Christmas 2022

 

Hi guys! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! We went to a local hotel for Christmas lunch with my Dad this year. Great for me, because I didn't have to cook haha. I tried to get a bit more Christmassy this year, but just with decorations around the house, not with baking, after this disaster. Mind you, I never put up any decorations other than the Tree, so I definitely didn't go over-the-top. This was the first year I put lights on the Christmas Tree though, so go me!

Here are some pics from our Christmas Lunch, which was was a set menu.

Another thing we did this year was walk around our local neighbourhood at night checking out the Christmas lights. Here's the best decorated house we saw on our adventures!

And Christmas Day wouldn't be complete without presents! Here's a pic of our 15 year old son's gifts as hubby and I don't usually get each other anything. Can you spot Pumpkin pretending to be a present?

I changed my mind about baking and made some Rocky Road after all. I just couldn't resist! However, part of my melted chocolate seized up again. So disappointed! I honestly don't know what I'm doing wrong (this also happened the last time I attempted to melt chocolate in the microwave). I changed the bowl, spoon, type of chocolate and made sure everything was super dry. The only thing that's different is we bought a new microwave. Anyway I made the Rocky Road with partly seized chocolate and it seemed to work, although it was much harder to mix the ingredients together.

I also bought some meringue nests, whipped some cream, cut up some berries and assembled little fruit meringue nest thingies. The only treat I've made lately that's actually turned out! Probably because of my minimal input haha.

Obviously we watched a couple of Christmas movies, because when else are you going to watch them, if not at Christmas time? I'd like to also watch Die Hard, Bad Santa and How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Here's what we've seen so far...

I hope you all enjoyed Christmas and are having a lovely break!

Ho Ho Ho! It's the LUSH Christmas Range!

Can you believe it's December already? Christmas is nearly upon us, which means it's time to get your festive shopping done (although I usually don't start until the week of Christmas, because I'm the queen of disorganization). The only festive item I buy before December is my beauty advent calendar. This year Lush released their Christmas range early, on October 5, so you may have already seen these goodies in-store. The collection will be available until December 24, so make sure you pop in to pick up your faves before it's too late! I was kindly sent a box of Lush Christmas products, let's take a look!

Candy Mountain Bubble Bar
This pretty pink and white swirly, sparkly delight combines the best in bathing elements; a sweet, delicious fragrance and lots of bubbles! If you're a fan of girly, pink water in your bubblebath, this fun, glistening triangular peak will be right up your alley. The vanilla scent is super-strong, and reminds me of cult favourite, Snow Fairy. This would be a great stocking stuffer if you had a daughter (although my son is partial to a Candy Mountain bubblebath, let's hope he doesn't mind me sharing that nugget of information!)

Buck's Fizz Body Conditioner (NEW!)
Lush is famous for inventing unique products, and their body conditioners certainly fit that bill! Like a hair conditioner, a body conditioner is designed to leave the skin soft, moisturised and nourished. I love the bright orange colour of Buck's Fizz (a new product!), and the concoction of scents such as fresh grapefruit, Brazillian orange and lime are zingy and delicious. These are scents that wake you up and make your soul sing, so this one's great for use in the morning. This one reminds me of Bubbly Shower Gel, which is one of my favourite Lush shower gels.

Sherbet Dip Bath Bomb (NEW!)
Lemon lovers will adore this citrus-scented yellow, fizzy wonder, which is a new product from Lush this Christmas! This will turn your bath water yellow and green and fill your bathroom with an uplifting, tangy fragrance. Containing grapefruit oil to energize a tired body (after Christmas shopping no doubt!) and Sicilian lemon oil to cleanse, this fizzer goes off. Eat some Wizz Fizz in the bath for the full Sherbet Dip experience!

Santa's Christmas Shower Cream (NEW!)
I much prefer Lush shower gels to their creams, I think it's just a textural thing, but having said that, Santa's Christmas is fun to use and smells like cola, which is great for someone like me who loves both Pepsi Max and Coke No Sugar! Santa's Christmas is a thick, dark pinkish-red cream that lathers nicely and is quite festive, in hue and aroma. As well as the cola smell, it also has a warm, spicy kick from the cinnamon infusion and black pepper oil. It also contains cocoa butter to make your skin soft and a coffee infusion for an energizing boost!

