December 2017 Favourites

First off, welcome to my first post of 2018! We are nearly half way through January 2018 and that is just mad to me!

Whilst I have lots of fun new and exciting posts coming up and things I want to try, I can't neglect the wonderful little happenings that were my December favourites.
 I will probably do a little post on some of the bits I got for Christmas too, so if you thought the festivities were over in January hop over here to relive the Christmas time.

Probably my most favourite item of December was my Ciate Advent Calender, £50, ciatelondon.com which my generous mum got for me! My youngest sister, Tanya Burr superfan Sophia got Tanya's 12 Sweet Days Beauty Calendar, £20, Boots and my vegan sister Charlotte was treated to the Lush 12 Days of Christmas, £67.50, Lush calendar. Although these differ in price, can I just say that these calendars suited each of us down to a tee so the fact she spent more on one of us than the other doesn't mean anything as we were all so chuffed, although as the clear middle favourite I'm just happy not to be last. I'M JOKING.

My 24 day calendar included 21 STUNNING nail colours, a nail treatment, gel top coat and a sparkly nail file. I will do a full post on this advent calendar complete with swatches of each colour because I can only do it it's full justice in one dedicated post which I will link back in this post so keep an eye out for that!

My next favourite item was the Beauty Pie Pro-Glow Superstrobing Drops, £4.18 (members price), beautypie.com. These drops give the perfect dewy highlight that made me feel like a Christmas angel.

These drops are 100% my favourite highlighting product I have ever used. They completely transform my complexion and make my skin look flawless. If I could hazard a guess, I'd say they were created in the same factory as the famous Custom Cover Drops by Cover FX which come in at £34.00. If you don't know about Beauty Pie or why I have written that previous sentence or why I have written "membership price", then go to this post where I explain how Beauty Pie works and why it is so amazing!

Another Beauty Pie product I have been loving in December is the Great Skin Foundation, £6.02 (membership price), beautypie.com which I didn't get on too well with at first. I don't know whether my skin was just not its best when I first tried this but recently I have been using this as my everyday foundation and I have really loved the final look! The coverage isn't full, but it covers just about every blemish I need too with feeling heavy and evens my skin tone.

In my previous post I talked about how much I love a lip kit that comes with the matching liner and this MAC Duo, £29.50, maccosmetics.co.uk was the perfect kit for the December time.

With the matte colour 'Diva' and liner 'Burgandy', this was a winning berry lip colour for me throughout December. I was recommended this colour when I had my makeup done at MAC Fenwick Tunbridge Wells ahead of the Royal Variety show, and I am so glad I purchased this as it has been so perfect for the Christmas time of year.

At the end of the day when removing all my makeup, my favourite cleanser has been the Sumptuous Camomile Cleansing Butter, £10, The Body Shop. This balm cleanser is so gentle on skin, and really soothed my eyelids when they flared up in December. They were really dry and itchy but the calming chamomile in this cleanser put them back to normal within a few day.s, and it removes every scrap of makeup.

For a pamper session, I loved this Snowfairy Jelly Bomb, £4.95, Lush which I believe they are not stocking anymore as it is a Christmas exclusive, but I was given this at a bloggers event and waited for the perfect evening to indulge, and it was a much better experience than the one I had with the dark arts jelly bomb which you can read about here. The jello bombs leave a thick jelly like layer on the top of the bath moisturising the skin, and generally giving you a fun old bath time. Snow Fairy is a very sweet, very girly collection and it left my bath bright pink.

I also really loved the Naked Lip Scrub, £5.95, Lush as my lips get very dry in the winter and lipstick doesn't go on very well to dry chapped lips, especially matte formulas such as the Diva lipstick mentioned above. I much prefer the new Lush lip scrub formula of it being in a solid balm as I found the sugar in the pots went everywhere and tended to waste a lot of product. These balms allow you to apply directly onto the lip so moisturises as it goes without being too abbrasive and it also saves on packaging which is good for the environment. Yey!

Thanks for reading my December favourites, and as always if there are any products you loved this past month that you think I should try please do suggest them! Be sure to come back and read my new exciting posts coming soon!

