Favourites: January 2015

As promised, I'm starting off the year as I mean to go on and am sharing with you today the bits I've been loving this month!  I haven't done a favourites post since...I think it was July 2013.  I don't tend to buy myself bits too often, so I've always worried that I'd just have the same favourites month in month out, but with my mission to clear through my ridiculous stash of bits, I think I should have something different to share with you every month!

Starting with my ultimate favourite for this month - The Body Shop's Almond Body Butter.  I've had this in my stock for a while now, but had been working my way through other body moisturisers.  I can't even begin to say how much I love this body butter - it's super moisturising, but this one smells incredible.  Even though it's just almond, I feel like it smells a smidge like a cherry bakewell because it's also a bit sweet!  But because of all that...I'm absolutely gutted that this seems to have been discontinued.  I can't see it online, and when I asked The Body Shop they told me to check outlet stores and the sale in April - please let me know if you spot it!

The lip balm that I've loved this month is LUSH's Lip Service.  I got it for Christmas from Liam's parents and spoke about it in my LUSH Christmas Haul - I've never tried a lip balm from LUSH before but I really like it!  It smells a bit orangey, but it's not a tangy citrus scent...more of a sweet orange scent.  It's really helped my lips this month - they were seriously dry when I was poorly with the flu!  Revlon's Matte Balm in Sultry has been my lip shade of choice this month.  I have already spoken about it here, so I won't bang on about it again, but it's definitely one that's worth checking out if you're into the whole 90's lip look.

I have a review of this coming up soon, but don't wait for it - you need the Jouer Long Wear Creme Mousse Eyeshadow in your life.  I have the shade Dusk and I hardly wear anything else.  I bought the Maybelline Color Tattoo in On and On Bronze this month to see what the fuss was on that - it's got nothing on Jouer.  I've already got my eye on the rest of the shades, particularly Galaxy and Twilight!

This month, I also picked up my first Illamasqua Cream Pigment in the shade Delirium.  It was in the sale already, but I got an extra 15% off with my birthday discount code!  It's been my contour of choice since I bought it, and I can't see myself switching to anything else anytime soon - it's really long lasting, and creates a beautiful natural shadow on the face because of the grey undertones.  I've been applying it with the Eco Tools Complexion Blending Brush as it's perfect for contouring.  It's paddle shaped which makes it ideal for slipping under the cheekbones, and because the bristles aren't super dense you can easily blend upwards!

What have been your favourites this month?

December Empties: Body Care

It's the final installment for what has turned into a December Empties series!  I've never seen an empties series before, but these empties have gone on long enough now!  I've already started on this months collection!  Throughout 2015 I'm really going to aim to do a monthly empties (if I have any) and a monthly favourites - they're posts I always enjoy reading but never actually managed to do myself!  So onto the last empties: Body Care.

The Body Shop's Chocomania Shower Cream was one I really didn't like the scent of in the bottle.  It is seriously sweet.  I love chocolate, but this is like the most chocolatey fudge cake topped with chocolate brownies, dipped in chocolate sauce served hot and all melted.  It really does smell too much in the bottle.  But, lathered up the scent isn't so intense and it's just really nice.  It's still really sweet and chocolatey, but it is really nice and warming.  I do really quite like it as a bit of a shower treat in the evening!  I actually bought the full size of this as I spotted it in The Body Shop's sale for just £2.

I've spoken about the Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel Back Spray previously here, and Liam and I both really like this product.  If you suffer with body breakouts, this is definitely something that you should try.  This was our second or third bottle, and I will be repurchasing.  I haven't yet though as I'm waiting for it to come onto a three for two offer like it usually does, although it is currently £1 off at the moment at Boots.

The Champneys Overnight Hand Therapy Cream was a real favourite of mine.  I used it most nights before going to bed and found that the scent of it was really relaxing and helped me get a good nights sleep.  I would buy it again, but don't think I'll be buying it anytime soon as I have a ridiculous amount of hand cream stock piled.  But as soon as I've ran out of all of my stock, I'll be adding this back into my collection.

I don't know anybody who doesn't like Soap & Glory.  I love everything that they do and The Righteous Butter is no exception.  This isn't the first tub of this that I've gone through and it might not even be the second or third, and I'm almost positive that I have another one ready to go.  It's super rich, super nourishing and I like to use this straight out of the shower.  It's not too greasy and it doesn't sit on my skin like some body butters do so I feel like I can get straight into bed with it on without feeling sticky.

I imagine I'll be seeing you all again soon with some empties as I'm on a mission to use up some more of the products I've got!  If you didn't see them, you can see my Hair Care Empties, Skin Care Empties and Make Up Empties through the links!

What are your current body favourites?

The Christmas Lush Haul

I feel like I might be the odd one out when I say that I rarely buy from Lush.  Don't get me wrong, I love browsing in there and could happily buy one of everything, but I just find some of it so expensive for what it is that I usually end up leaving with nothing.  I was very spoilt this year at Christmas and amongst all of my other bits and bobs, I ended up with a nice stash of Lush products!

