End Embarrassment Campaign With Vagisil

Image from Google

Last month I was featured on the Tombola website, along with other bloggers, talking about the true signs of friendship and to me one of the signs of true friendship means that you can talk about taboo, sensitive topics, in my opinion. I find that myself and my friends can talk about labour/birth, periods and other fun topics like that without feeling embarrassed which I am so grateful for. Also as my parents are nurses and my sister is a student nurse I feel as though I can thankfully talk to them about sensitive, taboo issues or problems. 

Survey Results

A survey conducted by Vagisil in February 2015 asked 2,000 women aged between 18-65 years about their attitudes and embarrassment about intimate health. The survey found that '47% of British women felt embarrassed when the word 'vagina' came up in conversation' and to be honest, I would feel a little uncomfortable and I think it is because of the traditional, stiff upper lip and reserved nature which is inherent within the British culture as a whole. Worryingly '42% of the women asked stated that they would rather speak about anything else rather than intimate health issues' which could potentially lead to problems and delays if a problem needs to be dealt with. 

Also '47% of the women said that they were too embarrassed to talk to friends or family about intimate health issues' which is quite telling of our British sensibilities, although I think that I could easily talk to my best friends about issues like this as we have been very close for at least 11 years but failing that talking to your GP is essential if you are worried. At the GP practice I go to there is only one female doctor so I would definitely try to book an appointment with her - I wish there were more female doctors in my GP practice. '15% of the women surveyed suffered with a problem that became worse because they didn't talk to their GP about it' but what needs to be remembered is that many topics when it comes to health can be embarrassing and these are issues that a lot of people face so in theory there shouldn't be anything to be embarrassed about. 

Statistics regarding the media were also shocking as '70% of women said the way the media portrays womens bodies makes them feel less confident about their own body' which is such a sad but true statistic, as I also feel like the media portrays such perfect, slim, hairless portrayals of women that are impossible to live up to and it can be upsetting, in my opinion. However, there may be a positive side the media as '79% of the women feel that the society is becoming better at talking about womens issues' and I do agree as there are celebrities such as Angelina Jolie raising important issues regards womens health, so there is a positive impact. 

Tips, Advice and Products

Vagisil, Dr Becky Spelman and the women within the survey suggest tips on overcoming embarrassment such as:

- “Look at it rationally and if it seems too much try breathing in through the nose for 3 seconds and then slowly out through the mouth, focusing on the feeling of the breath."

- "Take a deep breath and be open & honest"

- "Be aware that you are not alone and act confident & be brave"

- "Mostly importantly, in my opinion, remember that doctors have seen it all before"

Vagisil’s range of intimate treatment and daily care products are specifically designed to look after the health of your intimate area. We all take care of our face and body using special lotions, washes and creams; just like the rest of our body, our intimate skin benefits from targeted, specific products. This is a sponsored post.   Check out the Vagisil #EndEmbarrassment video!

What are your opinions of the Vagisil survey results? Would you talk to friends/family about intimate health issues/problems?

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Jewel Candle + Bath Cupcake (+ Giveaway)

I am a little bit of a candle addict and I am always drawn to baking/food/vanilla scents so when I had the opportunity to choose a candle from the lovely people at Jewel Candle, I obviously said yes! I've looked at their candles for a while now but as I always have so many in my collection, I've never bought one however when this one is finished, I will be buying one for myself and I know all of my friends and family would love these too so I may have to treat them!

I chose the *Jewel Candle Classic Edition Ring Candle in the Cookies & Cream Scent (£24.95, 800g) and I have to say it is one of my largest and delicious scented candles I've tried! Each candle is hand poured using eco friendly resources and in each candle their is a 925 sterling silver ring up to the value £250! How amazing is that! The burn time is approximately 120 hours. There are also options for earrings and pendants. 

The candle looks gorgeous, it is very luxe and it would be an amazing gift! The candle smells divine, like a mix between vanilla, dough, milk, milk chocolate and it also has a hint of lemon sponge to it in my opinion but maybe thats just me! Remember to cut the wick to approx. 0.5cm before burning the candle. I was able to smell the yummy scent after about 15 minutes of burning; everyone loves the scent. The scent throw is pretty good and the wax melts slowly so I think this candle is going to last me a very long time! Overall, I would definitely recommend this candle, it smells heavenly, it looks cute and there is a ring up to the value of £250 in each candle! The ring I received is just beautiful and luckily it fits perfectly, I couldn't be happier with it. To see a photo of the ring and the products in action, check out my instagram (heathernixon4). Overall rating: ★★★★★, 5/5!

