Aldi Carino Coconut Shampoo, and Coconut Conditioner - Review

There's nothing wrong with the budgets supermarkets in Blighty, which probably explains why they are currently more popular than ever with the British public.
Mr.R drove us to the local Aldi a couple of days ago, mainly because I wanted to buy a few bits and pieces - all beauty products.
I'd read about their well-known face serum, and thought I'd see if they had any in stock.
It was our first visit to Aldi since we've been back in the UK.

Having mentioned the face serum, this blog post is not about that, it's about the Aldi Carino Coconut Shampoo, and the Coconut Conditioner. Hahaha!
I will write reviews about the other products I purchased when I've used them enough to form a decent opinion.

Initially I'd intended to order some organic shampoo and conditioner online, but I changed my mind - I'm contrary.

I'm also seriously indecisive, and Aldi had quite a few shampoos and conditioners to choose from.
It took me three attempts at making my final choice.
Three times I picked a bottle of shampoo, and a bottle of conditioner, off of the shelf and headed toward the check-out. But then before I reached the tills, I'd change my mind and go back to the shampoos and conditioners aisle, and choose something else.
Anyway, eventually I decided that the Carino Coconut Shampoo, and Conditioner were the ones for me.
There were two other scents available, raspberry, and tea tree.
The coconut one is for all hair types.
The bottles are 400ml and cost a low low low 65p each.

I know it's ridiculous but I was getting a little flustered with my indecision because Mr.R and our dog, Barley the lovely Lurcher, were waiting outside for me. They were slobbering over the window, desperate for me to hurry up and come outside to play. Well, Barley was the one standing on his back legs, nose and paws pressed against the window watching me, Mr.R was slightly better behaved, he was just looking at me smiling. Ahh, bless them!

So, one bottle of Carino Coconut Shampoo, and a bottle of the Coconut Conditioner in my hands, and I'd made my final choice.
I paid.
Exited the shop.
We all left.

So, what did I think of the Carino Coconut Shampoo, and Conditioner?
I've used them a few times now, and I absolutely love them.
For 65 per bottle you may think the contents would be thin and watery, but you'd be wrong. Both the shampoo and conditioner are nice and thick.
The shampoo smells delicious, good enough to eat delicious, and it lathers up really well.
The conditioner also smells lovely, and easily untangled my crazy, dragged through a hedge backwards barnet.
A little of the shampoo and conditioner goes a long way.
My hair is, or should I say was before I used these products, horribly dry, and sad. But now it's much less dry, it feels soft, and looks like it's in a lot better condition.
Thumbs up!

The shampoo bottles has this written on it -
Escape to paradise with this island blend of coconut and exotic lychee extracts to nourish and add shine to your hair.
Superior ingredients + affordable price = glamorous hair every day of the week!
Hair smells and feels great!
Improves softness and shine.
Contains pro-vitamin B5. 

Shampoo Ingredients

• aqua
• sodium laureth sulfate
• sodium chloride
• cocamide MEA
• cocamidopropyl
• betaine
• glycerin
• parfum
• sodium benzoate
• polyquaternium-7
• styrene/acrylates copolymer
• citric acid
• benzophenone-4
• tatrasodium EDTA
• polyquaternium-39
• coumarin
• sodium hydroxide
• panthenol
• cocos nucifera fruit extract
• litchi chinensis fruit extract
• potassium sorbate

The conditioner bottle has more or less the same as the shampoo bottle written on it -

with the addition of -

Detangles leaving hair more manageable.  

Conditioner Ingredients

• aqua
• cetearyl alcohol
• isopropyl palmitate
• glycerin
• parfum
• benzoic acid
• cetrimonium chloride
• panthenol
• potassium sorbate
• coumarin
• sodium hydroxide
• propylene glycol 
• benzyl salicylate
• cocos nucifera extract
• lactic acid
• PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil
• sodium benzoate

So, although I initially considered buying some organic shampoo and conditioner from a website that I often use, I'm pleased I opted for the Aldi Carino coconut shampoo and conditioner instead.

I know that a lot of so-called organic products still contain nasty chemicals, and didn't want to spend a small fortune this time. And judging by the results, my hair loves Aldi Carino Coconut shampoo and conditioner.

Have you tried Aldi Carino Coconut Shampoo and Coconut Conditioner?

Does your hair love it?

Aldi Lacura ProRevive Hand Cream - Review

It's not only bottles and bottles and bottles....... of wine that we buy from budget supermarkets; Aldi and Lidl.
I recently bought a tube of hand cream, from Aldi.

The tap water in our house is horrible.
Yes, I know we are very fortunate to have 'safe' tap water, when so many people in the World don't have access to any water........... But it's all relative. I pay a lot of money for our mains water, and I expect decent tap water, but it's not what I get from the local water board.

Anyway, our tap water is really horrible, it's full of chlorine, by which I mean it is seriously heavily chlorinated, and God knows what other nasty chemicals etc. it contains.
What I do know it that the hard tap water in our house is not friends with my delicate skin. Add that to my obsession with washing my hands a lot, probably more than is absolutely necessary, and it's not surprising that my skin is not happy.
As it's my hands that are washed many many many times during an average day, it's my poor hands that suffer the most from the bad tap water.
My hands are very dry, so dry that they have been cracked and bleeding, which made them very sore.

