Aphrodisaic Popcorn

A twitter win! I never get these!! Two bags of Blinkbox's new Aphrodisiac Popcorn - it's ginseng, ginger and chocolate flavoured...I wonder if the supposed effect will actually work? Haha ;)

Had a little nibble already, and they are very, very tasty. The ginger leaves a lovely warm feeling in my belly!

Value: They're limited edition and unable to purchase anywhere. £1 each?
2013 Total: £362.34

Charles Worthington Instant Amplifying Volume Treatment

A nice little win - a bottle of Charles Worthington Volume Treatment. It smells lovely and gave my hair a nice bounce to it.

Value: £14.99
2013 Total: £360.34

Free Issue of Grazia and Heat magazines

Two more o2 freebies - a copy of Grazia and Heat, delivered to my door :)

Value: £1.65 (Heat) and £1.95 (Grazia)
2013 Total: £345. 35

Travel Pillow

Received an email the other day to say I won a prize from a competition running all the way back in September! The competition was to win 1 of 100 travel goodies, so I didn't really know what I was entering for. I've won an inflatable travel pillow, which is a kind of unattractive grey-green colour with the Generator Hostels logo on it. Not sure if it'll ever see much use but hey ho!

Value: Erm..20p?
2013 Total: Still £341.75

The Andalucian Friend by Alexander Soderberg

Another. Book. Lol. A copy of 'The Andalucian Friend' by Alexander Soderberg. Don't even remember entering for this one, it's a crime/thriller which isn't really my thing, but I'll give it a go! My dad will like it anyway so I can give it to him afterwards.

Value: £10.99
2013 Total: £341.55

Moshi Monsters Fruit Gummies

Another o2 freebie - they've been giving out a different pack of sweets each day this half term week but unfortunately I've only been in town twice. Boo! Anyway, sweets are sweets and these are yummy as expected.

Value: I didn't see a price on them, but probably £1.
2013 Total: £333.56

WKD Hairy Hat

The first 150 who were quick enough to complete a WKD survey won this hat. Flash competitions always excite me, so I enter them without thinking if I actually want the prize or not! Anyway, this hat is very large and very hairy. It's fun to look at but I can't see myself wearing it out, funnily enough. I might give it to the cat to use as a pillow.

Value: Um, £1.00?
2013 Total: £332.56

Fruit Shoot Juicy Jellies Cube

Another o2 freebie - a box of Fruit Shoot Juicy Jellies. The sweets themselves are very nice and full of flavour, but I have to say I would never buy them - they were priced at £1, and there are hardly any in the box!

Value: £1.00
2013 Total: £331.56

Valentines Chocolate

Another topcashback freebie - a £7.99 box of chocolates from the Chocolate Trading Company, with £7.99 cashback! I've just been paid the cashback, making the chocolates free :) The chocolates themselves were very nice, although I thought the flavours were a bit same-y. Maybe just because they were missing my favourites like strawberry!

Value: £7.99
2013 Total: £330.56

Higher Nature Fizzy C Tablets

A freebie I sent off for a while ago arrived yesterday - a pack of Fizzy C tablets made by Higher Nature. You put them in a glass of water and it goes all fizzy and citrus flavoured. The taste is kind of odd, I can't really describe it, all I can say is I wasn't a huge fan. It wasn't unpleasant exactly but at the same time I wouldn't look forward to trying it again. Think I will be sticking with chewy vitamins!

Value: £4.70
2013 Total: £322.57

Palmer’s Ultra Moisturizing Lip Balms trio

A nice little win - a trio of Palmer's new Ultra Moisturizing Lip Balms. They come in three different flavours - Original, Dark Chocolate and Mint, and Dark Chocolate and Cherry. The original one smells of Palmer's famous cocoa butter, but the smell is quite faint and I think it could be stronger. The mint and cherry ones are much more bold. The cherry is definitely my favourite, and this one is also tinted a very nice pinky-red colour. What I like most about them is that they're aren't sticky like a lot of other lip balms, they glide on nicely and don't make me feel like my lips are being glued together! Always a plus.

Value: £1.89 each (£5.67 total)
2013 Total: £317.87

Under your skin by Sabine Durrant

I spoke too soon, because another book arrived today! My third surprise win from Waterstones - an advanced copy of 'Under your skin' by Sabine Durrant. I haven't thread any crime/thriller types in a long while so we'll have to see if I still like them!

