Lulu's Rescue Mission Mineral Bath

Lulu’s Time Bomb Rescue Mission Mineral Bath

It is always exciting when a favourite brand releases a new product, so all Lulu fans out there would have been very pleased indeed to hear of the recent addition to the Time Bomb stable –Rescue Mission Mineral Bath.

Created on a base of eight essential oils and five healing herbs, Rescue Mission Mineral Bath is designed to act as an all round pick-me-up. Lavender, Bergamot and Rosemary are employed for their soothing and relaxing properties, while Bitter Orange, Lemon, Lime, Grapefruit and Peppermint oils revive and refresh, leaving the potent mixture of herbs (Arnica, Comfrey, Calendula, Echinacea and St. John’s Wort) to de-stress, strengthen and give a bit of a boost to both body and mind. The combination is intoxicating, producing a sumptuous scent for a luxurious soak.  A truly indulgent bathing experience.

Most of the ingredients are of natural origin, so it is slightly disappointing, and not a little surprising, to see that the foaming agent SLS plays a part in the recipe. To someone who likes their skincare as natural as possible it is a slight deterrent. But, if you like your baths bubbly, then it’s a compromise that you will usually have to make. 

Relax, recharge and recover is the mission that this mineral bath has chosen to accept and natural ingredient nit-picking aside, it certainly manages to achieve it.

Lulu’s Time Bomb Rescue Mission Mineral Bath (£24.00/500ml) is available at QVC, http://www.lulusplace.co.uk

© Purple Peccadilloes

Love System Intensive Eye Serum

Love System Intensive Eye Serum

It’s always in the summer months that I most often find myself reaching out for eye care treatments; all that squinting in all that sun leaves the eyes feeling sore and tired and the skin looking dreadful. There is an absolute wealth of synthetic serum’s, creams and gels on the market at present to help soothe and revive and keep your peepers sparkling, but if you prefer your skincare more on the natural side the selection is significantly reduced, so you’ll be pleased to read about Love System.

Love System is a natural, organic skin and body care range built upon holistic principles and Australian Bushflower essences. Designed to influence not only how you look, but also how you feel, the range employs powerful essential oils and top quality organic ingredients to produce natural, effective products that lift your spirits as they work.

The Love System Intensive Eye Serum harnesses the power of remedial Australian Bush plants, such as Old Man Banksia (uplifting), She Oak (female balance), Crowea (calm) and Five Corners (happiness) to repair your mood, while Rose stem cells and antioxidants get to work on your skin. The serum is designed to alleviate dark circles, redness and puffiness, while rehydrating the skin and reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Being created from entirely natural ingredients, the scent is quite strong, more redolent of roses than bush flowers in my opinion, so it won’t be for everyone, but the results are pleasing. On application, eyes feel instantly refreshed and after a few days use the skin begins to feel firmer and look brighter as elasticity is improved and moisture restored.

Love System Intensive Eye Serum (£21.95/30ml) is available from www.planethealthdirect.co.uk.

©Purple Peccadilloes

Beyond Organic Travel Pack

Beyond Organic Travel Pack

Regular readers will already be aware of Beyond Organic. Harvesting a wealth of beneficial natural ingredients, the Falmouth-based company has created a comprehensive range of impressively effective skin, hair and body care products free from all the nasty stuff that generally goes into high street beauty goods. Unlike many of their contemporaries however, they underline their natural ethos with a belief that it should take more than an organic label to generate a hefty price tag. This results-driven approach is more than evident in their timely summer release – the Beyond Organic Travel Pack.

Offering five holiday essentials, the Travel Pack is a little beauty saviour. Each item is packed with sumptuous high quality ingredients, from Gold of Pleasure oil, which is practically bursting with anti-ageing essential fatty acids, to Macadamia oil, which is the closest thing to the oil found in human skin currently known about, so is particularly absorbable and contains high levels of rejuvenating, nourishing and hydrating Vitamins E and A. Antibacterial Burdock, healing Comfrey, Rosemary, which is a very well known antioxidant and revitalising Seabuckthorn all play a part, with a plethora of other natural lovelies besides. The outcome is a Detoxifying Cleanser, Rejuvenating Serum, Rescue Salve (which will fast become a ‘handbag hero’, being a veritable cure-all for minor skin irritations from sunburn to insect bites), Moisturising Day Cream and Regenerating Night Cream to answer your every holiday need.

