Lush ~ Christmas In Colour 2014 Haul

With Hallowe'en and Guy Fawkes Night over, the countdown to Christmas can officially start, for me anyway. Although I find it crazy that some shops have already started to belt out the festive tunes, it's usually around now that I start my seasonal shopping.
When I met up with my best friend for lunch and a catch up, I had the intention to buy a few things as gifts...I ended up buying only two and the rest where for me, oops. Anyone else have this problem?

It has been quite a while since I visited Lush as it's not really a shop I frequently stop at, but I do rather like their Christmas specials. Here is a round up of my haul.

Luxury Lush Pud, £3.50
This bath bomb contains 21 ingredients with the main scent that I pick up being lavender. The pastel colours are bound to create an explosion of colours in the bath water.

Christmas Eve, £2.95
I love bubble bars as I find them great value for money, and that I never need a huge amount in the bath to create bubbles, so lasts me quite a while. The colours aren't as vibrant as it appears online, but a lovely smell and I'm planning to use this way before Christmas Eve.

Twilight, £3.35
I thought this was a Christmas special, but since reading the Lush site, I can see that it's in the permanent collection. I wanted to try this as I'm not having a relaxing sleep, where I feel refreshed in the morning. I always wake up at around 2am, look at the clock and doze for a while. I think this is because my daughter, who's now 4 used to wake for a feed. This claims to treat insomnia and aid a restless sleep...hey, give me three at once!

First Snow, £4.75
My friend recommended this as she had bought it for her daughter to wear for a Hallowe'en party. It's a pretty sparkly dusting powder that you can either apply alone or on top of freshly moisturised skin. A little goes a long way unless you want to look like Edward Cullen. I'm looking forward to wearing this for upcoming Christmas parties.

So that completes my Lush haul. I wanted to buy a few more like the Holly Golightly and Drummers Drumming but held off for today. Any products you've picked up that you can recommend to me?
You can view the complete Christmas range here.

Rachel xx

No7 Instant Radiance Under Eye & Match Made Concealers*

My regular readers will know how much I adore the No7 range by Boots, especially the Match Made Service and when I was asked to review their concealer range for my blog I already new that I wouldn't be disappointed.
My skin colour is Calico in the foundation shades which I blogged about here, so having already knew that, it was fool proof that the concealers would match.
The Instant Radiance Under Eye Concealer is quite creamy when applied and I feel it's the same formulation as YSL Touche Éclat and even has the same brush applicator, but way less in price at £13.50. This aims to disguise dark circles as does the YSL. The Match Made Concealer is thicker in texture and dries quickly when blended and is shine free to cover pesky blemishes and age spots. £7.50 in 17 shades. Both are available to buy now and currently on a 3 for 2.

Rachel xx

*PR Sample

Thanks to Melina and Lisa at Boots, Carmarthen

Benefit b.right Radiant Skincare 6 Piece Intro Kit

I bought this set last summer as part of a promotion when I bought some make up, and after using everything all up I put the packaging aside and forgot about them until now.

The mini/travel set is ideal to be able to sample Benefit's Radiant Skincare line for a fraction of the price of the full size items. This kit lasted me just over two weeks with everyday use.

1) Foamingly Clean Facial Wash 8.9g - This has a really nice smell and lathers up softly. Cleanses the skin and removes make up. Full size 127.g for £17.50
2) Moisturize Moisture Prep Toning Lotion 8.9ml - Apply to a cotton pad after cleansing, claims to purify and smooth the skin to reduce fine lines. Full size 177.4ml for £23.50
3) Refined Finish Facial Polish 8.9g - Brightens the complexion by gently exfoliating to help minimise pores and reveal the skin's natural radiance. Full size 127.5g for £18.50
4) It's Potent Eye Cream 3g - Helps to fade dark circles and fade fine lines. Full size 14.2g for £24.50
5) Triple Performing Moisturising Facial Emulsion 8.9ml - Hydrates, protects and comforts the skin with SPF 15. Full size 50.3ml for £20.50
6) Total Moisture Facial Cream 8.9g - Tri-radiance complex to help develop the skin's reserves of water and reinforce the skin's moisture barrier to reveal a fresh complexion. Full size 48.2g for £27.50.

