Skincare Haul: Lush

Hello! Yes, another haul! This one is just from Lush Cosmetics where I dragged my best friend at the end of last month to pick up these products! Everything in Lush is unisex (as the customer assistant did mention to him..) and they have a Father's Day section on their website just now - and would be willing to help you instore too if you wished to purchase some goodies for your dad there. 


With Lush, I appreciate that every product you see or pick-up or buy is going to be animal cruelty free, could be one of their charity products, and has packaging that can be recycled either at home or through their instore service (which rewards you with a free face mask every five full-sized pots or tubes you bring back). More personally, it is all hand-made with fresh ingredients! This alone is an incentive to use that cleanser every night and find the time once a week to relax with a facemask - because you don't want your product to go out of date before you've fully used it!

Picture from https://www.lush.co.uk/product/113/Dark-Angels-Cleanser

My first product is the Dark Angels cleanser. My photos didn't all turn out so great in the lighting, so I have stolen a few from their website to let you see clearer!
I love this cleanser! I tend to use it before I go to bed, either after a face mask or after removing my makeup and washing my face with water first. In the instructions it tells you to pinch off a pea-sized piece of the jet-black thick mud-clay type product and add some water. I first did exactly this, and was left with a very thin watery paste which I smeared across my face with little result. Since then I have found that pinching off several pea-sized pieces and adding only the smallest dribble of water allows it to transform into a thick black muddy paste, which you can cover your face with rather like a face mask. The small grains of powdered charcoal allow it an exfoliating effect when then rubbed into your skin before washing it off. It's rather messy to remove (and put on..) and I always have to give the sink a bit of a wipe down after. But it makes my skin feel tight, fresh and smooth. A winner for £5.95 and it lasts 3 months.

Picture from https://www.lush.co.uk/product/268/Love-Lettuce-Fresh-Face-Mask

Next is a Love Lettuce face mask. I picked this one up having heard one of my favourite bloggers, Estee from essie-button rave about it like crazy! And I totally agree! This product smells divine, very lavender-y but not overpoweringly so, and when taken out the fridge and applied to your face has super cooling actions that help you relax and enjoy your pampering. I love that it is green.. When drying on your face this allows you to pretend that you too are an Ogre like Princess Fiona, as your green skin with small lumps resembles such a complexion. I tend to use face masks when sitting down video-calling someone, as they take quite a long time (20 - 25 minutes) to dry fully to the point of about to fall off your face - as I like them, and so I share this experience with others. I like to put it on quite thick - and this still allows around 4 to 5 facemasks from the tub, for £5.75. Taking it off is actually really easy if you wait until its fully dried: wet a cloth slightly, then sort of pull the product off your face with the cloth, and wash with warm water afterwards. I shall be re-purchasing!

I also picked up a single Token To The Forest Gods toner tab. I haven't used it yet, but you put it in a bowl of hot water and put your head over it to benefit from the steam that is released, toning your face and giving connotations of a spa-like steam room experience. This was only £1

My last skincare item was a small sample pot of Ocean Salt facial scrub. This is a coconut and lime (with a hint of vodka) thorough exfoliating scrub, leaving your face feel zingy afterwards! A tip for using it: DO NOT get it on your lips. We all know not to get skincare products in our eyes, but with this one you need to watch out on your mouth too! It is extremely salty, and unpleasant when in your mouth or nose haha. A full-sized 100g is £6.75

My final purchase is not actually skincare related but I decided to throw it in anyway! It's a box of Dirty toothy tabs - an alternative to toothpaste. These leave my teeth squeaky clean, and have a mildly minty flavour. However they also taste very much like baking soda, and when you first put one in your mouth and crunch it up the taste is almost overpowering, and it takes a frantic minute of trying to throw some water into your mouth with a toothbrush to regain a normal composure. Also, I kept these beside my toothbrush, but the steamy humid showers I have seem to have made these go a little soggy.. Also, I switched between using a toothy tab and toothpaste, resulting in me now having the majority of the box out of date. Basically, i shall be sticking to toothpaste haha! These were around £2




There! Another haul out the way. I don't expect to be buying much more any time soon.. Although it is my eighteenth next Thursday, so I may do a birthday haul at some point! Thank you for reading


Rachael xx


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HAUL: Primark, Topshop, Internationale, Whittard

Hello! I thought I'd post a collective haul for you today. I'm a little late posting this in that all the purchases are at least a week old.. but you don't care! I'm not really sure how much interest this will get, but I love seeing other people's shopping haha!

