Gadget Gifts, Gift Reviews, Teenage Gifts
Tech 21 Impact Mesh.
I adore my iPad Mini. I inherited it from my sister and treasure it almost to the point of obsession. I have broken so many tablets in the past, the record being 18 days from receipt of a new one. Yes, such a short time but I have an excuse! My beloved tablet was on the kitchen bench and my daughter opened a cupboard above it and something crashed down on top, shattering the screen – obviously not my fault! This will not happen my iPad thanks to Tech 21. These geniuses have developed Impact Mesh and I recommend you check it out for your own phones and devices.
‘In 2005 we started making protective accessories for mobile devices and became the first brand to use scientifically tested, shock-absorbing polymers in our products. – See more at: http://www.tech21.com‘
Tech21 pride themselves on their ability to design innovative Impactology™ cases which provide unrivalled protection to mobile devices thanks to the use of scientifically proven materials such as D3O® and FlexShock, combined with ingenious, slim fitting design.
(Tech 21)
A HUGE plus for me is that the experience of having an iPad is not at all affected negatively by the impact mesh cover. The design is thin, not cumbersome and all the ports are clear and remain easy to access.
Impact Mesh looks good as well as offering unbelievable protection for your phone or tablet. What protection is offered? The sides and back of your device will be basically impregnable! (Impact covers are also available for the screen)
The mesh is available in a variety of colours – I have a blue one and it looks really well. Impact mesh is different to other covers available as the style and effect of the tablet or phone is maintained. The mesh adds to the appearance instead of covering it up. This was important to me as I love the style and look of my iPad Mini.
I am recommending the Impact Mesh as the perfect Father’s Day gift this year. The price is pretty low considering the level of protection offered and I have tried and tested mine to the limit without incident. My 5 year old son would regularly use my tablet and has broken its predecessor so if impact mesh can survive him, it can survive anything!
For further information visit www.tech21.com
RRP £29.95 for iPad Mini.
Gift Reviews, Health and Beauty, Teenage Gifts
Pevonia Lumafirm Body Moisturiser Firm & Glow.
Angelina Jolie, Cate Blanchett, Matthew McConaughey, Cameron Diaz, Rachel Weisz, Eva Mendes and Jodie Kidd.
Impressive celebrity list, isn’t it? I adore Eva Mendes – she always looks so perfect and I am so in love with Matthew McConaughey! However, I didn’t pick this list of gorgeous people out of thin air, they each have one very interesting fact in common. They all choose Pevonia as their skincare product!
I have always had an interest in skincare, purchasing my first facial moisturiser when I was sweet 16. After a few years I became more concerned with the ingredients, and not the fancy packaging. I am all too aware of the many ‘nasties’ found in so many skincare products – artificial ingredients, petro chemicals, parabens, etc. However, I always seemed to have to choose between having the latest anti-aging ingredient in my cream along with a few ‘not so nice’ chemicals or selecting a natural product with not as many anti-aging properties. This need not be so with Pevonia.
Pevonia skincare is available from selected spas and also online. They offer an impressive list of anti-aging solutions which are naturally based. I was so excited when I first discovered Pevonia and have used the Micro-Retinol range and found the quality and results to be nothing less than amazing.
The latest in the range is the Lumafirm Body Firm & Glow Moisturiser. Why bother with various body lotions with tints and colours concealing our imperfections when we could have the ‘real thing’ on show? Lumafirm WILL give you the skin you so desire. After just over 3 weeks of use I have noticed a glow to my skin. I am absolutely delighted. The first few days of warmer weather has been and gone but I hope to be back in my shorts before long. I know I needn’t panic or rush for the sun shimmering cosmetics, my legs look great, thanks to Pevonia!
Aside from the superb results, I can rest assured I am applying a naturally based cream to my skin – 26 natural ingredients to be specific! Skin appears instantly brighter and more luminous and the results last and last.
