**WIN** LUSH Little Ro's Flowers Gift box Giveaway

Back in October (which seems like only last week!) I blogged about this years LUSH Christmas gift guide and I'm delighted to now offer one of my readers the chance to win this luxurious Little Ro's Flowers Christmas gift box. This amazing box contains six products to treat you from top to toe with sweet scents and floral fragrances. 

Little Ro's Flowers contains:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is restricted to Ireland and the UK only. Stay tuned over on my Facebook page for international giveaway's. The lucky winner will be contacted and announced on the 16/12/14.

Love,

Sarah

LUSH Christmas 2014 Gift Guide

I rather excitedly paid the Lush store on Grafton Street in Dublin a visit recently to check out this years Christmas products. I'm here to share some pretty amazing bath melts, bubble bars, bath bombs and soaps with you. You can take this post as a gift guide for your family and friends this Christmas or if you're selfish like me you can covet it all for yourself!!  

This year I fell in love a little with the new luxury handmade Christmas themed soaps. Baked Alaska €4.25 is a real treat with it's vibrant colours. Inspiration for the design has been taken from a snowball and you will find this soap uplifting and very soothing with lemon myrtle, ylang ylang oil and grapefruit. Also new this year is Yog Nog Soap €4.50 and reindeer Rock Soap €3.95.

When I think of Lush I automatically think Bath Bombs! I love them and was the most excited about seeing my all time favourite Golden Wonder €4.75 when I went to visit. If you're a big child like me you will love this from the moment you drop it into the bath. The outer layer which looks like a delightfully wrapped gift fizzes away to reveal the next blue layer, then pink and orange and finally you're left with a luster filled bath, stars galore! We also have other favourites like Cinders €3.25, Shooting Stars €4.50 and Luxury Lush Pud €4.50.

Their Bath melts and Bubble bars are also quite fun and can be used along with your bath bombs to make for a very bubbly experience! New this year we have the Snow Angel bath melt €4.95 which offers fizz and a spectacular luster as well as that it contains fair trade organic cocoa butter which will leave your skin feeling nice and soft. Back this year is the Melting Snowman €2.95 and he's back packing a spicy warm punch with hot toddy fragrance of cinnamon oil, clove leaf, lime oil and sweet orange oil. 

New to the Bubble bar family this year is Drummers Drumming  €6.75 and Holly Go Lightly 5.95. Drummers Drumming is a bubble bar and a musical instrument in one with the sweet smell of strawberries when held under the running tap in your bath. Holly Go Lightly is just a delightful addition and really made me feel festive! Also welcome back Christmas Eve €3.85 and Magic Wand Bubble Bar €6.75. 

If you know me you will know that I go gaga for the Lush Snow Fairy limited edition shower gel and I will be following my tradition of purchasing enough to keep me going until it is available again next Christmas! An interesting update for fans, this year they have added skin softening seaweed to the Snow Fairy potion.

 My heart also skipped a beat when I laid eyes on the 12 Days Of Christmas gift box €64.95. The gift box itself is just gorgeous and would  make great storage in the new year. Inside you will find twelve festive products, one to use everyday in the run up to Christmas. 

Contains: Karma soap, The olive branch shower gel, Cinders bath bomb, Golden Wonder bath bomb, Snow Angel bath melt, Hot toddy shower gel, Dashing Santa bath bomb, Honey I washed the kids, Celebrate body lotion, Holly go lightly bubble bar, Lord of Misrule bath bomb and Star light Star bright bath bomb.

There you have it, this years Lush Christmas products that I'm excited about. I'd love to know what your Christmas favourites are in the comments below and I will not apologise for bringing you this post before the arrival of Halloween because I honestly cannot wait for the festive season to arrive! 

Now go forth and check out #LushChristmas for yourself in the nearest store to you.

Love,

Sarah

LUSH Halloween Pumpkin Bubble Bar

I for one cannot believe it's Halloween time already girls. This year has just flown by. I was preparing to do my LUSH Christmas collection video today when I stopped and thought you might curse me for mentioning it so soon. As a compromise here's a little Halloween post on their Pumpkin bubble bar with is available in shops now and costs €3.50.

