Posts tagged 2014

To welcome in 2015, I thought I would post a roundup of the most popular Bewitchery posts of 2014. Despite the fact that I was less active on my blog, 2014 was another successful blogging year, so I’d like to thank all of my readers for their continued support. The following ten posts were my most read of the year that were actually published in 2014, and I’m pleased to see a couple of my personal favourite posts in there!

The festive season is just around the corner, and I’ve already been invited to a few Christmas parties and meals out. As such, I’ve started to do some online window shopping for the perfect party outfits for this season, and I’ve found that George at Asda have some really gorgeous women’s dresses in their Autumn/Winter collection. I’m a sucker for a classic LBD, and George have two in particular that I’ve been eyeing up. It’s been a while since I put together a wishlist type post, so I thought I’d do one to show you how I’d style these two dresses.

Outfit One features George’s Sequin V-Back Dress, which retails for an incredibly affordable £28. Sequins and a V-Back would both make a huge statement at a glitzy Christmas party, so this dress doesn’t need a huge amount of accessories. A simple structured clutch would be ideal to offset the sparkle, and a chunky chain necklace would add a bit more texture and depth. It’s not always easy to find a pair of shoes to go with sequins, but I quite like the look of a chunky heel with this kind of dress, hence why I chose a classic pair of Litas to go with it.

Outfit Two features George’s Peplum Bodycon Dress, which costs just £30. I absolutely adore this dress as it’s classic and feminine, but has a bit of an edge with its faux leather waist detail. To enhance the waist, I chose a pretty floral clutch by Irregular Choice which has a similar black on black look. An elegant pair of stilettos and a beaded necklace finish off this look, but I think it’d look just as stunning without the necklace.

Well, after two busy weeks of starting a new full time job and planning for a house move, I’m finally back to blogging! Today’s post features two China Glaze shades that were kindly gifted to me by nailpolish.co.uk for review.

Both shades are from the new China Glaze 2014 Autumn collections, and retail for £4.95 each. There are two autumn collections this year – All Aboard Fall and Apocalypse of Colour, and I picked a shade from each.

‘Choo-Choo Choose You’ is from the All Aboard Fall 2014 collection, which includes twelve stunning, on trend autumnal shades. At first glance the varnish looks to be a blue-grey shade with a hint of gold shimmer, but as soon as you move into natural light it explodes with purple, orange and green.

The varnish is a colour changing metallic, which with some brands makes for a streaky finish, but this one goes on perfectly without any imperfections. The formula is slightly runny, but applies nicely and two coats gives an opaque look. The only downside is it takes a little longer to dry than I’d like, but it’s worth the wait.

‘Rest In Pieces’ is from the Apocalypse of Colour collection, which features five Halloween themed shades, all of which have brilliant names! Halloween is my favourite time of year so I was very excited about this range, and it doesn’t disappoint. ‘Rest In Pieces’ is a gorgeous metallic orange, black and gold holographic glitter that reminds me of pumpkins, autumnal leaves and fireworks. Some of my absolute favourite things!

The glitter comprises of various different types of glitter, large flecks, small flecks, micro and straw, which gives fantastic depth and texture. For maximum impact, the varnish is best applied in a dabbing motion rather than brushing, as dabbing leaves more glitter behind. This one dries a lot quicker than the other shade, and makes an amazing top coat. Perfect for adding a little something extra to any autumn mani! I love it.

nailpolish.co.uk is a one stop shop for nail varnish, and they stock a HUGE range of brands, including OPI, Essie and Barry M, and over 350 colours! They also offer free first class delivery on every order. Check them out here.

What do you think of these new China Glaze shades?

Naomi x

*These two China Glaze nail varnishes were sent to me by nailpolish.co.uk for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*

After a very hectic few weeks of trips away and caring for a poorly pet rat (long story but she’s much better, thankfully!), I have finally got round to reviewing the July Degustabox! As usual, the box arrived on time, and features eight brands and a massive nineteen individual items, many of which I’d never tried before.

Degustabox did something slightly different this month and offered one box containing alcohol, and another without. I received the alcohol box, and the combined total value of the products is £22.19; a saving of almost £10.

Portlebay Popcorn (RRP £0.79 each)

Portlebay are a small company from Devon who make ‘great tasting, fun and interesting food’, including these bags of Kracklecorn artisan popcorn. I received three different flavours in the box – Crispy Bacon & Maple Syrup, which unfortunately I can’t eat as it isn’t vegetarian, Chilli & Lime, and a classic sweet and salty flavour. The Chilli & Lime is particularly tasty, as the flavouring is very authentic and perfectly balanced, and is reminiscent of an Indian chutney. The bags are a good size too and provide a very generous portion – perfect for snacking, or as part of a packed lunch.

