Press Samples / Unpaid AD - Sleep With Ease With Pukka Herbs*

It's really hard, especially at the moment to overestimate the importance of sleep. We're all feeling a little bit frazzled, stressed out, and a little bit under the weather at the moment, and more often than not life's upsets are reflected in our quality of sleep.

Good sleep plays a huge role in both our physical and mental wellbeing, it's essential for cell regeneration, to recharge our cardiovascular system, and to support our immune system, as well as improving mental clarity, helping with decision making and helping us to cope with stress.

I probably struggle more than most with my sleep. Thanks to my struggles with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / CFS / ME and Fibromyalgia, I alternate between utter exhaustion, I can go without sleep for more than 24 hours, or I can sleep for 18 hours solid and still feel exhausted, there really isn't a lot of middle ground. 

Alongside medical advice and intervention, I'm always looking for new ways to improve my sleep health. I've tried a lot of things from acupuncture, to cognitive behavioural therapy, and various other little things that I'll mention later in this post, but I am always on the look out for new ways to help me sleep.

I was recently contacted by the lovely people at Pukka, and I was invited to take part in their "Sleep With Ease" campaign. If you haven't heard of Pukka, they are a substantial, ethical and organic herbal company that produce a wide range of herbal infusions that aim to benefit the health of people, plants and the planet and they very kindly sent three boxes of caffeine free, herbal blends from their range to help me on my quest for better sleep.

Pukka recognise the importance of sleep for our mental and physical health, and in an attempt to help us improve both our sleep health and our wider health, they have introduced their 7 day Sleep With Ease programme, which is specifically designed to help us create a space, pattern and routine to help us sleep better.

Designed to be used alongside their herbal blends, their website contains a whole load of information and downloads to help you eliminate bad sleeping habits, establish routine, and train both your body and brain to help you sleep better.As I say, I'm up for anything that can send me into the land of nod, so I decided to give the 7 day Sleep With Ease programme a try.  

The website features a downloadable sleep diary that you can fill in, as well as a list of changes that you can can make across the course of a the week to help you improve your sleep.

Source

The idea is that you introduce one new element everyday until all of the tips become a part of your daily sleep routine. Some of the tips as you can see are actually quite simple, and in theory they are, it's just about putting them into practise. 

My biggest issue sleep wise has always been with routine, going to bed late, sleeping late, and then wondering why I can't sleep at night. It makes total sense, go to sleep at roughly the same time of night, and wake up at similar team each morning. It takes a little bit of effort and I'm not going to lie dragging myself out of bed when I'm exhausted is difficult but after a few days it begins to feel normal, and now I can pretty much wake up without having to set an alarm.

Another thing that I have an issue with is technology, I have a tv and a dvd player in my bedroom and whilst I don't usually have my MacBook in my bedroom at night, I do have my phone, and my iPad plugged in, in my room, but the key is to have cut off times, plug things into charge by all means but don't check your phone, or start flicking through Instagram when you're trying to get ready for sleep.

We are all guilty of it, if it's not watching one more episode of a tv show, flicking through Facebook, or getting annoyed with someone on twitter, it's watching the late night news and depressing yourself. Sleep is all about de-stressing, and concentrating on something, or getting stressed and upset just sends your brain into overdrive when you really should be preparing for sleep, so switch off the tv, your computer, and phone for an hour or so before you go to bed and you really will notice a difference in your sleep health.

One of the other tips, that the team from Pukka recommend is to cut down on your caffeine consumption. I'm not a huge tea and coffee drinker compared to lot of people, but my nightly cuppa is definitely a thing, and even though tea usually contains less caffeine than coffee, it is still a stimulant and it could be disrupting your sleep without you realising.

The Pukka Sleep With Ease programme advises that you should try to avoid caffeine after 12pm, so instead of caffeine filled soft drinks, the odd latte, and iced coffees, I've switched to some of Pukka's caffeine free herbal blends including their Elderberry & Echinacea, which has lovely some fresh hedgerow berry, ginger, and liquorice flavours, their Lemon, Ginger and Manuka Honey blend, and their chamomile, fennel, and ginger flavoured Relax blend.

