Beauty Kitchen Create Your Own Lip Balms

Since Beauty Kitchen opened a concession store inside the Holland & Barrett More in Plymouth, I have been loving all their beauty products, especially as all their products are 100% natural. Over the Christmas Break, Georgina Minter-Brown hosted a competition on her Twitter where you could win one Christmas gift.

I was one of the lucky winners and I chose the Create Your Own Lip Balms from Beauty Kitchen. When I received it in the post, I was jumping for joy! I couldn’t wait to create the Lip Balms, I’ve been very busy since receiving it, so I’ve only just been able to make them. I will admit, they were a lot easier to make than I thought!

A Thousand Views Celebration

I am proud to say An Ocean Glimmer has officially received 1,000 views! This is amazing news and I am super proud of myself, along with everyone who has been supportive. I thought I would share with you my five favourite posts in the history of my blog, without further ado let’s begin.

PROPERCORN is popcorn #doneproperly

I have got some very exciting news. Thanks to PROPERCORN, I received a cute treasure chest full of popcorn. I mean literally filled to the brim, I received four packets of each of the six flavours. I was so excited to receive this chest as I have yet to try a few of their flavours.

Fiery Worcester Sauce & Sun-Dried Tomato

Now when I first heard about this flavour I wasn’t too sure, as I’m not a massive fan of Tomato. The flavouring is not as bad as it sounds but wow there is a pop with the Worcester Sauce though! Gives a fiery after taste. These are perfect for those of you who love a kick in your food.

Smooth Peanut & Almond

I really wanted to try this flavour as soon as I heard about them. Seeing them in the box I was really happy to try them. For me these taste a bit like Peanut Butter, something that I’m not much of a fan of. But I do like this. My biggest thing though was that there didn’t seem to taste much Almond.

Sweet Coconut & Vanilla

I have already reviewed this flavour on my blog when I attended the launch of the Holland & Barrett More store in Plymouth. This is probably my favourite flavour. I absolutely adore Coconut, what I love about the flavouring is that the Coconut is not overpowering. You are able to taste Vanilla and not just like every other kernel.

Lightly Sea Salted

I’m not really too sure on this particular flavouring as there doesn’t seem to be much there. I can only describe it as a bit dry, kinda like the popcorn I get using my machine at home. The flavouring doesn’t seem to be consistent with every kernel, one you’ll taste would be filled with Sea Salt with the next only lightly or maybe even none!

Sour Cream & Black Pepper

Now, to me I see this as an odd mixture for a flavour. I have never seen Sour Cream & Black Pepper before, normally it’s always Sour Cream & Chive so it’s nice to see another mixture. The Sour Cream adds a creamy taste with a kick from the Black Pepper, that for me is a bit too much.

Sweet & Salty

Sweet and Salty, the most original flavour out of all of them. It’s still not like the packet normal popcorn it has got something special to it which I enjoy. Along with Sweet Coconut and Vanilla this is probably my second favourite flavour. It’s just a simple flavour that works really well!

So that’s all guys, hope I have made you a bit hungry! Let me know in the comments you favourite popcorn flavour. If you haven’t tried PROPERCORN I would seriously recommend them. Would like to say a massive thank-you to PROPERCORN for sending me these, I am in love.

Holland & Barrett exclusive goodie bag

When I attended the launch of the Holland & Barrett More store in Plymouth, I received a cute little goodie bag. In the bag there were a variety of different items that they sell in the store. The theme of the bag was coconut which might not be to everyone’s taste but was definitely to mine. Everything inside was made from coconut in different ways.

There was a big bag of Sweet Coconut & Vanilla flavoured PROPERCORN, it was nice to see a big packet as I just love their popcorn. There’s such a nice taste to it, I really enjoy eating them and if I had a choice over a supermarket’s own popcorn and this. I would definitely go with Propercorn. The taste of Vanilla does not over power the taste of Coconut which is nice as sometimes when there is meant to be two flavours you can only taste one.

It’s not just the taste that’s good, it’s also the fact that it’s gluten and wheat free. They are also suitable for vegetarians. The packaging is very appealing and it stands out, whatever the flavouring is there are illustrations on the front to go with it. For each of the flavours there are different colour schemes, which relates in some ways to the flavouring.

From Coconut Merchant there was a bag of Coconut Chips, I wasn’t too sure about these but once I opened them up and tried some, they weren’t actually that bad. They come in all different sizes which shows just how natural they are. They also advertise that their products don’t include any preservatives or artificial flavours. So you know what you’re eating here is a coconut rather than something they’ve created to taste like a coconut.

