Bounce Energy Balls

Happy Friday!

I've double posted today as I normally do a Fitness Friday post, but this is related. Bounce balls are something that I've previously mentioned in posts where I've detailed my snacks that I have in between meals.

If you haven't heard of them they're great for a pick me up and are really quite filling.

A few weeks ago i tweeted at them because where i buy them in Waitrose, they've recently gone up in price by 30p per ball which is quite a lot when they were already £1.79 each which is quite expensive for one snack. I tended to buy them as a treat anyway unless they were on offer which was rare but that was ridiculous!

Bounce Energy Balls were shocked at the price increase as they hadn't been made aware they would increase that much and kindly sent me a variety box to apologise and thank me for making them aware of it. It was a really nice touch and shows that a great customer service can change everything!

I was really excited to try some of them out as I hadn't tried the purple ones, the Fudge and Walnut.

The flavours have a great range, Coconut and Macadamia is a great sweet treat and seems to curb my cravings for cake. The Cacao Mint Protein Bomb is perfect for the chocolate cravings and the Peanut Protein Blast is ideal for when you are really hungry or have a heavy gym session coming up.

All contain whey protein, are 100% natural and are GM free, gluten free and free from artificial preservatives.

The Almond Protein Hit is similar to the Peanut ball in which is protein heavy and great for those hungry days. Spirulina and Ginseng was very interesting in the first bite, it's a green/black colour and a little off putting on appearance but tastes great and really serves as a Defence Boost as the name suggests. The Fudgie Walnut Brain Storm energy ball was the only one I hadn't managed to get my hands on.

Here was the note that came with the variety box, so lovely of them to send me a box an although the snacks are expensive I won't be as put off as I was before!

I really enjoy Bounce Energy Balls in my morning break to stop me from eating cake in the staff room. Some such as the almond and peanut balls are quite chewy and dense meaning they fill you up a lot easier than the others and they've been very handy! I also tend to have one sometimes on my way to the gym straight from work if I'm feeling low on energy; the coconut and macadamia or cacao mint balls are a lovely sweet treat for times like these and I've tricked myself into thinking that they're just like chocolate or cake for me!

Have you tried a Bounce Energy Ball? Which one is your favourite?
Have you experienced good customer service recently?

I always think its lovely to share when companies go the extra mile.

L xxx

Amelia Rope Handmade Chocolate

Happy weekend everyone!

I've got a review of an indulgent treat today, perfect timing for the weekend. I was given these as a gift a few weeks ago, and having never heard of Amelia Rope before I had to investigate.

Look how pretty the bars are! The colours are gorgeous and specific to each type of chocolate that they produce. Having not bought a chocolate bar in about 2/3 years it was a bit of an indulgent thing to have four whole bars made available to me!

These retail on the Amelia Rope website for around £5.60 a bar so this is the most expensive bar of chocolate that I have ever eaten. If I had known this before I'd eaten it all (along with my family, I'm not that much of a pig!) I would have been horrified but quite honestly......it was worth every bite and crumb that I could get my hands on.

The White Edition chocolate with Pistachio Nut and Sea Salt was the best chocolate I've ever tasted in my life. The white chocolate is the smoothest creamiest mix and this is what you taste first; the pistachio nuts follow and taste really lovely with the chocolate; lastly you get a hit of sea salt and its the most perfect combination of sweet and salt. 

 I would never have imagined these flavours working but its quite honestly, phenomenal.

On the packaging the ingredients are listed and are a relatively short list, its great that there are minimal additional preservatives and chemicals.

Also I do love brown paper packaging and so this appeals to me greatly!

Just look at the arrangement of pistachios on the chocolate, yum!

The next bar was the Pale Rose edition with 39% cocoa from Ecuador. The chocolate in this was really nice but unfortunately I couldn't get my head around the Rose flavours; my parents absolutely loved it though and were the willing recipients!

They likened it to eating Turkish Delight flavoured chocolate so if this is your thing, you'll love it.

The third bar was the Pale Edition with 40% cocoa from Ecuador and was divine, just like a darker milk chocolate. The consistency was really smooth and it just melted in your mouth.

The Dark Edition was 75% cocoa from Tanzania and this was my second favourite. I hadn't realised I liked dark chocolate as much as I did this, I couldn't stop eating it!

It perfectly curbed any sweet cravings I had and I would fully recommend it to anyone.

Have you tried chocolate from Amelia Rope?

Apart from the website you can also buy from places like Liberty, Wholefoods, and Selfridges, sadly there aren't any place that you can buy from in Wales yet.

Do you like 'posh' chocolate like I do? Have you tried and weird and wonderful chocolate creations like these? What would you recommend?