Primark:

Primark: You either love it or hate it. For me, when accepting the quality and losing any high expectations for survival rate of clothes past a year, I can look past this and appreciate the really nice things they have! Currently there is waaaay too many of these, and I had to really control myself!


Okay so my first Primark purchase was a summery tea-dress. It is black with flamingos everywhere and is one of those wardrobe pieces which just makes you feel happy! The material is quite sheer - but as it's dark you don't see through it when it's on. I love the collar detail which borders on a preppy style.. and the price! £10. woop!
My other Primark goodie was a maxi skirt. Up until buying this I didn't own any, and it was my friend's interest in them which made me try one on! And I love it! It is a really nice material.. more polyester than cotton, and was also £10

Topshop:

Next was a long-wanted Topshop purchase: one of their iconic zippy hoodies. Many people have these, they are reasonably basic and in a nice selection of colours. But this is nice basic. Like they feel almost like felt! But as you may be able to see from the last photo, the material is quite thin (good for throwing on in colder summer days) and a thread has already come loose! I like the contrasting white zip and hood cords, and the little white flecks on the grey hoodie. I practically have not taken this off since buying it! One thing I have found though, is that the hoodie has started to stretch.. I think this is because I always put my hands in the front pockets and sort of push outwards (thus stretching the material!) Not a good idea rachael! This is a habit I must break. I have also heard that wearing Topshop hoodies with a backpack makes the back all bobbly. 
... As much as I seem to be complaining, I'm not! I love this purchase! It was £26 - though only £23.40 with their 10% student discount!

Internacionale

So, first from Internacionale I have a summery cotton dress with three-way straps. They can go halter neck, razor-back or normal. My preference is razor back. There is buttons at the back to attach the straps to, and it is very easy. This was in the sale, for only £7 - wow! I love the colours and the shape when wearing it, and it is a good summery dress. The only issue is that they had my size, but my boobs are sort of too big for it..slightly. So I have the awkward look like you could potentially burst out the chest or wear it open with a vest top and look slightly suggestive issue! We have all been there.. I'm working on it!

My other purchase from here is some sunglasses! I am quite picky with sunglasses as I strongly dislike wrap-around glasses and more circular bug-eye effect ones. But these are oversised squarish lenses with a pink tint, and I love the leg detail. These were £2.50 - also reduced.

Boots

This is a pretty boring one! Just new setting powder from the Natural Collection at Boots. This is £1.99 and I got the shade neutral for my more tanned summery look.

Sainsburies

Anything I get from Sainsburies translates to what I add to my mum's shopping list! 

Firstly, the film Bridesmaids. This was £5 which is a good price to stock up on dvds at! I was supposed to watch this with my good friend Karen (I know she may be reading this..) but as we are re-scheduling I decided to go ahead and watch it myself first because I needed some cheering up today. Bad plan! The main theme of this film pretty much paralleled my own life problems, so it was like watching a sad reflection of this, but with a happy ending. I have yet to get my happy ending, but fingers crossed! *Not all films have happy endings though.. I saw Promethius at the cinema on Monday, and only one person survives to the end of the film! And I'm certain she was emotionally scarred for life haha*

Sorry Karen. I shall watch it again with you! Nevertheless, this was a good movie, and I'd recommend it to chick-flick fanatics! My only irk with this is the cover.. The bride and bridesmaids have completely different dresses in the film. WHY?

Next, magazines: Cosmo and Red. Cosmo is always my magazine of choice. This month it came with a choice of 3 sunglasses for £3.50. I got very dark black ones which I'm yet to wear. Red was £3.90, and its free gift dissapointed me because the Jemma Kidd mascara clumps so easily! 

Whittard

Image from  http://www.whittard.co.uk

Whittard: A 125 year old maker of fine tea, coffee and hot chocolate. I am OBSESSED with their Pear & Guava instant tea. Literally the best thing on the planet. I am yet to venture into other flavours, but the likes of Pink Lemonade sound promising! A 475g pot is £5.50 or 3 for £15

.. There we go! I am so sorry for the length of my rambling haul! Please tell me in the comments if you get to the end! 

Rachael xx


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This or That Beauty Tag

Hello! I have had a new follower today called JEN and having checked out her blog decided she is a very lovely lady and worth a peep at. Anyway, Jen recently did the This or That Beauty Tag, and since I enjoy reading these, I thought I'd give it a whirl. 