As part of their sleep programme Pukka recommend that you drink a mug of their 'Night Time' tea every night. So instead of my caffeine laden cuppa, at around 8pm, I've been drinking this blend of lime flower, chamomile and lavender flowers, oat flower tops, liquorice root and valerian root instead

Designed to help you unwind before bed, this particular tea is caffeine free and contains 28% fair wild ingredients, and 33% fair trade ingredients, the bags themselves are plastic free, are fully recyclable and compostable, and they also feature organic cotton strings.

All you do is pop your bag into a mug of boiling water, and then let it infuse for around 15 minutes before drinking. Given then floral ingredients such as lavender and chamomile I was expecting the Night Time blend to have more of a floral taste but instead it had a surprisingly sweet, pleasant, herbal liquorice / aniseed type flavour.

Drinking the tea at night immediately sent me into wind down mode. After drinking it I switched off my blue screen electronics, and usually had a warm (but not too hot) shower with a calming lavender based shower gel before settling into bed, and reading a non stressful book for an hour before using some pillow spray, and settling down with either a guided meditation (there is a nice short one on the Pukka website) or some nature sounds on a timer until I fall asleep.

These are things that work for me but you could also add other things to help you sleep including ear plugs, eye masks, a fan, a white noise machine, or a story app. Everyone is different, there are basic things that should help most people fall asleep but you just need to find out what works for you. 

I've now actually been doing the Pukka Sleep With Ease campaign for more than 7 days now and I can safely say that following some of the suggestions in the plan, keeping a sleep diary, and drinking in particular the Night Time tea has made a difference.

I've managed to establish a proper sleep / wake routine and I've tried to eradicate some of my bad sleep habits. As I say drinking the Night Time tea became a real signal to me that the day was coming to an end and that I should start winding down and preparing myself for rest and sleep.

Unfortunately due to medical reasons I potentially am always going to have issues with my sleep but thanks to Pukka I've been reminded that making small differences and creating a workable routine can really help me to get a better and more restful nights sleep.

If you're struggling with your sleep at the moment I would thoroughly recommend that you try Pukka's 7 day Sleep With Ease programme. You can find out more on their website and of course I would really recommend that you try some of Pukka's herbal blends to help you improve your own sleep, mental, and physical health at this stressful time. Pukka Relax, Pukka Night Time, and the Pukka Herbal Collection retail at around £2.79 - £3 for a box of 20 teabags from various retailers including Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Waitrose and Holland & Barrett.

 *Press Samples / Unpaid Advertisement / Promotion / Non Affiliate Links 

Treat Those Tootsies With OKKO - A Review For My Pure*

Every winter I make the pledge to look after myself just a little bit more, and more often than not it ends up as one big fat fail! Yes I'll wrap up warm and eat things that make me happy but when the weather gets colder, my normal body care routine sometimes goes out of the window.

The way I look at it, I'm not going to be flashing the flesh as much as maybe I would maybe in the summer so I can ease off on the hair removal and stop worrying so much about the state of my feet and my thighs. It's a total false economy though when you think about it, the more you ignore your feet the worse they get, if you look after them all year round it makes your life way easier when you get to sandal season. So in an effort to break the habit of a life time, this winter I'm whipping off that hair and I'm trying to take care of my poor little tootsies. 

Thanks to a poorly thyroid gland my feet need an awful lot of TLC. My heels are very dry, and cracked, and I'm prone to dry patches and calluses on my toes, throw in a dose of poor circulation and I need some serious help. I seriously do try, I exfoliate, and I use foot cream regularly, but at the moment nothing seems to be working, so for one of January's My Pure reviews, I decided to try out a product from one of site's newest brands OKKO.

Founded in the UK by two mums, OKKO's ambition is to make people feel comfortable in their own skin. They produce a small range of balm based products for the skin and the body, all of which are 100% natural and 100% environmentally friendly. All of their products are handmade in small batches for freshness, and contain no chemical additives. They are also suitable for vegans and they aren't tested on animals.

