5 Things You Need To Get From The New Summer Lush Collection

When it comes to the summer I take my foot off the Lush pedal *slightly*, but still secretly long for those cold, winter nights and the releases of the Halloween collection - because is there really any better time of the year, am I right?

In between deciding how I'm going to position my Christmas tree in my new place, I went to Lush Plymouth's blogger evening last week to learn about the new collection. I had seen little snippets of what was coming out on Instagram, and I was incredibly excited to pick up some bits too. There are quite a few products that sadly won't make it into our store, so to give you a quick snapshot of the evening and new ranges, here are 5 things that you totally need to get your hands on this summer!

#1. Jelly Face Masks

I know what you're thinking, HOW? I am loving this take on the jelly shower gels, but believe me it's easier to apply and use than you think. This twist on a traditional face mask is fun and pretty cool. To use, you simply break a piece off and rub together in your hands before applying.

There are currently 4 in the range which all help to target different problem areas, the range includes; Just To Clarify, Bunny Moon, 1000 Millihelens and The Birth of Venus. I picked up Just To Clarify which is juicy, zesty and helps to brighten up the skin. You only need to leave it on for 5-10 mins to reap the benefits. I always end up wearing them whilst I'm doing the washing up or some other adult chore, mask time is up before you know it! What are your initial thoughts on these?!

2. Hot Oil Conditioners

Okay, so these aren't exactly new, but there is a new gal to the collection and I a) never knew these existed and b) have never used one - I blame it on my penchant for bath bombs and nothing else, but it looks like I've been missing out.

There are 5 hot oil conditions in the range now, all targeted specifically at the needs of different hair types. Whether you have bleached or coloured hair that needs a little bit of nourishment and tender loving care or flat hair that needs a bit of oomph, then they have you covered.

They're so easy to use and you simply stir them into boiling hot water to form a 'sort of' thick paste. Dependent on the amount of hair you have, any excess product can be put into a tub to keep in the fridge which can last up to 6-8 weeks. 

I picked the Huge Hot Oil Conditioner to try out which smells like spearmint chewing gum, HELLO. It's the one for fine or flat hair that needs some serious oomph. It contains sea salt for shine and volume and peppermint powder to reduce the drop rate in hair and strengthen the scalp. I'll have to get back to you on the results of this one!

3. Rump Cream

I remember seeing this on Instagram and think WHUT? Before I'd even looked into what the product was. It sounded vaguely familiar to Trump, don't you think? And that is where this idea for this product has come from. It's the product that has got everyone talking who's anyone, to prove that with any cracks, come light.

Designed to soothe, soften and help with chafing, whilst making 'your bum great again' it's a perfect product for cyclists or those who just want, well, a smooth derrier. Without revealing too much about this product, just go in store and read the product packaging, it's really quite clever!

4. Rocket Science Bath Bomb

I mean, come on, what's not to love about this new cutie on the bath scene? I feel like I haven't had a chance to properly enjoy a lush bath bomb in so long and I am sorry for that because that type of 'me time' is so precious and so needed on a day to day basis for me!

Anyway, enough about that. In less than 5 seconds this bath bomb is gonna transport you to another world, filled with bergamot and lemon, it's a serious zesty and delicious scent. I think it's gonna be a new favourite.

5. The Comforter Bubble Bar

So. it's not really a newbie, but this was one of the integral parts of the blogger evening and it made me remember just how much I love this classic bubble bar. We got to make our OWN comforter bars from scratch, I really don't think there is another job I would love more than making Lush products all day every day, imagine just how good you would smell?

It's hot pink, so instantly ticks all the boxes and I love how big it is as it ends up lasting a good few baths. If you've never used it before, it has the most delicious fruity scent that will have your bath filled with blankets of bubbles for slipping under in no time!

So there we have it, my top 5 Lush products you need to be putting into your basket! What are you loving from their new collection?

