Wednesday 27 November 2013

Little Festive Lush Haul

I am a massive fan of Lush and I have loved every single product which I have tried from there so far, but my favourite time of year to buy from the Lush shop is the festive season. I love the festive smells and looks of the products and I quite simply can't resist going in to buy something on every shopping trip around Christmas time! 

When I was out shopping I took a sneaky trip into Lush and managed to exit with seven items. Only four of them are pictured because I couldn't resist trying a couple of them already! As well as the ones listed below, I purchased Golden Wonder, Cinders (both favourites of mine from last year) and  Bombardino, a new one which I had never tried before. 


Top left: Secret Santa. Top right: Snowman. Bottom left: Gold Fun. Bottom right: Father Christmas.



Golden Wonder £3.50: I have already used my Golden Wonder bath bomb and, just like last year, I absolutely loved it. It is shaped like a giant present covered in gold shimmer with a white bow. The smell is fantastic. It smells just like it does when you walk through the door to Lush. The Golden Wonder contains sweet orange oil, lime oil and cognac oils. Lush describes the smell as 'a light fizzing champagne cocktail'. The Golden Wonder has three miniature little bath bombs inside of it which pop out when the bath bomb has fizzed enough, sending your bath water a multitude of different colours. When eventually finished and you're in the bath, the bath water goes an amazing bluey-green colour, with gold shimmer in the water and dissolving gold stars. 



Cinders £2.45: Cinders is a favourite of mine from last year as well. Cinders is quite a small bath bomb containing almond oil, sweet orange and cinnamon leaf, giving it a real Christmassy smell. Cinders also has popping candy inside of it which crackles inside the water to make it sound like a fire crackle. 



Bombardino £2.50: The Bombardino is possibly the cutest bath bomb that I have ever seen. Look at him, he's adorable. This little guy contains cocoa butter, Sicillian lemon oil and Cardamom oil. Bombardino leaves your skin feeling really soft and smelling delicious. 


Secret Santa £5.75: The Secret Santa is the one I am most excited to try this year. The bath bomb is absolutely massive and you could break it up if you wanted to use it for multiple baths because it seriously is that big. The scent of this one is calming ylang ylang and uplifting lime. This will make your bath water turn a bright orange colour and even has a surprise on the inside (a miniature red Father Christmas bath bomb!). I am so excited to try this one!

  

Snowman £2.50: The snowman has the same scent as the Lush Butterball, very vanillary. The Snowman is loaded with cocoa butter to ensure that the skin is left soft. The nose of the Snowman is made from 'The Carrot' bubble bar from last Easter too!


Gold Fun £5.00: The Gold Fun is a multifunctional product. With the amazing smell of the ever so famous, Honey, I washed the kids, this bar of golden fun smells and looks amazing. You can use the fun bars for washing your body or your hair, you can crumble it under running water to use in your bath or you could simply just play with it! Gold Fun contains sweet wild orange oil, uplifting bergamont and softening cornflour.


Father Christmas £3.25: Last but not least, Father Christmas. I had Father Christmas last year and he was fab, just didn't quite beat Golden Wonder or Cinders for me. A bath using this bath bomb will literally make your bathroom smell like Christmas. Father Christmas contains mandarin oil and orange flower absolute and will surprisingly turn your bath water a Christmassy deep green!

I hope you enjoyed this post about the Christmassy Lush products. Which is your favourite Lush item at Christmas time?
Em x



Tuesday 26 November 2013

Beauty Advent Calendars

Christmas is my favourite time of the year so the next couple of posts may or may not be Christmas related... Beauty is also one of my favourite things so if you put Christmas and beauty together, what do you get? CHRISTMAS BEAUTY ADVENT CALENDARS! There are many brands which bring out the usual beauty advent calendars every year, but this year they are looking particularly fab. 

From left to right: Top row: Boots 24 Days of Beauty Treats, The Body Shop 24 days of joy, Yankee Candle, You Beauty Make A Wish. Bottom row: Selfridges Christmas Advent Calendar, Benefit Countdown to Love, Ciate Mini Mani Month.



1. Boots 24 Days of Beauty Treats - £30
The Boots beauty advent calendar is the most affordable one on the market. The products within the calendar add up to a total of £65 that you're getting for £30! Bargain! There are lots of different brands in the calendar including Soap & Glory, Juicy Couture, Nails Inc, Rimmel, Umberto Gianni and many more. 