Butterbear Bath Bomb
This cute white polar bear is more subtle than most Lush bath bombs and perfect if you're after a relaxing soak. It's smaller too (and thus cheaper) so it's another great stocking stuffer for your nearest and dearest. Butterbear is dapper AF with his stylish scarf, and contains Fair Trade cocoa butter to soften the skin, along with calming ylang ylang and a warm and creamy vanilla scent that will be sure to elicit a festive smile, even from the Grinch.

Snow Fairy Body Conditioner
Snow Fairy lovers will definitely appreciate this baby pink-coloured body conditioner! This is honestly like being at a fun fair, as one whiff immediately conjures memories of fairy floss and fairground fun as a child! If you're not a fan of sweet scents, maybe give this one a miss, as the Snow Fairy family is notorious for its rich, sweet aroma. Prepare thyself for the plethora of delicious ingredients in this baby though: candy floss water, cherry infusion, mango butter, avocado butter, organic jojoba oil and cocoa butter. Bliss!

Luxury Lush Pud Bath Bomb
This one is too pretty to use, and I'm going to save it for closer to Christmas. With its bright pink base and colourful spots, it reportedly releases a rainbow of colours into the tub, turning your bathwater into a kaleidoscope of gorgeous hues (check out the Lush video of its release into the water here, so you know what I mean). With a sophisticated aroma of warm tonka absolute, calming lavender, uplifting ylang ylang oil and comforting benzoin resinoid (what, now?), this is one designed to rest your body and mind and lift your spirits, so you'll be ready for another day of Christmas shopping!

Santa Baby Lip Scrub
I love a good lip scrub, and Santa Baby hits the nail on the head. It's a bright, festive red colour, and has the familiar cola scent that belongs to the Lush Santa Baby family of products. I could honestly inhale this delicious fragrance all day... but onto other aspects of this lip product. This contains scrubby caster sugar to exfoliate dry skin and jojoba and extra virgin coconut oils to soften your lips and make them mistletoe-ready. Lime oil is in there along with black pepper oil to add spice and a little invigorating tingle!

The Magic Of Christmas Reusable Bubble Bar
Aah, these Lush bubble bar wands are so fun! The sparkly stars on a stick never fail to make me smile. I've loved using the pink Magic Wand one last year, so I can't wait to use The Magic Of Christmas. This orange sparkler with gold glitter combines some interesting fragrances, and is probably best used by the adults in the family, given the addition of punchy, spicy cinnamon leaf, Fair Trade organic clove to stimulate the skin and boost circulation and almond essential oil. This smells hot and spicy, so I think it will make an interesting bathing experience!

Sugar Plum Fairy Lip Tint
I was so excited to receive this, because Sugar Plum Fairy Lip Scrub is my all-time favourite lip scrub from Lush, the scent is to die for! This still has that gorgeous familiar Sugar Plum Fairy scent, but it's quite subtle, so I'll instead address this as a lip tint. It applies as a super-pretty magenta coloured tint, that can be built up and has great lasting power. The formula is smooth and so pleasant; it feels really nice going on, and feels soft and moisturising on the lips. It contains Kalahari melon and organic jojoba oils to nourish and moisturise the lips, and has sweet wild orange oil to produce a delicious scent. I love this lip tint!


You can shop the LUSH Christmas range until December 24 in-store on online here.

You may be interested in LUSHoween: It's Lush Halloween!

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Disclaimer: All 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.

What's your favourite product from the Lush Christmas range?

Lush 2016 Christmas Collection!

I can't believe it's December already! The last few months have flown by for me; one minute it was Halloween, then suddenly the festive season hits and there are Christmas Trees and sparkly decorations everywhere you look! I'm no Grinch though, I love Christmas for it means quality time with my family, great food and wine, and watching Mr 9 rip open his presents, which is probably my favourite part.

Lush have delivered again this year, with a bangin' collection of festive treats to get you in the party mood, if the eggnog alone isn't cutting it. I was kindly sent a bunch of fragrant goodies from the Lush 2016 Christmas Collection, so grab some Punch, unwrap a Candy Cane and get ready to add a few things to your shopping list!

Snow Angel Bath Melt*

'Blanket your bath in a flurry of white foam before revealing a shimmering golden glow. Treat your skin to a softening marzipan and floral scented soak.'

