Lush Ocean Salt Scrub

Hey pals!

This is a super quick post from me as were both on our way to....wait for it.....HARRY POTTER STUDIOS TODAY!!!

To say I'm excited is an understatement, we went once over a year ago but this time it coincides with the Dark Arts exhibition so were very excited to see the extra things and go with a group of friends too. Expect a post and lots of tweets, eek!

That aside, I've been loving a bit of Lush lately which for me is out of the norm as I'd never normally travel that end of town. but a few new purchases and a few blogger goody bags and I'm slowly changing my mind. I've got a few reviews coming up but this one is for the Ocean Salt Scrub which I'm sure for many of you is nothing new at all, but for me, it's love!

First off, I picked this one in the Self Preserving formula which is fairly new for this product and it means it will last AGES which is great news for me as I like to swap and change things sometimes or might give my skin a break from certain types of products for a bit as it is weirdly sensitive (currently nursing a reaction from e45 cream from 4 weeks ago, siiiiiiiiiiigh)

The ingredients in this lovely product can be seen in the image below, if somewhat blurry at the end:

I've been using this for face and body and it smells absolutely GORGEOUS. i think what puts me off about Lush is the strong smells, I know everyone loves them but I can't stand them! My nose is very sensitive and I can smell scents quite quickly, there's no need to over power my nose. Things like Snow Fairy look gorgeous but I just can't deal with the smell, sorry superfans!

The citrus smell of this beauty is something that I just can't get enough of, its FABULOUS and my pot is diminishing faster than a plate of food does in my house (trust me, thats lightning speed!)

You only have to look at it to see it's pretty swirl of cream and blue and then get a whiff of fresh citrus scents to want it and it has certainly won me over. I've been using this in the shower on face and body, the usual backs of the arms kind of places and my skin has been super smooth and not irritated in the slightest.

The smell wakes me up in the mornings and the scrubby bits do the perfect job of exfoliation, cannot go wrong with this one!

As if it wasn't perfect enough already, it has also got vodka and coconut oil in, what a winner.

The 250g pot of this costs £13.95 which is a bit steep, but when you know its 100% natural and unlikely to become a product that adds to the millions of microbeads washing into our water systems all the time then you know you're onto a good one!

Have you tried Ocean Salt Scrub? do you prefer the self preserving one? What else would you recommend from lush for me to try that isn't too strong on the nose?

L xxx

Lush H'Suan Wen Hua Hair Treatment

Happy Friday lovelies!

On a recent trip to Lush in Cardiff for a blogger event I was won over by the sound of the H'suan Wen Hua hair treatment; although I have absolutely no idea how to say it!

This hair treatment claims to improve the condition, lustre and combability of hair; it's protein rich and nourishing containing ingredients used for centuries to help strengthen hair.

It contains free range eggs, bananas and avocados along with a myriad of oils.

It did concern me that it also contains alcohol and SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) which can damage your hair by drying it, but when I asked the assistant in store she explained that the treatment can be so thick that it is necessary for them to be present to help remove it from the hair or it would never come off. This is understandable and hopefully the positive effects will outweigh any effects of the alcohol and SLS.

So as in the image above you apply this treatment to dry hair for 20 mins before washing and conditioning as normal. I normally think of this too late and don't have 20 minutes spare but I've been trying hard to actually use the things I buy and have made special effort to get my hair in good condition for being cut and dyed.

The treatment is thick and cream coloured, with a strong smell of cloves. To be honest i wasn't a huge fan of the smell but it wasn't too overpowering so I put up with it! I'm not one of those people who like strong fragrances at all, I'm that person who likes the 'fluffy towels' or 'clean cotton sheets' type candles so cloves really aren't my thing!

That said it was easy to apply, if a little cold feeling and I pottered around setting up my shower and getting my clothes out for afterwards whilst it worked its magic. It rinsed off really easy and then I shampooed and conditioned as normal.

I really liked this hair treatment, I'm not sure I'd rush to repurchase as it's quite expensive for the £9.75 price tag for what was three applications worth. My hair is very long so it is quite a lot when you compare with other hair treatments which cost around £5 for the same size tub.

It's really nice to know that the ingredients are 100% natural and I know you pay more for it but still, it is something that i have to factor in to my choices nowadays.

If money was no option though i would repurchase because I liked the results, my hair was shinier and appeared to be in better condition. it also felt stronger too and after more applications I'm sure it would improve quite a lot. 

I'd definitely recommend the H'Suan Wen Hua hair treatment, though maybe for individuals with longer hair there may be a cheaper alternative? Who knows, I'll have to investigate!

Have you tried this hair treatment? Which is your favourite? 

My hair needs more suggestions asap!

L xxx

Balance Me Extra Care Wonder Eye Cream

Morning lovelies!

