Huge Lush Haul.

It's that time of the year again! The time when Lush bring out their huge range of Christmas products, and as you will be aware from this post, I can't resist it. The scents of the Christmas range are ones that I love all year round, so I always stock up!

So I popped into Lush recently to pick up some of the many things I'd seen talked about online, to find them completely sold out... Thank goodness for the online store!

Here's what I picked up this year.

"Cinders" is a bath bomb that I have to pick up every year from the Christmas range. It smells of cinnamon and has popping candy to make your bath fizz.

In a gift pack with Cinders I got "Intergalactic". This one smells fresh like peppermint, and has a gorgeous colour that will look amazing in the bath. I don't think you can buy this one individually in Australia, but you can buy it in 'The Night Before Christmas' gift pack. 

Next from the Christmas collection I bought the "Holly Go Lightly" bubble bar. It smells very similar to Cinders, with a hint of lime freshness. 

When I saw the "Five Gold Rings" bubble bar, there were two main reasons why I instantly put it in my basket. Firstly, there are essentially five mini bubble bars, which saves you having to break it up, so you get the most uses possible out of it. And secondly, the vanilla scent! Although some people may think vanilla is a bit of a boring scent, I absolutely love it, and can't wait to use it!

My last pick from the Christmas range was the "Peeping Santa Bubble Bar". This one would have to be the cutest of the bunch, and it smells sweet and fruity like strawberries. It also has cocoa butter and shea butter, so will hopefully be very moisturising! 

"Phoenix Rising" is the bath bomb I buy from the normal collection when Cinders isn't available. It has a similar cinnamon scent, with a bit of extra spice, and it makes your bath a beautiful purple sparkly colour. 

I'm not normally drawn to the bubble bars, but when my sister picked this one up for me to smell, I was sold. the "Brightside Bubble Bar" smells like a glorious citrus blend, and according to all reviews has bubbles that last for ages!

What have you picked up from Lush lately?

Beth. x

Lush festive loving.

Normally I'm not that big a Lush fan... I have super, super sensitive skin, so a lot of the products don't agree with me.  However, at Christmas time I can't resist popping into a Lush store to pick up a few (or many) of the festive bath bombs! Bath bombs don't seem to upset my skin (yay!), and the Christmassy scents make me incredibly happy.

This year I picked up four different types of bath bombs to try out.

First of all I got "Cinders." This one is my all time favourite Lush bath bomb, and I bought three of these, so it will hopefully last me a while! This bath bomb smells like cinnamon, and has popping candy in it, to make your bath fizz.

Next I picked up the "Luxury Lush Pud" bath bomb. This one looks amazing both on your shelf and in your bath. It smells like lavender and ylang ylang, and is supposed to be super calming.

Another one from the festive range, "Dashing Santa" made it into my basket.  This one is the cutest of the bunch, and smells like citrus.

And finally I picked up the "Honey Bee" bath bomb. This one has a yellow and grey stripe, (hence the name), and smells like honey or caramel. It also contains Moroccan rhassoul mud to deep cleanse and soften your skin, so you get a spa-like treatment for a fraction of the cost! 

Have you tried any of Lush's festive range? What is your favourite?

Beth. x

The Lazy Girl's Guide to... Wearing red lipstick.

I am a lover of wearing bright red lipstick, and I have far too many shades red for one person.  I am not a lover of worn off lipstick though… You know the look, just an outline of red around the edges and no colour left in the centre… Definitely not ideal.

To combat this, I’ve compiled a lit of techniques, that just might save you from the awkward half on/half off bright lip.

• Prime your lips. – Get rid of all those dead skin cells by using a lib scrub like the Lush Popcorn scrub. It’ll help make your lips smooth and ready to adhere to your lipstick.

• Line your lips. – Using a lip liner helps keep your favourite shade on for hours and hours.  I use  Rimmel 1000 Kisses Stay On Lip Liner in 063 Black Tulip for a more berry red and a Mac LipPencil in Cherry for a brighter red, but if you want an all rounder, invisible lip liners such as the Innoxa Invisible Lip Shaper and the Lipstick Queen Invisible Lip Liner are quite popular.

• Apply, blot, apply, blot. – I’ve found the best way to elongate your favourite red’s staying power is to apply it (over your liner), blot it with a tissue, apply it again, and blot it again.  This helps get rid of excess, which will easily transfer when eating etc.

• Seal. – Not the animal… A product like Lipcote, when applied (and let to dry) will seal your lipstick, which helps it stay on.  (Lipcote is apparently “kiss-proof” … I wouldn’t go as far to say that, but it definitely lasts through eating and drinking.)

• Drink using a straw. – This makes me feel like a complete twat when I’m drinking a bottle of water through a straw, but it works!  Why waste you Mac red on a bottle of water?

Top to bottom: Nars Velvet Matte lip pencil in Cruella, in Damned, Mac matte lipstick in Ruby Woo.

• Matte all the way! – Matte lipsticks, I’ve found, last longer just in themselves. Because they’re not as glossy and shiny, they’re more likely to adhere to your lips. (My favourites are the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils – available from Mecca Cosmetica is Australia, and Mac in Ruby Woo).

So these are some of the tricks I’ve come across along the way.  I hope they’re in some way helpful.

Let me know if you have any more! I’d do anything to not have to reapply.

Beth. x

Subscription boxes #2: Violet Box

So, my second subscription box landed on my door just recently. (Much to my excitement!) So here's the rundown for you.

I received another Australian beauty box called Violet Box. Violet Box is a bit more expensive than Bella Box, as it retails at $22.95 per month.  However, I used the code VIOLETBOX10 to get $10 off mine.

This subscription box comes with 6-7 samples, and I was much happier with the selection than I was with my last box. Violet Box has a different range of product suppliers to Bella Box, and this seems to suit me so far. Also, can I just point out the purple factor... Bonus points for that!

This month's box included:

1. Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse. - Which is a multi-purpose oil for dry skin... Very apt for this weather!
2. Eve's Ready To Wear Lipstick by Teeez.  - I am a lip product addict, so this was a welcome inclusion in this box! So far this lipstick seems really moisturising, but isn't as pigmented as I thought it would be... Perfect for a no-lipstick-lipstick day though. (And... This lipstick retails at $32, so with the price of the box, this is a steal!)
3. Nuxe Creme Merveillance. - Supposedly meant to target visible expression lines, I will definitely be getting this one onto my frown lines!
4. LUSH Popcorn Lip Scrub. - I've used this product before, and it's good if you, (like me) wear lipstick a lot, and your lips end up in bad shape. 
5. Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter Pencil. - This product excited me greatly. I've been contemplating getting a highlighter for a while now, and now I can try one out!
6. StyleSign Sleek Perfection. - I don't often use heat tools on my hair, but I think I might have to start so I can try this heat protectant spray.
7. Timeless Truth Miracle Rejuvenation Mask. - Face masks aren't kind to my sensitive skin, but my mum is excited to give this one a go.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with this one! Not sure if I'm willing to fork out the $22.95 a month though.  What do you guys think?

Beth. x