Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts

REVIEW: Googly Eyes by University Games

Asked to take a look at University Games' offerings and pick a couple for review, I was feeling a) very lucky & b) very excited. Let me tell you why, there were two particular games that jumped right out at me and I just knew Carson would get involved. Him being almost 10 years of age now he'd rather watch YouTubers on his iPod in his room so to get him away from that and in to the spirit of good old board games, I was gearing up. I mean, is there anything quite like a family games night?

First up, for today's review...



Googly Eyes

Suitable for ages 7+ and can be played by as little as 2 people, right up to 4 whole teams of people. The aim is to ensure your team correctly guesses what you've drawn, in order to move along the board. The team who gets to the finish first, wins. Huzzah!


Contents

1x Dice (and stickers to place on it yourself)
4x Pawns
1x Pad & Pencil
3x Set of activity cards (Places, Objects & Entertainment)
1x Pair of oh-so-fashionable glasses frames.
3x Sets of lenses
1x Game board
1x Timer

What's in the box


What's What?

The glasses have interchangeable lenses dependent on the colour of the spot you've landed on, on the board.

The activity cards  have 3 categories: Objects, Places & Entertainment. They detail your challenge, dependant on the colour of the spot you've landed on.

Green is deemed easy, giving 15 seconds to draw & correctly guess the challenge; yellow slightly more tricky with 30 seconds; and blue is, well, hard - giving 45 seconds.

What challenge did you end up with?


How To Play

For your first go, roll the dice and move the pawn the correct number of spots on the board, whichever colour you land on is the colour lenses you will need to wear. Look for the corresponding coloured challenge on the card that you pick up from the board and shield from everyone, this is your challenge. You have the seconds listed on that card, to draw your challenge and for your team mates to guess it correctly. If you manage to succeed, roll the dice immediately afterwards. Whichever spot you've landed on is what you'll face on your next go. If you & your team don't manage to get it right, you stay where you are and face doing that same coloured spot, with a different activity card, on your next go. Keep failing and you'll be left behind so roll those sleeves up and get serious!  Keep an eye out too, as there are a couple of wild spots on the board to throw things up in the air a little along the way, for example - you must swap hands to draw (eek!!).

Guess what he's drawing!


How Did It Go

This is the funniest game I've played, ever. We literally couldn't breathe from laughing at one point. Fun for any age, regardless of drawing talents, because it's the laughter that keeps this game alive and exciting, not the winning or 'being the best'.  It encourages team playing, a real element of concentration and also creativity. I mean, how am I going to draw a Pizzeria? Never mind how am I going to draw a Pizzeria when I can't even see the pencil, never mind draw to any degree of standard! Why not draw a round spotty blob and an ear? Pizza Ear! See... clever huh?


This is priced typically at £19.99 from Amazon & Argos, you'll get your money's worth in laughs on your very first go. At the time of publishing it's got 25% off at Amazon so too good to pass up on!

Let the hilarity ensue...



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Making my logo with logojoy.com

I've had this blog 'theme' of colours for a good couple of years now, and I really do love it. But one thing I don't have, is a logo. Do I need one? Whether I do or I don't, I was recently offered the opportunity to design my own logo over a logojoy.com purely to write about my experience in using their service.


The package I'm going to be reviewing today is the Premium Package, usually costing $65US, which is just under 50 quid to you and me, in the UK. 

First up, choose from a variety of logos on-screen that you like the look of. Pretty simple, and if I'm honest, I did wonder why this was required - surely it wouldn't be churning out the same type of logos just changing the text? Open mind Jo, keep an open mind! 


Secondly, there is an array of colour themes, of which I can choose as many or as little. I opted for the bluey greens and pinks - relatively similar to my blog theme in general.

After you've done this, I was asked for my company name and slogan. Now this isn't something I really have. I'm not a business, I just write a lot and my slogan is not existent, in all reality. So, I thought I'd use my web address as the company name, with the slogan being what it is. Logojoy sensed my difficulty in choosing what to put, hence the tip that shows up which you can see below. It wasn't mandatory that I had to amend my original wording though, which is great. So, you can take or leave their tip depending on what works for you.


The next step brings an icon search engine, where you can find potential icon's that suit your brand. For me I opted for the bunting, which tends to be the first thing visitors see when they visit this here blog! You can see that I selected several different types too, just so I can see variations of the finished product.



After this you are taken to a page that supplies a couple of example logos that they have generated, specific to your requirements or current likes/dislikes. Whilst this is very clever, I didn't see any I particularly wanted to represent my brand here, so, I click on the empty box that states, see more logos, and it continues to offer new examples until...

