Lush Princess Cottongrass Body Spray

With over 200 new products in the Lush catalogue there is so many to want, need and lust after right now. One product I wasn't expecting to like but actually love is the Princess Cottongrass Body Spray**.

Described by Lush as being "A secretive scent inspired by the Swedish tale of a lost princess who waits by a lake in the forest, hoping to reclaim the golden heart necklace she lost to the depths. Walk along the lakeside where you may see the slender cottongrass plants watching over the water and you will know she is still waiting. A delicate alien floral, both sweet and distant as it blossoms on your skin" the description is pretty spot on as it goes.

Princess Cottongrass Body Spray is quite a feminine fragrance. Really light when you first spray for it to them become much stronger and I suspect it is going to be something you either love or hate. I love it and use it for spraying in my bedroom around half an hour before going to bed, especially if I am struggling to sleep as I find it quite a relaxing scent.

Those of you who are Lush fans will know that each product is packed with amazing ingredients and within Princess Cottongrass we have - Pine Oil which is said to bring about a calming effect on the mind with Neroli Oil being one of the few essential oils to be scientifically proven to increase serotonin production in the brain, which makes us feel contented and cheerful, as well as working effectively as a toner for the skin. Violet Leaf Absolute helps to improve the condition of the skin, and to add a wonderful fresh fragrance with Nettle Absolute not only being full of Vitamins A and C but on oily skin as an astringent, to balance dry skin conditions, and to help scalp and hair problems. It has also been used to treat burns, to relieve joint pain and for insect bites.

So there are a lot of strong scents to be had within this body spray and yet it is not at all heavy. What you get instead is a wonderful fresh, crisp scent that lingers on your skin for a very long time, all day in fact and if you are looking for something that is a little bit different but has lastability, this is worthy of a look.

Have you tried this scent from Lush?

The Ultimate Nail Lacquer Exchange with Crabtree & Evelyn

On your marks, get set, GO! Crabtree & Evelyn are offering everyone the chance to swap their old nail polish for a NEW one completely FREE! Take any brand of nail polish (except a Crabtree & Evelyn one) into the nearest C&E store from 13th August to 29th September (while stocks last) to exchange your old nail polish for a brand new nail lacquer from Crabtree & Evelyn worth £6.00! All bottles will be recycled where possible*. 

Crabtree & Evelyn’s Nail Lacquer collection contains 21 gorgeous colours, from nuetrals to lights to darks to brights. They apply beautifully, dry fast and are formulated without the toxic chemicals commonly found in nail polish, leaving you with a rich, eye-catching colour that lasts. Each Nail Lacquer is 15ml. Price: £6.00.

There is a huge selection of shades to choose from when it comes to the nail polish.  The ones shown in the picture above from left to right the shades are:

• Pomegranate  - Deliciously sophisticated deep red. 
• Clementine -  Beautiful creamy orange with subtle shimmer.
• Apple -  Brilliant red with a hint of shimmer.
• Raspberry - Beautiful deep pink lacque
• Blueberry - Deep blue accented with the shimmer of sapphire.

I absolutely love Pomegranate, it is the kind of shade I tend to wear all year round.

Will you be taking part in the The Ultimate Nail Lacquer Exchange with Crabtree & Evelyn

*Terms & Conditions: Valid in Crabtree & Evelyn branded stores only. Bring in any other brand nail polish/nail lacquer, new or used, and receive in exchange a free Crabtree & Evelyn Nail Lacquer. For a limited time only & while stocks last. Other restrictions apply; ask a sales assistant for details. 

John Frieda Mayfair Salon Experience

In the heart of Mayfair sits the John Frieda Salon, not oblivious to anyone who might happen to be walking past with no signs to attract your attention and no window display screaming out an offer of the day. What you see if exactly what you get, it's stylish, it's intimate and it is incredibly welcoming as though you are greeting a long lost friend.

Stepping inside to what looks like a small snug salon is in fact just the beginning, it is huge. With a cloakroom bigger than my bathroom to rid yourself of unwanted outer garments, everyone is just so welcoming and friendly, as though they can spot a newbie a mile off and that of course is what I am, this is my first visit to this salon, the receptionist immediately introduces herself . Then as my coat is taken, I have a quick discussion about the weather as my gown is put on, I am shown to a seating area where I sat listening, as you do, to the conversations around me, the salon felt as though I could have been at a coffee shop or Airport, it is like a meeting place for old friends to be reacquainted, catching up on their news and lives.  There is a very personal touch about this salon which I rather quite liked.

