Review - Sure Compressed Deodrant - No more HUGE cans of deodrant in your handbag

*I'm a BzzAgent and I received these products for FREE to try out at home and give my honest opinion on them*  Please note that all opinions given in this review are mine and mine only.  I am given no payment for these reviews

I have been selected to test the new Sure compressed deodrants and give my opinion on them.  Here are the little dinky cans of deodrant sent to me by BzzAgent.

These new 'compressed' cans are supposed to last as long as a big 150ml can of Sure anti-perspirant, so lets put it to the test shall we?  I've had the 150ml can shown in the image below since mid December, and is used on a daily basis, sometimes twice a day depending on what I'm doing/if I'm going out/particularly 'sticky' days.  I've now taken the larger can out of my handbag and replaced it with the new compressed can.  I was sent 2 variations - Ultra Dry - cotton fragrange and Aqua Crystal.  I've chosen the Ultra Dry one to be my handbag buddy for the next few weeks.  Will let you know how I get on!

Monday, 4th February 2013 - Sure Compressed Ultra Dry's first day as my handbag buddy! 

Wow, these are so dinky!  They fit perfectly into my handbag along with all other rubbish that I carry in there.  The Ultra Dry is Cotton fragrance, and it's quite an amazingly fresh smell.  

The can design:  The can is 75ml, half the size of its 150ml sister.  This 75ml can is supposed to hold the same amount of product as the 150ml can and it's supposed to last as long as the larger can.  

It's now the 5th March and I'm STILL using the first can that I opened, and that's using it on a daily basis, sometimes more than once depending on my situation.  The 150ml bottle I took out of my handbag before starting this product test felt about 1/3 full and had been in use for 1.5 months I think.  I'm doing well if this one carries on x

Scrap that, it's now 28th March and I'm STILL using the first compressed can, and that's based on 2-3 uses a day dependant on what I am doing that day - school runs/work/leisure activities/running around with my son :)  Whoo hoo.  This is definately one product that I will be swapping to.

I'd definately recommend these 'compressed' cans.  I want to say 'smaller' cans, but that's the wrong word to say.  They're not 'smaller' but they are, smaller space taken up by these cans but the same amount of product.  I don't undersand it myself, but I do know that they are great little inventions and will make quite a few women happy for not taking up as much space in handbags and gymbags.  

Check these out at Boots, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Superdrug.  Look out for special offers :)

©Cheznal x

Free Tea? I won't say no to a free cuppa!

Arrived home from work this evening to find a nice little package awaiting my arrival

(Luckily my dog hadn't tried to eat them as he did with the toothpaste that arrived on Friday)

A nice little sample package of Twinings Benefit Blend teas.

I remember entering something for a free sample and they arrived today.  

I chose 'Digest' and 'Double Mint' from the options available.  I suffer from tummy problems every now and again, so chose the 'Digest' tea to see if this would make any difference to my tummy.

I also chose 'Double Mint' as I love a cup of peppermint tea (it certainly helps with bloating and discomfort) and makes a refreshing change to 'normal' tea.

I'll update when I've tried these and let you know what I think of these samples.  

Thanks Twinings!

In the meantime, why don't you grab your free sample and see which benefit blend you may benefit from?  Visit http://twinings.co.uk/teas?tab=free-samples#free-samples to choose 2 free tea samples, and then let Twinings know your thoughts on them!

Getting Ready For Easter! Check out these treats x

Ahhhh Easter will soon be upon us, so time for some preparation in Cheznal's household 

I've been bargain hunting again, this time for Easter treats and got a nice little haul sorted.  Please be aware that this below post WILL NOT be Slimming World friendly, and does contain an awful lot of chocolate.  I'm making my 3 year old son and my 2 nieces an 'Easter Hamper' containing bits and pieces rather than a couple of Easter eggs, which aren't really all that for the money you pay for them, hence my mission to find hamper goodies :)

How cute are these little treasures?  Found these in Home Bargains for £2.99 :)  They contain 13 Ferrero Rochers, and although I LOVE Ferrero Rochers, I think the box they're in is absolutely fabulous! These are my easter present to myself :)

Another bargain find, these fab Easter Eggs are the 'boxless' ones, so less packaging to get rid of.  These are currently retailing at most Supermarkets for between £1-£2 each, some are selling at 2 for £3.00.

I picked these little beauties up at B&M bargains for a fantastic 69p each!!

