Superdrug Extracts Coconut Shampoo & Conditioner

Today’s post I wanted to review two Superdrug’s own brand products, their Extracts coconut and sweet almond shampoo as well as conditioner. I’m taking a steady journey towards buying cruelty-free products, and luckily all of Superdrug’s own brand products with the star logo on are cruelty-free. I was attracted to this brand because of this as well as it being so affordable. I can see myself trying other products, I think I’ll do it a bit at a time, working through their range. They have a selection of different scents in this shampoo and conditioner brand with different purposes. This one was for dry and damaged hair which appealed to me. I did find that actually the shampoo was a little drying which was a little odd, and I tend to compensate for this by using extra conditioner.

My hair feels squeaky clean after use, leaving coconut and sweet almond lingering in my hair. The scent is amazing, and although I don’t tend to go for coconut regularly, it’s extra pretty with a twist of sweet almond. Each product is originally priced at £2.29 but they often have offers and I got them for cheaper. The bottles are 400ml each so I feel its superb value. Despite finding the shampoo a little drying on my hair, there were lots of positives. I can see myself buying other scents such as the aloe vera and mango for normal hair. The Superdrug hydrate and shine shampoo with coconut water is another similar product, a little pricey but interested me too. Shop range here.

Do you ever shop with Superdrug’s own brand? 

What has been your go-to haircare product at the moment? :-) Xx

I won a Goodreads giveaway again! Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland.

I was chuffed to bits that I won this book on Goodreads giveaways as I’ve seen it pop up on places like Goodreads and blogs for a while now. I actually won it mid-October last year and for whatever reason it’s been sitting on my shelf still waiting to be read. That’s not to say I’m super excited and intrigued to dip into it. It sounds like an unconventional romance with some cool twists. Also the cover is very striking and pleasing to the eye. This is definitely the next book I’m going to read and I’ll keep you informed if I like it.

Here’s a little summary from Goodreads to give you the gist of the book….

John Green meets Rainbow Rowell in this irresistible story of first love, broken hearts, and the golden seams that put them back together again.

“Henry Page has never been in love. He fancies himself a hopeless romantic, but the slo-mo, heart palpitating, can't-eat-can't-sleep kind of love that he's been hoping for just hasn't been in the cards for him—at least not yet. Instead, he's been happy to focus on his grades, on getting into a semi-decent college and finally becoming editor of his school newspaper. Then Grace Town walks into his first period class on the third Tuesday of senior year and he knows everything's about to change.

Grace isn't who Henry pictured as his dream girl—she walks with a cane, wears oversized boys' clothes, and rarely seems to shower. But when Grace and Henry are both chosen to edit the school paper, he quickly finds himself falling for her. It's obvious there's something broken about Grace, but it seems to make her even more beautiful to Henry, and he wants nothing more than to help her put the pieces back together again. And yet, this isn't your average story of boy meets girl. Krystal Sutherland's brilliant debut is equal parts wit and heartbreak, a potent reminder of the bittersweet bliss that is first love.”

Is Our Chemical Hearts on your TBR list? 

What book genre do you normally favour? :-) Xx

Homemade Valentine’s Shortbread Hearts

So its Valentine’s Day tomorrow, and I’ve been having fun with this as a theme for my baking. Last week I made chocolate marshmallow cookies and at the weekend I made shortbread hearts. I used a heart shaped cookie cutter I received in my Sanctuary beauty advent calendar and its really good quality with just the perfect heart shape. Along with cookies, I’ve found shortbread is one of the easiest and quickest baking recipes out there. I would say the trickiest part is making each biscuit have an even thickness when cutting the shape from the dough. The recipe I was following advised a 1cm thickness, and this seemed to work well. I used The Hungry Student Easy Baking book by Charlotte Pike again, I can see myself doing many more recipes from here!

My family and I have already had the taste test of these shortbread, and they tasted lovely. Like the last bake I shared, there are many ways to adapt the recipe. If you are feeling ambitious, you could decorate the shortbread, maybe half dip them in chocolate, or dust/decorate with icing sugar. I left them as they were, as I wanted the neat heart shape to stand out. I could see the recipe being great to bag up and give away as a gift too. There are just so many options! Let me know if you have or will be doing baking, you can even share a blog link and I’ll take a look, hope you have a super Valentine’s Day! :-) Xx

Valentine’s Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

Now that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, I wanted to share with you these chocolate marshmallow cookies, which I recently made. I got the recipe from The Hungry Student Easy Baking book by Charlotte Pike. So far I’ve been really enjoying baking from it, and love the easy (and tasty!) recipes. Click here to buy/view the book. I haven’t made chocolate cookies in a while, I added cocoa for this and included some left over marshmallows from Christmas. I used the mini kind, and felt maybe the bigger ones would have worked better as they melt less fast in the oven. But the idea from the recipe is that you add the marshmallows to the baking mix before it goes in the oven, that way the cookies are gooey when they come out. The end result is heavenly, they were the perfect mix of chewy and soft in the middle.

Using pink marshmallows would be perfect for Valentine’s if you have them. You can adapt the recipe other ways too, maybe adding mini sugar hearts or sprinkles to the mix would work nicely. And if you are photographing a similar bake, dusting icing sugar adds to the finished look. Cookies are super easy to make, and most recipes for them are quick and simple to follow. In my opinion you can get into the spirit even if you are single and baking is one of my favourite past times. Either way you are left with some yummy snacks for you, your other half or even family members.

Let me know if you will be baking this Valentine’s Day, I would love to hear about it! 

Hope you have a good one and speak soon. :-) Xx

ASDA The Skin System Sensitive Cleansing Face Wipes

Today I’m back with a short review of these face wipes a family member gifted me from the supermarket when I had ran out. You can buy them at Asda for £0.75 which is a very reasonable price considering other options out there. They are formulated for sensitive skin and I found them to be very soothing and gentle on my own sensitive prone skin. I have now gone through the whole pack, and I’m pleased to say they never broke me out once and my make-up was removed effectively after each use. The towel wipes were so soft and I enjoyed trying a fragrance free formula.

My bugbear is they don’t offer any advice on the packaging about being cruelty-free. The label mentions they are dermatologically tested and there is a lot of vagueness around this term, and its meaning seeming different depending on the brand. So despite being paraben free I won’t be repurchasing for this reason. I think for someone on a budget, these would be okay. The whole brand by Asda is extremely affordable, and they sell things like cotton wool pads, and a selection of other skincare items. There are lots of better cruelty-free options out there though, my previous go-to wipes include the Pacifica purify coconut water cleansing wipes and Superdrug do some similar options.

Do you have any face wipe recommendations? 

Let me know what wipes/cleanser you use in the comments! 

Please share any tips too. :-) Xx