Bath & Body Works Haul!

 

Hi guys! I thought I'd show you my haul from Bath & Body Works. This was from the Black Friday Sale towards the end of last year. I believe it was a buy one get one free deal across all products, or something similar, because I know it came to roughly half what the full cost would have been. I know it's taken me a while to get this post up, but the silver lining is I've been using the products in the meantime, so I've got some thoughts to share instead of just a look at the products. This was my first real foray into Bath & Body Works. Sure, I've looked in the store before, but I hadn't bought anything.

What I bought:

~ Iced Sugar Plum Ultimate Hydration Body Cream
~ Frosted Coconut Snowball Ultimate Hydration Body Cream
~ Strawberry Snowflakes Fine Fragrance Mist
~ At The Beach Fine Fragrance Mist
~ Winterberry Wonder Shower Gel
~ Merry Cookie Scented Candle

The Body Creams are absolutely amazing! I'm seriously in love with both of these fragrances, in particular the Iced Sugar Plum one. As part of my night time routine I put one of these on right before bed and it's so delightful to hop into bed smelling like an absolute snack! They both contain shea butter and hyaluronic acid and they just melt in wonderfully and absorb quickly leaving my skin soft and nourished. I was worried about buying body moisturiser because I never use it, but the scents are so beautiful that I look forward to applying this every night.

The two Fragrance Mists are nice, but I have to remind myself to use them, as I'm deep in my habit of reaching for my YSL Parisienne perfume if I'm on the way out. I guess I could try using these around the house? The bottles are very big and I think they will last me a long time (especially if I keep not using them lol). The Strawberry Snowflakes Mist is fruity and feminine, whereas At The Beach is fresh, crisp and salty. They are both lovely and I really need to find a way to incorporate them into my daily routine.

I'm absolutely addicted to shower gel, so I was excited to try the Winterberry Wonder Shower Gel. It lathers up well (and thus takes a fair while to rinse off) and smells nice, but it's not as strong as I'd like. I am a little disappointed with it to be honest, and much prefer all the Lush shower gels I bought in the Boxing Day Sale (you can read about that haul here). I put Winterberry aside when my Lush haul arrived (plus what I bought instore) and I've so far finished off a Lush Happy Hippy, The Olive Branch and Dirty Springwash shower gel bottles. I'm now using Lush Snow Fairy, but I need to alternate it with B&BW Winterberry so it doesn't go to waste.

The Merry Cookie Candle is honestly one of the best candle fragrances I've ever smelt, and as such, I'm too scared to use it! I haven't started burning it yet and not sure if I will. Every few days I open the lid and inhale the amazing goodness and just revel in how delicious it smells. I will definitely be grabbing more candles in this year's Black Friday sale, because Merry Cookie is just a joy and I want more!

That's my Haul! Hope you enjoyed reading and have a wonderful week!

Lush Haul: Boxing Day Sale Bargains!

Hi guys! Long time, no blog! Happy New Year... I hope you're all having a lovely 2024 so far. I've decided to blog from time to time, when I've got something to write about. I won't be posting weekly like I was last year, because at times I was having to find things to blog about, just for the sake of keeping up my schedule. But I did buy quite a few things in December, hence this Lush Haul post!

First, let's look at what I picked up, then I'll delve deeper into the products and my Lush online shopping experience. This is a combined Haul, mostly bought online but also a couple of products from the Boxing Day sale in-store.

~ Happy Hippy shower gel (250g)
~ Snow Fairy shower gel (275g)
~ The Olive Branch shower gel (100g)
~ Dirty SpringWash shower gel (100g)
~ Twilight shower jelly (100g)
~ Snow Fairy shower gel (100g)
~ Jingle All The Way Gift
(containing Happy Hippy shower gel 100g + Bouncing Santa shower jelly 85g)
~ Ro's Argan soap sample *free sample* (not pictured)

First of all, can you tell I love shower gels? It's the main thing I buy in a Lush sale and I definitely have my favourites! The two products I bought in-store were the large Snow Fairy shower gel and the Dirty Springwater shower gel 100g, both half price. Being in-store purchases, this all went smoothly.

My online purchases didn't go quite as well. I went straight to the Boxing Day sale section to grab some goodies at half the normal price (since this was my entire reason for shopping) and shopped wholly from there. I had added a Lord Of Misrule soap to my cart which went through as normal at checkout. Later I received an email from Lush saying I was receiving a refund, then a further email explaining there was a glitch in their system and the soap was actually out of stock but the system mistakenly let me add it to my cart. Fair enough, mistakes happen and I was refunded, so I missed out on a half price soap, but that was it.

