Health & Lifestyle | NEOM Wellbeing Pod Mini Essential Oil Diffuser review

Essential oil diffusers are one of the biggest must-have items for home offices, and it feels like every well-being brand on the planet has their own version that they are currently promoting. Prices can vary dramatically across the board, so I thought I'd feature one of the UK's bestsellers that is available for a more affordable price; the NEOM Wellbeing Pod Mini Essential Oil Diffuser.

Why Are Essential Oil Diffusers So Popular Right Now?

There are many reasons, but the main one appears to be that a lot of people who began working from home for the first time during Covid back in 2020 are still doing so. In fact, I've had countless conversations with brands and PRs that have discussed this huge lifestyle change that's occurred since the pandemic, and in fact, estate agents are also reporting that more people than ever are looking for an additional room in a potential new home that they can easily turn into an office space.

The rise of freelancers and side hustlers has boomed too as people seek new ways to increase their incomes, and thus products that help to boost productivity at home, or simply enhance our home working environment in some way, are selling incredibly well. So the Essential Oil Diffuser is definitely having its moment! 

What Do Essential Oil Diffusers Do?

It's all in the name; they diffuse essential oils into the air to fragrance your room, usually without the need for any water to be added. The latest models are all sleek, rechargeable, super easy to use, and have a simple on/off mechanism. 

NEOM Wellbeing Pod Mini Essential Oil Diffuser

The NEOM Wellbeing Pod Mini Essential Oil Diffuser ticks all of these boxes effortlessly and I absolutely love its minimal, elegant design. Perfect for smaller rooms such as home offices, bathrooms, etc, this diffuser can even be used in your car! It's beautifully travel-friendly too so if you're planning any weekends away, you can easily pop it into your luggage and you're good to go.

Using cold diffusion technology, the essential oils are converted into a micro fine vapour without using water or heat, so they can be released into the atmosphere for you to enjoy their benefits. Genius!

How To Use

Most essential oil diffusers are generally quite similar, but I'll give you a quick rundown on how the NEOM Wellbeing Pod Mini Essential Oil Diffuser works if this is the first time you've bought one.

First things first, charge your diffuser using the provided USB cable. I attach this to my wall plug phone charger as I find it charges faster than when plugged into your laptop. Let it fully charge up for 6 hours before using. 

Place it on a flat surface. As you can see above, there's an internal chamber that comes out of the diffuser and this is where you insert your chosen bottle of essential oil that you'd like to diffuse. The NEOM Pod Mini is so easy; you simply push in the button on the bottom and hey presto, the chamber pops up at the top for you to take out. Unscrew to attach the essential oil bottle and pop it back into the diffuser. NEOM has even included an essential oil opener in the box which makes the task even faster to do.

On the top of the diffuser, you'll find the on/off button to the right and to the left, there's a button where you can control the intensity with three bars next to it. Press it until you reach the desired intensity; one bar is the lowest and three bars is the highest. That's it! Sit back and enjoy the essential oil scent.

Overall Thoughts

The NEOM Wellbeing Pod Mini Essential Oil Diffuser is a small, but mighty modern device that requires no water to be added; just put in your chosen essential oil blend, switch it on and relax. The sleek design is very chic (the shade pictured is called Nude) and the rechargeable aspect allows the device to be placed anywhere without the need for any messy cables. Once fully charged, the Pod Mini is good to go for up to 50 hours and covers up to 60 square meters. I'm really happy with its performance and would definitely recommend it for small rooms and spaces.

P.S: Do I Have To Use NEOM Essential Oils?

NEOM recommend that you only use their essential oils (of course), however, I have tested this diffuser with a variety of other brands' oils and the results are the same. Though it's always good to point out that if you use another brand's essential oils, you risk invalidating your warranty should anything go awry, so I'll leave this up to you to decide!

NEOM Wellbeing Pod Mini Essential Oil Diffuser* retails for £55 - neomorganics.com

Have you bought an essential oil diffuser?

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Tried & Tested: Kathleen Natural Facial Ionic Treatment Device review

At-home beauty treatments were already becoming increasingly popular before the pandemic, and now it seems like everyone is using some kind of gadget to keep their skin looking its best in between those coveted facialist appointments! 

Like many beauty bloggers who are passionate about skincare, I've tried and tested countless gadgets over the years, and the latest one to come into my possession is the Kathleen Natural Facial Ionic Treatment Device. 

What Is It?

The Kathleen Natural Facial Ionic Treatment Device is a lightweight, cordless (battery operated) facial treatment device that has combined ionic micro-currents and pulsations which can be used for both Lymphatic Drainage Massage and Facial Lift treatments at home. It's designed to work in conjunction with your favourite toners, serums and essences to enhance the penetration of those formulas.

