Lush Christmas Launch 2014

A few weeks ago, I excitedly made my way to the Lush Christmas Launch just off Regent Street with the lovely Kimberley and Zoe.  What I love most about Lush Christmas is the launching of new and exciting products that I am yet to try and the bringing back of trusty faithfuls that I cannot help but love - yes Snow Fairy... Get It Now!!

Once inside Lush it was nice to see a massive turn out but more excitingly the chance to see all the products, gift sets and of course the Lush Advent Calendar which I mentioned on my blog HERE and to see it in front of me was amazing because it is rather large!

There are a lot of gift packages also available again this year and they range in price from around £8 right up to over £100 and within each package you get a good selection of products.

As you can see there are some trusty favourites from last year such as Snow Fairy, Candy Mountain and The Christmas Penguin, but there are some lovely new products too such  as The Christmas Hedgehog (how I am going to squish him into the bath is beyond me, he is far too cute), Dashing Santa, Butterbear and Baked Alaska Soap to name but a few!

If like me you are massive fan of Lush and love what they have on offer for Christmas, I can only advise you to get down there quick and buy something new and exciting as well as someone you might buy every year, because there is a whole lot more than I can possibly show in one blog post!  Go Go Go!

What is your favourite Lush product?

Make-up by Lush

Did you know Lush, the shop we all know and love for bath bombs and Snow Fairy also did make-up? Well as part of Vogues Fashion a Night Out (VFNO) I went along to Lush in South Molton Street here in London to watch a make-up demonstration by Lush Colour Expert Charlotte Howe, which was well and truly fascinating to firstly see everything applied right in front of me and secondly to ask for advice and many many questions as I could possibly think of.

After the event, those present were given the chance to choose their own product, quite a trauma when presented with so many colour options and choices, but in the end I opted for an eyeshadow called Sophisticated which is described as being:

"A shimmering taupe cream eyeshadow made with soothing and enduring ingredients for those times when only a refined appearance and attitude will do. The ultimate all-rounder and can be used wherever you want to highlight with a shimmering bronze. The colour will last and last: like all our eyeshadows and liquid eyeliners, it is made from a softening base that carries the colour wonderfully".

Being from Lush it is naturally full of amazing ingredients, yes even in their make-up range and not a single part of it is tested on animals. The inclusion of:

• Cupuacu butter is a soft and nourishing emollient and easily absorbs water. It stabilises emulsions and moisturises the skin. 
• Fresh Rose Petals which are said to be astringent and gently tone the skin, which is why we use fresh rose petal infusion to condition and soothe. 
• Jojoba oil which is an excellent moisturiser and a softener for skin 
• Almond oil for its conditioning effect on skin. It helps to moisturise and hydrate and is packed with vitamin E 

As for the shade, well it is a gorgeous warm shimmery brown, perfect for day or night. I dab it on and blend with my finger.

If that isn't enough, a few days after the event, I went back. I had been torn between sophisticated and a lipstick called Perspective. Yes, a lipstick, a liquid lipstick to be precise and it is absolutely lovely:

So Perspective is described as being:

"A rosy nude long-lasting lipstick for a new look that's subtle and natural. This is a great all-rounder, as - like all our lipsticks - this can be used as an eyeshadow, blusher or highlighter for a natural glow. They are made from the same base that mixes moisturising but easily-absorbed jojoba oil with candelilla and rose waxes. Together, this terrific trio help carry the pigment and lock in the colour without drying out the lips."

As you can it is most definitely a rosy nude and when applied to the lips, it is really moisturising, as though you have applied Dr Lipp over the top of your lipstick and as the colour slowly wears off, and I mean slowly, your lips still feel soft and smooth.  As it says it is full of ingredients to keep your lips feeling moisturised and they include Organic Jojoba, which is an excellent moisturiser and a softener for skin. Due to jojoba oils affinity with our own sebum, it is more readily absorbed and tolerated by the top layer of our skin. In cases where excess sebum is present, jojoba oil can help to dissolve and clean it away.

As I have said, this lipstick is long lasting, I can apply it in a morning before going to work and come lunchtime there is still a hint of colour on my lips, to the point where I am happy to just apply some lip-gloss or balm over the top rather than have to re-apply the lipstick.  Priced at £14.50, for me this is an absolute bargain and it comes packaged in such a cute little bottle, it is hard not to love it.

Have you ever tried any of the make-up on offer from Lush?

Lush Christmas Advent Calendar

You might have seen my Beauty Advent Calendar post HERE where I have detailed and updated the number of advent calendars that seem to be appearing this year and although I have one or two to add to that list, this little number got me all excited because it is from Lush!