But something I wasn't too happy about was that the large Happy Hippy shower gel and the Twilight shower jelly I was charged full price for, despite only shopping from the Boxing Day section, where items were on sale for 50% off. I emailed Lush about it and what must have happened was that certain sizes weren't available so I went up to the next size, not realizing that this would be full price (despite being in the Boxing Day Sale section). This should definitely have been made clearer on site and only products that were 50% off should be listed in the BD sale section, not alternate sizes that are full price.

Let's talk about the goodies!

SNOW FAIRY shower gel
'For sparkle like there's snow tomorrow, lather up in candy-sweet suds that shimmer with magic that comes but once a year.'
It's a Limited Edition Christmas special that sweet, fun, pink, pretty and smells delightful. Yes I got both sizes, the small one online, then decided I also needed a big bottle from the city store for this magical cleanser to last me longer!

HAPPY HIPPY shower gel
'A breakfast boost for your body. Full of grapefruit goodness to awaken your skin and enliven your mind.'
I love citrusy fragrances, so the addition of grapefruit juice just makes this gel a zesty, fruity, happiness-inducing experience for me. I love using this in a morning shower to enliven my mood all day.

DIRTY SPRINGWASH shower gel
'A rapturous tingle of menthol crystals, and a crisp breath of spearmint tempts like untrodden snow, galvanising you into action.'
I had never tried this one before, so was excited to pick it up in-store after having smelled it. I was a bit cautious about the menthol, but it's actually rather invigorating. Word of warning - I did get it in a fresh cat scratch and that was not fun (and I probably wouldn't use this on my front bum either lol). The bottle mentions mountain lakes, herbaceous breezes of thyme oil and refreshing open air.

THE OLIVE BRANCH shower gel
'Steadying arms wrap around you, full of sweeping citrus notes and gentle, reassuring warmth.'
This one smells warm, inviting and beautiful. It could almost be a unisex gel. It contains organic olives which are cold-pressed into rejuvenating Fair Trade oil, vine leaf infusion and mandarin juice. No wonder I love this with the citrus theme again!

TWILIGHT shower jelly
'Sleepwalk soundly into the twilight zone with soothing lavender oil lathers.'
Okay I probably shouldn't have bought this online without having smelled it first, because it's not my favourite scent. As explained above, I was charged full price, too!  Oh well, I'll use this at night and hopefully it will help me sleep.

JINGLE ALL THE WAY gift
Contains a small Happy Hippy shower gel + Bouncing Santa shower jelly (pictured below).
I've already talked about Happy Hippy, so on to the Bouncing Santa!

BOUNCING SANTA shower jelly
'Santa Claus is bouncing to town! Making a list, showering twice, gotta find out who's naughty or nice!'
Well that told us nothing lol. But one thing's for sure, my Bouncing Santa sure did bounce around during delivery, because she didn't arrive in the best shape, as you can see from the photo. The Twilight jelly arrived okay, so this Christmas release must have moved around more being inside the gift box. This has a fresh melon infusion, watermelon seed oil and lime juice, making a tropical scent, available only at Christmas. I can't wait to try it!

That's it for my Lush Boxing Day Sale Haul! Hopefully these goodies will last me well into the year.

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Review: Oh Deer Sugar Seas The Day Body Wash

 

Hi guys! I'm back on a Monday (woo hoo!) with a Review of the Oh Deer Sugar Seas The Day Shower Moose Body Wash. You may remember I recently bought this along with a few other products in my Another Oh Deer Sugar Haul post. Well since then I've been blue-lathering away like a Smurf, so I thought it was high time (high tide since it's called Seas The Day?) to review this baby.

'A pocket full of sweets, a bottle of homemade lime cordial and you're all set to spend the day at the beach'

I opted for the large pot ($28 for 250ml) but these body washes are also available in a smaller pot ($16 for 100ml). Now this does seem a little exxy, but rest assured the quality of these shower mooses plus the fact they last a good while, in my opinion make it totally worth it. I've been a fan of Oh Deer Sugar ever since they opened up in Adelaide many moons ago. They have since re-located interstate, but thankfully you can order online.

