Huge Lush Haul!!

Lush smells amazing...

I have been to Lush a few times recently so decided to put all the products together and do one big haul blog post!! Lush products are amazing and contain fresh and natural ingredients and are all handmade.

These are all the products I've bought

• Limited Edition Snow Fairy Shower Gel- 500g- £11.95
• Daddy-O Shampoo- 100g- £5.50
• American Cream Conditonar- 100g- £4.50
• Santa's Lip Scrub- £5.50
• Santa Baby Lip Tint- £5.95
• Butterbear Bath Bomb- £1.95
• Wizard Bubble Bar- £3.25
• Yog Nog Soap- £3.40 per 100g
• Cupcake Face Mask- £6.50
• Imperialis Facial Moisturiser- £13.50
• Kalamazoo Beard and Facial Wash- 240g- £12.00
• Breath of Fresh Air Toner-100g- £4.25
• Dirty Massage Bar- £5.95
• Strawberry Feels Forever Massage Bar- £5.95
• Soft Coeur Massage Bar- £4.95

I have broken the products down into categories, making it a bit easier to read. 

Facial Products 

Cupcake Face Mask

I have used pretty much all of this face mask, as you can see from the picture, one of the reasons is because this product only has a 4 week shelf life as it is made fresh, another because it smells amazing. It contains ingredients such as cocoa powder, cocoa butter, fresh mint, vanilla, spearmint oil and peppermint oil.
You need to keep this stored in the fridge, this also means when you apply the mask is very cooling and feels super fresh.
The face mask is really thick and smells of chocolate and is great for oily skin, even if you have combination skin you can still use it on any oily patches.
This was great on my skin and did not dry it out, even though it is meant for oily skin and teenage skin. It helped to clear up my spots and as I washed it off I got a light exfoliation, so it really smoothed my skin out.
Also if you bring back 5 clean full sized Lush pots you can get one fresh mask free.

Imperialis Facial Moisturiser

One pot is suppose to last 3 months, I have only been using this for a few weeks, but I still have plenty left. I have combination skin and the info on the pot says "great for skins that can't make up their minds"
I also have sensitive skin and as this contains natural ingredients I thought it would really help, some of the ingredients are orange blossom water, organic extra virgin olive oil, cocoa butter, St John's Wort extract and lavender flower infusion.
This is quite a thick moisturiser and when it's applied it is best to let it sink in for 5 minutes before applying other products. It smells very pleasant and has a hint of a floral scent, from the natural ingredients.
You can use this product for daytime or night and so far I have seen an improvement, but as winter has quickly approached I may choose something designed for dryer skin next time. It is moisturising, but if you have dry skin I would recommend choosing something more suited for dry skin.







Kalamazoo Beard and Facial Wash


Now this is something my Boyfriend choose as he likes Lush too, it has an amazing fruity smell. The product is quite thick, and he has said it does not lather into a soapy formula when he uses it. It really does soften his beard though and seems to really smooth out his skin.
It contains ingredients like fresh pineapple, apricot kernel oil, lime oil and almond oil.









Breath of Fresh Air Toner


This is the toner the shop assistant recommended, but I have since seen their rose, and tea tree one which I would like to try.
This toner has spring water, sea water and aloe vera gel which is great for sensitive skin. Every time I use this it's like I am on the beach getting a fresh hit of misty sea water. I really like it and it absorbs in very quickly. It has a spray application and the slogan/info on the bottle"sea breeze captured in a bottle" is cute and very accurate!

Makeup

I am going to upload a much more detailed review on both these products so won't write much below.

Santa's Lip Scrub- cola flavoured scrub

Santa Baby Lip Tint- bright red tint

Massage Bars 

Dirty Massage Bar

Although this bar has vegan dark chocolate in the middle the chocolate scent is very subtle and not overpowering, it has a more minty scent from the spearmint ingredient. 

It also contains the herbal Gorilla perfume, I haven't tried this but if this bar was anything to go off I would purchase! I really like the smell, and this bar would neatly fit into a massage bar tin.