Value: £8.99
2013 Total: £312.20

Update: I really enjoyed this. It was very well-paced with an interesting narrative. The main character was very well written with a compelling voice that left you feeling a great deal of empathy for her.  It kept me guessing until the very end, and although parts of the ending were predictable, some of it was surprising which made me like it even more!

The Forbidden Queen by Anne O'Brien

This is the last of my book wins from the past few months, part of me hopes the last for a while to give me a chance to catch up a bit! Anyway, this is a copy of 'The Forbidden Queen' by Anne O'Brien, another historical romance, so should be enjoyable!

Value: £7.99
2013 Total: £303.21

Update: I thoroughly enjoyed this. It was well written with vivid descriptions of the historical period, and the characters were all very distinctive. I thought Katherine, the main character, could be a little annoying and naive at times - but I suppose that's a sign of a lifelike and realistic person, so not something to actually complain about, but something to congratulate the author on.

The romance aspect was very well done, but I felt the story dragged on at the end. Anne O'Brien seemed to want to catalogue Katherine's entire life, and so the last few chapters were a rushed version of her last few years and they seemed a bit unnecessary. I felt the story could have ended a bit sooner, and a page of facts at the end would have sufficed for the rest.
That being said, overall I thought the whole book was excellent. O'Brien is advertised as being 'better than Phillipa Gregory' and I would have to agree - I felt that this book was a lot easier to read than Gregory's work as there were less lengthy descriptions to sift through, and I would certainly choose to read more of her fiction in the future.

Spontex Cleaning Pack

This was a runner up prize in a competition - a Spontex Cleaning Pack. Not the most exciting of wins but probably quite useful! It mainly consists of sponges and clothes, as well as some things that I don't even know what they're used for!

Value: £25.00 - blimey!
2013 Total: £295.22

Dr Marten Boot USB

A cute o2 priority freebie - a USB shaped like a boot from Dr. Martens. It comes in a lovely presentation box and is made of rubber which gives it a good quality feel.

Value: I can't find them for sale anywhere, but apparently when these came out in the US they were limited edition and retailed at $25! This seems a little bit much so I'll say £5.00
2013 Total: £270.22

Date with a Regency Rake

Another, another, another book! Published by good old Mills & Boon - A copy of 'Date with a Regency Rake' which is actually a collection of two novels, one by Maguerite Kaye ('The Wicked Lord Rasenby') and one by Anne Herries ('The Rake's Rebellious Lady'). It wasn't mentioned when I entered the competion, but the book has been signed up one of the authors - Maguerite Kaye - which is a nice little extra!

Value: £7.99
2013 Total: £265.22

Update: Finished this one quite quickly. Like I said, it's published by Mills & Boon so what you expect is pretty much what you get! Both books were enjoyable, although I did prefer the first one (Wicked Lord). Apart from the usual cheesy cliches that these books are rife with, I thought it was very good and I enjoyed the relationship between the two characters. I don't want to sound like I'm only in it for the, ahem, naughty stuff, but the second book (Rebellious Lady) was very, very tame. Like Mills & Boon for prudes or something. They basically talked a lot (mainly about horses - yawn), fell in love, and had a couple of kisses in the last chapter. It wasn't much of a thrilling romance at all, which is kind of the whole point of these books. Overall I would recommend the collection, but if you found it was cheaper just to buy the one separately, I would do that - the second book just isn't worth it.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

An advanced copy of 'The Rosie Project' by Graeme Simsion - this is supposedly set to be one of the big books of 2013, and just from reading the blurb it does look like it should be really good. I'm excited to start reading this one!

Value: £14.99
2013 Total: £257.23

Update: I finished this one in just over a day, I liked it so much! Very funny, I loved the 'voice' of the main character, he was very realistic and extremely endearing. The story itself was excellent, well paced and easy to read,with a likeable cast of characters. Although not a traditional rom-com by any means, I think it will sit better with a female audience overall. I especially liked how, despite the male protagonist, I still knew exactly how Rosie was feeling - even if Don couldn't work it out himself!
Completely recommend this :) 

Aero Bubbly Bar

I worked hard for this one - last week Aero were giving away bars to the first 200 people to submit the details, so you had to be fast!


A nice freebie as I love Aero - a little bit too much, it's so light and fluffy the whole bar will be gone in seconds if I'm not careful!

