Sunday, December 28, 2014

Movie Review: PADDINGTON




Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Nicole Kidman, Peter Capaldi, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, voice of Ben Whishaw.
Genre: Family/Comedy


Today we took Mr. 7 to see PADDINGTON. He found the movie trailer hilarious and I thought it was rather cute, so I engaged mission 'win tickets to Paddington', which thankfully, was successful!

This family movie was delightful from start to finish. It's very funny in parts, but also carries a level of charm and emotion throughout. I was mightily impressed by the artistic quality of the film. Every frame looked beautiful, and it was a visually rich and stunning experience.

The story was engaging, Paddington was endearing and Nicole Kidman was certainly evil as the Taxidermist. Doctor Who fans will notice Peter Capaldi is in this, and my keen-eyed son kept saying "he looks a LOT like Doctor Who!" which elicited many chuckles from fellow cinegoers. This is a wonderful film for all ages, and I'm pretty sure my husband and I loved it as much as my son. Paddingon is still in cinemas, so go catch this red hat wearing, marmalade-loving bear while you still can. You won't be disappointed!




Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Furless Punk Mani!


Hey everyone! I can't believe how busy I've been this month! I've been run off my feet, hence the lack of blog posts. I've also just returned from a family holiday in Victor Harbor, which was also busy as we packed a shitload of activities into each day. I think I'm actually more stuffed than before I left!

Anyway I wanted my nails to look nice for Christmas Day, and Furless kindly sent me Punk to complete my Furless Grunge collection of lacquers, so here it is! It went on super-easily and I've just used the one coat. The bottom photo was taken in daylight (as opposed to inside) and you can see how beautiful the colour is. I really need to stop being a total vampire and take more photos outside!

I hope you're all enjoying the holidays. Merry Christmas!! xx

Dark purple, sexy Punk

Looks quite gothic!

Glossy finish without a top coat

Outside, looking hot against our red car!

Disclaimer: Furless Punk nail lacquer was provided for consideration. This is a non-sponsored post and all opinions are my own.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Celebrate Christmas Cruelty-Free with Lush!



Limited Edition Lush Christmas goodies!

If you're an animal lover you probably already know that Lush are a Cruelty-free company. They have a long history of Fighting Animal Testing and they only source their ingredients from companies that do not commission tests on animals and that respect the environment. A few other ways in which Lush demonstrate strong ethics include:

* environmentally-friendly packaging, including 'Naked' packaging, where the customer can choose no wrapping at all on suitable products.
* charitable giving, for instance 100% of the money raised through Charity Pots sales goes to animal protection, human rights and environmental charities and grassroots organisations.
* ethical buying and a strict stance on animal testing
* campaigning for animal rights, human rights and environmental causes such as Anti-Shark Culling, marriage equality and the rights of asylum seekers.


All products are handmade locally in Lush kitchens with the freshest of ingredients. I'm a huge Lush fan, and it's reassuring to know that whether you're stocking up on the Limited Edition Christmas range for yourself this Christmas, or buying gifts for friends, you'll be supporting an ethical, cruelty-free brand. Here are some Lush goodies from the Christmas range Lush kindly sent to me.....

The one in the book looks perfect

Snowman FUN*
We've used the individual FUN colours before, but this Christmas creation is triple the FUN! For the uninitiated, FUN is a bubbler with multiple uses; as a soap, shampoo or bubblebath. It's especially great for kids, because they can mould it into various shapes and have a play (this also helps with making bath-time fun!). And boy, did my little man have fun playing with this!? (Yes). I think his exact words were "I'm having TOO much fun, Mummy!". He started off by making a terrifying nightmare-inducing snowman with the white, orange and black mouldable soaps. Then he washed with it, turning his skin orange. But it's soap so it lathers mildly and washes right off, leaving him smelling amazing (the ingredients include buchu, bergamot and Sicilian lemon essential oils). Needless to say the Snowman FUN was a big hit with my son. And continues to be (I store the remaining product in a snaplock Glad bag).

Pretty rosy pink goodness


Rose Jam Shower Gel*
My most favourite Lush products, generally speaking, are their soaps and shower gels. Rose Jam is in equal first position with Happy Hippy, in my opinion. The aroma of Rose Jam is just divine. It's girly, floral and so pretty. The rosy scent is uplifting, but there's also lemon, geranium oil, vanilla, goji berry and Turkish rose absolute. Last year I stocked up on Snow Fairy, this year I'm going for the Limited Edition Rose Jam so my soft, clean skin can smell like a bouquet of roses all year long. I've talked about Rose Jam before here.

Model is from Lush Fresh for Christmas book!

Santa Baby Lip Tint*
I'm so up in the air with this bright, bold orangey-red Santa Baby Lip Tint! Last year I thought it was too thick and hard to apply and wear, but this year I'm liking it more. The product is hard in the tin, but is easily picked up on the finger and is best applied over moisturised lips, since it sets matte and is not the most moisturising of formulas. As usual, though, Lush have nailed the scent, in this case a 'cinammon-sweet, cola-flavoured taste of Christmas.' It basically smells exactly like Lush Santa's Lip Scrub, which I love and use weekly. Ingredients include cherries, dates, carrot oil and Fair Trade shea butter.

Cheers!


Celebrate Body Lotion*
I'm loving this more than the calming Lush Dream Cream. Celebrate is 'a sumptuous body lotion with orange, almond oil and lime... and a splash of cognac to get you in the festive mood.' The white cream is rich, fairly thick and although most of it absorbs quickly, I've found the remainder does 'sit' on the skin for a while after application. However it really feels like it's nourishing and moisturising my skin, and the citrusy aroma is to die for. I'm currently applying Celebrate after my nightly shower because I absolutely adore going to bed smelling like a boozy fruit salad and waking up with baby soft skin. But it would be an equally amazing way to start off the day, especially since orange and lime are uplifting scents. Celebrate also contains cocoa butter for hydration. This is just a beautiful body lotion with an addictive scent. Love!

A cult classic!

Snow Fairy Shower Gel*
This is a bit of a cult Lush product, and it's easy to see (or smell!) why. This sparkly pink gel is super-sweet and smells like a mixture of musk lollies and fairy floss. Skin-softening seaweed is a recent addition to the Snow Fairy formula. Possibly too sweet for some, Snow Fairy is mega-hyped in beauty circles and an absolute best seller for Lush. I prefer Happy Hippy and Rose Jam, but this is such a fun, cheerful product, and it leaves me with soft, sweet-smelling skin. Side note - I let my son try it once in the shower and now he asks to use it every time!

Do you have a favourite Lush Christmas product?

*Disclaimer: All products were provided for my consideration. This is not a sponsored post. All reviews are my honest opinion.