Seas The Day is a gorgeous bright and vibrant blue colour. As soon as you open the pot you are hit with the loveliest beachy, fresh fragrance. It is strong and does linger well after you've lathered your body in the shower. You only need a small amount to clean yourself, and it's as simple as scooping out a small portion then rubbing it into wet skin. The texture foams up a bit and it becomes easier to lather it all around your nude self. It feels lovely and the scent is to die for! These body washes also double as shaving creams, but I haven't used them for that.

My skin is left soft and clean, but best of all, smelling so good. Think lime, yet sweet and beachy fresh. This Seas The Day shower moose in particular is a great pick me up for a morning shower, but that doesn't stop me using it during my late night shower, because there is honestly nothing better than hopping into bed at night, clean and smelling fresh and beachy.

I highly recommend Oh Deer Sugar Seas The Day Shower Moose Body Wash. In all honesty, ODS rarely miss the mark. I've tried many of their different body washes and scrubs over the years, and loved the majority of them.

You can check out the Oh Deer Sugar website here.

Review: al.ive body Earth Collection!

Hi guys! How are you all doing in these uncertain times? Are you getting sick of every sentence ending in 'during these uncertain times' or is that just me? To fill you in, I've been baking a lot of cupcakes, trying to be more active on my Instagram accounts, watching Netflix shows (anyone else enjoying the trash that is Too Hot To Handle?) and we bought some toilet paper off Amazon (exciting! lol) and scored a free month's trial of Amazon Prime Video, so I've been watching a lot of movies too. Another thing I've been doing a lot is washing my hands, so I was thrilled to be sent a hand and body duo recently. It couldn't have come at a better time!

al.ive body is an Aussie brand created by interior designer sisters Alisa and Lysandra. Their hand and body range expertly combines product purity with designer aesthetics to stimulate your senses and shape your surroundings. They believe that being surrounded by beautiful things improves the mood and increases our quality of life. I love this! Lovely products certainly make me feel special and happy. Especially if they look good, smell great, work well and are good for the environment, such as the eco-friendly al.ive body range.

Harnessing the power of essential oils and native botanical extracts, the al.ive body range is naturally derived, 100% palm oil free, vegan and never tested on animals. The products don't contain any SLS/SLES or parabens and are natural and gentle on the skin. The name 'al.ive body' was inspired by the twin sisters passion for environmental causes that help keep the Earth alive and contains the first initials of their names. Clever! The girls also have a tree planting pledge with charity One Tree Planted, where for every product purchased online or via a stockist, they will plant a tree in Australia to help the planet thrive. This is such an amazing and thoughtful initiative! The bottles are 100% recyclable and the sisters will be introducing refill pouches to enable re-use.

I've been trialling the Kaffir Lime & Green Tea Wash & Lotion Duo, which comes in a matching tray, perfect to display on the bathroom vanity. This consists of the Natural Hand & Body Lotion (500ml) and the Natural Hand & Body Wash (500ml). These products smell amazing, so fresh, fruity and zingy. It's just a happy scent! You get a lot of product, so they will last for ages, providing great value for money. Some details on the naturally derived ingredients:

~ Kaffir Lime Leaf Extract is packed with antioxidants and uplifts body and mind

~ Finger Lime Fruit Extract is high in vitamin A & C and improves hydration

~ Green Tea Leaf Extract is detoxifying and has anti-inflammatory properties

The hand wash is a runny texture, but despite this it lathers up really well and provides a satisfying cleanse, leaving my skin feeling clean and refreshed. This doesn't dry my hands out either! These products are so well designed. Despite the wash being a thin consistency, the bottles don't drip or get messy at all. You're just left with the beautiful, smooth, perfectly-interlocking bottles on display! I'd highly recommend this Hand & Body Wash, I'm loving it!

The hand and body lotion is not too thin and not too thick in texture. It smells divine as you rub it in, and it leaves my body feeling soft, moisturised and nourished. It absorbs quickly and doesn't leave any sticky, uncomfortable residue or tacky feeling to the skin. That'a one thing that puts me off using body lotion, but no concerns with that here, thank goodness!

The Earth Collection Wash & Lotion Duo is Alisa and Lysandra's first release, and comes in three beautiful earthy hues. Along with the delicious Kaffir Lime & Green Tea scent, the other fragrances are Fig, Apricot & Sage and Coconut & Wild Orange. What a perfect idea for a Mother's Day gift!

You may be interested in 2020 Golden Globes: Fashion Hits & Misses

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Disclaimer: Products were provided for editorial consideration. Reviews are my honest opinion. There are no affiliate links in this post. Please see the Disclosure page for further information.