The product that I decided to try from the range was the OKKO Skincare Natural Foot Balm With Peppermint and Rosemary. The ingredients in this balm are like an A-Z of nourishing plant ingredients, it contains extra virgin olive oil, mango butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, rose hip oil and avocado oil, as well as vitamin E and peppermint oil, and rosemary oil, to refresh and soothe the skin.

This solid balm come packaged in a large eco friendly, cardboard tube similar to a lip balm, which saves on waste, and makes application a breeze. The balm itself has a solid waxy, oily texture and is translucent yellowish in appearance, which melts immediately on contact with the skin.

All you do is push the product up from the base, and apply it to clean dry, exfoliated skin. The balm melts on contact  and all you need to do is massage it gently into the skin. You can apply this all over the feet but I've been applying it specifically to my problem areas, mainly the sides of my toes and my heels. It doesn't absorb straight away so I would thoroughly recommend that you pop on a pair of cotton socks and let it soak in either for a few hours or if you can, overnight.

I'm not a huge fan of foot products fragranced with mint, and whilst this balm does contain peppermint extract, the rosemary fragrance dominates, given the feet a fresh feeling and a fresh scent.

I've been using this product every other day for around 3 weeks now and I can definitely see a difference. Appearance wise my feet look more healthier and hydrated, and there is definitely less dry skin on my heels and calluses on my toes. This product is great for moisturising the whole foot but for me, this product is ideal for those really troublesome areas that need a bit of extra love. 

This balm comes in a 42g tube but a little goes a long way, and since OKKO claim that even with daily use this product will last for for around 2 months, this product is both great value for money and great for your feet. The OKKO Skincare Natural Foot Balm With Peppermint and Rosemary comes in a 42g tube and retails at £14 from My Pure x  If you have any questions please let me know and thanks for reading x 

*Sample

Sample Saturday - Evolve Tropical Blossom Body Polish - A Review For My Pure*

I've had quite a few new blog followers over the last month so I make no apology for repeating this statement for the probably the millionth time - I love body scrub, no I don't love it, I am in fact obsessed with it!

For years and years I never understood why I needed to use a separate exfoliator, that was until  I started to develop ingrown hairs on my legs. The introduction of an exfoliator into my body care routine made such a difference that I never looked back. I've got a few favourites that I keep going back to, but I love trying new things so for the second of December's My Pure reviews I decided to try another one of their natural body scrubs.

Although I 'm quite familiar with most of the brands on My Pure now, Evolve was one of the brands that I hadn't managed to try. Based in Hertfordshire, Evolve produce a small range of hand made, organic skin and body care products which are all based on natural, and super food ingredients.

The first product I decided to try from Evoke had to be a body scrub. Although I don't expose a lot of skin at this time of year, I still remove excess body hair, and the cold weather can often leave the skin feeling dry and rough, so a good moisturising scrub is always an essential for me no matter what the season, and the Evoke Tropical Blossom Body Polish definitely fits the bill.

Packaged in a glass jar, this soap free scrub is crammed full of ingredients that are not amazing for the skin, but ingredients that are also amazing for the senses. With a base of organic sugar, this scrub is full of sweet almond oil, and Tahitian Monoi.

Tahitian Monoi, oh the magic words, I adores this stuff and anything that contains it. It's described as "the sacred oil of the Polynesians" and what it basically is, is pure coconut oil, that is infused with the blossoms, of the Tahitian Gardenia flower. The result is a beautifully scented oil with restorative and antioxidant properties.

Simply massage some of this finely grained, oil laden scrub onto dry skin, then add a little bit of warm water, and enjoy the resulting creamy, hydrating milk, that rinses away easily and leaves the skin silky soft and fragrant.

This scrub feels amazing on the skin but for me the real selling point is the fragrance. The weather is dull and dreary at the moment and it seems an awful long time till summer, Smell this delicate, exotic floral fragrance with just a hint of coconut though, and your transported to a warm, tropical island in an instant. 