Strawberry Feels Forever Massage Bar

This massage bar is pink and is a strawberry shape, the indentations on the bar wore down quite quickly, but to be honest you cannot really feel them against your skin. This also leaves a pink after tint on your skin from the colour of the bar. To me it only has a slightly fruity scent, it has ingredients such as fresh strawberries., infusions of hibiscus flowers, cocoa butter, shea butter and extra virgin olive oil.

Soft Coeur Massage Bar

This massage bar is in a heart shape and has a honey scent. It contains ingredients like cocoa butter, honey and shea butter. 

Hair Products 

Daddy-O Shampoo

I picked this up in the smallest size, and it is a gorgeous deep purple colour, which is meant to help keep grey and blonde hair bright and shiny. It contains violets and fresh lemons. Purple shampoo also helps blonde hair from going brassy. It smells just like Parma Violets, which works great for me as they are my favourite sweet!

American Cream Conditioner

Again I picked up this smaller size version, it smells creamy, but I don't think it quite smells like strawberry vanilla milkshake, but perhaps when I use it the smell is a bit more powering. 

I haven't used either of these products yet but I am eager too!

Shower and Bath Products 

Limited Edition Snow Fairy Shower Gel

Haven't used this product yet but I bought the larger size as I was so upset when Twilight was discontinued and didn't come back this year.. sob sob sob...

It is pink with a sparkly shimmer essence and smells like candy!!

Butterbear Bath Bomb

Image from Lush

I forgot to take a picture of this sorry. The bear is absolutely adorable and smells amazing! 

Wizard Bubble Bar

This bubble bar is by far one of my favourites just by the looks, it is an adorable wizard and is purple and sparkly. Purple is my favourite colour ever. The wizard hat has a small star at the top and smells slightly fruit and spicy. I haven't tried it yet but I hope it lives up to expectations.

Yog Nog Soap

I found this soap didn't rather lather so I felt like I was try to wash myself with a message bar. Having said that it still smells great and of egg nog, a real festive treat. I love the pattern on the soap which contains stars, christmas tree and angels, depending on what you get on your slice of soap. There is a light layer of glitter on top as well so you may start of a little shimmery.

Thanks so much for having a read! Fran x

Sephora Christmas Wishlist

I used to live in New York, USA, while I was studying abroad and I miss it terribly...

Shopping at Sephora became one of favourites things to do, they always had special offers and the sheer range of products available was amazing. These are just a few things I want this year....

All images used are from sephora.com

I narrowed down my wishlist to 5 products, and if you shop at Sephora, you know how difficult that must have been for me

The first item on my wishlist is the Sephora Favorites set, $75.00, I have this same set from last year and although it does have some of the same products, I absolutely loved this set, and it is great value for money!

Inside there are a lot of mini products

• Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Dark Brown 
• Benefit POREfessional and They're Real Mascara In Jet Black 
• Bumble And Bumble Surf Spray 
• Chloè Rollerball 
• Formula X Nail Color in Ignite 
• Fresh Sugar Rosè Tinted Lip Treatment 
• Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil 
• Nars Cosmetics Blush in Orgasm 
• Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 35 in Light 
• Stila Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner In Intense Black 
• Urban Decay Eye shadow in Sin

Next on my wishlist is the Nars- Narsissist Eyeshadow Palette, $79.00, which has 15 beautiful and very wearable shades.

For some time I have been afraid of lipsticks, not knowing what colour to wear, and when I see the dark plum colours I think on me it would look ridiculous, but next year I really want to make an effort into trying out ore lip products and finding a few I am really happy with, that is why the Sephora Favorites, Give me More Lip, $59.00, is also on my list. It has a whopping 17 products mini sized products inside, less than 10 dollars for a product! And contains lipsticks, lip liners, glosses, balms and treatments, I think this would be ideal for me to try out some high quality products, please Santa! I won't list all the products here just because there are so many, but some of my most wanted to try are

• Benefit Tinted Lip Balm in Posie 
• Too Faced Melted Liquefied Long Wear Lipstick in Fuchsia
• Laura Mercier Lip Glacé in Blush
• MAKE UP FOR EVER Waterproof Lip Liner Pencil 

Apart from the Makeup forever lip liner, I should be able to find the other most wanted to try products here in the UK.

