January 08, 2014

The Award for the Most Obscure Monthly Subscription Box Goes to.... Jangneus

January 08, 2014/ Claire Spence

Here's a unique subscription box idea. Jangneus, a Swedish-design led brand have a dishcloth or a tea towel monthly delivered to your door. Each month a pack of fresh, hand-printed, classic design dishcloths arrive to refresh your kitchen. You can pick by colour, to match the Swedish chic to your own kitchen, or go for a mix and match colour pack. Dishcloth subscription box for the year costs £35 and for a whole year of beautifully designed tea towels, it's £55. Some of the prints are too nice to use, and could be used as kitchen wall hangings.

January 07, 2014

Is This The Most Beautiful, Twee & Magical Interiors Instagram Feed in Ireland & the UK? Pretty much, Yep.

January 07, 2014/ Claire Spence

I want to share KawaiiGirl79's Instagram feed with you. Her amazing feed came as a shock to me, as I met her through our sons both being in the same class in school. We had her son round to play, and as I chatted to Claire she mentioned she loved blogs. I gave her my link and she sent me her Instagram feed. Now I pretty much assumed I was the bee's knees when it came to being the social media mother of the class, but when I clicked on Claire's online world I almost spat out my cup of tea. The KawaiiGirl79 Instagram she runs has over 26,000 followers! I have only 1037 Instagram followers, and even on Twitter I'm just shy of 4,000, so to find someone by coincidence, locally, who lives practically backing onto our house, was super cool.

The photos from Claire's Instagram speak for themselves and why it's so popular. Her home is a bright, white, clean space with pastel tones and quirky interior features. It's what I would love my home to look like, and many other worldwide viewers must agree by the thousands of likes the photos get. Follow her and you can enjoy them too.

January 07, 2014

Professional Make-up at a Fraction of the Price, Starbox Monthly Subscription Box from Starlooks

January 07, 2014/ Claire Spence

I'm no beauty expert, and I'm thankful every day for the beauty bloggers who have slowly taught me how to apply the once terrifying stuff. First Dressjunkie, then London Beauty Queen, I've picked up tips and they've patiently answered my questions over the years. Now I think I know what I'm doing, and can tell a good product from bad.

So the second monthly subscription box suggestion I'm bringing you this January, is the Starbox from Starlooks. Not being a beauty genius, I hadn't heard of this US brand, but they are a pro-quality full range of make-up, which is now available to the UK, including their box subscription. All products are cruelty free. Factories are frequently visited to check on their very high standards, and any brushes they manufacture are from shaved animals, kept on farms. As you would expect, no product is tested on any animal.

Starlooks sent me the December Starbox to have a play with. They promise each box will be great value, with the product included costing more than the $15 subscription. December's surprise box worked out as very good value, the eyeshadow palette sells for $99 in th Starlooks Store.

I was very pleased to receive the palette as I desperately needed new coloured shadows. There is a great neutral skin tone which I can use as a base, and the coloured shadows are very high in pigment. I tried to take a good photo to show just how rich and deep the colours are, but I need to work on my skills! The 'glitter' shadows are amazing quality too, more shimmer than glitz, so they don't look too 'young' on an older eye, and could even be used during the day to brighten a look.

If you subscribe before 10th January then you'll receive the very next box. Also keep an eye on the past boxes page to pick up the palette for $15 instead of $99 in their main store.

Well worth subscribing.

December 30, 2013

Discover Vegan Cuts in 2014. Cruelty-free Beauty Box or Vegan Snack Box in Monthly Subscription Form.

December 30, 2013/ Claire Spence

Over the next fortnight or so I'll be introducing you to some unusual, lesser known box subscription services. Treat yourself for January and sign up for a monthly delivery.

First up is Vegan Cuts, the animal friendly site with two box services on offer.

December's Vegan Beauty Box came with eye shadow, lip salve, and my favourite part a set of seasonal gold, silver and glittered nail polishes. The box ships from the States, but costs only $15 a month to any worldwide address, which is a super price for a service which can introduce you to cruelty free brands you may otherwise never hear of.

If a beauty box isn't your thing, and perhaps you'd like to start 2014 with some healthier snacks, why not try the Vegan Cuts Snackbox? Again it's $15 worldwide for the monthly box, less than that if you're in the US.

I love trying new snacks, so I was intrigued to try the crisps made from beans, which were black. They are delicious. The product I'm going to have to hunt down a supply of though, is the coconut milk chews, seasoned with sea salt. Outstanding!

Any questions? Find Vegan Cuts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Sign up before mid-January and you should receive your first box, or both boxes, around 20th January.

December 29, 2013

Spam Sculpture Art That Will Surely Put You Off Your Dinner

December 29, 2013/ Claire Spence

This post, of disgusting looking Spam art, is teamed up with a message of one new year resolution you can make and keep this year. I took it as my resolution last January, and it really makes a difference in my life.

What is it? It's to take 30 seconds to unsubscribe from those emails you receive every other day and just delete. Brand emails, Groupon type deals, you delete them every day instead of looking for the link to unsubscribe. Last January I made myself look for the links, and removed myself from any emails I knew I'd just be deleting next time they arrived too. Now when I get an email, 80% of the time it's a specific message, just for me, that is actionable. It means it's worth opening my inbox every time I hear the notification.

Do it yourself, it makes such a difference, and really only takes a few more secs than pressing delete does.

Now back to the tasty Spam.

December 26, 2013

Stunning Tome of Poster Art from The Disney Parks

December 26, 2013/ Claire Spence

My Christmas present from my brother. A spot on gift for me. I collect books about Disney Parks, and I adore the vintage attraction posters, especially the retro futuristic style seen in posters for Epcot and Tomorrowland. Thank you, Michael!

If there's a certain favourite attraction you would like me to check for the poster of, give me a poke on Twitter @rudedoodle

December 26, 2013

20 Fantastic Fox Cakes That Escaped the Boxing Day Hunt

December 26, 2013/ Claire Spence

Here in the UK we celebrate Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. It was the traditional day when servants received a Christmas box from their employers with food and gifts. These days it's a day of leftovers eating, and sale shopping for some. It's also a day when traditionally fox hunts would be held all over the countryside. I'm pleased to say we now have a fox hunting ban in place in the UK, as it's a cruel and unnecessary sport.

To celebrate the freedom of our foxy friends, here are twenty cakes.

December 23, 2013

I Found the Kitschest, Most Magical Toy Shop Today.

December 23, 2013/ Claire Spence

Little Citizens in Holywood, Northern Ireland is a treasure trove of European design and classic toys. I could easily spend hundreds of pounds in it. I really badly want the Scandinavian doll house.