The love is real with this one and when I've finished all of the other scrubs in my collection I'll definitely be making room for another tub of this one in my shower. The Evolve Tropical Blossom Body Polish is available from My Pure and comes in two sizes , the 30ml travel size that you can see here which retails at £3.33, and the 180ml size which retails at £20.00. Are you as obsessed with scrubs as I am? Let me know xx

*Sample

Getting Your Shimmer On With Madara Flower Dust Shimmer Moisturiser*

Although I'm most definitely not a party girl, when the festive season arrives I normally make an exception and I don't need any excuse to dress up to the nines, and sparkle the night away. In the summer it makes perfect sense to care for our skin because it's going to be on show but come winter time we often forget and it's a mad dash, to primp and preen ourselves in time for that New Years Eve party. Over the last month  or so though, I've been trying out a product from My Pure that promises to make your skin look amazing no matter what the season.

I've tried a few products from award winning, Latvian brand, Madara now and bar a couple of minor quirks I've been pretty impressed; Up until recently though I'd only tried  some of their skincare products, one of their new editions though give me the opportunity to branch out into their body care range

The Madara Flower Dust Lotion Shimmering Moisturiser like all of the products in the Madara range is certified organic, and 100 percent of the ingredients are natural in origin.Their products are also suitable for vegans and they aren't tested on animals. This body lotion contains a host of natural ingredients including sunflower seed oil, cocoa butter, rose hip and algae extracts, and something called titanium dioxide, but more on that later.

This lotion comes boxed and it comes in a pump action airtight bottle. It takes a couple of pumps to prime the bottle but after that the product comes out easily. I found the one pump was more than enough for both arms as a little goes a long way, making this product both hygienic and economical.

Although it's described as a lotion this actually has a lovely, rich and creamy texture, Just dispense a little bit of this lotion into your hand and you can see what makes it so special.

It's crammed full of titanium dioxide, and other natural minerals, this isn't just a normal body lotion, it is in fact a shimmering body lotion. It's not that easy to see in most of these pictures but this lotion leaves a beautiful golden, shimmery glow on the skin.

This isn't a chunky glitter by any means, it's a fine subtle shimmer that is perfect for when you want to show a bit of skin. Apply a little bit to your arms, legs and your collar bones and you're party ready in an instant. It goes without saying that this product would look beautiful on tanned and darker skin tones, but even if you're pale and pasty, this will definitely give your skin a bit of warmth and a healthier appearance.

The shimmery aspect is without a doubt this products biggest selling point, but this isn't just a cosmetic or make up product, this is a serious body lotion, with lots of natural oils and butters to smooth and care for the skin. It takes a little while to absorb but it leaves the skin feeling smooth, soothed, and looking fabulous.

I absolutely love this product and I think it's a real must have for the festive season, it adds a subtle sparkle to the skin, and it adds a good dose of moisture when the skin needs it most. The only tiny drawback could be the the scent ,it has the same distinctive very green fragrance that the Tinting Fluid has - I think that this is probably a love / hate scent, but if this doesn't sound very you, don't worry, in this case it doesn't linger and it definitely won't interfere with your perfume. If you have a party to go to this winter then you need this lotion in your life, even if you're not planning on flashing any flesh, I'm sure a tiny little bit applied to the cheek bones would give you that party feel even if you're just wearing your Christmas jumper. The Madara Flower Dust Lotion Shimmering Moisturiser retails at £19 for 150ml from My Pure. If you have any questions please let me know x  Thanks for reading x

*Sample

Skin Blossom Cleanse & Nourish Body Wash - A Review For My Pure*

When you're as big a bath fan as I am, embracing the whole of Autumn and Winter with only a shower for company, is not a comforting prospect. I love a bath and the warmth and comfort that it brings but for the first time this year I'm having to embrace the cold and dark days before Christmas with an all be it very nice, power shower.

Despite that though ,I'm coming around very slowly to the whole idea of showering and whether it's down to a whole change of heart or necessity, I'm starting to love the ease, speed and convenience that a hot shower brings.

At this time of year I normally shake up my bath and shower routine and swap my summer fruit and floral fragrances. for warmer, food and spice aromas. I don't think I'm quite ready yet though, and like my bright nails I want to embrace the idea of summer for just a little bit longer so for one of Octobers My Pure reviews I decided to try a more summery feeling body wash.

