Tried & Mattresses, Recipe Boxes & Hair Curlers

Welcome to the first of our new Tried and Tested consumer features where we put new products and services through rigorous testing, comparing items on the market so you can be sure of finding the right product to suit your needs. This month our team of testers looked at the following…

Mattress-in-a-box

Relatively newcomers to the mattress market are the so-called mattress-in-a-box companies. Technological advances mean most utilise a combination of latex and memory foam layers of differing density, order and thickness. Some come with airpockets or even tiny springs.  These new generation memory foam hybrid mattresses also boast more support, more bounce and less heat trapping than before. They are sold almost exclusively online to keep costs low, arrive in a box and – with a bit of help to get them upstairs, out of the box and into position – you can install them easily. Most offer a no quibble trial period, so you can get a refund or mattress swap and customer service is excellent. Click here to see our guide.

Recipe boxes

Love cooking but stuck in a recipe rut? Or maybe you’re not a confident cook? The latest recipe food delivery services could provide a solution to making midweek meals more exciting. There are a number of brands on the market geared to helping you create new dishes with the minimum of fuss. But how good are they? We put them through their paces here.

Hair curling products

Forget straight hair – curls are everywhere.
We look at the latest products, both heated appliances and the latest non-heated options, to deliver bouncy, wavy or corkscrew curls. Find out how they fared here.