we have the giant lollipop and I’m going to confess I haven’t tasted this one yet as I just can’t bear to break the perfect swirl (but it’s ok, there is a 12 month shelf life- I have plenty of time!) Apparently these would be great for a wedding and I shall certainly bear that in mind should I ever getting married. In the mean time I just want these scattered around the house, one glance at it in it’s bright green glory and there’s an instant smile on my face!

I know quite a few of my readers are also big fans of gin so it is with great delight that I am able to offer up my readers a 20% discount off of all GIN products until the 31st of October. Simply enter the code DaisyChainGin at the checkout.

Prices (pre-discount) are: £3.50 for the giant lollipop, £6.50 for a jar of humbugs and £6.50 for 5 x lollipops.

Let me know if you treat yourself, I’d love to know what your take on these are. And watch this space for more alcoholic sweets and treats soon!

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Posted in brands I love, food, gifts, review

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Fit for a Princess with JewelleryBox

10th October 2016
It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with jewellery and there’s one brand that has really caught my attention lately thanks to seeing their beautiful packaging and delicate pieces ALL OVER instagram and my favourite blogs. JewelleryBox is an online accessories retailer who provide high quality, super dainty pieces in 9ct gold or sterling silver at really affordable prices meaning beautiful jewellery is accessible to everyone, hurrah! They very kindly offered me the chance to pick something from the website so I could see what all of the fuss is about for myself and the second I clapped eyes on this ring* I knew it was the one.
The ring arrived so prettily packaged that I almost didn’t want to unbox it and disturb the perfection. I soon got over this though as I couldn’t wait to see my new ring (although I did take everything apart very delicately which is highly unusual for me!)

The ring itself is gorgeous, dainty and looks far more expensive than it’s £10.15 price tag. It’s of excellent quality too, sometimes I find silver tarnishes almost instantly when it comes in to contact with my skin but I’ve been wearing this ring non-stop since it arrived and there isn’t even a hint of a blemish.

I’m so smitten with this and I have several more pieces from JewelleryBox on my wish list ready for a little treat, probably whilst I’m busy picking up pretty little Christmas presents for my friends and family- “one for you & one for me” is a totally acceptable gift buying policy, right?

Have you ever bought from JewelleryBox before? I’d love to know what you picked and what you thought.

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Posted in brands I love, christmas, gifts, jewellery, review

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The September 2016 Degustabox and Discount

07th October 2016
Yep, it’s Degustabox time again! You know you’re getting old when things like this seem to come around faster and faster each month. The September box was for me at least one of the best I can recall for a while and I was excited to get stuck in to trying everything.
I thought I’d start off with the drinks as usually they are my least favourite part of the monthly box as I’m just not a drinks person (unless it’s tea, I want all the tea!) The two cans are from Cape Drinks and are a sparkling blend of rooibos tea and fruit juices with added vitamins. Made from all natural ingredients and with no refined sugar even I couldn’t find reason not to give these a try, both flavours are delicious but the peach and lychee was my favourite purely for being so unique. RRP £1.59 each.
Chia seeds have been trendy for a while now so it was inevitable at some point I was going to end up trying them. I have an aversion to certain textures and I’m afraid to say that despite my best efforts these rendered both sachets inedible to me, I did try, I promise and I wish I loved them because they are packed full of omega 3, protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals, all of which I could do with a boost of! RRP £1.00 each.
Beans, beans good for the heart…I LOVE beans so I was pretty excited to find this three pack of Borlotti beans from Cirio nestled inside this month’s box. I’ve been eating this mixed in with ratatouille and popped on top of a jacket potato for a quick and tasty evening meal and I plan to keep a supply in my cupboard at all times. The tins are the perfect size and I’m going to try and make some beany soups now the weather is turning cooler. RRP £1.89 for a pack of three.
I’m not gluten free but I’m all for a quick and easy meal so this Mrs Crimble’s fusilli was greeted with enthusiasm by me! This is essentially a gluten free version of the student staple pasta ‘n sauce and made for a super speedy and delicious meal one evening. I love anything with mushrooms and this creamy mushroom sachet of goodness is a winner in my books. RRP £1.99.
Jelly, who doesn’t love jelly? These pots of sugar free wibbly wobbly fun from Hartley’s are great for lunch boxes or as a post dinner snack for those watching their weight. Personally I think they are vastly improved with the addition of custard and sprinkles but that’s just me. RRP 50p per pot.
I’m no stranger to Metcalfe’s snacks but I was yet to come across their popcorn thins. These are light, crispy and oh so addictive. A pack of two is perfect for a portable snack…and for portion control if you find them as moor-ish as I did! I also really enjoyed the Get Fruity bar, I’ve tried these before but the pineapple, coconut and lime was a new flavour to me and hands down my favourite to date. Another perfectly portable snack and brilliant for lunch boxes too. RRP £1.00 per product.
Say Yes to No Bread Chips are brand new and exclusive to Waitrose. These are free from artificial nasties, empty promises and fake advertising. They are also addictively delicious in my eyes, a big YES to these little beauties. I have a bit less enthusiasm for the Miso Tasty Miso Soup but that’s personal taste for you, I’m sure fans of Miso will love these! RRP £1.49 for the chips, £3.65 for the Miso.
Finally comes the Teisseire Sirop which reminds me of something I used to drink as a child. My water intake is appalling in general so I’ve been using this to flavour a bottle of the good stuff each morning to try and encourage myself to drink it. It works- cranberry and raspberry are such a winning combination and with zero sugar there’s no need to worry about my teeth being wrecked in the process. RRP £2.99
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 by entering the code BLDEG15 at the checkout. It’s been a pleasure to work with the brand one and off 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.

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Posted in food, review

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