Isn't he just the cutest! Look at his little dairy free chocolate drop eyes and his liquorice hat. There sure isn't anything scary about this guy but I love him. I really enjoyed using this bath bomb this evening. The ylang ylang oil and orange flower absolute really awakened my senses and left me feeling refreshed.

I'm really happy with the bubble pay out also!! I never thought I would say that about bubbles but hey check out the name of the blog and then it won't sound so mad! Lots of bubbles and I only used a quarter of the bar. For €3.50 I say this is great value as you would get a good four big bubbly baths out of it. He doesn't look so cute after the first use though!

LUSH also have a Soot bath bomb (€3.25) coming out this Halloween, inspired by the soot gremlins from Hayao Miyazaki's film Spirited Away and a Lord of Misrule bath bomb (€4.35) named after the Pagan Feast of Fools. Check them out on-line at www.lush.com or in store now.

Happy Haunting ladies....or just stay in and have a bath!! 

Love,

Sarah

Pucker up with LUSH - International Kissing Day - Power liquid Lipstick, Mint Julips scrub and Lip service Lip balm.

Hello Lovelies,

I don't know about you but this bi-polar Irish weather is really taking it's toll on my lips. Unlike skin on the rest of our bodies the skin on our lips is exceptionally thin and has no oil glands which makes the lips even more delicate and prone to dryness and chapping.

Follow the steps below for supple, smooth and chap free lips (and of course utterly kissable!)

Step 1. Scrub

Using a lip scrub is a great way to remove dead skin and Lush have three flavours to choose from, Mint Julip being my personal favourite. Their lip smacking cocktail contains castor sugar and jojoba oil. €6.75 each and contain 20g of product. Another way to exfoliate your lips would be to give them a gentle exfoliating with your toothbrush.

Step 2. Moisture

After you have removed the dead skin from your lips you will need to protect them as much moisture as possibly by using a lip cream or balm. Lip Service has been around since the dawn of time, I mean since the start of Lush and keeps proving to be a best seller. It contains shea butter, cocoa oil, beeswax and tangerine oil.Not only can you use it on your lips but also on you elbows, knees and heels. It can also act as a protective primer if you plan on wearing a drying matte lipstick. M.A.C Ruby Woo springs to mind for me.

Step 3. Pucker Up

I've mentioned the Emotional Brilliance range by Lush before and next month will celebrate it's first birthday. The range features lip and eye colours that offer show stopping colour that's actually good for your skin. Check out this Liquid Lipstick in shade Power €17.95. The lip range consists of thirteen different amazing colours that can also be used as a cream blusher. Power is a very bright orange-coral colour with gold shimmer. I'm still perfecting my application with these sponge top applicator lipsticks but I love how creamy they are and as always animal cruelty free. 

"A kiss symbolises kindness but there is noting kind about testing on animals so lets join together and kiss goodbye to cosmetic cruelty" LUSH. 

 This week Lush are promoting #crueltyfreekisses in association with International Kissing Day which is on Saturday the 6th. Lush are attempting to set the new Guinness world records title for the most lip prints collected in 12 hours. If you would like to take part then head on over to your nearest Lush store on Saturday where you will be able to pucker up and get your kiss on (Kissing strangers not advised!!)

Love,

Sarah

Date Night Prep - My go to products

Whether I'm meeting someone special or going out on a girls night I like to go through a little preparation ritual that involves the products above which I will go through shortly. Firstly I would like to express my jealousy at how men and women differ when getting ready for dates and nights out. Having three brothers has given me a great insight into the male preparation ritual. It mainly consists of a trip to the barbers, and the three S's! Shirt, shower and shave. If only us women had it so easy, aye!

Step 1, Hair: Who doesn't want shiny, healthy looking hair?! I know I do, so I use the Hair Doctor, hair and scalp mask from Lush. I apply this liberally to my hair about 30 minutes before I hop into the shower. This is my favourite hair mask from Lush, I repurchase it every time I go in, I really should try something else for a change but I'm happy with this one for now. Amongst the ingredients it contains Irish moss seaweed, coconut oil and almond oil so you can bet your bottom dollar you will be left with lovely shiny locks. It also contains peppermint which certainly wakes me up as I'm applying it.