For further information visit www.pevonia.co.uk and be sure to have a look at the other lumafirm products. The list of awards this company have won is so impressive. It is so great to know there is a skincare brand on the market which delivers exceptional results without compromising on quality and safety.
RRP £65 for 150 mls.
Gift Reviews, Teenage Gifts
Gone Crabbing children’s Hoodie!
Gone Crabbing – for those of you who have yet to discover this fab company – was launched in 2008 by Susie Mason, who has created beautiful items relating to all thing ‘seaside’.
Susie’s range includes soaps, towels, clothing for children and adults and much more. I am truly addicted! It is a family run business, so well done Susie! The company has continued to grow, with the support of stockists and local companies. You will find ‘Gone Crabbing’ in seaside shops as well as on-line.
Colin is the Gone Crabbing LOGO, and he appears on several of their items as well as on the labels. He is an absolutely adorable little orange crab and you will love him too! Sometimes he features as the main design, and on some items he will appear in the corner but always on the labels. A brilliant feature, and I am sure this company will continue to grow and grow.
My latest ‘crabbing’ addition to the household is a vibrant red hoodie. I sincerely wish this was mine but unfortunately this one is aged 8-9 yrs and my daughter is the proud owner, not me!
As per usual, Gone Crabbing items arrive perfectly packed in co-coordinating packaging, tissue paper and stickers to seal.
The hoodie is one from a really fun collection and the logo says ‘Love life, don’t be crabby’ Well, there is no better logo for my daughter! She loves life and lives it to the full without a care, I am so proud. Here she is modelling her hoodie.
She has even worn this back-to-front she loves the image so much!
From a mothers point of view, the hoodie is very thick and warm. From a busy housewife’s point of view, it can be machine washed and tumble dried – Yea!! This is the perfect hoodie for both cool summer days and freezing windy winter excursions also.
The hoodies are available in child and adult sizes – and in a variety of colours with various ‘seaside-themed’ logos. Prices start at £27.99.
I so want one of these so watch this space… another ‘Gone Crabbing’ feature to follow shortly!
For further information and to view the full range visit:
Gift Reviews, Teenage Gifts
Angel’s Face Tutu Pettiskirts.
Have you ever struggled at what to buy for your little girl, except she is no longer so ‘little’? You want to continue shopping in stores like Next, Monsoon and Benetton but the range just seems a little ‘childish’ even though the clothes are sold in ‘big girl’ sizes.
My daughter is coming 11 years this year and she loves fashion as much as her mother! We usually get on so well but this can all abruptly end on one of our shopping trips. Clothes which she likes are never what I would choose. However, we have agreed on her selection of a skirt from Angel’s Face Tutus and I am absolutely loving the website!
Angel’s face have a range of fabulous designer Pettiskirt Tutus in an array of colours you will take hours to make a selection – I think we took 2 days to be honest! The colours range from pastel to bright and very daring. Have you watched ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’? It’s our fav family film and the identical skirt worn in the last scene is on the Angel Face web!! How cool is that? !
Jenny went for a ‘Peacock’ colour and it is fabulous with her black leather jacket and converse trainers – so ‘cool’ yet girly as well so both mum and daughter very happy!
The packaging – which is so important when receiving anything in the post – is exceptional!
The skirt is well made and has oodles and oodles of material to give it the tutu look. It can be worn with bare legs like above or with tights or leggings in the winter. They would be just super at a Christmas or New Year party. Sizes start at newborn and go all the way to adult and I have one on my wish list! I will be daring and go for the red – perfect with a satin black top – I can’t wait to wear it.
My other daughter now wants one and she is very jealous of her sister’s skirt! Caitlin would be the more daring of the two and has went for the Pink Safari Tutu – I love it!
Prices start from £35.
For further information visit http://www.angels-face.co.uk/7-pettiskirts
Gift Reviews, Teenage Gifts
STORY Jewellery for Mother’s Day.
