My favourite (none bath bomb) Lush products!

I am a big Lush fan, huge. I know lots of people think it's overpriced, and I do admit that often it's expensive, however, I just can't stay away. I honestly think that very often for what you're getting the price is justified (if you'd have asked me if that was the case when I was a student I'd have said hell naw so I do understand each to their own etc).

These are my reasons for my love affair with Lush: I have fairly sensitive skin and don't like lots of chemical nasties in my products. I also like that you can trust the ethics of Lush, something which I've definitely paid more mind to in the last few years with regards to animal testing, and the last few months with my vegetarian-ish diet (i'm eating fish still at the moment but it's all a process in my eyes, I was a full blown, militant, trying to convert everyone veggie for a few years as a teen!).  Their products are honestly just good, they work! That's the main thing! 

Lush often gets the rep of just a place to buy things to have an indulgent treat yo'self bubble bath but their other products are just as good as their highly snapchat-able instagram-able bath bombs. These are my faves!

Cleansers::

First off, just going to apologise for that bottom picture of the exfoliating cleanser, maybe it's just me but those shiny finger scoop marks are grossing me out. So yeah, soz. These are the only 2 cleansers I ever use for my mug.

 I use Ultrabland, which I believe amongst Lush founder and staff is like the *ultimate* Lush product,  to take off my make up. Grab a scoop and rub it onto a dry face then remove with a nice warm flannel. It removes all make up even waterproof mascara (albeit sometimes with a second go) and leaves my skin feeling hydrated but not greasy. 

Let the good times roll is more of a scrub which I use most mornings because it's so gentle. It uses polenta to make it a scrub, so none of those awful plastic beads that are polluting everything! It says to use it as a body scrub too however my purse strings tighten a touch at the thought of that. It's around £7 for this 100g pot but honestly you only need to use about a fingernail sized scoop for your whole face so it lasts a long time! I can't talk about this one without talking about the amazing smell, it's like cinnamon-y, butter-y popcorn and smells good enough to eat. Yum! (don't eat it  pls).

These are the only products I really use for my face, I think they're a good price for what they are and how long they last, I don't use Lush moisturisers as for me they're a bit more than I'm willing to pay for. 

Shower gel::

Unless you live near the Lush Oxford Street store you're not going to like me for this one, this is honestly the best smelling shower gel on the planet. It's an Oxford Street exclusive at the moment, sometimes it's not even available there and you can only get it in limited runs on the Lush Kitchen! I buy in bulk for both myself and my future sister-in-law every time it's on there. I actually asked my best friend to go into the Lush Oxford street store to get me this big boy 1kg bottle and I almost cried when she agreed and got me it. What a bae. This is, for me, the most soothing smell I've ever come across, I would love it in a perfume, it's comforting and cosy. Sweet but not sickly. I'm real good at describing smells, ahem. If you get a chance, give this a whiff and then use it forever more in your evening showers. 

They do also make a bath bomb in this scent which is available everywhere so you can indulge in the mega relaxation fairly easily. 

Winter saviours, hands and lips::

Helping Hands is a fairly new addition to my Lush collection and although in this photo it looks untouched I've actually used it everyday since I got it about 3 weeks ago! It seems infinite!  I had never really suffered with dry hands before even with being a nurse and washing my hands 100x a day, however this is my first winter working as a community nurse and the cold along with washing my hands 100x a day seems to have done it! For saying how thick and moisturising this is it sinks in really well, something I need when I have 2 seconds to put it on before driving on to my next visit. Just a great, does what it says on the tin, product. Nothing fancy. 

Honey trap lip balm is an old favourite and was actually the first ever product I bought from Lush. Unlike other petroleum based lip products (stay away!) this one actually moisturises your lips rather than coating them and making them feel slippery/moisturised but not actually doing any good! It doesn't leave your lips white and cakey either, rather settling to a slight sheen.  

