Review | Lush Valentine's Day Collection 2015

I've been a big fan of Lush for almost a decade, but until recently I never knew that they carried a Valentine's Day collection every year! Where have I been?! Their seasonal collections- Christmas, Easter, Halloween- are ranges I look forward to every year, and I have no idea how Valentine's slipped past me. 

Thankfully, last month I learnt all about it and made it my mission to get my hands on a few pieces when I popped in to town last weekend.

Unicorn Horn Bubble Bar (£3.25 each)

I fell in love with this magical pastel-coloured bubble bar the very first time I saw a photo of it last month, and was determined to get my hands on one. I may be twenty-nine, but I just couldn't resist those shimmering pastel stripes, or the cute little stars dotted through it like freckles. It's the prettiest bath product I've ever seen; so pretty I haven't actually had the heart to use it yet, but I just know the most perfect, relaxing bath awaits me. It's filled with lavender essential oils that, I'm sure you know, will help you relax after a long day. and I'm pleased to say the lovely lavender scent isn't at all over-powering, like some lavender scents can be.

Heart Throb Bubble Bar (£3.65 each)

If there's one thing that just screams "Valentine's Day" it's a classic red love heart, and this bubble bar is as quintessential as they come. Naturally, being a novelty design, I was all over this one and bought it without a second thought. (I never change!) Heart Throb is a "bubbleroon" made up of two red hearts sandwiched together with vibrant gold glitter, that will turn your bath water a festive red, and leave you with the silkiest soft skin. It contains skin-softening shea butter and essential oils, and a fragrance I can't quite put my finger on. It has a faint floral scent, but after that my senses fail me. If you're familiar with African Paradise, it's said to share the same fragrance, although I've not personally tried it yet.

Lonely Heart Bubble Bar (£3.50 each)

Lonely heart? Well, I'm not pining for love or anything, but that does sum-up my love-life, so... I can only conclude that this red glittery bubble bar heart was meant for me! All that gold shimmering glitter drew me in from fifty paces; I picked up this bar, inhaled the fragrance, and with it came a wave of nostalgia. The rich scent of jasmine and ylang ylang, bergamot and lemongrass combined smell just like the B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful (Lush's late sister company that specialised in beautiful make up) stores that I used to enjoy visiting on day trips to London in the late noughties. The fragrance used to linger in the air in their stores, and it would feel like you were browsing a souk somewhere in the middle east. That is how Lonely Heart smells to me; rich, exotic, and familiar. It turned my bathwater a bright shade of red, left me with incredibly nourished skin, and somehow covered me in glitter from head to toe. (Though I can't decide if that's a pro or a con!)

Cupid's Love Soap (From £4.25/100g)

Cupid's Love soap is another product I'd hoped to pick up, mostly because of the fact it was red with white hearts running through the design, and looked so lovely. When I realised how expensive it was (£4.25 for 100g), I only went for a small piece; I wanted to try it, but with soaps from Christmas still to use, I couldn't justify buying a big slab. I'm pleased I bought a piece, though, because it leaves me with the softest, moisturised skin, and also smells divine. It has a fruity fragrance, which reminds me of red berries or those cherry-shaped penny sweets, but that's not really a helpful or accurate description, is it? Haha! It contains bergamot and rosewood, which gives it a rich, uplifting fruity scent, and fresh figs, passion fruit juice, and soya yoghurt, which work to soften and nourish the skin. It sure does what it says on the tin, and I'm loving this one so much I'm left wishing I'd invested in a bigger piece! 

Maybe I'll keep my eye out for the Valentine's sales!

I wanted to buy more products from the Valentine's range, but it wasn't all grouped together and the shop was packed with shoppers, so I picked up what I could, paid, and got out fast. My local Lush is tiny and it's practically impossible to browse around it when there are more than six people on the shop floor- even when you know what you're looking for. I get really stressed and claustrophobic in those situations, so I never hang around.

You can find the rest of the range online or in your local store if you want to see what else it has to offer.

Will you be spoiling your Valentine (or yourself!) with any of these products this Valentine's Day?

The Body Shop and Ciaté Advent Calendars: Dec 1st- 5th

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll probably be aware that I'm counting down to Christmas with  a couple of beauty advent calendars this year.

I managed to get my hands on The Body Shop's advent calendar "24 Days of Joy", and I also picked up a Ciaté calendar, although it's last year's set and won't contain the same treats as the new Mini Mani Manor. I'm featuring the set anyway because Ciaté sell all of the nail polishes individually.