2. The Body Shop 24 Days of Joy - £55
The Body Shop beauty advent calendar is slightly more expensive than the Boots one, priced at £55 for this one. However, even though it has a higher price tag, you're getting £80 worth of goodies for £55. This advent calendar includes products such as lip butters, soap, shower cream and night cream.



3. Yankee Candle - £21.99
Yankee Candle isn't really classed as a beauty advent calendar, but I thought I'd throw it in anyway, because who doesn't love a good candle?! The Yankee Candle calendar is priced at £21.99 and behind each door is a Yankee tea light. There are six different scents of candle within the calendar, including new scents and a USA only scent! There's also a surprise of 2 tea lights behind door number 24.



4. You Beauty Make A Wish - £49.95
The You Beauty advent calendar is always a big seller and this year it comes £10 cheaper than last years! The whole content value of this calendar is £240! (WOWZA). There are many brands included in this calendar from Caudalie and Leighton Denny to Dermalogica and Stila. 



5. Selfridges Christmas Advent Calendar - £84
The Selfridges beauty advent calendar is the most expensive one out there (by quite a bit!). However, the products in this calendar are high end luxury products. The calendar includes skincare, fragrance and make up. A few of the luxurious brands included in this calendar are Yves Saint Laurent, Georgio Armani, Viktor & Rold and Lancome. 



6. Benefit Countdown To Love - £50
The Benefit Countdown to Love advent calendar is my favourite by far. The calendar itself is an amazing pop art design including lots of bright colours. The contents of the calendar include many of their best sellers and also a necklace, a bracelet and a barrette. 



7. Ciate Mini Mani Month - £42
The Ciate advent calendars sell out very quickly every time because they are absolutely amazing. Behind each door is a mini nail polish. The calendar contains seventeen of their best selling nail polishes, 4 mini caviar blends, 3 glitters which are exclusive to the calendar and are not available to buy anywhere else! I also love the packaging of the Ciate calendar this year as it has a lovely dark blue wool effect. Very Christmassy! 

I absolutely adore all of the calendars and I think that they are all fab this year. My favourite is definitely the Benefit Countdown to Love calendar, but I also love the Yankee Candle calendar as well! The countdown to Christmas starts soon so make sure you have yours!

!!SPOILER ALERT!!

Some of you may want to know what the advent calendars include and others who have the calendars and want to leave it as a surprise may not want to know. Below, I am going to list what is included in each of the Christmassy beauty advent calendars. 

1. Boots 24 Days of Beauty Treats
Soap & Glory Clean Girls Body Wash, Balmi Lip Balm, Mavala London 53, Nina Fragrance, Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation in Ivory, Vichy Idealia Life Serum, Paco Rabanne Black XS Fragrance, Umberto Gianni Hair Tie, SEVENTEEN Supreme Shine Nail Polish, Orly Bonder Base Coat, Ghost Fragrance, Boots Salon Nail Shine Solution, Vichy LifeActiv Serum  10, Juicy Couture Fragrance, SEVENTEEN Tattoo Me Liquid Eye Liner, Dotty Nail File, Soap & Glory Scrub, Ghost Fragrance, Classic Carmex Moisturising Lip Balm, Mavala Pure Diamond 213, Botanics Heat Protection Shine Serum for Hair, Nails Inc Porchester Square, Umberto Gianni Glam Hair Backcomb in a Bottle, SEVENTEEN Blow Out Mascara.

2. The Body Shop 24 Days of Joy
Almond Hand & Nail Cream, Vitamin E Moisture Cream, Vitamin E Sink In Moisture Mask, Vitamin E Night Cream, White Must Smooth Satin Body Lotion, Japanese Blossom Body Lotion, Lip & Cheek Stain - Bronze Glimmer, Born Lippy Raspberry Lip Balm, Cocout Shower Cream, Mango Body Whip, Moringa Body Milk, Shea Body Butter, Chocomania Soap, Cranberry Joy Soap, Ginger Sparkle Soap, Honeymania Lip Balm, Satsuma Body Puree, Moringa Shower Gel, Born Lippy Strawberry Lip Balm, Strawberry Shower Gel, Shea Shower Cream, Shea Lip Butter, Bath Lily Facial Brush. 

