Balance Me Debenhams Launch

 

Balance Me is delighted to announce that Debenhams will be stocking its skin and body care ranges from August 2013. The British high-performance natural skincare brand will be available first via www.debenhams.com from the 19th August and will begin to launch in-store from September.

Balance Me will debut at Debenhams’ flagship Oxford Street store (which is currently undergoing a £25m refurbishment) from the 23rd of September and will feature prominently in the retailer’s new “assisted-select” area of its Beauty Hall. Balance Me will then launch into 18 newly refurbished Debenhams stores before Christmas and be rolled out to further premium Debenhams stores in 2014.

Sian Jones, co-owner and director of Balance Me states; “We are thrilled to be partnering with such a well-established British high street retail brand, as it allows Balance Me to reach a brand new audience of over two million beauty customers through their highly acclaimed beauty club.”

Debenhams will be stocking the full Balance Me face and body range. It will also be stocking the new Autumn launches from October and November: 

- Balance Me rose otto face oil 

- Balance Me rose otto body oil
- Balance Me skin perfector BB cream 

- Balance Me tinted lip salves; ruby red, rose blush, nude

Debenhams will also sell the Christmas gift boxes.

Balance Me is a multi-award winning natural British beauty brand; known for cutting-edge, high-tech natural formulations and chemistry, which combine high grade essential oils, powerful natural actives and extracts. Founded in 2005, Balance Me products promise sophisticated textures and exquisite aromas, at affordable prices. This unique combination ensures Balance Me are leaders in sophisticated natural beauty, which deliver impressive results without compromising on quality.

Prices start from: £10.25.

I have enjoyed trying out a couple the Balance Me products already so this collaboration with Debenhams is exciting news. I will be reviewing more Balance Me products for you soon, but for now you may want to check out these two review posts if you haven't already:

Super Moisturising Hand Cream 

Cleanse And Smooth Face Balm 

You can check out the Balance Me website in this link also.

Are you new to Balance Me products? If yes, will you be checking out this brand, especially now that it will be launching in Debenhams? If you are already familiar with the brand will you be checking out the new Autumn launches? Let me know in the comments below.

Love to you all

My 1st Graze Box

Hey Everyone and Happy Sunday! I wish weekends were a bit longer, but don't we all. Today I have my very 1st Graze Box to show you. I have been debating about getting started with Graze for a very long time, but just thought I could chuck some dried fruit and nuts together myself for healthy snacking at a cheaper price. However when looking at the Graze website a little more and realising there are a few boxes to choose from and a variety of 100 different snacks I knew I had to try it out. The three types of boxes are as follows:

The Eat Well Box ~ A selection of healthy recipes with the odd treat now and again. 

The Boost Box ~  The strictest, most healthy box with the most nutrient dense foods to give you a natural boost. 

The Light Box ~ All the lowest calorie nibbles. Everything’s between 50 and 150 calories and nothing tastes like diet food. Great if you’re watching your weight. 

I went for the Light Box as I am trying to be healthy most of the time and hope that these snacks will encourage me to be as there is a lot of variety. I do actually enjoy eating these type of foods so it's not torture for me.

So here is my Graze Light Box. I like how it feels personal with my name on the information card. Inside is all the nutritional information for each snack box. Underneath this information are the use by dates. I would prefer these on the actual boxes, but at least the information is there. There is also an information booklet all about Graze. I love the cute napkin which I found underneath my snacks.

My four boxes are Summer Berry Compote With Wholemeal Shortbread, Hot Cross Yum, Tropical Daiquiri & Bonnie Wee Oatbakes.

I like how Graze will send you random snacks so that it's a surprise, but you do get the opportunity to 'Bin' snacks if you don't want or like them. I binned one with olives before this came as I really don't like them. After trying each snack i will rate them so Graze will know if I 'Like', 'Love', want to 'Try' or have Binned. There is also a tick box option to 'send soon'. 

So far I have opted to have my Graze Box sent to me every two weeks to see if I like it. The box easily goes through normal sized letter boxes as they are just a little bigger than A5 size so you don't have to be home to receive it or sign for it. You can also choose a preferred delivery day. Graze deliver nationwide and delivery is free. Boxes are prepared 5 days before delivery. You can opt to push back deliveries if for example you are going on holiday and won't need it. The boxes can be delivered to more than one address which you can add to your account. The boxes are also recyclable.

