Lush - Over & Over Bath Bomb

Hello lovelies,

Today's post is all about this beautiful bath bomb, called Over & Over.

"No it’s not all in your head. This enlivening cocoa butter coated lime and fennel oil bomb will perk you up and leave you thinking ‘bout it over and over again. Be mesmerised by its hypnotic rocking and rolling, as a vibrant citrus firework of pinks, oranges and golds unfurls into your bath."

I know I say this in most of my reviews, but how beautiful is this bath bomb? The colours it produces just amazed me.

When you pop the bath bomb into the water, it starts rolling around (over & over surprisingly!) & starts producing yellow & pink bubbles across the surface of the water. After about 5 minutes or so, you start to see some oranges coming through, quite subtle at first, but if you swish the water around, the bath is bright orange underneath the pink, yellow & white surface.

What I loved most about this bath bomb was how long it lasted. Some of Lush's products whizz around the bath for a few minutes & don't tend to last very long, but this one I was seriously impressed with.

It has a gorgeous scent (I'm afraid I'm terrible at describing it) but it's quite citrus-y & refreshing. It reminded me on lemonade!

My skin felt very soft after using this bomb, as unlike some of Lush's bath bombs, this one acts as a bath oil as well, similar to Never Mind The Ballistics, which I loved!

It retails for £4.25 & I can't wait to head back to Lush to pick up another one!

Have you tried this bath bomb? What did you think?

Twitter / Instagram / YouTube / Bloglovin' / Pinterest / Facebook

Little Steps To.. Relieving Stress

Hello lovelies,

This post is part 2 of my "Little Steps To.." posts. I blogged about ways to find happiness last week, so today is all about de-stressing & how I find ways to switch off at the end of the day.

1. Go outside

I find at the end of the day is when I'm most stressed. I'll come home from work & immediately think 'I've done nothing today, if I was at home I could have done all these things & now I have such a lot to do'. Sound familiar? Yeah, I know right. My job means I am stuck behind a desk for the day, I do get to see the outside world, but I'm unable to actually go out & enjoy it, so I find when I get home all I want to do is go outside. This is obviously a lot better in the summer when the sun is shinning & you can feel those rays on your skin. However, sometimes it is just nice to have a walk in the chilly, frosty air & come back to a nice warm house.

2. Animals

Ah where do I start with this one? I am so grateful every day to have animals in my life & to have been brought up around them. My family have had chickens, cows & horses since I was born. We got our first cat when I was 5 & a few years later, we got our first dog. Since then, we've had dogs ever since & even though we no longer have cows or horses, we still have chickens. All I remember when I was younger was whenever I was upset, my mum would give me a chicken. I'd sit with the chicken & stroke it while it sat on my lap & it immediately calmed me down. Now I don't understand exactly how animals do it, but they are just the most comforting, reassuring things ever. Honey gives me so much love every day & I can't thank her enough for it.

3. Read

I'm hopeless at picking up a book. The only time I really read is on holiday where I get stuck into a book & will get extremely excited & say to myself I'm going to continue this at home, but I never do. It's such a shame because there are so many books out there I want to read but just haven't gotten round to it. What I do manage to pick up & read is non-fiction books. I mentioned the book Calm in a blog post last year which I'm still obsessed with, but I'm also currently loving Hygge (I'm going to do a full post on this in a few weeks time) but I'm addicted to it, anyone else?

4. Colouring

I got some new pencils & a colouring book for Christmas & I'm loving sitting down with it in the evening. You can pick up some beautiful books from The Works at the moment (they have an amazing sale right now!) but I know most places will sell them now as they are making a comeback! 

5. Meditation

Ok, so I touched on this in my Calm post last Summer, but meditation has become such a big part of my life. I sadly don't manage to practice it as much as I'd like, but I can't believe how amazing it is. If you haven't tried, I'd highly recommend it. Calm & Headspace are my favourite apps to use.