 OOOOOH! I like!!

Clicking manically, I head over to a dashboard of options. This is where we start making this logo mine.



Note from the image that you can select fonts, colours, layout and symbol - essentially, starting from scratch if you wish. As much as I love this just the way it is, you've got to have a dabble haven't you!

After half an hour of tinkering, purely because I'm fussy like that, I'm happy. I purchase my logo using my complimentary code. The difference between the Free logo and the Premium is that I get a high resolution vector file including the font name & colours. It is print ready - perfect for business cards or any other marketing collateral... perhaps a notepad if I wanted to create one etc. 

I came across no snags or issues whilst using the site and was actually very impressed by it's innovative use of my tastes. There was so real effort on my part in creating a logo. I just told it what I liked! I'm thrilled to bits with mine. Absolutely love it, and feel very adult all of a sudden ha! Is it value for money? Most definitely. I always say, you can't buy time. This saved me hours of planning and designing, and fine tuning by utilising by simple choices during the initial set-up. 

So... opinions please. What do you all think?!



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Halo Tank 2 Review & Giveaway

Yeah yeah yeah, I've said it before I know. I want to quit cigarettes. But seriously, I don't even think anyone actually smokes any more. What used to be, pretty much, a social event at lunch time at work has left me standing in the rain on my own. Smoking is not cool, never was. It certainly ain't healthy either, so... change is afoot!

My parcel arrives!

Vaping, that's what seems to be doing the trick these days. Monday morning conversations outside the office even feature new flavours everyone has bought over the weekend!  I bit the bullet and I stumped out the smokes. I have a Halo Tank 2, thanks to E-Cigarette Direct's approach recently offering me a review. What better time to just get on with it? 

Usually retailing at around £24.99, the Halo Tank 2 comes with 1 coil and the liquid of your choice. I stuck with menthol, my usual cigarette option, just to be safe. But I'm loving the sound of vanilla ice cream and blackjack twist. I also opted for the middle ground when it came to nicotine level -  0.6%; the top one is 1.8% and the lowest one is 0.3%. A decent varied range for every smoker looking to vape. I also chose the very girly purple device, but you can opt for a matt black or stainless steel as well.

The ridged edge below the air vent is where you need to unscrew in order to fill up the tank

To get it started, all I had to do was unscrew the tank from the battery, insert the coil and pour the fluid into the tank, then re-screw back together. It literally took seconds to do so it's a very user-friendly selling point!

I've been using the device now for a good week or so and have to say that menthol blast, the liquid I chose, is very strong! Much stronger than I was anticipating. So although I haven't used much of it, it has definitely hit the spot when I've needed to have a go. If you draw too much, it also becomes hot which can sometimes catch my breath, cue spluttering everywhere and much laughter from fellow vapees! I'll opt for a smoother flavour next time round so ensure a smooth and pleasant experience.

It's important to note that he Halo Tank 2 is lightweight which is perfect for me. I must admit, I don't like the big bulky e-cigs that some people I know walk around with, they're as big as the old mobile phones we used to have in our youth! So this is perfect if you're after something relatively discreet and similar to the feel of a normal cigarette.



All in all, I'm pretty chuffed with my device and, being sure you would be too, I'm happy to say I can give one away to you lucky dude and dudettes. All you need to do is enter via the gleam app below and you're in!


The giveaway ends on 17th August and is being run by ECigaretteDirect themselves. They will draw and notify the winner at the close of the giveaway period. This means that, by entering, you're agreeing to your details being shared with ECigaretteDirect

What flavour liquid and colour device tickles your fancy? 
Let me know what you'd choose...
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Celebrating Father's Day with Hallmark at Tesco

What to do, or buy, for Dad on Father's Day? It's the same question we ask ourselves every year and yet it feels like the same old gift guides feature the same old facial hair/shaving related gifts. 


❤ The Gift of Thought ❤

I've come to realise over the years that the most important gift to give is 'thought'. We may argue with our Dads, or have a relationship where we're unable to express just how much love we have them. Perhaps it feels weird that there is a day dedicated to him because he never wants any fuss? 

A thoughtful idea, making a tee!

For me, the very best in 'thought' based gifts involve finding words that can adequately portray how you feel. I am the worst (or perhaps best in some people's opinion!) for spending hours reading verses inside gift cards, determining which is truly representative of my feelings. For the football loving, vegetable hating husband I would never dream of handing over a greetings card that has a wildly irrelevant wellington boot on the front and a one-liner inside about how he should pop down the allotment this Sunday to relax! No no no. Get it right people!

