Lush Collection Review

It has come to my attention recently that I may indeed have a bit of an addiction. At least it's a healthy one...for now.

I am addicted to Lush Cosmetics. I love everything about their products. Our introduction was made while abroad last summer. I blame my very lovely travel companion and my favorite beauty YouTubers for all of their influence.

You can check out Lush Cosmetics here and learn about all of the great things they are doing through their products. Hint: It's not just making you feel good.

This post is a complete list of my current collection, and what's to come. I'll give you a review of each product and if I loved or hated it. I hope to inspire the same enjoyment in others.

Note: This is a completely unsponsored post. I bought all of these products or got them as gifts. They're all worth it.

1. Tender is the Night: Massage Bar 

I bought this one in my local Lush (Nashville) store. After going through and smell testing each massage bar individually, the scent of this bar was undeniable. Although meant to be used by more than one person I use my massage bar on my arms and legs after a hard day. This massage bar melts instantly on contact with skin and glides on like butter. It's so nice to fall asleep smelling wonderful.

2. Sympathy for the Skin: Hand and Body Lotion

This is probably my favorite Lush product. It came in a gift set that I got for Christmas. If you're anything like me your hands start to fall apart during cold months. They're probably really dry and rough, or in extreme cases cracked. This lotion can fix that. It smells wonderful (like bananas) and magically turns any dehydrated skin into silky smooth baby skin. I can't say enough good things about it.

Although I have the smallest pot, I have used it almost every night on my hands. So far I haven't even made a dent in the product. It lasts a long time.

3. Sparkly Pumpkin: Bubble Bar

In case you can't tell, mine is chopped in half. I believe in getting as much as you can for your money. This bubble bar is soft and sparkly. It will turn your bath water orange and cover every inch of your tub in bubbles.

 

4. Yog Nog: Soap

As you can see this one is still in the wrapping. (Not for long.) This soap is next on the chopping block. Lush does not disappoint with their soaps. Every one smells uniquely different and equally as yummy. Their soaps have a wonderful lather without dissolving quickly. My last soap bar was Honey I Washed the Kids and it lasted for over a month.

5. Honey Trap: Lip Balm

Granted Honey Trap is a little pricy for a lip balm, but when I say it's worth it believe me. I have used this lip balm for just under a month and barely any product is gone. It's very moisturizing and it lasts. You won't feel the need to keep re-applying.

6. Butterball: Bath Bomb

I've been saving this bath bomb for a special occasion. It smells like a vanilla-y heaven and I can't wait to use it on a relaxing Sunday in the future. Word of caution: Bath bombs are not bubble bars. I know that seems pretty self explanatory but just learn from my mistakes. If you want a bath that's bubbly and smells great go ahead and combine them with a bubble bar.

7. Butterbear: Bath Bomb

Unfortunately this little guy came beheaded in the package. He's very similar in smell to the Butterball bath bomb but with a Christmas-y flair. He's reserved for a very special "extra relaxing" day.

8. Jumping Juniper: Shampoo Bar

Can you be physically in love with a shampoo? No? Well I'm pretty close. I started at the end of last year trying to use more organic products on my hair. That's when I decided to try the Shampoo Bars from Lush. Jumping Juniper is a re-purchase. I loved it so much the first time, it's become my go-to shampoo. My last bar lasted over two-months on my medium length hair and the lather is something from fairy tales. Just rub it a few times over your hair and you have more lather than a handful of regular shampoo.

9. The Sunblock: Solid Sunscreen Wash

For my American readers this one is a little unfortunate. This product is only available in the UK. Due to Lush's refusal to test on animals it doesn't meet US standards and is not available in the US.

However, this product is certainly amazing and worth the spontaneous trip to England. This sunblock is a 30 SPF. It is meant to be applied in the shower by wetting your skin and applying a light layer all over the body. I used it by wetting the bar and rubbing over any areas I was afraid of getting sunburned.

If you're asking if it works, the answer is yes. I took it on vacation to Tybee island. I used The Sunblock as my main form of UV protection and supplemented with a higher SPF sunscreen where needed. I am happy to announce I spent the entire trip sunburn free.

10. Snow Fairy: Shower Gel

Snow fairy comes every Christmas to Lush. It's a super sweet smell mixed with loads of sparkle.

The thing I love most about Lush's shower gels is that they are perfect for traveling. A lovely Lush worker I met in London told me that shower gels can be used as body washes as well as shampoos and she was completely right. I keep a couple of these around and whenever I pack for a trip I throw them in my bag along with a conditioner and I'm ready to go. You can see from the picture that Snow Fairy has already been on a few trips with me.
 

11. Hot Toddy: Shower Gel

Another unopened goody that I expect nothing but the best from. This shower gel has a more cinnamon spicy smell that reminds you of the winter months.
 

