Beautiful Incentives: Giant Microbes Giveaway!

Brie, from Beautiful Incentives, has done it again! And honestly, this giveaway couldn't have come at a better time. The hubs is on the verge of pneumonia, the kids have snotty noses, grandpa just got over the flu & just about everyone I know has dealt with some kind of sickness in the past week alone! Which basically means that I'm ecstatic to participate in this awesome giveaway (& get some great ideas for Christmas gifts while I'm at it).

It's about that time again when everyone goes back to school or their jobs, or they're around a ton of people during the holidays. The time when people get a little too close for comfort. The germs are a flying and it's a crap shoot where they'll land, but your chances of getting sick are much higher when you don't wash your hands, you can be sure.

Introducing Giant Microbes! The cute, cuddly versions of gross bacteria and germs. These are hard to stay away from and can serve as daily reminders to keep clean and avoid the real things. Especially great for children. It's a fun way to teach them to stay clean and have fun doing it!  

See the full review by Beautiful Incentives.

The lovely people at GiantMicrobes are here to offer you what I call the "Stay Well" collection! Enter the Rafflecopter below to be the lucky winner who will win 3 plushies & and a handwash dispenser! Good Luck and Happy Sick-Free Holidays! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway and review is in accordance with FCC guidelines. Beautiful Incentives and all bloggers promoting this are not responsible for fulfillment of prize. Open to US & Canada residents.

WORLDFOODS Recipe Swap: Patatas Bravas from Mum Reinvented

 This has to be one of the coolest posts I've ever posted. 

Remember my review on WORLDFOODS Sauces? (If not, check it out here.) Well, have I got something to tell you. 

In a pen-pal type setting, I was teamed up with Kat, a blogger from the UK & owner of Mum Reinvented. We chose to come up with our own Fusion-style dishes incorporating WORLDFOODS Sauces & simply share the recipes on each others blog (you can see my recipe here). Which honestly was the best choice considering that she is currently in Spain (I'm a tad jealous over here, LOL) & my shipment of sauces took much longer than expected. So without further ado, here is Kat's recipe!

Patatas Bravas

As I spend more time in Spain than the UK these days, I thought I would take a well known Spanish dish and transform it using the Asian influences from the World Foods range. I wanted something that was quick and easy and could be enjoyed by the whole family so I went with Patatas Bravas, or 'Brave Potatoes' to give them their English translation. These fiery potatoes are a staple on restaurant and tapas bar menus throughout Spain and are not only quick and easy to make, but cheap too, which makes them great for feeding a family.

I often serve Patatas Bravas with a roast chicken (the English influence coming through there), in smaller portions as part of a tapas style meal or even on their own. They are proper comfort food after all. Garlic Mayo or Alioli as it's known in Spain is another quick and simple menu item and goes really well with patatas bravas, tapas, as an alternative to sandwich spread or on steak.

The addition of the Thai sweet chilli dipping sauce to the tomato sauce gives it a really lovely sweet taste, with the kaffir lime adding a cheeky after bite. I usually just flavour my sauce with the sweet paprika for the kids and add a pinch of hot paprika for my partner and I, but even the kids wolfed this down and I actually prefer it to my own sauce. As for the garlic mayo, the hint of chilli running through the garlic paste gives it a slight kick and it makes a lovely smooth and creamy mayo that we all enjoyed. I'm surprised at how much of a difference these little tweaks made to a dish the kids wouldn't usually be that bothered about can actually make and have turned it into a real favourite. It just goes to show that adding something a little different can actually make a dish all the more enjoyable so don't be afraid to experiment with flavours and perhaps even try my recipe for Patatas Bravas yourself?

Ingredients:

• 1lb potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes

• 1 tin/can of chopped tomatoes or tomato frito/passata

• 1⁄2 a red onion, finely chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 1tbsp sweet paprika

• Shop bought mayo

• World Foods garlic paste

• World Foods Thai sweet chilli dipping sauce with kaffir lime

 Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/375F/Gas Mark 7

2. Add a splash of olive or canola oil to a skillet/frying pan and brown the potatoes on all sides

3. In a smaller pan fry off the onions and garlic until soft in a little oil

4. Add the tomatoes, sweet chilli dipping sauce and paprika and reduce the sauce

5. Once browned, transfer the potatoes onto a baking tray and cook in the oven until crispy

6. In the meantime mix the mayo and garlic pasta in a small dipping bowl

7. Once cooked serve the potatoes in a dish with the spicy tomato sauce poured over and the garlic mayo on the side (or as we do on top).