I have become much more interested on contouring techniques and products which is why I really want to try the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit, $40.00

This set looks amazing and has 3 highlighting and 3 contouring shades, perfect for if you are not sure what shades you want to use.

Finally on my wishlist is the Sephora Favorites Perfume Sampler, $60.00.

I am an avid collector of perfume bottles and perfumes and this set has 14 samples inside, again fantastic value. I would love to try the Prada Candy perfume, and maybe will buy a full sized bottle next year, the smell is divine, I really like the sweet smells so would be perfect for my existing collection.

From time to time on eBay I have seen some Sephora Favorites available, being on eBay they can sometimes be a bit silly in price, and it would work out cheaper to just buy a few of the products full size, but nevertheless I will have another look this year. Has anyone else got any most wanted items from Sephora this year? Let me know.

Free Nails Inc Polish

Bargain alert!!

I always love having a look at what freebies you get what the fashion magazines and in this December's Glamour (UK edition) you get a free Nails Inc polish!!

I may have already been out and bought 3 copies just so I can get my hands on 3 of the 4 colours available.....

The choice of the colours available are, a light taupe colour, dark purple, a dark red and finally a lighter more brighter red. I opted to buy the taupe colour, purple and darker red.

Below I have listed the colours I bought and the official Nails Inc name next to it.

Light taupe colour- Marylebone Mews
Darker red- Hanover Square
Dark purple-Wigmore Street

I don't have the name of the brighter red colour, sorry.

The names are just simply adorable, they have other colours with the London names as well. These are also the full size versions, 10ml each!! Usually the nail polish's are £11.00 but to purchase the magazine it will only cost you £2.00!! Saving £9.00 on each polish....

If that doesn't just tempt you then with the issue as well you can get your paws on a 20% discount card for H&M. Great for if you are about to buy a Christmas outfit.






            The polish dries very quickly, and I was really impressed with the shine. No top coat added in my picture that is just the polish!


Incase anyone was wondering the star used to display the polish's was £5.00 from Wilkinson's and is the larger size, I think it's stunning!

I may have to pop out and get the final colour... Did anyone purchase the December issue, if so, what colour did you get?

An evening of art.

I just wanted to share a painting I did this evening, I really love this new technique I learnt. What do you guys think? Let me know! 

MAC Christmas Gift Review

Bringing out the showstoppers!!

This year I have treated myself to some MAC gift sets! The only other cosmetics I have by MAC are some items from The Simpsons collection, which I need to do a very belated review on!! I've been quite lucky with the fact each set I purchased is a different glitter colour!

These were bought from a MAC shop, but are available online as well. 

The first item I purchased is the-

Keepsake MAC Studio Brush Kit- £42.00

This brush set comes in a sleek cream glitter makeup bag, adorned with white pearls. I love the fact with all of the Christmas Mac sets the glitter does not fall off, leaving you looking like you've just taken a glitter shower.

If you have bought this and are yet to open be aware that the brushes are taped to the box inside and are not actually in the bag, I panicked big time and thought I didn't get the brushes!

What brushes do you get?

• Powder Blush Brush in 129 (normal price £28.00)
• Foundation Brush in 190 (normal price £27.00)
• Tapered Blending Brush in 224 (normal price £23.00)
• Fluff Brush in 213 (normal price £19.00)
• Eyeliner Brush in 209 (normal price £16.50)

The brushes from left to right are Tapered Blending brush, Fluff brush, Eyeliner brush, Powder Blush brush and Foundation Brush. 

All of these brushes are in a special edition Christmas white colour, and are travel sized, but the actual brush heads are the same size as the regular brushes, maybe a millimetre smaller. The MAC represented pointed this out to me. By purchasing the brushes in a set you save a huge amount! The cost of all these brushes separately is £113.50 and by buying the set at £42.00 you save £71.50!! Talk about a bargain buy...

Objections of Affection- Gold and Beige, Pigments and Glitter- £26.00

I first saw the MAC representatives wearing the gold glitter from this set and it looked amazing!! Cannot wait to do a look with this glitter, just need to figure out how to make it stay to my eyelid, any suggestions or tips please let me know!