Does It Hurt?

No, it's painless and non-invasive. You may feel a slight tingling if you have thin or older skin.

What Does It Do?

The device features a stainless steel circular head which is placed on different areas of the face and neck that you want to treat. Once switched on, the ionic micro-current technology begins to work as the current passes through the muscle, allowing active ingredients in your serums and essences to penetrate deeper. It also helps to tighten and smooth the skin over time and stimulates healthy collagen production.

Who Can Use It?

It's suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin.

How Do I Use It?

Cleanse and dry your face first before beginning any of these treatments.

For a Lymphatic Drainage Massage: generously use a toner mist all over the face and then switch the button to the + setting on the device. Position the treatment head onto the skin and gently glide slowly towards the lymph nodes on one side and then repeat the process on the other side, ensuring that you're gliding in upwards and outwards positions.

For a Facelift Treatment: apply your essence or serum to the area that you wish to treat. Turn the device on to - setting, then place the treatment head onto the skin, lift it with the face muscle and hold for 2-3 seconds. Repeat three times in the same area before moving onto the next.

For more info, visit Kathleen Natural.

Overall Thoughts?

I've enjoyed using the Kathleen Natural Facial Ionic Treatment Device because it's easy to operate with simple settings and instructions, yet I feel it has still been making a difference to the firmness of my skin. The Lymphatic Drainage setting is brilliant for reducing puffiness (especially as we enter allergy season!), but this device is most useful in my opinion, for the Facelift Treatment as you can also target the neck, jawline and forehead etc so it's wonderfully versatile. 

It's worth mentioning of course that at-home treatment devices aren't as powerful as the devices which are used in professional salons by facialists. However, this device is an affordable way to introduce some of the benefits of ionic microcurrent technology into your skincare routine to give it a really good boost in the comfort of your own home, and it would work particularly well in-between your facialist appointments.

Kathleen Natural Facial Ionic Treatment Device* (£49, link)

Have you tried a device like this before?

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New In Beauty: PMD Clean Smart Facial Cleansing Device review #SkincareRoutine

Skincare fans listen up! There's a brand new facial cleansing gadget in town, but is it worth the money? Let's meet the latest innovation from PMD and put it to the test.

Whilst I'm utterly addicted to trying out new skincare products, I don't have quite the same enthusiasm for skincare gadgets. Why? When all the hype around the Clarisonic saturated the blogosphere several years ago, I rushed out and bought one along with everyone else, hoping that it would somehow magically transform my skin. Want to know what happened next?

I ended up selling the damn thing on eBay less than three months later because it ruined my skin. The combination of too-harsh bristles and over-exfoliation was too much for my poor complexion to handle, and I was left dealing with more breakouts than I've ever had in my whole life. Needless to say, I avoided all facial cleansing gadgets for a long time afterwards until a facialist friend of mine used a Foreo Luna on me, and my skin loved it. I've been eyeing up buying one for a while now, but when I received this package from PMD for their latest launch called the PMD Clean last month, I think I changed my mind.

At first glance, the new PMD Clean looks suspiciously similar to the Foreo Luna in that it vibrates and is made from silicone, but that's about as far as the comparisons go. When I was playing with the Foreo Luna, I thought it was rather fiddly to hold and it's only since using this that I realised how satisfying it is to hold something that has an actual handle, especially when your hands are wet.

The PMD Clean uses 'SonicGlow' technology' which basically means that it vibrates over 7,000 times per minute. This allows the device to really break down any embedded dirt and impurities trapped within the pores, thus giving the skin a deep down clean and leaving it feeling much softer and smoother afterwards. The vibrations/pulsations also allow you to indulge in a nice anti-ageing facial massage, so it's one to look into if you're after a cleansing device that can also help to tone and boost the overall circulation of the skin. 

Looking closely at the head, you can clearly see that there are two types of bristles, all of which are short, but one section has chunkier and bigger bristles than the other. This section can be used to target more troublesome areas like the chin and jawline, though I found it worked just as well when I used it in circular motions all over my face.

This device has four settings so that you can change the speeds according to your skin's needs. I've mainly been using the first mode at it's the gentlest, so I'd recommend starting with that one, especially if you have sensitive skin, and then working your way up to the more intense mode two.  Flip the head over and you'll see three wider ridges (see the first selfie photo above). These can be used with the modes three and four to massage in serums and moisturisers after exfoliating, and they have more of a 'pulsing' sensation, rather than a vibrating one.

As the PMD Clean is made from silicone, it's waterproof, anti-bacterial and far more hygienic than the bristles that you'll find on the Clarisonic. It's also much easier to clean, plus you don't ever need to replace the head so it's more cost-effective in the long run.