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No7 Drake Circus Plymouth Bloggers Evening

You'd be excused for thinking my blog was like a bus service, none arrive and then they all come at once! I am making a conscious effort to get my posts up more consistently like the old days, who knew it could be so hard with a full time job and being an adult? Whether I have to wake up early two days a week or stay up late I will be trying my best!! Anyway...Last week I got invited to a an evening with my local No7 Drake Circus Plymouth store for an evening of beauty, a makeover and finding out about the secrets behind their best selling products. The No7 event was a great way to let us know more about the brand, it is true that I had misconceptions about No7 as I always thought of it as a brand for older women, my mum absolutely loves No7 but it's one that I've never given enough time before and I couldn't have been more wrong about No7....

The event was held at the Grosvenor hotel in Plymouth, which was a perfect setting. It's a quaint little boutique hotel near the sea and the setup of the event was lovely. There were 6 other bloggers that attended and we each had our own personalised little bag of goodies and a No7 consultant to two bloggers.

 Their match made service is their unique selling point, it is an exclusive service to No7 that was developed by testing 200 skin tones so they were able to get a broad spectrum of colours - developing this was 5 years in the making! From this they have developed 12  different coloured foundations from the fairest to the darkest skin colouring, and offering different coverages. So how does the match made service work then? Using expert technology they have an LED light which is put against makeup free skin which takes 200 photos of your skin which then comes up with your perfect skin match - if you do have certain areas of the skin with conditions such as rosacea they will look at identifying other areas to give a more accurate reading. As well as foundations, from this they have developed concealer sticks, lipsticks and more recently blushers that will flatter and suit your skin type. It really is all rather clever!

Makeup heaven!

In between learning about No7 and having our makeup done we had some yummy healthy treats and some iced water from this rather fancy looking teapot! All perfect for that healthy looking glow!

No7 Bauble

Their Christmas gifts get better year upon year, I had to do a double take when I realised this was Christmas tree bauble!

No7 Star Bauble

It was then my turn to have my match made service and this is the fancy device that does all the hard work! All of the No7 staff were super friendly and happy to help with all of our queries, it's so refreshing to be able to go to a makeup counter and not feel embarrassed or out of place, I know I certainly feel like this with some high street makeup brands (no names mentioned)... 

Once I was matched to warm ivory, I had a gorgeous No7 makeover, including primer, foundation, concealer, blusher and bronzer! Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of my makeover as I was exhausted from work and the lighting wasn't great when I got home, but I loved everything that was put onto my skin and most importantly it matched my skin colour perfectly, so the match made service really does work!

Not only are No7 a really down to earth brand, they also volunteer for Macmillan Cancer charity where they spend their time at The Mustard Tree which has been created to support people with cancer and their families. From their 'Look Good, Feel Better' campaign, the No7 staff help out and give them all a pampering with lots of lovely beauty products. I think this is such a lovely thing to give back to people who need all the love, advice and support they deserve and to get them back on their feet and feeling great again! Because of this it's no wonder that the No7 Drake Circus team won team of the year in 2014!

Once you get matched to your colour, you can discover your very own perfect lipstick colour which will complement and flatter your skin type. This will come in handy in the future when I'm looking for a new shade as I'm not very adventurous with lip colours as I've always thought red doesn't suit me, so I've stuck with the nudes and light pinks. But it really is just about finding the 'right' red shade for you and it will be easy to do so now with this little card!

As well as a fabulous evening we got to leave with some lovely No7 beauty goodies!!

No7 Christmas Cracker

The No7 Christmas cracker is amazing!! I do love a good beauty filled cracker, a lifetime apart from the junk filled ones you pull over Christmas dinner. Filled with a lovely lipgloss (which I've been using ever since) and with a pink cracker hat and a useful makeup tip! 

 The tree shaped No7 gift was a good one and included a mascara, cream blush, eye contour brush and an eye shadow which is worth £30.  Better yet this is currently a FREE gift if you buy 2 selected No7 make-up products, definitely the perfect time to do your Christmas shopping!

 It's great having the best makeup products, but the foundations have to be good too and as I have got older I've realised the true importance of a good skincare routine. This lovely filled bag of goodies included some of their best selling skincare products which I'm really looking forward to testing out! The personalised bag was such a nice touch too!