Do you like the sound of these products? What are your favourite hand wash scents?

May Empties!

Hi guys! A short and sweet empties post from me today. I only finished seven products last month, but then as soon as we went into June, the empties started piling up, so next month's post will feature a lot more products. In the meantime, here's everything I completed in May.

Batiste Stylist XXL Volume Spray
This is still not as good as my favourite Batiste XXL Volume Dry Shampoo (that they discontinued - boo!) but I'm learning to like it more I guess. I'm settling. I'm still pissed off that I can no longer buy the best volumising dry shampoo I had found on the market though. Can you tell?

Hask Coconut Oil Nourishing Shine Hair Oil
I wish this wasn't so hard to find because I flat out love it! The coconutty fragrance immediately transports me to a tropical island/white sand/blue water/laying on the beach/sipping cocktails type sitch, and it makes my hair look healthy as well. I couldn't find it in-store to repurchase, so I'm trying the Argan Oil Healing Shine one (featured in this Priceline 50% Off Haircare Haul post) instead!

Clinique Youth Surge Age Decelerating Moisturiser
This was a little sample pot that still managed to take me forever to finish. It was nice enough but I've got other moisturisers to get through, so I won't be buying it.

Oh Deer Sugar (Oh) Candy Cane Mint & Coconut Body Scrub
I actually won this in a Giveaway two Christmases ago (eek!) so I thought I better get a wriggle on and use it up! I wasn't a huge fan unfortunately, despite loving most Oh Deer Sugar products. I find their dry scrubs quite harsh on the skin, and much prefer the softer, gentler formula of the Soda Pop creamy scrubs. It did smell minty and fresh though!

Oh Deer Sugar (Oh) Confetti Fawn Jellybean & Popping Candy Shower Moose
The Oh Deer Sugar shower mooses (moose, deer, get it??) are my most favourite line from this brand! I adore the creamy, whipped formula and they are an absolute delight to use. I did enjoy Confetti Fawn but I won't repurchase as I want to try all the fragrance varieties in the range. You can read my thoughts on the lovely fruity Peachy Keen one and the Rose & Passionfruit one in my March Favourites and September Favourites blog posts respectively.

L'Occitane Divine Eye Balm
The L'Occitane store at Westfield Marion was handing out these samples as I was passing by so I thought I'd try them. I haven't tried much from this brand (maybe a hand cream?), and I have a particular interest in eye creams, however I couldn't really form much of an opinion from this tiny sample. The product was fairly thick and moisturising, as you'd expect from a balm.

L'Occitane Divine Eyes
This is a much lighter formula than the Eye Balm and was nice enough, but again I couldn't really test it properly from the sachet sample, as it just lasted a few goes. A good way to make my expensive eye creams last longer, via the use of free samples in the interim though?

So I didn't finish up that many products last month, but blogging about them has inspired me to try harder and I think I'll aim to write an Empties post every month. That way I can actually bin my finished products instead of hanging on to them for a blog post I never end up writing!

You may be interested in my April Beauty Empties post!

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Disclaimer: Reviews are my honest opinion. There are no affiliate links in this post. Please see the Disclosure page for further information.

Have you tried any of these products? 

Review: Harvest Garden Coffee Goodness*!

Hello! Towards the end of last year I was lucky enough to be sent a package of mostly coffee-themed goodies from the lovely people at Harvest Garden. I'd previously tried this all natural brand after enjoying a Harvest Garden Lavender with Washed Australian Blue Clay Soap from the Bloggers United AU Adelaide Event Goody Bag. Soaps, shower gels and scrubs are some of my most favourite beauty products to try, I don't know why, but I've just always been super into them. Harvest Garden pride themselves on making skincare from natural ingredients, with no nasty additives. Today I'll be talking about the Coffee & Salt Soap*, Coffee Body Scrub with Brown Sugar, Cinnamon & Vanilla* and the Peppermint & Matcha Lip Balm.*

Coffee & Salt Soap*

'Ground coffee is a natural exfoliant and helps remove dead skin, while its properties help keep the skin fresh. Coffee can be beneficial in reducing cellulite as well. The massage and exfoliation benefits skin by stimulating blood/lymph flow and the caffeine in the coffee has a tightening effect. The addition of sea salt makes this bar work double time! The salt gives your skin a a deep cleanse by exfoliating dead skin cells and also has antiseptic qualities.'

