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!

Laura Mercier Body & Bath Luxe Quartet in Crème Brûlée

Well it has been a while hasn't it.  I don't know where this month has gone at all; I've not even been particularly busy!  I can't believe it's so close to Christmas!  I work in an office where it is literally Christmas all year, so I thought I'd be sick of it, but if anything, it's made me even more excited!

A few weeks ago, you might have seen that Urban Retreat Beautique were doing their annual Christmas Quest.  I'd never played before, but I had the best week!  Basically, you have to hunt around their website and find items that are marked at £0.02, and if you find it, you need to buy it before anyone else!  I was very lucky and on the first day that I played, I won this beauty...the Laura Mercier Body & Bath Luxe Quartet in Crème Brûlée worth an amazing £60!  Bought for two perfect pennies!!

It arrived in a sturdy gift box, and inside was a Honey Bath, a sugar scrub, a body creme and a candle.  I was a bit worried that I wouldn't like the smell, as I'm a bit fussy with sweet smells, but they are all absolutely gorgeous.  The description on the website says that it is "succulent notes of warm caramel, spun sugar and French vanilla bean" - very luxurious and decadent.

I've managed to use everything now, and I love it all!  I don't know if I'd ever buy the full size versions of these as they're just too expensive for my purse strings, but this is definitely the sort of thing I'd love to receive as a gift if I was really being spoilt.  The sugar scrub one of the nicest I've ever tried as usually I always get left with a sticky residue, but this just rinsed away leaving me with perfectly polished skin.  My only problem with the sugar scrub was the smell - this is the most sickly scent of them all, and there's just something about it that reminds me of Baileys and Baileys is just a nightmare for me.

The body creme is so light on application, but you can really feel the moisture in my opinion - out of them all, I'd be most likely to buy this in full size.  And honestly, the Honey Bath smells nice, but there's nothing overly special about the bubble bath!  

I've had a look at other things on the Urban Retreat Beautique, and there are a few more scents that I'd like to try including Ambre Vanille and probably the most tempting...Almond Coconut Milk.  What's even better now is that they are all half price!  So if you have last minute pressies to buy, or just fancy treating yourself, then go, go, go!

Did you manage to get anything in the Christmas Quest? Tried any of these goodies?