Showing posts with label Bath and Body. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bath and Body. Show all posts
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So I'm back from Uni for the Easter holidays! I had a really stressful last couple of weeks as I slogged to get three 2000 word essays plus a creative writing piece done for the last Friday of term. As a result I found myself horribly stressed, not sleeping or eating properly, developed a horribly cold that I'm still dealing with and generally wrapping myself up into a little knot of anxiety about the whole thing. Then on the last day of term, having had about three hours sleep, I crawled out of bed, trudged the half an hour to my campus, printed out the 65 pages (!!!) worth of essay, handed it all in, trudged back home, threw some stuff in a suitcase and got my laundry in a bag and two hours later got back to my parents house and collapsed into bed.
Phew! The gist of where I'm going with this is that I have been in need of some serious pampering and relaxation lately and last night I got it. When I came home my lovely mama had left a little bag of treats for me in my room and this little beauty was among them. The Sweet Fluffy Cupcake bath and shower gel from Philosophy. She'd found it in TK MAXX for a few pounds and snapped up one for each of us. What a star.
I've never actually tried the 'real' philosophy products before. I'd tried a lot of imitations, almost everywhere does that shape of bottle with a similar style of branding on it and similar smells and I've used quite a few over the years, but my goodness this was something else. I ran a hot bath and swirled a scoop of this into the running water and it lathered up like a dream filling the tub with thick white foam and when I used it on a puff on my body it was creamy and moisturising and felt so luxurious.
Also the smell. The smell. It's amazing. A lot of the 'imitation' ones have a cupcake style version but it's usually a nice but pretty uninspired vanilla-batter scent. This really does smell like thick sugary frosting and is so sweet that straight out of the bottle it can actually smell a little sickly but is a joy to sink into and just lingers on the skin a little afterwards.
I've looked for this product on the Philosophy site and places that stock it, but it was a Christmas release and so I can't imagine it being out in late March. My point is, though, that I think I have been converted to buying real Philosophy products, instead of the £2.99 offerings from Tesco's and the like. There's just no comparison in quality and I'm really interested to see what other amazing scents are available, I have a feeling I'll be stocking up!
Let me know if you've tried any Philosophy products and how they compare with the cheaper versions, I'd be interested to know what you think!
>> On Repeat . Brain - Banks <<
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Another LUSH review! (yay!) I'm back at uni now (boo! work!) and as such have had to give up my luxurious bubbly baths in favour of frugal, water saving quickie showers, which is what happens when you and 6 other people share a water bill. I knew this was coming, and that it would be another month at least until I got to visit home and pamper myself properly again. Therefore, the night before I left for uni, after I'd packed and gotten all my stuff sorted, I had the mother of all bubble baths with this baby.
The comforter bubble bar is one of my favourite LUSH products, definitely in my top five (Blog post idea anyone?) It smells like fruity, juicy berries and turns the water a luxurious magenta colour. It's also HUGE, meaning that it can easily be cut in half and used twice, with each half producing plenty of bubbles. While I do that most of the time, I decided to go all out and actually crumbled the whole thing into the tub before sinking into the mountainous peaks of pink foam. Heaven. I also really do feel that my skin benefits from this particular bubble bar, though that could just be because I enjoy using it so much, but I definitely find my skin feeling softer and moisturised which is great.
For me this is the perfect wind down after a string of stressful days, as the scent isn't too sugary or citrus based, it isn't 'energizing' (who on earth takes energizing baths I ask you?) and gets you all relaxed and ready to slip into your 'fresh from the tumble dryer' jammies and settle down to a good film or book for the evening. My overall impression of this product therefore: Buy it! Buy it now!
The comforter bubble bar is one of my favourite LUSH products, definitely in my top five (Blog post idea anyone?) It smells like fruity, juicy berries and turns the water a luxurious magenta colour. It's also HUGE, meaning that it can easily be cut in half and used twice, with each half producing plenty of bubbles. While I do that most of the time, I decided to go all out and actually crumbled the whole thing into the tub before sinking into the mountainous peaks of pink foam. Heaven. I also really do feel that my skin benefits from this particular bubble bar, though that could just be because I enjoy using it so much, but I definitely find my skin feeling softer and moisturised which is great.