6. Planet Earth

Ok, so you've probably got to this one & thought, what the actual **** but hear me out! As I've already mentioned, animals & being outside are two of my stress relievers, so why wouldn't a program all about animals in the natural world relax me as well? I'll give you an example. For my birthday, I'd organised a night out at the local pub for my group of friends to go for drinks on a Saturday night. So, if I'm honest, I put up the event on complete auto-pilot & it was only after I'd selected the people to invite, made the event & posted it on Facebook, my heart sank. I'd organised something on the busiest night of the week, surrounded by people drinking. My head was screaming 'WHAT HAVE YOU DONE'. If you haven't already guessed, this was one of the worst scenarios for me to put myself in, which is silly because I used to do it most weekends when I was 18/19, but I'm in a completely different frame of mind now. I was ok up until 3 hours before we were due to meet everyone & I sat down with James, almost in tears, saying I couldn't go. Being the amazing man he is, he wrapped my up in his duvet & put on Planet Earth on iPlayer & we sat in silence & watched it. Half way through I realised I was ok. My chest felt lighter & I could breathe again. My head was saying 'you can do this, it's your birthday, nothing bad is going to happen'. & I listened. The program ended, I got ready & went out & I had one of the best nights out I've had in ages. So yes, Planet Earth is my saviour.

I would love to know what you do when you're stressed & how you find ways of calming yourself down. Remember to check out my "Little Steps To.. Happiness" post as part of this series if you liked this one : )

Twitter / Instagram / YouTube / Bloglovin' / Pinterest / Facebook

Little Steps To.. Happiness

Hello lovelies,

I absolutely love reading these posts, so I thought I'd share what I do to boost my mood when I'm having a down day.

1. Pamper yourself

You know that Lush bath bomb that's been sitting in your bathroom, just waiting to be used? Run a bath, light some candles, put on some music & dunk that bad boy in! Nothing makes me happier than seeing a bath bomb whizz around the water! 

2. Try doing your makeup / hair differently

So, at the beginning of the year I saw on Twitter some bloggers deciding they would stop wearing makeup everyday. I used to be that person that wouldn't leave the house till I had a full face of makeup, but since the beginning of the year (thanks New Year's resolutions!) I've been wearing a lot less makeup each day, only putting on a full face if we're going out for dinner or for a special occassion, but also trying different makeup has made me feel like a new woman. Silly really, but such a small thing can really brighten your mood. Same with changing your hair up a bit. I had mine cut at the very end of last year & I love it, but it can simply come down to how you style it if you aren't comfortable with having a chop. Why not curl it today? Or try out that space bun trend that has always seemed a bit wacky? I find looking online, there are soooo many tutorials now. Why not have a search on YouTube for a step-by-step guide or look up some images on Pinterest.

3. Retail therapy

This one is just my favourite thing to do. Ok, so firstly, I don't mean spending hundreds & thousands, I just mean treating yourself to that pair of boots that have been sitting in your ASOS basket for the past few weeks. Just something to look forward to coming in the post is the best feeling.

4. Netflix

Since James & I got Netflix, I've been obsessed. I've been watching things I never usually watch (The OA for example, which I've reviewed recently & Making A Murderer which we are half way through!) but I find when I'm feeling low, all I need is a bit of time spent with my favourite tv characters. Big Bang Theory is one of our favourites when we need a laugh. The episodes are only 20 minutes long & are extremely funny!

5. Be social

I find meeting up with a friend or group of people will instantly brighten your mood. I know when I'm feeling down, all I want to do is sit at home & not socialize, but it really does help if you can get our the house & see people. My girls always know how to put a smile on my face, no matter what.

6. Plan a trip

So, you might not live close to friends or maybe you've texted around & everyone already has prior commitments. No worries, why not plan a trip to see them? I always find if I have an event in my calendar, it's something exciting to look forward too. James & I are potentially looking at going to Wales soon to visit his friend Tom & I can't wait to start planning our adventure.

What do you do to brighten your mood? I would love to know in the comments below!

& don't forget to pop back to see my next "Little steps to.." posts. I'm going to do at least two more; how to relieve stress & how to reduce anxiety.

Twitter / Instagram / YouTube / Bloglovin' / Pinterest / Facebook

Lush - Never Mind The Ballistics

Hello lovelies!

So I'm extremely excited to talk to you about this new bath bomb I picked up just before Christmas called Never Mind The Ballistics.