A little heads up if you do buy these, the bottles are quite fiddly and have a tiny lid you need to take off to access the pigment/glitter. If you have shaky hands be careful! I accidentally jogged myself and nearly showered my desk with some pigment, and as these are so nice and a little expensive you do not want to waste any. Although buying the pigment separately is more expensive, I think you can get larger pots for £17.00 each so overall this is good value.

The packaging these come is by far my favourite from the sets I bought, the pigments come in a dark grey glittered box with a plastic bottom, with a dark grey cameo on top. The plastic bottom to the box has black beads going around. And the glittered part acts as the lid, as you can see from the picture above. This box does not come in a card box like the other sets I bought.

A little goes a long way....
You really do not need much, I actually used what was on the tiny lid in the bottle, and there was enough product for me to do a decent sized swatch, enough for eyelids, did not need to dip my brush in once.

I have done a swatch test, the glitter was hard for me to take a picture of, and I don't think I have done these pigments much justice so apologies, as they really are lovely. I have numbered the swatches 1-5 and you can follow the shades in the set by going from left to right.

Keepsakes- Beige Eyes- £32.00

These eyeshadows are beautiful, not only do the colours look amazing, they go on like butter, and really shine. There are 8 eyeshadows in this set, you get a really even blend of matte and shimmers, 4 of each. I have only tested them and I am already in love...

I really feel like I am going to have to invest in some other eyeshadows from MAC, anyone have any favourite colours or colours to recommend to me?

The packaging is simply adorable too! Presented in a black glitter case with a black cameo on top and black beads surrounding the edge. Inside there is a large mirror and small dual ended applicator brush.

I have done a swatch test, the lightest shade I have numbered as 1, also first eyeshadow in the set is very pale, and as I am very pale, does not show up that well, so apologies! I have labelled the eyeshadows 1-8 and if you look at the eyeshadow set you can follow these shades from left to right, top to bottom. 

Thank you for reading! Has anyone else bought anything from the MAC holiday line, if so let me know.

Christmas at Starbucks

I love food! My evening at Starbucks.

I thought I would start of this evening with a bit of a lifestyle and food blog, I really hope you enjoy this one!

As Starbucks now have a Christmas menu, I have taken it upon myself to basically have everything off the Christmas menu, except coffee drinks as I don't like coffee.

Picture from Starbucks.co.uk

I think the Christmas drinks menu looks great! A little disappointed they do not have as wide of a range as Costa, but I guess I can try everything quicker!

Now as I don't like coffee drinks what I do is ask for a hot chocolate with one of the syrups that go in the festive coffee drinks, for example, this evening I asked for a gingerbread hot chocolate. That way I get to try everything! The gingerbread hot chocolate was nice, just a hint of gingerbread, not overpowering. To order this, just ask for a hot chocolate with Gingerbread syrup, all syrups are an extra 50p and all the festive drinks include whipped cream on top, and you can add a little chocolate powder, if you have an extra sweet tooth like me.

My evening at Starbucks^^ check out the cup, name spelt right!!

I still have to try something with Eggnog! But I had a sip of my boyfriends Toffee Nut Latte, not really a fan, would definitely taste nicer in chocolate!! And this explains the reason I have had to join the gym.....

As you can see in the picture above there is some delicious food which I am going to review further down. 

In an earlier visit to Starbucks I ordered the Honey and Almond Hot Chocolate, to be honest I couldn't really taste the honey but the almond flavour made the hot chocolate extra smooth and a little bit more sophisticated than my usual toppings of marshmallows! They also add chocolate sauce on the top of the whipped cream, so it really is chocolatey. My boyfriend was not really a fan of the almond flavour but I felt it definitely complimented the hot chocolate well. 

This year at Starbucks they have some fantastic Christmas mugs and accessories, including adorable tree decorations and tumblers/flasks. I purchased the Silver Metallic bead tumbler and the London Christmas edition mug. 

       

The silver metallic bead tumbler is really beautiful, is has a textured effect all over, it looks as if tiny silver raindrops cover the tumbler, very Christmassy. This also looks very stylish, a fashionable way to carry your drinks around.