ZEO Drinks (RRP £1.29 each)

I’ve been seeing ZEO drinks around for a while now, so I was pleased to finally be able to try some. ZEO pride themselves on creating low-calorie, naturally sourced soft drinks that aren’t full of sugar, but are lightly carbonated with a hint of flavour. Again, I received three flavours in the box – Burst, Crush, and Zest. Unfortunately, they didn’t quite live up to what I was expecting. The packaging and branding are very impressive, but the drink inside isn’t so much. The flavour is very subtle, so you get more of a taste of carbonated water than anything else, and it’s also quite dry. However, it does give a cooling and ‘tingling’ sensation as the packaging suggests, which is quite refreshing on a hot day. Not the best, but not awful.

Green & Black’s Lemon Bar (RRP £2.29)

I usually love Green & Black’s chocolate as it’s Fairtrade and amazing quality, but I’m in two minds about this particular bar. The chocolate contains 60% cocoa solids, so is lovely and rich, and is infused with a zesty lemon flavour. Though I like the smooth and luxurious depth of the dark chocolate, I’m just not sure about the lemon. It’s very tangy, which doesn’t seem to balance well with the bitterness of the chocolate. Rather, it makes it taste a bit sour, which isn’t really for me. I can only eat a few squares of this at a time before wrapping it back up, to the point that I still have most of the bar left, which is unusual for me! I personally think lemon flavours go better with sweeter white chocolate, but if you have less of a sweet tooth, then this may be for you.

The Berry Company Peach White Tea (RRP £1.49)

The Berry Company is a family business who produce nutritious and delicious juices and fruit flavoured teas. These new Special Teas are available in four different flavours – Green Tea with Blueberry and Aronia, Red Tea with Hibiscus and Cranberry, Black Tea with Elderflower and Lemon, and White Tea with Peach and Lemon, which is the flavour I received, and are pleasingly healthy. They’re full of antioxidants, vegan, gluten, dairy, lactose and fat-free, and contain no artificial colourings, preservatives or flavourings.

Hornsby’s Blueberry Cider (RRP £1.25 each)

Hornsby’s is one of the leading ciders in the USA, and is apparently best enjoyed straight from a chilled bottle. This is the second time the brand has been featured in Degustabox, but this month’s flavour – Blueberry – is new to me. I’m not much of a cider drinker so I’m saving these for when I fancy it, but I like blueberries so the flavour intrigues me. At 330ml the bottles are a good size, and great value at £1.25 each. Degustabox recommend adding a squeeze of fresh lemon for an added kick, which sounds great for summer.

FRANK Blueberry & Chocolate Bar (RRP £0.85)

This FRANK snack bar was my favourite item in the box this month – I wish there was more than one! I’ve really been getting into raw, healthier snacks lately, and this is honestly one of the nicest healthy bars I’ve tried. FRANK promotes ‘honest snacking’ and their bars are made with 100% natural ingredients, and are vegan, gluten and nut free, and also contain no refined sugar or dairy. This particular bar is Blueberry & Chocolate, and at first it has a slightly bitter taste of dark chocolate, but with a pleasant natural sweetness from the fruit that it contains. It also has a firm texture, offset by the smoothness of the chocolate, which gives the perfect balance of not too moist but not too dry. Overall, the bar is moreish and delicious, and I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for the other flavours, especially the orange one!

Dr. Oetker Violet Crystals (RRP £1.29)&Eton Mess (RRP £1.99)

Yet another offering from Dr. Oetker. That’s four boxes in a row now! Not that I mind, as I do like baking, but if it isn’t your thing then it could get quite annoying. These Violet Crystals and Eton Mess sprinkles are new to the range, and are inspired by the latest baking trends. They look absolutely fab and would give any cake the wow factor, and going on my experience of other Dr. Oetker sprinkles, I’m sure they’ll taste great too. I’ll keep you updated!

Maggi So Baked & So Juicy Sachets (Total RRP £5.54)

I was slightly disappointed when I saw these Maggi sachets in the box, as I assumed they weren’t vegetarian, but after carefully reading the ingredients I can confirm that all but the Chicken & Leek one are! I’ve used two of these so far – the Piri Piri Chicken bake, and the So Juicy Oriental Soy & Garlic Chicken, but rather than using real chicken I used Quorn fillets. The sachets are easy to use – with the bakes you basically just chop everything up and bung it in a baking tray with the spices mixed with water, and the So Juicy ones are cooked in a plastic bag that comes in the sachet. Both sachets worked really well with the Quorn, but with the So Juicy one I had to add water to the bag first, as Quorn doesn’t give off its own juices! The Piri Piri Chicken was incredibly tasty, and worked perfectly with sweet potato, red pepper and red onion, served with rice. A definite repurchase on that one.