I have recently discovered STORY by Kranz and Ziegler and you should really check this out as well. I love unusual jewellery and this definitely made a lasting impression on me.
STORY jewellery consists of a variety of iconic items which complement each other. The pieces are beautifully presented, in particular, the charms on various bracelets either silver or leather. Matching ear-rings and rings are available to co-ordinate. I have selected a favourite to demonstrate. The charms are interchangable and you can have as many as you desire on one bracelet.
They look as well with 3 or 4 as they do with 10 or 12. The combination below is so striking, I love it!
I would much prefer jewellery which can be changed easily and always have chains with a selection of charms to hand. However, the STORY collection is the most unusual and original jewellery range I have spotted to date. I have an image of a STORY charm below. I really like this one as I am partial to the ‘heart’ motive but this is so unusual. So many jewellery brands have charms with hearts but none as modern and unique as this one. This would look great as a solitary piece on a necklace or with co-coordinating charms on a bracelet.
Despite this, the price is very reasonable in comparison to other well known charm brands. Prices start from £39 and STORY Jewellery is stocked in independent stores as well as House of Fraser and House of Fraser online.
Looking for a Mother’s day gift? Have a look at the selection at STORY.
Gift Reviews, Health and Beauty, Teenage Gifts
Artisan Spa ‘Authentic Mermaid’ Soap and Lip Balm.
This is a site I have added to my favourites! The Artisan Spa is a dream come true to a girl like me – I am so passionate about luxury skincare WITHOUT ‘nasties’ added. By ‘nasties’ I mean SLS, SLE, parabens, alcohol, synthetic fragrances and artificial colourants. Products without these ingredients are very hard to find and I am so pleased to tell you that you will find some of these companies on Pampered Presents.
The Artisan Spa is my newest, and very impressive, discovery. The products are made in the UK which can only be a good thing for our economy. The retail brand ‘Authentic Mermaid’ is growing in demand and the number of awards it has won is ever increasing as well.
Inspired by the sea, this brand has some really great soaps and skincare products well worth purchasing. Offering only luxurious natural ‘kind to skin’ products, Authentic Mermaid’s range includes lip balms, soaps, bath froths and salt body scrubs.
I have sampled the glycerine soap and some lip balm.
Citrus Luxury Soap, RRP £5.95
‘100% natural glycerine soap, enhanced with golden jojoba oil and a final flourish of natural sea salt. A spa bar to nourish and cleanse the skin while uplifting and awakening the mind and spirit. The essential oil in this fantastic citrus soap bar was inspired by mediteranean citrus fruit blossom and the unmistakeable sweet tartness of freshly cut yellow freesia. This blend includes Grapefruit, Orange, Litsea and Bergamot, with amber notes of Cedarwood and Patchouli to uplift and awaken the mind and spirit’ (Artisan Spa)
This is a really lovely smelling soap which seems to last and last. I am using mine for the past 2 weeks and it still does not appear to be any smaller in size!
The soap has a delicious citrus smell – one of my favourite scents. The lather produced is smooth and bubbly and leaves skin super soft and super smelling too. Spa salts are embedded in this soap to nourish and soften skin, this gives a lovely smooth sensation – not rough like an defoliator. The glycerine base lets this soap offer moisturising properties as well as acting as a cleanser.
Plain & Simple Lip Balm, RRP £3.95
My 8 year old daughter is really fond of this lip balm. She would have really dry lips no matter whatever the weather. She seems to suffer as much during the winter as in the summer months. She has tried all make and types of solutions and is now using an Artisan Spa lipbalm from the ‘Plain’ range.
This range contains no scents so perfect for children.
‘Award winning lip elixir from The Authentic Mermaid, designed to protect, soften, moisturise, soothe and nourish the most sensitive lips
All natural including Organic Bees Wax, Spring Set Honey, Nourishing Oils, Vanilla and Sweet Orange essential oils.