Being created from entirely natural ingredients, some of the scents won’t be for everyone – I must admit that Sea Buckthorn and Rosehip is a little too strident a combination for me – but as with everything in life it’s a matter of compromise. Personally, I’d rather put up with a transitory smell not to my taste than to pollute both my skin and environment with unkind chemicals. And, as the ‘transitory’ hinted at, once absorbed the scents tend not to linger, unlike their synthetic counterparts.

All in all, this is a pleasing and handy addition to the Beyond Organic stable and well worth a look for anyone who likes their skincare a touch on the natural side.

The

Beyond Organic Travel Pack is £37.49 and available from www.beyondorganic.co.uk.

Green People Hydrating Firming Serum

Green People Hydrating Firming Serum

For fifteen years now, the good folk at Green People have been working to make natural skincare appealing to the masses, creating affordable, yet effective products free from all the unpleasant manmade chemicals so widely used in the beauty industry. From toothpaste to eyeshadow, their ever-expanding range covers pretty much everything you could wish for within the realms of skin-face- and body-care, all created from top quality ingredients and producing the desired effect. This April has seen the launch of their latest product and it is one that may catch the attention of more than just those who are interested in the greener lifestyle.

The Green People Hydrating Firming Serum is described as a ‘gentle facial toning gel for all skin types,’ which doesn’t sound all that impressive, but with the use of organic chamomile, seaweed, South American tara bush and rose geranium they have managed to create a gently moisturising serum, which has been proven to ‘reduce wrinkles by 7% and double the skin's natural collagen production’ with nary a paraben, petrochemical, phthalate, artificial colourant or perfume in sight.

The serum is light and non-greasy, easily smoothing on to the skin, generating a gentle dewy look on the face, neck and décolletage and leaving the skin feeling hydrated and refreshed. With none of the tacky oiliness one often associates with multi-action moisturisers, the Hydrating Firming Serum also works wonderfully as a makeup primer, effectively doing away with the need to purchase an extra product. After just a few days use skin will feel firmer, stronger and more flexible. The cleverest part for me however, is the creation of a product that genuinely caters for all skin types – the serum manages to feed my sensitive dry skin more than adequately, yet my Mum, who has a fairly oily complexion was also able to use it without any greasiness. This is an ingenious little product for an attractively little price. Well done, Green People!

The Green People Hydrating Firming Serum is (£11.50/50ml) and available from www.greenpeople.co.uk.

Steve’s Jubilicious Leaves

Steve’s Leaves jumps on the royal bandwagon with a celebratory Diamond Jubileaf™.

Psst, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there are a few events happening in old Blighty this summer, and everywhere you turn the shops seem to be trying their best to flog you something else that makes you proud to be British. Somewhat disconcertingly though, many of these must-have items are a touch on the unhealthy side, so it’s good to be able to tell you about something fresh and natural, which won’t add inches to your Jubolympic waistline.

Steve’s Leaves have been gracing our supermarket’s salad bars for a while now, offering succulent sides that are grown to provide the optimum quality and flavour for us, while working to conserve and support the natural habitats of British wildlife. To celebrate the Queen’s jubilee, Dr Steve Rothwell has been working hard to create a special edition of his eponymous leaves, featuring Diamond Jubileaf™ Chard. Crisp and tasty and full of vitamin A and folic acid, the new Chard sports striking white veins and adds a satisfying tangy crunch to any salad, making it a fantastic addition to the Pea Shoots and Baby Leaves bag.

Packed with vitamins A, C and K, Chard is considered to be one of the healthiest vegetables we grow and has been widely eaten throughout the centuries and around the world. Harvested when young and tender, Chard leaves make for an ideal salad crop, while the more mature plants are delicious when sautéed with garlic and a teeny tiny bit of butter. 

Steve’s Leaves Pea Shoots and Baby Leaves (£1.35/60g) are available from Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose stores nationwide and online at www.Ocado.com.

Allotinabox

Allotinabox

Despite spring’s false-start and the tumultuous weather of April, if, like me, you dabble at growing your own fruit and veg, now is the time to start planting if you want to get yourself a decent harvest. If you’re new to the whole GYO scene however, you might appreciate a little helping hand and I know exactly the place to find it.