12. Cozy Christmas: Knot Wrap

I had been trying for a while to snag one of these nifty wraps. Luckily my mother was able to get me a gift set that included one for Christmas. This wrap was made from two recycled plastic bottles and is deceptively soft. You would never have guessed it was made from plastic. I can't wait to use it to wrap up my goodies for trips, or in my hair next Christmas. The possibilities really are endless.

Here is a short video to give you a closer look.

If you aren't completely sick of my raving reviews of Lush products then keep reading, otherwise you can stop here. Now I'm going to tell you about what's to come.

Lush is currently having a BOGO sale on what's left of their Christmas stuff. They often have sales on limited edition holiday items so keep checking their website. Currently I'm waiting for two pots of Celebrate body lotion, one Snow Cake soap, and one Gold Fun Bar. All of those came to a total of $14.90 before shipping. For Lush that's a STEAL. I can't wait to try them out when they come and I promise to update you on whether they were worth the hype or not.

I hope you enjoyed my collection and review. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask or go to a store near you. I promise once you go Lushie you never go back, and if you're in the mood to watch my Fall Lush Haul you can see me obsess over Lush products in moving pictures here.

Christmas Memories

I genuinely love this time of year. Not only is it a very needed break from reality, but it's time I get to spend with family. This year is the first in a long while that we will be celebrating right here at home. You can tell our excitement by the pure number of presents under the tree. Normally we could only get what would fit in the car with us. 

Below are pictures from a walk around my house...my Christmas memories.

 This little man is my favorite ornament of all time. You don't hang him off of a branch, or set him on a shelf. He was made to be put onto a Christmas light so that he can glow from within.

Why yes... that is a tea infuser disguised as a Christmas bauble. It's a random thrift store find that my dad wanted to make feel special.

 This is my baby Christmas tree that's been with me since my early days of college. Here you can see it looking up to the big tree and dreaming of a far more glamorous life.

 It's almost here!

This is only a small portion of the presents. It really is astounding. I actually believe there may be a Christmas wrapped pack of peanuts in there.

I hope your holiday is filled with warm fuzzy memories, and that you have a VERY Merry (and safe) Christmas!

Christmas Adventure

It's Christmas time in Tennessee! To get myself into the Christmas spirit I went on an adventure. The day was spent with my wonderful God-family and friends. We went to the Tennessee Aquarium and ended the day at Rock City's Enchanted Garden of Lights. I hope my video gives you some ideas for some excellent ways to get into the Christmas mood.

Merry Christmas!

Haul-O-Ween

Let me just start by saying I hardly ever splurge for holidays.

but....

Times are changing. 

I recently made a resolution to embrace holidays with full force. Halloween is no exception. Now that I have a classroom to decorate and captive audiences, *cough* I mean students to admire my stuff, I've become way more excited by the holidays.

Yesterday I went to Target, a magical place I hardly ever get to visit, and if you know Target you know the $1, $3, $5 dollar bins at the front of the store. Thanks to those bins here is my less than $9 Halloween haul.

 For $1 each I was able to get this spooky Halloween sign and miniature fabric pumpkin.
 The sign is going to grace my desk at school and the pumpkin is going to accompany a previous fabric pumpkin find of mine.

Next I was able to find a sarcastically hilarious double sided sign for my classroom, which was also just $1. 

Then I found the holy grail of Autumn finds. A mini pumpkin growing kit. One dollar for this was a steal. 

Say hello to my new class pet...

Lastly, and not quite Halloween related are these cute cups.
In an effort to make my future home the best it can be, I always pick up lovely pieces where I can. Here are my future kitchen's, future cups. Each were just under $1.50.

I hope everyone has an absolutely adorable, Happy Halloween!

Disclaimer: Target did not compensate me to write this post. I wrote it after buying all of these products on my own. Once again, Target if you'd like to sponsor me....I might be in to that.

DIY Halloween Window Clings

I've made it a new life resolution of mine to start celebrating holidays. So first up is Halloween. I found this insanely simple craft on.....you guessed it, Pinterest. So if you'd like to find out how I made these cuties just keep scrolling, scrolling,...scrolling.

What you will need:

• Templates (Mine are just print outs of Halloween clip art)
• Puffy paint in your desired colors
• Parchment paper
• Paint brush *optional*

Step 1:

Decide what design you are using, lay it on a flat surface and cover with parchment paper. You may want to secure it with tape to keep everything still.

Step 2:

Once everything is secure start by painting the outline. Let this sit for a couple of hours to harden. 

Tip: The longer it has to harden the easier it is to fill in.

Step 3:

Fill in the rest of your color. You can either apply it straight from the bottle or like I did. I used a paint brush to spread out the paint. Keep in mind the thinner the layer of paint the harder it is to peel of without ripping.

Step 4:

Let it dry over night. It is easiest to peel off the parchment paper when it is 100% dry. Once peeled off you are all done! The side that was not stuck to the parchment paper is the side that will stick to the window.

This is a great project for any holiday and it can be stored and reused each year. I hope you enjoyed and try it yourself!