I've really been enjoying this soap bar, especially because I've always loved exfoliating soaps. For ages I used the exfoliating Dove Beauty Bar and before that a lemon one that was oh-so-scratchy, but right up my alley. This Harvest Garden bar contains sea salt pieces that are quite abrasive, so you have to be careful no to apply too much pressure when soaping yourself. Personally, I love the 'scratchy' feeling as it gives your whole body a lovely massage and a satisfying 'scratching that itch' feeling. This is too harsh to use directly on the face, although it can be used gently on softer areas. I go to town on my thighs and upper arms because its said to reduce cellulite and the caffeine is supposed to tighten the skin, and Lord know I need help in those regions! This is quite a creamy soap that gives a medium lather. Interestingly, the ground coffee helps to eliminate garlic and onion odours, so I'd recommend keeping it in the kitchen for washing your hands after making French Onion Soup or throwing garlic cloves at vampires. The ingredients include sea salt, coffee beans, beeswax and coconut, macadamia nut, sweet almond and extra virgin olive oils.

Harvest Garden also make many other fabulous sounding soaps including Sweet Orange & Cinnamon with Saffron; Rosemary & Tea Tree with Comfrey; Lemongrass, Olive Leaf Extract & Ground Flaxseed and Honey & Oatmeal. You can also buy a Soap Slices Sampler Pack so you can try multiple soaps!

Coffee Body Scrub with Brown Sugar, Cinnamon & Vanilla*

'Refreshingly sweet and spicy and packed full of botanical extracts, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Designed to tighten and tone your skin, buff away dead skin cells, draw out impurities and leave your skin soft and glowing.'

I must admit, after ripping open the top of the packet, I had a bit of difficulty opening the seal on this, but it may just have been my lack of upper body strength/general ineptitude! The good news is that it seals well, meaning no product will spill out and get wasted. The first thing that hits you is an overwhelmingly delicious and strong coffee scent! This scrub is a deep dark brown and it's packed in there like the way brown sugar sits in the packet; all stuck together but soft and malleable. It's quite a moist mixture and there's a combination of smaller and larger scrubby particles. This scrub feels great and smells amazing (it's a really strong coffee aroma, seriously!) and is nowhere near as abrasive as the Coffee & Salt Soap. Afterwards my skin felt so smooth and soft, as well as nourished and super moisturised! When rinsing it off, the water formed little droplets on my skin, as if there was an oily residue, but none could be felt whatsoever. Instead, my skin just felt really clean and healthy, and smelled delicious! The ingredients in this scrub include coffee beans, brown sugar, certified organic raw sugar, sweet almond oil, Vitamin E, cinnamon powder, licorice root extract and Vanilla Oleoresin. If you hit up this page on the Harvest Garden website it tells you what each ingredient does and its benefits.

Other delicious-sounding Harvest Garden scrubs include Coconut Body Polish with Rosehip & Pomegranate and the Matcha Body Scrub with Peppermint, Passionflower & Bamboo.

Peppermint & Matcha Lip Balm*

'This soothing blend of butters and oils moisturises, repairs and protects your lips. Enriched with shea butter for added nourishment, peppermint for its cooling sensation and matcha green tea for its antioxidant benefits.'

Another winner from Harvest Garden! This balm has a strong peppermint scent and is so refreshing and cooling upon application. I've been using it first thing in the morning and last thing at night before going to bed, to keep my lips moisturised overnight. I also love to use it at the start of my makeup routine, to soften and prepare my lips for the lip products that will follow! You could easily wear this out on its own if you're that way inclined, as it has a nice shiny finish with a slight shimmer. I don't know it it's just me, but some lip balms make me cough; I'm pleased to say this balm doesn't trigger any coughing, which is why I love wearing it to bed. The only negative is that the winder no longer winds the product back down, so I have to push it down with my finger after use. But this is a minor quibble and for a balm that only costs $6 and has everything else going for it, I don't really mind. Along with shea butter, matcha green tea and peppermint, this also contains sweet almond oil, macadamia nut oil, Vitamin E and essential oils.

If this flavour doesn't take your fancy, they also make Orange, Ginger & Turmeric; Tinted Rose & Pomegranate and the refreshing-sounding Pink Grapefruit & Passionflower lip balms!

You can buy these products and more from the Harvest Garden website.

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Disclaimer: Products marked * were provided for editorial consideration. Reviews are my honest opinion. Links are for information purposes only and are not affiliates (I don't make any money if you buy using the links). Please see the Disclosure page for further information.