I've already tried the lavender scented Skin Blossom Therapeutic Bath Soak and loved it so I thought I'd branch out and try another product from the brand, the Skin Blossom Cleanse & Nourish Body Wash.

Made of 76% organic ingredients, this Soil Association approved product is free from from SLS and SLES, parabens, silicone's and artificial colours, and fragrances. Skin Blossom are a UK company and this product is also suitable for vegans. It contains Aloe Vera, and glycerin to soften and nourish the skin, and orange extract, Palmarosa and rose geranium.

It comes in a pump action bottle, it's clear in colour with just a hint of orange and it has quite a thick gel like texture. As you would expect from the colour and the ingredients this body wash has a beautiful orange, citrus aroma with slight floral and herbal notes. It's refreshing but it's quite gentle and not as zingy or fresh as some citrus fragrances can be.

A little of the product goes a long way, and just a small amount produces a thick, creamy foam that gently cleanses the skin, and rinses away easily. The product felt very soothing, and calming on the skin, and after rinsing the skin didn't feel tight, or dry.  Body washes and shower gels can often be quite stripping but this one definitely gave the skin a moisture boost thanks to the inclusion of the vegetable glycerin and the Aloe Vera. I personally still used a body lotion after using it but if you're in a rush or you have an oilier skin it might not be necessary.

SLS free body washes can be disappointing and produce a watery foam but products with strong foaming agents can often be drying - At times you can't win but with this body wash you can win - Not only is this product free from harsh foaming agents but it produces a lovely creamy foam that leaves the skin cleansed and nourished. This isn't just my opinion though this is Mummy Lou's too, I left this in the shower and she loved it too, on her more mature, drier skin.

We also loved the scent, and although this more gentle herbal tinged citrus is quite a summery fragrance, it's definitely something that you could use all year round for a comforting and refreshing yet calming shower. The Skin Blossom Cleanse and Nourish Body Wash comes in a 300ml bottle and normally retails at £6.95 from My Pure but it's currently on special offer at just £5.91. If you have any questions please let me know x Thanks for reading.

*Sample

Madara Multi Action Micellar Water - A Review For My Pure*

Listen to any beauty guru or skincare specialist and they will tell you that there is no point spending money on moisturisers and serums if you aren't cleansing your face properly. I think by now we all know how to do it - warm water, a muslin cloth or a flannel, and a cleanser carefully selected for our skin type , but sometimes, be honest, it can be too much of a chore. I stick to it for about 90% of the time but sometimes, I either don't feel well enough or I'm just too tired to do it properly. In the past I would have just reached for a face wipe but nowadays I'm more likely to use a micellar water.

Ah the micellar water - the perfect invention for make up artists, people in a rush and dare I say it for lazy people like me. Whilst a micellar water can't and probably shouldn't be a replacement for a proper cleansing routine, there are some good ones out there and whether you use them as the first step in your routine, as an eye make up remover or just for emergencies, they can be a useful and versatile addition to your regime.

There are a lot of micellar waters on the market at all price points, and believe it or not for something so simple they can vary an awful lot. I've tried a few and some I've loved, some I've hated and others I've just felt a bit mehh about. I think I've found a one that I really love, but I'm always looking to try something new so for one of August's My Pure reviews I decided to try one from Latvian brand, Madara.

The Madara Multi Action Micellar Water with Hyaluronic Acid is designed to cleanse, balance and hydrate the skin. It's suitable for vegans, it's gluten and nut free and it isn't tested on animals and like the rest of the products in the Madara range it's also certified organic. Suitable for all skin types including the most sensitive. it contains moisturising aloe vera, skin quenching hyaluronic acid, witch hazel, and northern peony extract, which it known for it's calming properties.

It comes packaged in a hard, frosted plastic, 100ml bottle, with a flip top cap. The bottle is quite hard so you need to shake it a little bit to get the product flowing. 

Like most micellar waters it's a clear solution, that resembles water. It's probably a tiny bit denser than water and whilst it doesn't feel oily, it does feel more hydrating then say water on its own. The scent reminds of some of the Living Nature products that I've also tried from My Pure, it's subtle but there is definite herbal hint and you definitely pick up the witch hazel. I'm not fussed on the scent but really it's all about how it performs.