- A fantastic natural product from the Award winning designers at The Artisan Spa
- Platinum Award Winner of Janey Lee Grace’s Imperfectly Natural ‘Best luxury Spa range’ 2012
- Suitable for all skin types including sensitive skins
- Only natural’ (Artisan Spa)
So, no artificial anything, not tested on animals and suitable for all skin types – why would you not check out these products! They are just as amazing as they sound.
Artisan Spa will cater for hotels which require both large and small orders as well as selling on Amazon individually.
www.authenticmermaid.co.uk <http://www.authenticmermaid.co.uk/> (Business
>to consumer via internet or Amazon.)
www.theartisanspa.co.uk <http://www.theartisanspa.co.uk/> (Business to
Business. Destination Spas and hotels or private labels only)
Gift Reviews, Homeware Reviews, Teenage Gifts, Toy Reviews
Bergere de France ‘Sporty Nina Kit’
I love crafts and wish there were more hours in the day to mess about with my patchwork projects and various ‘started and yet to finish’ sewing kits. An extra hour about 8pm would be great. The kids would all be asleep and the usual tiredness which usually sinks in at the end of the day would not have set in yet! Dream on mummy..
Well, I have to say craft kits are a brilliant way to cram a little craftiness into a busy day. You have the enjoyment of shopping around in shops or online for a suitable kit which takes your fancy without the hassle of looking for all the various pieces to make the finished product. I have discovered a great little craft company lately called Bergere de France. Here you will be sure to find craft kits to suits all needs from crochet, knitting, dressmaking and stitching toy kits. I was completely taken with the Nina collection and ordered ‘Sporty Nina’.
Nina is delightful and her sporty gear also appealed to my 10 year old daughter. She was a craft kit with a difference, very trendy and fun. When Nina arrived I was delighted and relieved to find the actual doll was already sewn together. We were left with the challenge of knitting the clothes and adding the finishing touches, hair, etc.
There are 3 Nina kits to choose from all retailing at £12.50.
‘Budding young crafters can learn to knit creating these colourful outfits for Nina. Kit includes: 23 cm doll, 3 50g balls of wool for her outfit and hair, buttons and full instructions’ (Bergere de France)
The website is really worth a look. I was attracted to the ‘Help, I’m a beginner’ and had a look there first, but there are craft ideas for those who are well experienced also. There is lots of interesting news articles on what’s ‘in’ and an offer of £10 off your first online order when you join online and claim a free catalogue.
If you are looking for interesting Mother’s Day gifts you need look no further. I have the crochet cushion kit on my wish list! Choose from a homemade table cloth or even a simple mug cosy? The skill necessary is clearly highlighted so you can be sure to make the correct selection.
For further information visit www.bergeredefrance.co.uk
Gift Reviews, Teenage Gifts
Rosa Red Jewellery.
Do you ever watch glamorous ladies on the TV talk shows and wonder where they get their clothes and jewellery? Well I may be able to help you. Rosa Red jewellry has been worn by celebs including Carol Vorderman, Anne Diamond and Andrea McLean as shown below. Despite the celebrity following, this is certainly glamour you can afford.
Rosa Red offers top quality hand-made items at a fraction of the cost. Not only are the items hand-made, but they are hand polished and hand finished, giving each piece the individual touch. The jewellery is gorgeous with very easy to wear styles that will ensure you stand out from the crowd. I love the matching sets – have a look on www.rosared.co.uk You will find necklaces, bracelets and matching ear-rings to suit all occasions.
I always prefer to promote hand-made and environmentally friendly products on Pampered Presents and I am 100% happy blogging about Rosa Red and assure you the items are high quality and beautiful. All of the jewellery is nickel free and in line with European regulations.
I have a few suggestions which would make excellent Mother’s Day gifts and if you shop before 27th March and use the code MUM2014 each order will receive a free gift box!
One of my favorites would have to be Cameo, an intricate design with a mother of pearl center which reminds me of the Maui stones in New Zealand.