The 12 days of Christmas, this eye-catching gift shaped as the ultimate story telling book. With 12 beautiful products inside, one to use everyday in the run up to Christmas leaving you feeling clean and smelling of the festive season

Now I know you will all be wondering what is inside this lovely calendar and here are the contents and what it looks like inside...

• Karma soap (120g); 
• The Olive Branch shower gel (100g); 
• Cinders bath bomb; 
• Golden Wonder bath bomb; 
• Snow Angel bath melt; 
• Hot Toddy shower gel (100g); 
• Dashing Santa bath bomb; 
• Honey I Washed The Kids (120g); 
• Celebrate body lotion (45g); 
• Holly Go Lightly bubble bar; 
• Lord of Misrule bath bomb; 
• Star Light Star Bright bath melt

I think this is an absolute beauty of an advent calendar and it costs just £49.95 which again I think is an amazing price.

What do you think to this advent calendar from Lush? Is it one you would buy?

Lush - Let The Good Times Roll

Lush’s Let The Good Times Roll** fresh cleanser for the face and body is not just for Christmas anymore. Back by popular demand, this cleanser has become an all year round product and is a treat for the skin. Made with maize flour and polenta to gently exfoliate, and cinnamon powder to stimulate and leave your skin feeling soft. Let The Good Times Roll is topped off with corn oil and popcorn to leave your skin with an irresistible caramel buttery scent and a natural glow.

Well if that isn't enough to grab your attention, then I don't know what is, but when this little pot of joy came through my door I was so delighted because this had been one of my favourite Lush products for a long time and it suddenly went and disappeared. But now it is back and it is all mine. 

For me this cleanser is quite similar to 'Angels on Bare skin' which I also love, but instead of having the exfoliating ingredient of ground almonds this has ground corn or maize.

WHAT LUSH SAY Fresh Cleanser "A Maize In, gentle facial wash We popped corn oil, polenta, maize flour and cinnamon in here. The perfect recipe to gently exfoliate, moisturise and soften your skin for those times when you want to get ready for close-ups. Let The Good Times Roll is a gentle treat for the skin, leaving you soft to the touch with a lingering buttery caramel popcorn fragrance - when you look and feel this good you can give your Body Double the day off.." 

As with most Lush products there is a huge list of ingredients and within this one there are some worth mentioning:

• Maize Flour - gives the product a nice doughy consistency whilst also effectively cleansing the skin, helping to scrub away excess dirt and leaving skin clean and soft. 
• Polenta - is packed with good amounts of iron, thiamine, zinc, phosphorus and magnesium. It's also a good source of fibre.
• Cinnamon Powder - good cleansing herb, it also has powerful antiseptic properties. Its sensual aroma has been proven to have an aphrodisiac effect when used in baked cinnamon rolls! 
• Corn Oil - Corn oil is great for good skin and hair due to it being a rich source of linoleic acid, which is one of two essential acids necessary for growth. Corn oil is also recognized as an excellent source of tocopherols. Tocopherols function as antioxidants and provide a good source of Vitamin E.

To look at, this looks like some dough, it has a rich buttery colour and as soon as the lid is removed the scent is really lovely, reminds me of biscuits.

Once on the skin it has a slight sandy texture to it and naturally there are bits of popcorn which gives it some added oomph.  

As you mix it with water to make a paste you simply massage it onto your face using your fingers and as you do that you can feel those fine particles working on your skin to remove anything dead or dry, sounds gruesome but it does actually do that.  Then once you have finished simply wash any excess off with warm water and then pat your skin dry. Ideally this is designed for those with normal/dry skin but given I have combination skin, I do find it works really well with my skin.  As this is an exfoliating cleanser the ingredients are designed to exfoliate, stimulate and nourish your skin and no sooner had I patted my skin dry, my skin was soft and smooth to the touch.

Lush’s Let The Good Times Roll fresh cleanser for the face and body has an RRP of £6.35 for 100g / £15.88 for 250g

I absolutely love this product and am so glad Lush have brought it back, have you tried it?

Introducing Coal Harbour!

I first noticed Coal Harbour via a giveaway they were hosting on Instagram and from there I found them on Facebook and then on Twitter.  Described as follows:

"Coal Harbour is the home of luxury bathing products. We ensure that all our products will leave you feeling pampered, renewed and more than a little special"

Their website is full of mouthwatering products which look good enough to eat, when actually what you do is enjoy them in the bath and what I like about them is their four main founding principles which are:

• ALL products must be handmade in Britain. 
• Must NEVER be tested on animals. 
• Should be kind to your skin. 
• Luxury does not mean expensive.