First up some before pictures - basically I'm wearing the same make up that you can see in yesterday's post plus some blush, lipstick, mascara and some cream eyeshadow x 

Before

 

and the afters x  All I've used is the micellar water on some large cotton wool pads and I've just gently wiped the solution over my face and my eyes.

After

and just to prove that was all I did, here are the cotton pads I used to prove it.

Well it certainly took everything off including my mascara and my long wear eyeshadow but how did it feel? Pretty good as it happens, it instantly melted my make up and it took virtually no effort to remove my eye make up, so no rubbing, no pulling and no tugging! Perhaps more importantly though there was no stinging, it literally felt as though I was removing my make up with water. My eyes are notorious for reacting to cleansers and eye make up removers but when I used this product there was no stinging, no burning and no watering. My eyes were fine and so was the rest of my face, my skin isn't that sensitive but it can be sensitised by product but again there was no redness, and no stinging or irritation. The pinkness that you can see in the after picture is just my normal skin colour, in fact I would even say that my skin felt  even better after I'd used this product, there was no dryness or tightness and my skin actually felt hydrated and though it had, been given a drink of water!

I'm so, so impressed with this product - okay I'm not too keen on the smell it did everything it promised and more. The only other drawback bar my personal opinion on the scent is the size of the bottle. It's only 100ml and if you used this product regularly as an eye make up remover or as main cleanser, it wouldn't last very long. That said if you're an occasional user or if you want an all in one product for holidays or for travel then this size would be fine but Madara if you're listening please make a bigger size! The Madara Multi Action Micellar Water with Hyaluronic Acid comes in a 100ml bottle and retails at £12 from My Pure. Have you tried a micellar water before? Let me know your favourites below xx 

*Sample

Alva Naturkosmetik Coleur Baked Rouge - 2 Shiny Pink - A Review For My Pure*

It's been a little while since I reviewed a product from Alva for My Pure but for one of April's reviews I decided to revisit the brand, and try out something that I'm loving at the moment, blusher.

For those of you who are new to Alva or for those you who haven't read of my previous reviews, I'll give you a little introduction. Established in 1988, in Osnabruck, Germany, Alva Naturkosmetik is one of Europe's leading natural brands. They produce a wide range of skin care, body care, hair care and make up all of which are certified organic.

My Pure currently stocks 3 shades of the Alva Naturkosmetik Coleur Baked Rouge, but the one I went for was 2 - Shiny Pink. Baked blushers are everywhere at the moment and I have to admit that baked is one of my favourite formulations. Containing natural pigments, this blusher contains a wide variety of natural moisturising and skin care ingredients, including olive squalene, evening primrose oil, sunflower oil and macadamia oil. 99% of the ingredients in this blusher are from a natural origin, and 10.5% of those ingredients are from organic farming.

The packaging of my blush does vary slightly from the one on My Pure but I wouldn't worry too much about that. It's the product inside that counts and this one is well worth a look.

Shiny Pink isn't as pink as what you would think, it's a warm, almost bronze, coral toned pink, with a bit of both shimmer and iridescence. Baked products can go one of two ways but this one is a good one. Some powders can be gritty but this one from Alva is silky smooth, and feels almost weightless on the skin.

The pigmentation as you can see is excellent, and if I'm being honest you need a very light hand to apply it but it blends beautifully into the skin and leaves a warm, healthy flush, that wears well and lasts.

It's a big claim but I think that this could possibly be one of my must have blushers for this summer and for several summers to come. You need such a small amount and the colour is perfect for warming up the face, and creating a healthy glow whether you have a tan or not.  Alva Naturkosmetik Coleur Baked Rouge comes in 3 shades and retails at £14.35 from My Pure. What's you favourite blusher or cheek colour for summer? Leave me a comment and let me know x

*Sample

A Sensory Explosion Courtesy Of Neals Yard Remedies

I'm going to start this post with an apology for being a bad blogger - this post really should have been up a little bit sooner but some how, yet again, life and bad light got in the way.

I've already told you a little bit about my Black Friday adventures - transport problems, crowds and stress, but it wasn't all like that. I had a busy day that's true but there were a couple of occasions where I had a chance to chill and to breathe more slowly.

