The Christmas Pamper

Happy Christmas everyone! I hope you are all thoroughly stuffing your face, got lots of wonderful presents, and are enjoying spending time with your loved ones! And if you're reading this on a shiny new phone, tablet or laptop, well, you lucky duck.

There's nothing I like more at Christmas than a good pamper sesh (except for food and presents and chocolate...). And I like it to start on Christmas eve, I fold my tired limbs into a hot bubble bath for a nice long soak, and this year I plumped for Lush's Christmas Eve bubble bar, which smells beautifully of Jasmine, and is very calming. 

I just wanted to take a minute to thank every single one of you, I love you all very much, and I hope you're having a wonderful Christmas!

What have you been up to today? Do you like a good Christmas pamper?

The Review: Lush Santa Lip Scrub

I've been a Lush Lip Scrub fan for a while now, after tracking down a Popcorn scrub in an obscure branch when it was sold out everywhere. However, I wasn't in love with the taste, it's more salted caramel than popcorn.

This year however, I struck gold with the Christmas Edition of the scrub. The Santa's lip scrub is cola bottle flavour. Yes cola bottle. Possible the scrummiest thing ever, and it smells incredible too. The formula is a little different to the original, I find the Popcorn one quite coarse and dry, whereas this is a little more like a body scrub formula, it sticks together and isn't as lumpy and harsh, making it better for everyday use.

I use this everyday as part of my evening skincare routine, and the difference it makes to my lips is incredible, especially as we head into the chapped lip territory of Winter. These come in at around the five pound mark, making them a brilliant stocking filler too! Or if you're like my mum who likes to pop personalised pressies into our Christmas Crackers (last year I got a gorgeous shimmery Model's Own polish) this is great for that too. 

Do you use a lip scrub?

The Christmas Gift Guide - The Sweet Lushie

 I know, I know, you don't even want to think about Christmas yet, but the fact of the matter is that the season to be jolly is almost upon us, and the number of shopping days left are fast disappearing. So here I am with another Christmas gift set to propel you into motion.

It's no secret on this here blog that yours truly is a mahooooosive Lush fan (no idea where I get it from, my mum can't stand the stuff!), so you had to know a Lush gift was coming your way. I stood in front of all the Christmas gift sets in the Liverpool Street Station Branch, almost convincing myself to pay £125.95 for this bad boy, before the sales assistant pointed out this set, The Sweetest Thing, which comes in at a much more conservative £11.95.

So what's inside? 

Sweetie Pie Shower Jelly is one of the first Lush products I ever owned, way back when my dad did some work for Lush. This stuff is literally like jelly, it's soft and wobbly and it smells just like Vimto. It's not the easiest stuff to maneuver in the shower, it's so squidgy, but it's worth it because the scent absorbs into your skin, making you smell deliciously edible all day long. 

 Massage bars are another product that I haven't had in a really long time, so I was quite excited to find this inside! Shimmy Shimmy is a Vanilla scented massage bar, packed with iridescent gold shimmer, perfect for party season! It's super moisturising and leaves a gorgeous shimmer on your skin, so I'll be reserving this for nights out, but it's definitely persuaded me to pick up another, non-glittery one to retry!

Snow Fairy fans, rejoyce, because this soap is available year round and carries the same scent, which is bizarre, because I can't stand Snow Fairy, it's too sickly sweet for me, but I LOVE this. Lush soaps are relatively new to me, but this is definitely one of my favourites. It smells incredible and lathers up nicely. If you aren't a fan of Snow Fairy don't be put off, because this definitely isn't as intense, it's really lovely!

In short, this is a perfect Christmas gift for any sweet scent lovers out there!

Have you tried any of these products?

October Favourites 2013

I honestly can't believe how quickly October has gone, I think because I was quite ill at the beginning of the month, and was pretty much tucked up in bed for ten days, the month feels super short. As a result, it was pretty difficult to pick my favourites for this month. In the end, I went about doing my makeup and my getting ready process, and just put aside each product I knew I had reached for more days than not, and came up with this bunch for you.

First up skincare. For the body I have been loving the Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub. The scent is slightly unseasonal for this time of year, but I had wanted to try this for ages, but I needed to get through all my backups of The Breakfast Scrub first. It's a gorgeous brown sugar and lime scent which is super sickly sweet but I love it. It's not as gritty as The Breakfast Scrub, so that combined with the scent means that once I've used this up, I probably won't repurchase this til next summer. My skin needs something a little harsher in the winter, but I like this a lot.