Step 2, Face: While my hair mask is in and my hair is out of the way I like to apply a deep cleansing and exfoliating face mask and leave it on for 10-15 minutes before I shower. I'm currently using the Raspberry exfoliating Mud therapy Mask from Superdrug. This was given to me in a beauty swap from the UK by my lovely friend Steph. I am in absolute love with it and I hope I can find it in the only Superdrug store that I know of in Dublin here. It contains raspberry seeds and apricot kernels which is how it delivers a gentle exfoliation. The mask is clay based and leaves my skin feeling so much softer and looking a little radiant if I do say so myself!

 Step 3, Body: After washing the hair mask out and removing my face mask it's time to Scrub a-dub-dub! Every single day our body produces waste and the build up of old skin cells can make your skin look dull. The best way to improve the look of your skin is to exfoliate regularly. I am currently using the Sugar Crush body scrub by Soap & Glory. I got this in one of Boots S&G gifts sets at Christmas from my big bro. It contains brown sugar which does all the work for you, sweet lime to invigorate the senses, almond oil and macadamia grains which leave your skin feeling softer and smoother than ever.

Step 4, Lock it in: After you have scrubbed,  buffed and treated yourself you want to lock in all your hard work. I use Human+Kind all in one body oil. I love this because it's suitable for your face, body and hair and suitable for all skin types. It gets to work the moment you apply it and locks in moisture keeping your skin hydrated and feeling so super soft.

Step 5, Hands & Nails: Final step before you can begin to worry about what to wear and make-up! You're Almost there! I like to give my hands and nails a good bit of TLC. Usually before painting my nails I will steep them in warm water for a few minutes but because I've been in the shower I don't need to do this. I love the Lemon Cuticle balm from Pixy, it smells absolutely divine and also reminds me of one of my favourite desserts, lemon drizzle cake! The packaging is so cute and can fit nicely into my every-day handbag when needed. Their Coconut Hand Cream also smells amazing and you only need smalls amounts again to get your hands looking, feeling and smelling irresistible!

There you have it, and men wonder why we take so long to get ready! If only they knew what we got up too! I would love you to share your ritual with me in the comments below. Do you enjoy pampering yourself at home? I certainly enjoy the results!

Lots of Love,

Sarah

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I Love Seaweed

I have to say I have become obsessed with finding body products containing natural ingredients over the last few months. I'm also delighted at the amount of companies in Ireland that deliver fantastic quality products using natural ingredients that are sourced locally too. Out of all the products I have tried and tested I fell in love with the following three containing seaweed.

 Seavite Illuminating Shampoo 250ml & Conditioner 250ml €10 each.

Seavite is an Irish family run company based in Co Galway. They have a whole range of organic seaweed products for your body, face and hair. I specifically love the shampoo and conditioner because they contain no skin irritants such as parabens which is great because I suffer from a dry scalp due to years of washing my hair daily. The price tag might be more than most are willing to spend but the quality of these products is fantastic. My hair felt amazing after the first use and the Illuminating conditioner is by far the best conditioner I have ever used. They have also lasted me quite a long time too so you are getting your money's worth. 

LUSH Seanik Shampoo bar

I was very intrigued by this product the first time I was introduced to it by a Lush assistant in their store on Henry Street, Dublin. I had approached her asking for a shampoo that would not irritate my dry scalp and she suggested I use the Seanik shampoo bar. She spoke to me about the benefits of seaweed and that's how my love affair began. Seanik is a shampoo that doesn't come in liquid form like most. It is a round blue bar and contains seaweed and sea salt. I found it excellent for travelling especially with the lush tin to store it in. It added volume to my hair and although I didn't find it as nourishing for my scalp as I had expected it was great for removing dirt and grease from my hair leaving it a lovely shine and feeling soft.   