You can keep up with my advent loot every day on Instagram, but I'll also be reviewing them on the blog each week, every five days or so. (I'm a little behind this week!)

The first five days of Advent brought some gorgeous nail products...

... and some fantastic products from The Body Shop, too!

So, what was behind door number one?

December 1st

Dec 1st: The Body Shop

Behind window number one of The Body Shop's calendar was a full sized (30ml) tube of Almond Hand and Nail Cream. Yes, full-sized! It retails for £5, which is a pretty damn good prize for day one!

I'm already a big fan of these hand creams (I love the satsuma version), so I was excited to receive a new scent to try. I'm pleased to say it didn't disappoint. The almond cream contains almond and brazil nut oils, which smells quite like shea butter to me! I can smell the almond fragrance, too, although it's subtle, As a whole, the scent is clean and fresh, and not over-powering; and that gets a thumbs up from me! It's also works pretty great as a hand and nail cream; it's non greasy, moisturising, and immediately gives me the softest skin, so I'm sold! I love this product!

Dec 1st: Ciaté

The first polish from Ciaté was a top coat called "Snow Globe" which contains holographic flakes and couldn't look more festive if it tried! It can be worn on its own for a delicate look, which leaves a clear iridescent shimmer in ice blue, light green, and gold, depending on how the light hits it. It can also be worn over other nail polishes to create different looks. I tried it over a dark purple polish earlier this week, and it added turquoise glittery flakes to my manicure! It looked so festive. It can be tricky to get a smooth finish because one brush stroke doesn't like coming in to contact with another, but with a little patience, it does cooperate. Overall, I really like this polish!

December 2nd

Dec 2nd: The Body Shop

I'll be honest, I wasn't at all impressed with receiving a nail file on Tuesday. I'm sure it works just fine for what it's designed for, but let's face it- it's just plain boring! I can't even pretend to be excited by a plain yellow emery board. Sorry!

Dec 2nd: Ciaté

Thankfully, I loved the nail polish waiting for me in the Ciaté calendar; a gorgeous deep red by the name of "Boudoir". It's a blue-based red just a little darker than tomato, and it's a perfect classic red nail colour. I'm ever so slightly addicted to red nail polish, and I think I've found a new favourite!

December 3rd

Dec 3rd: The Body Shop

On Wednesday, I got a heart-shaped strawberry soap, which was really sweet. It smells so good! I've been a fan of The Body Shop's soaps for years, because they make my hands so soft, but I can't remember the last time I treated myself to a strawberry soap; I almost always go for satsuma. It's actually nice to enjoy a different scent for a change.

Dec 3rd: Ciaté

Wednesday was a good day for nail polish, too. Behind the window was a nail polish in a  bright and cheerful shade of orange, called "Hopscotch". The name is so fun and playful, which suits this bold sunshine orange colour to the ground. This will be a great colour to wear when the sun is shining next summer! I know orange nail polish can seem too daring for some people, but Hopscotch is tasteful and just the right shade of orange to remain wearable.

December 4th

Dec 4th: The Body Shop

I look forward to the seasonal cranberry range every Christmas, so I was really excited to find a mini frosted cranberry shower gel in the calendar on Thursday. It has the most delicious berry fragrance, which I can't stop sniffing, and I'm looking forward to using it in the run up to Christmas. The Body Shop shower gels are my favourites because they lather well, and always leave me with the softest, silkiest, cleanest skin, and I'm sure this one will be no different.

Dec 4th: Ciaté

Thursday brought with it a pot of red and gold nail sequins by the name of "Miss Mistletoe". This was a new experience for me; I'd never tried using sequins on my nails before yesterday. I was a little unsure of how to use them at first, so I experimented. I painted my nails with a clear top coat, and used a pair of tweezers to get sequins out of the bottle and on to my nails. They went everywhere. The trick was getting them on to the nails before the topcoat dried; not easy! I had to apply a second layer on top of the first to add sequins to the bare areas I'd missed on the first try, and then just finished with a couple of coats of top coat. It wasn't as difficult as I expected, but I did get sequins all over the place- on my bed, on the floor, on my laptop, all over my clothes... Next time I'll remember to put some newspaper down!

Dec 5th

Dec 5th: The Body Shop

Behind door number five was a frosted cranberry shimmer lotion, to go with Thursday's shower gel. Another great product from The Body Shop! I've always wanted to try their cranberry lotions, and I'm impressed with it so far. It gives me super soft, moisturised skin, and if that wasn't enough, it also leaves a festive shimmer which really sparkles when the light hits it. I wouldn't use it as an every day lotion, but it's perfect for Christmas time when you can get away with a bit of sparkle! It also has the most amazing sweet fragrance, which to me, smells like red berries with a sweet grapefruit-like undertone.