So, what to do about my dry, cracked, bleeding and sore hands?
Well, in an ideal World I much prefer to use chemical free products, or at least products whose ingredient list isn't longer than, oh I don't know - think of something that's very that - that.
So initially I did use natural products, the main tow being olive oil, and coconut oil. And although both oils gave me some relief, and made my hands feel slightly less dry, they just couldn't stop the cracking and bleeding.
So, I thought sod-it! I'll get some regular chemically manufactured hand cream and hope it solves my sore dry skin.
During a recent wine hunting shopping trip to budget supermarket Aldi I bought a tube of their own brand hand cream.
There were three different hand creams to choose from; nourishing, hand and nail, and ProRevive.
I chose the ProRevive moisturising hand cream with UV filters, Beeswax and Vitamin E.
The 125ml tube cost 75p.

Initially I was slightly concerned about using the hand cream because I didn't want the scent to make my hands any more sore than they already were.
Thankfully when I opened the tube, the Lacura ProRevive hand cream didn't have a particularly strong smell. I applied a small amount of the cream to my hands and gently rubbed it in.
Immediately my hands felt less tight and dry.
The cream rubbed in thoroughly, it's quite a thick cream, but it didn't leave a greasy feel on my hands, which I thought was really good, as lots of hands creams tend to leave a greasy feel on the skin.
After a while, when I was confident that my skin wasn't going to have any bad reactions to the hand cream, i reapplied, and I continued to use the hand cream when I felt my hands needed it - or more accurately when I remembered to use it.
The main reason I occasionally forgot to use the hand cream was a good reason, within a couple of days my hands were much less dry, and more importantly they had stopped cracking and were no longer bleeding.

Directions for use: Massage uniformly into the skin several times a day.

Information listed on the tube -

ProRevive moisturising hand cream
Protects against light-induced skin ageing.

Lacura* products are carefully formulated with the finest ingredients to provide the perfect daily skincare  routine. You can trust Lacura* to gently care for your skin as each product is dermatologically tested. 

Lacura* ProRevive Hand Cream has a special complex containing:

• Glycerin which helps the skin to retain moisture so to condition and protect mature skin
• Beeswax to form a natural lipid film helping prevent skin from drying out
• UV filters and Vitamin E to help prevent signs of premature ageing
• A rich formula to soften and smooth the skin giving a younger, fresher appearance

Ingredients listed on the tube -

• Aqua
• C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
• Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
• Glycerin
• Octyldodecanol
• Glyceryl Stearate 
• Octocrylene
• Cetearyl Alcohol
• Tocopheryl Acetate
• Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane
• Cera Alba
• Cetearyl Glucoside
• Sodium Polyacrylate
• Dimethicone 
• Parfum
• Phenoxyethanol
• Methylparaben
• Ethylparaben
• Caprylyl Glycol

Having said I usually prefer to use natural beauty products, I also know that sometimes they just don't work as well as the chemical concoctions do.
I have nothing but praise for Lacura ProRevive hand cream from Aldi.
It has healed the skin on my dry cracked hands, quicker and much better than anything else I've used.
I give it a thumbs up - a lovely soft, moisturised thumbs up. Thank you Aldi you have saved my skin!
Have you used any of the Lacura products from Aldi?
Do you use Lacura ProRevive Hand Cream?

Bug Blitz, Fly Catcher - Product Review

There seems to be dog poo everywhere. Not surprisingly this means there are lots of flies everywhere too. Yuck!

In an attempt to kill as many of the dirty little buggers as possible, I searched online for a suitable method of killing the nasty disease spreading flies. 

it wasn't long before I found the Bug Blitz, Fly Catcher on Amazon. It wasn't expensive, only £8, and the reviews were really positive. 

Order placed, the Bug Blitz, Fly Catcher arrived a couple of days later. We wasted no time getting the fly catcher out of its box, we followed the setting-up instructions, and then we waited, eager to see the dead fly bodies pile up.

The product description on the Bug Blitz, Fly Catcher says -

• Simply add water and bait mix provided and hang outside to keep flies away 
• Ideal for the coming summer months 
• Safe and non toxic 
• Protects you, your property and outdoor events from being invaded with flies

Traps and Kills Up To 20,000 flies. 
Simply add water and bait mix provided and hang outside to keep flies away. 
After a couple of weeks the breeding cycle of the flies is disrupted. 
The bait mixture is proven to attract, trap and kill flies for 30 days. 
Protects you, your property and outdoor events from being invaded with flies. 
Ideal for the coming summer months. Safe and non toxic. Full instruction on box.

What is our opinion of this product? How many thousands of pesky flies did our Bug Blitz, Fly Catcher kill?
None! Zero! Nada!
Why?
Well, quite simply this product is crap.
Not long after we'd hung the Bug Blitz Fly Catcher in a suitable place outside, it fell apart; the plastic bag separated from the plastic frame. This meant that the seriously foul smelling liquid inside the plastic bag, was sprayed everywhere, all over the ground. Yuck!
It took several bottles of bleach to completely wash away the rancid bait/water.
I am pleased that so many people found this product to be effective at killing flies, because at least someone, somewhere is killing the horrible little feckers, and they haven't wasted their money - but for us it was completely useless.
The Bug Blitz Fly Catcher is a very badly made, low quality product, that isn't worth 8 pence, let alone 8 quid.

Have you used the Bug Blitz Fly Catcher?
Was it effective?
Or, do you know of any fly killing gadgets that actually work? I'd love to know what you think.