I also received a *Jewel Bath Creamy Chocolate Bath Cupcake (£19.95, 200g) which is from the Jewel Bath range. This bath 'cupcake' is a heavenly scented 2 in 1 product; the top part is a body scrub/exfoliator and the bottom section is a bath bomb which contains a 925 sterling silver piece of jewellery - genius! It's dermatologically tested and 100% natural. Again it would make a very special and unique gift! The bath cupcake actually looks like an edible cupcake *don't eat it though* and it smells like cocoa powder, chocolate sponge and whipped cream to me. 

To use the bath cupcake, remove the outer packaging, remove the wrapper and place in the water. Allow the cupcake to dissolve until the top can be removed from the chocolate base. The instructions say that it may take some time however the top section of mine dissolved in a couple of minutes before I could use it. The bath bomb section dissolved slower and revealed the foil packet containing the jewellery. My bath cupcake contained a cute 925 sterling sliver necklace charm. The bath cupcake made the water smell gorgeous but it also made the water a dirty light brown colour which isn't very appealing, in my opinion. Overall rating: ★★★★☆, 4/5.

Overall, I'm so happy and impressed with both products. I love the concept, it is so unique and both products would make amazing, super special gifts! I would definitely recommend these products as not only do they smell amazing and come with gorgeous jewellery but they also look adorable and work well! My only negative point is the price and the bath cupcake makes the bath water look quite dirty and unappealing. However, I do think you get a lot for your money and it would make a lovely gift or treat for yourself!

Now onto the giveaway! The very generous people at Jewel Candle are giving one lucky winner a Jewel Candle or Jewel Bath product of their choice. This giveaway is UK only and will run for the next two weeks. To enter fill out the Rafflecopter form below, good luck!x

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Urban Outfitters Spring Homeware Wish List

Vashti Dreamcatcher (£75)  |  Peace Tattoo Hand Stand (£10)  |  Adorn Hanging Copper Plant Triangle (£35)  |  Paddywax Apothecary Room Spray in Tabacco & Patchouli (£18)  |  P.F Candle Co Lavender Soy Candle (£20)  |  Wooden Fox Bowl (£15)  |  Royale Multi-Frame in Silver (£5)  |  Dream On Banner (£100)  |  PyroPet Candle (£30)  |  Urban Grow Open Top Terrarium (£40)  |  Tepec Cushion (£45)

Do you have any Urban Outfitters homeware on your wish list? What do you think of the items on my wish list?

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Unique Fathers Day Gifts ft. Virgin Experiences

All images from the respective websites

Father's Day is fast approaching and my dads birthday has just passed, if your dad is like mine then present shopping can be such an arduous task! My dad is so difficult to buy for so myself and my sister always end up buying him socks, aftershave and cooking books; today I'm sharing my Father's Day gift ideas which are unique and are sure to make his day! 

Virgin Experiences - Spa Days For Him 

Spa days are not just for women as more and more men are opting for relaxing, pamper sessions. My dad isn't really into pampering *he thinks skincare is girly* but he did have a massage while on holiday a few years ago after much persuading and in the end he loved it! He does have a stressful job so I think a spa day would be perfect. Virgin Experiences have so many options to choose from including couples spa days so you could treat your dad and mum or yourself, win win! With numerous locations around the country you are bound to find something for your dad this Father's Day. The 'pamper day with champagne for two' sounds pretty amazing as does the 'pint and pedicure at So SPA by Sofitel' which is probably the one my dad would choose. Virgin Experiences also have adventure days, flying lessons, track days, hotel breaks as well as days outs/tours and even a design your own perfume experience *I need to go* and so many more to choose from. You will be sure to find a unique, special gift for your dad this Father's Day!

Not On The High Street (Dassie, Marvling Bros Ltd & CoconutGrass)

Not On The High Street is a fantastic online store for personalised gifts and I am constantly browsing: I have come across a plethora of amazing gifts. First up from Dassie, Barrett's Ridge Beer Bread Mix (£6.95) which I know my dad would love and it won't be a gift that just sits on the shelf! Another foodie gift, the Marvling Bros Ltd World's Hottest Chilli Powder In a Matchbox (£6). My dad is a massive fan of spicy, chilli laden food so this would be another perfect gift for him and it is such a unique, unexpected gift, in my opinion. Lastly the  CoconutGrass Personalised Things We Love About Dad (£9) which is a personalised wall print; again a special and unique gift that can be very personal. 

Luke Drew This 

Another range of amazing personalised gift ideas! T-shirts, bags, ipad/kindle cases and cushions can be personalised with childrens drawings which I think is such a cute, special gift idea. The t-shirts are available in mens, womens and childrens sizes so they would be great for Father's Day, birthdays or Mother's Day. I personally love the iPad cases and cushions. I also think the prices are very reasonable particularly for such a unique gift! 

