My favourite Lipcare products

I'm a big fan of Lush cosmetics becsuse of their fresh, handmade and cruelty free products so I just had to try out their lipscrub. There are 3 wonderful flavours; Bubblegum, Popcorn and Mint julips. My aim is to try all of these as they sound so delicious! I purchased Bubblegum as I am a sucker for sweet, candy smells. 

Before I discovered lip scrubs, taking the dead skin off my lips was hell. I turned into a bit of a lip biter as they were just so chapped (especially in the colder months) so I am grateful for this product. I have a great love for lipsticks so I need smooth lips, as lipsticks are not forgiving and can show many flaws. 

This lipscrub contains castor sugar (to 'scrub' away dead skin) and jojoba oil (to moisturise). There are also natural flavourings to give it that sweet shop candy taste and colours to give it that pop of bright pink that is so appealing. This is all preservative free and suitable for Vegans. 

The method I use is to take a small amount of the product and rub it onto the areas that need the most attention. It buffs the dead skin right off so you can see immediate results. I brush away the remaining sugar so you're left with a lickable Bubblegum flavour which is just wonderful. I use this lipscrub about 3 times a week as my lips are in really bad condition. This scrub is so gentle that it allows me to easily. The sugar is fine and not gritty so it isn't harsh on your lips, so they certainly won't bleed. 

I've had this product since December and I haven't yet made a dent in it. It's definitely a worthy investment with 25g worth of product to use at £5.50. You can buy this online or at your local lush store. 

After I use this scrub, I apply a balm to condition it further. I use many balms like the Maybelline baby lips, but I've been favouring this one lately so I decided to use this one in my blog. This is the Nivea lip butter in Caramel cream. I have so much love for this brand as it has never let me down. This is a delicious flavour and has the most amazing scent, it smells just like creme brulee.

I coat my lips whenever I can. My lips feel so smooth and conditioned, I am so obsessed with this product. Just aswell that it's pocket sized. I feel the price, £2.25, is justified for the amount of product you get, 16.7g.

With caramel scented products you can sometimes miss the mark. Some can either be too sickly sweet and some just too mild to tell. I love the texture of this too! It's softer than most being a butter so it doesn't feel greasy. I find it very long lasting and I also pat this over a matte lipstick to keep some moisture in my lips. 

    

The method I use for applying this is to pat it gently onto my lips instead of just applying too much product so it just sits on there. Most people like to 'kiss' into their lip tins. This is perfectly the right shape to allow you to do this but, being a lip butter, it is very soft so I'd be careful how firmly you press into it. If you do like to spread it on your lips you should take some caution as there is a subtle hint of white that the product will turn out. 

I would definitely recommend this lip butter as I prefer it to petroleum jelly based balms. The lipscrub has also become a desert island product for me. 

Thanks for reading 

Beauty wishlist

I keep adding to my beauty wishlist so it seems like it's never ending! My latest must haves that I can't wait to splurge on are; 

  

1. Liz Earle cleanse and polish: Lord knows my skin is crying out for great skincare and this product has been raved about by fellow beauty bloggers, so I'm eager to give it a try. I hear it's available to all skin types and has won multiple beauty awards, so I'm eager to snatch up a good deal for this on QVC. 

2. Victoria Secret pure seduction collection: For as long as I remember I've wanted to be a Victoria Secret model so smelling like one will have to do. I've heard these can be quite pricey but smell divine. I'll hunt for a good bargain on Amazon and I will smell edible!!!

3. MAC 217: I love MAC brushes and I'd love to own them all, but they are very expensive so I can't splurge on too many. I've seen this is a favourite amongst many makeup artists so I can't wait to get one for myself and work on my blending skills.

4. Limecrime Velvetines in Red Velvet: As soon as I saw this product I fell inlove with it. I love everything about it! The brand has kick ass unicorn packaging and the most amazing formula that applies wet and dries to a matte finish. This looks good on everyone and the colour is just beautiful. I have to own it!