This is how Lush describe it-

"These aren’t ingredients for anybody else except for yourself. Lime and sweet wild orange oils are fresh and peachy on the nose, exciting the senses and shaking up your mood. There’s no time for apathy in the bath, so this anarchic bath bomb fizzes and rolls and spews colour with no holds barred energy. Fair Trade cocoa butter melts alongside fresh bananas to soften both the water and your skin. God save the clean; this deserves a replay."

  

Doesn't it just look like a giant gobstopper? Haha! I think that's why I was drawn to it, the colours are just too pretty.

Unlike the majority of the Christmasy scents Lush released, this one was surprisingly sweet compared to others in the range.

This is one of those bath bombs that I find impossible to describe the scent of, however it was delicious! I'm a big fan of Lush's sweet scents, so this one was perfect for me.

It also had a very unique texture to it, unlike other bath bombs, it felt like I was holding a bath melt. It had quite a waxy, smooth surface, compared to the normal powdery feel of a bath bomb.

I have to say, I fell in love with the bomb as soon as I put it in the water. It started fizzing around immediately & started producing pink & yellow bubble trails on the surface of the water.

Just look how pretty it is!

Only downside is this bath bomb is now unavailable & I'm really hoping they re-release it at Christmas again this year as I'd definitely buy it again!

Did you try any of Lush's Christmas range from last year?

Twitter / Instagram / YouTube / Bloglovin' / Pinterest / Facebook

Lush - So White

Hello lovelies!

A few weeks go, I reviewed the Pumpkin Bath Bomb & the Autumn Leaf Bath Bomb from Lush's Halloween collection. I mentioned that I had also purchased the So White Bath Bomb & the Never Mind The Ballistics Bath Bomb (review of that one is coming soon!) But today I thought I'd share my thoughts on Snow So White.

This bath bomb has been around for a few years now, but I've never picked it up before. If I'm honest, I think it's because of it's design. It's literally a plain white ball, with a green leaf on top. I mean, if you can choose something as adorable as the Santasaurus or as glittery as the Golden Wonder, then why go for something like So White. How wrong could I have been..

Lush describes So White as follows;

"Snow White had a tough time of it. If you too are likely to spend Christmas day evading evil stepmothers, stroppy mirrors, not to mention cooking and cleaning for seven singing men, you certainly deserve a dip in the bath. Crisp, apple-scented waters, as pure as the driven snow, fizz and foam, while bergamot oil and rose absolute restore peace and calm. At the core, a heart of fruity, uplifting neroli oil and orange flower absolute is sure to revive your (Christmas) spirit."

Now I'm pleased to say I won't be faced with any mirrors (as I plan to stay in my PJ's for the majority of the day with no makeup!) or evading any evil step-mothers, but I would love to find an excuse to use this bomb again on Christmas day!

Lush describe the scent of this bath bomb as appley & I couldn't agree more. Apple scents are my thing right now (as you can probably tell by my addiction to buying the Fizzbanger every time I go to Lush!) It's just such a lovely scent & completely relaxes me.

Right onto the actual bomb. When I placed it in my bath, it literally fizzed around in a small circle, producing little white bubbles. As I say, at this point, apart from the scent, I wasn't too impressed. It just seemed to be swirling around, with not much else happening. Until.. it got to the middle!

After a while, I started to see some yellow coming through in the water, followed by green & then blue. It's going to seem silly to say this, but the water all of a sudden went from a normal white / clear colour to bright green! It was amazing.

The best part was the colours & patterns it produced at the end.. just look at how pretty the surface of the water was!

I seriously can't recommend this bomb enough. It seriously shows you can never judge a book by it's colour, but in this case, a bath bomb by it's plain exterior!

Have you tried So White?
Which Lush products have you got on your wish list this Christmas?

Twitter / Instagram / YouTube / Bloglovin' / Pinterest / Facebook

Lush - Autumn Leaf

Can you guess who is obsessed with Lush at the moment.. ? Actually, if we're being honest here, I'm always obsessed with Lush..

I picked up the Autumn Leaf on my most recent shopping trip & couldn't be more excited to try it. I mentioned in my previous Lush review post (the Pumpkin Bath Bomb) that I wasn't overwhelmed about the scent, but it was the beautiful colours that drew me to it. So many people I know that have tried this bomb have loved it, so I decided to give it a go.

