Lush Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you all had a lovely day with your loved ones and were spoilt rotten, I certain was!

I’ve been stocking up and loving the majority of the Lush Christmas range this year, having only a couple of bits that I missed out on.  This is what I’ve been loving over the wintery months…

Father Christmas Bath Bomb

This super sweet bath treat was exactly what I needed a few weeks back to soothe me the night before my seminar paper.  This shares a scent with the lovely Snow Fairy, which has the most gorgeous candyfloss sweetness to it.  Father Christmas smiles lovingly in the bath and releases a beautiful green centre which turns your tub into a sweet heaven.  I loved my Father Christmas bath and had hoped to pick some up in the Boxing Day sale, however I was too slow this year!  Here is hoping he returns next year.

Butter Bear

One of my favourite parts of Lush Christmas is the fact that they bring out the fabulous Butter Ball in bear format!  Butter Bear is packed with oodles of cocoa butter which not only smells delicious, but is amazing for dry and sore skin like mine.  Butter Bear smells of vanilla, but has the lovely hint of ylang ylang which makes that soak in the tub that little bit more relaxing.  Whilst he doesn’t put on much of a show, he does turn the water silky smooth – making him a favourite from the whole range.

Shoot for the Stars

I got this gorgeous bath bomb as part of a gift for my birthday, and it was absolutely mesmerising to watch is fizzle away in the water.  Shoot for the Stars unleashes a gorgeous shade of blue into the tub with sparkles and shimmers with oodles of glitter too.  My favourite part being the golden stars, these are cocoa butter pieces which leave the skin feeling well looked after.  It smells beautiful, and I’m so unset that I missed out on the chance to stock up on this too this year.  Again, I hope to see the return of this beauty next winter in store.

The Magic of Christmas

This is seriously got to be one of my all time favourite products from this years range, and to say that I’m devastated that I didn’t stock up before the sale doesn’t even cut it!  It’s the most beautiful bubble bar that I’ve ever seen in my life!  A golden star sat upon a cinnamon stick sealed with a ribbon and bell, The Magic of Christmas will unleash the most wonderful golden bubbles and shimmer into your bath water.  Simply hold under running water to unleash the magic, and not to mention the actual smell of Christmas too!

So there you have it, these are just a few of the items that I’ve picked up from this years range and I’ve loved!  I do still have a few items stashed away that I’ve yet to give a try, and I have a few others which I did manage to grab in the sale that I can’t wait to pick up either! 

Have you tried out any of the above items yet?  Did you manage to grab any favourites in their sale?

Until the next one, 

Ways That I Save Money, Part 2

I really enjoyed sharing with you the simple things that I do to ensure that I get the best value for my money when I’m making purchases – so much so that I’m going to continue sharing my tips until I’ve covered the lot!  Again, these are things that I actually do every month without fail, and it’s all things that I really enjoy doing too!

Vouchers and Store Magazines

A lot of the shops that I go to these days use vouchers as an incentive to get you to come back.  And If I’m being honest, this does the trick for me!  Like I shared in my last blogpost, Tesco and Boots often provide you with vouchers that you can use on your next visit, however they are not the only shops that do so!  Holland and Barrett often print a 10%/20% off voucher for your next shop with then, Morrisons like to print off point boosting vouchers or a money saving one on petrol at the till and Superdrug a good old triple points one.  Alongside these, a lot of them actually have their own promo magazines too, which nearly always contain pretty decent money off or point boosting vouchers that you can use throughout the month.  Tesco, Boots and Pets at Home always have a good variety of coupons that you can redeem in store, which is always great for helping you to save the cash!

Free Gifts

One of my favourite things about Christmas shopping at this time of year is looking out for all of the free gifts that you can pick up whilst you are making your regular purchases.  For example, I was needing to pick up a few make-up bits recently, but hadn’t gotten round to doing it yet.  Mum pointed out that Soap and Glory were offering a free gift worth £23 when you spent £15 on their cosmetics at Boots stores.  With that being said, I was sold on the spot.  I ordered a primer and a blusher online, and received for free a highlighter, mascara and lippy – not bad at all considering the total retail price would have been £38!  At the same time as picking up these goods, I was actually ordering a couple of stocking fillers for a couple of people too.  I added my desired product to my basket, and noticed that if I spent £12 on that brand (and my product was already £8) then I would receive another free gift, worth £8.  The free gift actually turned out to be the exact thing that I was looking for, and so I chucked in another lippy for me and we were sorted.  I like that on the Boots website you can actually search for the free gifts offers by using the offers link – it makes shopping that little bit easier, and often gets me to try out brands that I’ve never used before – as I’m intrigued by the free gift.  Earlier in November I picked up some concealer, colour corrector and mascara from Superdrug on a 3for2 offer – and received a pompom for my car keys – as well as getting the cheapest item free!  Looking out for offers like these ensure that you are getting the best value for your money with every spend – hence why I like to shop like this now. 

Coffee on the Go

One of the easiest ways that I can save money every month is bring a coffee with me wherever I go.  I like to treat myself to flavoured coffees for keeping at home, and so in the morning when I’m heading off out the door to uni or work, it’s a real treat to enjoy a vanilla or gingerbread cuppa on the go – without the crazy price tag.  I like to have a coffee on me when I’m sitting in lectures  to keep me going – and so If I didn’t bring one with me everyday, I’d probably be spending £3 on a Costa a day… £9 a week… £36 a month!  Easy saving tips right there, totally simple yet you’d be surprised by the amount of people who actually spend that kind of money on the stuff every month.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about those coffee dates – and if I want an extra coffee after I’ve finished my home brewed one, then I’ll get one.  I’m not about depriving myself, just being a little more conscious of my spending is all.  Right now I’m loving the LittlesCoffees – and I’m currently on a mission to find their Christmas flavoured one, which sadly is out of stock in all my local Holland and Barrett stores.  Here is hoping I get my hands on one before the festive period ends.