Starting a veg garden from scratch can be daunting if you don’t know what you’re doing, but it really needn’t be; planting seeds, nurturing seedlings, then ruthlessly butchering their fruits is immensely satisfying and can be done in even the smallest of spaces. If you’re not sure where to start, the lovely people at Allotinabox have put together a series of seasonal kits to help you get underway and enjoy fresh and healthy vegetables and herbs throughout the year.

For £12.99 you can begin your growing foray with the Limited Edition Seasonal GYO Box, which comes complete with a handy little growing guide wheel, plant markers, jute twine for tying up your beans and peas, gorgeously scented Scrubs Up Soap and, of course, a selection of seasonal seeds and instructions. For £10.99 the Super Seed Box is also available, for those who wish to ditch the paraphernalia and stick with the really important parts. If handled correctly, each box should yield up to £50 worth of produce, and no end of pleasure!

The thought behind Allotinabox (which is surprisingly difficult to type, I might just add!) is ‘encouraging anyone anywhere to get growing’ – a premise I wholeheartedly support. Not only can growing your own food save you money and provide immeasurable gratification, but gardening can be great exercise, a fantastic way to get kids outside and away from the TV and computer (once you’ve all stopped reading The Culinary Guide, obviously) and can help our native insects – such as the humble bumble and beautiful butterfly – survive in what is becoming an increasingly hostile world. So, come on, do your bit; get out and get growing.

For more information visit http://www.allotinabox.com

 

© Purple Peccadilloes

Make Mine A Mojito...

This review can also be found on www.TheCulinaryGuide.co.uk. Visit the site for in depth food, drink and travel features and news pieces as well as restaurant and hotel reviews and competitions.

Make Mine A Mojito...

I don’t care what the weather is doing; my calendar says that spring is officially here, so it’s time to start thinking about lingering summer evenings sipping long cool cocktails. It is fortuitous then, that Vacu Vin have launched this funky new range of bar side paraphernalia just in time for us all to start shaking our way to cocktail cloud nine.

The Vacu Vin set includes a Shaker (£14.95), Recipe Sticks (£7.95), Muddler & Tools (£12.95) and Party Friend Purple Ice Cube Tray (£5.49), in other words everything you need to make your own fruity and alcoholic concoctions, and all at a very affordable price.

The hefty glass shaker with its pliable lid and inbuilt strainer makes preparation a breeze (a Sea Breeze, if you’re really lucky... Or maybe a Bloody Mary, Amber Mist or Mojito). Measurements in millilitres and fluid ounces are clearly marked to help avoid the need for guesstimates – the enemy of all would be Cocktail Maestros – while the strainer removes the faff of messing around with an external filter, creating fresh, smooth drinks without the lumpy telltale signs of the novice.

I love the lingo that comes with mixing your own cocktails – where else do you get to play with tools with such wonderful names? Shaker, Muddler, Jigger... They are almost onomatopoeic, so perfect are they for their purpose, and ideal for the inebriated mind; ‘can you pass me the... the ... you know... the jigger, darling?’ The Vacu Vin Muddler, Jigger and Special Tongs are designed for use with tall glasses, allowing you to bruise, squeeze and generally abuse your ingredients into submission without too much mess or fuss and can be used alone, or in conjunction with both the shaker and the Recipe Sticks.

A clever little idea, Recipe Sticks, and one that I’ve somehow not used before. Ideal for single servings, each stick holds a sliding rubber cap which clasps the lip of any tall glass and uses notches to mark the measurement of each ingredient. The pack contains guides for six of the most popular dinks and should be enough to fuel any party.

And finally, the ice cube tray. I must admit that this is my inner child’s favourite part of the set. The silicone mould isn’t the easiest thing in the world to handle when full of water, but the ‘Party Friend’ shapes are great and will bring a smile to even the most serious of cocktail drinkers and kids love them... Obviously minus the alcohol.  But the best part for me is that it’s multifunctional and can also be used for jellies, chocolates and even baking cakes, so offers hours of potential fun. Silicone is ever such clever stuff!

The Vacu Vin cocktail pieces are widely available from all good cookery retailers and online at www.amazon.co.uk. For more information visit: http://www.vacuvin.nl.

© Purple Peccadilloes