3. Yankee Candle
Snow in Love - Fall in love with this delightful blend of creamy, comforting woods and wintry powder freshness. Balsam & Cedar (USA only fragrance) - Balsam, aromatic cedar wood and juniper berry blend together in a fresh forest scent. Merry Marshmallow (New Christmas Scent) - It's a marshmallow world at Christmas! Find happiness in a delightfully luscious and creamy soft concoction of marshmallow and vanilla. Red Apple Wreath - A happy holiday homecoming with the festive aroma of sweet apples, cinnamon, walnuts and maple. Snowflake Cookie (New Christmas Scent) - A new festive tradition that is sure to charm perfectly pretty festive cookies, deliciously decorated with sugary pink icing. Sparking Cinnamon - Holiday glow... the spicy warmth of real imported stick cinnamon with a hint of cloves. 

4. You Beauty Make A Wish
Alterna Bamboo Smooth Kendi Dry Oil Mist, Aromatherapy Associates Inner Strength Bath & Shower Oil, Balance Me Super Toning Body Wash, Bioeffect EGF Serum, Caudalie Limited Edition Hand & Nail Cream, Dermalogica Ultra Calming Range Set, DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, Dr. Lipp Lip Balm, Dr Organic Dead Sea Mineral Eye Roller Ball, ESPA Optimum Skin Pro Serum & Refining Skin Polish Duo, Green People Anti-Age Eye Liner (Grey), Inika Mineral Eye Shadow (Gunmetal), Leighton Denny Nail Varnish in Vamp, Modelco Black Mascara, Neom Moroccan Blush Rose Organic Hand Cream, Perricone MD No Foundation Foundation, Q The Fine Fragrance Body Spray, Therapie Roques O'Neil Himalayan Detox Salts, Sisley Masque Creme A La Rose Noire, Steamcream Moisturiser, Stila Lip Glaze in Kaleidoscope, Trilogy Rosapene Night Cream, The Vintage Cosmetic Company Tweezers, Weleda Skin Food.

5. Selfridges Christmas Advent Calendar
Lancome Hypnose Mascara, Armani Code Femme Eau De Parfum, Lancome Hypnose Star Mascara, Flowerbomb Miniature, Maison Martin Margiela Untitled, Lancome Tresor Mini, Lancome La Vie Est Belle, Lancome Bi-Facial, Yves Saint Laurent Opium, Lancome Galateis, Doucheur Cleansing Fluid, Lancome Absolu Nu Lipstick in 302, Kiehl's Ceme De Corps Deluxe Sample, Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve Deluxe Sample, Yves Saint Laurent Kohl Eye Pencil, Lancome Renergie Day Cream, Lancome Hydrazen Neurocalm Moisturising Cream, Lancome Advanced Gene Fique, Lancome Mini Juicy Tube, Yves Saint Laurent Forever Youth Liberator Serum, Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate Deluxe Sample, Lancome Visionnaire Serum, Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream, Absolue Precious Cells Yeux Deluxe Sample.

6. Benefit Countdown to Love
"that gal", the POREfessional, High Beam, Sun Beam, Benetint, Chachatint, Posietint, Ultra Plush Lip Gloss in Dandelion, Ultra Plush Lip Gloss in Sugarbomb, Ultra Plush Lip Gloss in CORALista, Hoola, Dandelion, CORALista, Ultra Plush Lip Gloss in A-Lister, BADgal Lash, Stay Don't Stray Light/Medium, BADgal Liner Waterproof, It's Potent Eye Cream, Girl Meets Pearl, Total Moisture Facial Cream, Ooh La Lift, Horseshoe Charm Bracelet, Star Charm Necklace, Ribbon Bow Barrette. 

7. Ciate Mini Mani Month
Snow Globe, Boudoir, Ferris Wheel, Hopscotch, Sugarplum, Fit for a Queen, Kiss Chase, Amazing Gracie, Pepperminty, Encore!, Party Shoes, Confeti, Members Only, Play Date, Ivory Queen, Locket, Pillow Fight, Speed Coat, Underwear, Ciate pearls Frost Yourself, Ciate Pearls Christmas Tree, Glitter Jingle Belle, Sequins Miss Mistletoe, A Funnel (actual funnel, not polish), A Full Size Ciate Paint Pot Exclusive To This Calendar.

I hope you enjoyed reading this festive post!
Em x