Overall, this wasn’t my favourite Degustabox, but it was nice to try some new brands, and I’m especially glad to have discovered FRANK!

If you fancy giving Degustabox a go yourself, you can get a £3 discount by entering code R9CPO at the checkout. You can also follow Degustabox on Twitter and Facebook for more exclusive offers.

Late last month I took delivery of the April edition of my monthly surprise food box, Degustabox, and boy is it a good one! In my review of the March Degustabox I mentioned that, though I enjoyed the contents of the box, the distinct lack of sweet treats was slightly disappointing, but April’s offerings sincerely make up for that. In fact, this latest box is crammed full of so many of my favourite things, it’s as if it was put together specifically with me in mind!

The April Degustabox contains nine different brands, and fifteen individual items, which for £12.99 is a lot better value than most food subscription boxes I’ve seen. So without further ado, here are my thoughts on each item…

Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer with Raspberry (RRP £2.19)

Crabbie’s alcoholic ginger beer is one of my favourite alcoholic drinks, and is so refreshing when it’s been chilled. This particular bottle has a raspberry flavour, which I admit isn’t my first choice of flavours, but with the ginger it is really quite nice. The beer is a lovely pink shade and the raspberry flavour shines through, before the warm, comforting burn of ginger kicks in. I think I prefer the original version, but as a cool drink every now and then during the summer, this would be ideal. I also want to try the strawberry and lime flavour that I know other people received in their Degustabox.

Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Bar (RRP £0.80 each)

I’ve always been a fan of Lindt’s Lindor truffles, so when I saw that they’d been transformed into bars, I was curious to see whether they were as nice, and as it happens, they are! These bars have the same cool, creamy taste and texture as their spherical counterparts – the chocolate itself is sweet, but not sickly, and the truffle it encases is luxuriously smooth and delicious. These bars may be thin, but they feel like a proper treat, and I’ll definitely be buying more.

Cawston Press Rhubarb and Apple Sparkling Drink (RRP £1.00)

Cawston Press’ Rhubarb and Apple drink was an unexpected highlight for me. I don’t often drink fruity fizzy drinks, but this one tastes a little bit more sophisticated than the usual. It’s free of any preservatives, additives and artificial sweeteners, and is made from concentrated fruit juice combined with sparkling water, so is light and refreshing. The rhubarb flavour dominates, and is reminiscent of the rhubarb and custard sweets I used to eat as a child, without the overpowering sweetness. I’ll be keeping an eye out for more from Cawston Press, as this tasted lovely and I’d like to try some of their juices.

Clearspring Miso on the Go Soup (RRP £1.29 each)

Soup isn’t my thing, especially ‘cup of soup’ type things, so I wasn’t incredibly enthusiastic about these Clearspring Miso on the Go sachets when I first saw them. I received two flavours of soup – White Miso with Tofu (pictured above), and Red Miso with Sea Veg, which I’m yet to try. One thing that did stand out with these is that they’re vegan, and only contain 29 calories, so they’re healthy at least.

The soup is easy to make, and involves mixing 160ml of hot water in a mug with the freeze-dried block that the sachet contains. I was surprised to see such chunky ingredients floating around in the soup, namely cubes of tofu and pieces of spring onion, and though it doesn’t look the best, the White Miso actually tastes rather nice! At £1.29 each I probably won’t be buying these again, but I’m glad I tried them.

Go Splash Blackcurrant Water Flavouring (RRP £2.45)

After seeing the Robinsons equivalent of Go Splash in supermarkets recently, I’d been keen to try something like this, but unfortunately I was slightly disappointed with Go Splash. In theory, it’s a great idea – a little container of sugar-free, low-calorie fruit flavoured concentrate to add to water to make it that little bit more exciting, but I’m not sure the brand quite pull it off. The packaging says to add one squirt to 200ml of water, which I did, but it made no difference, so I added another and still wasn’t happy. The water still tasted like water, but I was left with an artificial, saccharine taste in my mouth after swallowing, with just a hint of blackcurrant. Not the best, and I haven’t used it since. I was looking forward to carrying this with me so I could enjoy it on the go, but I think I’ll pass.