I used a white and gold Snow Angel during the last school holidays at our little Retreat, in the spa bath, and it was an amazingly relaxing experience. The fragrance is quite subtle though, so this is good if you don't like overpowering scents, but not so good if you like your Lush bath to pack a punch! This melt contains lots of fair trade cocoa butter to moisturise the skin, and Cassie Absolute, Rose Absolute and Benzoin Absolute as well as Gardenia extract to give a floral fragrance. The best part is getting out of the bath covered in shimmering gold glitter!

Peeping Santa Bubble Bar*

'Santa may use his dairy-free chocolate eyes to see who's been naughty or nice come Christmas, but, at this time of year, he also looks out for the perfect batch of hand-churned shea butter. Nipping over to Ghana, he visits the Ojoba women's cooperative, who crack and churn the shea pods into a rich, chocolatey butter. Blended with Fair Trade, organic cocoa butter, this indulgent combination is sandwiched between fragrant bergamot and geranium oils. Crumble under running water for sack loads of fruity bubbles.'

Yes that was a long quote, but I had to share the story behind the origins of Peeping Santa, as it highlights Lush's commitment to ethical practices. Not only are all Lush products cruelty-free, they also practice ethical buying, where they only buy from suppliers who provide a safe working environment, work to preserve endangered plants and animals and don't condone animal testing. So you can relax in the knowledge that if you pick up a Peeping Santa this Christmas, you're supporting a company that's actively working to preserve the planet!

Magic Wand Reusable Bubble Bar*

'Wave a magic wand over bath time. Snow fairies of all ages will love swishing this candy sweet magic wand around the bath to turn the water pink and create clouds of candy floss bubbles.'

If you don't 'get' the hype surrounding Lush products, then seriously, go get yourself a Magic Wand. This is a pink star, covered in silver glitter, perched on a stick (perfect for waving and casting love spells, lol) with a god-damn silver bow and bell on it. Then consider yourself converted. This is a reusable product too, you just have to leave it out to dry afterwards, so the fun quotient is multiplied. Lovers of cult favourite Snow Fairy will appreciate the sweet candy floss scent and pink fans will rejoice at the girly bubbles and pink water, although my nine year old son is also a superfan! This would make the perfect gift for Lush fans young and old, it's more fun than Lush FUN itself, I reckon!

Sugar Plum Fairy Lip Scrub*

'Caster sugar for en pointe pouts.'

This is the most delicious smelling lip scrub, in my opinion even better than the bright red Lush Santa Baby Lip Scrub, which I absolutely love. Lip Scrubs are not a necessity for me because I use a lot of lip balm, instead they are purely a product I use for fun. The sweet caster sugar exfoliates your lips, leaving them soft and smooth, but for me Sugar Plum Fairy is all about the taste! The minute I smelled this at the Lush Rundle Mall Store Re-Opening Event I fell in love. It's a gorgeous purple lustre colour, contains sweet wild orange oil and organic jojoba oil and the dominant flavour is juicy blackcurrants. I'd highly recommend getting in-store and giving this a whiff!

Bubbly Shower Gel*

'A bucks fizz breakfast boost packed full of sweet orange oil and fresh grape juice to help your morning go off with a bang, or should that be pop.'

I don't know how Lush continually nail amazing scent creations, but the orange-hued Bubbly is another surefire winner for me! I love fruity, particularly citrusy aromas, and Bubbly is a delicious cocktail of lime oil, sweet wild orange oil, vine leaf infusion and fresh grape juice. This is quite the celebratory shower gel, lathering well and leaving me with soft and gorgeously-fragranced skin. If Christmas isn't the time for Bubbly, I don't know what is!

Christingle Body Conditioner*

'Invigorating peppermint oil and menthol crystals take your skin straight to the top of the tingles chart.'

If you like fresh, minty scents, you will love the pretty turquoise-hued Christingle. Body Conditioners take a little getting used to, and if you're new to the concept, here's how it works: basically, as a last step in the shower, smooth some conditioner onto your wet skin and rub it around, then simply rinse it off and be left with a beautifully soft, nourished and moisturised body! You can totally skip the body moisturiser, because you won't need it. I love this product! The invigorating scent comprising spearmint, grapefruit, organic jojoba and peppermint oils and murumuru and Fair Trade Shea Butters is crisp, fresh and uplifting and the formula is so hydrating. Tingly goodness!