It retails for £3.75, which I thought was a pretty good price for it.

Once I got the bath bomb home & could appreciate the scent better (everything is so over-powering in store, sometimes I struggle to actually work out what a product's scent is!) I actually found it a lot more appealing.

Lush describe it as a 'fresh grass' scent, which I didn't massively pick up on, but I was able to concentrate more on the colours it produced. Just as I expected, as soon as it went into my bath, it created the most beautiful colours in the water.

Pinks, greens, yellows, reds, oranges are all present & it made such a pretty swirling pattern in the water. Unfortunately, like some of Lush's other bath bombs, it left the water looking a dirtish orangey brown colour, but this doesn't tend to bother me too much.

I would definitely buy this bomb again, mostly just for the colours it produced. It was actually very calming watching the bomb dissolve in the water, it wasn't half as fast as some of the other bath bombs.

It reminded me of a very peaceful firework, travelling through the water!

Have you tried any of Lush's Autumn / Winter collection this year? Don't forget to check out my Pumkpin Bath Bomb review that's live now & make sure to check back for reviews on So White & Never Mind The Ballistics which will be coming soon!

Twitter / Instagram / YouTube / Bloglovin' / Pinterest / Facebook

September & October Favourites

The Sidemen Book
Ok, this book makes me seriously happy. James & I are massive fans of The Sidemen, so when we heard there was a book coming out, I went straight onto Amazon to pre-order it. It arrived on 18th October & we haven't put it down since! Yeah, we are hard-core fans.. ; D

Elizavecca - Milky Piggy - Carbonated Bubble Clay Mask
I'm not going to write too much about this mask, as I've already written a full post reviewing it, but you can probably guess as it's in my favourites how much I love it. It's just such good fun to use & leaves my face feeling so soft & revitalised. Like I say, make sure you check out my full post about it (even if it's just to laugh at my moon face..)

Maybelline - Matte Maker
I needed a new powder to set my foundation & thought I would try this 'Matte Maker' from Maybelline. I wasn't expecting too much from it if I'm honest but I was seriously impressed. It's only £3.99 (from Superdrug) & lasts all day.

Lush
Ah Lush. Not just Lush, but Lush at this time of year! I'm loving everything in store at the moment. From the Autumn bath bombs, to the new sparkly Christmas bath melts, to the products they stock all year, everything is just so perfect. I recently picked up & reviewed the Pumpkin Bath Bomb & the Autumn Leaf Bath Bomb. Reviews of some of the new Christmas bath bombs will be coming soon!

Lists / Meal Planner
Who else loves a good list? I've been obsessed with this meal planner from The Works this month. James & I aren't the best when it comes to healthy eating & planning meals (mostly because of working shifts that stretch into the evening) so we find it hard to have a balanced diet & tend to just grab what ever we find in the cupboard. This planner allows us to sit down & actually discuss what we are eating & what food we need to get in for that week. It's been a life saver!

Essie - Ruffles & Feathers
This polish is one that I keep coming back too & I love using it as a base for nail art. It features in my recent nail art post, which will be coming soon!

Everyday Luxe - Pumpkin Spice
I'm so sorry I couldn't find the link to this candle. (more gutted that I can't seem to find where to buy a replacement for when I burn this one!) I bought it from TK Maxx last year & re-discovered it this Autumn & I can't get enough of the scent. It's so delicious. I keep popping into TK Maxx to see if they have had another one this year, but so far no luck.

Events

Right at the end of August, Mum & I had afternoon tea at The Hickstead Hotel. It was lovely to spend the afternoon catching up with her, alongside endless supplies of tea, coffee & cake. I've written a full post about our day, which will be up very soon!

At the end of September, I decided to have my hair balayaged & cut. I've had it done before, but this time I went for less blonde tones & more brown, warmer tones. I couldn't be more happy with it.

Earlier this month, James took me to meet his giraffes at Chessington. I only posted about our trip to Longleat a few week ago, where I got to feed the giraffes there, but this was a special VIP experience, where we were taken to the giraffes house to feed them & have pictures for half an hour. It was so much fun & they are all so beautiful.

