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!

National Fragrance Day 2017

As you may or may not know, today is national fragrance today!

If you've read this blog for a while then you may have seen that I really struggle to describe fragrances, but seeing as I've been working part time selling fragrance, I've started to pick up a bit of the lingo and thought I'd put it to practice.

Working in a fragrance department means I get to try lots of different perfumes on a day to day basis and wear ones that are well and truly out of my price range! I'm going to try and feature more fragrances within my blog, so keep a look out for that. For now though, I thought I'd show you my current three fragrances I've been loving at the moment.

First up, and probably my absolute fragrance of the moment is from a super cool fashion brand. 'This Is Her!' 100ml, £70, Zadig & Voltaire Is the female version to 'This is Him!' keeping things nice and simple.

The packaging is so cool, and the 2 bottles are designed to slot together so you can be absolute #couplegoals with matching fragrances.

I find this fragrance absolutely addictive, it smells warm and sexy and it's a beautiful evening fragrance. The vanilla and chestnut make an amazing combination, and sandalwood is one of my favorite ingredients which is the base to this fragrance. The fragrance suits the hip fashionista girl the brand embodies.

Next up is Fleur Musc 100ml, £80,Narcisco Rodriguez which you've probably seen advertised and posted on my Instagram. You cannot miss the gorgeous pink bottle and if I'm honest the bottle is one of the reasons I love this fragrance.

'Fleur Musc' is a modern alternative to floral fragrances. I personally don't like floral fragrances very much, but the pink pepper and amber mixed with rose, peony and patchouli really spices this up, and the musk makes it a really sophisticated.

I went on some training for all these fragrances a few weeks ago so got to learn about the stories behind each brand, and the story for Annick Goutal really is like a romantic and tragic novel.

Annick Goutal was a pianist, model, antique collector and all round lovely woman. Inspired by love, her daughter Camile, and her general love of the world. Annick created a huge collection of fragrances however unfortunately became sick and died too young. Thankfully her daughter has carried on her mother's passion for fragrance and continued to make perfumes.

Tenue de Soiree 100ml, £117, Annick Goutal is the latest fragrance from the brand, and also the first in the newly designed bottles which differ to the very antique bottles you'd usually recognise from Annick Goutal. The addition of the little pom pom adds a new spin, making it slightly younger and more playful. Tenue de Soiree translates to "evening dress" and it is meant to replicate the smell of a young girl getting ready for a party in the early evening. The fragrance contains Iris making it powdery but not too sweet. Patchouli also comes through making it a really wearable and young which is what the fragrance tries to be.

As I said before, look out for more fragrance posts especially on the run up to summer where I'll show you some of my favourite summer scents!

Hope you enjoyed!

Current Makeup Routine

Since I started blogging, I have often found it the perfect excuse to go out and buy new beauty products, such as that new mascara just launched, or the new favourite foundation. I never really stick to one thing unless it is super special, which means my skincare, makeup and hair routine can change on a monthly basis.

Today I thought I'd do an updated makeup routine, as I have lots of products I realised I hadn't talked about. This is my makeup routine for what I would wear day to day so there it is mainly base as I only do minimal eyes during the day. So without further ado, here is my current makeup routine.

Primer

Firstly, I have been using this Photo Ready Primer, £7.95, Revlon which got a lot of hype when it launched. If I'm completely honest, I am not in love with it. I like primers to give me that really siliconey feel, like your skin is really smooth and this one just sinks in like a moisturiser almost. This may seem like a weird thing to dislike, as silicones in products aren't actually great for your skin, but I find it makes your makeup last much longer however I will persevere with it until it is finished.

Colour Correcting

If you read my post about the beginning of the new year about my bad skin, then you will have seen that although my spots have basically gone, I am still left with quite noticeable scars which can be really red. Due to this, I have started colour correcting so I don't have to use as much concealer when doing my makeup. The colour best suited for this is green, as the colour neutralises any red and evens out the skin tone.

I also use the yellowy tone on my under eyes if I am looking particularly tired that day!

Other than that, I don't really use any other colours so if you're thinking about investing in some colour correcters, I would suggest maybe buying a singular colour rather than a palette as some tones work for darker skins which I obviously don't have so the palette is slightly wasted. Otherwise, this Colour Correcting Palette, £10.50 NYX has a nice creamy consistency, and it rubs well into the skin and covers easily.

Foundation

Moving on from that, I bought the Sheer Glow foundation, £32, NARS about 10 months ago now and it is only just running out. Having said that, when I first got it I wasn't really reaching for it as my go to foundation. There were a few reasons for this, firstly, the shade I was matched too was the palest shade which is 'Mont Blanc' and I had just come back from travelling and was sporting a fairly good tan so it just didn't look right on me at all. Secondly, I found that this just slid off my face, even with powder and primer, I would lightly brush my face and all my foundation would come off.

