Hello Fresh and £20 discount code

Hey All

Hope you've had a good weekend! L and I have been to a friends baby shower this weekend and then I've been in Somerset with my family.

Lately life always seems so busy and me and the other half always seem to spend loads on food by going to the supermarket hungry or because we eat out. Some evenings by the time we're ready to cook it's 8/9 pm and sorting out food seems hassle.

I saw an advert for Hello Fresh somewhere (I can't remember where now maybe a free thing that came through the door) offering £20 off the first box. So £19 for 3 meals for 2 people delivered to the door seemed a pretty good deal.

Hello Fresh is a meal delivery service that delivers what need for the meals. You can chose 3 meals for 2 or 4 people or 5 meals for 2 or 4 people. Then everything you need gets delivered to you with the exception of olive oil and salt and pepper.

I thought I'd share with you the first box we got. Since recieving the first box we've gone on to have about 5 or 6 more and they are currently on hold as my other half is in Africa for the next couple of weeks.

The boxes have always been delivered on a Tuesday and two of these have been bank holidays but the food has always been fresh and the well packed (with the exception of one piece of ginger in one of the boxes that was too small and had dried a little!). The meat and things that need to be refrigerated are in a wool bag with a cooling gel.

Most of the meals take between 25 - 45 minutes to cook and come with simple easy to follow recipe cards. The timings are pretty accurate and the meals have all been easy and quick to cook and for ingredients that aren't so common there are tips on how to use that product. The food all seems great quality and is sometimes organic. I was pleased to see the chicken in the boxes we've had has been free range (I've got my parents loving the boxes too and since my mum has had them she's not enjoy chicken breast from the supermarket as it's just not as juicy she says!)

The first meal was a lush mix of peppers, tomoatoes, onions, chorizo, quinoa and feta. We split this into three meals and had it for lunches. It was so tasty. We've really noticed the difference between using fresh herbs and things like stock pots!!

The stir fry was so simple but so full of flavour. The fact veggies are picked for when there in season really makes a difference and the flank steak was such an amazing quality with no fat on it and so juicy!

Here are a couple of other meals we've cooked. We've totally become addicted and after two boxes you get 3 free box codes for friends.  I was curious to see the price so plugged in as much of a comparison as I could on Sainsburys last week. It was a touch dearer than a full price box but you would have had things like vinegar left over. For the convenience we've really enjoyed the boxes and actually think we are probably saving money as we've not been great with planning. Our plan is to enjoy a few more boxes then use the recipes and be better at meal planning. We've loved Hello Fresh. If you fancy trying a box you can use this code (QT49ZU) for £20 off your first box. If you order a original box there is also meal swap options. Have you used a food delivery service like this? Would you? Love M  xxx

Bumble and bumble Straight Blow Dry Cream

Hello there!

I've got a review for you today of a product that I really thought I wouldn't love.

Pretty bold statement to make in the second line of a blog post isn't it?

After attending a Bumble and bumble event a few months ago we were kindly given some mini products to try. The Straight Blow Dry Cream was one of them and I remember thinking 'oh great another hair cream'

I really need to apologise for that!

It wasn't that I thought it would be useless and B&b have rubbish products at all - it was just because I've tried COUNTLESS of these hair creams to no avail. They never work and end up coating my hair and making it greasier, which it needs no help doing at all!

This lightweight and heat activated balm helps to smooth and straighten hair making it sleek and more manageable. It contains a very rare gemstone blend to loosen the hairs natural curves as soon as you add heat, it also improves hair condition over time to make it softer and easier to deal with.

They say this is for anyone with curly, thick, coarse, frizzy and any other kind of unruly hair - however I have to say that mine is none of those things and that I'm just lazy with styling my hair properly.


So how do you use it? Just apply to damp hair and dry it section by section, finishing with straighteners if necessary.

Does it actually work? Here's what my hair normally looks like, this is drying it with a hair dryer and a brush:

It's a bit straggly but mostly straight apart from the ends, nothing straighteners wouldn't solve right?

The next time I washed my hair I did exactly the same thing apart from using the blow dry cream:



Can you believe the difference???

I am honestly amazed at how straight my hair is just by using this product

This could mean that I could potentially completely ditch the straighteners, how amazing would that be?!

My hair would definitely love it if I stopped using anything like straighteners and for £23 for 150ml of the blow dry cream I think this is an absolute bargain to save my hair!

What do you think? This might be the miracle hair product that I've been looking for!

Have you tried the Straight Blow Dry Cream? What did you think of it?

