Visit to Star Buds Tea Room and Nursery.

My Mum, Dad and I paid a visit to a wonderful tea room and nursery not too far from where we live, although we had never been before we were impressed by the friendly atmosphere and lovely homemade cakes. I had a decaf cappuccino with cream accompanied with a tasty brownie. My Dad had a homemade lemon drizzle type cake, which he commented to be very nice while my Mum had a toasted teacake with a cup of coffee.

I loved the contemporary interior, the style was really eye-catching with light up stars and latest magazines to read while you have a moment to yourself. We had a look around the nursery afterwards, it was pleasant to ponder round all the blooming plants, it made me feel ready for spring. My Dad picked out some yellow flowers including daffodils and a striking pot to put them in. Overall we really enjoyed the visit and felt it would be nice to pop in for a cuppa again sometime. I brought my camera along to capture some of the experience, I hope you enjoyed my review!

Do you like visiting these kind of places too? Do you have a favourite tearoom near you, if so what’s it like? :-) xxx

Caudalie ‘Zeste de Vigne’ Shower Gel

Following an online natural beauty haul I have been trying this shower gel by Caudalie. I wanted to treat myself to a high end product and this shower gel caught my eye. It’s a tad pricey at £8.55 but I was hoping for something rather special from the brand. This is my first Caudalie product, I’ve seen reviews popping up from them on beauty blogs. What is great about the shower gel is it has a natural formula, it’s suitable for sensitive skin, soap-free, vegetarian, and free from parabens, perfumes, and synthetic colours. From the description on the bottle it tells us it is enriched with aloe vera and helps maintain the skins pH balance. The scent is described as sweet lemon, petitgrain and bergamot.

So how did I find this product? I felt it did restore my skins pH balance and the gel like formula was really intriguing, like none of the other shower gels I have used. I felt very spoilt when applying it in the shower. The sweet lemon scent was apparent and I got a whiff of the other ingredients. The scent didn’t blow me away but it was very pleasant. I think the contemporary packaging is very eye-catching and although I am inquisitive to try out other Caudalie products I don’t think I will be repurchasing this item, mainly down to the price. Buy here.

Have you ever tried something from Caudalie? What is your go-to shower gel? :-) xxx

Burt's Bees Nourishing Mango Lip Balm

Today I will be chatting about the Burt’s Bees mango lip balm. My Mum bought me it for me on my last birthday and I have been enjoying using it on and off since then. I have used a few Burt’s Bees products in the past so my Mum knew I liked the brand beforehand. It’s a lovely everyday lip balm and the scent of mango is lovely. The formula is 100% natural and uses vegetarian friendly bees wax and it’s free from parabens. You can buy it on Naturismo for £3.99, click here.

It’s a perfect lip balm now we are coming slowly into spring. During the winter months I have been reaching for something a little more heavy duty, Blistex or Carmex lip balms are ace for this. I would say mango is more of a spring/summer scent too. I find after using this product my lips feel nice and soft and I prefer this lip balm to the Nivea ones which seem to do the same kind of thing. The packaging is bright and eye-catching too. I would recommend this lip balm if you enjoy using Burt’s Bees products or you just like mango. It’s one of those products that’s really handy to chuck in your bag and to apply during the day.

Do you like Burt’s Bees products too? What lip balm have you been reaching for at the moment? :-) xxx

Naturisimo // Natural Beauty Product Haul

In today’s post I have a haul from a natural beauty online store I recently discovered through Emma at JustEmma.co.uk. Thank you to her for introducing me to some new brands over on her blog and recommending Naturismo.com because I was struggling to find an affordable place online for natural and organic beauty products. Overall I was very pleased with their service, the free postage and quick delivery was excellent plus the prices were better than a lot of other similar retailers. I wanted to treat myself to something which was also practical so thought I would try two luxurious shower gels, one by Weleda and the other by Caudalie. I had never used a Caudalie product before so felt excited about trying their zeste shower gel. The Weleda Sea Buckthorn Creamy Body Wash looked promising from the reviews and know the brand is good quality.