I work 4 days per week so I plan on taking one to work each day next week to try them out. Each box is usually £3.89 which works out to be less than £1.00 per snack. I have been given a code for you to try out a free Graze Box :)

Enter this code when you place your order to receive your free box and share the code with friends if you like. You do have to enter card details to sign up for your free box, but if you are not happy to continue just cancel your future boxes.

For more information on Graze check out their website here.

I am trying to get a wee bit healthier and fitter for the summer so I am also taking part in the Squat Challenge and the Planking Challenge. I started on the 1st April so by the end of April I will have completed them both. For those who don't know the Squat Challenge are Squats each day for 30 days which increase in the amount each day with every fourth day off. I also use hand weights while squatting. The Planking Challenge is 1 minute of planking every day.

Have any of you tried Graze before? If yes, what are your favourite boxes and snacks from the range? Are you taking part in the Squat Challenge and/or the Planking Challenge? If yes, how are you doing? Let me know in the comments below.

Love to you all

 

Tropic Face Smooth Brightening Polish

Hi there my little Easter bunnies. How has your Saturday been so far? I have had such a bad head since last night that it's making me feel sickly so I thought what better way to distract myself than blogging :)

Today I have a skincare product to review for you. This product was sent to me for free to try out and let you know my thoughts.

This is the Tropic Face Smooth Brightening Polish. This is Tropic's best selling face product with 100% natural ingredients which include:

Acai Berry ~  The strongest known antioxidant containing vitamins, omegas and minerals to visibly boost skin vitality.

Organic Rice Flower ~ Helps in reducing skin redness and pore size as well as treating blemishes, wrinkles and pigmentation.

Sugar Cane ~ Contains natural alpha hydroxy acids that gently exfoliate and rejuvenate the skin promoting a brighter complexion.

Sweet Almond ~ Contains powerful monounsaturated acids that promote skin elasticity. Softens and soothes the skin without clogging pores.

Vitamin E ~ A powerful antioxidant essential in maintaining youthful, nourished & healthy skin.

Camomile ~ Effective on sensitive skins as it contains skin healing & anti-inflammatory properties as well as reducing skin puffiness.

Golden Jojoba ~ A soft, liquid wax that cleans clogged pores & restores the skin's natural pH balance.

Sweet Orange ~ Sweet, fresh and tangy. Also an antiseptic.

Lemon ~ Refreshing, bright and uplifting.

Application:

Scoop out the product with a spatula and use wet hands to gently massage onto dry skin in circular and upward motions for 1 minute, focusing on areas around the nose, chin and forehead. Avoid the eye area. Rinse off with warm water and splash your face with cold water to close pores. Pat dry and follow with Tropic Skin Revive if needed. Use 2-3 times a week. Sensitive skins should wet the face first before application and work the product in as above.

The lid for this pot unscrews easily, but the seal on the actual pot itself is quite tough to break through. I managed to pierce my nail through it which went into the product so an easy peel tab may be a good idea on this as some people may have difficulty. I would also suggest opening it on a flat surface.  

I didn't bother using a spatula to scoop this out of it's container as quite simply I didn't have one. Instead I  scooped it out with my hands. It did leave a mess down the side of my bath due to it's runny mixture, but it's easily washed away. It might be nice to have a spatula provided with the product as it is suggested for use. Even a squeezy tube I think would be better.

I wanted to try this without wetting my face for the first use so I began massaging it in as directed, but found it a bit uncomfortable so thought I might be better wetting my face on my next use. The granules in it are not large, but there are lots of them to provide that exfoliation and polish.

Wetting my face first worked much better for me and I really enjoyed the product much more. The scent is so fresh and uplifting. I have the product sitting next to me now while I blog away. I really like the combination of the orange and lemon. It reminds me that summer is coming. 

When I massaged this in it felt like it was removing all the dirt and uneven texture on my face and neck. When washing the product off I felt like I had a new layer of skin, no kidding. It leaves a kind of smooth veil that is not greasy, but more like a balm.

Because my skin is obviously on the more sensitive side when it comes to using this product I will only use this twice a week.     

I can seriously see why this is a best seller for Tropic and at the moment this is reduced in price from £15.00 down to £12.00 for 100ml, Link. A little goes a long way with this product so for skin care lovers this is great value. Well done to Tropic's founder and Apprentice finalist Susan Ma as well as investor Lord Alan Sugar.

As well as the website in the link above you can also find out more about Tropic and it's products on Twitter @TropicSkinCare and on Facebook. 

Have you tried any Tropic Skin Care products? Which ones do you like/dislike and why? Let me know in the comments below.

Love to you all