Value: £1.00
2013 Total: £242.24

L'occitane Hand Cream

I have nothing but good things to say about L'occitane after picking up one of their products today. They were giving out a voucher for a free hand cream on facebook, so went in store to get it earlier. These are quite pricy at £8 for 30ml, but my goodness does it smell nice!! I chose a honey one, and it is just lovely, it smells very sweet and is extremely long lasting. Every time I wave my hands near my face I can still smell the gorgeous scent! Much better than a lot of creams where it disappears after a few minutes. I do look a bit strange though, I am just sat here sniffing myself because it's really THAT NICE. It made my hands lovely and soft as well.

I was also very impressed with the shop itself, when I went in I was offered a cup of tea while I browsed! I thought this was a fab idea to keep your customers happy (and in the shop for longer!) I felt a bit guilty thought seeing as I was only really there for the freebie, so I declined. The lady who served me also gave me a couple of sachets to sample some other products which I thought was nice of her. Very impressed indeed!

Value: £8.00
2013 Total: £241.24

Hotel Chocolat Valentine's Slab

A nice freebie from o2 - a free Valentine's Chocolate Slab from Hotel Chocolat. The chocolate is lovely and rich, a lot more flavorsome than some of the cheaper brands. Yummy!

Value: £3.00
2013 Total: £233.24

Sunbites cookbook + canvas bag

A runner up prize in a Walker's Sunbites competition - a cookbook and bag. The cookbook is available for free as a pdf, so this is essentially a printed out version of it, which is kind of disappointing as it's not as 'glossy' as a normal book. That being said it's better than if I'd printed it myself! (Obviously.) The recipes are quite varied, and all include the use of a bag of crisps!


Value: Making it up, about £2.00? Ink is expensive!
2013 Total: £230.24

Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black

Another book! An advanced copy of 'Dance of Shadows' by Yelena Black. It looks really good, just my kind of genre. Can't wait to read this one!

Value: £6.29
2013 Total: £228.24

Update: Really enjoyed this! An excellent mix of romance with supernatural drama. I loved the chemistry between Vanessa and her two love interests, and it felt a little more 'grown-up' than some of the other young adult fiction out there. My only gripe with it was the ending, as I felt the supernatural elements all started to get a bit silly after a while! (Without wanting to give anything away!)

George Foreman Grill

This was a fabulous win, one of my best yet! A George Foreman grill from their advent calendar. There was a bit of a mix-up and the grill I originally won went out of stock and they forgot about me...which resulted in me getting this one, which actually looks a lot nicer, so I'm doubly pleased! This one is quite compact and looks very smart. Can't wait to make some cheese toasties with it!!

Value: £49.99
2013 Total: £221.95

Tropical Sun Jerk BBQ Sauce

This was a freebie Tropical Sun were giving out to a limited amount of people each day. I was expecting it to be a sample size, but they've actually sent a full bottle! Very impressed. The sauce is quite spicy but very nice all the same! They also included a friendship bracelet which I thought was a nice touch.

Value: £2.50
2013 Total: £171.96

Domino's Pizza

I don't usually include money earnt through cashback as part of my freebie totals, but this offer was so good I think it's worthy of the blog!
For a limited time only, TCB were offering £9.99 cashback, with a 50% off pizza voucher. So I got my pizza for £8 instead of £15, giving me a free pizza plus £2 profit! Amazing!

Value: £9.99
2013 Total: £169.46

Ted Baker 2013 Diary

 This came from a Ted Baker instant win competition, although the prize was a mystery until it turned up! I received a very nice 2013 diary - that wolf-whistles when you open it! Gave me quite a shock!
The diary is lovely, with silver edged pages and a pretty design on the inner covers.

 

 Value: I can't find it anywhere at all, but most Ted Baker notebooks seem to retail at £10.00
2013 Total: £159.47

Lionheart by Sharon Penman

Ok, ok, I must admit I was a bit naughty with this one. I do try and only enter comps for things I actually want, but January started off as a very slow month (not that you'd be believe me looking at how well it ended up) so when I saw that there were 50 copies to be given away with only 100 or so entries, I got a bit excited about having 1 in 2 odds of winning!
I do like historical fiction, but usually only in regards to Tudor Queens and their love lives, so not sure how I'm going to fare with this one. I'm also really starting to get stressed out with how many books I have to read!!

Value: £7.99
2013 Total: £149.47