Have you tried any Harvest Garden products and if so, what did you think of them?

Getting Dirty with New Lush Massage Bars!*

Drop everything, because Lush have released a bunch of new Massage Bars! They are self-preserving, packaging free and contain a mix of beneficial essential oils that Lush say will 'soothe, smooth and boost even the prickliest of moods'. How did they know I'd be trying them out on hubby? Hehe.

Lush have sent me 'Dirty' and 'Yes Yes Yes' to try out, because obviously they think I'm due for sexy times. However, the real winner here is my husband, because he gets to relax and be pampered while I massage this goodness into his...... hairy arm (see photo below). He didn't want any other body parts to end up on my blog! LOL.

Dirty unsurprisingly contains Lush's spearmint and herbal Gorilla perfume called Dirty. Fancy that! There's also cocoa powder and the dark brown LUSH circle in the middle is vegan dark chocolate. Sensing a theme? That's right, this baby smells chocolatey and delicious. Other ingredients packed into this bar include Fair Trade Shea Butter, neroli oil, lavender absolute, sandalwood oil and thyme and oakmoss absolutes. This is my favourite of the two bars, because chocolate. As I rubbed the bar over Rob Pattinson, I mean hubby's skin it melted in and the sweet aroma filled the air. His skin was left feeling soft, warm, moisturised and smelling delightful! I've also been using Dirty as a body moisturiser on my arms and chest each morning. It's beautifully soothing, leaves my skin nourished and I enjoy inhaling the chocolatey fragrance that lingers for hours.

Yes Yes Yes is 'made with Lust: our sexiest, sultriest, unadulterated jasmine fragrance' say Lush. Unfortunately jasmine tends trigger bad headaches for me, so I only had a little play with this one, mainly on hubby. It certainly has a strong floral aroma, and contains ylang ylang, organic almond and sandalwood oils, jasmine, vanilla and rose absolutes, as well as Fair Trade organic cocoa and shea butters, which are great for their moisturising properties. I really love how soft and moisturised these bars leave the skin. This is especially good in Winter, when skin becomes drier, quicker.

Other Bars in the new range include From Dusk Till Dawn (Sicilian lemon, orange oil, ginseng, ginkgo, guarana), Percup (coffee beans, coconut, jojoba oil), Shades of Earl Grey (earl grey, lemon oil) and Tender Is The Night (vanilla, shea butter, Murumu butter). These Massage Bars have a tendency to melt, so keep them in a cool place, especially if you've got warm air conditioning or a heater on inside! I keep mine in the fridge.

The Massage Bar range retails between $12.50 - $14.95, with Dirty and Yes Yes Yes for $13.95 each. They are available from Lush, in store and online now.

*Disclaimer: I was sent these products for editorial consideration. All opinions are my own. Please see the Disclosure section for more information.

Joining up to the Monday MakeUp Madness Linky Party at Fabulous And Fun Life!

Will you be indulging in a Lush massage this Winter?

LUSH: New Release Products for 2015!

Newbies, released 8 January 2015!

ALERT! NEW RELEASE LUSH PRODUCTS! 

I was lucky enough to be sent a bunch of new LUSH products to try out. So exciting! These babies will be released on the 8th of January 2015, which isn't long at all. I'm so addicted to Lush it's not even funny. I still have a pre-Christmas haul to blog, and I might have indulged in a spot of soap and shower gel self-gifting at the Adelaide Myer Centre store yesterday (hey, everything I bought was 50% off from the Boxing Day sale, so it doesn't count). Anyway, here's your sneak peek of Lush new release products!

Mangnificent Soap
This is a fruity, predominantly mango soap containing big chunks of fruit! Ripe, juicy and fresh, Mangnificent would be suitable for those who enjoy fruity, zesty aromas instead of earthy, herbal ones. It also contains Sicilian lemon, mandarin and Tunisian neroli oils. There's a blend of fresh and dried mango, and you get a huge hit of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants from the fruit, including vitamins A, E, C, B, potassium and calcium. I found this to be a family-friendly soap that everyone can use, and a perfect start to the day.

Zest Hair Gelly
I'm not a hair gel person, but my husband is! So he got to trial this "self-preserving orangey hair jelly that gives both your hair and mood a boost". The fragrance is a combination of sweet wild orange oil, pettigrain oil from bitter orange tree twigs and neroli oil. The gelly looks quite runny in the pot, and I was wondering how much hold it would have, but apparently the sugar from the orange juice boosts the holding power, and the addition of carrageenan extract from Irish moss seaweed has a thickening effect and gives texture. Hubby said the consistency was like wobbly jelly and it gave his hair a wet look but did hold it in place.

