3 Big Reasons To Opt For Eco Friendly Razors*

We are all, as we should be, making more effort to minimise our impact on the environment. The crackdown on plastic straws, cups, and bags, is great – but we still have a long way to go. 

If you take a good look around your bathroom, you will probably be shocked at the amount of plastic you see. Bottles, tubs, tubes, and more – many beauty products are still unfortunately designed without considering the effect on the environment. 

When it comes to shaving and razors in particular, the situation is particularly worrying. Head into any drugstore on the high street and it is immediately obvious how much plastic goes into the making and selling of disposable razors. 

This simply doesn’t need to be the case. There are many alternative options out there for women and men to shave, without contributing to the amount of plastic going into our landfills. 

For now, let’s focus on eco friendly razors, otherwise known as safety razors. These nifty tools are made entirely from metal and can last a lifetime, rather than having to be thrown away after a couple of uses. 

Here are my top three reasons to use eco friendly razors: 

Cost-effective. 

First off, investing in a high-quality safety razor can save you a ton of money in the long run. Think about how much money you’ve spent over the years on endless packs of disposable razors, only to throw them away after a few uses. 

Now, think about how many times you’ve been reeled in my savvy marketing to try a ‘new and improved’ model of disposable razor, when really these pink handles, gel strips, and extra blades make no difference to the quality of your shave. Don’t let yourself fall into these traps. 

A safety razor may cost you a little more initially, but if looked after, it can last your whole life. All that needs to be replaced is the blade itself once it starts to go blunt. You can buy a pack of 100 replacement blades for as little as £5. So, instead of buying a new pack of plastic-filled disposable razors once a month, you can buy a pack of blades to last you years! 

If saving the planet wasn’t enough reason for you to get yourself, your mum, your friends, and any woman in sight, a safety razor, the money you can save should be. 

The English Shaving Company offers a wide range of the very best quality safety razors to improve both women and mens shaving. If you are considering going green with your shaving routine, they have multiple options and products available to help you make the change. 

 2. Better for your skin.

Contrary to what you might think or be told by the big brands out there, more blades on a razor does not equal a closer shave. Actually, more blades makes it harder for you to shave at the right angle and increases the chance of cutting or nicking your skin. 

Safety razors have one single blade, making it far easier to control and keep flat against the skin’s surface. The less blades pulling on your skin, the less irritated it will be by the process. Yes, eco friendly razors do take some getting used to and should be used with caution initially due to the sharp blades. Once you’ve had some practise though, your shaving routine will be quicker and more effective than ever before. 

3. Plastic-free, zero-waste. 

Last but not least, you should opt for eco friendly razors simply to reduce your impact on the environment. Global warming isn’t going anywhere, so it’s our job to do what we can. 

Disposable razors are one of the most common and problematic items in our landfills. Each razor is produced using multiple layers of plastic, and worse, these are then sold in plastic packaging too.  

Eco friendly razors like safety razors mean there is no excuse to be buying/using anything else. These razors are most commonly made using stainless steel, so they won’t rust and can be used over entire lifetimes. Plus, with there being so many forward-thinking companies like The English Shaving Company around now, it’s never been easier to access eco friendly products!

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How to find the best Broadband Deal*

Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

When we first moved in together Bob and I invested some time in to finding the best broadband deals for us, and ended up with a pretty sweet introductory one year offer. In the next couple of months this special rate is due to end, and with a wedding to save up for and a deep-seated desire to never pay more than I have to for anything, I’ve started the search once more.

It might sound like a lot of hassle, but it is worth shopping around as there are big savings to be had on high speed internet with places such as infinitydish.com

Price comparison websites should be your first port of call, you can enter your requirements and your area and you’ll instantly see the best offers that are tailored to your needs. This is how we ended up with such a great package the first time round and it’s the main step I’ll be taking this time should we decide to switch. Things change all the time in the world of broadband providers so  I think an annual check of what’s on offer is also a good way to check you’re still getting the best speeds, download allowances and any other offers (i.e. discounts on entertainment packages or a combined internet/phone TV package).

