zChocolat Easter Box...One Heck of a Treat!

I was lucky enough to be sent an early Easter treat last week...a zChocolat Easter Box. Now when I say this was one heck of a treat, I really mean it and here's why...

zChocolat chocolates are handmade and crafted by world champion French chocolatier Pascal Caffet. Their chocolates are made with all natural ingredients, contain no preservatives, very little sugar, high cocoa content, no alcohol and 100% pure cocoa butter. Pascal also uses the finest ingredients: Valencia almonds from Spain or Piedmont hazelnuts from Italy, the finest French cream and butter and the purest cocoa butter from beans harvested around the world. Their USP is about unveiling a new way of giving chocolate through an original, luxurious and customisable hand-crafted gift. As you can see, the above picture is what welcomed me when I opened the package from zChocolat. My Easter box was nestled inside a gorgeous pull-string, cloth bag that had their logo on the front, aswell as a cute pocket which held two little booklets. One was a personalised message and the other was a little catalogue of photo's and descriptions of all of their chocolates, in English, French and Spanish, along with a short biography of Pascal.

Another USP of theirs is that Pascal Caffet has created 26 French chocolates, numbered from 0-24, plus the Z chocolate. They have more information on their original range of chocolates on their website. I received a special box of chocolates, especially hand-crafted for Easter.

 

My chocolates were encased in their popular keep-sake Zenith box, decorated just for Easter. The basswood box is laser engraved with playful bunnies and butterflies, accompanied by a flower and an Easter egg. Inside the box are two black card boxes, containing the chocolates themselves, with the zChocolat website on the front. There were 36 chocolates in total; 12 pralines in the first layer and 24 fritures (solid chocolate) in the second layer. All of my chocolates were moulded in Easter themed shapes, for example: bunnies, chicks and fish. Excuse the lack of chocolates in the first box (in the picture), these are the pralines and are my definite favourite! The way the Easter box is described on the website, I think one layer is supposed to be egg shaped milk, dark and white pralines, but I didn't have them, so maybe they ran out? However, bare in mind that mine was a sample, so I can't imagine them sending you something you aren't expecting if you are ordering from the website and know what you're ordering. The chocolates sure do bring back memories for me. I used to go to France and Belgium on school trips and always used to buy chocolate to bring back with me from their shops and they taste so similar to these ones, I think it's the quality of the chocolate! They also remind me of the Guylian Belgian chocolates you can find in most supermarkets, you know the ones shaped like sea horses and shells? Just the taste, it's so familiar to me, I absolutely love French/Belgian chocolate!

A few examples of the chocolate shapes.

Inside a praline chocolate.

Inside a solid chocolate.

This box of chocolates alone is £46.62. I know what you're all thinking, that it seems a lot to pay for a box of chocolates? That's exactly what I thought and for me personally, I couldn't justify spending this amount of money on a box of chocolates that would be gone within days. Don't get me wrong, you won't be disappointed by the quality of the chocolates, the customisations, the special touches or the delivery time. Also, you must not forget that the chocolates are hand made, hand crafted by a world champion and that zChocolat have won many awards. There are also no horrible ingredients in these chocolates and the finest ingredients are used. So you can kind of see where they get their pricing from. However, this is before customisation. To include a personal message and card is free, but to add a personal engraving (see below picture), wrapping paper, a heart lock, accessories, or a concierge service will cost you more and then you have to add delivery on top. Prices for these depend on what you choose in each category, but the check out process is really straight forward and everything is set out clearly for you to choose from.

The chocolates are shipped from Aix-en-Provence in France where they are hand made and zChocolat ship worldwide! Mine didn't take long to arrive at all and arrived in mint condition. Now, I don't want to put you off checking out the website full stop because of the price of my box of chocolates. Their range of chocolates start from £16.17, which I feel is a little bit more affordable as a gift or even if you want to treat yourself and there is no denying that their chocolates are luxurious and tasty! They have been making their way around my household pretty quickly. I had to stop people from eating them before I took pictures for my post, ha!