My last port of call on Black Friday was a blogger event at the Neals Yard Remedies store, in Newcastle's iconic, Central Arcade. The arcade was closed but the staff and the PR company made the small store feel both warm and welcoming on a cold drizzly night, with glasses of bubbly, mince pies, cookies, dips and festive tunes.

I have to be honest and say that I wasn't that familiar with Neals Yard Remedies, I'd tried a couple of products, mainly picked up from magazine cover mounts but I wasn't that familiar with their ethics, or their history, but the staff were on hand to fill us in and I have to say I was impressed.

The brand produces a wide range of award winning natural and organic skincare, hair care, body care and make up products. They also have their own baby care range, as well as a range of aromatherapy based home fragrancing products. They were one of the first health and beauty companies to be certified organic by the Soil Association, and they are also approved by BUAV for their cruelty free policies and practises.

From the opening of their flagship store in Covent Garden in 1981, the brand have gone from strength to strength and now retail in countries such as Australia, Mexico and Israel, whilst maintaining the same ethical stance that they always did

After a short talk and some refreshments we we're given free rein to explore the all be it small store and to try out some of the products for ourselves. I have to say it was a real sensory experience, all of their scents are pure and natural and there are no synthetics involved. It makes such a difference - there really is no comparison between natural and synthetic fragrances of say something like lavender. 

The staff were on hand for any questions that we had, and they were also passing round plates of some of their super food selection to try. Neals Yard as a company are firm believers that beauty comes from the inside as well as the outside, so they sell a wide range of super fruits, tinctures and supplements including goji berries, mulberries and all manner of dried herbs and spices.

I have to say I fell in love with quite a few of their products and I couldn't resist making a little purchase.

Spending as much time in Cyprus as I have over the years I've came to love the heady smell of Jasmine, but it's a fragrance that's easy to get wrong, some of the synthetic versions are so heady there almost sickly. The true fragrance of the plant has more to it than that and it almost has a bit of spiciness to it.

Neals Yard Remedies Sensual Jasmine Shower Gel blends real jasmine essential oil with ylang ylang to produce a beautiful floral fragrance which lingers but at the same time doesn't blow your head off. It's SLS free and it also contains fair trade honey which adds a bit of sweetness. It's £14 for a 200ml bottle but a little goes a long way.

Any one of their iconic dark blue jars or bottles would make a lovely gift and you can build your own gift sets in store or online but if you want something quick and dare I say it in some cases better value, they have a lot of pre packaged gift sets to cater for all budgets from £14 to well over £100.

As we were leaving we were kindly given one of their beautifully packaged gifts to take a home. There are three different one to choose from in this size and the one I chose was the Neals Yard Remedies Balance Rose And Geranium Organic Body Collection*

This beautiful, fold out pouch with a ribbon handle, contains a 100ml Rose And Geranium Shower Gel, and a 50ml Rose And Geranium Body Lotion.

Both of these products have a beautiful, floral scent, as well as containing real rose otto and geranium both items also again contain ylang ylang essential oil. This scent is a big hit with both me, and Mummy Lou, which is probably just as well because I bought a 200ml bottle to pop in her Christmas stocking :)

At £14 This is a lovely little kit that would make with a lovely stocking filler or a small present in its own right. As well as the Balance variant, it also comes in Revive, which is a very festive blend of frankincense and mandarin, and Unwind, which contains a bubble bath instead of shower gel in a lavender, geranium and marjoram fragrance.

I really enjoyed my time with Neals Yard Remedies, and I'd like to thank everyone involved with the event. It was a nice intimate and informative event, that succeeded in overtaking my senses and calming me down before I went back out into the cold and faced the Black Friday traffic. I will definitely be trying a few more items from the brand in the future, and top of my list are the English Lavender Bath And Shower Gel and the Wild Rose Beauty Balm. If you have any Neals Yard Remedies recommendations I'd love to hear them so please leave me a comment and let me know your favourites x You can find out more about Neals Yard Remedies by having a look at their very informative and pleasing on the eye website x 

(*Sample)