Spectrum Collections Sweetheart Brush Supporting Cancer Research Wales

Posted on September 28, 2018 by Sabrina

Spectrum Collections Sweetheart Brush Supporting Cancer Research Wales

If you want to do something for charity this month but also get an amazing makeup brush for yourself while you’re doing it, then head over to Spectrum Collections and their website. Supporting Cancer Research Wales they have designed and created the pink sweetheart brush and it is just gorgeous! Super soft bristles cut into a heart shape with a shiny metallic pink ferrule into a pink handle.

You can buy the brush for £14.99 on their website and £10.00 from every brush sold will go to Cancer Research Wales. Do something incredible this Autumn, and while you help find vital research for the fight against cancer, you’re gaining an incredible brush for your collection too! In my opinion this makes a wonderful gift for cancer survivors as well. (Click the website image below for a link to buying the brush).

I grew up in Wales and lived in the country until I left for university. During that length of time I watched some family members fight cancers, some of whom sadly are no longer in my life because of it. So whenever I get the opportunity to raise money for Cancer Research I do so. When Spectrum Collections announced they were collaborating for this brush release I was more than happy to get on board, and to support them by writing this post, and get the word out.

Spectrum Collections Brushes are also Vegan and Cruelty Free.

So, as with every Review of mine I always score the product. I am giving the brush a unanimous 5 stars! It’s appearance is beautiful, the quality is excellent, the value for money is great because £10 of your spend goes to charity and finally delivery was fast and Spectrum always present their post so beautifully too!

Appearance 5✩
Quality 5✩
Value for Money 5✩
Delivery 5✩

5✩ Product – Spectrum Collections Sweetheart Makeup Brush

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Thank you for reading this review today, I hope that some of you reading this will consider supporting such a worthy cause. Don’t forget to follow Spectrum Collections on their social media and you can find the links via their website (link below). Remember if you want to see what I’m doing and reviewing on a more daily basis, then why not consider following me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook too! You can find my links on the main page of this website. Thank you for supporting Severn Wishes today.

Spectrum Collections Website

✩ Sabrina ✩

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Reviewing and Comparing Chocolate Chip Cake Bars

Posted on September 22, 2018 by Sabrina

Reviewing and Comparing Chocolate Chip Cake Bars

So today I’m Reviewing and Comparing Chocolate Chip Cake Bars available from Tesco. Why? I hear you ask, well someones got to do it! Ha! Ha! No seriously though, I have been living off tasty snacks since my son was born. Including Cake Bars! I have needed sugary snacks to get me through long nights and early morning feeds.

I have shopped at Tesco for many years and I have always supported their own brand products too. Sometimes I would only purchase the branded version if they were on special offer.

Today I wanted to Review the two most similar cakes that I buy regularly and explain what I like best about each of them. I am going to score them after the product information has been shown, and tell you why I choose to buy them.

Here are the two types of chocolate chip cakes bars that I purchase on a regular basis. Exclusive to Tesco Ms Molly’s Treat Store and Mr Kipling Exceedingly Good Cakes.

This is what the cake bars look like out of the boxes.

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Ms Molly’s (Exclusive to Tesco)

Pack Size: 5 Cakes
Cake Bar Size: 26 grams
Values per 100 grams: Fat 5.4g Saturates 0.8g Sugars 5.9g Salt 0.1g
Energy 442 kJ / 106 kcal
Details: Each Cake Bar is individually wrapped in clear plastic, with the eat by date stamped upon it also.
Price per Packet: 47p (works out to be 9p per cake bar)
Suitable for Vegetarians.

Mr Kipling

Pack Size: 6 Cakes
Cake Bar Size: 24 grams
Values per 100 grams: Fat 5.0g Saturates 2.0g Sugars 9.6g Salt 0.11g
Energy 456 kJ / 109 kcal
Details: Each Cake Bar is individually wrapped in a brown Mr Kipling wrapper.
Price per Packet: £1.60 (works out to be 26p per cake bar)
Suitable for Vegetarians.

My Opinion Of Each Cake Bar Brand.

Ms Molly’s: These are delicious cakes that have been individually baked so that the inside stays soft and the sponge is light. There are chocolate chips running throughout the inside of the bar that taste delicious and are a nice contrast in texture to the sponge cake itself. You can see from the image above that the cake bar is a nice shape and are always a good golden colour to show they are well baked. They are very affordable at 9p a cake, and I would happily put them in my trolley every time that I go shopping (and usually do!) The use by dates are normally around 2-4 weeks after the purchase date which gives you plenty of time to eat them. Overall I really enjoy the taste and texture of the Molly’s cake bars, a nice sponge and delicious chocolate pieces, to be honest the price is just a bonus!