Cashback sites are also worth checking out too, as many of the main broadband providers will be linked with the market leaders here and you could end up netting £50, or more cashback when you sign up as a new customer with a provider as well as getting a good deal on your package- who doesn’t love free money? I’m a big fan of cashback sites and use anything I make to top up the wedding fund!

If you’re happy with your current provider and don’t actually want to switch you could try haggling with them. It’s a competitive market and companies will do their best to keep you on their books. If you’re facing a price hike, or have found a better deal elsewhere but don’t really want to leave then give customer services a call and see what new deals they can offer. The best time to do this is just around when your current contract is due to expire as the threat of you leaving is real (trying to leave mid-contract will end up costing you). Be polite but persistent with this one and you’ll be surprised at what savings there are to be had.

I can’t believe we’re only two months away from being in our little house for a year, the time has flown by at an alarming speed!

Do you have any top tips for getting the best broadband deal? I’d love to see hear them…

Holiday Post 5: San Francisco

We ended our holiday with a three night stay in San Francisco. It was late when we got there on the Sunday so we didn’t get to see much of it (we took a detour via the Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Factory!) but we did get to drive in over the Golden Gate Bridge and enjoy the sun going down after getting stuck in some traffic and getting very hangry!

After rolling in to town we dropped off our rental car as we didn’t see a benefit to keeping it in a busy city where parking is notoriously difficult/expensive. We picked up an Uber to take us to our Airbnb- we went with this option rather than a hotel because we were able to get something MUCH nicer for our money with what little budget we had left and it was a winning choice. Hotels in San Francisco are expensive, and somewhat dingy if you’re on a budget. On the flipside, our Airbnb which was a converted basement in someone’s house, was immaculate and our hosts were perfect- friendly and on hand to help if we wanted it, but happy to leave us to our own devices. As a first experience of Airbnb it was perfect.

We were located somewhere downtown with little around in terms of dining options so we took a 10pm stroll to a nearby grocery store for a makeshift dinner. It was quite daunting at first as it was our first real city experience outside of Vegas but very interesting (and hilly!)

Our first morning in San Francisco saw us getting another Uber and heading down towards Fisherman’s Wharf, via IHOP which Bob was desperate to try (it was good!).
We don’t actually feel like we got the best experience of SF as it was freakishly hot whilst we were there- up to 37 degrees. This is not ideal temperatures for exploring a busy city and we definitely didn’t see as much as we would have liked as it was unbearable to be out for too long, but we’re already planning our next road trip which will see us back in San Francisco before driving up to Seattle.

One place we absolutely loved was Musée Mécanique- a vintage penny arcade located on Pier 45 on Fisherman’s Wharf. We spent a very happy couple of hours here playing on the old school machines and posing in the photo booths- 100% recommend a pit stop here if you’re in town!
We also took a tour of SS Jeremiah O’Brien, a WWII Liberty Ship as Bob and I are both war history buffs. This was an awesome experience and well worth the entry fee we paid. It was however far too hot to spend long on board.

We didn’t visit Alcatraz this time as we didn’t book in advance, which is a must and it was fully booked. We saw it from afar though and it’s on the list for next time.

View of Alcatraz Prison from the SS Jeremiah O’Brien.

After some lunch grabbed from a 7-11 (love those places) we headed to another famous pier- Pier 39, known best for it’s sea lions. Again it really was to hot to fully enjoy this, but it has a buzzing atmosphere and super cool vibe.

A few hours wandering this part of town and we were beaten by the weather. We headed back to our apartment to have a siesta and cold shower before going out to a fairly local shopping mall for an easy dinner (Panda Express, yum!) and a bit of retail therapy.

Day two dawned slightly cooler and we decided to get an Uber to Golden Gate Park. We picked up some breakfast in a supermarket which we ate on the beach before setting about our mission to cover as much of the massive park as we could on foot (next time we’ll hire bikes!)

We made a pretty good dent in the park as well, but there are so many zones to explore you really need a couple of days to get the most out of it.

As an aside, this was on the Tuesday and not one person had mentioned that at noon on a Tuesday they test the emergency alarms, so when they went off there was genuine terror and visions of us about to be engulfed by a tsunami, especially as our Uber driver had kindly told us this freak weather scared him as it made the chances of one much higher! Consider yourself warned!