Just some of Hallmark at Tesco's card collection 

Tesco have sent me a whopping range of their Father's Day cards by Hallmark to take a look at whilst showing you guys and let me start by saying there's something for every loved Dad out there. Secondly,  they don't cost the earth. 

If you haven't chosen your perfect Father's Day card yet I'm gunna put it out there and recommend you head off to Tesco - just look at these and it's not even the full collection.

What a design!!

In keeping with my firm belief that thought-based gifts count the most, Carson and I have been dabbling in some good old fashion arts and crafts - making Dad his very own personalised T-shirt. Granted, he's not likely to showcase our piece down to the local pub but, come on, it beats the standard lounge wear you can pick up at at least a tenner a pop. How adorable?! (Plus he gets the six pack he may always have wanted!)

Oh, let's not forget the obligatory socks... also relating to facial hair - also available at Tesco, of course!

The truest of all Father's Day cards 

What are your plans for Father's Day gifts this year? I'd love to hear, just let me know in the comments below.

Happy Father's Day to all great men out there xxx


Thank you to Hallmark at Tesco for sending the above featured cards and DIY gift materials that really helped our thought-based gift theme. We loved collaborating with you!
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Boohookids - Our Review

Having recently been asked to work with Boohoo Kids, it's safe to say that Carson is feeling a bit spesh this week and, boy, do I know about it.

This week has been all about 'look at me mum' and 'is this a good pose mum?', not to mention the bazillion photo's and selfies being taken, deleted, re-taken, filtered and edited.

You may detect a hint of annoyance in my tone but, in reality, I love it. I've got such a lovely little man in the house and who cares if he takes himself a little seriously like when he does Carson's Corner? I think that's awesome (albeit in small doses!).

Anyway, first up is outfit number one...


The Smart Look.

We ordered a striped polo (£5) and some skinny jeans (£14). From a mum's point of view, they feel good, look good and wash well. The jeans are very, very long conpared to others I've ever bought in his size but we fashioned that out by adding the turn-ups to his outfit.



On to outfit number 2...


The Casual Look.

Here, being the Halloween week when we ordered, he opted for a skull tee (£4) and space dye joggers (£10). Again, the quality is second to none. Really pleased with the look and feel but the tee did come up quite short for the sizing. So it seems to be a bit of a running theme in that the sizing isn't streamlined. That being said, Carson was able to just about get away it and it didn't interfere with his street cred!



All in all the order amounted to £33 and I'm genuinely chuffed with having two full outfits out of it. Delivery should have been £4.99 however there was an offer on when I ordered which gave me next day delivery free of charge. Bonus! 

Carson's parting view...

"Brilliant. The striped top and jeans were comfy and felt really good. I liked the joggers, they were warm and let me run around easily. The skull top was a bit itchy feeling but I think that's because it was shorter and tighter than normal to be honest. I have been very happy working with BoohooKids thank you to them, and I want some more of their stuff now please Mum, haha! Bye bye" 


Happy mum. Happy Carson! 

boohooKids is all about fun and stylish age appropriate fashion for children from ages 5-6 to 11-12, across both girls and boys clothing.

Have you shopped the range before? What did you think?


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#CarsonsCorner: Review of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (XBOX 360)

Welcome to Carson's Corner. Before I start my new blog piece I want to thank every one for all their comments and love on my first post. I can't believe I'm like almost famous or something! 

I wanted to tell you about my favourite XBox 360 game so here is my review of Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing.

In this game, you can choose from 12 characters and their vehicle. For example Ulala drives an Astro Glider and Amigo drives a Samba Wagon (kinda like a go kart). 

Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing for Xbox 360

I can play on my own, racing the other characters or I can do multiplayer where I usually beat my mum!

There are 34 tracks to unlock so it never gets boring with the same old map. On each track you can get boosts that look like an hour glass and they offer many different things like super speed or rockets to fire. The best one is the All-star move which rescues you if you're far behind the rest e.g. 8th or 7th so all is not lost even when you are losing, just keep collecting boosts and maybe you'll get lucky.

The music is addictive and I make my own words up to the tune every time haha! I think my mum gets annoyed though as she always tells me to turn it down and shut up. Oops!

I love this game so much!

If I were to rate it out of 10 it would be a 10. No other game can get better than this, well not that I've found yet anyway.

Now that is one "All-Star" review - wink wink!!

Catch ya later, alligators.

Love Carson. xx


You can buy it from Amazon for £16.95 by clicking the picture.



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Plus Size Skater Dresses from Simply Be

Sometimes it's all about knowing what clothing makes you comfortable, others it's about what looks great, all too throwing comfort way out the window. For my size, it's not often I get to have both at the same time, I must confess.