Quality of Product 5✩

Value for Money 5✩

Mr Kipling: These cake bars have very tasty chocolate chips that are not only found inside the cake itself but also scattered on top of it. The Mr Kipling brand is very well known and I am fond of their cakes. The only downside with these particular cakes is that they are cut bars and not baked individually, so the sponges aren’t as soft as some other cake bars such as Molly’s. Even though I find the chocolate tastes nicer in these cakes the actual sponge itself isn’t as moist or as soft as its cheaper counterpart. For this reason I would honestly choose the Tesco own version of Molly’s over Mr Kipling.

Quality of Product 4✩

Value for Money 3✩

Here are what the two bars look like inside. As you can see the texture of the Ms Molly’s is more moist and is a bigger size. Where as the Mr Kipling bar is a lighter texture sponge but with more chocolate chips.

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Thank you for reading this review today. Don’t forget to follow me on Social Media to see what I’m up to on a more daily basis! I do love my food so I watch out for more food related posts in the future.

✩ Sabrina ✩

My Top 5 Tips For New Parents

Posted on September 16, 2018 by Sabrina

Sabrina’s Honest Lifestyle Post

My Top 5 Tips for New Parents

There is always a vast array of advice that is hurled around when you’re pregnant or a new parent. Some of it I found wasn’t all that useful because it was either peoples opinion that was exaggerated or it was biased. Every parent and every baby is different, but I hope that you can appreciate my life honest post which is more about practical tips, rather than scare stories. I would never dream of telling someone how to parent, my tips are just my honest advice for what has so far worked for us. I hope that you enjoy my post.

Food and Drink

You’re going to want to stock up on food and drink and snacks. Leaving the house is going to take a lot more effort from now on so take my advice, do a bulk shop to fill your cupboards, do some bulk cooking of basics for your freezer and make sure you’ve got a variety of snacks in too. You will find those early morning feeds a shock the first few days and tasty sugary things will be your new best friend. I recommend Mini Cakes or Dried Fruit, definitely sugar! Caffeinated drinks will also help, but be careful about your in take if you’re breast feeding.

My Top Tip – We keep a mini cool bag in our bedroom filled with snacks and bottles of water for those late nights and early mornings. It saves you from going downstairs when half asleep!

Muslin Cloths

I had a grand total of 4 Muslin cloths the week that my son was born. By the time he was a month old we had fifteen cloths! And some weeks it’s still not enough (with some being dirty or in the washing machine for example). My main tip is to always keep several at arms length. Then keep one at either of your bedsides, more than one in the area that you all lounge together, one where you change your little one and at least one in their changing bag too! There still won’t be one when you suddenly need it, unless you place a longer one over your shoulder while you’re at home. But on a serious note, these cloths are a godsend, especially when baby is having a sickly day, or is dribbling due to teething. The best ones that we found for absorbency were from Mothercare, the softest were from Tesco.

My Top Tip – Keep track of how many you’ve got so you don’t end up with them all in the wash and also purchase similar colours so they’re easier to wash in bulk!

Teach Your Hands Now!

So you’re Right handed, well you may want to try using your Left more. You will find that once baby comes along you will only have one hand free and sometimes not even very often! So train your hands now before your baby arrives. Make sure you can blow your nose, make a drink and eat – all with the hand you wouldn’t usually use! That will set you up if you can master at least something. After eight weeks I can prepare and eat things, plus fill the washing machine and start that off all one handed.

Support One Another

Before you have children you don’t realise what an overwhelming responsibility it is for most of the time. I kept hoping I would have the time to do things that I wanted, read a book, learn a new game, write a blog post… but the reality is nothing like that. Even if are lucky enough to have a baby who actually sleeps between feeds, there will always be clothes to wash, housework chores to do and getting yourself organised too! (Drink / Hot Meal / Shower and a Change of Clothes).

The thing that your partner who works must understand is that just because you’re at home, doesn’t mean you get a break. Some days you will eat and even go to the toilet with your child in your arms, because that’s safer than putting them down and them screaming so loud the neighbours 6 doors down hear them!

Compromise is the key. If your partner needs a break to shower or even go for a ten minute walk to get some fresh air, you need to support them. It’s tough being responsible for a tiny human, they rely on us 24/7 and sometimes we all need a few minutes to ourselves, mostly so we feel like us and not just Mum / Dad.