 I have to say that I've never had Patatas Bravas before, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to get my hands on these particular WORLDFOODS Sauces as soon as I can because this dish looks amazingly delicious!

  Kat is a cake loving, serial dieting, history geek with wanderlust and mum of two - a toddler and a tween. Needless to say things are never boring (or quiet) in her house!Learn more about her here.

WORLDFOODS sauces are available worldwide, with a different selection available in each country. To find out the selection of sauces available in your country along with stockist details please visit HERE.

Work It Wednesday: Solo One-Step Soak Off Gel Polish by The Rosy Snail

 

I love the idea of "Work it Wednesday" but let's face it, who's got the time!? As a young mother of two toddler boys, a beauty blogger AND a part-time Prestige Consultant with Ulta, my spare moments are scarce. I'd be lying if I said that ever stopped me! When I think of really working it, my nails come first! Where a man will notice another man's shoes, I believe a woman will notice another woman's nails. When I'm feeling down, I just love to work it with fierce finger nails.

There are a lot of steps to getting healthy, long finger nails. I won't get into all of that today, but I will say one of the most overlooked steps is moisturizer. That goes for most of my beauty routine! (Someone tell me I'm not alone!) Cuticle Oil isn't something us women always remember but I highly recommend you invest in a good one. My current favorite is by Pure Organics. Their current Organic Spa Cuticle Oil comes in 5 scents: Cucumber Melon, Citrus Orange, Green Tea & Acai, Hawaiian Orchard and Lavender Blossom. I chose Citrus Orange recently as Cosmoprof at the suggestion of Rose Valez who I had the honor of meeting. This cuticle oil not only smells amazing, a light, sweet orange smell that cuts through any nail polish scent lingering on your fingers. (think mandarin oranges over large oranges that have more of a bite to them.) This bottle has a great glass applicator, a great size bottle (30ml) and the results are long-lasting. For this manicure, I applied cuticle oil BEFORE, let it set for about 20 minutes, then washed my hands with cold water and soap.

By washing my hands, I get most of the oily off of my nails. I'm planning on doing a gel manicure. Traditionally, with gel nail polish, you want your nails to be completely dry and free of oils. That helps the polish adhere to the nail better. With Solo one-step, I found that it's not something you have to worry about as much, this polish will stay even on healthy, hydrated nails.

Solo one-step Soak off Gel Polish was one of the exciting new products I stumbled upon during my recently trip to Cosmoprof North America. This polish has not hit the shelves yet and I got some inside word that they might still be tweaking the packaging and formula (though I find everything about the polishes I received to be spot on!). No word yet on the entire release but I absolutely cannot wait! Solo one-step is different from traditional gel nail polish application in that is it literally only one step. There is no need for a base coat, top coat OR a cleanse.

I was given 5 colors of my choice while in Las Vegas for the convention and one I chose was this beautiful green-turquoise called "Coast to Coast". All the colors I received are true to the label on the outside with the exception of glitters or colors with shimmer. All the labels are printed in a solid color giving the appearance that the contents in a creme finish. In this case, "Coast to Coast" is a super opaque creme.

I opted to apply a VERY thin coat. With these polishes you can apply a thicker coat and cure for a few extra seconds to finish your manicure in just one coat! You can sure Solo one-step with either UV or LED. Once cured, there is no sticky residue to clean off or top coat to apply. The color is already super shiny! As a parent, I found gel nail manicure to be a step up from traditional polish because I no longer had to wait for my nail polish to dry BUT the sticky texture left on my nails in between coats was sometimes a pain. My finger nails became magnets for dust, dirt, hair and more. It made doing things between coats impossible. Now, my nails are glossy, hard as rocks and never sticky even in between coats.

After a second thin coat and an application of sweet-smelling cuticle oil, my nails are ready to tackle whatever! I'm a habitual nail painter so I change my colors (too) often, but I wore another color from the Solo one-step line for 4 days and literally had NO clips and absolutely NO tip wear. I've gotten great results from a few gel nail companies but nothing that good! This polish is meant to last for up to two weeks.

I cannot wait for the official launch of Solo one-step and for now, I'm keeping an eye out on their Instagram. Nothing gets me more excited that stunning nail results that are easy to come by! By eliminating the extra steps in a gel mani, Solo one-step is making the gel manicure practical and helping all women to Work it this Wednesday...and next Wednesday...and probably the Wednesday after that ;)

Thank you, The Rosy Snail!