Having sat down to wait for Natasha who would be my colourist, I had a wide selection of the latest magazines to read (though I was too busy people watching) and then having been introduced to Natasha and then Oliver who would be cutting my hair, I am taken to the seat that I would occupy. The one thing I loved about this experience was being made to feel at home, welcomed and then asking for and being given advice, with the feeling I had been listened too rather than talked into something I knew I wouldn't like or want. I explained that I was slightly nervous of having my hair coloured in any way due to a previous bad experience where the highlights looked more like tiger stripes and it took forever and a day for it to grow out and be corrected.  So putting me at ease,   Natasha went off to mix my colour, I was given a pot of tea, something I always enjoy more at a salon and left to read my magazines.  

A few minutes later and Natasha was back and she explained to me how the process would work with the foils and adding the colour, giving me an opportunity to ask any further questions.   We had decided that my new colour would be something that was natural and would blend with my own natural hair colouring rather than something new, bold and striking particularly as my fake tan has worn off and I am back to being quite pasty again.  Once all of my foils has been done, I was left to relax for 25 minutes and it was absolute heaven.

After those 25 minutes ended I was taken to the tidiest washing area I have ever seen and was treated to a lovely shampoo, condition and gloss treatment.  I absolutely love having my hair washed by someone else, I find it incredibly relaxing and again, everything that was being used on my hair was fully explained as to what everything was so that I was aware and attention was really paid to the temperature of the water and whether it was too hot or cold.

Then it was time for Oliver to work his magic.  Before my foils and colour, Oliver and I had a good chat as to how ideally I would love my hair to be, so I explained that it needed to be something that wasn't high maintenance and would take hours for me to style because I don't have the time most days to do it when I am working, so if I felt the need to shove up in a ponytail I wanted that option and if I didn't then I could straighten it.  So it was decided that there would be a few inches taken off the length to tidy up layer which had now grown out and for those which remained, work them into a new workable style which wouldn't flick up and stand out and this is what happened!

So before Oliver, my hair, which is naturally wavy, was quite unruly and had layers which had grown out and needed to be sorted.  It had got to that stage where it was a nightmare to style.  I have mentioned before that my hair is quite fine but there is a lot of it and there is a lot of weight at the back of my scalp, so all of these issues have now been addresses ensuring fluid movement within my hair when I move about and swish my hair.  As for the colour, it has gone from being dark blonde, which I actually like, to a shade lighter in parts to give it a sunkissed look, nothing that stands out boldly shouting "I've dyed my hair" which I absolutely love.

I spent over two hours at the John Frieda Salon and every minute I loved, I never felt pressured into leaving, none of the stylists were in a hurry and given that it is a very busy salon the one thing I didn't notice was the constant sound of hairdryers, though they were in use.  This was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had at a hair salon and one where I have felt more at ease than anywhere else that I have been and a salon that I highly recommend visiting.

Appleyard London Mojito Bouquet

Do you love to send flowers to you Gran, Mum, Best Friend or like receiving flowers as a surprise? Me too, there is something about receiving flowers that is so special.  Let me introduce you to Appleyard London who is a luxury flower delivery company that pride themselves on using not only the highest quality flowers for all of their floral arrangements but they also want to ensure that your experience with them is the very best it can possibly be. 

Every floral arrangement from Appleyard London are hand tied and their florists are always on the lookout for exclusive new and rare species of flowers which are on trend colours to make that bouquet even more exquisite. Appleyard London also try and source their flowers where possible from British growers and are mindful of our environmental impact and strive to be as respectful to our natural environment as possible by designing their packaging to produce as little waste as possible.

Appleyard London very kindly gifted me their Mojito Bouquet from their beautiful Summer collection as well as a very generous discount code which you will find at the end of this post.  Once your flower delivery arrives, inside the box, your bouquet will have the stems packaged inside a plastic hydration box which ensures your flowers are kept hydrated. The Mojito Bouquet is described as being: 

A summer sensation of vibrant sunflowers, white scented stocks with avalanche roses and daisy-like germini. The perfect summer gift. 

The Appleyard London Mojito Bouquet consists of bright vibrant yellow sunflowers which happen to be my favourite flower, white avalanche roses, white scented stocks and daisy-like germini, all of which look and smell absolutely incredible.  If you have received flowers by post in the past like I have, I have always been disappointed that they either arrive half dead looking or are all open and then only last a few days. 

When my bouquet arrived, the roses and sunflowers were still closed and gradually over a few days they began to open and as they did so, those white and yellow colours giving such a lovely bright colour to my lounge (which is magnolia) and after almost a week, the bouquet still looks and smells incredible. As you can see the bouquet is also packed full of flowers rather than just foilage which is a nice touch, you more than get what you pay for and the service is most definitely worth its money.  One week later and my bouquet still looks as though I have just taken delivery of it, only all of the flowers are now open.

If you like the sound of Appleyard London and want your very own bouquet or want to make someones day by sending them some flowers, then here is the very generous 33% discount code which is: 

This code has no expiry date and can be used on all of their bouquets, but it’s not valid on their Flowers By Post Collection.  

Have you ever ordered flowers this way? 

Do you think you will use this code?