African Paradise Body Conditioner
Ingredients in this in-shower conditioner include Fair Trade shea butter, moringa oil, aloe vera and ylang ylang. Lush utilise sympathetic buying and the ingredients come from SLush funded projects in Africa. I must admit, I've never used a body conditioner before! So my first thoughts after using African Paradise were 'I've just cleaned my skin and now it has a coating on it!'. It's a strange feeling I'm not yet used to, but if you can get past the initial 'coating' feeling, the after-effects are worth it. After I dried myself, my skin was super-soft and left feeling nourished and moisturised, completely eradicating the need for a body moisturiser. Also, the fragrance of this one is beautifully exotic.

D'Fluff Strawberry Shaving Soap
My husband had a go with this first and reported it was really great and I wholeheartedly agree. I love the mousse-like, whipped texture and the strawberry fragrance is fruity and fresh. My skin felt smooth and soothed after use, and smelled sweet and lovely. D'Fluff contains fresh strawberries, coconut oil, corn syrup, maple syrup, rosehip oil, cocoa butter and egg whites to create the fluffy, mousse-like texture. The fragrance contains Fair Trade vanilla absolute, sweet wild orange oil and rose absolute. A great product you can share with your partner, if you're feeling generous!

Granny Takes A Dip Bath Bomb
This multi-coloured bath bomb, inspired by the Purple Gang song 'Granny Takes a Trip', is almost too pretty to use! I can't wait to take a relaxing Dip in the bath and take Granny for a spin. She apparently produces psychedelic swirls of foaming pepper, lemon and ginger-scented bath water. With lemon oil to uplift your mood and ginger and pepper to boost circulation, this product sounds like the bomb!

Parsley Porridge Soap
I appreciate a good multi-tasker; this green solid soap can be used both on the face and body. I love that Parsley Porridge is great for oily, acne-prone skin (that's me!). The thyme and tea tree oil is antibacterial and the fine milled porridge oats deep cleanse and lift dead skin cells while the aloe gel revives and cools. This soap gives a low, creamy lather and quite an earthy, herbal scent, which I'm finding addictive. I'll continue using this solely on my face, because I have plenty of pretty-smelling Lush soaps for my body, and it's my facial skin which will most benefit from a pimple-banishing deep cleanse.


Which new release Lush product takes you fancy?

Disclaimer: All products were provided for consideration. This is a non-sponsored post and all reviews are my honest opinion.

Bath & Unwind Tried and Tested: Korres Holiday In Greece Review

This is the second in my series of reviews as part of Bath & Unwind's Tried and Tested panel. If you missed my first, it was a review of Caudalie Vine Body Butter, which you can read here. I was so excited to receive this Holiday In Greece gift/travel set, because I'd heard so much about Korres, yet never tried the brand for myself.

"Korres is a Greek skincare brand born out of Athens first ever homeopathic pharmacy in 1996. Today the Korres portfolio includes over 400 natural and certified organic products. Our goal is to develop innovative and clinically effective skincare products based on natural active ingredients."

Let's look at what's in this set.....

Korres Holiday In Greece contains:
Guava Body Butter 40mL
Basil Lemon Body Milk 40mL
Basil Lemon Shower Gel 40mL
Guava Shower Gel 40mL
Aloe & Dittany Shampoo 40mL

Guava Body Butter
This beautifully fruity-smelling body butter is luxurious and very rich. You really need minimal product, as a little goes a long way; in fact when I initially applied too much the whiteness of the cream reminded me of sunscreen! It leaves the most gorgeous fragrance on the skin that lingers for hours and instantly hydrates and moisturises. My skin felt nourished, soft and supple. This body butter is most suited to areas of dry or chapped skin. The small size means it's great to pop in your handbag and apply when needed throughout the day. This product was one of my favourites from the set. It contains sunflower, almond and avocado oil, shea butter and quince extract to promote smoothness, elasticity, softening, moisturising and restructuring.

