Birthday Haul

So I am another year older and I have been thoroughly spoiled. I have to give my mother and sister a lot of credit this year, they have amazing taste and picked out the perfect presents for me. These are not all of my presents, I received some of the most thoughtful and sentimental gifts from family and friends and my parents are also taking me to New York in two weeks time. I am a very lucky girl. 

My mother knows my love for anything beauty related all too well. I got a MAC pro palette, a new Glamglow Youth-Mud Tinglexfoliate Treatment, a MAC Lipstick in Shy Girl, the Bobbi Brown Old Hollywood Eye Pallette, a Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Compact in Nude Glow and a Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation in 20 beige.

L-R 1st Row -Vanilla, Naked Lunch, Omega, Brun

2nd Row- Chocolate Brown, Woodwinked, Mulch, Filament

3rd Row - Satin Taupe, Patina, Brule, All That Glitters 

I have wanted a MAC Pro palette for a while now after accumulating so many eyeshadows. 6 of the shadows were given to me with the palette and the rest I de-potted to put them in the palette this morning. I only have three more spaces left in the palette so I am going to keep to the neutral based theme and start a new one when I go to New York with brighter colours.

I was so happy to have been given a new Shy Girl lipstick, it is my all time favourite MAC shade, but I lost mine a few months ago. This shade is like gold dust, I never seem to find it when I visit a MAC counter, but as a new one has just opened near me my mum managed to get her hands on it. Thankfully I also got a new pot of the Glam Glow Youth Mud treatment. I am almost done with the own I currently own and have been using it sparingly as my bank account can't cope with the price tag. 

I have been eyeing up the latest palette from Bobbi Brown. The Old Hollywood eye palette has been released for Christmas. I have resisted buying it because, as you probably already know, I have enough far too many neutral palettes. This will be perfect for travelling with as I visit the states a lot and it has all of the colours I will need for day and night. 

I have wanted one of Bobbi Browns shimmer bricks for the longest time now. My mother and sister are also fans of Bobbi Brown and both have one of the shimmer bricks so I used to steal theirs but, now I have one of my very own. I got the limited edition shade in Nude Glow, I love the packaging and the colours are beautiful either on their own or mixed together. 

Finally I have a Chanel Foundation. I have wanted the Vitalumiere Aqua after seeing so many raving reviews on youtube. I haven't used it yet as I need to take it to my local Chanel counter and make sure it is the correct shade, but I am so excited to try this and see if its worth the hype. 

My best friend knows me all two well. She got me a hamper full of Lush goodies and American candy. She spoiled me and even managed to pick up some Lush products I have never tried before. She got me Rose Jam shower gel which smells phenomenal and apparently is also great as a shampoo, Shine So Bright hair balm, Angels Delight soap, Think Pink bath bomb, Tisty Toasty bath bomb and a Magic Wand bubble bar. I haven't used any of the products just yet so my room currently smells amazing. 

Finally I got some more of my favourite hair products, the Macadamia Shampoo, Conditioner and Hair Mask. I have used all of these products before and they are the best hair products I have ever tried. About a year ago I had to cut my hair to shoulder length because apparently bleaching, sea salt and no heat protection causes a great deal of damage to your hair (go figure). Lets just say short hair does not suit me and now I am very over protective with mine. These are the salon sized bottles and last me about a year, so they are a great investment. 

Beat Winter Skin

Its getting to that time of year when the leave begin to change, Jumpers become your best friend and Winter is just around the corner. I love many things about Autumn, bundling up with a hot chocolate, walks through the fallen leaves and the smell of bonfires in the evenings. There are many things about the season that bring a smile to my face, except for one thing... dry skin. Like most people, my skin takes a toll when the weather starts to get colder.  My skin becomes flakey, cracked and very de-hydrated which can become rather uncomfortable after a while. I have tried many products beat dry skin in the Winter and I think I have finally found the products that work best for me. 

Lush is definitely my favourite store when it comes to skincare. I especially love their Christmas collection which I will be checking out next weekend! I love Lush for many reasons, not just for the fact they are against animal testing and most of their products are vegan, but they work better than most of the expensive brands i've tried and they have instant pay off. I have a huge stash of Lush products, but these four are the stars of my collection when it comes to surviving the cooler months. 

I always start off my skin care routine with Ocean Salt. This little tub is probably my new favourite product from Lush. I purchased this while I was in Chicago a few weeks ago and it has made a huge difference to my skin. This is an exfoliating scrub that can be used for your body and your face, it has a very gritty texture that is great for removing all the dead skin cells from your nose to the bottoms of your feet. It has a mixture of both fine and coarse sea salt, fresh grapefruit, vodka infused lime, avocado butter, extra virgin coconut oil, lime oil and seaweed. All of these ingredients are brilliant for brightening and softening the skin while the vodka infused lime helps tighten your skin. You will notice a big difference in your skin after the first use as it has an instant pay off.  Your skin is left feeling invigorated, super soft and the scent leaves your shower smelling like a fresh margarita - which i'm not going to complain about! 