I have a few Starbucks mugs already, just a few of different places I have been to or people have given me from holidays etc, I really love them so if you already have the black London mug, then the Christmas edition replaces the black with gold and some pretty snowflakes. The London cityscape on the mug is also slightly textured with the windows on buildings being indented into the mug, this gives it a more realistic look and adds some great detail. 

Starbucks Christmas Food

I am only going to talk about the panini's as the panini's are one of my all time favourite foods and ultimate snacks, just so many flavours and options to choose from. Something very delicious easy to create. 

Picture from Starbucks.co.uk

There are really some great items on the Christmas menu, I am especially glad to see a gluten free option.

I had the Turkey and Bacon feast this evening it was really delicious, something I think all Starbuck's panini's could do with is a bit more sauce inside. You get a good amount of turkey and bacon and the cranberry and stuffing just add to complete that christmas touch. All the flavours compliment each other, would buy again, this has been my favourite so far.

My boyfriends favourite and my runner up is the Steak and Gorgonzola panini, the Gorgonzola is really powerful, there is nothing bland about this panini! It is also nice to see an alternative to the traditional turkey, especially if you more of a fan of red meats. 

Sometimes I prefer to have a vegetarian option now and again, also probably a bit healthier too! I love cheese so when I saw there was Brie in a panini I just had to try. Brie is one of my favourite cheese all time, probably at the top of my list f not a close runner up. I love a bit of Brie with on a cracker with strawberry jam and this panini reminded me just of that. As Brie can be quite strong the cranberry helps to "soften" down the cheese and add a bit of sweetness. It is a lovely combination and something I will definitely be attempting to make at home. I love simple things to make with minimal ingredients (the student way).

Forgot to mention I also had the white chocolate, cranberry and orange cookie, definitely a must have!

Thanks so much for reading this, I would love to read any comments about your favourites from the festive menu and if anyone has bought anything from their Christmas shop.

Revolution Eyeshadow Palette Ultimate Collection, Christmas Gifts!

Revolution Ultimate Eyeshadow Collection- £20

Available from Superdrug, just checked today still half price- £10!!!

I want to continue with the Christmas gift/sets review, I picked this up recently in Superdrug for just £10, it usually retails for £20 but they had a half price offer on some of the christmas gifts. This palette would make a great Christmas gift for someone as it has an amazing 144 eyeshadows!! Great for a beauty junkie, like myself.....

It's difficult with where to start with this review as there are just so many colours!

The packaging is a slim black case with a clear lid, which neatly displays most of the colours, the revolution label on the case covers up some. The case is very light and would be easy to carry, especially as the lid clips shut, therefore you don't have to worry about powder falling out.

As I picked this up for £10 I thought it was an absolute bargain, however even at £20 it works out at less than 15p per shade!! You are definitely unlikely to find this cheaper else where.

I have noticed at my local Superdrug there is a new makeup stand- Revolution, and this eyeshadow collection is part of their brand. However it seems this will just be a Christmas gift, as usually they have much smaller palettes on their stand, 12 shades for £4, eager to try one out, as the smaller palettes look lovely, a nude/naked style palette had my eye on for a while now.

But on with the palette, there is a vast variety of shades, a large potion of browns, around 30 shades of shimmer and mattes, this would be great for a natural eye. Some neon shades, a very bight yellow, pink, orange and green, would have been great for halloween! There are also a nice mixture of greys, blues, greens and some cool and warm toned purples. Not as many pink shades as I thought there would be, but I probably have too many pink shades anyway...

I have not done a swatch as there are just too many colours to choose from, but will be using some of the colours soon. After testing a few shades on the back of my hand I can say they seem to be highly pigmented and easy to blend. The shimmer shades I tested seem quite creamy without glitter, which I think makes it more easy to wear, as you don't go outside looking like a disco ball!

 

I have tried to include all of the colours in the picture above, some of the neon shades are just peeking through if you look closely. 

Definitely a bargain buy which everyone can appreciate this time of the year, christmas approaching!! With the choice of shades available as well there are lots of looks you can create, from natural to smokey, even being more creative with the neon or glitter shades. 

Let me know if you have any revolution palettes and thanks for reading.