Lush Haul

So, a couple of weeks ago I decided I needed some beauty therapy so after raiding Boots, Debenhams and Space NK, I headed over to Lush for some pick-me-ups. So I thought after trying out some of these new products, I would review and deliver back to you guys!

1. Cup o' coffee face and body mask.

Oh. My. GOD. This stuff is the epitome of an amaaaazing scrub. I bought the smaller tub with the mindset of that if I liked it, I'd go and buy the bigger size. And let me tell you, I'll be buying the bigger one! It has fast became my favourite scrub EVER! It smells really strongly of coffee though, so if you can't stand the smell, then I'd stay clear. I usually smear a generous amount all over my face, go and have breakfast so it's resting and sinking into my skin for at least 20-30 minutes, and then once I'm in the shower I'll give my face a really vigorous scrub. I would say that, leave it until a day that you're washing your hair as the tiny particles can get into your hair line and they are a nightmare to get out. Once it's off your skin, it leaves it feeling so smooth and silky, yet tight too. I would 100% recommend this to everyone and anyone, most of my family and friends have been persuaded to purchase it.

2. H'Suan Wen Hua Hair Treatment.

I knew originally before I had entered Lush that I needed something to revive the shine in my hair and give it an all-over boost. I have recently stripped my hair having had it black for two years and getting from that, to my natural red/ginger colour has been really damaging to say the least. After speaking to one of the lovely assistants at the Buchanan Street, Glasgow store, he persuaded me to get this. It's got egg yolks mixed into the product, which helps restore the shine and moisture in your hair, and it smells so good. I lathered it all over my hair, and left it on over night for maximum results. It worked really well, although as said on the tub, for the best results you need to use it once a week for a while. Eventually I got sick of my long hair and cut off around 5-6 inches of dead, bleached, dried-out locks. My hair is in great condition now, and getting better each week with the use of this hair mask.

3. Intergalactic Bath Bomb

Bath bombs are bath bombs. But I'm a sucker for all things girly, like treatments, beauty products and I love nothing more than soaking in the bath with bubbles or a bath bomb. This particular bomb spreads out, with gorgeous blue, pink and purple colours. It leaves your skin so silky, and you can feel how smooth it is when you're relaxing in the bath. There are very fine glitters but they don't transfer onto your skin, thank god. There's nothing worse than getting a bomb with petals and stepping out to find they are all stuck to the back of your legs. 

My every-day, go-to makeup.

I think everyone has a look that they automatically go for when picking your makeup bag up in the morning. And it's all about telling yourself "No, I'm going to try something different. I might push past my comfort zone and go for that white liner, or blue lipstick." Don't get me wrong, I'm not too adventurous. A lot of the time I'll see all these stunning girls who can pull of a certain bold colour and I know straight away I'd never have the confidence to wear it outside.

We all know what suits us, what colours compliment our skin, eyes or lips. I have a habit of going for a super simple, easy look but with still having a full face of makeup.

So above is my favourite "day makeup".

Because I have blue eyes, I like to compliment them with using golds, browns and bronze palettes. Urban Decay Naked or Smoky is usually what I use, but I'll tend to go for some Makeup Geek single eyeshadows for more pigmentation if I'm feeling more flush.

On a regular basis I use Illamasqua skin base foundation, and contour with the NYX contour palette. For my concealer, I like to use Nars as it's amazing! But if I'm a little on the poor side, I'll always have Rimmel's Super Stay on hand. I currently use The Balm Mary Lou Highlighter, which is a golden colour but if my makeup is slightly lighter, I'll use Becca's Shimmering Skin Perfector. I cannot recommend this highlighter more.

Lips are always a nude/pink. My skin is quite fair, so I always feel too white when wearing a really light nude. So I opt for a nude with pink tones. I always reach for either Mac Lovelorn or Brave which is slightly darker, Nyx Liquid Suede in Tea and Cookies or Sleek Makeup's Birthday Suit. I just find that these colours compliment my skin tone the most and are super easy to apply.

