Lush Haul

I have fallen in love with Lush in recent months. They're very known for their bath bombs, which are always a welcome addition to any pamper night. It took me a while to venture further afield, and have been slowly using more of their products.

This time I was drawn in by the soaps, especially the Somewhere Over The Rainbow soap which is gorgeously multicoloured and packed full of glitter. It also smells so good and fruity! It is a very hard one to resist. But it has got glitter all over my hands.

I also picked up Honey I Washed The Kids. I won't lie, the name swayed it for me. But luckily it smells delightful with a delicious caramel scent.

Finally, I also picked up the Pot O' Gold shower jelly. This was one I couldn't resist, and just had to try. It's a very different texture to anything I am used to. In fact, I'm still going to have to work out how to use it. It is, like that name suggests, jelly. IT all comes out in one lump. But I love that it is gold, and a bit of a sparkle to it. This one will definitely cheer me up in a morning.

What are your favourite Lush products?

Accessory haul

Recently I seemed to have spent some time looking over cute accessories. There have been so many that have caught my eye, that inevitably, I've found it hard to resist. I actually don't own that many accessories. I am one of those people that when I have found something I like I will wear it constantly until I wear it out. I finally thought it was time to shake it up and buy a couple more pieces.

I'm really loving the jacket earring trend at the moment (I might be a little bit behind on it), and these ones from River Island (here) were just what I was looking for.The little flowers on these ones were too cute to pass up, and it very affordable. So far, these are my only pair on jacket earrings, so I really want to get more.

When I saw them, I felt like the knot bracelet and the origami earrings were very me. In particular I love making origami animals, and so as the earrings (here) reminded me of an afternoon I once spent folding butterflies, that they were hard to pass up. It helped they were on sale too! They're a little bigger than I would have liked, but they're so pretty that I can let it go. In contrast the bracelet (here) is much daintier, but I love the way it looks. It's really great for work, as it's quite a subtle piece.

Lastly, I bought two head scarves from ASOS (here). I have short hair, and there's not many ways I can style it, so I'm trying to jazz it up with some hair accessories.These came as a pair; one black, and one with a very cool popcorn print on, It's safe to say I'm a sucker for cute print.

What are your favourite accessories?

Illamasqua

It seems a long time ago now, but back in January I took a trip down to London. It was a pretty cool weekend in itself - there was an amazing American-style diner - but the trip was primarily to go on my second Illamasqua make-up course.

I am really loving the courses Illamasqua put on. I'm even deciding which one to go on next! I still feel like a relative beginner to make-up, so I find having the guidance on how to apply my make-up really helpful. The course I went on this time, 'Mastering Rush Hour Make-up', was particularly great, as it gave me useful tips for doing my daily make-up quickly, as well as giving me a full work appropriate look. For example, did you know some lip colours are a no no, as they totally give the wrong impression, and stop you from being taken seriously? Interesting stuff!

Like last time, afterwards, I bought some of the products that we used in the lesson. If you want to see the products I bought after the last course I went on, the post is here. The course this time used some if those same products, like the Matte Veil and the Skin Base foundation, both of which I really love; the former in particular being a staple of my daily routine.

But this time I chose four of my favourite products from the lesson to take home with me:

Skin Base Lift; in Light 2 - Not only is this is a very creamy under eye concealer, but it also has a peach tone to it, so it doubles up as a corrector. This is great as it means putting on less product helping it look a little more natural. It's designed to compliment the Skin Base foundation, but I use it regularly without, and I still love the way it looks. It doesn't take much product, but it makes my eyes look much brighter, and I look so much more awake, even if I don't feel it!

Cream blusher; in Zygomatic - Before I discovered this product, I hadn't really used a cream blusher before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But I ended up loving it. It's a very neutral shade so once blended it looks very natural, and it blends so easily. All I do is use my fingertips, and it gives a great finish.

Sculpting Powder Duo; in Lumos and Heliopolis - This powder is designed for highlighting and contouring. The highlighter, Lumos, has a buildable shimmer to it, whereas helios is a light brown matte shade, which is perfect for creating shadows. They compliment each other perfectly. For the lesson, we also used the product as eyeshadow, so it's great for multitasking in a morning.

Lipstick; in Climax - I still don't feel ready to wear a bold lip, so I was matched up to this neutral shade. It is actually close to my own lip colour, but it's a matte finish and actually helps my lip colour look much softer and even. We paired this with a lip pencil in Fantasy (which, unfortunately, they had sold out of) and together it just brought the look together.

Have you tried any Illamasqua products?

Festive Lush Haul

Lush is one of those places where you can easily spend far too much time in, smelling all the delicious products and trying them all out. Case in point; I went into Lush, limiting myself to one product from the Christmas range, I came out with three. But Lush have some really great festive products this year that it was really hard to choose only one.

First thing I picked up was the Magic Wand Bubble Bar, which I just couldn't resist. It is pink and strawberry scented, and what makes it particularly great, is that it is on a stick just like a wand, and even has a bell. I am really looking forward to pampering myself with this one.

Next I saw the Butterbear Bath Bomb, which as the name suggests, is a very cute vanilla scented bear with cocoa butter to help soften the skin. 

Finally, I passed a bowl full of The Christmas Penguin Bubble Bar and they made me giggle so much that I could not pass up getting one. I purposely picked up the most deformed looking one because they made me laugh so much. But the bubble bar itself sounds really great. This is orange flower and mandarin oil infused which will make it very relaxing. 

Have you tried any of the festive Lush products?