Another way you can support one another is that one feeds the other winds, and keep swapping. Your baby needs to get used to both of you putting him/her to bed so that both of you can be a comfort.

Finally remember that you’re in this together, if you’re tired take it in turns to take a nap. If one of you is feeling overwhelmed then do something nice together as a family and turn it into a positive experience.

My Top Tip – Take things in turns and ask one another every day if the other is doing okay.

Every Baby Is Different So Trust Your Instincts

So I found that within hours of having my son my instincts were kicking in. I knew things that I didn’t before and I had ideas about how to cope that came through the living experiences with my baby.

Trust that you know what your baby needs, and after a few weeks you’ll know what their cries mean anyway.

Don’t be afraid of asking your own parents for their advice, and remember you don’t always have to take it from anyone especially if you disagree.

You will know your baby after only a short time, trust yourselves.

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Thank you for your on-going support for me and my blog, please leave me a comment if you enjoyed this article. And don’t forget to follow me on Social Media to see what I’m up to on a more daily basis!

✩ Sabrina ✩

September 2018 Treatbox Reveal

Posted on September 9, 2018 by Sabrina

Hello and Welcome to the September 2018 Treatbox Reveal
with Sabrina of Severn Wishes Blog.

Happy Treat Box Day Everyone! I have been looking forward to this box, the end of Summer and beginning of Autumn is usually a beautiful transition in the United Kingdom. I am hoping this box will reflect that…

This month the Treatbox UK theme is “Staying Cosy” as our Summer ends and Autumn begins…

I adore Purple and was happy to see a deep Purple tissue paper as I opened this box. The little sticker reads “Happy Post” and it certainly is!

Here are all of the contents of the September 2018 Treatbox. Remember to check your calendar print because there are often variations in some items with their flavour or colour for example.This month there are 7 items in the Treatbox plus a Calendar Print and an A5 Print.

Calendar Print for September 2018 – Heart
2 Pukka Tea Bags – Cranberry, Rose & Vanilla Flavour
Purple “Baked Apple” Scent Circus Wax Melt 20g
Popcorn Shed “Pop N Choc” Bag of Gluten Free Popcorn
Vitamasques Peaches & Honey Hand Mask
“Stay Cosy” White Pillowcase
After Spa Magic Makeup Remover Cloth
A5 Print – “Take A Deep Breath, Let Out All The Stress, You Deserve To Be Okay!”

Here is a selection of my photographs of this month’s box, I hope you enjoy seeing the items up close and if you have any questions about any of them please leave me a comment at the end of the post.

September 2018 Treatbox UK

Hand Printed at Treatbox HQ!

My Favourites

My favourite pieces in this box were the Pillowcase and the Popcorn. The print was of good quality as always too.

I really liked that we had a few things we hadn’t had before in a box, such as the Popcorn Brand and the Hand Mask – something I had not tried previously. Having the opportunity to try a hand mask made from Korean beauty is great. The pillowcase was a nice addition this month and something that everyone can use.

My Overall Opinion

What I liked was the theme for this month, being “Cosy” as Autumn draws in sounds wonderful. Although I felt the items themselves lacked something special. Cosy for me is a candle and a blanket, or at least a scarf and something warming. I felt like a Candle would have fitted the theme better than a Wax Melt, and that the Tea was a good addition for the warming element of this concept. However in my opinion there could have been a little more thought into this months theme.

I wasn’t a fan of the Wax Melt, I still haven’t used any of the other melts I’ve received in Treatbox, they simply go into a box for me to re-gift to others during the year. I would have loved more Popcorn too! One small bag of it (considering the grams) just seemed such a shame! The fact that the Popcorn was Gluten Free was a great bonus though!

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I love to be honest and share my honesty about my reviews.

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Are you thinking of ordering a TreatBox for yourself or for a gift for someone?
Then you can find Treatbox subscriptions and build your own box at their website https://treatboxuk.com/

If you aren’t sure on whether to try a TreatBox for yourself or not I would say order a one off box, and then if you’re happy with it you can always subscribe afterwards. Check out my previous posts on the Treat Boxes I have received so far, in this unique category of my website called ‘Treatbox’ especially for these box reviews and reveals – Severn Wishes – TREATBOX

Thanks for reading this months box reveal today, if you have any thoughts you would like to share or if you have purchased a box after reading one of my reviews then I would love to hear your from you, why not leave me a little comment below.