The lip scrub, Sugar Plum Fairy, just happens to be the one i'm using at the moment. I've tried others and didn't much like the taste. These are basically just sugar scrubs to remove dry skin from lips then lick off (yum). 

This is the one product I've included in this post that id say probably usually isn't worth the money if you have 30 minutes to look on pinterest and make your own. I bought it in desperation because of horrendously dry and rough lips, it really helps with the mixture of scrubbing sugar and moisturising oil but as I said, unless you like a little luxury, make your own (there are loads of recipes out there) but for a treat, go for it. 

There we have it! My ultimate Lush products that aren't bath bombs, I hope you've enjoyed this post, let me know if you try anything that I recommended! I'm currently in the process of writing about our brand new (4 year old) adopted ex racing greyhound Charlie and our experience of the adoption :) So check back for that, he's reet cute. 

Let's Talk: Lipsticks. My 5 Favourites!

It's not often I get to wear lipstick, I mean, I can wear it to work but I never bother because even if I remembered to put it on in the morning it would never get reapplied during the day! Anyway, at the moment I'm in the middle of a week off from work and I am fully embracing wearing lipstick, along with embracing whole days where I don't wear make up because that is awesome too.
I decided to put together this blog post of my 5 favourite lipsticks. Because I'm lazy when it comes to reapplying I look for either unbelievably long lasting or lipsticks that fade well and evenly!

Here we go, are you ready for multiple pictures of my resting bitch face? In no particular order::

1:: Rimmel Kate Moss 05::

I love the Kate Moss lipsticks by Rimmel, for the cost of them I believe they're the best available. This is a sort of muted fuchsia colour which I believe (excuse my lack of knowledge!) has blue undertones. I never thought this sort of colour would suit me but its actually so easy to wear. It glides on beautifully and is completely opaque with just one layer. I wouldn't say this dries down to a matte but at some point as I'm wearing it it usually stops feeling like I'm wearing anything on my lips at all and yet it stays put for ages. When it does fade it fades really evenly and doesn't leave you with a 90s lipliner look.

2:: Mac Plumful - lustre:: 

Another easy wearing lipstick, this is a plum coloured lipstick but the sheerness of it means it's one that doesn't need a mirror to apply. Just sweep and go! This is my one and only Mac lipstick, I bought it when we went to London in October, I've got to say that Mac stores really intimidate me. I tried on maybe 4 or 5 while I was there but it took everything in my power to actually ask to do this. Does anyone else get like that in Mac shops? I don't know what my problem is! This one isn't so long lasting but because of how easy it is to reapply I don't mind so much.

3:: L'Oreal Color Riche - Julianne's Nude::

I promise these lipsticks all don't look completely the same in real life, at least that's what I tell myself when I pick out yet another in Boots when I went in for make up remover. This is probably the most subtle of my favourites, a light pink thats not so light it washes me out and so easy to wear on the lips. I must admit this took a back seat for a while because I forgot how nice it could look with basically any other make up look. This one is really moisturising, again this means it's not very long wearing but I don't tend to mind with the subtler colours because you can't tell so much that it's fading when you're lazy with reapplying.

4:: Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Hot Pepper::

 Yay! One that looks different! This is the only liquid lipstick I own now, I can find them quite difficult to apply which puts me off. This one for me is easier, it takes a few coats but it dries so quickly that I find this the easiest way to apply it. Considering this dries down to matte it's a really comfortable colour to wear and so long lasting that it definitely ticks my laziness box. I've been thinking of picking up a few more of the shades but for now this is such a perfect red for me I think I'll let my wallet rest for a while!

5:: Rimmel Kate Moss 107::

There's a reason there are 2 Kate Moss Rimmel lipsticks in these 5 favourites, I think I own 5 or 6 of the shades, and they're all fantastic. I don't think I need to give much introduction to this lipstick, every autumn it's seen on every blogger everywhere, and theres a good reason! It's such a perfect deep red colour with purple undertones, it lasts so well especially with a few coats applied and blotted in between. I get quite dry lips and it doesn't cling to the dry areas even though it dries quite matte.

