Festive Lush Haul

Every year without fail as soon as LUSH release their Christmas range I just have to get my hands on some of it & this year was no different. I don't know what it is that makes Lush so appealing to me, I love the whole atmosphere, the colourful products, the scents, the smiley staff who are always so knowledgable & willing to share the secrets behind each product, it's such a great lil place. 
Surpisingly I'm yet to pick up a bottle of Snow Fairy Shower Gel, I'm still working my way through a bottle of The Comforter but I'm sure Snow Fairy will end up coming home with me soon. I am however the owner of the Magic Wand bubble bar so I'm still getting my fix of the sweet scent of Candyfloss & Peardrops! Another wand bubble bar made it's way into my basket too, The Magic of Christmas made up of Cinnamon & Cloves, it's a more traditional spicy Christmas fragrance, but one which I also really enjoy. 
I picked up a couple of old favourites, Golden Wonder & Luxury Lush Pud. Golden Wonder bath bomb was actually the first product I tried from the Christmas collection a few years ago now. The present shaped bath bomb has a citrusy fragrance which begins by fizzing into lots of golden bubbles that then turn blue & purple when the 'gift' is unwrapped. It's fun & I'm pretty sure the novelty is never gonna wear off for me! Luxury Lush Pud bath bomb has got to be my favourite in terms of appearance, a cute multicoloured polka dot Christmas pudding! As soon as it's dropped into the water an array of colours appear, it's like a rainbow in the bath, love it. 
Two new ones for me this year are Yog Nog & Bar Humbug. Yog Nog bath bomb smells like cinder toffee, I can't wait to have a bath with this now I've taken photos of it! I expect it will be really comforting & warming. Bar Humbug bubble bar is one you'll either love or hate, it's a bit of a marmite product! It's a similar one to The Comforter & Brightside bubble bars with their marble-esque veins of colours running through however the scent of liquorice isn't going to appeal to everyone. I don't think the liquorice is too overpowering though & actually find it to be quite refreshing.
The last product I bought isn't strictly a Christmas one, although it is a new one to me so I thought I'd include it anyway. You've Been Mangoed is a luxury bath melt, which smells incredible, so fresh & fruity. I've used a bath melt before & loved how soft it made the water, which resulted in my skin being super moisturised. They're a nice change if you don't fancy a big bath filled with bubbles but still want to have a good soak.
Have you picked up anything from the LUSH Christmas range yet?
L x

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Oh Christmas Tree...

So today marks the first day of advent & also the first day of Blogmas! I'm gonna try my best to be involved with it the whole time, I've done a LOT of planning so I'll be really disapointed with myself if I end up failing. I'm really excited for all the content I've got planned, I've been pretty quiet on my blog this year so I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things!
Today I've been turning our home into a magical, festive grotto. Ever since we bought the house I've been counting down the days until I could get the tree down from the attic & quite literally deck the halls! I actually put the tree up two weeks ago because I just couldn't wait, it's made our house really cosy. I've now added bunting, tissue paper pom poms, festive scented candles & I've got some more decorations on order to finish it off completely. My cousin actually made the tissue pom poms for me, we had a crafty afternoon on Sunday making decorations which was really fun, I'll be sharing a tutorial soon. I'd also LOVE to get a real Christmas tree as well but I'm a little wary of the needles dropping with two pugs around who eat anything & everything they can find. Has anyone any experience of real trees with dogs?
I've started off with a simple post but tomorrow I'll be sharing my November favourites, then I'll be bombarding you all with Christmassy related content, think gift guides, recipes & festive beauty posts! Hope you all enjoy (:
Have you got your Christmas tree up yet!?
L x

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festive photos

I always love seeing how people decorate their tree & their homes at Christmas so I've shared some of my decoration photos! Most of these are from last year when we lived in our flat, but if we had our own place this year the decor would have been exactly the same, so it still counts! (: We had a red & white theme but also included cute little extras like Gingerbread Men & festive Fawns. I also included a photo of Tilly with her Doggy advent calendar, she's so cute when I show it to her she wags her tail & then lies down as if to say "hurry up Mummy, I want my treat now!". I just had to buy her the advent calendar when I saw it in Pets at Home, the pug puppy caught my eye & reminded me of Tilly dressed up in the same outfit last year! This year we are off to another Pugmas party, I think we are dressing her up as a Christmas tree... I'm tempted to vlog the event, in fact we've got a pretty exciting weekend ahead so it would be good to document it all! Let me know if you'd like to see a vlog of the Pug party & I'll see what I can put together. I'm off to order more things for Tilly's costume now haha (:
Don't forget to enter my Lush giveaway here! (: L x

