Step in to lushie wonderland...no ruby shoes required
The most fun beauty store (possibly in the whole universe) opened on Oxford Circus a couple of years back - the one and only Lush flagship store, London! It opened in 2015 in time for Lush's 20th birthday.
It was actually this Summer when I visited so unfortunately I don't have a glimpse of any of the Halloween products but hopefully these pics below will inspire you to take a trip there and check them out. It is def worth going!
There is 3 levels of lushie goodness over 9,500 square feet including the Lush Spa (which sounds like heaven, just take a look at the treatments list!) which I will be sure to return and treat myself to perhaps in the new year.
The ground floor also has a Hair Lab, which offers hair-washing and scalp massages and for all you bath bomb fans, there is a whole floor dedicated to them including some you won't find in your local shops as the flagship has its own exclusive bombs!
I also accidentally ended up with a personal shopper who was really helpful. Lush employees definitely know their products so you can always ask them for what you are looking for and they'll be sure to find something and recommend it to you as its 99.9% likely they have used the product themselves.
It really is like a huge Willy Wonka shop of fun bath and beauty things, if you are a fellow lushie make it your mission the next time you are in the city to check this amazing store out!
"You will LOVE this!" said the super enthusiastic guy I met whilst in Lush a couple of weeks ago,
He took me over to the newest products on show which were Jelly Bombs- The latest product for bath bomb fans such as myself so I was definitely intrigued.
There were four in the new range to choose from, The Big Sleep, Marmalade, Green Coconut, and the one I had heard the most hype about - Secret Arts - after its Harry Potter-esk links. Unlike all other Lush bombs which create something of a rainbow in your tub, this one is definitely for releasing your inner goth as its literally a black bath bomb.
I was pretty unsure as my inner goth probably goes as far as wearing black on Halloween (and sometimes not even once a year!) so if the hype wasn't on the Secret Arts one, I would of just played it safe and gone for The Big Sleep - a pretty green and blue jelly bomb. But my curiosity got the better of me and I picked up this mysterious Secret Arts Jelly bomb and thought I'd give it a go.
It was actually my favourite of all the scents of the other jelly bombs, it has a sweet orange oil scent and almond oil to keep your skin super smooth.
So what are the Jelly Bombs?
Unlike usual bath bombs, these ones release a jelly which comes from mineral rich seaweed. It defiantly gives an interesting texture to the water but from what I experienced it wasn't quite the goo bath I hoped for (being someone who would LOVE to get gunged on that 90's TV show Get Your Own Back!)
Goo and slime textures don't faze me one bit so I was hoping that this was gonna make my goo bath dreams a reality but unfortunately I realised that the Jelly stuff only really stays on the surface on the water, and if I'm honest didn't really leave me feeling that great about bathing in it tbh. However I did feel like I was swimming in a tub of Dementors so I did get abit of a Harry Potter vibe!
Was probably the quickest bath I've ever had as I didn't like being in it long, I think this also was due to the colour of the water though, it felt more like I was bathing in an oil slick than a fun gooey bath. I really wanted to try and like this but just didn't I'm afraid.
The more it dissolves you get to an interesting pink centre, this doesn't change the colour much though but I kinda prefer it in that way as the water does do to an impressive glistening black.
I was particularly nervous about it touching my hair in case it accidentally coloured it so I kept my hair up high. I didn't find that the jelly stained my skin (thank goodness) but it definitely stained the bath :(
In conclusion, I'd probably give this one a miss, mainly due to staining and that I still just didn't feel that fab Lush clean feeling afterwards. Any bath bomb that means I need to don a pair of gloves and arm myself with a bottle of Cif afterwards to clean up the mess doesn't really do it for me, I wanna get out the bath feeling pampered and not to clean up!
Hardcore Potter fans or those who live #allinblack may want to give this a try... I'll stick to my faves Intergalactic and The Experimenter for rainbowness and glitter in future!