Swatches::

Since lipsticks can look different on lips depending upon the colour of them and especially with me removing and applying 5 colours in a row I thought I'd do a swatch on my arm too to hopefully show the true colours. 

I hope you've enjoyed my first delve into a beauty post, beauty is a love of mine that I don't get to indulge as often just because I don't often do things that require dolling up! I wish I did more and I have been known to spend a long time applying a full face of make up just for a day off trip to Sainsbury's! Doesn't matter how the experiment goes if you use self checkout! Now I'm trying to justify taking all these lipsticks away with me tomorrow so I have every option needed. 

Let's Talk: Skincare.

I'm no expert when it comes to skincare and for the longest time that really put me off posting about it at all, but recently I've had a routine that I've really been liking and actually sticking to so I decided to share it, although my advice to always make sure you remove your make up? Buy expensive white bedsheets. I haven't slept with any make up on since we moved! And I used to be really bad for doing that. For serious though, here's what I've been using and enjoying lately. 

First off, I'll talk about what I'm working with personally, I have combination skin that is oily around my T zone and chin, but can get dry around my nose, winning all around. I have suffered with acne in the past and I'd say my skin is quite acne prone, small changes in my life can cause breakouts. Recently I've had this quite under control though.

Here is my no make up selfie, my skin is feeling really clear at the moment and slightly less oily because of the colder weather, I have a small almost unnoticeable breakout on my chin. You can see I'm quite pale and have freckles which often makes my skin look quite an uneven tone with redness etc.  I know that sounds quite negative but overall I'm fairly happy with my skin, i haven't actually worn foundation in over 2 months because I just haven't felt the need/ I'm really lazy and just use concealer where I need it! 

Cleanse::

I was always a make up wipes girl but as I saw more and more about how bad they are for your skin and basically how much money you waste I've really tried to steer clear, Micellar water is way better anyway, I really like this one from Garnier and it's so cheap even without an offer although Boots often does it cheaper. It removes my eye make up really easily and doesn't leave my skin feeling tight if I use it for face make up too. I try remove the bulk of my eye make up with the micellar water and cotton pads before doing a proper cleanse with my Liz Earle cleanse and polish. I do the first step mostly to save the muslin cloths from my copious amounts of blackest black mascara. Oops. Sometimes if I'm being lazy i will do a full face cleanse with the micellar water but it just never seems quite as clean. I love Cleanse and Polish because its so soothing for my sensitive skin but makes it feel really clean and the use of the hot cloth afterwards is a perfect amount of exfoliation. 

Moisturise::

Usually I'm lazy with body moisturiser as dry skin isn't usually a problem for me but with the weather being colder I've noticed more dryness particularly on my legs. I only recently picked up the Aveeno lotion but I have no idea why, a while ago I cared for a patient who had a skin condition, she was prescribed this cream and it worked absolute wonders! I am loving it so far all over my body after a shower, it sinks in amazingly quickly and doesn't leave me feeling greasy. It also has no scent to it so doesn't overpower perfume etc if you use it in a morning. 

For face moisturiser I've sworn by this La Roche Posay moisturiser ever since Rosie wrote about it on her blog ages ago in this post. I use it each morning without fail. I definitely think compared to a lot of skincare products out there it's really reasonably priced particularly as its quite often on offer. This is perfect for my oily skin while still feeling like it's hydrating my skin, it also helps with acne and outbreaks. Wonder product in my eyes for sure, I've been through probably 4 or 5 tubes since February, I just wish they'd make a bigger one! 

Eyes::

This is a fairly recent addition to my skincare, I've maybe had it 2-3 months. I'm 23 so didn't think an eye cream was necessary until i noticed that any concealer i used under my eyes was creasing really quickly. I do think this has helped with that issue although I'm not 100% sold on whether it is worth the price! I do really like the consistency of this eye cream from Kiehl's as it kind of turns watery as you rub it in (using your ring finger only around the eye area as I was taught by my mum) and it feels hydrating but not greasy. I'll use up this pot and then look for something a bit cheaper I think.