I had such a lovely evening with the No7 team and the other bloggers and I really hope they will hold something like this in the future! I really would recommend the No7 match made service to anyone who is looking for a perfect foundation match or struggling to find the right shade of lipstick, the service is free of charge and if you head to your local No7 beauty counter they will be more than happy to help, and let you in on the magic of it! 

Have you tried the no7 match made service before? Which no7 products are your favourite?

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Lush Haul!

I can't believe my birthday was over a month ago now, time really is flying by and it will be Christmas before we know it, which I am already SO excited about! In true Birthday fashion I received A LOT of Lush stuff as you can see, I was one lucky girl as there really isn't anything I love more than seeing a Lush paper bag or gift set, I can usually smell it before I see it though, and I am just so happy with all of the bits I received. I am now well stocked up on bath bombs & bubble bars to keep me going for a while, but we all know this little lot won't last very long! 

As well as lots of individual bath bombs and bubble bars I received 3 Lush gift sets! I just love the designs on the packaging too, I always save the wrapping paper from them as it's too good to throw away, and I usually reuse it on other peoples presents!

James got me this amazing box of Lush goodness, called Happy Bathday for my Birthday, it took me about a week to realise that the box didn't say Happy Birthday! This set includes 6 bathing beauties, including bath bombs, bubble bars and red fun to play with in the bath. It also came in the most amazing tin that I will definitely be reusing, I thought it would make a pretty cake tin but I'm not sure the Lush smell would ever really go away? It also came with an adorable Bath Day garland printed onto colourful ducks that you can see floating around these pictures!

Next up was the Shiny Happy People gift set, it's hard for a smile not to creep on your face with this canary yellow wrapping paper. The set includes a lovely smelly soap, happy hippy shower gel and some more bath fun - I've never use these before so I'm really looking forward to playing with it in the bath one night to see what creations I can make!

Such a Blooming Beautiful present to receive! This set included a rose jam bubble bar and sakura bath bomb, these no longer exist as I've already used these in my bath and the sakura bath bomb is a definite favourite! It smells amazing (doesn't it all?!) and it makes the prettiest bath! I love these smaller gift sets from Lush as they make such pretty presents!

As well as three lovely gift sets packed full of lushness, I got lots of individual bath bombs and bubble bars too!

The experimenter is one of my favourites because of how it looks and how it fizzes away in the bath, but the end grey result of the bath is kind of disappointing when it's such a colourful bath bomb to start with! 

Yoga bomb is divine! Don't be fooled by it's plain orange appearance as once it's been fizzing a while it starts exploding with more colours, I really wasn't expecting that!

Amongst the some of the new products I received, there were a few favourites like granny takes a dip in bath bomb and bubble bar form, cinders (if Christmas was a smell) and sparkly pumpkin - saving this for a Halloween bath this week! 

I also got a Lush gift card from my parents which I will be putting to good use on the newest Lush products! It won't be long until I've worked my way through this lot and I will be stocking up on Christmas bits and bombs for my Lush basket! It's fair to say that this will keep me going for a while though! 

Have you spotted any of your favourite Lush products? What Christmas Lush products would you recommend?

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Holland & Barrett secret celebrity beauty secrets!

We all have our own beauty secrets that you may have discovered yourself or learnt after being past down by family members. As part of Holland & Barrett's Weird and Wonderful products campaign, they have commissioned the above infographic on 'Celebrity Secret Beauty Weapons'.

I know I for one have always wanted to know how certain celebs achieve their flawless looking skin, shiny locks and white teeth - with all cosmetic procedures and air brushing technology to the side! I found reading this infographic so refreshing that some celebs really do use natural alternatives to achieve a desired look, some stranger than others... 

It really does enforce how far celebs will go to get that perfect look. But as the saying goes don't knock it until you've tried it huh? My beauty secrets are boring compared but still just as effective, I have used lemon juice to lighten my hair in the sun which works incredibly well and for looking after my cuticles & hands a cheaper alternative to a fancy cuticle oil is extra virgin olive oil! 

What do you think of Holland & Barret's infographic? Would you try any of these beauty secrets or already do them? Do you have any beauty secrets? 

*This post was a collaborated with Holland & Barrett but all opinions are 100% my own

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