Mummy Barrow Loves — December

I am loving all sorts of things this month so this is another round up of all sorts that I want to tell you about as some of them will make ideal Christmas presents.   Yes, you may now talk about Christmas within earshot of me since it is December.

But first of all a bit of housekeeping.   You may recall that last week I had a moan about Mercedes.  Well they got wind of my post via Twitter and immediately asked for my phone number in order to call me.  Which they duly did.  From Customer Services in Germany.   This was then passed to Brooklands where the problem had occurred and their Customer Services Manager called me.  Apologised profusely, explained that they would investigate, assured me it was now how they did things normally and asked me to let them know if we were ever at Brooklands again.   A superb piece of customer service that I thought was worthy of mention.

Now on to some things I have been sent to talk about if I liked them.   Which of course I do.  I don’t say yes to things I don’t think you will like to hear about!

First of all is a little fella called Santa’s Secret Agent.  Now these chaps are Santa’s spies so if you have small children they keep an eye out for any naughtiness and report back to Santa who can make a note of it in his book.   They are sold by a lovely lady in Nottingham and she asked if I would like to try one out.  Despite not having small children we thought we would because, well, it is good to remember that Santa is keeping an eye on all of us in December.   I think we have a rogue one though.   There is always one.   This was him on the first night

A lovely idea for small children though and I prefer them to the usual “Elf on  Shelf” who, quite frankly, scares me.    All info on buying on is on that Facebook page above.   Probably a bit late for you to get one these year but well worth buying one now and keeping it for next year.

Next up some hand creams, moisturisers and bath products and that I have been trying out for a while now, and as this is the season for little stocking fillers and REALLY needing to pay some attention to our skin I thought I would pass on the details.

The first one is a tiny pot called Astral.   It is an all over body cream (so I could really do with it in a pot that is bigger than 50ml to be quite honest with you) that can be applied as and when you think you need.  And wherever you need it.   It is superb and is absorbed by the skin almost immediately.  If I am being totally honest I am not keen on the smell.  It smells of hand cream, which is odd I know.   I am not a fan of creams that smell of  cream if that makes sense?  It probably doesn’t and you shouldn’t let that put you off!

After all, Joanna Lumley has this to say about it:

“I’m thrilled to try all sorts of face firmers and wrinkle-reduction creams, but the one I always come back to is plain, simple Astral cream. I’ve used it for over 35 years and it just works for me. I also use lashings of Astral moisturiser to take off make-up. I travel everywhere with a little pot of Astral in my bag.”

It can even be used to remove make up and a quick whizz over the legs gives them a really great shine if you are going bare legged to a Christmas do.    And to be honest at under £2 for the 50ml pot, it is a bargain.

The next products I have been trying are from a whole range by Grahams Natural.  Designed for people who have eczema or psoriasis it soothes skin that is cracked or irritated.  The shower oil and “plus cream” that I used both contained manuka oil which you can really smell, it’s gorgeous.   The “sooth it balm” is an ointment so is quite greasy but when rubbed in your hands is a great excuse to then sit there and say “sorry I can’t do anything now”.     The soap also contains manuka and is perfect if you have sensitive skin.

I really love this range and if you know anybody who suffers from chapped hands at this time of year, a tube of this will be a great little present.   You only need a small amount so it will last all winter.

All available to buy on line

Finally we have one of the best hand creams around, to my mind.   And in fact research shows that Carex is in fact the UK’s leading hand care brand.   I have a couple of tubes of the Nourish and Protect cream on my desk and another in my handbag.   It just does what you expect it to, brilliantly.   It is absorbed in seconds, smells great, is antibacterial and rehydrates the skin after washing hands.  That process leaves the skin on hands rough and perfect breading ground for bacteria.   By using one of these creams you not only create a barrier to stop infection but also nourish your hands.   Win win really.    The Hydrate and Protect version contains Aloe Vera, the Nourish and Protect has Vitamin E.   Available from Sainsburys and Superdrug at just £2.49 a tube.    This clever little cream strikes a balance between protection and pampering that means it is the perfect pressie.

This next one is for you.   I got an email this week telling me about a fab competition being run by those lovely people at FatFace where you could win their Land Rover.  I KNOW.   An actual car.  A proper one.   And they asked me if I would tell you about it.  How could I refuse?!!!   You need to be quick though as the competition closes on December 12th.   All the information you need to enter is here:

Yes please show me how to win the Fat Face Land Rover

In their own words:

Love Winter. Love Fat Face.

This October Fat Face launched their #loveWINter campaign that celebrates the beauty of winter and encourages customers to wrap up warm and head outdoors because there’s no such thing as bad weather when you’re in the right clothes.

 #LoveWINter

To underpin the campaign and also mark the closing of the brand’s 25th anniversary year they have also launched a competition to give one lucky customer the chance to win the Fat Face Land Rover Defender, plus all the kit they’ll need to embrace life outside the 9 to 5 this winter.

 The Prize

The Fat Face Land Rover Defender 110 XS station wagon with roof rack, roof tent and camping kit – everything a customer could need for the ultimate winter adventure!

The competition closes on December 12^th and lucky winner will be announced on Christmas Day!

So what are you waiting for?  Go enter!!  I would love for somebody I know to win it.  But please come back as I have two more things to quickly tell you about and they are chocolate related.

Back?

Good.

Right, first up Hotel Chocolat and their Christmas gifts.   A whole range of chocolatey yumminess that make perfect Christmas presents, and if you are lucky, the recipient might share it with you!    I can seriously vouch for the Mingles and Jingles bag that contains dark, milk and white chocolate figures.  I have managed to hide this to share with family on Christmas day.   Though there may be one or two missing, you know, for research purposes.  <cough>   The range is available online, or in store from just a few Pounds.   They make fabulous teacher presents, and there are even some that would fit within most Secret Santa budgets!

And lastly, there is a new range of hot chocolate, iced coffee and mocha, milkshakes and chocolate spreads from Mars.   We are huge fans of Mars products in this house and we were lucky enough to be sent the new range to review and I can assure you it is all fabulous.  The frothy top hot chocolate lasted about four days before being polished off.    Galaxy hot chocolate has to be one of the best things about winter, doesn’t it?

And on that note I thank you for reading this bumper post and hope that you might be tempted by one or two of the items included in it.

All items were sent for review free of charge and I received a voucher for telling you about the Fat Face competition