QUICK LITTLE LUSH HAUL

Oh Lush! Its been so long and I've bloody missed you! I haven't had a nice soak full of bubbles since July and my skin is feeling unloved. It's been well overdue so Kieran and I took a quick trip to the Lush store in Sheffield to stock up. And even better, I get a little blog post out of it too! So sit back, relax and have a cheeky mooch through what we bought - I say we as Kieran loves Lush just as much as I do!

REASONS I FAIL AS A BEAUTY BLOGGER

Morning campers! Don't you just love beauty bloggers! They are so glamorous! Their Instagram's are perfectly themed, their make up is enviable and I bet they even have a hoard of birds that come in every morning to dress them whilst they chirp a catchy theme tune. Just kidding! But still there is a stereotypical template for beauty bloggers, one of which I definitely do not fit into! So here is - a slightly tongue in cheek! - list of why I completely fail as a beauty blogger!

JULY BEAUTY FAVOURITES

Morning campers! Oh I've missed beauty posts! I've missed a lot of things that aren't to do with the growing a little human inside me and this is my first ever "favourites" post too! Although I'm only just getting back into the swing of blogging after a hefty amount of time off here our my favourites from this month.

MAC SPLURGE: STUDIO TECH FOUNDATION & SELECT MOISTURECOVER CONCEALER

Every now and again it's always nice to have a cheeky splurge on some new make up! So as soon as I started having to scrape my foundation out of the bottle I was straight out the door and heading for MAC for my foundation fix! I also picked up a little something extra and came home with MAC Studio Tech Foundation and MAC Moisturecover Concealer.

#LUSHSPRING EVENT @ LUSH SHEFFIELD

Every Lush fan knows that when it comes to seasonal goods, Lush knocks it out of the park! There have been some fab additions this year and as much as I love their Christmas collection, I'm a sucker for a sweet, candy sort of smell so I was really looking forward to their Spring collection! Naturally I got ridiculously excited when I got an invite to Lush @ Sheffield's Spring event this week!

TRESEMME BEAUTY FULL VOLUME REVERSE SYSTEM - IS IT WORTH THE HYPE?

It's been pretty hard to avoid the hype surrounding Tresemme's Beauty Full Volume Reverse System. From TV advertisements to big name bloggers EVERYONE is talking about this product. Most of us have probably heard about the whole "reverse washing" technique - where you condition before you shampoo to boost volume - and now a product has been brought to the shelves of high street stores everyone is going crazy and rightly so! Who doesn't want shiny and voluminous hair!

BEAUTY BLOGGER AWARD TAG

Morning campers! We have 2 days until we move house and MY GOD am I missing blogging! Thankfully the lovely Jenny for Born to Blend has tagged me in her Beauty Blogger Award post! EEEK! I love a good tag post! So, on with the show!

A NEW LOVE FOR LUSH

I have always loved Lush but like most of the Lush lovers out there I rarely ventured outside of the fizzy, sparkly, bubbly bombs and bars. This all changed thanks to a cracking Christmas event at their Sheffield store.

A NECESSITY ACCESSORY: POPBANDS LONDON

Oh January! The month in which at least half of the UK population develops post Christmas motivation and promises themselves they will look like their dream celebrity in 6 months time. I am no stranger from this group who descend upon the gym in search of Victoria Secret models stomach and J-Lo's booty.

NEW YEAR, NEW SKINCARE

Last year I invested in my first proper skin care kit from Clinique. The little taster kit was meant to last 4 weeks but ended up lasting me 3 months! After a few weeks without it waiting for a pre Christmas pay day I finally topped up my stock! 

WHAT I GOT FOR CHRISTMAS...

I'm a little late to the party on the "what I got for Christmas" front but better late than never!
I just had so many lovely things I couldn't put it ALL into a post and I felt a little mean choosing some presents but not others. But after reading everyone else's it got me so excited...I've changed my mind!

So these are a few of the highlights from my MASSIVE Christmas stocking!

THE BEST AND THE WORST 2015

I can't believe we are at the end of 2015! - My little blog is only 6 months old and still slowly growing. Over this time I've had some fab opportunities and tested out some great products. I've also discovered lots of new products that I've fallen in love with.