Keogh’s Atlantic Salt & Irish Cider Vinegar Crisps (RRP £1.00)

Salt and Vinegar is my crisp flavour of choice, so I was always going to love these, but they even managed to exceed my high expectations. When I visited Dublin last year I was really taken by just how well Ireland do crisps, and these are close to perfect. Keogh’s Farm is a family run potato growing and crisping business based in North County Dublin, and the family’s 200 years of potato expertise really shows. The packet even features a ‘Spud Nav’, which tells you exactly which field the potatoes were grown in, the variety of potato used, and who cooked the crisps. Brilliant!

The crisps are thick and crispy, not at all greasy, and incredibly well-flavoured, as the Irish cider vinegar gives them a pleasantly sweet tang, rather than a sour one. They’re also gluten-free, made from all natural ingredients, and come in a generous 50g bag. Walkers crisps don’t even come close to these!

McVitie’s Jaffa Cake Mini Rolls (RRP £1.30 per pack)

I like cake, I like chocolate, I like Jaffa Cakes, so finding these in my Degustabox was another pleasant surprise. The Mini Rolls come in two flavours – Tropicool, a mix of tropical fruits, and Berry Burst, and each tastes like what it says on the packet, although not intensely so. The packaging states that these can be frozen, so I decided to give the freezing a go to see if it made much of a difference, which it did. They were firmer and chewier, and obviously colder, which suited them well. I think these would make a nice light treat in Summer when you’re getting tired of eating ice cream.

Mornflake Superfast Pots (RRP £1.20 each)

My Degustabox also featured two Superfast pots by Mornflake – a Fruit & Nut Muesli, and a Raisin, Honey & Almond Granola – both of which are right up my street. Each pot has a handy little spoon in the lid, and contains powdered milk so you can just add cold water to the mix and stir, which is really handy when you’re on the go. Both of these tasted delicious, especially the granola, and the portions are generously sized. I’d definitely pick one of these up if I was in a rush on my way to work.

Dr. Oetker Fine Cooks’ Chocolate (RRP £1.69 each)

There were also two bars of this Dr. Oetker Fine Cook’s Chocolate in April’s Degustabox – an Extra Dark one with an intense 72% cocoa solids, and a creamier Milk chocolate, coming in at 35%. As an avid baker, these were a nice little addition to the box and I couldn’t wait to try them out, so I whipped up a batch of tiffin as soon as possible. Tiffin is a fantastic no-bake, easy to make treat, so I thought I’d share my recipe for…

Chocolate Ginger Tiffin

Ingredients:

115g Dr. Oetker Fine Cooks’ Chocolate Extra Dark 72%

115g Dr. Oetker Fine Cooks’ Chocolate Milk 35%

150g Ginger Nut Biscuits

75g Rich Tea Biscuits

100g Dried Mixed Fruit

110g Butter or Stork Margarine

2 tbsp Sugar

2 tbsp Golden Syrup

4 tsp Cocoa Powder

Method:

1. Line a large, square baking tin with greaseproof paper.

2. Crush the ginger nut biscuits and rich tea biscuits until they are broken into small pieces.

3. In a pan, mix together the butter, golden syrup, sugar and cocoa powder over a low heat, until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.

4. Add the crushed biscuits and dried fruit to the pan and stir until everything is coated.

5. Tip the biscuit mixture into the baking tin, spread out evenly and press down.

6. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second bursts until fully melted. Pour over the biscuit mix and spread out evenly.

7. Leave the tiffin to set in the fridge for about an hour, before cutting into pieces. This recipe makes about 18 decently sized pieces.

8. Serve and enjoy!

Of course, I gave the chocolate a little nibble whilst I was cooking (and I got to lick the bowl – cook’s perks!), and it’s delicious even as an eating chocolate. I may even finish the bars myself…

The overall RRP of April’s Degustabox is £20, so for £12.99 you’re definitely getting a good deal. Once again, everything in the box is vegetarian, and the abundance of sweet goodies is a winner with me. I’d even go as far to say this is the best subscription box I’ve ever received from any company!

If you want to know more about Degustabox and this month’s products, you can visit their website here. You can also find them on Twitter and Facebook.

Will you be subscribing to Degustabox? If so, if you use the exclusive code ‘4K0P6‘ when registering, you can get a £3 discount!

Last month I was given the chance to receive a Degustabox to review, and as a lover of food and surprises, how could I say no? Degustabox is a monthly subscription box which contains between 10 and 15 surprise food items, some of which are new to the market. Each box costs £12.99 including delivery, and there’s no obligation to keep your subscription.