Back in September I purchased a full size of the Origins Clear Improvement mask, after I had a tiny sample of it and was impressed with how far it went. It's a clay based mask which really drags out any nasty stuff in your skin and clears it up massively. It's an expensive product, (£23) but based on how many masks I got out of my previous sample size, I'm paying less than 30p for each use, which to me is a bargain.

Two products from Lush, although to be honest Lush in general is definitely a favourite. I'm really happy with my current skincare routine at the moment (not to mention my bathtime routine) and a large portion of the products I use are from Lush. I did pick out two to share with you though, Santa's Lip Scrub and Let The Good Times Roll. I won't say any more about these because I just did a massive post on Lush, but if you want to hear more about this product click here.

Onto makeup and the base I have been consistently reaching for this month is the L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau De Teint. I absolutely love this foundation, it might just be one of my favourite drugstore releases this year. It's super super lightweight on your skin, it honestly feels like you've just dusted a little powder on your skin. It evens out any redness, whilst looking so natural, nobody will ever believe you're wearing foundation. 

To go with that base, I've been reaching for the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, which definitely lives up to the hype around it the last few months. This is a super creamy concealer (as the name would suggest) which is high enough coverage to disguise no sleep, and the pizza induced breakout on your chin, whilst again looking really natural. This has become a staple in my makeup routine, and I can't see myself without it. 

For eyes, I have been going for a darker, more autumnal look, and the star of the show for me has been this MAC Quad. I have two MAC quads and I'm going to be doing a post on them both soon, but this one holds the darker, more wintery colours of the two. In here is Cranberry, Sketch, Blackberry and Satin Taupe, and pretty much every day my eyes have been sporting two of these colours.

Lastly for eyes, I've been trying to get back into liner again. When I was in college, I don't think I ever left the house without cat flicks and kohl rimmed waterlines, but it's been a while since I've sported that look recently. I repurchased the Soap and Glory Supercat Liner again last month and have been making an effort to use it again, I think black liquid liner really finishes off a dark smokey eye look, and I like this pen since it takes all the difficulty out of winged liner! 

The last thing I want to mention is not a beauty product, but my new Yankee Candle Tart Burner. There's a new Yankee Candle store in Westfield, which is conveniently located about thirty seconds from my uni campus, so needless to say, I headed in there pretty excitedly with paycheck in hand at the end of last month. My plan had been to buy a large jar of Christmas Cookie to get in the Christmas Spirit, but this Tart Burner was reduced and the tarts were on offer, so I ended up getting this instead. I like that this means I can change up scents more often (large jars have a burn time of 150 hours, whereas the tarts are 8) and because of the deal on, this worked out cheaper in terms of burn time. Anyway, I've been loving having this burning whilst I'm working in the house, particularly with Christmas Cookie and the Vanilla Lime scent (which my boyfriend likes too!).

So that's it, October is over! Are you getting excited for Christmas yet? What products have you been loving this month? 

The Best Of Lush

 I can't be the only one who finds walking into a Lush store pretty intimidating. With more bath bombs than I have had hot dinners, and a barrage of different sickly smells, it's pretty hard to know where to start. I've tried a fair few bits from Lush now (my dad doing a job in the factory when I was younger and coming back with boxes and boxes of freebies helped),  so here are my recommendations for what to pick up next time you're in store.

Cinders Bath Ballistic: Starting off with one from the Christmas line, which I will be stocking up on to see me through the next few months. The idea of this bath bomb comes from crackling fires, and when you drop this in your bath you'll be met with golden waters and the sound of popping candy cracking under water, just like the sound of a roaring log fire. It contains Cinnamon and Almond Oils, but also Citrus notes, so it kind of smells like a spicy fruit punch. This is currently a definite contestant for my Christmas Eve bath.

You've Been Mangoed Bath Melt: This is actually the only one of the bath melts I like the scent of! It's a mango and lime fragrance which is super sweet and lovely. The main ingredient of this is Cocoa butter, so it's crazy hydrating and makes the water incredibly soft. I either use just this, or half of one of these paired with either Cinders or Fizzbanger to add a little hydration into the water. You can skip the body butter after a bath in this!