Lush Halloween 2017

Halloween is fast approaching and recently I was invited to my local Lush store in Tunbridge Wells for the Halloween and Christmas showcase. If i'm honest, the event was more focused towards Christmas so I will show you the Christmas bits in a separate post, but for now my head is firmly on Halloween so read on if you want to see what they have in store!

I just bought a few of my favourite bits for myself and my family but if you want to have a look at the whole range then go here

The first thing I bought is the 'Bunch of Hocus Pocus', £19.95 set as I felt it had a good selection from the Halloween collection. It contains the Dark Arts Jelly Bomb, £4.95, A miniature Lord of Misrule Shower Gel, 250g £10.95 or 500 £17.95, and the Bewitched Bubble Bar, £4.25 which I realise now adding it up isn't actually a great deal.

 

 Usually you can expect to make a saving of some sort with gift sets but considering you're paying a surplus of nearly £10 for the shower gel which is a miniature and the cat knot wrap, it may actually be wiser to get them separately! Anyway, I've bought and used them all now so I can't change that but let it be a heads up to you!

On another not so positive note, I have to say the first product from the set was a huge flop for me so I'll get it over and done with first!

Lush have now brought out a range of Jelly bombs, which fizz and marbel like a normal bath bomb, but leave the top layer of your bath feeling like jelly. I'm sure they already have jelly bath products so they have merged the two together to create these jelly bombs. I was really excited to try my Harry Potter inspired dark arts jelly bomb, and the smell was absolutely amazing, probably my favourite from all the Halloween bits. It has spicy cinnamon leaf and brazilian orange oils which are lovely and warming for this time of year.

I plopped it in the bath and watched it fizz and a surprise red flash of colour came from the centre.

The jelly bomb texture was really strange, and when I touched it, (sorry I'm not one to sit and watch a bath bomb I have to pick it up and play) it felt really slimy. Unfortunately this sliminess didn't really go, and the jelly bomb was having a real problem dissolving. I ended up having to squeeze the bomb apart whilst there were still huge chunks floating around that never dissolved and were still there when I emptied the bath. Not to mention the staining from the product too. Nothing permanent, but my skin had black blotches as did the bath so I had to have another shower the following day to wash it off, and also have a wipe down the bath after the bomb which isn't what you want to do once you have relaxed.

It is also worth mentioning that this jelly bomb made my bath really slippery too so if you do try any of the jelly bombs, do be careful!

I was so dissapointed with my experience of this jelly bomb I checked a few YouTube videos and some reviews on their website and it seems like a lot of people have also had this problem, so maybe the jelly bomb formulation still needs a bit of work.

The Lush team demonstrated the Christmas jelly bomb in store at the event and it didn't have the slimy feel so it could be something to do with the ingredients in this particular jelly bomb. One positive from this jelly bomb was the pretty glitter, which made my bath look like a galaxy.

Next is the Bewitched bubble bar which you can get a few uses out of. The idea with the bubble bars is to tear off chunks and run them under the tap to create a more traditional bubble bath.

Compared to the dark arts jet black bath, this doesn't look very impressive, but I didn't have to wash the bath out afterwards so that is good enough for me! Whilst I do feel guilty pulling apart this cute kitty, it smells of sweet blackberry and is really soothing and bubbly. 

Finally from the set is the Lord of Misrule shower gel which I have to say has gone a funny texture. It looks as though mine has been shaken and has loads of air bubbles where as the products in the shops are a much more vivid slime green which really drew me to it.

I am a big fan of sensual spicy scents so this shower cream is well suited to me. It as spicy black pepper and patchouli and it really lasts on the skin all day. I love using this in the morning if I want to wear my Escentric Molecule 01 perfume as it works well with the sandalwood base.

This is a very earthy smell so if you are someone who likes sweetness this won't be for you.

Of course with the set you also get the little cat knot wrap which when tied right gives you the illusion of cat ears.

So now moving onto the individual products I picked up. Firstly, is the Lord of Misrule bath bomb, £3.95. I couldn't resist this because I just loved the smell of the shower gel. It is pretty much the same smell as the shower gel but this adds a bit more drama to bath time.