L xxx

Beauty Rehab

Hi there!

I'm slowly and painfully working my way through my stash, it has been a long process and if you'd like to catch up on my series you can do so by following this link (lots of empties!)

I thought I was getting somewhere recently but an influx of shopping, weak moments, presents etc has meant that actually, I'm barely better off. I really do need to grow some balls and just get over the fact that i have no space and no money for any more!

Batiste Dry Shampoo - always the best, always repurchase. Especially now I need to preserve my hair colour as long as possible!

Aussie Shampoo - loved Aussie but having heard that they animal test I'm rethinking all of my products and its unlikely that i will be repurchasing.

Anatomicals Shower Gel - this has fun packaging and a citrusy awakening scent but i wouldn't repurchase as it came in a set.

Antipodes Juliet cleanser - liked this, think my skin needs more from a cleanser though so will have to try another of theirs!

S&G Clean Girls body wash - had this in my gym bag for ages, lasts forever!

Evian moisturiser - do they still even produce this?? Who knows! Wouldn't repurchase.

Dr Organic coconut oil night cream - Far too thick and heavy for my skin, wouldn't repurchase but loved the smell
Argan oil day cream - too greasy for my skin, wouldn't repurchase this either but love most things from Dr Organic

Origins Eye Doctor - already repurchased! Sadly have found out they also test on animals so am on the look out for a replacement.

Next Spa scrub - lovely texture and it really glitters, part of their seasonal range so cannot repurchase

Pores No More - not a fan, not quite sure what this was for really!

EOS Sphere - love these and always have a spare, didn't really like the yellow one though it was very hard and dried quickly

Collection concealer - always repurchase for the price

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes mascara - loved this, will wait for the Christmas sets to possibly repurchase as they are very good for the money.

Murad Skin Perfecting Primer - wouldn't repurchase currently as i have a stash to get through, may do in future tho as it lasts a while.

Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder - gutted I dropped my handbag! Lucky it didn't spill everywhere though. I had a back up already...

I'm halfway through another bag of empties already and I'm hoping next time I write a Beauty Rehab post I will be really checking myself into rehab and will be downsizing as opposed to replacing, one in one out is not going to work for me!

How are you working your way through your stash? I find bath products a lot easier than make up, project 10 pan or something similar would just take me forever and it doesn't take up the bulk of my collection.

What have you been using recently?

L xxx

Wedding Guest Outfit Inspiration

Hey All

I'm reaching the age where I seem to have lots of weddings to go to. I tend to be really bad at reusing dresses and love the excuse to buy a new one. I always have the best intentions to re-wear a dress but it never seems to happen so when the other half asked me to be his plus one for a few weddings in November I instantly started browsing sites.

When I saw Asos had a sale on I started browsing and accidentally ended up with 12 items in my basket making their way to me!

Here are my top picks and I ended up keeping three of these dresses. I had the best intentions to only keep one but they were such bargains I needed to keep a few more.

This is my favourite of the dresses and most likely the one I'll wear. I love the green colour with blonde hair and think the neckline is interesting. It's also really comfortable as while it's tight it skims everywhere. It also comes in petite range too. It comes in at £31. (link)

I love mint green and I'm yet to own much in this colour. I love the length and fit and it's a little booby but think the length still makes it ok for a wedding. For me I wasn't sure if this was too summer wedding due to the colour but it is available in a few other colours. It is a bargain £19 and is great quality. (link)

This one is the other half's favourite. I know he's biased to it though as he loves red dresses. I love the tone of this as I do find red sometimes looks cheap but as it's a bit more on the burgundy side it looks nicer. I love the touch of lace. I'm a lace fan but I do think it's hard to find lace that doesn't look cheap sometimes. It is a very tight dress so this one may only be worn if I lose a pound or two so I'll feel comfortable after eating. Another bargain at only £18. (link)

Lastly is this Lipsy one. I rarely find anything in Lipsy I like. I find it can be chavy, or way to short for a tall girl. I'm also not a fan of an exposed zip. All of that aside I love this dress. It's a thick quality fabric so doesn't bunch on the body and just skims. It has padded cups so a bra isn't necessary, no exposed zip and a fair length. I love how the lace contours the waistline to help it appear smaller. This one is also only £19. (link)

Unfortunately this dress didn't fit me when it arrived. If it did I think it would have been a favourite. I think it's so simple but cut really well and stunning. It also comes in a cornflower blue. I think with pretty jewellery it would be amazing. (link)

With such bargain dresses who am I to resist a new one!

Where is your go to shop for wedding guest outfits? Which is your favourite?

Love M

xxx