Have you bought any of these products? Have you tried/bought any Virgin Experience days/vouchers?

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Thea Skincare Oriental InSPArations Range

I've tried a few products from Thea Skincare and I've been happy with all of them so when the opportunity arose to try some of their products from the new oriental range, I jumped at the chance. Thea products contain natural, organic ingredients and are free from parabens, fragrance, sulphates and they are not tested on animals. Check out my review of Thea Skincare Fruit Enzyme Range and the Thea Skincare Super Nourish Beauty Butter - the beauty butter is by far my favourite product from Thea Skincare. 

*Thea Skincare Oriental InSPArations Body Lotion (15ml) which to me smells like ginger and lemongrass. It is a nice change when compared to the vanilla and floral body lotions I have. The lotion feels nourishing and thick but it isn't heavy or greasy; it really helps with dryness and it doesn't irritate my skin. The lotion leaves my skin so smooth and moisturised!

*Thea Skincare Oriental InSPArations Coconut + Lemongrass Body Balm (15ml) again it has a similar scent to the first body lotion but the scent isn't as strong. The balm looks like solid coconut oil. It feels like solid coconut oil too and when applied to the skin is it very oily/greasy so I would not use it all over the body but I've been using it on my feet and it instantly removes the look and feel of dryness. A little goes a long way so you need to be careful with it but it is great for the feet. 

*Thea Skincare Oriental InSPArations Body, Hand & Foot Bamboo Exfoliator. It looks and feels like a whipped body cream but it contains sugar like grains. It does exfoliate but I personally would like a body exfoliator that is more grainy/gritty. The scent of this product is just incredible, it smells exactly like a Starbucks gingerbread latte with whipped cream - yes, amazing! It would be perfect at christmas. 

*Thea Skincare Fruit & Spice Hand Wash, it smell quite different to the other products in this range. To me it smells like fruit pastels mixed with general mulled wine spices - it's a lovely combination and again it would be great to use around christmas time. The hand wash has a gel consistency, it lathers fairly well and it doesn't dry out my skin. 

*Thea Skincare Oriental InSPArations Hair & Body Wash; I used it as a hand wash not as a shampoo and I don't think it would be great as a shampoo because it doesn't lather very well. The product has a gel consistency, it smells like lemongrass/ginger and it also doesn't dry out my skin. The scent does last on my skin for a while. 

*Thea Skincare Oriental InSPArations Body Glow Oil, which smells like lemongrass and ginger. It is a little bit of a greasy oil and I personally find that it doesn't absorb very quickly so I have been either applying a small amount at night on my feet/hands then I will put on my cotton socks/gloves so the oil doesn't transfer everywhere. I have also been applying it to massage into the skin (hands/legs etc) then washing it off so it adds some hydration but there isn't any greasy feeling. 

Overall, a little bit of a mixed bag of products and in my opinion the range is quite christmasy/wintery smelling rather than a summer collection. However, I really like the exfoliator, body balm and the body lotion!

Have you tried any products from Thea Skincare?

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Father's Day Gifts: Printrbook For Facebook

If you are a blogger and you're not subscribed to the Bloggers Required newsletter then you need to and check out their site as they have amazing blogger opportunities! I was accepted on the Printrbook campaign to make my own Facebook photo book. I personally love looking through old photo albums and I have so many photos that I want to keep but virtually no more storage on my iMac so albums are a great way of preserving memories. 

I have the *Printrbook For Facebook (£15.99, 50 photos) which you can easily make up on their site. All photo books, either using instagram or Facebook photos, come with free worldwide shipping which is fantastic! The only difficult part of the ordering and making process is narrowing down which photos to use, I chose a mixture of holiday photos and random ones that I wanted to keep. 

Hopefully you can see from the college above that I chose some holiday photos from our time in Ajaccio, Corsica as well as Rome and Vatican City. The photos are printed really well, although the older ones aren't as clear/crisp which I expected anyway. When you have picked all of your photos, you can select the option to have the Facebook photo title, date or time printed under each photo; I chose to have the photo title and date added which is a really useful feature. 

You can also customise the front of the book which a college and a title. I picked the 9 photo college and I think it looks fantastic! I;m so happy with the way the whole book has turned out and it is a great way of preserving memorable and special *or embarrassing* Facebook photos. I think these books would make amazing birthday, father's day, mother's day or anniversary gifts. Next time I would probably pick the instagram version as I have better photos on there than I do on facebook but again I am so happy with the book. My only negative point would be the size of the book as it is a little on the small size; it's approximately 10cm by 11cm. 

Have you tried any photo book service/site? What do you think of my Printrbook?

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