VOYA Time to Shine Body Buff 200ml €29 75ml €10

My favourite body scrub to use is the Body Buff Time to Shine by Voya. It's mild enough to use regularly but also very effective for exfoliating dead skin leaving you with silky toned results. It contains ground walnut shells and seaweed flakes which make this product so effective and enjoyable to use. I think the price point reflects the superb quality and effectiveness of this product. All products in the Voya range contain organic natural ingredients locally sourced in Co Sligo.

If you have dry skin like me you should give seaweed based products a go. Seaweed face masks are also great for relieving itching caused by acne and for achieving soft glowing skin. 

How do you feel about Products containing natural ingredients? Do you mind the hefty price tag? I for one think every penny (cent?!) is worth it.

Love,

Sarah

This months Ultimate advertiser is About Girl Friday . If you would like to find out more about advertising on this blog click HERE

LUSH FUN Bath Times

 FUN - Blue 200g €6.50 Suitable for children and adults!

What is FUN? FUN is basically a play-dough like substance which can be used in the exact same way in that you can make all sorts of fun shapes and models with it but unlike playdough when you are finished having all your fun you can use it in the shower or bath to wash. How cool is that! To wash your body and hair you only need a small amount. These big 200g bars of FUN go a long way.

FUN Blue has a lovely lavender and chamomile fragrance which makes it perfect for kiddies bedtime bath. It will send those kiddies right to sleep....if you can get them out of the bath that is!

If it's bubbles you are into then all you have to do is crumble a chunk under hot running water from your tap. You don't have to use the whole bar, as I said before it goes a long long way and you can continue to store what's left in the biodegradable wrapper it comes in.

Fun is also available in Pink, Yellow, Green and Red and they all have their own fragrance. Having problems getting your little monsters into the bath? Well then present them with some bath time fun that is preservative free, against animal testing and FUN

Not only is this product really fun, 10p from each sale with go towards grants and projects which help provide fun and recreational activities for children living in Challenging environments. This Friday myself and Aundrea will be heading to a primary school in Athlone to raise awareness and funds for the children affected by the Fukushima disaster. Aundrea came up with the idea and after she got the go ahead from LUSH she approached the primary school that she went to as a little monster!! We will be heading into a pre-school class armed with thirty fun bars for the children to shape and mould into what ever creations their imaginations can muster up.

I am really looking forward to it. I can't wait to see what the children think of FUN and hope we can raise some well needed funds for the children in Fukushima.

Have you tried FUN yet? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Love,

Sarah

This months Ultimate Advertiser is Carter Beauty. If you would like to find out more about advertising on this blog click HERE

LUSH Limited Edition Father Christmas Bath Bomb

Prepare yourself for a glittertastic Christmas if you use this Bath Ballistic! It's everything a Christmas bath bomb should be. Fun, colourful and when used it will awaken your senses and remind you of Christmas.

I popped Father Christmas into the bath (never thought I'd say that!) and he..I mean it, the bath bomb began to fizz immediately. The bath went red and filled up with glitter. After that my bath went green and turned festive.

 I watched in amazement as the bath changed colour and the glitter sparkled. The mandarin oil, clove bud oil and orange flower absolute made this bath experience warm and soothing. Father Christmas also contains a shot of brandy which makes it the perfect bath bomb for cold nights and a slight scent of vanilla which adds that little bit of sweetness.

I loved this bath bomb and hope I can buy more before it's all sold out. There is only two reason why I think others wouldn't love this as much as I do

Firstly the colour, most wouldn't be too fond of hopping into a green bath. It might be a bit too ghostbusters for  them but I love it. I would hop into any bath no matter what colour it was if it smelt this good. Secondly the glitter aftermath. Your bath will be covered in glitter once you've drained the water and your skin will be covered even after towel drying. I like to rinse my bath down afterwards out of respect for the next person to use it and I love being covered in glitter so this doesn't bother me in the slightest!

There you have it Lush Father Christmas bath bomb is available in all LUSH stores nationwide while stocks last and cost €4.25. Have you tried it? Would you? Let me know in the comments below.

Check out this years entire LUSH Christmas collection video HERE

If you would like to find out more about advertising on this blog click HERE