And there we have it, these are some of the best ways that I go about ensuring that I’ve being a little bit more conscious with my spending every month – and yes, I’m treating myself AND saving money too.

Do you guys follow any of these rules too?

Until the next one,

Birch Box

It had been a few months since I last treated myself to a subscription box, so when I spied that Unidays were offering 50% off the October Birch Box, I decided to sign myself up for the month.  I did however make a rather silly mistake, as I signed up for the 50% off box on October 31^st, and then was charged on the 1^st of November again for the next month’s box.  I wasn’t that fussed though, as both boxes looked really pretty, and there was a few bits and bobs between the two boxes that I was keen to try out.

October

So I’m not going to lie, there was only really one product that I was interested in when I signed up for this box – the This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray.  I have recently become a fan of the stuff, so I was really keen to stock up on it to tie me over till Christmas.  Sadly I didn’t receive this in my box, however I did anticipate this as I did the order, seeing as I was ordering on the last day of the month.  If I’m totally honest, there wasn’t really anything that wowed me in the box – other than the styling of the actual box itself.  Inside contained a facial mist spray, hair oil, eye brow brush, a sheet mask, a lipstick crayon and an aroma therapy shower gel.  Not to sound snobby, but these are all items that I either buy myself a regular basis and have plenty to keep me going, or items that I tend not to both much with.  The facial mist does feel great on my skin, the lipstick crayon is a gorgeous colour and I love the way the hair oil makes my hair smell (like a hairdressers) however I probably won’t bother much with the other items.  I’ve got a brow brush, and the mask is not cruelty free, so this box wasn’t a winner for me.  I did however LOVE the design and drawer style of the box, and I have it nicely displayed and in use in my room. 

November

Seeing as I had no idea what to expect in the November box, I was actually quite excited by what might come.  The delivery was as quick as the first one, only taking a few days to arrive after the payment was taken.  Again though, sadly the contents were not items that I was thrilled by.  Now don’t get me wrong, they are all great products, just not stuff that I go mad for.  My November box contained another facial spritz spray, a leave in hair conditioner, a lipstick primer, BB cream and a facial moisturiser.  All great products, all cruelty free, just these are not the kind of items that I had hoped to receive in a monthly subscription box.  I’ve been loving the Nuxe moisturiser which I’ve been using under my primer, and the lip stick primer does work a treat – however it’s not something that I think I will bother with when I run out of the sample.

I like to keep my routines pretty simple, and so adding extra bits and bobs really complicate things for my and clutter up my toiletry bag!  None the less, I will be using up all of the products above over a period of time, however for the time being I will be cancelling my Birch Box subscription – as this beauty box is not the one for me.

Did you treat yourself to any of the above boxes?  Were you more thrilled with the contents than I was?

Until the next one,

November Favourites

Can you believe that December is here already?!  I’ve been longing for this since summer, and now that it’s here it’s all going too fast - I’m two doors into my Yankee Candle advent calendar, let’s stop for a minute people!   

It’s been a while since I did a favourites post, so here is what I’ve been loving this month.

I treated myself to the Zoella Gingerbread and Vanilla Fragrance set back in October after watching loads of Vlogs online about how amazing it smelt, and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since it arrived.  The body cream smells absolutely amazing, like good enough to eat!  I like to apply this throughout the day for a spicy little pick me up, especially now that the colder weather is upon us.  The fragrance spray smells so amazing too, it’s like Christmas in a bottle and it’s perfect!  I’ve been using it most days to get me into the festive mood, and now that December is finally here, I have a funny feeling that I’m going to bleed the bottle dry before the 25^th!

I think that my absolute favourite product right now had got to be the This Works Deep Sleep Spray.  I never thought that a sleep spray would actually ever do anything… but this one?  I think it is the absolute BEST thing that I have ever come across.  Again, I treated myself to a sample bottle of this and the Stress Less roll on oil back in October, and I’ve been using them both ever since.  It works great for those days when I’ve had a super busy day at work or a horrible day at uni – I simply use a few pumps on my pillow and jump into bed.  Now I’m not saying that the stuff puts me straight to sleep, because that is not the case at all.  What I am saying though is that I have the best nights sleep when I use it – I sleep the whole night with little to no disturbances, and I feel so refreshed in the morning when it’s time to get up.  I’ve put this on my Santa list because I’m obsessed, so obsessed in fact that I picked up not one, but two copies of last months Marie Claire magazine – simply because you got a sample bottle with each mag! 

At the start of November I started to feel really stressed out with all of the uni work that I’ve got going on.  I had read online that essential oils are meant to be great for calming you down, so I ordered a peppermint roll on oil and ylang ylang roll on for a couple of quid off of Amazon, just to carry around on me whenever I’m at work or in class.  Although I’ve not been using the ylang and ylang one much, the peppermint oil has been life changing!  First of all it’s so refreshing to use throughout the day as a nice little pick me up.  I love minty smells, and so it’s really nice when you get a whiff of it as you’re going about your day.  Secondly, I think that it works really well for me whenever I’m feeling super stressed or a little anxious. I apply it to my pulse points, then I like to sit with the lid off of the bottle for a little bit, just so that I can inhale the minty goodness.  I like to concentrate on my breathing when I’m doing this, and normally this works really well for calming my nerves.  Finally, I love using this when I’ve got a headache.  Again, I just find the smell really soothing and I enjoy the tingly feeling that it gives my temples. 

And there we have it, these are the products that I’ve been swearing by this month!  They’re all kind of feel good products, which is actually quite nice for a change – as it’s important to take some time out sometimes and just look after yourself!

What have you been loving over the last couple of months?

Until the next one,