On average, it takes me about half an hour to do my makeup. As someone who loves to wear a lot of product to work etc, I've actually cut my time down. I get too carried away with listening to music and taking my time. (Eyebrows aren't the quickest!) 

Ciara

Xo

Blackpool Day Trip

If you're like me, and you adore theme parks then you'll love Blackpool.

Ok, Blackpool itself is very tacky, the city seems pretty outdated and visiting there feels like stepping back into the past, but that's why I love it.

Since my gran lived there, I have loads of childhood memories of visiting, I even remember going to sleep as a kid and hearing people screaming as they went down the roller coasters. 

I went with my friend, Jillian. We got the train from Glasgow, with a quick change over at Preston. All in all it took about 4 hours to get there which isn't too bad. We arrived around 10, before the park opened so we decided to walk along the front and sit at the beach. The weather was amazing, we couldn't have asked for a better day to stroll around. 

I hadn't been to Blackpool in about 5/6 years and there were a couple of new rides there which I couldn't wait to try out. We pretty much went on everything. I'd say if you live in the UK, it's one of the best theme parks here. I much prefer it to Thorpe Park as I don't think there's enough rides there, and with everything that happened in Alton Towers recently, I was slightly put off in going there.

You've got plenty of roller coasters (which is my favourite type of ride) although some need to be updated because I was literally in so much pain as The Grand National jerked around corners. 

The upsides were the fact it only costs £21 for wristbands online which I think is a pretty good deal for a whole day. The food is reasonably cheap, so it's easy to grab a quick bite and it's not extortionate like restaurants and shops in Disney. There are plenty of rides for all ages, and if you don't like theme parks but come as a family, you can purchase a non-rider wristband. 

The downside was that we booked it on the day that the EU vote was taking place, so it was schoolkids galore, which I usually wouldn't mind as much but since they were all there for the bigger and better rides, the queues were a nightmare! Oh, and I was dragged on Valhalla which I bloody hate. It's alright if you're in a roasting place like Florida and welcome the water, but walking around Blackpool with frizzy hair, wet trainers and feeling uncomfortable wasn't my favourite...

It is a really good day out though, and I'm going back next month with my wee brother since I've been promising to take him for aaaages. 

Coconut Oil 

I'd be surprised if you haven't heard all the hype about this wee pot of glory. 

I had been researching the benefits of coconut oil, and found so many things that it's useful for so I headed down to Holland & Barrett as they are currently using it in a promotion.

Reasons to purchase;

• It's really great for your skin, e.g. getting rid of acne, blemishes, scarring, spots, and generally moisturising.
• It's packed full of "good fats" which means it encourages weight loss and is so much better for you than cooking oil and butter.
• It can be melted down and used as a hair mask/conditioner/treatment. 
• It improves your health, and digestion, immune system and hormones can be boosted.
• It can clean your teeth, reduce staining and leave your mouth feeling fresher.
• It makes for a fantastic eye makeup remover, especially if you have sensitive skin.

I bought this on Thursday and since then I have been using it for removing my eye makeup, and including it in my skin routine at night.

Last night I filled a bowl with boiling water, added 2 teaspoons of coconut oil into a glass and sat it in the bowl for a few minutes, when I came back from taking the dogs out, I dampened my hair, and then smoothed the oil into my scalp and combed through. I left this in all night, washed it out this morning and my hair felt less frizzy, less damaged and it worked as an amazing deep conditioner. 

I've used it for frying, I've used it for my nails, I've even gave my dog a spoonful every day and he loves it. (It's beneficial for dogs too)

I've noticed a difference in his coat, especially. He has less dandruff (which shows up more because he's black) and his coat is shiny, soft and silky.

I'm going to keep it up for a month and report back with my results. Already I've seen small improvements and hopefully I get even better results after using it consistently. 

Ciara Xo