It’s in a cute resealable packet which is perfect for travelling or just a light snack throughout the day. For me, I couldn’t eat the whole packet within a first sitting so I do like the fact that it is a resealable packet. It’s great to just stick in the cupboard and not worry about them loosing their flavour. As long as you remember to reseal it probably!

While I was wondering around the store, I came across Bounce Energy Balls cute little protein balls that come in a variety of different flavours. I was pleased to see one of these in the goody bag as it’s always nice to try something different. The flavour I received was Coconut Lemon, now I’m not really a massive fan of Lemon but I thought I would give it a try.

I didn’t enjoy this as much as I thought I would and I believe this is mostly because the lemon flavouring is quite overpowering. There’s a nice smell of coconut when you open it up and when you first bit into it, the coconut flavour is nice. But then you get the strong after taste of lemon though and it just wasn’t nice for me.

There was more than just food related products in the goody bag. There was a massive jar of Coconut Oil from Perfectly Pure. which along with being good for cooking, can also be used as a moisturiser. To me this seems a little odd as it is labelled as Coconut Oil on the front, but once you read the directions, it is possible to use it as a moisturiser.

I have yet to try it for myself but looking around, I have read that the oil is quite good for your skin and hair. Including dry skin, something that I do suffer from. Also it’s apparently good for your hair as it gives your hair a shiny quality.

The last product that was supplied was a lip balm from Dr. Organic, a product on their Bioactive Skincare range. This is a cute lip balm that includes coconut oil, it is small enough that it’s a perfect size to put into your handbag. When you twist it up you can smell the coconut flavouring, it’s just perfect.

It’s not a wet lip balm that you sometimes find, where you can add too much if you’re not careful. It’s just the right consistency to add to your lips. The oil is said to improve hydration, firmness and tone.

So that’s it for the products included within the goodie bag! If you wish to try out any of these products for yourself, or different flavours. Why not head over to your nearest Holland & Barrett! Would like to say a massive thank you to Holland & Barrett More store in Plymouth for inviting me along to their launch and for the goodie bag.

Holland & Barrett Beauty Kitchen

As some of you may know, I attended the launch of Holland & Barrett More in Plymouth last week. Nearly half of their store was dedicated to the Beauty Kitchen, a new concept to allow customers to make their own beauty products. They have kits to ‘make your own’ lip balms and bath bombs and even a Make Your Own Body Scrub station. It’s really cool having these products as you can personalise them to suit your skin type.

The body scrub station is really cleaver as there’s just three simple steps to produce your personalised scrub. You can add anything you wish to the scrub and the different ingredients help with different things. So you really can personalise it to yourself. It’s a good idea as everyone has different skin types. It’s a really effective way of creating your own scrub, something that you can be proud of.

For the Grand Opening they had people on hand to give you a taster treatment with the scrub. There were different body scrubs available to try, the one I tried was Love Me Body Polish. During the treatment the minerals within the scrub were ruff and didn’t feel very nice at all. After it was washed off though, it made my hands feel really soft and had a lovely smell!

Exploring the Beauty Kitchen there were different sections for everything. Everything was cutely displayed, lip balms and lip liners were in a cute wooden display in their sections. With the different shades on display at the front. The descriptions for the different products were displayed on a wooden clipboard keeping in with the theme. With the price list cutely displayed next to the testers.

The testers were easy to identify as they were clearly displayed on top, with the sale products underneath. So you don’t have the worry of picking up a tester product, we’ve probably all done that at least once!  Even the nail polish were in a neat order with going in shade order which stands out. Everything seems to be neatly ordered in its own home. Which is nice to see as you immediately know where everything is.

They also have a Scent Station which includes a range of scents from Pina Colada to Pumpkin. There’s a massive display of these where you can pick them up and smell them before you buy. These are small melts that when burnt produce the smell, this is becoming a bigger thing in people’s homes. So it’s nice to see a display like this, especially as it bright and colourful with the different shades.

These are pretty cool as I can see these being popular with homeowners, I love them myself! I might have to pick up a few myself to burn on my Scentsy warmer. They also sell their very own warmers so if you don’t have your own, you can purchase one. Along with the melts, they also sell incenses if the warmers aren’t your cup of tea. They have a range of smells in these aswell.