On 19th October, James & I travelled to Gloucester for his graduation. I seriously couldn't have been more proud!

Oh & finally, it was Mum's birthday on 22nd October & we had the most lovely weekend together. We had a family meal in the evening with my grandparents which was so nice, lots of wine was consumed!

Music

The Chain Smokers - Closer

Bruno Mars - 24k Magic

Twitter / Instagram / YouTube / Bloglovin' / Pinterest / Facebook

Lush - Pumpkin Bath Bomb

Hello lovelies,

I'm sure if you've been a follower of my blog for a while, you'll know I have a slight addiction to Lush, especially when there is an occasion around the corner..

I never used to bother about celebrating Halloween. I never went trick or treating, I'd be the one wrapped up in the warm, looking out my bedroom window, waiting for others to come to my house! I always made my mum open the door as I was too scared to greet anyone! Now I'm 25, I think I'm more obsessed than ever..

I've already started buying a few decorations for our house & for work this year (we are dressing up on the 31st on box office!) If you're looking for cheap decorations, I can't recommend Poundland enough. I get all my decorations from there & I seriously wouldn't consider going anywhere else.  

Anyway! I actually wanted to talk to you today about one of the beautiful products from Lush's Halloween range this year, the Pumpkin Bath Bomb.

This little guy caught my eye when watching the Halloween product reveal a while back. I did think about purchasing his sparkly bubble bar friend, but I remember using it last year & having to scrub glitter from the bath tub for days..

This little guy though is so adorable & the scent he produces is delicious. I had to stop myself from licking him.

Lush describes the bath bomb like a "slab of sweet pumpkin pie" which I couldn't agree more on. It contains vanilla absolute & cinnamon, which come together to give you homely biscuity scent. Now I couldn't smell biscuits, but it defiantly reminded me of baking at home on a cold Autumn day.

When I placed the bomb into the water, it reacted instantly! Fizzing around & turning my bath a bright orange colour. I was half expecting there to be a green colour inside, which I thought would have been a nice touch. However, it quickly dissolved, leaving my bath smelling deliciously sweet.

My skin felt extremely soft & moisturized after my bath, one thing I can never fault Lush on. I always feel like I've had a treatment after using their products.

I also picked up the Autumn Leaf Bath Bomb from the range (review coming soon!) as the colours fascinated me, however I wasn't keen on the scent. Hopefully I'll change my mind when I use it in my bath. It's quite common for me to go into Lush & sample something & not like it but once I'm home & can smell it without mixing with other scents, I tend to really like them! Does that happen to anyone else?!

There will also be a review on two of the bath bombs from the Christmas range (So White & Never Mind The Ballistics) coming soon! So keep your eyes peeled for those. : )

Have you tried any of the Halloween range from Lush this year? Is there any other ones you'd recommend for me to try?

*Please note this was not a sponsored post & all views are my own.

Twitter / Instagram / YouTube / Bloglovin' / Pinterest / Facebook

Lush - Think Pink Bath Bomb

Hello lovelies!

Just look at how adorable this bath bomb is. I was immediately drawn to it because of the adorable flowers on top & of course, because it is pink. I can never turn anything down that's pink..

So, let me introduce you to.. Think Pink.

A member of staff was actually demonstrating this bath bomb when I was in store & I couldn't believe how perfect it was for Valentines. (Sorry bit late if you were after a Valentine's gift, but still lovely if you wanted to treat yourself one evening)

What drew me to it was the beautiful shade of pink it turned the water. It wasn't as bright as The Comforter (which I'm sure most of you will know is my favourite bubble bar & I also reviewed the shower cream here if you'd like a read!) but it's a lovely lighter shade of pink.

It also produces the tiniest of confetti hearts which I thought would be more visible in the water, as mine seemed to sink so I only found them at the end of the bath.

However, I do believe this was my fault as I'd had the bath bomb for a few weeks, so it wasn't as fresh as the one I saw in the demonstration that seemed to have hundreds of tiny hearts floating on the surface of the water.

It smells so lovely as well, it has vanilla & Tonka absolute & you can definitely identify these to be the most dominant scents. I also caught a bit of lavender & after checking the ingredients, I can see why!

