LUSH HALLOWEEN HAUL

I am a big Lush fan, especially during the festive months. I went a little mad on the Lush website and bought a lot of the new items this year that caught my eye and which I haven't tried. I'm much more of a bath person, but hopefully I've got enough items to last me up until Christmas and the Boxing Day sale. I thought I would share my views on the Halloween range and do a Christmas Lush Haul too in another blog post. This is probably the first time I have bought quite a few products for Halloween, but I'm very excited for the cute designs, scents and lots of glitter!
The first product I wanted to try was the Sparkly Pumpkin bubble bar. Pre-warning you will have glitter everywhere after using this! But it's so cute and perfect to use with the run up to Halloween. I really like bubble bars as you can use them for quite a few baths instead of just one when using a bath bomb. This changes your bath water to a lovely, bright orange with glitter and so many bubbles. The scent is a blend of Juniperberry, Lime and Grapefruit oils. This is also quite nice to use before a night out, as it leaves glitter on your skin. I might have to pick up another one of these before they go!
Another bubble bar for Halloween is the Wizard. This is another shimmery product and I just love the scent! The scent is energised with Tangerine oil, Juniperberry and Fennel essential oils. It turns your bath water a vibrant purple shade which I love and I think I will get quite a few uses out of this one. He is quite a cute design and I love the star on his hat!
A bath bomb which I haven't tried before is the Lord Of Misrule bomb. I'm kicking myself for not trying this one before as the scent is just gorgeous! It's not a very exciting design with just a star imprinted on the top but when you throw this into your bath you find out that the outer layer is green but the inside is a rich wine shade. The scent is really spicy, it has a blend of Patchouli and Black Pepper oil, this also has a fun ingredient of Popping Candy in it. It makes your skin so soft and it's a shame this one isn't around for longer.
The last two products are more inspired by Bonfire Night and are called Northern Lights and  Sparkler and are both bath bombs. I love the unique design of these bath bombs, they're not round like your average bath bomb but more of a tube shape. Sparkler is a bright yellow, Rose Jam scented bomb which fizzes and crackles as it spins around your bath. It is definitely one to lift your mood. Northen Lights is a similar design but this time purple with tiny gold stars in the middle. I'm so impressed with the colours this made in my bath, the ends fizz away first and reveal a blue and green middle. This design is also great to split in half so you get more value than just one expensive bath. I'm also in love with the soothing scent of Jasmine and Ylang-ylang which is right up my street!

Lush have also brought out a few exclusive products from past years, which are available on their website. Lush have definitely upped their game for Halloween!
What are your Lush recommendations?

FIVE AUTUMN BEAUTY FAVOURITES - OCTOBER 2014

As the the nights are getting colder and darker my beauty routine has started to change to suit the Season. Last week I was in 30+ degree weather on holiday and now I'm back in rainy England, so my skin and shade preferences have adjusted dramatically and my skin needs more looking after. I have started to bring out the heavier scents as I wear lighter fragrances in the Summer. One of my favourite to wear during the day or evening is the Thierry Mugler Alien Essence Absolue. I love the original Alien fragrance, but this one is more musky, woody and just reminds me of Autumn. The scent is intense and deep, it's main notes are Jasmine, Vanilla and White Amber. The fragrance stays around for hours and I love the shape of the bottle and liquid amber colour.
My skin starts to get drier as the weather gets colder and one of the main product I reach for it the Origins Make A Difference Rejuvenating Hand Treatment. This is a sample size I got in a Christmas set and it does wonders for your hands! It's not too thick a formula and doesn't leave a greasy film on your hands either. The scent is a nice light, orange blossom scent and I like to use this on my hands as well as any other dry areas like my elbows and knees. This is a handy sized bottle to throw in my handbag and I think this would make a great gift for Christmas!
I like to wear a higher coverage foundation in the colder months. My favourite higher end foundation has to be the Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation, which I have loved for a few years now. This gives a lovely, flawless base which looks natural but can be built up to a full satin coverage. It has light-reflective properties which cause fine lines and wrinkles to optically vanish. I like that this foundation stays around all day and the shade Soft Ivory matches my fair skin tone perfectly as my tan fades.
My make-up preferences have also changes to darker, vampy shades instead of the bright lips and nails I was sporting in Summer. The Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stains have fast become one of my favourite lip products to apply. I currently have three shades, but this is my Autumn favourite in Parisian Passion which I mostly like to wear in the evenings. They're easy to apply, create bold colour and lasts on the lips for hours. I have done a full blog post on these here. My nails have also been painted in berry shades, I especially like this Butter London Nail Lacquer in Shambolic which is a lovely sparkly, glitter purple. I bought this in a set which comes with a matching lip gloss. I think this lip and nail combo would look great together!

What are your favourite products this Autumn?