L xxx

Top 10 Products I Miss

Hello!

Today's post is a bit of a nostalgic one, I've been doing really well at saving money and using up my stash. I honestly have been doing so well at not buying things I feel like I might be ill!
It's been such a long time that I haven't bought anything essential that I was looking back and thinking of all the products that I would buy if I could....here's my Top 10 products that I miss:

Aura Manuka Honey Mask

Love this, need to repurchase to save my skin!

Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser

Need to repurchase this too, this lovely cleanser not only makes my skin feel super clean but also it exfoliates my skin without any abrasiveness and leaves it feeling tip top.

Lush Ocean Salt Scrub

This is not only a facial scrub but also a body scrub, it smells DIVINE and to be honest just sniffing it is great but I felt like this wasn't rough on my skin at all. Not only that but the fact it is made up with completely natural ingredients just makes it that much better.

Viper Venom Wrinkle Fix

Me and M both love this serum - it sinks in super quick and doesn't leave a greasy residue. Not only this but I SWEAR my skin looked so much better after using this and my little wrinkles were much improved.

Origins Make A Difference Cream

Another favourite of mine, this rejuvenating treatment just seem to get rid of all spots, soothe dry skin and generally make my skin appear a lot healthier and happier. I try and buy Origins products in sets so that I can try out new things that they have brought out, I've only thought one of them was a bit hit and miss so it has always been worth it!

Benefit They're Real Mascara

This is quite possibly the best mascara, it manages to separate curl and volumise my seemingly poker straight lashes and although I begrudge paying out for it, it really is worth every penny! There's nothing like the brush to separate out every lash and give the full fan effect.

Macadamia Hair Repair Masque

For day to day, my hair is happy with Aussie 3 Minute Miracle - but this makes my hair feel like silk and it goes super shiny and manageable. It just makes life so much easier when your hair plays ball!

Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil

All of these seem to be skincare don't they?? Can we tell I maybe have an obsession....
I loved this oil, it was a dry kind of oil so absorbed right into my skin and didn't leave a greasy layer at all. I'd love to try the dry/combination skin version now that I'm a bit older and my skin needs more hydration than before.

Aesop Parsley Seed Serum

Sadly this was only a little bottle of serum that came in a Selfridge's Beauty Box a few years ago, I put off using it as I wasn't convinced but as soon as I began it was magical - I really want to save up and go for a spree in Selfridge's Beauty Hall again and this would be number one on the list!

Lush Solid Serum Full of Grace

A recent addition to my product experience. I picked it up in store and my hands felt amazing, I knew if my hands felt that good then my face would feel even more amazing! And I was right.
My skin feels like it's being fed every time I use it, it's a winner and it's made of lovely natural ingredients too, I have to confess I have actually picked one up since I wrote this post!

What's your favourite product that you miss? Do you like any of the products that I miss?

I should probably branch out from being so skincare obsessed....!

L xxx

Taste Cocktail Kits*

Hey All

L and I are massive cocktail fans, we've spent many years sampling them on nights out and making up our own (check out are cocktail series from when the blog first started here!) so this was a box we were interested in receiving through the post.

Taste cocktails offer a subscription service where you get a box a month or you can order one off boxes. This means you can test it out to see if it's something you want or gift them as presents. With fathers day just around the corner I think they'd be great. Had we not already got my dad a bottle of whiskey I'd have ordered him the gin box but I think two alcohol gifts may not go down too well.

As soon as the box arrived I loved the packaging. It just feels like something a bit different. Sometimes simple is all you need and the brown packaging with the stamp of the logo fits this well. Everything is well protected to help prevent any breakages in transit.

Inside the box comes a recipe card explaining the background behind the spirits. I like this touch as I love to know random bits of information. You never know when it may pop up on a pub quiz! The recipes are simple and easy to follow and you get enough of the spirits to make about 4 cocktails (2 of each). The box comes with all you need except the lime juice and grapefruit peel.

I love the little glass bottles. I've kept them and like to put single flowers in them. I love the slightly vintage feel to the presentation of these. 

I am gutted my martini glasses are currently in storage so we had to use wine glass which don't look quite as good. L and I had a film night last week and got stuck into the cocktails. If we're honest the box wasn't to our taste as we aren't Chartreuse fans but the recipes were quick and easy to follow and the we're eyeing up the other boxes. The Daiquiri and Gin box we could see ourselves loving.

What are your thoughts on a cocktail subscription box? Would you like to receive it as a present? You can see all of the different boxes here.

Love M

xxx