You may also like Lush Adelaide Grand Opening Media Preview Event

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

Have you done your Christmas shopping? I haven't even started!

Get Festive with Lush This Christmas!

It's only a few weeks until Christmas! Have you started your shopping, or do you leave it until the last minute like me? Our Tree is going up this weekend, we went to our first ever Christmas Pageant recently and Mr. 8 is marking off the days on the calendar (I really should get him a proper Advent Calendar, lol). But more importantly, get excited because limited edition Lush Christmas products are now available! I was lucky enough to receive a box of Lush Christmas goodies* from the 2015 range, let's have a look inside.....

I was delighted to see that everything came wrapped in a It's Christmas Deer Knot Wrap, although my design, pictured above,  was slightly different from the one featured on the Lush website (more deer, less stocking). It's a lovely silky Greenspun fabric that was actually made from two recycled 500ml plastic bottles. These can be used as eco-friendly gift wrap, worn as a headband or knotted up to make a little carry bag!

Next up is Snow Fairy Shower Gel a cult Lush Christmas product. It's a super-sweet pink sparkly fairyfloss-scented gel that's just flat-out fun to use. The musky sweetness can be a bit much, but if you're into that, you'll enjoy Snow Fairy. My son loves using this in the shower and bath as he's a huge fan of the scent. His skin is always so soft afterwards! I've reviewed it before here.

I loved the Shoot For The Stars Bath Bomb! Running this little beauty under hot water provided a myriad of colours, as the water started off light blue, then pretty pink was released from the centre, turning the water dark blue, purple then a midnight blue/almost black hue! Then, when I got into the bath, I noticed a ton of tiny sparkly glitter particles! This was the most relaxing, mesmerizing and joyful bath I've ever had I reckon! It felt magical to be laying in practically black water containing so many shimmery glitter bits swirling around me, like stars in the night sky. I would highly recommend picking one up if you're a bath bomb lover!

So I'm not sure how much use I'll get out of the Fairy Dust Dusting Powder but let's talk about it anyway! This is a pale pink, glittery body dust that basically just makes you sparkle. I guess it would be great if you went to music festivals or nightclubs, but I don't. LOL. It produces a pretty silver shimmer that's eye-catching in the light, and the subtle scent is nice. Here's what Lush say about it:

"All you need is lustre, trust and a little Fairy Dust. Sprinkle this sweet, sparkling pink dust over skin to stay fresh for great big adventures. For dreams that take you past the second star to the right and straight on ‘till morning, you can use it to candy-coat bedsheets too."

I adore the deep red colour of Santa's Belly Shower Jelly and the addition of glitter and little stars make it extra festive! This wibbly-wobbly jelly is a dome of fun. Just try not to play with it (it's impossible, lol). Despite being wobbly, it's a firm mould that stays together when you cleanse with it, producing a thick pink lather that smells of apples! It contains vegan mulled wine, apple juice and star anise infusion. I've changed the way I use these Lush jellies; I used to break off a piece, but found that this wasted product as it often slipped to the floor. Now I use the whole thing to cleanse with, it's actually much easier and harder to drop! These are great value for money; my other one, the Whoosh jelly, is lasting me forever, and I've still barely made a dent in Santa's Belly.

My picks of the bunch are Santa's Belly Shower Jelly and Shoot For The Stars Bath Bomb. Such fun products!

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Disclaimer: All 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.


Will you be picking up anything from Lush this month?

I'm linking up to the Fabulous And Fun Life Monday Makeup Madness Linky Party!

Wordless Wednesday: 2015 Credit Union Christmas Pageant!

Last Saturday, we took Mr 8 to his first ever Credit Union Christmas Pageant. He's never expressed a desire to go before, and he still didn't this year, but I wanted him to experience it at least once. We stayed at the Mantra Hindmarsh Square Friday and Saturday nights, the perfect location as it was right along the Pageant route. I looked out of our hotel window at 5:48am Saturday morning and there were already people filling up the front row! Hardcore! We got down there about 7:30am and still managed to score a good position. I thought waiting two hours for the festivities to begin would suck, but Zach loved drawing on the road with chalk (an annual tradition, apparently), there was a park to play in a few steps away and anytime we needed to do a wee, the hotel room was one minute away!

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