Aww this is my little gift from my gorgeous little boy.  It's a 'Me to You' egg cup with a small chocolate egg with it.  It's sooo cute, and a bargain buy at £1.99 from B&M Bargains x

This little fella has to be my favourite purchase of today.  I don't actually want to eat him/her/it............ Ferrero Rocher bunny, a hollow bunny of hazelnut chocolate.  Bit disappointed that he doesn't have a Rocher filling though :)  Retailing at £2.99 each in supermarkets, but I got him for £1.49 in B&M's x

Another little novelty.  I have a niece who is still a baby, and this is her first easter.  I refuse to buy her a Milky Bar easter egg as they are so much smaller than a 'normal' easter egg but are selling for the same price.  I picked these little mooo cows up in Home Bargains for 50p each (Multibuy of 2 for £1)

Creme Eggs!  How blumming expensive are these little delights?  Erm, not if you're like me.  8, yes EIGHT of these for £1.00 at Home Bargains.  Only problem is keeping your hands off them! (9 syns if you're doing SW)

Awwwwwww!  I did buy 10 of these but now have 7 as my 3 year old thought they tasted nice.  Lindt bunnies 5 for £1.00 at B&M's x

Now, these were a bargain.  This is a classic example of making sure you get the most for your money.  When I first walked into Home Bargains, I picked up a packet of Mini Eggs - 100g for 49p.  Bargain I though, so grabbed a couple of packs for my son making cakes at the weekend, with the thought of making 'nests'.  Halfway round the store I picked up a bigger bag - 165g.  These were priced at £1.29 per packet, yet further round the store I picked up these ones.  A bigger bag - 360g for £1.49!  So this option works out cheapest.  I'm now kicking myself for picking up only one bag x

Oh here we go again!  Another novelty :)  This one is for my son.  Smarties chicken, which, apparently has a 'smarties egg' inside of it, and inside of the egg there are some Smarties!  How cool is that?  Picked this little hen up for £1.29 in Home Bargains x

Aww these are soo cute too.  Marshmallow bunny rabbits :)  Bargain at 99p in Aldi.  Defo one for the kiddies this Easter.  I'll be chomping on these though as I love marshmallows so will have to work out the syn value of them :)  Other than that, I may go to Lush and buy a Melting Marshmallow bath melt as a synfree treat x

Surprise eggs, only found Power Rangers and Hello Kitty in Home Bargains, each containing a surprise toy for 49p x

Aero Lambs are back!  4 for £1.00 in Home Bargains.  These are just too cute to eat though :(

Aww I have to add these to my little collection now.  How cute?  I mean, who wants to eat one of these?  Bargain at a fraction of the cost in Supermarkets, I picked these up at B&M's for a fab 99p each :)

Now, that's got the choccy out of the way, how about some fun things for Easter?  I've been buying lots of bits and bobs for the kids to play with.  Holiday fun doesn't have to be expensive:

These are great, little books filled with activities, such as make an easter bonnet and a basket, make chicks and rabbits.  It's filled with stickers and all sorts.  Bargain at 69p at Home Bargains x

Time for Easter Egg hunts!  These buckets are fab.  The blue and yellow ones in the top picture are plastic, and I bought them from Poundland priced at £1.00 each.  They're great for little hands with a plastic handle for them to carry them around.  

The bucket in the bottom picture, I bought for my youngest niece.  She's only 9 months old but it's only fair that she takes part too, isn't it?  This dinky little metal bucket was from Home Bargains, and I paid either 79p or 89p for it x

Now for the 'treasures' that we need to go with the buckets.  I've been buying little plastic eggs, which are great for hiding around the home and garden.

The unopened pack are from Asda, and have 12 in a pack.  They're about the size of a medium egg and open up for you to fill the inside with whatever goodies you wish.  They were priced at £1.00 in my local store.  The bottom picture shows little eggs from Poundland.  There is 15 in a pack, but are smaller, about creme egg sized.  Still reasonable, as they're big enough to hold a 'creme egg mini' or similar and great for hiding for my 3 year old son and 2 year old niece at Easter.  Fantastic value for money too :)

Hope you all have a fantastic Easter!  Enjoy the Bank Holiday :)

Danio Yogurts from Danone - Bzzagent Review

I'm a BzzAgent and I've been given the opportunity to try these yogurts COMPLETELY FREE!

If you love THICK yogurts, then you are going to love these new yogurts from Danone

These yogurts are fat-free or very low fat (depending on the flavours) with a fruity layer at the bottom of the pot.  They're strained yogurt, high protein and really are 'super thick'.  

I bought some in my local Asda to give them a bash (they were on trial offer of 50p each).  The pots are a good size at 160g and they come in 6 different flavours: Strawberry, peach, passionfruit, blueberry, cherry and raspberry.