As I said, I used these over two weeks to give them a fair trial. I have to say, although I really liked the products and they left my skin feeling soft, I didn't notice a dramatic difference. Perhaps I needed to use them for longer but usually I know if a new product is working well after about four days.
To buy the full size products individually is extremely expensive at a total cost of a whopping £132. £27.50 for the moisturiser is something I'm not prepared to pay whether I liked it or not.
I'm not disappointed as I used up all of the products but I'm glad I didn't waste my money on the complete range at full price. On the Feel Unique website the 6 piece set has 80 5 star reviews, so I'm either missing something here or they're just being too kind to Benefit! I would give 3 stars as my skin was soft and I liked the packaging, but that's about it.

Rachel xx

(This was originally posted as a guest blog post @taylorscollectionn)

L'oreal Elvive Nutri-Gloss Crystal Sparkling Shampoo

Well I have to admit that on this occasion I was sucked in to the packaging and the shiny sparkly bits that caught my eye...I know, I know, I shouldn't have but I couldn't resist the way it looked on the shelf in Boots, drawing me in, like a magpie I was.
My hair type is oily roots after two days washing with slightly dry ends, but this shampoo is for fine/normal dull hair. Anyway, I thought I'd give it a go.
The sparkles are water soluble micro crystals which illuminate the hair's surface making it silky smooth.

The shampoo does what it claims to do and as soon as my hair is rinsed, I can hear the squeak, and once dried, well the shine is incredible. As this shampoo is for fine/normal/dull hair types, it sadly doesn't keep the grease at bay, so I still use my favourite shampoo first which I talked about here.
L'oreal Elvive Nutri-Gloss is available from all high street chemists and is priced at £3.99 for 400ml.

Rachel xx

Hello October

Image source: Google

As I'm writing this I'm lying on the sofa under a blanket, fire on and a candle burning. Summer has well and truly gone with the changing colours of the leaves and the colder air. Aside from Spring, Autumn is a favourite time of year of mine. 

I love walks with my daughter and the dog, kicking the fallen leaves and wearing warm layers of vests and cosy jumpers, with boots and chunky socks and a bobble hat. But most of all knowing that Christmas is on the way...Yes I did just drop the C-bomb!

Rachel xx

I Heart Make Up by Makeup Revolution ~ Blushing Hearts Blusher

Blusher, blusher, blusher...how I heart thee! I have so many it's unbelievable that I probably have enough to last me two life times. So it was only a matter of time before I added another one to my collection.
Whist in Cardiff a few months ago I went to the grand opening of the Beauty Studio by Superdrug. It's a beauty lovers paradise for make up and hair care products, ear piercing, eyebrow threading to wash and blow drying your tresses. I had a good look around the store and started to swatch products from the large I Heart Make Up stand. I bought two lipsticks (which were presents) and a Blushing Hearts blusher for myself.

Separate

Blended

I Heart Make Up have produced three shades in the range but this was the one that gave more colour payoff on my skin tone. These blushers have been compared many times to the Too Faced Sweetheart ones which also come in a choice of three.

The packaging is extremely similar as well as the appearance of the way the blusher is domed shaped. The Too Faced ones cost a whopping £24 but the one I picked up is a mere £4.99 at Superdrug, and best of all the staying power is incredible. I definitely heart make up!

Rachel xx

Handmade Letter Embroidery Hoops From Etsy

On my last annual leave I decided to have a bit of a clean out of clothes, shoes, make up and nik naks. I was also looking to add a bit of colour to the walls in the house too without having to paint them - yet anyway! I love taking pictures and putting them in frames. I adore vintage finds and anything handmade. This led me to the wonderful world of Etsy...
It was actually only in August that I ventured onto the site to have a proper look. I'd always gravitated towards NotOnTheHighStreet.com but after typing in 'handmade fabric letters' in google I was taken to images of products being sold on Etsy. After a quick search on the site I stumbled across the shop Rachel & George based in Stockton-on-Tees.
The letter embroidery hoops stood out for me as they were something I hadn't seen done before, and rather than one hoop design that the shop made, I thought the three would look great on the wall leading up the stairs.

The only problem was that the seller was offering two initials and an '&'. I wanted the two initials for my name and my husband but wanted to include our daughter more than anything. I contacted the seller via the site and sent a message asking if they could change the & to an M. I had a quick response from Rachel (great name) the same evening saying yes no problem, but the fabric and size would have to stay the same. Brilliant!
They arrived five days later, extremely well packaged with a handwritten card thanking me for my purchase. The hoops are so well made and the fabric really pretty with the colours suiting my decor. They cost £40 and £3.50 shipping. I love how they look with the quirky stitching and have really brightened up the stair wall. There are other designs available from Russian dolls to teapots. Do check out Rachel & George's shop. The feedback that others have left about the products are 5* and I have done the same.

Rachel xx