BEVERLY HILLS FORMULA - PERFECT WHITE BLACK TOOTHPASTE

When I first heard about the Beverly Hills Formula Perfect White Black Toothpaste*, I was a bit sceptical and was worried that it might stain my teeth than do any good to them. As a naughty soft drink drinker, I'm always looking for new products that can help with whitening and the appearance of my teeth. If i'm honest I haven't tried many products from Beverly Hills Formula's range, but I was interested to start using this to see if I could see a difference with use. With Halloween coming up it's the ideal product to use and is definitely unique to everything else on the market. I'm sure children would love to use this to scare their siblings and more liking to brush their teeth! The advanced ingredient activated charcoal is proven to be one of the most effective and safest teeth whitening ingredients. It also helps to eleminate bacteria which can cause bad breath and helps remove tannis from the surface of your teeth. When using this my teeth and mouth felt super clean and refreshed without being overpowered with mint. I really like the taste, but it's a bit funny to look in the mirror whilst brushing your teeth. The only thing I didn't like about using it was the colour of my sink after brushing, but obviously this just washes away. I would really recommend this if you are an avid coffee, tea, red wine drinker, if you eat berries or spices or are a smoker. This is Beverly Hills Formula's first ever black toothpaste, it's the same texture as a normal toothpaste and it also helps combat plaque and gum disease. The toothpastes are proven to be less abrasive than many regular teeth whitening toothpaste brands, so are kinder to your teeth and are suitable for children and everyday use. I will definitely continue to use this toothpaste as I saw results after just one use, so don't be put off by the colour of the formula. It's an affordable way of keeping your teeth whiter. After recently having a wisdom tooth out, I have become even more interested in keeping my teeth healthy and happy! 

You can pick up your own tube from Amazon here.

Black is the new White.

*PR Sample

BAKING - MINI VICTORIA SPONGES RECIPE

On Sunday, me and my Dad decided to bake something. After watching the Great British Bake Off Final I think we must have been inspired to make some tasty treats, as we aren’t regular bakers. We decided to make mini Victoria sponges as we haven’t made them before and one larger cake seems to go to waste in our house. We followed the Waitrose Recipe, see the full instructions here, we found it easy to follow and quick to make with not too many steps. The only problem we did have was not having the right cake trays, the recipe asks for a rectangular baking tin but we had to make do with a couple of muffin trays. This was a problem during baking but after they had cooled down we were able to cut them into shape with cookie cutters. For a first attempt I think they turned out really well and tasted great. Hopefully next time we can buy a proper tray and make even better ones. You can watch the Waitrose video on how to make them below. Helping to make these has inspired me to bake things more often. Hopefully I will try another recipe in the near future, Jamie Oliver’s new book called Jamie's Food Tube: The Cake Book looks great!

What is your favourite thing to bake?

WHAT'S IN MY TRAVEL WASH BAG/IN-FLIGHT BAG - DUBAI EDITION

I'm off to Dubai next weekend and of course the first thing I've packed are my toiletries. I have collected so many mini sized samples by getting numerous beauty boxes a month, so it's a great time to use them up and try new things. I always find these sort of posts helpful when I'm packing myself and by doing my own version I can look back on this when I travel in the future. Let me know if I have forgotten anything or think I might benefit from taking something else or if you have tried any of these products and what you thought about them.
In my main Kate Spade wash bag which I will be putting in my main luggage there is; Kerastase Nutritive Bain Satin 1 and Lait Vital which I received in a Look Fantastic beauty box, my hair loves these. I have also popped in a couple of Bumble and Bumble samples of the Surf and Thickening shampoo and conditioner, if I want to use something different. For styling products I have; the KMS Free Shape Quick Blow Dry Spray, KMS Hair Play Texturising Spray, Bumble and Bumble Shine Finishing Spray and the Philip Kingsley One More Day Dry Shampoo. I have my favourite Mitchum Shower Fresh Deodrant, Korres Citrus Shower Gel and Body Milk which I also received in beauty boxes, thought this scent would be great to use on holiday! For sun lotion I have packed the Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration SPF 30 Protective Sun Lotion and the matching After Sun, which I always get along with. I also have a Coola SPF 30 Classic Sunscreen for my face, which I'm looking forward to using properly. My skin is very pale so I have also throw in a St Tropez Instant Tan Wash Off Face & Body Lotion for the start of the holiday. For skincare I have packed the Ren Rosa Centifolia 3-in-1 Cleansing Water, which I already use full-size and the Ren Rosa Centifolia Cleansing Gel. For toning I'm using the Premae Skincare Balance Rescue Face Tonique and if my face wants a treat I have the Ren Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial. I also have a couple of sachets of Origins GinZing Refeshing Scrub Cleanser and a tub of Benefit It's Potent Eye Cream, which I can't get enough of. I then just have essentials like the Elegant Touch Nail Polish Remover Pads, a standard razor, flannels and muslin cloths, cotton pads, cotton buds, hair elastics and a tanning mitt.
In my In-Flight bag which contains 100ml and under products which will be in my hand luggage I have packed; the Cowshed Cow Slip Antibacterial Hand Gel, Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream (which is holy grail!), Gatineau Collagene Expert Smoothing Face Cream, La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water Spray which will be my life saver at the beach. Origins Make a Difference Rejuvenating Hand Treatment and Peace of Mind On-The-Spot Relief which I like to use just before boarding my flight. I also have my mini toothpaste and toothbrush, hand and face wipes, Eve Lom Kiss Mix Lip Balm, a mini first aid kit containing plasters and a hair bobble. I also have three mini perfume samples; Thierry Mugler Alien, Ghost Eclipse and Chanel Coco Noir as I'm hoping to pick up the new Chloe - Love Story perfume in Duty Free. I will definitely have to review my favourite products of the holiday when I come back.

What are your holiday wash bag essentials?