This pendent looks stunning and comes with matching accessories. (RRP £28)
The design is rather intricate and I have the matching bracelet on my ‘wish list’ – it’s really gorgeous.
Another special piece I have to mention is the Folia design. This Silver leaf pattern is as close to nature as any jewellery will take you! Perfect as a special treat for yourself and for mum as well.
Rosa Red jewellery can be bought from various stockists listed online.
www.rosared.co.uk
Gadget Gifts, Gift Reviews, Homeware Reviews, Teenage Gifts
Kingston MobileLite Wireless Reader.
Kingston MobileLite Wireless Reader, what is it?
This is a small media reader and wireless streamer with a built in battery to enable phones to be charged from it.
It is simple to use. There is an on off button and that’s about it. Attach it to a PC and the battery charges up and it will read SD cards as well. The USB slot will take a USB memory stick and read files from it and wirelessly transmit them to either Apple or Android devices. You can store loads of files on a USB stick and read them wirelessly on the Android device without using up the limited memory.
To use it you need to download an app from Google Play for Android or Apple Store for iPads etc.
The unit has a built in battery (Kingston claim the battery will last for 5 hours, I wouldn’t disagree with that statement) that can be used to charge up a phone or iPod battery. I tried this on my Samsung S4 Mini and it charged the battery up so will be very useful if I am away from a power source.
My overall impression would be positive. This is a compact gadget that does lots of things. In fact one which I did not realise how much I would use it for. It’s a useful SD card reader, charger and media streamer and saves using up the limited memory on iPhones, I pads and Android devices. I am sure anyone who buys this will get a lot of use from it especially those on the move who like to take lots of media files with them. This is one of those gadgets that’s actually very useful indeed!
We used to travel with a 7” car DVD player and a stash of DVDs to keep our kids entertained on long journeys, whether by car or plane.
Last year I bought a tablet which the kids love for games. This meant carrying yet another device around… until I discovered downloaded movies for the tablet. I quickly realised that not having to carry a DVD player and a fat DVD wallet around is great but that the built-in 16GB storage space of the tablet, partly used up by Apps and other stuff, doesn’t leave much space for movies.
That’s when I decided to give the Mobilelite Wireless a try. It turned out to be easy to use, works reliably and with PLENTY of movies stored on a 32 GB SD card we took this along on our two week vacation. The beach turned out to be much more attractive then any movies we had brought along and the kids actually didn’t watch much at all. However for the journey back home we had a nine hour flight ahead of us and had promised the kids one movie before “lights out” when the flight attendant announced that the in-flight entertainment system was broken. There were some very disappointed passengers on the flight, including my 9-year old and my 5-year old who was about to have a very public melt down.
This is when the Mobilelite Wireless came to the rescue and showed it’s true potential: I switched it on and within minutes one child watched her movie of choice on the Nexus 7 whereas the other one used my iPhone to watch a different one. Eventually, my wife decided to pull out her Galaxy SIII phone and enjoyed a third movie. All three devices obviously had the respective Android or iOS MobileLite Wireless App installed.
Result: Definitely one happy family on that flight thanks to Kingston.
Contents you will find in the box:
The main unit, a USB cable, fold out instructions and a SD to micro SD converter card and instructions on how to download the management app from Apple and Google.
For further information visit http://www.kingston.com/en/.
Available from www.amazon.co.uk RRP £49.99
Many thanks to Ashley Smith for this review.
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Gadget Gifts, Gift Reviews, Teenage Gifts, Toy Reviews
New ‘Updated’ Wikipad.
Wow, I thought the Wikipad simply could not get better – I was wrong.
![tablet-4[1]](http://pamperedpresents.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/tablet-41.jpg)
This super tablet has been given new software and new features:
‘The new software adds new features such as controller mapping, the addition of Android 4.2, new content such as Madfinger Games’ Dead Trigger 2 and access to a host of great games from new content partner WildTangent Games.