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So finally don’t forget that Severn Wishes website isn’t just about Treatbox! I write about every aspect of my life and honestly review a variety of things, products and brands. So if you have enjoyed this reveal then why not check out my other categories too.

Thank you for your on-going support for me and my blog, I hope you have a wonderful month! Don’t forget to follow me on Social Media to see what I’m up to daily!

✩ Sabrina ✩

Reviewing Baby Items – Bean Bag Planet

Posted on September 3, 2018 by Sabrina

Reviewing Baby Items – Bean Bag Planet

I first saw the Baby Bean Bag on Facebook several years ago. After years of following their page and reading customer reviews, when I got towards the end of my pregnancy I decided to order a Bean Bag for us and our new little one.

What appealed to me the most was that the Bean Bag can be used afterwards for Toddler and Child as our child grows up. It will eventually be a part of their bedroom as somewhere comfortable to sit and read.

There were many designs to choose from including unisex ones. You receive the Bean Bag with the Harness Cover and a Spare Non Harness Cover too in the same colour. Despite this I decided to order an extra harness one so that if our one ended up in the washing machine we would still be able to place baby on the bag safely.

You do have to pay an additional £3.99 for the Bean Bag Filling, but they guarantee that it is Fire Safe Polystyrene balls that they use.

I featured these bean bags on my “Baby Wish List Post” and we had one given to us as a joint gift for our son from friends who read my blog. This excellent coincidence meant that we received two bags the week before our son came into the world. And it’s been very handy to have one on both floors of our house.

I purchased the Cars version of the bean bag in Grey, where as our friends got us the Safari one in Yellow.

Here are some close ups I have taken of the very cool designs situated on either of the bean bag planet bags we have.

The bright colours are inviting, and there is also a bear that you can find playing peek-a-boo on all of the designs I have seen. This is a cute addition so when children are older they can search for this little bear on the sides of their seat.

So I wanted to include what my husband thought in this review too, I will firstly outline what I think and then dictate his thoughts.

My Opinion

A very handy product to have in more than one room of the home, it is convenient to place baby into safely while you need your hands free. An ideal size and height too because you don’t have to bend too low to place baby into it. This item has become one that we use daily in our home to accommodate our needs between feeds and changes of our newborn baby. We cannot wait for him to grow with the bean Bag too and it will be used in his bedroom one day.

I found the ease of ordering on the website a good experience, and there were a ton of great designs for us to choose from. As for delivery the bean bag comes wrapped and then boxed but is flat. You place the bean bags inner bag inside when it arrives.

The quality of the fabric, bean bag base and the unique design of it, is what had me intrigued enough to buy. I have not been disappointed in the item. I did think they were quite expensive for what they are, but when you use the product as much as we do, its convenience outweighs how much I ended up paying.

After using the product now for several weeks I have to say the easiest thing about them is the use, just place your child in the centre and strap them in using the harness. I am happy that I made this product purchase for our son. Here is a photograph of our son at a week old, enjoying a nap in his Safari bean bag.

Quality of Product 5/5

Value for Money 4/5

Delivery of Product 4/5

Overall Experience 5/5

My Husbands Opinion

A versatile and good quality material that is soft for baby to lay on. Our newborn is always comfortable when lay on it. I like that our baby has a good view when laying on the Bean Bag too. It’s a useful item that can be easily moved around the home into any room or living space. We think they are that good a product that we now have 2 of them (thanks to a gift)! We use 1 for upstairs and 1 for downstairs!

The bean bag itself is good value for money however be aware of the additional charges to fill the bean bag with the polystyrene balls, and there are quite high delivery costs as well.

I would recommend this product and it’s a good idea for first time parents. It’s also useful for parents with pets because it allows baby to be quite a lot higher than the floor and therefore easier to keep an eye on unlike the mats that require babies to be lay on to a flat surface on the floor. Here is another image of our son, as you can see he is happy and content on the bean bag, awake on this image as opposed to asleep on the previous one.

Quality of Product 5/5

Value for Money 4/5

Delivery of Product 4/5

Overall Experience 4/5

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Here are some Bean Bag Planet designs.

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Links

Bean Bag Planet Website
Bean Bag Planet Facebook

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Thank you for supporting Severn Wishes blog today, don’t forget there are plenty more reviews to read across the website, just click one of the categories that interest you on the main page. I hope that you have enjoyed this review and I wish you a wonderful rest of your day.

✩ Sabrina ✩