Overall thoughts?

Having tested out the PMD Clean for about six weeks now, I can say that it's something that I can imagine myself continuing to use on a regular basis in my skincare routine. As I have combination/ sensitive skin, I've only been using it once or twice a week, but it's been doing a great job of blitzing some stubborn blackheads and helping to make my skin look and feel a lot less congested. The ease of using it and how gentle the silicone is has really won me over, and for hygiene freaks like me, I much prefer using something that I know I can clean properly after every use!

It's certainly an investment, but it's not as hideously expensive as similar cleansing devices on the market, so if you're looking for an effective, relatively budget-friendly option, the PMD Clean may just be what you're after.

PMD Clean* is available in three colours and retails for £89 (link)

Do you use a facial cleansing device?

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New Tech: Petcube Play Remote Wi-Fi Pet Camera review

Something a little different today for a Sunday post, but one that marries two great loves of mine; pets and technology! Meet the latest gadget that I've been having some fun with - the Petcube Play.

When I gave my blog a makeover after the New Year, I decided to write up a list of potential categories that I'd be interested in reviewing to give a bit more variation to We Were Raised By Wolves. Beauty will always be its main content, but I wanted to include some more lifestyle bits every now and again to mix it up a bit.  

One of these new categories was 'Pets' and I've had a bunch of emails from a range of pet related companies during the last two months. Sadly, none of them really appealed to me as I'm not into dressing up dogs in costumes or using expensive shampoos on them, but one email did get my attention when Petcube got in touch.

I'd heard about Petcube from some US bloggers that I follow, but I didn't realise it was available for sale in the UK until they contacted me. A week or so later, a Petcube Play arrived on my doorstep and I was so excited to try it out!

What is Petcube Play?

Petcube Play is basically a remote Wi-Fi pet camera that has a built-in laser, speaker and a microphone. It's shaped like a compact cube as you can see above and it comes in three different colours; Matte Silver, Carbon Black and Rose Gold. The main idea behind it is that it allows you to check up on your pets when you're not at home via an app on your mobile phone. The camera streams 1080p HD video with a 138-degree wide angle and you can use the 3x digital zoom for a closer look. It has night vision too, and you can receive noise and motion alerts/notifications if your pets make a significant amount of noise etc. The Petcube Play can also record video, up to 30 days (uploading to cloud storage) if you upgrade to the Petcube Care package, but all of the other features are free to use. 

Petcube Play gives you the option to interact with your pets as well through the two-way speaker audio, or you can play with them with the human and pet-safe laser. The latter is really more for cat owners as cats seem to go crazy for lasers, whilst dogs don't seem to be that fussed! 

Nevertheless, I think it's a really cool concept overall and it gives you that piece of mind that your pets are OK when you're not around. I've also heard of people using cameras like this as a general in-house security camera too, and I can certainly see myself switching it on to do this when I'm on holiday or having a weekend away, and the dogs are in kennels.

Setup & Installation

The Petcube Play was incredibly quick and easy to set up, and I had it ready to go in a matter of minutes. All you need to do is find a stable location where you want to put the Petcube Play (ideally on a flat surface and pointing in the direction where your pets tend to hang out when you're not in the house), and plug it in using the power adapter provided. Make sure that your home Wi-Fi is on, and then download the Petcube app to your mobile phone (compatible with iOS 8 and Android 4.0 & newer). 

The app has an easy to follow guide to help you connect it to your home Wi-Fi and there are corresponding coloured lights on the Petcube Play to show you what's happening at every stage. You can fill in a profile for your pet on the app, and there are different settings for things like privacy as you have the option to make your camera public. If choose to set it to public, Petcube owners from around the world can see what your pets are up to (and you can of course see their furry friends if they've set their Petcubes to public too which is fun!).

Once set up through the app is complete, you're good to go!

Overall thoughts?

As the Petcube Play uses your home's Wi-Fi, the quality of the video streaming will depend on how good your internet connection is. Mine's pretty good most of the time since switching from Sky to Virgin Media last year, and I was really impressed by the HD quality. The night vision was also great, though a little spooky as it looks like something from Paranormal Activity when you're viewing it! There was some slight buffering when the dogs were moving about, but that's something that I expected, and you could still get a clear image anyway. If you use the speaker function to talk to your dogs, there are a few seconds of delay, however, when the sound does come through, it's relatively clear and audible.

What I liked the most about the Petcube Play was the wide angle as it covers a lot of ground, especially if you place the Petcube in the corner of your room. It's a fun way to keep an eye on your pets, and I'm sure cat owners will also love the in-built laser which you can play with through the app!

The Petcube Play* retails for £149 here, and for more info visit petcube.com

Would you use a Petcube Play in your home?

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