So, the March box. My box was dispatched during the last week of March, and it arrived a couple of days later. The service I received during the delivery process was really impressive, as I was sent a couple of texts and emails to say that my box was on its way and when it would be delivered, and when it did arrive the items inside were chilled, so you don’t have to worry about anything going off in transit.

The box itself is really quite large, and comes packed full of items – I genuinely don’t think they could’ve squashed anything more in there! In total, I received 15 individual items, none of which are particularly high-end, but pretty much all of them were new to me, which was exciting.

Here are my thoughts on each…

Drink Me Chocolate Chai Latte (RRP £2.55) and Earl Grey Tea Latte

I was really excited to see these in the box as I already have Drink Me’s Spiced Chai Latte and it is gorgeous. The Chocolate Chai Latte is better though, and is my favourite thing in the whole box. The chocolate is dark and rich and slightly bitter, and the spices give it a hint of warming sweetness. It actually tastes exactly like Lebkuchen which are my favourite Christmas treat, so this is a definite winner for me.

I haven’t yet tried the Earl Grey Latte so I can’t comment on its flavour, but I have high hopes. Degustabox list these as being £6.50 for a multipack which seems quite expensive, but I checked online and they appear to be 32p per sachet in Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, which is pretty reasonable.

MOMA! Plain and Cranberry and Raisin Porridge (RRP £1.50 each)

These didn’t excite me at first, especially as I’m not keen on porridge made with water, but they’re quite nice. They’re easy to make too and perfect for a quick breakfast on the go – just mix with boiling water, replace the lid, leave for three minutes, and voila! Instant brekkie. The oats are mixed with milk powder so the texture is lovely and creamy, and the overall flavour is comfortingly sweet. The cranberries and raisins in the purple pot add a warm burst of fruitiness too. A thumbs up from me, but at £1.50 each I don’t think I’ll be eating them every day of the week.

Shaken Udder Kids Milkshake (RRP £1.89 for 3)

These little cartons of milkshake are perfect for kids. The packaging is appealing, they come with a chunky straw and they’re just the right size for little hands. I usually prefer thick and creamy milkshakes and these are quite thin in consistency, but they’re actually rather yummy. I haven’t tried the banana one yet, but the other two have a really authentic flavour, probably due to the lack of anything artificial. The chocolate one is my favourite so far. These came with a couple of vouchers for a free pack of three, as well as a free ‘grown up’ bottle, so I’ll definitely be cashing those in.

A new addition to the Schwartz family, these little pots contain a blend of herbs and spices mixed with oil, to make cooking tasty meals quick and easy. I used the Italian Creamy Herb Tagliatelle shot earlier this week and it was so simple to use. The packaging has a recipe printed on it, and all you have to do is fry chicken (I used Quorn) in the flavour shot before adding sliced mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, creme fraiche and rocket, and mixing with cooked tagliatelle. The meal took about 15 minutes to make in total and was absolutely delicious. I highly recommend these!

I’m yet to try these Organico products, but they’re both right up my street. Organico source organic food made with sustainable, good quality ingredients, so there are no hidden nasties to be found. I absolutely *love* brown pasta so I’m looking forward to using this, and the sauce looks fresh and beautiful. These are on my meal list for next week!

I’d never heard of Mexican Dave’s before, but after trying these tortilla chips I’ll definitely be looking for them again. They’re not as nice as Doritos in my opinion, but the flavour and crunch are fantastic, and they make excellent nachos! I had these last weekend baked with spicy salsa and cheese and they were scrumptious. In fact, I’ll be having them again this evening!

Tyrrels’ popcorn is a satisfying combination of salty and sweet, which may sound odd but it’s amazing. You get quite a lot of popcorn in the bag, but at less than 70 calories this popcorn is the perfect guilt-free treat. I’d probably grab a bag as part of my lunch or as an afternoon snack.

My only quibble with the March Degustabox is that it’s a bit too savoury. I have a sweet tooth and was hoping for some sweet treats to munch on, but the only sweet things in the box are drinks and porridge. Oh well, maybe next month. Other than that I’m really pleased with the box, and luckily for me everything in it is vegetarian, and all of it is yummy, so nothing will go to waste and everything will be enjoyed! As a current saver I probably wouldn’t buy a box every month, but as an occasional treat when you fancy some food inspiration, £12.99 isn’t bad. I definitely prefer Degustabox over the more costly yet smaller Flavourly box that I’ve tried once before.

If you want to know more about Degustabox and this month’s products, you can visit their website here. You can also find them on Twitter and Facebook.