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christmas wishlist | fashion edition

Topshop Borg Throw on Cardigan - £38.00

Mulberry Tree Continental Wallet - £295.00

Bah Hum Pug Tee - £18.00

Lurex Crop Top - £22.00 Flower Printed Shorts - £34.00 MINE Leather Buckled Ankle Boots - £80.00 Whistles Black Irvington Stingray Clutch - £85.00
I've been meaning to treat myself to some new wardrobe staples recently, however with Christmas round the corner I thought it would be fun to put together a wishlist of some items I really love. I always find things, forget about them, then kick myself a few weeks later when I go to buy them & see they've sold out, anyone else do that!? I had to include something Pug related, this festive pug t-shirt is adorable! & I also had to include something really extravagant, a Mulberry Purse. It would be a dream to own a Mulberry purse, I chose the sparkly gold version for this to keep with the festive theme but in reality I'd probably opt for a black or brown one. Whats on your Christmas wishlist this year? Oh & don't forget to enter my Lush giveaway here! (:
L x

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christmas lush haul & giveaway!

Way back in October I headed into Lush as soon as they launched their Christmas range to browse the goodies & pick up a few treats. I always go a little bit overboard when it comes to Lush Christmas range, I mean I don't even have a bath of my own at the moment but I still bought bath products because I just couldn't resist! 
Starting off with the most colourful of the bunch, Luxury Lush Pud - £3.50 is a bath bomb that not only looks amazing, but smells amazing too. It fills the bathtub with the prettiest array of colours, it's like a rainbow exploded it's so much fun to watch it fizzing away & spilling out lots of different colours! I bought The Melting Snowman - £2.25 as a Christmas gift for Abi one year but never got round to buying myself one so I finally bought this lil guy when I attended the Preston Lush Blogger Event! It's a bath melt with a spicy fragrance which makes the bath water feel very soft which in turn leaves your skin feeling silky soft as it's filled with cocoa butter. Candy Mountain Bubble Bar - £2.75 was one of my favourites last year so obviously I had to get it again this year! It smells kinda similar to Snow Fairy as it's quite sweet, the Lush website says it has the same fragrance as the Creamy Candy Bubble Bar, another of my favourite Lush products, I'm a sucker for anything vanilla based! Candy Mountain fills the bath with lots of shimmery bubbles & a sweet scent, last year I had 4 huge bubble baths with my bar so it's pretty good value for money too! The Christmas Hedgehog - £3.25 is new for 2014, it's not really got a festive scent it's quite floral with rose being one of it's main ingredients. I haven't actually used this yet but I can imagine the bubbles to be really soft as again it's filled with cocoa butter. Butterbear has to be the cutest bath bomb EVER! I love this lil bear so much, it's modelled on another of my favourites Butterball - £1.95 replicating it's vanilla fragrance & creamy cocoa butter bubble bath it nourishes & protects your skin. I bet you guys are sick of me mentioning Snow Fairy Shower Gel - £3.75 by now, but just incase you didn't know it's my most loved Lush product ever! I've done a full review here & mentioned it enough times on my blog so I'll leave it at that! So White - £3.50 is a pretty boring bath bomb on first impressions, however it's fruity fresh apple scent is what made me want to buy it. Once it starts to dissolve it surprises you by revealing a pretty pink centre! Cinders - £2.50 was the bath bomb we all got to make at the blogger event I mentioned earlier. It is probably the most festive scented product I've tried, a warm & spicy cinnamon fragrance with popping candy to give the effect of a crackling fire I'm going to save this one & use it on Christmas Eve! 
Now onto the giveaway part... I've decided to treat one of my readers to a Lush Christmas product of their choice as a little Christmas treat! All you need to do is fill out the Rafflecopter form below to be in with a chance of winning (:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 The giveaway will run from 4th December 2014 until 14th December 2014 & is UK only - sorry! There will be an International giveaway really soon though (: Good luck!
What is your favourite product from the Lush Christmas range?
L x