5. Urban Decay Naked palettes: I'm a little late to this party but better late than never. After seeing these palettes, I've come to the conclusion that I need them! They have the most gorgeous neutrals perfect for smokey eyes that I just can't wait to play with. I'm so jealous of everyone that has one of these. Hopefully I will be one of these people soon!

There is no question, I will be adding to this list. But hopefully I will be making some purchases soon. I am just crying out for more beauty products.

Do you have a beauty wishlist? Does it feature some of the same products as mine? Please comment below, I'd love to hear from you 

Love Locket - Lush Cosmetics

I am a Lush addict! I cannot wait to try each and every bath bomb, and the limited edition ones are just so special. As soon as I saw this on their Valentines page,  I bought it. Infact, I bought 3 as they just looked so pretty.

This bath bomb was a hefty £6.95 so I knew it had to be something spectacular! When I opened my delivery box, I was amazed to see how big they were. It was a struggle to hold in one hand weighing 269g. This is because you can crack open this bath bomb to reveal a hidden heart containing confetti hearts which swirl around your bathtub. 

Breaking this bath bomb was not as easy as it sounds. I had to whack it a few times for it to crack open. It was quite messy so I just scooped up the fall out and dropped it into the water. If you don't want to use the whole of it, you can use each half of the locket and the hidden heart for 3 individual bath bombs. 

However, I would highly recommend using the whole of it. It makes the most fantastic bath!  I added the halves of the locket one by one and watched them fizz into the water. It was quite enertaining watching pink froth bubble out of it like a mini explosion.  The best part was adding the middle heart. It turned the water a deep pinky red colour and it was such a joy to see the confetti hearts dance around the bath. 

It wasn't just the look of it, the smell plunged me into a complete blissful state. It was like smelling a bouquet of flowers with a pack of vanilla to stop the over powering floral smell. Such a well thought out combination. It contains jasmine and vanilla which smelled delightful and felt so relaxing. 

My skin felt so soft from the natural oils and left a fragrance behind which was a delight. It was a truly wonderful bath experience. 

        

The confetti hearts are made of paper so they stay put throughout your whole bath. However,  it can be quite messy as those hearts then stick around at the bottom of your tub once you've finished.  

This bath bomb perfectly represents Valentines day and I hope to see it next year. I would highly recommend this as it is just the full package with the colours, confetti and smells. It would make the perfect gift or a delightful treat for bath lovers like myself. 

Have you tried Love locket? Any limited edition products you think I might love? 

Please leave a comment below,  I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for reading

Lush 'Space girl' bathbomb

I have made it my mission to try out every single Lush bathbomb. There are just so many wonderful scents and hidden colour explosions I can't wait for my bathtub to experience. 

I recently purchased the yellow bunty containing this bathbomb and was very excited to use it because it looks so pretty. This bathbomb is pale purple with chunky swirls of red and also covered in glitter. Unfortunately the glitter transferred easily everytime I touched it. Other than that, it was visually appealing and something that would definitely catch my eye. 

The smell of a bathbomb is also so important to me. The ingredients contain Citric acid and Grapefruit oil so I was expecting a 'fruity' scent. Instead I smelt what reminded me of palma violets. The smell was very faint and I only just figured out where I recognised it from. It wasn't an unpleasant scent but it wasn't compelling me to smell it again, which is a shame. I hoped once it was dissolved in the bath water that it would have a more prominent smell. 

I also researched this bathbomb and found out it was created because Lush cosmetics were inspired by The Imagined Villages widely popular song 'Space girl' from their second album, Empire & Love. I got such a warm feeling from knowing this bathbomb was created because the song inspired them. 

Now this bomb contains essential oils which I thought would soften and nourish my skin. Whilst in the tub I did not get that silky feel to my legs which I have experienced with their other bathbombs. Also, when I dried off, my skin felt tight and back to it's dry old self. This was both uncomfortable and very disappointing. 

Space girl fizzed like any other bathbomb when it entered the bath, frothing a reddish trail amongst the bubbles. As exciting as it looks, it didn't last long. It seemed to dissolve immediately only leaving behind a slight purple tinge to the bath water. I also read it contained popping candy but I did not hear or see any evidence of this. 