After about four hours of walking we got yet another Uber and went back down to the beach for one of my favourite parts of the entire holiday.
Before we went I had posted on Facebook that I’d be in San Francisco and this actually presented itself as the perfect opportunity to meet up with one of my most longstanding online friends.
It’s so wonderful to be able to turn an online friend in to a real life one, and our afternoon with Meghan was perfect. We drank cocktails at the Beach Chalet then took a walk on the beach to dip our toes in the Pacific.


It was the most idyllic ending to the holiday of a lifetime and I hope that when we go back to the states we can meet up again.

That evening we headed to another shopping mall, ate more Panda Express (we were so taken by this chain, and we were priced out of local restaurants by this stage in our trip!). We also finally visited a Trader Joes and loaded up on snacks to take home- England needs Trader Joes asap!

Shopping and dining done we headed back to our Airbnb for an early night ready for our epic day of travelling the next morning.
The flights home were smooth sailing, although we didn’t get an minute of sleep so we were slightly delirious by the time we landed in a cold and rainy Heathrow, and we had four days of truly horrendous jet lag. But we had the absolute best time and came home to a very happy to see us Pablo, a house full of engagement cards and balloons, and of course, a wedding to plan!

As I mentioned earlier in the post, we’re keen to re-visit San Francisco in more normal weather conditions. We were a bit overwhelmed when it came to choosing where to visit and what to see, so although it won’t be for a couple of years now we’d love some recommendations.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our little holiday re-cap series! Hopefully there will be more travel posts, both UK and overseas in the future, we’ve certainly got the exploring bug!

Degustabox- the July Picnic Edition

Welcome to the July 2019 round-up of Degustabox* (gifted). I’m slightly lacking inspiration for blog content lately, but one thing always guaranteed to get me posting is the monthly arrival of this food subscription box. This month there was a picnic theme to the products, and I was excited to get stuck in.

As you can see, there was a bit of a transit mishap with the Piri Piri Chicken 3 step cooking kit from Simply Cook, which is a shame as Bob and I would have loved to try this as it looks right up our street! These are available at Sainsburys and Waitrose stores so we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled and will pick one up to try in the near future.

Personally I’m not a big fan of flavoured coffee, but Bob is so he was eager to try the limited edition Butterscotch Coffee Syrup from Monin. You can use this in both hot, or iced coffee and we agreed is best in a milky coffee drink like a latte rather than in a straight up black coffee. It got Bob’s approval though and is way cheaper than buying a fancy latte at a coffee shop.
I REALLY enjoyed this Pineapple and Yuzu salsa from Ravish. It’s perfect for adding a splash of summer flavour to sandwiches, salads and burgers. It’s not to sweet, or too tangy- really it’s a dose of sunshine for your mouth.

Hot Sauce, yay! We love hot sauce in this house, especially Frank’s so this product was greeted with much enthusiasm. It’s hard to review just how hot, or not, that it is due to people’s tolerance being so varied but we found it spicy and flavourful without causing any pain.
These Greek Style Flatbreads from Deli Kitchen are a great idea for a BBQ or Picnic. With a bit more weight behind them than a tortilla they make the perfect host for kebabs, falafel wraps or whatever you fancy really. They freeze perfectly making them ideal for keeping on hand for an impromptu gathering.

I always love the snacky bits in Degustabox and this month was no exception. I’ve been a long time devotee of the Kallo brand for rice cakes and these mini bags are perfect for a picnic, or for slinging in your bag for a portable snack on a day out. There’s something about a chocolate covered rice-cake that I can’t resist!
I was a little more hesitant to try the Ape Snacks coconut bites with sesame seeds although I’m not sure why. They are quite moorish and the flavours work well together, another ideal snack for on the go.

I’m not the biggest lover of tortilla chips- I’ll eat them if they are there but there are other savoury snacks I much prefer. That being said, I loved these Beetroot and Onion tortillas from Mister Free’d. They have a wonderfully strong and unique flavour and are suitable for those on a gluten free diet, or who are vegan. Paired with hummus these are bang on.