I chose the strawberry, peach and passionfruit varieties to give them a try 

I tried a strawberry one first.  I was absolutely gobsmacked at how thick and creamy this yogurt was.  And by thick I mean thick, think along the lines of cheesecake consistency.  The yogurt is pure white, and just looks so creamy.  It tastes creamy too, with just a hint of yogurty sourness to give it just the right flavour.  After a couple of spoonfuls of just the plain yogurt, I dug deep to give the strawberry layer a try.  It's just the right consistency, not too thin and not too thick. It's very fruity, not too sweet and not too sour.

The whole yogurt is changed once you mix them together.  It was the best tasting strawberry yogurt I've had in a very long time.  The whole thing still remained thick, no matter how much you beat them together, so thick that it stays on the spoon when you turn it upside down.

Rating on the Strawberry one?
Texture - fab, thick and creamy, was almost like eating a cheesecake.  Yummy (although it isn't good dropping your camera into it lol)
Taste - thick, creamy, a sharp almost sour like afterbite which is nice and refreshing and goes well with the very sweet strawberry layer
Price - a bit hefty on the pocket at 85p (rrp) or 50p on offer in Asda at the moment as I eat 2-3 yogurts a day, but they're ok for an occasional treat

I'd definately buy these ones again as a treat, they were tasty and very filling.  Only the price puts me off buying them on a regular basis.

2nd in line for testing was the Passionfruit layer one.  Now this one I'm still not sure of.  The actual yogurt part of the, erm, yogurt, is fine, exactly the same as the strawberry one, however it's the layer of fruit that I'm not so sure on.  It sure looks nice and smells nice, but have decided it's one of those flavours that requires some careful consideration of whether I like it or not haha.  I'm not actually sure whether I've tried passionfruit before so I can't say whether I liked it or not.  Personally, I think that it may be an acquired taste, but sadly, I don't think I have that lol.  I'm now wondering if I'd actually like passionfruit as a fruit as it left a funny taste.  Not sure I'd eat this one again to be honest, but the yogurt part was still yummy like the strawberry one :)

Next in line is the peach one...............watch this space x

These yogurts are available in supermarkets now.  I bought these ones at 50p each in my local Asda, however offers my vary between stores and supermarkets.

I've since tried the Peach one - very yummy, creamy and thick yogurt and the peach fruity underlayer was just right, not too sweet but enough to take the bite off the yogurt.

Raspberry one!  Wow, this one is really nice.  Really creamy too, and again, the fruity layer is just right.  I can see these flavours being a firm favourite and a regular purchase in our house, as long as the price is right. I do find 85p for a yogurt a bit steep, however, I've been able to get my hands on these for 85p buy one get one free - so really 42.5p a pot.  Really good for a nice dessert :)

This is my honest opinion on this product and the review was written as my own experience of this product.
©Cheznal x

Hello!

Hello!

I'm new to all of this, so please bear with me while I find my barings!

I'm Michelle, or 'cheznal' as I am known.  This nickname was derived from the use of both my shortened nickname of 'chez' and my husbands 'al' - chez n al - lol.  Pretty sad, I know, but it kinda stuck and its how I'm known on a lot of forums/internet based groups now.

I'm 27 years old and a working mother of one, a little boy called Samuel who is 3 (going on 18!).  I have many hobbies and interests.  I follow the Slimming World way of life, and loving it.  I'm already over 1 and a half stone lighter than I started out, and am loving the whole lifestyle of it.  It is so easy to fit in with your family life.  No doubt there will be some posts of my weight loss journey once I get myself sorted and settled and my blog becomes established.

I love spending time with my little family - my hubby Alan and our little boy, oh and not to forget our little zoo of pets - Our dog, Casey, 3 Goldfish (forgot their names ha! How ironic as I have a memory of a goldfish), and 6 bunnies - Salt, Blossom, Dusty, Timmy, Butterscotch and Toffee.

I am a Bzzagent, which means I am sent products for free to test in my own home and then give my opinion on them.  You will probably see quite a few reviews popping up on my blog over the next few months or so. If the product I am testing is sent to me by Bzzagent, I will always state this clearly in my posts, so you know I have received the product for free.  I receive no payment for these reviews, however, I am allowed to keep the products I have been testing.

I also love writing reviews of other products that I have tested, which aren't on behalf of bzzagent, but will also state whether the review is off my own back, for a company or for bzzagent.