For me this is the perfect wind down after a string of stressful days, as the scent isn't too sugary or citrus based, it isn't 'energizing' (who on earth takes energizing baths I ask you?) and gets you all relaxed and ready to slip into your 'fresh from the tumble dryer' jammies and settle down to a good film or book for the evening. My overall impression of this product therefore: Buy it! Buy it now!
Thankyou for reading!
One of the many resolutions I've made for 2014 is to indulge in a little more self pampering, particularly when I'm stressed or feeling a bit down so I've treated myself to a few LUSH bits to keep handy for whenever I need to just take a moment, slow down and have a bit of me-time to get things in perspective.
The other night I decided to break into the stash and enjoy a trusted favourite, the Creamy Candy Bubble Bar. This sugary pink treat is a real LUSH classic and one that a lot of people would class as their favourite. I know some people say that these can be broken into pieces and enjoyed multiple times, but I'm not one for frequent baths so I prefer with the smaller bars such as this, to just chuck the whole thing in and revel in the swirly pink bubbly goodness. The smell is divine and definitely one that will be enjoyed by those of us with a sweet tooth. Alhough I didn't feel it stayed on the skin for very long after I had drained the water and dried off, I will say in my eyes that's not such a bad point: much as I love bathing in clouds of candy floss bubbles, there's only so long I can go around smelling like Pick 'n' Mix.
Creamy Candy is also full of cocoa butter and lovely oils to help soften the skin and generally give it a bit of a pamper, although honestly I didn't feel like there was any huge improvement in my skin's condition and still found myself wanting to use a body butter afterwards but I wasn't expecting huge things in that department so I'm not too let down about that.
I think all in all this is a lovely treat. It's really more of a superficial product, lending a lovely scent, colour and of course bubbles to your bath but not necessarily having any real benefits for your skin, but at £2.50 it's hardly bank breaking and if you are going to have an evening pamper session once in a while you may as well go all out!
Let me know your thoughts if you've tried out Creamy Candy, as well as any other LUSH products you'd recommend, I'm really getting back into them!
The other night I decided to break into the stash and enjoy a trusted favourite, the Creamy Candy Bubble Bar. This sugary pink treat is a real LUSH classic and one that a lot of people would class as their favourite. I know some people say that these can be broken into pieces and enjoyed multiple times, but I'm not one for frequent baths so I prefer with the smaller bars such as this, to just chuck the whole thing in and revel in the swirly pink bubbly goodness. The smell is divine and definitely one that will be enjoyed by those of us with a sweet tooth. Alhough I didn't feel it stayed on the skin for very long after I had drained the water and dried off, I will say in my eyes that's not such a bad point: much as I love bathing in clouds of candy floss bubbles, there's only so long I can go around smelling like Pick 'n' Mix.
Creamy Candy is also full of cocoa butter and lovely oils to help soften the skin and generally give it a bit of a pamper, although honestly I didn't feel like there was any huge improvement in my skin's condition and still found myself wanting to use a body butter afterwards but I wasn't expecting huge things in that department so I'm not too let down about that.
I think all in all this is a lovely treat. It's really more of a superficial product, lending a lovely scent, colour and of course bubbles to your bath but not necessarily having any real benefits for your skin, but at £2.50 it's hardly bank breaking and if you are going to have an evening pamper session once in a while you may as well go all out!
Let me know your thoughts if you've tried out Creamy Candy, as well as any other LUSH products you'd recommend, I'm really getting back into them!
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I am painfully pale. I'm that girl for whom NC15 in MAC is on the dark side and generally I don't bother about a tan. The amount of melanin in my skin isn't something I feel I should link to my own self worth and i would rather use SPF and protect against aging and damage than risk the old leather look or worse skin cancer when I'm older. However I enjoy trying out new things and for me getting a nice natural tan without exposing my skin to damage has been something of self-set challenge this summer. I think, think, I've found a way to achieve a nice natural non-orange glow on my skin and I think this is something that would be useful to share!