Bob swooped in on these Randoms as soon as he saw them, he loves his sweets! Both were met with rave reviews- I personally didn’t like the texture of the squish’ems, but he did. We both agreed the sour ones are fantastic!

Last but not least we have New Ribena Frusion- a blackcurrant flavoured water with the flavour of kiwi alongside. I found this an odd combination, I never considered kiwi as a flavour for a soft drink- but it’s nice, refreshing and great served chilled on a hot day.

Let me know if you’ve tried any of these products and what you thought in the comments.


If you’re new to Degustabox, it’s a monthly food subscription box that gives you the chance to try new and exciting products on the market whilst providing amazing value for money.
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 as you can see if you do the maths.


If you’re persuaded to give Degustabox a go (and really, you should) you can claim a brilliant £5.00 off of your first box (making it just £7.99!) 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.

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Holiday Post 4: Mammoth Lakes*

After the happiest moment of my life to date; getting engaged in Yosemite National Park it was time to get back in to our rental car and head to our next destination; Mammoth Lakes.
The pass we needed to get from Yosemite to Mammoth Lakes was still closed due to snow (so hard to imagine on a day where temperatures were in the mid-twenties), we only found this out at the last minute so after a bit of advice from a friendly park ranger we set about on a bit of a detour.

We set out with plenty of fuel in the tank, but it soon became clear we’d need to fill up. No worries we think, there’s a gas station before we hit the Sonoma Pass…except when we get to the town where the gas station was meant to be located, there was nothing. Just an empty shell of a gas station and the burnt out remains of an area completely destroyed by last years forest fires.
Still, not panicked we reasoned there would be another on the way and we technically still had enough fuel in the tank. We hit the pass, climbed and climbed and climbed (10,500 feet elevation at it’s peak) and watch the fuel dial plummet.

By the time we had made our descent the tank was empty and sat-nav showed 40 miles to the next gas station. We hoped our car had a good reserve tank as we had no phone signal and there was barely anyone on the road- and a serious lack of houses/general civilisation. That gas station was closed, and at that point we went from celebrating our engagement to sheer panic. Luckily our car had a seemingly bottomless reserve and we made the next 30 miles to an open gas station- an hour further from our destination and back in Nevada. That sense of relief was insane. It was 10pm by this time, we grabbed coffee, figured we’d find something to eat when we got to Mammoth Lakes and got back to it.

At midnight we rocked up to our hotel, obviously check-in was closed but the owner had left the key out for us, alongside a triple underlined warning about bears…we had a very cautious trip back to the car for our belongings!
We pretty much crashed straight in to bed after that drama, fuelled on some car snacks we had salvaged and a strange sense of delirium.

The view from our hotel entrance.

We woke up the next day full of renewed engagement excitement and finally got to tell our family and friends. We had a spot of breakfast at the hotel before heading off, keen to make the best of our one full day at Mammoth Lakes, starting with a hike around Convict Lake.

There are no words to explain how stunning Mammoth Lakes was. Surrounded by snow capped mountains even in June, during the colder months this is a popular ski resort, and during the summer a place of outstanding natural beauty and opportunities to be at one with nature.
It’s somewhere I am desperate to go back to, for at least a full week just to see and experience more of it, you can even get a flight there, with a quick airport transfer to your destination.

Hungry again after our walk we headed to local supermarket Vons for some fuel. I’m still in awe of American Supermarkets- I actually got some of the best sushi of my life in Vons, freshly prepared in front of me.

We spent the afternoon driving around and checking out more of Mammoth Lakes but we barely made a dent. Our plans of a second hike were scuppered when, as the only ones on the trail, we saw evidence of recent bear activity- we’d had enough drama!

Determined to break our run of fast food/chain restaurants we decided to splash out on a special dinner at a local restaurant called The Mogul. Here we had some of the best food of our holiday and I’m sad I didn’t think to take a photo but if you do happen to find yourselves in Mammoth Lakes I highly recommend the Ahi Tuna!
We then headed back to the hotel to celebrate with champagne in plastic cups that we’d purchased in Vons (the hotel bar closed really early) and settled down for another early start, and a reluctant departure from such an amazing place.
Our holiday was rapidly approaching it’s end but we had one final destination to reach.