Have you tried one of the Lush Jelly Bombs? What did you make of them? Comment below and let me know!
Welcome to the first of my new DIY posts! I've decided to also add some more parts to the blog like making stuff and fashion hacks :) It's something I've wanted to do for ages but always kept putting it back just due to being busy!
For my first DIY post I thought I'd show you a clever beauty hack with one of my fave winter beauty essentials - a lip scrub!
For those who have never tried a lip scrub - you gotta give this a try!
I was having my roots done yesterday when my hair dresser told me he was nipping out whilst my waiting for my toner to set in. About 10 minutes later he came back with a lip balm and told me how much his lips were hurting and how chapped they were, I asked him if he had ever tried to use a lip scrub which he hadn't and on my phone googled it for him to show him and found this pretty cool DIY version of my mega fave Lush lip scrub.
I since went home and tried it out and I have to say it is pretty much exactly the same stuff and have refilled my old "The Kiss" scrub that I got last year with my new home made version!
This lip scrub is made of sugar which you can simply lick or rinse off if you are worried about sugary things. Sugar acts as an exfoliant to smooth chapped, dry lips, while olive oil is a super moisturiser that helps the sugar work and binds it all together.
It is surprisingly simple to make, and you prob have all these ingredients in your kitchen cupboards already! :)
Here's what you need and how to make it:
- Granulated sugar
- Olive oil
- Empty container (I reused an old lush one)
- Vanilla extract (could try other flavour that you can find in shops such as Lakeland or any local bakery supply style shops - why not try bubblegum, or orange? :) )
- Food colouring (again this is completely up to you which colour, I went for pink as it's the same as the Lush scrub colour)
DIY Lip Scrub Recipe
Step one
Mix ½ teaspoon of olive oil and ½ teaspoon of granulated sugar in a bowl.
Step two
Add in a drop of vanilla extract and mix it with the sugar and the oil.
Step three
Add 1-2 drops of food colouring into the mixture. Like the vanilla, you don't need to be adding alot of this as otherwise it might temporarily stain your lips when you apply it! Stir this all in until combined and all the sugary mix is coated in pink or whatever colour you have chosen.
Step four
Put the mixture into your container and your DIY Lush Lip Scrub is done! :)
Do you have any beauty product hacks to share? :) Let me know & I'll try them out! :)
I've been spending mine seeing family, eating non-stop and am heading up to London tomorrow for a couple of days to shop shop shop!
Bliss. Bloody love Christmas hols!
Next up though, we have NYE! New years is actually something again I will be spending with my family this year and don't really party, but that doesn't stop me looking at new make up styles or buying shed loads of glittery stuff! :)
Here are some of my fave beauty trends that I love at the moment & want to try for this new years/perhaps try in 2016. Whether you are going out or staying in this NYE,I guarantee you will def wanna check these out!
1) Glitter Roots
First seen on the Ashish SS16 models earlier this year, this trend has gone down a storm on instagram with hella loads of people giving it a go!
Personally, I love it best on coloured hair though there is no reason why us blonde, brunettes and redheads cant give it a go whether we have dyed out roots to cover or not! This trend looks so much fun and is one I really want to give a go!
Creating glitter root styled hair is easy - click here for a tutorial. As we don't have a Sallys drugstore here in the UK a good alternative glitter to use is glitter injections from Dolls Kill.
2) Nails
One of my beauty resolutions for 2016 is to get more creative with my nails as I had my first ever shellacs done a couple of months ago - though to me, I felt they were pretty pricey!
I love this nail DIY as its glittery (duh!) and the numbers look pretty cool - maybe just if I used my right hand I could do it was when I paint my nails with my left is never as good!
I saw some amazing Nail art stencils in superdrug a while ago but can't find them online, Here are some Ebay dupes though for just £2.99!