A few times a week I will follow my body scrub with Ro's Argan Body Conditioner. After exfoliating I turn off my shower water and generously coat this over my entire body. Like the name suggests its a conditioner, like what you'll use of your hair, expect this is for your body. It has super hydrating ingredients like Almond Oil, Brazil Nut Oil, Shea Butter, Argan Oil, Cupuacu Oil, Cocoa Butter and Rose Oil. When you rinse it off and you skin has absorbed all of the oils, your skin is left feeling soft, subtle and very hydrated. It has a lovely scent of roses which lingers on your skin for the rest of the day.

Dream Cream is my all time favourite body lotion. It is a light, fast absorbing lotion that has seriously helped relieve my dry skin throughout the last few years. It is one of those great all rounders that can be used on even sensitive skin types. It has a great cooling effect that really helps my skin when it becomes irritated or itchy when it is really dry and cracked. It has ingredients similar to Ro's Argan body conditioner like organic extra virgin olive oil, cocoa butter, rose water and oat milk making them work really well when used together. I use this every single day after I shower and it has even gotten rid off those annoying little bumps a lot of people can get on the back of their arms.

My lips have always taken a beating when during the Winter months, I have been through hundreds of lip balms but nothing has worked as well as the Popcorn Lip Scrub. I got this for Christmas last year and I was so excited to find that Lush have brought it back for this Christmas too. You simply dab your finger into the product, scrub it on your lips, lick off the excess and you're left with smooth lips. It only has six simple ingredients in it, Castor Sugar, Jojoba Oil, Sea Salt, Polenta, Coconut Oil and Popping Candy which makes the scrub edible and it also tastes really good.  

My top 5 favourite Lush products

I love Lush and everything it stands for. They are against animal testing, they use only ingredients that are vegetarian and are good for you skin and they try to be as environmentally friendly as they can. I think its brilliant that Lush as a company have so many values, when I buy products from them I know that they are 100% animal friendly, they have been made fresh in store and i'm buying products that my skin is going to benefit from. Best of all the products work a charm! 

Earlier this year my skin care routine used to be entirely Lush products, I saw a big improvement in my skin and I loved using them until I started getting painful breakouts under my skin. I assumed it was the Lush products as I had changed up my skin care routine completely and stopped using them. It wasn't until recently I realised that it was actually my birth control causing these break outs - not my Lush products! So I have started to use them again and I am loving them again.

I love a lot of the products Lush make, they have a very large range of products but everything is made so well and with ingredients your skin is going to love. I couldn't include all of my favourite Lush products in this post because it would never end, but I just about managed to pick out my top 5 that I wanted to share with you all.

Dream Cream

Dream Cream is probably one of Lush's most popular products. I use this body lotion right after I get out of the shower and before I get into bed. It makes my skin silky smooth and you know those little lumps you can get on the back of your arms? Yup, mine have gone since I have been using this! I really like the consistency of the product, it sinks in quickly so you can slather this on and put clothes on without having to wait for it to dry and it smells heavenly. This is also brilliant for anyone suffering with eczema, quite a few people have told me that this helps clears it up pretty quickly as its very calming. 

Ro's Argon Body Conditioner

I fell in love with this product after using it for the first time last year. Ro's Argon Body Conditioner does what is says on the tub, its like a conditioner for your hair but you use this on your body. When i'm feeling like I need a bit of a pampering or my skin isn't feeling its best I give my body a good scrub with an exfoliating scrub, turn the shower down and massage this all over my body. It has Argon oil in it that is a great source of Vitamin E, so when you wash this off your skin it feels baby soft and incredibly moisturised. The great thing about this product is that it is vegan and it also has a light scent of roses and vanilla which lasts all day long. 

Eau Roma Water

I like to use this product two different ways - After I cleanse I like to spritz a bit of this on to a cotton wool pad to remove any excess dirt or makeup from my face and its a great little refresher throughout the day. Eau Roma Water is a gentle facial toner that is very refreshing and calming. It has lavender and rose water ingredients that help to keep the skin hydrated without causing it to overreact, so this is great if you have sensitive skin! Sometimes during the day my skin needs a quick pick me up, so I spritz a bit of this all over my face and I am good to go. 

9 to 5 Cleansing Lotion

I don't use this cleanser every single day, but this is perfect if I am in a rush. Like I have said before, I am not a morning person. Sometimes I wakeup a little late for work and I don't have time to wash my face or start my entire morning skincare routine. The 9 to 5 cleanser is a life saver for those mornings when i'm in a hurry. I use a cotton pad to smooth this all over my face and any traces of my night treatments or oil and grease are gone. It has a very light formula that leaves your skin feeling refreshed and it smells lovely. 

Popcorn Lip Scrub

I don't know where I would be with out this miracle worker. The lip scrubs  from Lush are all amazing, they work wonders and they taste yummy. The popcorn flavour that I have is limited edition for Christmas but it lasts for ages, I've had mine since last year and you could barely tell I use this nearly every day. You simply use your finger to massage the scrub over the lips to keep them looking and feeling smooth - the best part is its made from sugar and sea salt, so you can lick it off the excess and it tastes just like popcorn!

What are some of your favourite products from Lush?