So anyone out there that wants to treat their loved one, a family member or a friend to a bespoke gift of chocolates, then I would say this is definitely an option and the receiver will not be disappointed, I know I wasn't!

Happy Easter!

Much Love,

Gem XxOo

Disclaimer: PR sample. Please see my disclaimer tab.

Superdrug's LASH False Eyelashes...

You might already be aware that this Summer, Superdrug bought out their very own range of handmade false eyelashes called LASH. There are 8 different lash types in their range. So whether you are looking for a natural look, something to add volume to your own lashes or something more eye-catching, you are sure to find something you'll love! Each pack of false eyelashes contains a glue and has a picture on the front of a model wearing the specific lashes in that pack. They are also suitable for contact lens wearers-which I am, so that's a bonus! I had the opportunity to try out some of their range and see how they work for me. As someone who doesn't ordinarily wear false eyelashes, I enjoyed playing around with these lashes and changing my eyelash look from natural to voluminous.

                                           Picture courtesy of Superdrug PR.

I thought I would share these photographs with you, so you can see the finished look of each of the lashes I got to sample and see if they are something you would like :-).

These are the Natural - Edition 12 lashes. Probably my least favourite of the ones I got to sample. Although they do feel extremely natural, I don't like how sparse the lashes are. Even my natural lashes aren't this sparse. I also noticed with these ones that the lash line has a white strip (where as the other samples I have don't). I laid off the black eyeliner with these ones so you can see what I mean (the white bits by the lash line is the white strip). It is easily coverable with lots of black eyeliner :-). I think these lashes are ideal for daytime wear.

These are the Volume - Edition 21 lashes. You can see how much wider they make your eyes look. I love how they are more voluminous at the ends and are already so curled fresh from the box :-). Such gorgeous lashes for a glamorous night out!

These are the Intense Volume - Edition 31 lashes. These are very similar to the Volume - Edition 21 lashes, but these ones seem to be voluminous all round, rather than more at the ends. Again, in my opinion, these lashes are suited more for a glam party or night out rather than daytime wear.

These are the Double Volume - Edition 40 lashes and my favourite ones! I love how they are deep black in colour, so really make the eyes stand out. They also provide just the right amount of volume to be able to pull these off during the daytime, but are also suitable for a night time look. Very versatile!

They are so easy to apply and these are the application instructions on the reverse of each pack:

1. Lashes should be applied once make up is completed.
2. Carefully remove the lashes from the tray using a pair of tweezers and check the fit against your eye. If the lashes are too wide, trim from the outside edge to achieve the perfect fit.
3. Holding the lash with tweezers (or Superdrug's LASH applicator (£2.99)), apply a small amount of adhesive to the entire lash band, paying special attention to the ends. Wait 30 seconds for the adhesive to become tacky. Do not apply adhesive directly to the eyelid.
4. Position the lash slightly above your natural lash line and press gently along the entire lash band to fix in place. Hold the two ends for a few more seconds to fully secure. The adhesive will dry clear after a few minutes.
5. Once dry, lashes can be curled for a more pronounced look.

Removal Instructions:

1. To remove, gently peel the lash away from the outer edges.
2. Always remove before sleeping.

The lashes are really easy to apply and shouldn't feel uncomfortable. If they do, re-apply them. Here is a YouTube video from Superdrug, showing you how to apply their false lashes perfectly.

Like all own brand beauty items, Superdrug's lashes are BUAV approved (British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection), so customers can feel good as well as look good.

The lashes range from £4.49-£5.49 and are exclusive to Superdrug. You can purchase the lashes in-store or online here.


Have any of you tried any of Superdrug's LASH false eyelashes?

Which ones do you prefer?

Thanks so much for reading my post-please follow, like and comment :-).

Much Love Gem XxOo

You can find me on YouTube here.

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Disclaimer: I was sent the Superdrug lashes for review purposes. All opinions are my own and 100% honest.

Pictures: All pictures unless otherwise stated are my own. If you wish to use them please credit my name by them-Gemma Tranter.