3) Colour Pop Eyes
I am a huge fan of eye make up and trying out different colours. At this time of year I really love using Collection 2000 glam crystals eye liner on my lower lashes as above. Its one of my fave looks and gets loads of compliments,
The are just £2.99 and available in sooo many colours!! :) I have been buying these for years and can honestly say they are one of my fave beauty buys for the party season and I am never without one in my bag at this time of year.
Not a glitter fan or just experiment with colourful eyeshadows? Check out the latest Urban Decay Palette - a limited edition collab with one of my all-time style and music heroines - Gwen Stefani. An exciting palette that not only includes your fave go to nude shades, but also some incredible jewel tone colours that are perfect for NYE eyes!.
4) Face Mask
Obvs you don't want to be wearing a face mask to a party, but they are brilliant for the post party pick me up / pre party skin prepping!
I've really got in to using Lush's face masks lately and they leave my skin feeling fab and in great condition to pop a fresh face of make up on to an hour or so after applying and rinsing off. I'm really bad at taking all my make up off so these are great to make your skin feel better if your having a bad skin day before getting ready for your NYE party.
A good thing to know is if you buy 6 of these little pots over time and keep hold of the packaging, than you get a free one if you give them back to Lush to recycle..brilliant!
What are you planning to do with your NYE make up - hit me up with your ideas or faves from my picks above! :)
Admittedly, I am not really one to celebrate Valentines, however I do use it as a great excuse to pamper myself and start thinking about decorating the flat with flowers and more spring things :)
This year for valentines I have treated myself with some of my fave bits from the Lush Valentines Collection. I cannot use Lush products to often due to my sensitive skin, though when I saw these online I could not wait to try these pretties out, particularly the Unicorn bath bomb, hence why I picked up two of them! they are quite possibly my fave thing Lush has ever made.
I also picked up The Kiss Lip Scrub, I am already a fan of the Bubblegum lip scrub but was coming to the bottom of my pot of this one so it made sense to grab this one as part of my mini Lush spree. Again it is very similar to the bubblegum one in that its really pink and tastes so nice you wanna eat it but this one also contains hundreds and thousands and little edible red hearts! <3
Lastly is the Lonely Heart bubble bar, I havent tried out a bubble bar from Lush yet so I thought I'd start with this one. Covered in gold lustre dust, it looks almost to good to use..but I am way to intrigued to see how glittery I can get my skin to go in the bath!
The rest of the valentine collection includes: Cupid's Love Soap - a fruity soap filled with fresh figs and passion fruit Heart Throb Bubble Bar - a red coloured bubble bar with organic shea butter Lonely Heart Bubble Bar - with lemongrass oils, bergamot, jasmine and ylang ylang Unicorn Horn Bubble bar - pastel coloured bubbles with lavender and neroli oils Floating Flower Bath Bomb - Jasmine, Ylang Ylang oil, cypress oil The Kiss Lip Scrub - Bubblegum pink caster sugar with hundreds and thousands sprinkles, tastes sherberty! The Kiss Lip Gloss - Sicilian mandarin oil, organic shea butter, organic agave syrup & Gaurana seed powder Prince Charming Shower Gel - Fresh pomegranate and marshmallow scented body wash
Gift sets include:
Two Hearts featuring Heart Throb Bubbleroon, Love Locket Bath Bomb and Cupid's Love Soap I Only Have Eyes For You, offering the Eyes Right Mascara, Decisive Lip Stick, Bubblegum Lip Scrub and Gorgeous Moisturiser, containing a massage bar, shower gel, body conditioner and lip gloss Toucan Love, with a shower gel and massage bar. Lots of Love, with Heart Throb Bubbleroon, Lonely Heart Bubble Bar, Prince Charming Shower Gel, Love Locket Bath Bomb, Sex Bomb Bath Bomb, Cupid’s Heart Soap, and Pearl Massage Bar.
I am really excited about trying these out and will make sure that in future that I mark the date when Lush releases its valentines collection.. can see this becoming an annual tradition!
