Author Archives: Abi

Serenata Flowers Review and Giveaway

Posted on by Abi

Spring is in the air and with Mother’s Day fast approaching it’s perfect timing for today’s Serenata Flowers review and giveaway!

Flowers are beautiful in all shapes and sizes and there’s no denying that they can inject colour and joy into a room just by their presence. However buying a large and beautifully arranged bouquet can cost a pretty penny, especially if you purchase from one of the large well known florists. Serenata Flowers offers courier delivery of large bouquets which cut out the middleman thereby saving you money, but can it really deliver the same standards of service and quality?Ianthe

I asked Serenata to send me the brand new Ianthe Bouquet. Ianthe means purple flower and this bouquet is awash with them, accented by pure white roses.

IMG_6867Postage

The flowers were dispatched the same day and arrived promptly the next in a large cardboard box, supported by a stake to keep them upright.IMG_6868

Presentation

The bouquet was a hand-tied arrangement which meant there was no presenting skills required, I simply had to cut the stems and place them into a vase. Did they look like the online photo?IMG_6876

Bearing in mind the angle I took this photo from missed out a couple of the roses I think they were very close to the online picture. My particular vase also splayed the bouquet further outwards creating a slightly different shape.IMG_6880

Longevity

Cut flowers unfortunately never last long, however when you’re spending out considerable money I think it’s safe to assume we’d all like at least one weeks enjoyment from our bouquets. Here is my Ianthe bouquet on day 8.IMG_6890Hardly any noticeable difference to when they arrived!

In total I got over two weeks enjoyment from my flowers. The roses were the first to die away but it all lasted very well indeed.

Would I recommend the Ianthe bouquet and Serenata Flowers?

Definitely! I’ve been disappointed by other florists in the past but I thoroughly enjoyed my flowers from Serenata, delivery was swift, the flowers beautiful and they lasted and lasted.

Giveaway!!

Don’t just take my word for it though, if you’d like to receive your very own bouquet from Serenata worth up to £35 then enter my brand new giveaway now.

Serenata Flowers are offering one lucky Angel Eden Blog winner a bouquet of their choice worth up to £35 and delivered to any Mainland UK address.

How To Enter

Entering couldn’t be simpler, just pop over to the Angel Eden Blog Facebook page and hit ‘like’ then either click the widget below or the ‘Competition’ tab on the Facebook page to register your entry.

For extra entries either:

  • Leave a comment on this post (comments will be checked so make sure to leave one)
  • Follow me on Twitter
  • Tweet about the competition

The competition will end at midnight on 27th March 2014 (UK mainland residents only please).

Make sure you leave me a way to contact you should you win :)  Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Hotel Chocolat Cocoa Juvenate Body Butter Review

Posted on by Abi

2014-COCOA-JUVENATE-PRODUCT-100000-680x680I absolutely love chocolate and I love cosmetics so today I’m sharing my Hotel Chocolat Cocoa Juvenate Body Butter review!

I didn’t realise that Hotel Chocolat had branched out into the world of spa style body treatments until I was asked to try one. Regular readers of my blog will possibly remember that I have dry, sensitive and generally annoying skin, so I always receive such review requests with a mixture of excitement and nervousness. On the one hand there is always the possibility of finding a brand new product that I love, on the other I could be letting myself in for a skin reaction which will take weeks to heal.

IMG_6892Packaging

I thought I’d start with my initial impression as packaging can be an important part of the cosmetic buying process particularly if you are purchasing a gift.

My body butter arrived in a beautiful Hotel Chocolat bag surrounded by white tissue paper. The body butter comes packaged within it’s own box which looks very sleek and expensive.

The pot is a wonderful monochrome design which would grace any sink admirably.

IMG_6894Texture

The body butter has a wonderful thick creamy texture, sort of like an expensive soft cheese. It glides onto skin seemingly melting into it effortlessly.

Fragrance

If you are expecting to walk around smelling like a chocolate bar then you will be disappointed. The Cocoa Juvenate Body Butter smells exotic with citrus notes and spices, it’s lovely.

Did it improve my skin?

I am happy to report not only that I had no adverse reactions to this butter, but it actually managed to improve my skins texture and dryness. I was honestly astonished at just how wonderful this body butter is, even my driest skin was noticeably smoothed and moisturised.

Would I recommend it?

Most definitely, the packaging, scent and overall feel gives a sense of luxury but at £21 is actually very affordable. The cream works wonders on my skin and is amazingly gentle at the same time. It would make a great Mother’s Day gift.

2014-COCOA-JUVENATE-PRODUCT-100003-680x680Other items from the range

The range includes hand creams, perfumes and much more so it’s definitely worth a look. In fact Hotel Chocolat asked me if I could think of a fellow blogger worthy of trying out their Cocoa Juvenate Hand Cream and I recommended Anne from Anne Clark Handmade. Anne has been busy knitting raindrops for Water Aid with her grandchildren and definitely deserves a treat!

Details

To buy the Body Butter or other items from the range visit Hotel Chocolat here.

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Get involved with Winter Sports during your normal daily routine

Posted on by Abi

The Winter Olympics drew to a close this past weekend and for many new fans of snowboarding, curling, skating or more this creates an anti climax as the snow and ice leaves our TV screens. But what if there was a way to get involved with a whole new host of exciting Winter activities whilst still managing to fit in your normal daily work schedule! Sounds almost like an impossibility but I’ve been told about a brand new concept that promises to do just that.Screenshot (14)

Called ‘Olympic Hangovers’ the brand new site and app aims to bring together remote working locations with the possibility of participating in winter sports during your morning or afternoon. If it all works as planned then I think it sounds like a fabulous idea, complete freedom over working localities combined with frozen fun!

The site has been created as a Google mash up that combines working locations with local ski and skate centres that will enable you to enjoy winter sports the whole year round. Plus there is the added option of entering your own personal favourites if you want to recommend centres to fellow enthusiasts.

For full information and to join in the fun pop on over to the site at WinterWorking.co.uk which went live today!

If your family are anything like mine then all the coverage will have inspired some hitherto unseen enthusiasm to get involved and try out a new sport.

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