All of which I agree with. those of you who read this blog regularly will know and have read about my love for both Lush and Bomb Cosmetics, I love nothing more than finding a pretty bath product to help me unwind and relax whilst enjoying copious amounts of bubbles or fantastically bright coloured bath water to will away the daily stress of life.

To give you an insight into the kind of products you can purchase via Coal Harbour, this delightful package** made its way into my hands this past week and after a particularly horrid day, it more than put a smile on my face:

So as you can see, not only is it amazingly packaged and every item totally secure, inside are the following products:

Zingy Koala Bath Bomb - Transport yourself to the land down under with our Zingy Koala Bath Bomb. Brimming with Lemon nd Eucalyptus fragrances this bomb will be a firm favourite, just like the furry Koala.

Ugly Duckling Bath Bomb - You are a swan! A gleaming, white blaster with skin conditioning cocoa and shea butters. With kukui nut oil and pure geranium essential oil, both renowned for their skin benefits.

Creamy Candy Bubble Bar - From Lush and it smells so wonderful of candy, as soon as you open the packet within which it is carefully wrapped, the scents come alive.  If you’d normally reach for a sweet treat to lift your mood, this bubble bar does just the job. Its sweet candy floss smell raises your energy levels and perks you up. It also offers extra moisturisation than the average bubble bar as it has a blend of almond and cocoa butter. Creamy Candy contains almond oil and butter chunks that melt onto the surface of the water, giving skin a velvety texture.

The final item 

Rejuvenate Bath Salts - drift away from the stress of the day and get your perk back with our rejuvenate bath salts. Packed with May Chang, Tea Tree and Juniper pure essential oils, this special blend will have you back on top in no time.  These salts smell absolutely divine, not to mention how fantastic the orangey colour is, I cannot wait to try these out.

Naturally there is a lot more to Coal Harbour than I am sharing with you right now, if you love candles, funky soap, face masks, bubble bars and even products for the man in your life, I am sure you will have a basket full of products from Coal Harbour within a matter of minutes, especially if like me, you love products like the ones I have shared with you today.

If you spend over £30 postage is free or just a tiny £3.99 if your order is under this and for your very first order, Coal Harbour offer 10% off your order, which is surely worth my tempting you!

Have you ever purchased anything from Coal Harbour?  Have I tempted you?

Lush Easter Wishlist

Even though I am a HUGE chocolate fan and love everything there is about Easter, well who doesn't love eating chocolate for breakfast, there are one or two other things that I always have my eye and currently there are a few items from Lush that I rather like the look of and here they are in the form of a wishlist:

1 - The Golden Egg Bath Bomb - said to turn your water gold and is a combination of a Bath Bomb so you get the fizzing and a Bath Melt so you get some luxuriously moisturising oils to make your skin lovely and smooth.  Costs £3.50

2 - The Immaculate Eggception - Another Bath Bomb which comes in either yellow or pink and these are rather special because there is not just one bath bomb there are and when you crack them open you will find either a yellow chick of a white bunny!  Cost £6.95

3 - Rose - This one is a bubble bar and  it is made using Turkish Rose Absolute and promises to create a tonne of bubbles.  Costs £2.95

4 - Secret Garden - A bath bomb which is said to be full of flowers and the scent of spring which will create serene and tranquil bath that will bring you back to life.  Costs £2.95

5 - Bunch of Carrots - These caught my eye because they are quirky and something a little bit different.  Once you have them, you swish one of the carrots around your bath to enjoy soft clouds of bubbles and tropically scented water. They are also said to be reusable bubble bars and do not smell of carrots.  Cost 5.95

If you are not too sure what to buy when going into Lush, there is always an option to get a gift set which will contain a few items to make your options less traumatic.  As it is Easter Lush have two offerings which are:

6 - Funny Bunny - This gift set is sold in a Knot wrap and contains 4 items from the Easter Range and it costs £20

7 - Carrot - This gift set comes in the shape of a carrot which is really quirky and contains 4 products from the Easter range and costs £16.95

Finally:

8 - Madame Butterfly - This is a bubble bar on a stick, anyone who is familiar with the Christmas range will possibly have had one of these already, though in the form of an Angel.  With the bubble bar on a stick, like with carrots, you swish it around in your water as the bath runs and it creates Rose and Lemon scented  bubbles.  Costs £5.25

So there you have a little Lush Easter Wishlist and a nice alternative to chocolate.  Have you tried any of these products?