JD Williams asked me if I'd like to try a size 18 outfit to feature on the blog and that I could choose what I wanted as long as it included a skater dress. Now I love a skater dress as much as I love a challenge so I wasn't about to turn this down. Off I headed to have a nose...

Photo: Simply Be
The problem with high street shopping in the summer is that the ranges tend to offers items without sleeves and at shorter lengths. Not at Simply Be, part of the JD Williams group.

This particular skater dress just absolutely jumped out at me. Long bubble sleeves to hide my arms, the length is perfect to wear with leggings or, if I'm feeling incredibly brave then also with bare legs. Given that the model is wearing this with tights and boots, I'm figuring this dress to be a versatile and, no doubt, staple piece. It's currently on sale from £45 to £31.50.


To style this dress for the summer months, I opted for a pair of full length, high waisted, leggings and the beautiful flats pictured on my instagram above.  I have fallen in love with these shoes, so very badly, and they really do look lovely with the dress. Perfect for an afternoon drink out and about, or even for the office. They took a few outings to wear in though (thank you Compeed!). These beauties are currently £28.
"Woven material pumps with statement jewelled embellishments on the toe cap. The golden heel and pointed toe offer an edge that simple ballerina pumps can't." 
SOLE DIVA POINTY TOE PUMPS EXTRA WIDE EEE FIT.
An alternative styling suggestion would be to team the dress with 3/4 leggings and some spangly sandles. Comfort at it's best, I can do my shopping in style, walk along the prom with the kids without worrying that the breeze coming at me head on is making my muffin top all the more obvious, and I can keep my cool. Hot feet are just the worst aren't they?
Photo: Simply Be

In a stunning rose gold colour, I managed to obtain 4 compliments in my first 2 outings wearing these sandles. The sun catches the curves of the beaded detail and adds an awesome sparkle to your feet. They're currently £20.

Unfortunately for me, the sole of these particular sandles came away completely during the 3rd wear and looking at their reviews on the site, it would appear I'm not the only one to have experienced this. That being said, let's not allow this to take away from such a beautiful piece of clothing in the dress.


I've described two ways to wear it in this post, plus the way it's styled in the catalogue image too. So... I'm off to find some knee highs now!

To check out the full range of plus size skater dresses head on over to Simply Be now.


So, what do you think?


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No More Bingo Wingz This Summer!

Yes, the summer season means getting my 'bingo wings' out or risk sweating to death. Okay, so I exaggerate... slightly. 

Seriously though, I do have flabby arms and a rather unsightly birthmark there too. It makes me feel self conscious in vests or short sleeved tops as it is, but if I threw a cardigan on to hide myself, I would literally be a soggy sweaty mess. Eww!! Sometimes you just want to cover up without the heat of the extra layer, which is why I jumped at the chance to review some white, half sleeved Wingz.

I reviewed Wingz last year, but they were the black, long sleeved ones so not particularly suitable for a scorching hot summer's day. I've been keeping those for chilly evenings or, quite simply, adding full coverage to a sleeveless garment.

Feeling fresh but a little exposed with my arms on show.

At first I was apprehensive when it came to checking out my wardrobe for what would 'go' with my new Wingz. Could anything other than a vest 'use' white half sleeves? Well... as you can see from the image above, I jumped straight into the deep end and tried my capped sleeve top on and took the before picture. I'll be honest that, in my mind, the Wingz wouldn't go with this style tee. 

I Speak Fluent Chic!

I was sooo wrong! It seems that Wingz will literally go with anything, regardless of how you imagine it to look beforehand. So far as overall quality and comfort go, my view remains the same as last year: comfortable, stylish, no digging in or obvious lines across the back. It's really not much different to wearing a bra. 

For just £9, these white half sleeved Wingz are truly an essential fashion accessory, boosting the versatility of anyone's wardrobe. Less than a tenner, people!!


If you don't like tight monochrome coloured sleeves, Wingz offer a huge array of flared, coloured/patterned or even lace designs so it's worth checking them out over on wingzfashion.com.

Wingz are also on facebook and twitter so go check them out for news, reviews and offers.

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Wow Toys and a Child's Development: Review & Win

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to work with Wow Toys and review Dudley the Dump Truck. Given Finley’s developmental delay I find it difficult to source toys that he is willing to play with if it doesn't involve flicking. Wow Toys however, are aimed at aiding development such as fine motor skills. Count us in then! 


Firstly, it’s a large box and would make for an impressive gift when wrapped. I wasn't expecting it to be so large. All the better for little fingers to get to grips with I suppose! 

