What was in my Christmas Lush Box?

This Christmas I was very fortunate to have received this beautiful LUSH gift box given to me by my boyfriend's parents. I always enjoy wandering around lush at Christmas time to see what new products they have brought in for the Christmas season, especially their gift sets. I was so excited to try these products when I opened up the box. My boyfriend helped choose the gift box he thought I would prefer and he chose very well!

Firstly, let's just take a minute to appreciate the packaging of this gift set, I think it's lovely - so bright and it draws you in! The box comes with a green pom-pom bow and a little booklet showing you all the products that come inside the box. The first of which is;

1. So White 100g - Now I haven't smelled this shower gel before, although I have owned LUSH's Snow Fairy and to be truthfully honest I wasn't a massive fan - I just found the scent too overly sweet for myself. However, when I smelled this shower gel I was in love. It smells of apples and provides a crisp and clean scent - an ideal scent for a wake up shower on these early January mornings.




2. Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub 130g - Considering my love for LUSH products I had also never tried a shower scrub. This shower scrub is bright blue and smells amazing! It is enriched with mineral salts and fragranced with jasmine to make your skin soft and smell incredible!




3. Baked Alaska Soap 120g - One of my favourite products in the gift set, this soap provides a fresh feeling like no other. It smells of lemon and grapefruit, giving you that clean, refreshing feeling with every use. I am so attracted to this soap because of it's incredible colours.




4. Santa's Lip Scrub 25g- Definitely my favourite product in the box. I had been wanting to try a lip scrub forever and had always had my eye on 'Bubblegum'. However, when I saw this product was included in the gift set I was over the moon. Smelling of fizzy-cola and tasting amazing whilst making your lips soft and kissable is a perfect combination. Absolutely in love with this lip scrub.




5. Million Dollar Moisturiser 10g - Even though this product is pretty small (tester size), I think it's ideal for trying something new. As I have oily skin, I am bad for often not straying too far away from my usual skincare products. However, the product itself is made up of honey, shea butter and jojoba oils which will make your skin super soft but it also has UV protection which is a bonus. I am excited to try out this moisturiser and let you know what I think!

Well that is it, a little look into the LUSH gift set I received for Christmas! I was extremely happy and grateful for receiving this as I absolutely adore lush products! So excited to get using them in the shower now!

Did you get receive any LUSH gift sets for Christmas? Or pick any up in the sales? Let me know, I'd love to see what you think!

Emma x

My Current Winter Beauty Essentials

In the winter months I find myself picking up products and using them everyday, so I thought I'd let you in on my go-to winter essentials and why I love them! Here goes...

1. Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette £37.00 - This palette is a lot of people's staple nude palette within their makeup collection, it is mine. This is because it is such a versatile palette with so many options to create numerous looks. I find myself picking this palette up most days, mainly because all the shades are in one place and the colours really lift my eyes. The palette contains a number of shimmer, satin and matte shades. The Urban Decay Palettes are definitely worth their price tag!

2. Bourjois Bronzing Powder/51 £7.99 - I have tried numerous bronzers over the years, some have to been to muddy, too dark, too shimmery or too orange toned. However, Bourjois have got it spot on with this bronzer. It's dark enough to create a instant summer glow on the face but light enough not to create a muddy look. I use this bronzer every day, with a sweep under the cheekbones, along the temples and under my jawline in order to create some warmth on my face after applying my foundation. The packaging is creative making the bronzer look like a bar of chocolate and I think it even has a hint of chocolate scent!

3. Dove Instant Hydration Nourishing Lotion for Normal Skin (250ml) £3.99  - I'm often wary of using lotions because I often find them greasy. However, I started using this Dove lotion a few months ago after I had spray tan in a bid to prolong my tan and ever since I  have re-purchased it about four times since. I often like to use a moisturiser when I get out of the shower especially in the winter months when my skin feels drier. This Dove lotion smells fantastic, its moisturising and non-greasy, ideal for applying in the morning and you're able to get dressed straight after application.

4. L'oreal Paris Contour Parfait Lip Pencil in 656 Honey £4.39 - I picked up this lip pencil by L'oreal because I wanted to try a nude lip liner and have found myself reaching for it most days. I love the nude matte look it creates and reminds me very much of Kylie Jenner's famous nude lip. It's a lovely wearable everyday lip.

5. Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Radiant Touch £25.00 - With the winter weather making my skin look dull, I'm often in search of a product which can brighten up my face and add a bit of radiance. That's exactly what Touche Eclat by Yves Saint Laurent does. I use it under my eyes and across my cheekbones to brighten up my under eye area and add a subtle highlight to my face. I have it in colour 1.5 which is perfect for my skintone.

Hope you enjoyed this post, let me know what your beauty essentials are at the moment!

10 Things to do at Christmas time

Christmas time is such a lovely time of the year. Everyone has their own traditions but here are 10 things I think everybody should do at Christmas time:

1. Drink a Christmas Costa - As most know, Costa bring out numerous Christmas themed drinks around mid- November ready for the Christmas season, including Gingerbread latte and Brownie Hot Chocolate to name a few. I always find having one of these Christmas drinks gets me right in the 'Christmassy' mood.