This is a slow melting bath bomb which reveals a bright red centre

The marbling effect is really pretty and by the end the green foam vanishes and you are left with what quite literally looks like a blood bath.. very Halloween!

Last but of course by no means least is the orange Pumpkin bath bomb, £4.25. Whilst this isn't the most dramatic bath transformation I have ever experienced you cant resist the way his little pumpkin head looks staring at you in the shop. He smells of orange zest and gently fizzs leaving your bath looking like an orange soda dream. It isn't a creamy consistency, it just transforms the colour of the water, but I'm ok with.

Here are a few other pictures from the event of some of the other Halloween products they currently have on offer.

The Metamorphosis bath bomb is one I have had before and absolutely loved! It had a heady myrrh and black pepper scent which fizzes into a cinnamon treat and the hard black exteriour transforms into such a beautiful mix of colours.

Another jelly bomb from Halloween is Ectoplasm Jelly bomb, £4.95 which again from reviews on the website looks like people have had slight problems with. The video on the website shows this bursting into a green fizz which looks really exciting, it has tangerine and grapefruit so is a really citrussy bomb.

Of course there are the legendary pink and orange glitter pumpkins which have been brought back every year!

So that concludes the Lush Halloween 2017 collection. As I said there are a few more items which haven't been pictured here but I hope it has inspired you to have a few spooky soaks!

Lush Blogger Event- Mother's Day Collection 2017

 

If you're anything like me, you've probably left buying Mother's day gifts a little too late.

Thankfully, I was invited to the Lush Mother's Day blogger event at my local store last month, and they showed me all the lovely new items they have, specially designed for Mothers in mind.

So if you think your mum deserves a Lush filled Mother's day, keep reading! 

The lovely girls at Lush Tunbridge Wells divided up the group so we could see and talk about each product, and pass it round so we could have a sniff and play.

The first product is Mum bath fizzer.

 

This cute little bath fizzer has a secret message inside, just to let your mum know how much you love her. It contains Lemon, Orange and Rose Oils

Next is my favourite new product called 'Ups-A-Daisy'. Containing rose and orange oils, this gives off an awe inspiring tie dye effect.

 

Next is the Baa Bar, which you crumble off what you need a soak in the bath. Lavender, Rose and Ylang Ylang are the calming ingredients to save Mum counting Sheep when she goes to bed.

My second favourite product purely for the smell is 'Your Mother Should Know' bath bar, which smells of beautiful Neroli, rose wood and grapefruit and is so fragrant.

 

Another favourite is 'Elsie The Giraffe (You're Having a Bath)' which is possibly the best name for a product ever? Swish Elsie around the bath for a fruity bath of Lemon and Grapefruit oils.

 

If you can't say it yourself, then say it with this 'Yummy Mummy' violet smelling shower cream which smells of Palma Violets, containing conditioning cocoa butter.

The Sunrise soap is so zesty, and the perfect wake up call, with bergamot and zesty orange oil.

I had the 'Scrubee' demonstrated on my arm and this is such a lovely product! This was a firm favourite amongst the group, as the creamy honey and cocoa butter keeps skin smooth, and the ground up coconut shells and almonds make for great exfoliation.

This wobbly jelly is the 'Pink Custard' jelly which smells of tonka and lavender. Showering with this can make shower time that bit more fun.

Finally, the lovely honey lip scrub is a tasty (yes I ate some) way to moisturise and exfoliate those dry winter lips away!

We took a little break and enjoyed this delicious sparkly cake.

The final part of the event, was actually making our very own face cleansers, another great option for Mother's Day. "Angels on Bare Skin" is a gentle exfoliating face wash than can be used daily and by all skin types.

We mixed Kaolin, a grease and dirt absorber, calming lavender and rose oils to make a paste. We then folded in ground almonds and lavender flowers and put it in the pot, as simple as that, proving that Lush products really don't contain any chemicals or nasties. I've been using mine everyday since and my skin feels nourished, smooth and looks bright.

So if you haven't got Mother's day sorted, head into Lush right now so your Mum knows how much you care!