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

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

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