I've never really used much from Balance Me apart from an oil I received in a beauty box a while ago, so receiving this in one too I decided to give it a go.

The Wonder Eye Cream claims to soothe, brighten and lift the skin around your eye and claims to be suitable for all skin types whilst being 99% natural, that sounds like something I want in my collection!

The size I received in the beauty box was 7ml but the full size is 15ml and retails for £20. This is quite a generous size as others I've bought have been a lot smaller for the same price.

The eye cream is light enough to absorb into the skin easily but also rich enough to contain coconut, rosehip and carrot oil to soften skin, chamomile, cucumber oil and witch hazel to smooth away dark shadows.

As if that wasn't enough there is also hyaluronic acid and spruce knot (very antioxidant rich) to plump and boost the skin, phew what a list!

I also like that the cream is 99% natural and you can see the list of EVERY ingredient on their website for EVERY product.

So how did I get on with the cream?

I applied it as per the instructions below, I find I need to apply a good blob of eye cream as my eyes can get really dry with constant air conditioning and this seems to help a lot. I apply it all over my eye area which is probably not advised but it works well for me, and then try and tap it in or move slowly in small circles to ensure it has distributed evenly.

First off I'm glad to say that I didn't react to this one bit, my sensitive eyes and skin can react quite randomly to things and this just absorbed in almost straight away with no greasy residue and no reaction, hurrah!

Secondly my skin felt really hydrated for quite a while afterwards and I really do think it has helped to iron out a few tiny creases that have started to appear. I am hoping it's just tiredness and dehydration and not my first wrinkles appearing so I'll keep my fingers crossed! But nevertheless, they did diminish.

The last factor to consider is the dark shadows which for me didn't seem to have any change. I don't know if that is because it has been a particularly busy and stressful time for me or if the product doesn't really combat shadows as much as I'd like, but let's face it a good concealer would still be needed anyway!

I'd rate this product pretty highly on the eye cream scale. I use Origin's Eye Doctor as my staple as I haven't ever reacted and my skin loves it. This also rates about the same for me and seeing as it is £20 for 15ml and the Origins one is £28.50 for 15ml, potentially I have found a replacement.

Balance Me have won quite a few awards for their products and they have been given rave reviews by bloggers too which is always reassuring. I've heard a lot about them and have seen lots of products I would love to try from them particularly the Extra Care range, of which this eye cream is a part of.

It also contains the Radiance Face Oil and Anti Ageing Serum, both of which sound fabulous to me and I may have to look into going to Waitrose again soon and picking some up!

Have you tried the Wonder Eye Cream? What did you think? Have you any recommendations for the Balance Me range?

L xxx

Life Lately

Hey All

Yet another week and I keep struggling to find time to post. I've got so much I want to post about but life is well and truly speeding by at the moment.

This week I have had a better excuse after and being ill. I think a combination of a long weekend, lots of stress and being busy in most aspects of my life all caught up with me.

My other half has been back from his 6 weeks away for two weeks now so a lot of time has still been spent catching up with him.

The weekend before last we did the Cardiff half which definitely had me saying never again. From mile 10 was sheer pain for me after pulling something in my foot. I've never been so close to crying as I crossed a finish line but I do find the half marathon very over whelming at the finish line. I do think it's actually harder than tough mudder in a lot of ways I'm sure I'll be persuaded to do more I always do.

I also introduced the other half to two of my oldest friends for judgement! For once I think I may have one they approve of!

This weekend I was in the lake district with the other halfs work. It's set up like a top gear challenge.  The biggest rule I hated, no sat nav!!! I definitely can't read maps and got us lost in the first four towns we had to pass through.  The route was also a scenic one with stop points and a quiz along the way. We ended up travelling for almost 11 hours but it went surprisingly quick and I can now read a map. I think I need to prepare myself quizs for journeys!

Saturday was spent at a local show and then exploring the local area. We decided to take my new walking boots up ths mountain to test them out. About halfway up friends decided they were turning back so somewhere along the line it got decided we'd cut down the mountain so we could still follow the path back along the river as planned. Disaster for the girl that can barely stand upwards let alone going down steep hills with rocks and streams. I managed to catch my laces in my boot loops, tie my feet together and do a few rolls before landed in a river like a rag doll. Luckily I put my hands out so a few bruises and no lasting damage later! You really forgot how much you use your hands till you bruise both of them!

Last night was spent at a gig in Bristol seeing Laura Viers. She's someone I'd heard a little about but not loads. I really enjoy going to gigs so I don't mind if it's people I've mot heard of. It was a really small but good gig! I'd definitely see her again.

After a late megabus and a busy weekend ahead (L and I are off to catch up with uni friends, go to Harry Potter world and have a Harry Potter filled geek catch up. I can't wait! !) Tonight will be spent catching up witj homeland! I can't wait to see this weeks episode!

Love M

xxx