I absolutely love how it made my bath water look so soft, you can see here all the light pinky foam on the top layer of the water. My skin felt softer just looking at it!

This bath bomb has been around a good few years in Lush & it's made me think why I haven't picked it up before! I'll definitely be going back to re-stock.

It retails for £2.65, one of Lush's cheapest bath bombs, but definitely one of the best.

Have you tried this bath bomb? What did you think?

I absolutely adore Lush & have reviewed a number of products, you can either search at the side of my blog by writing 'Lush' or click here to find out more : )

Twitter / Instagram / YouTube / Bloglovin' / Pinterest / Facebook

Life Lately #98

 

Hey lovelies,

 

Did anyone else get majorly excited about Nutella Day? I absolutely love Nutella & Pinterest really didn't help my cravings as it sent through an email full of delicious recipes. Fortunately, I remembered I had a Mug Cake recipe book sitting on my book shelf at home, so texted mum to pick up the ingredients as she was luckily going to Tesco that day & we made the most delicious mug cake after work. Even Honey was tempted to try some..

 

Oh goodness, then came pancake day. Do I ever do an update post without food? No is definitely the answer. Mum loves lemon & sugar, while I'm a Nutella, strawberry & banana girl. What is your favourite thing to have on pancakes?

 

You'll see these amazing boots featured in my favourites this month for sure, aren't they just perfect? They were in the Primark sale for £10. I just couldn't believe my luck!

 

I've had this weekend off work (well, starting Friday as I was ill on Thursday) I decided to cheer myself up by making some cakes. These were the perfect chocolate delight to have. They were so nice as a cheeky treat throughout the day!

 

James came home this week for half term, so we got to celebrate Valentines together. He ran me the pinkest of baths, followed by ordering a Chinese takeaway & then we set up my pink chocolate fondue machine. It was heaven.

 

& finally, let me introduce you to the new love of my life, my camera. It's the Sony HX60 Cyber shot. I've been thinking about getting a new camera for a while now, as I'm loving doing a bit of vlogging & I've always loved taking photos.

 

How was your Valentines Day lovelies? Have you treated yourself to anything nice recently?

 

Twitter / Instagram / YouTube / Bloglovin' / Pinterest / Facebook

Lush - The Fizzbanger Bath Bomb

Hello lovelies,

 

I'm very excited to share this post with you as it's all about one of my new favourite bath bombs from Lush, called The Fizzbanger. It may look like a standard bath bomb from the outside, but just wait till you see what happens when it goes in water..

 

 

Lush says -

 

"A Catherine wheel of a bath bomb. It changes colour as it fizzes, crackling with popping candy as it goes and releasing first a citrussy apple and then a cinnamon, apple pie like scent with a hint of ylang ylang. Petitgrain is used in aromatherapy to calm the breathing, slow the heartbeat and reduce feelings of anxiety. Ylang ylang produces a feeling of joy, and cinnamon leaf oil helps you let go."

 

Ok, so first of all, I adore anything apple scented! It's one of my absolute favourites. As soon as you smell the bath bomb, you get a subtle citrusy, apple scent which becomes stronger when used in the bath.

 

My friend Lorna had recommended this bath bomb to me on our trip to London back in September & she couldn't have picked a better one for me.

 

She described it as a 'minion bath' which is spot on! When you lower the Fizzbanger into the water, it starts whizzing around & producing a blue stream of bubbles out the sides, circling the yellow bath bomb in the centre.

 

You can also hear tiny popping noises, this is from the popping candy that is hidden inside the bath bomb. Such a nice little touch.

 

After the bomb has come to it's finale, it leaves a beautiful greeny blue water for you to bathe in. It's so pretty.

 

& for the final surprise, I found this little piece of paper at the bottom of the bath. It made me smile.

 

As well as having a delicious scent, this bath bomb is full of little hidden surprises & is perfect for un-winding after a stressful day. It contains ylang ylang & petitgrain, which are both used to relieve stress & anxiety. I couldn't be more in love with a bath bomb if I tried, so I'm definitely re-purchasing this one!

 

Have you tried this bath bomb before? : )

 

Twitter / Instagram / Bloglovin' / Tumblr / Facebook