Fizzbanger Bath Ballistic: Looks pretty boring from the outside but don't be fooled. This spins round the bath, popping candy cracking, in spirals of yellow and blue, leaving you to soak in a green tub smelling of apple pie. Could there be a better bath scent? 

Phoenix Rising Bath Ballistic: This is my absolute favourite bath accompaniment, it's got Shea and Cocoa butter in so it's crazy hydrating, it's purple with gold glitter, and the main scent is sweet cinnamon. It's a very comforting bath bomb, one I tend to reach for on cold rainy days, or if I'm missing home.

NEW! Shampoo Bar: I bought this after Sophie told me it helps stimulate hair growth! Once you get used to the bizarre feeling of rubbing a bar of soap into your hair, it's pretty good. The smell of this is incredibly strong when you get it but fades to a much more bearable cinnamon scent after a week or so. Exceptionally clarifying and makes hair super shiny. 

Let The Good Times Roll: I'm sure you know by now that this is my FAVOURITE EVER LUSH PRODUCT. LIKE FAVOURITE EVER EVER. I'm so glad this has been bought back! It smells like caramel popcorn, which can only be a good thing, and gently exfoliates the face getting rid of dead skin cells, dirt, and keeping the skin looking radiant. I refuse to not have this in my house! Again, this contains Cinnamon but you can't smell it in this (are you sensing a cinnamon theme here yet?).

Ultrabland: This is an excellent makeup remover, but I wouldn't recommend using this as your sole cleanser. It's oil based so it removes even waterproof mascara like a dream, but it does leave a bit of a residue, so I reach for this when I'm wearing a lot of makeup, and then use a second cleanser after. Not one for oily skin, but if you have really dry skin, you'll want to slather this stuff on. 

Ocean Salt: I keep this in the shower for giving my face a good scrub whilst I'm waiting for my conditioner to work it's magic. It's made with Vodka, limes and grapefruit, making it antiseptic, I tend to reach for this a lot more frequently when my skin is freaking out. It's got big chunks of sea salt piled on top of a creamy base, making it exfoliating, but also super hydrating on your skin. Love this stuff, just not the taste!

Catastrophe Cosmetic Fresh Face Mask: The best of the Lush face masks. Cammomile and Blueberries combined into a clay based mask which soothes every skin freak out and banishes spots overnight. It's preservative free which means it needs to be kept in the fridge and used within six weeks (you'll know when not to use it, when it starts developing spots of mould, nice).

Grease Lightening Spot Treatment: The only spot treatment I use now. If I get spots these days it tends to be down to either stress, hormones or food, so I know I either need to calm down, start popping Feminax or stop ordering Dominos to banish breakouts, but when I need a spot gone RIGHT NOW, I reach for this. It's completely natural with the exception of one preservative, which I don't mind because a little goes a long way with this stuff and I don't want to be chucking out most of it because it's out of date! It works by soothing, whilst being a combination of astringent, antibacterial and antisceptic, to get rid of nasties. I pop this on and it dries clear, and the next morning the spot is gone.

Popcorn Lip Scrub: Simple stuff, a combo of sugar and oils that you can scrub across your lips and lick off to leave them super smooth, a must have for Winter. This particular one is Salted Caramel Flavour, mmmmmmm.

Santa's Lip Scrub: This years Christmas edition of the lip scrub is bright red and cola flavoured. The formula of this one is less gritty and less abrasive so it's better for daily upkeep rather than tackling scaly lip bits.

Vanillary Solid Perfume: My go to Autumn Winter Fragrance. Vanilla, Jasmin and Caramel, it's grown up, sweet, and oh so comforting. Have a sniff, I'm awful at describing scents.

A Million Kisses Lip Tint: They don't actually do this colour any more but they do have this one instead. I love Lush Lip tints, they're crazy pigmented, you literally need the tiniest amount, they aren't drying, and the little tin packaging is so cute!

Honey Trap Lip Balm: This one is white chocolate and honey flavour. Yum, yum, yum. It's incredibly hydrating, similar in effect to Nuxe Reve De Miel but half the price. Again, I love the little tin it comes in.

Special Mentions: Space Girl, Bombardino, The Godmother, Sexy Peel, Sweetie Pie, The Comforter.

What are your favourite Lush Products?