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christmas gifts for her - stocking fillers

Copper leather passport holder - £20.00

Woodland Fox Makeup Bag - £7.90

Ted Baker Fragrant Fancies - £12.00

Nutella The 30 Best Recipes - £9.00

Soy Wax Scented Candle Moroccan Rose & Fig - £9.95

Costa Gift Gard - From £5.00

Pug Air Freshener - £2.00 LUSH Festive Friends - £14.50
Blogmas day 3 sees the first instalment of my gift guide series, I'll be posting a few more throughout the next couple of days so make sure you check back if you're in need of some ideas or inspiration! I've picked out things I think most girls would love to receive in their stockings, I know most bloggers will appreciate the Nutella recipe book & the LUSH goodies anyway! How pretty is the copper/rose gold coloured passport holder? I also thought it would be lovely to gift someone a gift card, in the form of coffee, cinema tickets or even a meal at Nando's. Our families have been asking us what we would like for Christmas this year, but there is genuinely nothing I really NEED & so my Mum has offered to get us a gift card for Nandos & my Nana is getting us a cinema voucher. It's a fab idea because now Dom & I have a date night to look forward to that won't be costing us much!
Let me know if you have any stocking filler ideas!
L x

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the christmas tag

Images from weheartit To kick of #blogmas I thought it would be appropriate to begin with the Christmas Tag!

1. What is your favourite thing about Christmas?

Christmas is my favourite time of the year, I love everything about it. The festive atmosphere created by the twinkling lights, mince pies, advent calendars, frosty mornings, busy crowds shopping for gifts, Christmas films, seeing people appreciate & love the presents you've bought them, I could go on & on, it is honestly the most wonderful time of the year...

2. What is your favourite makeup look for the festive season?

I've been wearing my Topshop Beguiled lipstick non stop recently, it's a perfect wine colour & fits in with the seasonal shades. I'll be wearing it a lot more over Christmas & New Year, along with smokey eye makeup!

3. Real or fake tree?

Real trees are my favourite, but we have fake ones as it's cheaper in the long run & tidier because they don't drop needles all over the floor! I think though when we get our own place we will have two trees, a fake one & a real one because the smell of a real tree is just so festive!

4. Giving or receiving presents?

100% giving presents! Picking out gifts I know people want/will love is something that really makes me happy. Also, wrapping them up all pretty with little bows is something I enjoy way too much! Of course I still love to receive presents too, but there is just something about giving that I will always prefer!

5. Do you open your presents in the morning or evening?

I'm almost 23 & still join in with the family tradition of the early morning excitement rush to get downstairs & see the beautiful display of presents my mum Father Christmas has left for us. Even though I am not a morning person I ALWAYS manage to get up on Christmas day, I think it's more special because I have younger brothers & sisters who still believe in all the magic of Christmas & to be honest, I don't really want to give up in believing just yet either... 

6. Handmade or bought Christmas cards?

Every year I say I will have a go at making my own Christmas & each year I have failed to do so! I really miss being creative but I never seem to have time anymore ): I've bought some cute little cards for friends & then I always buy special individual ones for my Mum, Dad Nana & Grandad, etc & Dom!

7. What is your favourite Christmas film?

Oh my god I have so many! Christmas films are the only kind of film I can watch multiple times without getting bored! A few of my favourites are Elf, Miracle on 34th Street, Home Alone, The Greatest Store in The World, Four Christmases, Jingle All The Way, The Santa Clause. I think Elf is my absolute favourite though, SANTA... I KNOW HIM!

8. What is your favourite Christmas food?

Mince pies, Turkey with Cranberry jelly, Sausage meat stuffing, Pigs in blankets and my Nana always has so much buffet food which is the best!

9. Favourite Christmas gift?

When I was about six I came downstairs on Christmas morning to a little note telling us (my Sister & I) to follow the red ribbon into the Kitchen. My Mum & Dad had bought us one of those electronic Jeeps for Christmas & because it was obviously way too big to wrap they had hidden it to surprise us! I'll never forget that moment when we opened the kitchen door & saw the Jeep with a big red bow on it!

10. What tops your tree?

Growing up it was always an angel & one year it was one that I had made at School. Now I have my own decorations we have a cream star that has heart cut outs, so pretty (:

L x

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