Dec 5th: Ciaté

Friday's nail polish was an unusual burnt sienna or terracotta coloured polish called "Encore!" It's a colour I don't think I've ever tried before, but it turns out, I actually really like it on my nails! I think it goes well with my pale colouring and freckles, and it makes a fresh alternative to red or orange. This would be a perfect nail colour for Autumn.

And here are swatches of all five Ciaté nail products; I think they work well together, too! Sorry for the state of my manicure; I was rushing to finish so I could take photos before the sun went down.

I'll be back with the next five products in a few days.

Have you used any of these products?

How are you counting down to Christmas this year?

My 10 Favourite Body Shop Beauty Products Part 2

Hey lovelies,

I hope you're all having a great day so far.

Last Monday I talked about five of my favourite Body Shop beauty products, and because I love the Body Shop just that much, I'm going to share another five of my favourites today. I've been using all of today's picks for years, some for over a decade, and I thought it was time I started sharing more of my established favourites alongside the new products I review for you.

So, in no particular order, here are five of my most used beauty products...

Vitamin E moisture cream



I've been using the Vitamin E moisture cream daily ever since my best friend introduced me to it about a decade ago. I was so impressed with the results the moisture cream gave that I continued to use it once that first pot was used up- and I just never stopped. I saw no reason to move on to another; it's the best face cream I've ever used! 

This moisturiser is light and non-greasy, and leaves my skin feeling refreshed, hydrated, and super soft, and looking bright and healthy not just after every use but for days afterwards. The more I use it, the better my skin looks. You only need to use a little at a time, so this light pink lotion goes a long way. At £11 for a 50ml pot it's a little pricey, but I have been known to get six months use from one pot, so it's actually a smart little buy. I try to take good care of my skin, and don't begrudge spending a little more on skincare to invest in it. I personally think this cream is worth its price tag, but the great thing about The Body Shop is that they regularly have fantastic offers and promotions online, so I rarely pay the RRP. I saved 40% on the pot I'm using now, and offers like the one I took advantage of run all the time!

Satsuma shower gel

In my opinion, The Body Shop make the best shower gels around. You only need to use a little to get a decent lather, and little effort is needed to make skin feel clean and refreshed by using them. My skin always feels soft and revitalised after a quick buff with some Body Shop shower gel on a flannel or bath lily. Most of the scents are absolutely divine, but my absolute favourite is satsuma, which contains zesty satsuma essential oils and smells like sunshine. It has the sweetest, fruitiest citrus scent, and every time I use it the fragrance never fails to make me happy. At £4 for a 250ml bottle, it's a shower gel I can  afford to indulge in, and I don't think I'll ever get tired of using it.

Satsuma body lotion

I'm a little obsessed with the satsuma body lotion at the moment; it smells so good! Like the shower gel, it has the most amazing orange citrus scent and I can't get enough of it; I've been using it religiously all summer and one whiff of it still makes me happy. It also does a brilliant job as a body lotion, in case you were wondering! Haha!

The body lotion is light and non-greasy, so it sinks in quickly after application and instantly gives me soft, healthy-looking skin without that horrible sticky texture some lotions leave behind. It may be a light body lotion, but it works wonders on softening even the driest, toughest areas of skin, like my elbows. I usually massage the body lotion in to my skin after a shower because I feel it gives the best results when applied to damp skin, but it works beautifully on dry skin, too.

Satsuma body polish

Another satsuma scented product I love to use is the satsuma body polish, which is a zesty-scented exfoliating foaming gel that gently buffs away dead skin and leaves skin looking soft and healthy. This exfoliating scrub is neither too gentle or two rough. It's gentle enough to use on delicate skin like the decolletage, and gritty enough to tackle harder skin like the knees and elbows. I love to use this alongside the satsuma shower gel and body lotion, although I don't use it religiously as it's a little expensive at £5 for 75ml or £10 for 200ml; I probably treat myself to a tube two or three times a year. 

I've just used up the last of my satsuma polish, but I took a photo of a tube of the Cranberry Joy body polish, to give you an idea of what the polishes look like. It doesn't matter which scent you choose, they all do the same job. it's all down to preference. The Cranberry Joy is another of my favourite scents, but they only sell it during the festive season. It probably won't be long until it hits the shops again! (Scary!) I was given a Cranberry gift tin last Christmas, and used up everything else, but somehow squirrelled the polish away and forgot about it. Now I've found it, I'll have it used up in no time! It smells so good!