Basil Lemon Shower Gel and Guava Shower Gel
These shower gels are quite lovely, and have somewhat earthy fragrances, which I find appealing. The 40ml bottle size is quite small, and my love of shower gels means I'll be finished these two in no time! I understand it's a gift set intended for travel or as an introduction to the Korres range, but still. The large dispenser hole means I had to be careful not to release too much product, but did make it easy to get it out of the bottle. Both shower gels produce a mid to high lather and left my skin feeling clean and good to go. The Basil Lemon is awesome for a morning shower because the zesty lemon aroma is refreshing and screams WAKE UP! The Guava gel I prefer to use at night, as I love the tropical fruit fragrance on my skin before bed. Both gels contain wheat proteins, aloe leaf juice and active plant extracts and are mineral oil free, silicone free and propylene glycol free.

Aloe & Dittany Shampoo
This was probably my least favourite product from the Holiday In Greece gift set. For starters it's for normal hair, and my hair is anything but normal. I need treatment shampoos for fine hair that will add volume, or I'm left with limp hair that needs a lot of thickening foam prior to blowdrying. Having said that, this smelled good and would be a preferable alternative to hotel shampoo if I was travelling. Who am I kidding, I take my own shampoo and conditioner when I travel. Anyway, if you're not a fine-haired lass, you might enjoy this. It contains dittany, aloe, marjoram and mountain tea extracts and is free from silicone, parabens, mineral oil, propylene glycol, ethanolamine and phthalate fragrances.

Basil Lemon Body Milk
This light lemony body milk is an utter delight. Goes on like a dream, absorbs super-fast and leaves my skin soft and ultra-moisturised. Again, I love the zesty, fresh fragrance (like its shower gel counterpart). Although it absorbs quickly, the body milk sometimes leaves a slight film on the skin, which took a little getting used to, but now I don't notice it. Upon researching the product I learned that the wheat proteins present form a protective film on the skin. Also, its supposed to have a powdery texture (I couldn't tell) and leave a matte finish. AND that hydration levels three hours after application are supposed to be the same as when the product was first applied! Another firm favourite from this set, both for smells and its effectiveness.

Disclaimer: This product was provided by PR for review. This is a non-sponsored post. All opinions are my own.

REVIEW: Lush Therapy Massage Bar

LUSH say: "Therapy is 100% natural and preservative free. Frequent use of this bestselling massage bar through pregnancy can help to reduce stretch marks by increasing the elasticity of the skin. Therapy is a wunder-bar. First, it moisturises with cocoa and shea butters to make your skin softer. Then, it eases your tensions with lavender and neroli oils."

What's In It?
Lush's 100% Certified Organic, Vegan Therapy Massage Bar contains cocoa butter and shea butter which work to moisturise and soften the skin. It also contains lavender oil which is know for its calming and soothing effects (it also helps to ease muscular pain). And the happiest oil of all: Neroli, which is said to have an uplifting effect and induce euphoria! It's an essential oil that relieves stress and stimulates the growth of new healthy cells. And there's some sweet orange oil in there for good measure!

My Thoughts
This massage bar from Lush glides on so smoothly, with the product just melting into my skin. The fragrance is to die for, and I smelled good enough to eat after massaging this puppy in! The cocoa butter evokes a delicious white chocolate aroma which became a bit addictive after the first few goes with this bar. What I loved the most was how moisturised and soft my skin was afterwards. You know that type of soft where you just keep feeling your skin because you can't believe it's really that soft? That's how soft Therapy left my skin.

There are so many ways you can use this product, too. I used it straight after a shower to seal in moisture; on my elbows and knees to soften the skin, on my upper chest to relieve stress and anxiety with the Neroli aroma; on my sons chest before bed to help him sleep; and to massage hubby's back and shoulders! Pregnant women could use it on their baby bump to reduce stretch marks and new Mums could use it to instantly snap their sagging skin back into Supermodel shape. I apologise for that completely unfunny joke. Therapy is good but it probably can't perform miracles!

I'm pretty smitten with Therapy as you can tell, and it's quite hard to find fault with the product. The only thing I can think of is, if your house is warm, the bar can become slightly melty. Not losing-its-shape melty, just if-you-touch-it-the-bar-is-a-bit-moist melty. In this case, I found just popping it in the fridge sorted it out. If we have the heater on, I usually store it in the fridge, which doesn't compromise the integrity of the ingredients. Also, a bumpier design would have been good for a more massagey experience, however I'm just splitting hairs. Therapy is a lovely, pampering, luxurious massage bar with a delicious fragrance, and like many Lush products, I'm a bit addicted!

Disclaimer: This product was provided for review. No money was offered/accepted. This review is my honest opinion.