I had no idea that Holland & Barrett had a reward scheme! You can collect points on every purchase and then they’ll email you money-off vouchers every three months. It’s called “Rewards for Life” and you can sign up to it by clicking here: hollandandbarrett.com/rewardsforlife/

I’m a bit obsessed with reward schemes – I know they track your purchases and spy on your life, blah, blah, blah, but seeing the points add up is just too much of a temptation. I don’t mind getting customised letters from Tescos and vouchers for scarily appropriate things from Boots. I like to get something for nothing, and thanks to Tesco I regularly have a wad of restaurant vouchers to use up. (The last lot were a mistake – you try spending £350 in Café Rouge. It’s virtually impossible and I never want to eat their Steak Rouge ever again.)

Back to Holland & Barrett, or “H&B”: they stock some great bits and bobs. Known for their natural approach to healthy living, it goes without saying that most of their beauty brands go for the ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ ingredients angle. There are loads of nice (and well-priced) brands to choose from, including JASON, Lavera and Weleda, but I’ve picked out a couple of things that have caught my attention in the recent months.

Firstly, the Manuka Doctor range including the quite brilliant Bee Venom Mask. You can read my thoughts on the Bee Venom Mask here, but I’ll be reviewing a few more products shortly, so keep your eyes peeled. They’re not cheap, but they do seem to be effective – more ‘active’ than most of the brands stocked.

 There’s also a great brand called Dr Organic. The range is absolutely huge and they have loads of little beauty gems – I love the Rose Otto products in particular. The Hand Cream is excellent – I have it on my desk right now!

(Rose Otto Hand Cream, £6.69 from Holland & Barrett)

Even though Holland & Barrett are supposed to be all about healthy eating, they do the world’s best selection of amazing liquorice. Liquorice is one of those things I don’t think about until I see it – and then I must have it. Don’t be fooled by that “it’s fat-free so it’s good for you” nonsense: it’s absolutely loaded with sugar. Lovely all the same, though – and good for “getting things moving”, if you catch my drift. Maybe that’s why it’s a health food! I like the Raspberry flavoured liquorice but will happily sit and eat a whole bag of the ‘soft-eating’ liquorice too. Which is why when I going into H&B I have to make a beeline for whatever it is that I know I want and NOT BROWSE.

Sigh.