Seaweed ionic clay mask

I've long been a fan of a good clay mask, and the Body Shop's seaweed ionic clay mask is one of the best I've ever tried. This mask is brilliant because it draws out all the impurities in the skin, and helps to control excess oils, so it's great for people with combination and oily skin types. My nose is often quite oily and it's dotted with badly clogged pores, but after using this mask, the pores are cleaner and less noticeable, and my nose is almost oil free for a couple of days! My skin also feels refreshed and revitalised after every use, and you really can't beat that fresh-faced feeling.

All you need to do is apply a thin layer of the cool grey clay to your face, and wait five to ten minutes for it to set. (You'll know it's time to wash it off when you can barely move your facial muscles). Once it's dry, wash it off with some warm water and a face cloth, and voila, say "hello" to gorgeous skin!


So, that sums up my ten favourite Body Shop beauty products. If you'd like to read about my other five favourites, you can do so here: My 10 Favourite Body Shop Products Part 1.

What are your favourite products from The Body Shop?

Belated Birthday Presents

Last week my best friend Angela came to stay with me for a few days. We've been best friends since we met at secondary school aged eleven and realised we shared a love obsession for the Irish boyband Boyzone.

Sixteen and a half years later and not much has changed. We still share a love for those Irish musicians, and we're still best friends... except she now lives a few hundred miles away up in Scotland and we don't get to see each other as often as we'd like. In fact, the last time I saw her was a few weeks before I injured my back a year and a half ago, so it was lovely to see her and catch up. We chatted, we laughed, and we got up to our usual mischief at a Ronan Keating concert. We never change!

Angela is renowned for buying me birthday presents... and then forgetting to send them. Sometimes I get them a few months late, sometimes a few more, and on this occasion she hand-delivered my birthday presents six months late. I let her off as I love her, and she's a very busy, hardworking single Mum to the most amazing little boy.

Would you like to see what she bought me?

Angela gave me a box full of lovely hand made bath products from an independent Scottish company called Granny Sally's Soap Kitchen who are based in Edinburgh.

 The products are all hand made from natural ingredients, with either fruit or vegetable bases, and they smell delicious, too. From previous experience of their products, I can tell you they're amazing, and I was excited to get such a lovely box of goodies.

Here are the bath products out of the box.

The Lemongrass & Tea Tree Body Butter has a wonderful silky consistency and has a zesty citrus scent.

The Mississppi Mud Pae face mask looks good enough to eat and smells like chocolate cake batter. I can't wait to give this one a try. (I'm not sure if the name is intended or a typo).

I got two fruity scented soaps shaped like lollies, or soapsicles, as they've named them. I got a strawberry and a dewberry, and they smell amazing. How cute are these?

These little shower melts came in a set of three, and smell like lemons. The idea is to place them at your feet in the shower to give your feet a treat. I'm looking forward to trying these to see if they'll give my feet the TLC they need.

I was also given one of their jelly baby shaped soaps in lemon. Isn't it adorable? These jelly baby soaps come in several other fruity scents.

This is the Shea Delight, which is a whipped shea butter bubble bar that contains coconut and avocado oils. The scent is hard to put my finger on, but it reminds me of an Avon bubble bath I used to get regularly when I was little. It comes with a pink plastic spoon, to make it easy to pop some of it in to a hot bath. It's quite a large bubble bar, and I'd imagine it would cater for at least four baths, if not more.

These little butterflies are cinnamon shower melts and were presented in a pretty little pink organza bag. They smell just like cinnamon sticks so remind me of Christmas spices. These are also designed to place at your feet while you're showering to give your feet a treat.

She also gave me some Thorntons cookies, and a little box of Lindor. I am spoilt!

I'd thoroughly recommend Granny Sally's Soap Kitchen products, and you can buy them online via the link. I can recommend the strawberry shortcake soap and gingerbread man candle from previous experience.

I think it's important to support independent British businesses, especially while we're drifting in and out of recessions and our big name high street brands are buckling in to administrations faster than we can yell 'depression'. The way the big name brands are disappearing, the independent businesses may soon be all we have left.

I believe we should support our own. There's something to be said about buying something which has been handmade and hasn't been mass produced. I love the attention to detail and that lovely hand made feel you don't often get with mass-produced products.

I hope some of you will check this company out for yourselves.

Let me know if you do!

I'm off to try some of that mississpi mud pae face mask, and put my feet up for a little while.