This haul was focussed around trying new brands and although I have tried a perfume by Pacifica I was curious to see if their skincare range matched up, these coconut cleansing wipes looked gorgeous and I looked forward to trying them. I have been wanting to try some products by Ila Spa for the past month or so and by purchasing their travel set I could try different products in miniatures to see if they were any good. This haul was a bit of a treat for me, to give myself a bit of a pick me up, I can’t wait to get trying these natural/organic products and reviewing them!

Do any of these products take your fancy? Do you have any natural/organic beauty recommendations for me? :-) xx

Caudalie Zeste de Vigne Shower Gel £8.55 (Buy Here)

Weleda Sea Buckthorn Creamy Body Wash £6.92 (Buy Here)

Pacifica Purify Coconut Water Cleansing Wipes £4.99 (Buy Here)

Ila Spa Travel Essentials Collection £12.00 (Buy Here)

Valentine’s Love Heart Cupcakes

Valentine’s day is nearly upon us and I’ve read lots of interesting related blog posts from other bloggers such as baking, lifestyle, wish lists to gift ideas so I wanted to get into the spirit this week and post some of my own content. So far I have done a gingerbread heart biscuits bake and a review of a Pukka tea variety called ‘Love’. Today’s post I am sharing another bake, I made cupcakes decorated in chocolate, sprinkles and love heart sweets. The recipe was fairly straightforward, I used a basic cupcakes recipe and then decorated accordingly to my Valentine’s theme.

I was pleased with the results, the cupcakes were really delicious and the zingy lemon taste of the sweets gave it a little something extra. If you haven’t yet got your other half a gift or you want to celebrate the day in another way I would really recommend baking cupcakes, biscuits or whatever grabs your mood. I hope my lovely readers have an awesome day!! How do you plan to spend your Valentine’s? :-) X

Pukka ‘Love’ Herbal Tea

I thought as its coming up to Valentine’s Day it would be the perfect opportunity to review this tea which is love themed. On the box it’s described as a heart-warming touch of organic rose, chamomile & lavender. It has quite a herby smell and I would agree it’s heart-warming. It’s very comforting to drink and one of my favourites from the Pukka brand, my all time favourite being elderberry & echinacea (review here) but love is a close second. I’ve sampled a few Pukka varieties but haven’t liked all of them, three mint didn’t taste very nice! There is still some I am yet to try but they can be rare and difficult to get hold of.

I started getting into drinking herbal tea a few years back when it became more available and popular. I think that Pukka love would make an awesome Valentine's gift especially if your spouse is into tea. If you are interested in where to buy Pukka tea online I would suggest Holland & Barrett as well as Naturismo. You can buy one box of tea for £2.39 and it includes 20 sachets.

Does this variety sounds tempting? Have you tried any Pukka teas recently? :-) xx

Valentine's Gingerbread Heart Biscuits

If you don’t already know Valentine’s Day is next weekend so I thought I would share a themed baking post today. I really enjoyed making these gingerbread biscuits and they tasted super delicious. I got the recipe from a cute recipe book I’ve had a while called Cakes & Cookies for Beginners, click here to buy. I used ginger to get that authentic gingerbread taste but using cinnamon or mixed spice would be equally good. I actually baked these last year but never shared them on my blog but it was one of my favourite bakes as I was pleased with the results.

I used a 10cm wide shaped cutter to create the iconic heart symbol. I bought it on Amazon, they have a great selection. The recipe was actually fairly straight forward and used everyday ingredients. If you are feeling extra creative you could top the biscuits with icing or dip them in melted chocolate, there are so many options! I find baking so fun and therapeutic plus I love tasting the results. Themed Valentine's biscuits would add a really personal touch to a gift, you could wrap them in a cellophane bag and tie it with red ribbon.

Do you like gingerbread biscuits too? Have I inspired you to do some Valentine's baking? Hope you all have a wonderful Valentine’s Day! :-D Xx