Lush: The Joy of Jelly

The Joy of Jelly, Lush

The concept of a shower jelly is pretty new to me and I can't think of many places that sell shower jelly other than Lush. The Joy of Jelly came as part of my Valentine's box set and I have only just got round to trying it out, but due to it's strangeness thought it was worth a blog post.

Essentially this is just a soap that is a jelly, you actually take it out of the pot and use it as you would a soap...albeit a very wobbly soap. It lathers surprisingly well and is heavily scented with rose, jasmine and ylang ylang. I have to say I don't particularly love the smell of this product, it feels a bit overbearing and slightly masculine, something along the lines of a bad smelling herbal aftershave, but it's definitely fun to play around with...who doesn't get a giggle from prodding jelly?!

The jelly is an eye catching bright purple and as you can tell from the picture above looks a bit like a science experiment/swamp. I really like the idea of these shower jellies and would probably purchase again as they lather very well and the scent lingers pleasantly on the skin, however I would probably go for a more feminine scent. The Joy of Jelly is actually being discontinued but you can buy it here.

Christmas Wish List

The weather is getting colder, the December issue magazines are out in full force and I even heard a Christmas Song on the radio this morning, that can only mean the festive season is just around the corner. I'm feeling especially excited for Christmas this year and have already been scoping out the best beauty offerings around. I wanted to post some of my personal favourites here, I hope you'll like my choices.

Nars Kuroko Kabuki Miniature Nail Polish Coffret
£25.00

First up is the Nars Kuroko Kabuki miniature set, these gorgeous strong colours would be perfect to wear over the festive period and beyond. I haven't tried Nars nail polish yet but I'm really keen to test them out, I'm thinking a minature set might be the perfect introduction. Find the set here.

Paperself Paper Deer and Butterfly Lashes
£12.00

These lashes are beautiful, more a work of art rather than a beauty product. I'm not sure whether I'd ever wear them out of the house (well maybe for fancy dress?) but I think they're a really fun idea. I randomly came across the brand Paperself when browsing on Asos, they make beautiful costume lashes out of paper in a host of intricate designs. Find them here.

Philosophy Cinnamon Buns 3 in 1 Shower Gel
£14.00

Philosophy have released numerous lovely Christmas gift sets this year, but I would be over the moon to receive the Cinnamon Buns scented shower gel. I love that this is a multitasking product and serves as a bubble bath, shower gel and shampoo, plus it comes in a pretty sizeable bottle. It is rather pricey for a shower gel but it's nice to treat yourself every now and again, especially if it means I emerge from the shower smelling like delicious baked goods. Find it here.

Estee Lauder Limited Edition Prosperity Compact
£75.00

Ok so this is a bit of a dream gift as it comes with a fairly hefty price tag, however I find this limited edition compact ever so covetable. A gold compact is something that I'd definitely like to purchase at some point and would make a wonderfully unique Christmas gift. Whilst this one is undeniably gorgeous there is a bigger range on the Estee Lauder site and an alligator skin effect one is also catching my eye priced at a more reasonable £35.00. See the range here.

Lush Snow Fairy Gift Set
£10.95

Lush always makes fab gift boxes stuffed full of their lovely products, you'll find one to suit every budget from £5 to over £100. The super sweet Snow Fairy scent is loved by many, myself included, this box compromises of a Snow Fairy shower gel, Angel's Delight soap and a Shimmy Shimmy massage bar, I think it makes a lovely Christmas gift. Find it here.

I hope you enjoyed reading my list, let me know what you are wishing for this Christmas!

Lush Review: The Comforter Bubble Bar

The Comforter Bubble Bar £3.99, Lush

'Berry yourself under a blanket of soft fruit foam'

I was feeling the chill of a cold, autumn evening and decided a Lush bath was in order. Digging into my stash The Comforter was the first one I picked out and it couldn't have been a more perfect choice for an October night.

First off this bar is absolutely huge. I was going to chuck the whole thing in after the disaster of trying to break up the Marshmallow Melt, see here. However the general consensus is that you will get as many as 4 (but at least 2) baths out of this product. I didn't want to push it so I decided to halve it as the bar really is massive!

The Comforter is a flat round disk shape, and it's pretty crumbly which makes it easy to break in half. The pink and white swirls of this product give it a candy feel plus pink + white is my favourite colour combination. From the pictures you could tell my one didn't have as much white as the others, probably down to each Lush product being handmade.