Makeup

1. Blusher or Bronzer? Definitely blusher. I like to boast a bronze glow now and again, but I'm more adept at the English Rose complexion

2. Lipgloss or Lipstick? LIPSTICK! Lipgloss and me shall never be bffs. I have a strong distaste of sticky lips and always wipe it off

3. Lip Balm or Lip Butter? I'd say Lip Butter, because Lip balms get sooo sticky

4. Matt or sparkle eye shadow? Generally sparkle. But variety is the spice of life!

5. Eye Liner or Mascara? Tricky! I almost never go anywhere without a cat-eye liquid liner flick.. But my eyelashes must be coated at all times! So I'll say mascara

6. Gel, Liquid or Cream Liner? Cream smudges too much. Gel is tricky. So Liquid is my winner! And a makeup bag staple

7. Foundation or Concealer? Foundation! I prefer an even skin tone!

8. Liquid or Powder foundation? Definitely liquid. I've had bad experiences spilling powder all over myself.. and that is one of those things you have to blow off without touching and spreading it in

9. Neutral or Colour Eye Shadow? Colour! Although I like some icy white shades!

10. Pressed or Loose Shadows? Pressed!! Makeup can be messy enough as it is!

11. Waterproof or Non-Waterproof? ..mascara! Well I've never really dipped into waterproof, but have in the past distressed my best friend during unexpected rain showers by having my mascara drip down most of my face haha

12. Brushes or Sponges? For foundation sponges. All else, brushes!

13. Powder, Cream or Liquid Highlighter? ... I need to get a highlighter!

Nails

1. OPI or Essie? It would have to be OPI as I'm yet to try an Essie polish

2. Acrylic or Natural? I've never tried acrylics or gel nails, and manage just fine with natural! Although I crave a proper manicure!

3. Brights or Darks? Brights tend to make my fingers look longer! So I tend to swing towards them! I think they look more 'natural' too.. If painting our nails can be considered natural haha

4. Matte or Shiny? Shiny! I like some gloss

5. Glitter or No Glitter? Holographic top coats! :D

Body

1. Perfume or Body Splash? Perfumes

2. Lotion or Body Butter? Lotions - I adore Bodyshop body butters - they smell divine! However they do not sink into my skin!

3. Body wash or Soap? Body wash! (shower gel..)

4. Tan or No Tan? Well mostly no tan. But come summer I feel I should be looking tanned, so out pops the St Tropez!

Okay so I hope you found something interesting in there!

 Feel free to do this tag yourself and link it to me in the comments! :)

Rach xxx

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Promotional GRAZE box

Hello! So this post is centred on something known by everyone and their mother! I'm very late to jump on this bandwagon, however, today I received my first GRAZE box in the post (this being especially exciting as I almost never get mail) and I thought I should take the opportunity to review it on here!

To set you straight, I have heard a lot of reviews and raving about Graze boxes - a food delivery service sending you one box with four healthy snacks once a week for £3.79 including delivery. However, ever sceptical and bombarded with at least one Graze promotion code a month, I waited it out until I got a voucher code in the June Cosmo before signing up.

You choose which day of the week to have your delivery - you can even have multiple - and I ordered mine at the end of last week, and today was the first delivery date so I chose it. The box is small enough to fit through your letter box - and infact is smaller than you'll expect it to be! My friend agrees, so it is not just my generous imagination. 

If you have never tried graze before I'd suggest using a promotional code to get a free box. I have a code HERE that you can use to get your first box free! When you sign up you need to enter your card details - however, just like trials such as LoveFilm, you can cancel your deliveries after receiving your free box. 

On the website as you put your box order through *this is pretty simple by the way!* you get to rate the foods available even before having tasted something! As I wanted choice over what was in my free box, I searched through the products and put several as 'send soon' and others as 'love' - and a selection of these was in my box. Sneaky!

The snacks are all quite healthy for you - although they have special selections of VERY healthy ones! So if you choose a nutritious box rather than a nibble box, you know that your box will be filled with the healthier of their snacks - putting your mind at ease!

This is what was in my box:

I have tried a couple of these, and they are really good!! The flapjack is much larger than you'd expect it to be too. As well as the longer life snacks they have small breads - focaccia - which they bake the morning they send out your box. Ultimately very yummy.

Now the big question.. Will I continue my deliveries? 

As much as I loved my healthy snacks and the style of the delivery and helpful nature of their website ordering, no. haha. Genuinely just because I can't afford to have £3.79 leave my account every week! I probably would if this wasn't an issue! So I definitely suggest that upon reading this you use the CODE and claim your free box! Well worth the wait for your happy snacking.

Rachael xxx

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