Inside the box is Dudley Dump Truck (aka Dudders) complete with driver/worker, barrels and traffic cones. As Finley progresses I do hope that this will encourage imaginative role play as well because there’s no one specific place for these pieces to be. 


You can pop the driver behind his windscreen, cones on the ground and barrels in the back of the truck. Or have the driver acting as a worker on the ground with Dudders bringing the cones.  For the moment Finley seems to enjoy the driver behind the windscreen and although he can't sit him in place just yet, he loves to open and close the window which is helping his finger/thumb pincing and opening actions. 


There's a dial on the side of Dudders that empties his truck, with the contents crashing out. Finley loves this and knows to pull my fingers to the dial when he wants it to happen which is an amazing achievement for him. This means he understands how it works so he should be able to have a go himself sooner rather than later! 


As Dudley is a friction powered truck, if you roll him forwards and lift him off the ground and repeat this, the wheels build speed enough to let go for him to whizz forward by himself. Sounds pretty realistic too... "vroom!" HINT: Don't try this on a table, like we did (oops!), he really does build some speed and distance!! 

Currently at Amazon for £19.99, I have to say that from my experience these past few weeks, it's worth every penny. There's no need to constantly replace batteries because they’re not required, it’s durable, developmentally educational, fun and encourages imaginative play. It will take Finley through many a year of play, of that I’m sure. 



Once he's cracked his motor skills he can start all over again with this toy on another level. I highly recommend Dudley Dump Truck for any child regardless of age. Wow Toys suggested 18m to 3 years and although Finley is 2 he has a developmental age of 6-10m and we have found this to be an exciting addition to Finley’s day, reaping the benefits gained form having this already.


Wow Toys have been kind enough to offer up one of these to you guys as a thank you for checking out the review, just follow the rules in the Rafflecopter widget below to enter. 

Remember: Enter as many ways as you like but the more ways you do choose to enter, the better chance you have of winning this brilliant prize. Best of luck xx


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Skincare Education with MONU

So if you've heard me whinge about my skin once, you've heard me do it a million times. I've never had great skin. I'm just not blessed with a blemish free complexion, nor do I adhere to a 'normal' skin label. Woe is me with my dry/greasy/patchy blemishy face!

The problem I have is that I've started using even more make-up than normal in a bid to disguise the spotty, dotty, problems as opposed to tackling them head on. ('scuse the pun.)

Anyway, when MONU Skincare got in touch asking if I had any current issues, they listened to me. Not only did they listen but their Skincare Educator recommended the Delicate Facial Wash used with Active Toner to help with oily skin whilst calming redness.


They arrived in the post just a couple of days later and firstly, I just want to say how cute the packaging is. Delicately wrapped in branded tissue, complete with gift bag, it screams "I'm a luxury brand and I care about you!" which gives a great first impression.

The Delicate Facial Wash is pearlescent in appearance and silky serum-like to touch. Lather onto wet skin using fingertips across the face and neck then rinse. The Active Toner will help remove those very last bits of dirt or make-up that you may have missed whilst washing and leaves a firming, clean, feeling after using. There are two ways to use the Toner. Spritz and wipe off with cotton wool or, my preferred method, spritz and wipe with a hot damp cloth for instant radiance.

The visible difference in my skin is not captured on camera as it is in person but believe me, I certainly can see the change and wow, can I feel it. I hadn't actively noticed until making this before/after grid that, actually,  my forehead lines have faded somewhat too. To say I'm chuffed is an understatement. 


I feel soft, smooth, and moisturised, not greasy skinned with bizarre dry patches which has been the norm for such a long long time. I adore the facial wash. It's scent, which includes Lemon, Grapefruit and Orange Essential Oils, is stunning and my husband often compliments me shortly after I've used it "mmm you smell nice". Yes, yes I do! I have been using it twice a day for just over 2 weeks now and have just about come to the end of the tube. Noooo!! To make it last the full month, I could have just used it once a day.

The toner, which contains distilled witch hazel, I use less often as twice daily makes my skin feel too tight. So, once a day with a hot cloth in the evenings makes for a lovely firm clean face that has softened by the morning and calmed the redness I am often left with after I've removed my make-up the night before. I must admit I'm not as keen on this scent as the facial wash but that is purely because the active ingredients are based on florals and wood aromas rather than the fruity facial wash. Purely a personal preference and I can't deny the good work it's doing so I'm not getting too hung up about it, that's for sure!

Have you used MONU skincare before? 

You can follow MONU on facebook or twitter here for news about their range as it happens.
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