Other::

This is the part of my skincare that I'm not sure how to categorise. I had heard a lot about the Serozinc mist from La Roche Posay and since I've loved other things from there I decided to give it a try. This is another one where I'm not quite sure of the benefits just yet as I need to give it a longer go but I've been enjoying it so far. It's a really fine toning mist that i spray on after cleansing containing zinc for acne prone skin. My skin has been the clearest its been for a while recently so hopefully this is to thank for that! 

The Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate oil purchase has been a long time coming, I got it at the beginning of october when we were in London after putting it in my basket about 7 times through the year on the Debenhams website. According to Kiehl's this product is supposed to help with moisture and radiance working overnight. I love it, I have no idea why, I'm not sure it particularly has made me look radiant but its such a luxurious step in my skincare routine that I've thoroughly enjoyed. Even with my oily skin i haven't found it to be greasy and in fact I think it's helped to combat this a bit. It smells like lavender and other natural oils perfect for the last step before bed. I use it alone because of my skin being oily but Kiehl's say it can be used as a treatment  before applying a night cream if needed. There are also a load of other suggestions of how to use it (bath oil anyone?) on their website. An expensive product that iId definitely say was worth the price tag for me. 

I haven't really mentioned face masks because I spoke about this more in my pampering post. They're something I do depending upon how my skin feels at the time but my favourite ones are Origin and the Sanctuary thermal mask.

Hope you enjoyed this post about my skincare routine, if you have any suggestions for a cheaper eye cream alternative please let me know either in the comments or on Twitter!

Let's Talk: Pampering.

I know that this is quite a cliche thing to post about in the blogging community but anybody who has been on my Instagram knows I am a dedicated lover of all things relaxation, I have a perfect formula that works for me to have the most relaxing evening possible. They are all very cliche and not very innovative but hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

B A T H E

I know, a bath? For relaxing? Groundbreaking. Hear me out. I feel for a really luxurious bathing experience you have to get your chemistry brain on, I'm all about choosing bath products that I think will work well together and my ultimate favourite combo at the moment is a Lush (who else?) duo.
Ceridwen's Cauldron bath melt.  I can't believe as a huge Lush lover, that I hadn't tried this before, its amazing. I think it's probably the product that I can feel doing the most difference when I use it, it's soothing and moisturising and you can use the little muslin bag with the leftover product in it to wash/exfoliate, it's just so luxurious.
Because I like a bath with bubbles I like to pair the bath melt above with 'Milky Bar' bubble bar, I think I'm right in saying that this was originally an Oxford St exclusive, that's where I got my first one anyway but it's now nationwide! A big yay since I actually now live about 320 miles from London!  The smell of these 2 products combined is just amazing and luxurious and it's guaranteed to relax me.

B U R N

By now I think we've fully established what a candle addict I am, I'm all about midrange kind of candles having yet to venture into Diptyque or Joe Malone, I feel like I would faint if I spent that amount of money on a candle even though I lust after them all the time. Burning in the middle above is a Cowshed 'Lazy Cow' candle which I got as a set of 4 travel size candles in the sale on ASOS at the beginning of this year. I can only find the full size version now. They're designed with relaxation in mind and they smell lovely, exactly as you'd expect, lavender is the main note! I'm also quite a fan of the yankee candle samplers, I don't rate yankee so much as I never feel like their scents fill up the room but the samplers are cheap and cheerful and I always feel like it doesn't matter so much if you don't like the scent as there isn't much of it to burn really. My favourite Yankee scent at the moment is Tarte Tatin. It smells like food, very cinnamon-y but not too sweet.

W A T C H / W E A R

I enjoy making a 'watch later' playlist on youtube and balancing my Macbook on my laundry basket in order to watch it while I'm in the bath, this does vary because often I'll read or watch something on Netflix but I think, apart from having to dry off your hands to skip ads every video, youtube is a good way to go. Vlogs by Lily Pebbles are my particular faves at the moment. 