Lush The Kiss Lipgloss

As part of my goody bag at the Lush Event which I attended a few weeks ago was this brilliant solid lipgloss called The Kiss**.

Nestled inside a little tin, similar to the sample pots of Charity you can buy, this lipgloss has become an item that has found its way into my handbag and something I use a lot.  Designed and produced as part of the Valentines Day Range, The Kiss costs £5.75.

Described as 

" A delightful, whipped up gloss made from luxurious and protective butters including Fair Trade shea and cupuaçu. This preservative free tinted lip gloss gives a touch of colour to the lips. It’s so easy to apply you won’t even need a mirror!.  

We’ve created a light balm using the same aerating technique we use for our massage bars. It will moisturise and protect the lips, whilst giving them a subtle pink glossy sheen. It contains delicious organic agave syrup to leave your lips deliciously sweet".

Firstly it is pink, anything pink is going to get me excited and the scent is absolutely divine, Lush use organic mandarin and almond essential oils to give it this amazing scent, not to mention that it tastes pretty good too.  Once applied to the lips there is a very slight pink colouring and a natural gloss look.  It can either be worn on its own or over the top of your lipstick or lip crayon if you prefer.

Lush being Lush don't just put things together for the sake of it, there is usually some hidden meaning behind each product, usually within the ingredients and this one is no different.  As expected there is a long list of what ingredients it has such as - guarana seed powder which is a natural skin plumper to make your lips irresistible.  You will also find Shea Butter which has amazing moisturising properties, Organic Caster Oil which helps to lock in moisture, protect the skin and prevent damage by the elements and environmental toxins. You can find the full list of ingredients on the Lush website.

Which Lush products have you been loving lately?

Lush Event - Regent Street

Last Thursday I was so excited to be invited to a Lush event in Regent Street here in London, those of you who read my blog will know that I am a bit more than a fan, I am more like a Lush-a-holic.

The aim of the event was to promote and introduce to us Danger! Cosmetics to Go, a book on the story of the company that preceded Lush which tells the meteoric rise and devastating fall of the the brand in just 6 years.  Written by the beautiful Mira Manga, a musician and writer, she was commissioned to write the book by Mark Constantine OBE, Lush Co-Founder and managing Director.  Mira herself worked for Lush, starting as a Saturday girl in Lush's Carnaby Street Shop (which has since closed).  I was lucky enough to get Mira to sign my copy and for anyone out there, who like me, is a huge fan of Lush, this is a book you should have in your possession because it is a fascinating insight into the world of Lush, the products they have and how they came to be.

As well as meeting Mira, Lush put on a brilliant event with nibbles and drinks to keep those of us present fed and watered and we had exclusive access to the staff to ask as many questions as we wanted, see demonstrations of the products and try out the products that Lush sell.  

All of the staff I spoke to were absolutely brilliant and so knowledgeable in what they knew of each product, some sharing funny stories of mishaps with customers and others giving a real detailed introduction to things I was yet to try and advising on other products that might work well with either my hair, skin or hands.

With Valentines Day not too far away, Lush have their own Valentines Day products out there to grab and my advice is to grab them quick because they are amazing.  I have already taken a shine to the Valentines Shower Gel Prince Charming which smells wonderfully of marshmallows and pomegranate juice.  Then there is the Love Locket Bath Bomb which has three parts to it, not something I am going to ruin for you now, but look out for the review.  There are 11 different products within the Valentines Day range, including three different gift sets, a lip gloss and some soap, all brightly coloured and beautifully packaged.

I had an absolutely brilliant time at this Lush Event and know so much more about the products I liked, loved and swoon over and whats more, I really loved the chance of being able to meet Mira and ask her many questions about the book she has so brilliantly written and it may just feature in its own review.

I was also surprised to get a goody bag and this one was just amazing and below are the contents, each of us was asked to choose Bath or Shower, now for someone who is as indecisive as I am, this was a hard task, but I did choose bath:

Of course I couldn't leave such a fabulous event without something for my beloved hubby could I? Especially when he has his own blog now, so this is what I bought for him:

Ickle Baby Bot was my first choice, designed for children but it is filled with Lavender to help calm and relax before bedtime.  Then there is Dirty Springwash Shower Gel which has the opposite effect to the Bath Bomb and because it is filled with Spearmint and menthol, it leaves you feeling wide awake and alert, ready to tackle the day.

Thank you Lush, the experience and the event was fantastic.