As we get ready to raise a glass and enter 2016 I thought I would take this opportunity to let you all know my favourite products and pieces from this year - and some that won't be coming into the new year with me!

#BLOGMAS: A VERY MERRY LUSH EVENT

On Thursday I had the pleasure of being invited to an exclusive event at Lush in Sheffield to take a look around their shop and get a real personalised experience - which as anyone who has been into Lush knows, it is a little difficult to do this during the day!

I was ridiculously excited - I couldn't actually contain myself which was slightly embarrassing as I don't think I stopped smiling or talking for the whole 2 hours! - and when we arrived it was like walking into heaven! No exaggeration! We were fully pampered and went home with the best goody bag ever! 

#BLOGMAS: A GIFT GUIDE FOR MAKE UP BRUSHES

Let's face it. Every girl is a sucker for that soft stroke....of new make up brushes!

This is why we have so many! Also partly because it means we can get away with cleaning our brushes less often.

Last night, Kieran and I were mooching through gift guides together because although big presents are easy it's the little stocking fillers that he struggles with. I started reeling off brands and shades and his face started to go a little bit pale, so I tried to think of something stress free but still something that would be handy - and then it clicked, make up brushes!

THE BODYSHOP CHRISTMAS HAUL

Last weekend I attended a fabulous Christmas event hosted by The Bodyshop in Meadowhall - you can catch up with the original post here! - and can safely say my bank balance isn't my biggest fan because of it.

I haven't shopped at The Bodyshop since I was around 13 (remember that vanilla musk body spritz anyone!?) and I have definitely been missing out! There were so many products that I wanted to get at this event that it was hard to chose only a few. Eventually I dwindled down my options and bought all of these lovely goodies.

THE BODYSHOP MEADOWHALL CHRISTMAS EVENT 2015

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in Sheffield and to celebrate The Bodyshop at the Meadowhall shopping centre invited us local bloggers to come and have a mooch about.

Christmas is my favourite time of year - My family and friends like to refer to me as "Elf" because as soon as November hits I am all things Christmassy - and I love nothing better than to nose around at the Christmas-ness of shops! So as you can imagine, I was pretty much in my element!

LUSH CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY!

Hey guys! 

When I first started this blog just under 6 months ago I just wanted to jabber on about various bits and bobs in life that were just too long/complicated/not universally acceptable on Facebook - Not a lot has changed really (ha!) except for the amount of followers on Twitter. 

This week I reached 500 followers on Twitter and I was pretty damn chuffed with myself! 

So in celebration of this, I have put a few little festive goodies together to do a little giveaway and say a big thank you to everyone!

SMASHBOX SHAPE MATTERS PALETTE - REVIEW

Hey everyone! It's been just over a week since I last blogged and an absolute age since I've done a beauty related post - partially because I've been too busy to do anything apart from walk the dog, cook the dinner and then sleep and also because the light is shocking and taking photo's in the week is just not happening!

After pining for the Smashbox Contour Kit for months I was getting ready to add it to my Christmas list - until this little beauty, the Smashbox Shape Matters palette was on offer in Boots. It contains the same highlight and contour as well as an additional 2 shades. It also has a selection of shadows and brow fillers.

4 WEEK CHALLENGE - CLINIQUE ANTI BLEMISH SOLUTIONS - THE RESULTS

For the last month I have been trialing the Clinique Anti Blemish Solution - you can find the original post here - in the search for the perfect, glowing, make up free face.

Clinique have said that this solution will transform your skin with daily use in 4 weeks, so my dry/sensitive/break out prone skin and I decided to give it a go. 

LUSH WISHLIST - WHAT'S IN MY BASKET?

The festive time of year is not so slowly creeping upon us and you know what that means!

Apart from the toffee apple, mince pies and copious amounts of guilt free chocolate to look forward to, it also means Lush getting a little bit festive.

As I've been quite busy the past few weeks I haven't had chance to nip into Lush and have a mooch for myself so I've been forced to use the website...DUM DUM DUUUMH.