Even before I popped this in my bath it smelt lovely, it smells of sweet blackcurrants - the perfect late summer/early autumn fragrance. To use you simply crumble under hot water and it produces lots of lovely bubbles and turns your water pink (yay!). The way a Lush product can completely transform the look and colour of your bath is why I love Lush so much and The Comforter gave me the pinkest bath I have ever had, which can only be a good thing.

Bubbles and pink water!

After use my skin felt lovely and soft (due to the product containing bergamot and cypress oil) and carried the delicious scent of blackcurrants. I loved this product and am looking forward to using the other half during the forthcoming winter nights.

What's in My Holiday Bag? Part 1

I am off on holiday this week and ever since I booked my tickets I have become obsessed with What's in my Holiday Bag videos on You Tube. I don't want to presume anyone has any interest in what I'm taking on holiday but I couldn't resist doing a post on the products I'm taking before I go, In the hope that maybe someone out there - at some point in the future - might find this useful. I haven't included every single product I'm taking (otherwise we'd be here forever!) to save you all from complete boredom I have omitted all the boring products, I'm pretty sure no one wants to see my bug spray, deodorant or toothbrush! :)

L to R: Garnier Body Intensive Hydrating Lotion 400ml £2.99, Superdrug,
Nivea Sun DNAge Face Sun Cream SPF 50 50ml £7.69, Superdrug,
Hawaiian Tropic Sun Lotion SPF 30 200ml £12.25 Superdrug.

First up is Sun cream. Being such a pale thing I don't fair particularly well in the sunshine, I do tan but it takes a long time and I'm prone to burning. I can't stand being sunburnt, not only is it painful but it's also very bad for your skin so I tend to wear a high factor. The suncream I have chosen to take on holiday is Hawaiian Tropic Sun Lotion in Factor 30, I have never used this before but it was recommended to me by a fellow pale skinned girl who just got back from two weeks in Mexico so it should be fine on my skin. Whilst I love the smell of all sun cream (mmm coconut scents!) this one smells particularly lovely! It doesn't feel sticky or greasy (v. important!), absorbs into the skin quickly and best of all is water resistant and has UVA and UVB protection which is a must with all sun cream!

Next up is the Nivea DNAge Face Sun Cream SPF50. I always use a really high factor on my face as I develop freckles easily and I'm hoping to avoid looking like a leather handbag by the time I'm 40. Nivea is a brand I trust and I use Nivea lotion every single day, so it was natural to buy my face sun cream from them. This will be slapped on my face, hands and decollete, I also pop higher factors over my moles - I have no idea whether this makes any difference but I like to be cautious and cover them in a high factor. The cream feels light and not too heavy or greasy for the face area...no one likes it when sun cream causes break outs! 

The price of After Sun is ridiculous so rather than spend £10 on a bottle of 'official' After Sun I opted to spend £2.99 on this bottle of Garnier Body Intensive Hydrating Lotion with Aloe Vera. It smells lovely and fresh and will hopefully feel cooling on my skin after a day in the sun.

L to R: The Pink Cow Vanilla Biscuit Bath and Shower Gel 500ml £2.99, Boots,
Alberto Balsam Coconut and Lychee Shampoo and Conditioner 400ml
£1 each, Poundland

Whilst the size is a little excessive I chose to take The Pink Cow's Vanilla Biscuit Shower gel as the boyfriend and I agreed to share it - I'm sure he'd kill me if he knew I'd revealed his love of girly fragranced shower gels on my blog! The product smells great, sweet and vanillary and best of all it doubles up as a bath foam and shower gel. I was not going to bother taking any body products but I'd rather take my own than rely on the hotel's toiletries, plus it is cheap enough to chuck out at the end of the holiday.

It's become a bit of a holiday tradition to purchase the very cheap Alberto Balsam shampoos and conditioner for my holidays. I tend to buy a different scent for each holiday and as a result certain fragrances remind me of particular places - the freesia one will always remind me of our family apartment in Florida and Sunkissed Raspberry (my favourite) makes me think of a friend's hen do in Malaga. For this holiday I chose coconut which I was delighted to come across (in Poundland no less!) as I have never seen this fragrance before and I am a total coconut fiend! These shampoos are very basic and gentle, they don't do anything fancy other than clean your hair and are perfect for holidays when you are constantly dipping in and out of the water.

Stay tuned for part two of this series which details my holiday make up :)