2. Eat Mince Pies - I will admit I have not been one for mince pies until I tried my first one a few days ago and now I can't get enough of them! Warmed up with a drop of cream - perfect!

3. Ice skating - I think if you're going to do anything this Christmas season, ice skating is MUST!! Even if you can't skate, go because you have so much fun! Visit your nearest Winter Wonderland to enjoy the amazing food stalls as well!

4. Decorating the house whilst Christmas music is playing - I love putting up my Christmas decorations, I think that is when I really start feeling 'Christmassy'. Get the family together, put up your tree whilst dancing around the house to Jingle Bell Rock!

5. Visit relatives - Christmas is all about family, it's very important to me and I love that Christmas gets everybody together. It makes me happy that I am lucky enough to spend time with my nans, auntie, uncles and cousins!

6.Burn Christmas Candles - There is nothing nicer than walking into a room with the smell of mulled wine or cinnamon wafting around the room. My favourite are Yankee Candles because they're strong, have a huge variety and last for ages.

7. Watch Christmas films - Watching a Christmas film with my family around the festive season is one of my favourite pastimes. Give 'Christmas with the Kranks' a go or 'Santa Claus The movie' if you haven't seen them!

8. Watch your nearest city's light switch on - I love the atmosphere that comes with Christmas light switch ons - everyone is happy, stood around listening to Christmas songs and eating mince pies.. perfect way to start the Christmas season.

9. Bake Christmas cookies - cookies, cakes, muffins, you name it - Bake it! I love cranberry and white chocolate muffins!

10. Donate to Charity - Christmas time may be a time to receive gifts but it's also a time to GIVE. If you can, donate to charity or take clothes to a homeless shelter or donate food to your local food bank for others who aren't as privileged as yourself.

And that is it! 10 things to do at Christmas time. If you can think of anything you should do at Christmas time, leave a comment :)

Emma x

Soap and Glory - The Next Big Thing Gift Set

If you're a Soap and Glory lover like myself, you'll probably know that every year in the run up to Christmas, Boots do a weekly star gift whereby they reduce one of their large gift sets, usually by half price. They're often very popular, containing around 10 of their most popular products of the year. This year 'The Next Big Thing' gift set was on offer, normally priced at £60 but was reduced to an amazing £29. I was lucky enough to grab one of these very sought after gift sets online before they rapidly sold out.

This years gift set contained 10 full sized popular Soap and Glory products - a mixture of makeup, skincare and body care totalling well over £70. All were packaged in a cute, pink drawstring bag inside a lovely, colourful hat box designed by British Illustrator Hattie Stewart. Each product smells so delicious, you'll want to eat them!

Products inside the gift set include:

Heel Genius Foot Cream, Hand Dream Super Cream, Orangeasm Body Wash, Whipped Clean Shower Butter, Butter Yourself Moisture Lotion, The Righteous Butter Body Butter, Off Your Face 3 in 1 Purifying Face Wipes, Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Shine, Sugar Crush Body Scrub and Thick and Fast Super Volume Mascara.

For £29, you get so much for your money, with lovely products which will last you ages, so get yourself down to your local Boots Store and see if there are any left as these gift sets sell fast!

Emma x

Makeup Revolution Ultra Blush Palette and #LipHug Lipsticks

Yesterday the Makeup Revolution Ultra Blush Palette in 'All About Pink' arrived at my door after I'd ordered it from MakeupRevolutionstore.com a few days ago. Along with it came two #liphug lipsticks in 'We have come too far' and 'To Get Lucky'. I'm overwhelmed by the quality of Makeup Revolution Products considering their extremely low price tags.

The packaging of the Ultra Blush Palette is sleek and black and comes with a large full sized mirror inside which is really handy. However, the only downside to this lovely packaging is that it loves fingerprints. I love the wide selection of blushes on offer - both cool and warm toned  matte pinks and even two light shimmer shades on the far right which are ideal for highlighting the tops of your cheekbones. Each shade is extremely pigmented so apply with a light hand. The palette retails at £6 and you get so much for your money with fantastic quality product.

In addition to the Blush Palette, I had ordered two #liphug lipsticks from the website. I was really excited to try these after reading a great review of them from 'Magpie Jasmine' (you can read that review here). I decided on the shades 'We have come too far' which is a lovely red berry shade (top swatch) and 'To get lucky' which is more of a purple toned berry shade (bottom shade). Both shades are perfect for winter time and they are extremely moisturising but without too much of a glossy finish which I dislike. These #liphugs are priced at £2.50 each. What a bargain!

Makeup Revolution are bringing it at the moment with their fantastically high quality products and low prices. They are soon becoming my favourite drug store make up brand! What is your favourite Makeup Revolution product? And have you tried any of their blush palettes? Let me know!

You can find #LIPHUG Lipsticks here and Ultra Blush Palette in 'All About Pink' here.

Emma x