You mean, not everyone has a dressing gown with their name embroidered onto it? No way. I actually got this dressing gown when I was about 15 and it's about 4 sizes too big for me which of course just makes it lovely and cosy, usually when i'm having a bath i like to pop the heating on just to be a diva and heat up my dressing gown. Again I realise this isn't groundbreaking but it's the little things that make the difference between a bit of pampering and a full pamper evening. I'm also a big fan of slippers and fleece Primark pyjamas.

E A T 

I've always wanted to be one of those people who enjoy herbal teas and has a big collection with all different flavours, every so often I'll buy one to try, force myself to drink one cup and then it gets shoved in the back of a cupboard. I had started to think people were lying about liking tea because I thought they were all so gross. This tea is different, it's a liquorice and peppermint tea from Aldi, I'd picked it up because I'd heard people saying it was naturally sweet and although I don't like liquorice sweets I'd tried the actual liquorice 'stick' thing from an old sweet shop before and enjoyed it. This tea is genuinely naturally sweet and with it having peppermint as well I think it's really settling for your stomach. I know Teapigs do a version but it's so pricey for tea I think I'm going to stick to this Aldi version as long as they keep selling it! It was still about £1.79 for 16 teabags which is about as much as I'm willing to spend I think. This is the mug pictured, I love it. 

The sweet treat here is an Ecclefechan tart, I had never heard of them until my boyfriend's Dad gave me one to try that he'd got from Sainsbury's Taste the Difference range. They're a Scottish buttery sweet tart filled with fruit and nuts, so calorific and so amazing. We actually live close to ecclefechan now and when we visited Scotland a few weeks a go I tried some genuine ones and I have to say (eek!) that the Sainsbury's ones are just as good, I imagine they are made around the area so I hope they're quite genuine. I have to try hard not to eat all of these in one sitting, they're so moreish. Yum! Definitely look out for them, they're on offer with the mince pies (omg, already?) and things in Sainsbury's at the moment. 

P R O D U C T S

I feel this is quite self explanatory, everyone knows you have to do a face mask when you're doing a proper pamper evening. I love this one from Origins, I have oily, blemish prone skin with dry bits around my cheeks, I just won the skincare lottery. This is great for if your skin is feeling a bit gross and clogged up. It does that thing where it dries to a really satisfying dryness where you can crack it by making silly faces, my fave. However even with my oily skin I really do have to moisturise well after using it because it can be quite drying, for that I'll often use the Origins Drink Up Intensive which I bought for my boyfriend but that I know I definitely use far more. He just won't get on board with the skincare routine. ;) 

The second product pictured here is Lush Silky Underwear, I had forgotten I had this until packing all my things to move in July, thankfully even though I must have bought it at least a year ago it's still in date! Lush say that this is a moisturising powder which sounds a bit strange but it contains cocoa butter so I guess they're not lying! For me this feels like a complete princess product, it smells lovely with notes of jasmine and I just think it's a nice added step into a pamper evening. You'll definitely need to hoover up after dusting it all over though, although maybe that's just my clumsiness. 

This one may be a bit controversial but I am passionate about my views on this ;)  Painting nails is NOT relaxing to me and should not be done on a pamper evening. I can't wear nail varnish at work so I rarely wear it on my fingers however I do usually have my toes painted. It stresses me out painting my toes, i can't reach them properly, maybe I have unnaturally long legs or maybe I'm just really inflexible. I always mess up or forget I've done it and put my slippers on so this isn't a pamper evening essential for me, it's something I do when my nails really really desperately need doing and I will put it off for as long as possible. If i didn't hate having my feet touched so much I would probably get Shellac or some other kind of long lasting polish on my toes. 

Hope you managed to make it through this mammoth post, I'm always surprised by how much I manage to write about these things! Thanks for reading :)