I found a 2 year old voucher the other day and this is what I spent it on

You know how it is. Those gift vouchers that end up in a drawer. Or an e-voucher which gets lost in your emails, never to be seen again (or in my case, two years later). Don't get me wrong, I love gift vouchers and gift cards, but I'm not someone who spends vouchers straight away. I like to take my time and consider my options (it also doesn't help that I'm the most indecisive person EVER). But this latest experience makes me want to reassess that as I was cutting it fine.

THE STORY

I re-discovered an old e-gift card from two years back and wanted to check it before getting too excited. As luck may have it, it was still active. Even though technically the 'use by' date had been and gone. So what to spend it on? Clothing, beauty or something for the house?

My body never knows what it size it is so clothing was risky - especially during lockdown where the likelihood of needing to return something is circa 92%.

I see this as an opportunity to buy one or two Charlotte Tilbury products I've had my eye on, but as much as I'd love to try the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Serum Crystal Elixir, I cannot justify £60 on just 30ml (smaller than the smallest tube of toothpaste!). It just doesn't sit right with me.

I then put my sensible hat on. What can I get that will last? What can I order that doesn't run the risk of returns?

My mind then wanders to homeware in the hope of finding something useful for the house. But to be honest, there is nothing I really need. And the ideas I do have are all out of stock (turns out everyone is baking and gardening during lockdown!)

THE REALISATION

It is then that I realise that I need a compromise. I need a treat  - just not Charlotte Tilbury on this occasion - but I also need something practical which I'll get a lot of use out of. Enter the Hotel Chocolat velvetiser.

Hotel Chocolat velvetiser

The velvetiser is a product I've been lusting over for the last two Christmases, but at £99, it's not cheap and I've never been able to justify the cost. It's also not the sort of thing you can casually pop on your Christmas list due to the price point. It was a now or never situation so I let fate decide. If for some inexplicable reason I went to checkout and the e-voucher had suddenly decided to pop its clogs (or the item had gone out of stock) this would be a sign that it was not meant to be.

Turns out it was meant to be. I managed to place my order and here it is.

Copper velvetiser

The velvetiser comes in matt black, copper or white gloss. Whilst the matt black design looked sleek, I'd seen them in-store before and although you can wipe clean, the matt finish means it never looks as pristine as it does when box fresh and new. I could just imagine the finger prints and that would have driven me crazy. The white was an instant no for me as it's a very glossy white which makes me think of laundry room white goods and for lack of a better word, a bit cheap? I opted for the copper because I'm all about copper / gold / brass tones when it comes to home accessories. So far it's been easy to wipe clean and you don't notice finger prints on it like how I imagine you would with the matt black.

Whilst the velvetiser comes at a cost, it also comes with cups and a selection box type tray of different hot chocolates to try. These being 70% dark chocolate, a more intense 100% chocolate, praline, milk chocolate and salted caramel. I've been trying a different one each day and will be posting a review shortly on the Hotel Chocolat velvetiser and if it's worth the money. Watch this space!