01. Prep.
We all know that exfoliating before tanning is essential. That goes doubly for paler skin tones. For the most effective tanning you want the solution to reach brand new baby fresh skin cells that will take react well and last on your skin. Older cells don't always tan evenly and worse, when they die and fall off the colour falls off with it leaving patches. Lovely right? I like to shower just before and use a standard exfoliating scrub like Ritual's Rice Scrub all over and then break out the buffing brush to tackle rougher areas like elbows and knees.
I would suggest using a nice moisturising body wash and shaving any necessary areas that you want to tan. This means your skin is soft and smooth and helps to stop the solution clinging to dry patches. After showering and drying yourself rub a body lotion onto dryer areas such as elbows, knees, wrists and ankles but not anywhere else. It acts as a barrier to, again, stop the solution clinging to these areas. Applying it anywhere else can mean that the tanner will slide around and result in an uneven finish.
02. Start Slow
If you are pale and/or inexperienced with tanning I would suggest purchasing a gradual self tanning body lotion first and using that for a few weeks, just to get an idea of depth of tan you want and also to find out if there are any areas of your body that are more resistant to tanning that others. for example the fronts of my legs (no idea why) have real trouble getting any sort of colour, so for an even finish I have to apply more to that area. With these gradual tanners don't be afraid to go for a medium colour rather than fair unless you really are the colour of a sheet of A4. You will see results quicker and with this type of tanner it's hard to go overboard.
03. Getting Serious
Having used gradual tanners if you decide you want to get a bit braver and try an actual fake tan I would recommend a mist. Garnier Ambre Solaire is my favourite so far, I bought the medium one but I think fair would be adequate for most pale girls, I'm just impatient. It's easy to use and, provided you prep properly and use it carefully, gives a really nice even tan. Because I know from my gradual tanning that the front of my legs is harder to colour I do my whole body with one coat and then go back in and do a another light layer on the front of my legs. The extra solution means my skin is less resistant to the reaction that creates the tan and with a little practice I can get it the same as the rest of my body.
Below is a picture of my forearm before any tanning occured and the results after using it three times, once every other day. You can see there is a difference, but I don't look like anyone off of TOWIE, always a good thing! I've used it for a little longer now and am a little deeper than that now, but I find that's just enough for me. I still like pale and don't see why people get so worked up over having a tan but it's nice to know that if I want this sort of look I can achieve it!
Thankyou for reading, I really hope this was helpful, feel free to leave your own tanning tips below!
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An open letter to summer 2013:
Dear summer, hi,
HURRY THE HELL UP PLEASE!
Yours, Bella.
Dear summer, hi,
HURRY THE HELL UP PLEASE!
Yours, Bella.
If you're in the UK then you've probably experienced at least a little snow in the last week. It's getting on my nerves. It's definitely March isn't? I haven't had some sort of horrific memory lapse and now we're in winter again have I? Despite the depressing weather I haven't let it get me down and I'm still slowly stocking up for an amazing summer to come. I've decided I want to at least have a go at self tanning this year as opposed to staying my usual paley-pale self all year round, I'm starting gently though, minimizing the risk of cheesy wotsit legs.
These sunglasses are by John Galliano. I found them in TK MAXX for about £45 which I thought was pricey but really liked them, then a quick google search later I find out these babies are worth over £500! Not bad if I do say so myself! #bargainhunter.
I'm also using the summer as an excuse to add to my nail polish collection. I've bought Coral by Barry M and Lucky Lucky Lavender by OPI. Both gorgeous shades, though as it's reverted back to winter a little bit I may need to buy more AW polishes! What a shame right?
Are you still in the mood for summer? What have you been buying recently?
These sunglasses are by John Galliano. I found them in TK MAXX for about £45 which I thought was pricey but really liked them, then a quick google search later I find out these babies are worth over £500! Not bad if I do say so myself! #bargainhunter.
I'm also using the summer as an excuse to add to my nail polish collection. I've bought Coral by Barry M and Lucky Lucky Lavender by OPI. Both gorgeous shades, though as it's reverted back to winter a little bit I may need to buy more AW polishes! What a shame right?
Are you still in the mood for summer? What have you been buying recently?
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