There will be a random array of posts from myself, depending on what I am feeling like and what I am up to at the time.  There will be a mixture of posts about my son, family life, slimming world journey, reviews, recipes and maybe, a competition or two depending on how I get on with this blogging malarky.  I'm hoping it helps my restless fingers and keeps my hands working!

Must sign off for now as it is now 1.14am and the alarm is set for 5.45am for work

Goodnight, and will be back soon!

Cheznal xx

© Cheznal x

Savoury mince 'cottage' pies - Slimming World Friendly - Recipe

Ingredients

500g pack of Extra Lean Beef Mince
2 Beef oxo cubes and 1 beef bovril cube, dissolved in 500ml boiling water
1 bag of frozen veg - I used Farmfoods 'steam bag' which contained peas, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli
2 bags of Aunt Bessies Carrot and Swede Mash


Prep time - 30 mins prep, 15 mins to bake in the oven

Method

Break up mince into a saucepan and pour over the stock made with the cubes
Bring up to the boil, reduce heat and simmer until gravy starts to thicken, around 20-25 mins
Stir in bag of frozen veg, cover and carry on simmering for a further 10 minutes

Meanwhile, prepare Aunt Bessies Carrot and Swede mash as per instructions on packaging.

Leave both mince and the carrot mash to cool for a bit before 'assembling' the pies

Layer the mince mixture in the bottom of individual lasagne dishes, then top with the mash mixture

Can either be left to cool and then frozen, or 'baked' in the oven like a cottage pie.

Serve with vegetables if you wish (already contains superfree - carrots, broccoli, cauli, and carrot and swede mash) but I serve mine with a bag of Birds Eye steam bag of vegetables.

Yummy, even my hubby approves of this one - 0 syns and laced with superfree !

©Cheznal x

LUSH 'Stepping Stone' foot scrub! - Review

Last week I purchased some Lush foot scrub ‘Stepping Stone’ to try on my awful cracked, dry and painful feet.  I tried it when I bought it and promised to come back and let you know what I thought of it…………

Initial smell of the product is very strong.  The first scent that hits me was that of Lemongrass.  It really is quite strong, but in a nice way.  It’s quite fresh.  It also contains lemon oil and lime oil, so it’s a fresh citrus smell.

I originally tried this by breaking off the big toe of the foot and dissolving it in a dish of warm water, before soaking my feet in it (advised by the lovely lady in Lush when I purchased this).  I soaked my feet for 15 minutes in the water before starting to rub in the scrub.  I’m quite lucky to have such a nice husband who doesn’t mind massaging my feet J so was quite pleased when he offered to give me a foot rub.  My hubby tried to rub a bit in, but it just crumbled up in his hands.  He then broke a piece off, dampened it with a bit of the warm water and made a paste-like consistency with it, before massaging it into my feet. 

Once I got over the initial shock of how cold it felt, I quite enjoyed it being rubbed into the soles of my feet.  It didn’t feel like it was rough.  My husband described it as feeling like he was rubbing ‘wet sand’ into my feet. The smell was still very strong, but not too overpowering.  In fact it was quite relaxing.  Husband massaged it for 10-15 minutes in each foot, before I popped my feet back in the dish of water to rinse off the excess product and dried them. 

Result?  I didn’t think my feet looked any different, but hubby said they felt so much softer.  I also noticed that they didn’t feel as achy and sore as they normally do (I have problems with my feet which causes me to walk strangely, and causes great pain in the soles of my feet), so was pleased with that.  Whether this was due to the product itself or the fact I had a nice massage, I can’t say for sure, but if it works………..The following day my husband commented again that my feet still felt really soft and the dry skin was less visible particularly around my heels and the sides of my feet.

I’m now giving it a bash for the 2^nd time in a hope that I get the same effect.  I haven’t soaked my feet in the product before rubbing it in this time.  My feet were also dry before rubbing in the product to see if I can get a different result from the product.  I’m hoping that if I keep using this product every week or so, that I may not suffer as many problems as I do with my feet – dry cracked skin, which becomes painful, eczema in the summer.  I’m also hoping that it preps my feet in time for wearing strappy sandals in the summer months J. 

I’ve just rinsed off the product, and hubby has dried them for me.  My feet are actually feeling really soft and apparently ‘smell nice’ according to my hubby.  He said his hands feel a lot softer too, so double whammy with this one!

Think this is definitely going on the ‘regular’ to buy list from Lush.  I got 2 scrubs so far out of my whole ‘foot’ and there’s enough for a 3^rd one, so not too bad for a nice treat for your feet!

©Cheznal