I haven't had chance to try them yet, but I thought I'd show you what I've got!  The Lush sale is on at the moment, and if you are very lucky you might manage to grab something if it catches your eye!  I don't think I got too much of the limited edition stuff though, so that's handy if I decide I want to restock!

First up, I got a bottle of Rose Jam Shower Gel, and a bottle of Happy Hippy Shower Gel.  Rose Jam is one I've heard so much about but never ever tried before.  It is limited edition unfortunately, but you can still try the scent in their Rose Jam Bubbleroon!  I'm not really big on rose scents, but this one is actually really pleasant.  It smells like sweet rose with a sharp floral scent coming from the geranium oil - really nice!  Happy Hippy is also amazing - it's really zesty and it would be perfect for waking you up in the morning!

Snowman Shower Jelly is the cutest thing I've ever seen.  I didn't realise it at first, but in the pot is actually a jelly shaped snowman!  It smells similar to my favourite Lush product The Comforter, but nowhere near as intense.  It's got the blackcurrant the same as The Comforter, but also has lemon and carrot oil.  This one is definitely a seasonal edition, but you might be lucky in the sales!

Sandstone is the one that looks like a frozen chunk of chicken stew, but is actually an exfoliating soap - sorry, but it's all I can think when I look at it!  It's not the most attractive, but it smells insane.  I think it smells a bit like a Lemon Drizzle Cake - sugary, full of citrus scents and for some reason I can smell a kind of buttery scent!

The green dome is the Sugar Scrub Body Scrub.  I'm not sure this is a scent for everybody, but I really love it.  It has scents of ginger, fennel and lavender which I think smells a bit like liquorice or aniseed.  I'm definitely looking forward to trying this!

The pink circle is Jason and the Argan Oil.  It's a solid shampoo!  I've never had a shampoo bar before, so this is another exciting one I'm looking forward to trying.  It has the same scent as Rose Jam, and is said to balance the scalp as well as soften and strengthen hair.

You Snap The Whip is the black square.  It's a charcoal based in-shower body butter and it smells incredible.  Kind of like a sweet and fruity bubblegum!  I'm really trying to up my body moisturising game - this will be perfect for those days that I just want to get out the shower and get straight into bed.  It might even be good in preparation for tanning seeing as it is moisturising and exfoliating.

Did you get anything from Lush this year for Christmas or in the sales?  Have you tried any of these?

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas, and have an amazing New Year!

Night Time Treats: On My Bedside Table

I don't know about you, but the weather at the moment is playing havoc with my skin.  One minute it's cloudy and cold, the next I'm disgustingly hot - I can't win!  My skin is misbehaving as usual, and can't make up it's mind whether it wants to be dry or just normal, so I've switched up my bedside routine a bit, and stocked some beauty bits to keep in easy reach!

Sally Hansen Cuticle Eraser & Balm

I've spoken of my love for this balm before here; it's so easy to use, smells nice and fresh and is perfect for keeping your nails and cuticles looking and feeling healthy.  Regardless of what the weather is like, this is a must-have for my night stand.  I need to keep it in easy reach, so I actually remember to use it!

Champneys Overnight Hand Therapy

This is reserved for when my hands are super dry, which more often than not in the evening, they definitely are.  I got this for Christmas from Liam's parents, and I actually really like it.  It's rich, but absorbs quickly and has the calming, relaxing scent of lavender so it's perfect for bed time.  It comes with gloves to wear overnight for a really intense treatment, but I only use those in Winter for when my hands really need some healing.

Soap and Glory Smoothie Star Deep Moisture Body Milk

I get the feeling that this is more of a morning moisturiser, but I love it for bed time.  It's light, absorbs quickly and smells absolutely amazing.  It's scented with oats, and almonds, and I swear I smell like the most delicious flapjack when I'm all milked up.  I use this straight out of the shower, on slightly damp skin so that it really sinks in!

Soap and Glory The Righteous Butter

My legs, shins in partcular, sometimes get really, really dry when I come out of the shower.  My shins feel really itchy, and after I've had a shave, sometimes it's really irritating.  I like to use something really rich to put some balance and normality back into my skin, so Soap and Glory's Righteous Butter is cracked out.  It's really thick, intense and really moisturising.  It takes a little longer to sink in compared to the Body Milk, but it's a good 'un and smells just like Soap and Glory's Hand Food!

Burts Bees Pomegranate Lip Balm

A lip balm is a must on my night stand, and I like to put it on right before I go to sleep to keep my lips nourished overnight.  At the moment, the lip balm I'm using is Burts Bees Pomegranate Lip Balm.  It's light, but feels really  moisturising, and my lips always feel perfect in the morning.

What's currently on your nightstand?