This bathbomb felt non existent when I was in the bath. I'd hoped for a stronger smell of palma violets but I didn't get a thing. It was completely unlike my other bathbomb experiences from Lush. Overall, it was a pretty bathbomb but it failed for me on so many levels. This bathbomb is £2.25 when bought on it's own. I would not recommend this nor would I repurchase it. 

Have you had a different experience with this bathbomb? Or can you recommend any for me to try? Please leave a comment below, I'd love to hear from you. 

Benefit - How to look the best at everything

Benefit is so hard to get hold of where I live, purely because there isn't a store in Hereford. There isn't a make up counter where I can test their products so I'd have to buy directly from their website or from QVC.

Benefit is quite an expensive brand so I buy from QVC where there are amazing bargains and special values.  I also regularly watch the beauty shows and this is where I discovered this kit.

The complexion kit grabbed my attention from the get go! I saw it as an opportunity to test the products as everything came in a handy mini form. This kit was also  £19.78 ( that's £5 cheaper on QVC compared to their websites price). The packaging for this is a book which opens up to show the products. This is so clever as it acts like a 'how to' book, kind of like a beauty bible. I've always been inlove with their packaging and how it ties in with the name of the product. It put a smile on my face when I opened it up.

It also came with a mini 'they're real' mascara which I was so excited about as this product has been raved about and I've heard it has amazing results!

When you open up the book you can see that everything is neatly placed out and also labelled so you know what order to use the products in. Benefit also understood that some of these products might not be known to everyone (like the primer for example) so they've included a 'tips and tricks' booklet telling you how to use them.

Step 1 is the Pore-fessional primer. I have seen nothing but good reviews about this so I was glad Benefit  chose this primer to be included in the kit. I understood this kit was mini forms but this primer was in such a tiny tube at 7.5ml, I could only see myself getting a few uses out of it.

However, from what little product I had, I was impressed. It smoothed over my face creating a great base for my foundation. The product is a light brownish colour and smells almost like an antibacterial formula (this is because the primer contains pore fighting ingredients). I felt the primer get to work on my skin as soon as I applied it! I felt a slight tingle which wasn't unpleasant at all. A tip from the booklet was to pat this primer over make up and blend if pores were visible throughout the day. I found this tip very useful and I would definitely purchase the full size.

Step 2 is the foundation. This mini is 1ml liquid foundation called 'Hello flawless oxygen wow' - with a title like that I had high expectations.  However, these expectations were not met. I found the foundation too orange for my skintone (even though I purchased the light option) it was also very runny and made a bid for freedom when I squirted a little to my hand. I also found this product split around the key areas on my face that needed covering (the nose and visible pores). I would not invest in this product again, very disappointed.  

Step 3 was the Boing concealer. The on air tutorial of this product was incredible. The makeup artist rubbed away the foundation on the models face and filled in the area with the concealer. The concealer looked so creamy and showed good coverage. I was very excited to use it. It comes in two shades which you can blend to your skin tone.  I also used the lighter shade to highlight areas on my face like the browbone. 

I applied this concealer to my problem areas with a concealer brush. I covered dark circles with a dabbing motion like the tip suggested. I found this concealer was creamy so it was easy to mix and create the right shade. Throughout the day, however,  I found creasing under the eye area but around the nose it stayed put. 

The final step was the powder. This is the only mini that you can't remove from the box. I also found this product to be too orange for my skintone and in the areas I applied it, my foundation caked. I didn't use the little brush it came with as I didn't feel like it distributed the product evenly across my face. I shall not be re-using this product as there are just too many faults with it. 

And lastly, the 'they're real' mascara. My favourite thing about this product is the wand. I prefer a plastic wand to a brush as it combs through your lashes. My personal preference is having long thin lashes with no clumps and this mascara is perfect. It gives volume like you've never seen! This wand also has little spikes on the tip to get the corner and underneath lashes. I was surprised by how much product there was in a mascara that size which is a bonus! It's my new favourite mascara, I love love love it!

I am still on the hunt for the perfect foundation/concealer combo. If you have any suggestions,  please comment. I'd love to give it a try.