I think maybe this was first ever 'glowy' foundation whereas before I have always gone for matte finish which stays put all day long.

I have no idea what changed, but now I'm coming to the end of it, I find it has been perfect for me recently, with good medium coverage, and the perfect dewy finish. I will be sad when this fully runs out!

I have also been using the Expert Face Brush, £9.99, Real Techniques to apply my foundation, which has been dreamy, and I couldn't live without this brush now. The product absorption is minimal, and I find I only get slightly streaky marks with it when it REALLY needs a wash so that would be entirely down to me.

Concealer

I love a good concealer, and I think this Naked Skin Concealer, £19, Urban Decay may be my new all time favourite. I used to love the Wake Me Up Concealer, £5.49, Rimmel, but this is really thick and the coverage is so so amazing.

It took me ages to get it because this shade is the most popular, so in the end I had to order online which meant I got a little sample of the foundation which I look forward to trying (new NARS replacement??)

As I said, the coverage on this is so good and it really brightens up my face each day.

Contour

I have always been scared of contouring because I find it can go so wrong so easily, and for a while I was using an bronzer to contour which is such a faux pas as the tone is way too orange and doesn't look natural. I needed quite a neutral brown shadow tone, and this Hoola Bronzer, £24.50, Benefit is the perfect shade for that on my pale skin.

Not only this, but the little rectangular shaped brush makes application so easy under the cheekbones, so I use this as the guide and then diffuse slightly with an angled brush afterwards.

I don't know where this brush is from as my little sister got it for me for Christmas (bless her) but an angled brush is great for this blurring and also blusher application.

Blusher

I have mentioned this Blusher, £32, Hourglass a couple of times now, but I really think it is so beautiful and the shade works really well on my skin tone. I only use a small bit on the apples on my cheeks but it really brightens up my face which is much needed on these chilly British days we've been having.

Highlighter

I have also mentioned this Strobe Powder, £34, Hourglass before, but since that post I recently purchased this Fanned Brush, £11, The Body Shop to apply it and it has been a game changer. The brush perfectly distributes just enough product to give a really light natural highlight, and I love the effect it gives.

Powder

To set makeup, I have been using this Finishing Powder £9, NYX. It is a loose powder which aims to blur and make skin look photogenic. Personally, I don't think it is the best powder out there, and I find loose powder end up going everywhere and hard to travel with. This does leave a nice finish, but again, I probably wouldn't buy it again as I have tried better powders out there.

Brows

Again, this Arch Brow Pencil, £29, Hourglass has been mentioned before in the Hourglass post I did, but I still really love the colour and applicator to this brow tool. As well as this, I have also been trying this sample of the new Gimme Brow, £18, Benefit and find it gives you that messy brow that is becoming quite fashionable. It adds really nice texture and defines each individual hair.

Mascara

This Full Exposure Mascara, £19.50, Smashbox is soooooo good! It makes my lashes look so thick and really full. While it is not so lengthening, it really opens the eye ares and is just a really nice mascara. No wonder it is a Smashbox best seller.

Liquid Liner

Now one of most read posts is on the Grandiose Eye Liner, £23, Lancome so if you want to read a more in depth post then take a look at that here. I don't wear liquid liner everyday but if I do, then this is my absoulte favourite eyeliner and honestly, I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to another one. The bendy lid makes application so easy, and once it has dried, it does not budge. My only criticism of this product is that they can dry out quite quickly which makes applying it quite hard, but when it is really liquidy, it makes eyeliner an absolute breeze.

Lips

Finally I have fallen back in love with lipstick and liner combo I used for my Kylie Jenner Lips post way back in 2014! Both myself and Kylie have changed A LOT since way back then as you'll see, including the size of her pout yet again!

The secret is pretty much out that Kylie used MAC 'Velvet Teddy' for her perfect nude, before she started creating her Lip Kits, but I saw this as an alternative for paler skin somewhere on the internet way back when, and I love this lipstick so so much. For me, 'Brave' Lipstick, £16.50, MAC is the perfect natural lip colour, and whereas before I often though lip liner was just a fad, I am loving using my 'Soar' Lip Liner, £13, MAC again just to add depth to the colour and really get a sharp outline on the lip.

And that is it! My everyday makeup routine.
Let me know if you have any alternatives for products I have mentioned I'm low on or haven't loved that much, and I always love to hear recommendations of new things to try as well.

Hope you enjoyed.
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