There’s also a nice selection of bath bombs, a variation of different sizes and colours, depending on the types of ingredients. The bombs are filled with natural ingredient, along with the big ones that have colourful insides, they also have small bombs that are on a Pick n Mix offer. Which is interesting as you can pick up as much of these as you wish and the different variations.

For the Grand Opening, they had a bicycle at the front of the store where you could produce your own body scrub. With a little help from Corinne, we were able to produce a small amount of body scrub. Using a little bit of oil and Himalayan Salt we were able to produce the scrub. The mixer was attached to the front wheel and as you peddled it mixed the contents.

I would like to just say a MASSIVE thank you to all the staff who were all so friendly. And thank you for reading this post, let me know in the comments what you think of the Beauty Kitchen from Holland & Barrett! Also be sure to check out their official Twitter page HERE for the latest information regarding their stores.

Holland & Barrett Drake Circus Launch

July is proving to be a busy month! Along with attending the preview for Plymouth Young Contemporary Open 2016 and the relaunch of H&M, I’ve also attended the launch of Holland and Barrett More. This concept store is the first of its kind within the South West, which is pretty impressive. First of its kind stores are always bigger and better than their normal stores.

I was very impressed with the overall look of the store as it was very bright and inviting. To celebrate their Grand Opening, the store had planned a fun-filled day. Allowing customers to experience all the new concepts the store had to offer. All the staff were very friendly and allowed you to explore the store but were still on hand to help out! Which is always nice.

I loved the way in which they had everything on show, everything was clearly labelled and their displays were amazing. They had props to symbolise what exactly it was. The honey section was amazing as there were beehives in the middle to display all the different honeys. The display was of course bright and inviting as it was the strong yellow that you would recognise with bees.

For all the different tea bags, they had them all on display in these cute little glass mugs for you to smell before you buy. It’s super inviting and you just have to smell them all! For me the smell of tea is just as important as the taste. Of course you can’t smell them all and not have a favourite. I loved the smell of Blueberry Bliss by London Fruit & Herb Co., Strawberry & Kiwi Tea by Charbrew and Apple & Cinnamon by Heath and Heather.

There just seemed to be very good ideas all round in this store as they had a Pick n Mix station. Normally these are filled with sweet favourites like strawberries, chocolate raisins, fried eggs and jelly beans but this was the healthy option with different fruits and nuts. This is such a cool idea as when you buy the already packed fruit mix, there might be something there you don’t like.

This way though you can personalise it to yourself, so add as much or as little as you want and you don’t have to worry that there’s anything there that you won’t eat. They had a good selection here and I will be coming back here to pick up my own bag of goodies as I just love my dried fruit. Even putting in some cheeky chocolate covered raisins. Ideas like this may even help more people to eat fruit as they can choose what they want.

Moving on from one Pick n Mix station to another, they even had one for olives so you could chose different olives to fill a pot. It’s exactly the same as the fruit and nut Pick n Mix station just it’s olives instead. These are a good idea as you can just help yourself to exactly what you want. I’m not much of an olive fan myself but I can see this being really good for a lot of people.

Now this next area of the store isn’t really my area of expertises but I thought it was still an interesting part of the new store. One whole corner of the store is dedicated to Sports Nutrition which I see as a good thing as you know exactly where it is. Anyone sporty will be able to pick up the best protein powders on the market from here. They also have a Body Analysis machine which can measure your BMI and hydration levels.

The staff located within this section of the store are all trained to help customers to improve their fitness and sporting performance. This machine goes one step further in helping customers as they can get the full experience out of shopping for their proteins. I can see this being a big hit within the new store. Especially as it’s something new and exciting.

As part of their grand opening, they had an ice-cream cart outside with desserts that were diary and gluten free. A lot of items that Holland & Barrett sell are free from foods and suitable for vegetarians and vegans. For me, I’m not a massive fan of free from foods, some I’ve tried in the past haven’t been all that good. You can tell that a certain ingredient is missing.

These desserts though were amazing, there were three flavours from Pudology to choose from Chocolate Orange, Banoffee and Chocolate. They tasted much better than I thought they would be which was nice. I couldn’t help but try all three and I’m glad I did. It was a nice idea having the cart outside as it was enticing customers to the new store. Who doesn’t love a good pudding!

Thank you so much for reading this post, be sure to let me know in the comments what you think of this new concept store from Holland & Barrett. Also if you’ve visited a More store, tell me your thoughts about the stores and what you like about them.