Lush Sale Haul

Now that I am on 100 day spending ban I have finally opened the goodies that I bought in the Christmas sales! I kept them to open to ease the pain of no spending!

These are all the goodies I bought in Lush.

I wanted soaps more than bath bombs as I still have quite a few bath bombs to use up and I have really liked the soaps I have used so far from Lush so managed to get gift sets that contained mostly soap!

Winter Wonderland gift set £6.95 but half price in the sale, contains;

45g Dream Cream Lotion

70g Snowcake Soap

The dream cream is has quite a thick consistency and will be great for dry patches.  It is the number 1 selling Lush product worldwide, so must be good!

Snowcake soap is gorgeous, it smells of marzipan.  It feels quite moisturising on my skin and I could smell the scent for a few hours after my shower. 

....had a very shiny nose gift set £12.50 but again half price in the sale.  It contains;

100g Snow Globe Soap

100g North Pole Soap

100g Northern Lights Soap

L-R

Snow Globe contains lemon myrtle and grapefruit so smells quite refreshing - I think this may be more of a spring scent.

North Pole is peppermint and chocolate scented - I can't smell a chocolate scent but can definitely smell the peppermint and it smells good enough to eat! 

Northern Lights is fresh pine, cypress and lime scented.  This soap feels quite sticky compared to the others and I had to peel the packaging wotsit thingies off that had stuck to it.  This is quite strong scented and would definitely wake you up in your morning shower!

Mr Punch soap, again half price so cost me £1.69.

Mr Punch soap contains juniper berries, blackcurrant and lime oil.

It smells sooooo nice! Definitely like a fruity punch!

To prove I didn't break the ban!

I now have enough soap to last me for months!

Did you pick anything up in the Lush sale? What do you think of the Lush soaps?

100 Day Spending Ban!

I started my 100 day spending ban yesterday, it will run until 24th April - yikes!!

Sandra from Beauty Balm had been talking about doing a ban toward the end of last year and I said I would join her, I was going to do a complete spending ban on everything but I am having a baby this year so I will need to buy maternity clothes (in moderation!)

The rules I have set for myself are:

1.  No beauty products, apart from cotton wool and deodorant. I have plenty of everything else to last me 100 days.

2.  No books or magazines. I do have subs to Elle, Glamour and Instyle, these have already been paid for.

3.  No buying lunch in work, I have to take my own in.  Lunch in work costs about £4-£5 per day so this will be a big saving.

4.  I can buy maternity clothes when needed, without going overboard.  I can buy birthday presents for friends and valentines present for hubby. I can go out for meals with my friends. That is all I am allowed to spend on though!

I spend so much money every month on stuff that I don't need.  I have clothes with tags on, shoes still new in boxes and enough beauty products to last me for the next year!  I am hoping by doing this spending ban I will teach me spend my money on items I need not want. I am also hoping it will mean I can pay off my credit card which will be great timing for me going on maternity leave!

The other lovely bloggers taking part in this spending ban

Caroline Musings of a Beauty Addict Mum

Nardine Live...Laugh...Love...

Katherine and Sarah Grace Louise Beauty

Emily Rosella

Are you doing a spending ban? Leave your link below!

OPI Mariah Carey Liquid Sand Review

When Caroline from Musings of a Beauty Addict Mum went on holiday to America for Christmas she kindly asked if there was anything I would like her to pick up for me.  I had seen quite a few swatches of these online so asked her to pick me up the mini set, these retail at approx $10 (£6) in America and £12.95 over here on Lena White so it was quite a saving! 

The mini set contains 4 shades L-R

Get Your Number

Can't Let Go

The Impossible

Stay The Night

Get Your Number - matte blue with holo glitter

Can't Let Go - matte purple with purple glitter

The Impossible - matte pink with pink glitter and stars

Stay The Night - matte black with red glitter 

These are two coats, no topcoat.

Consistency of all the polishes is really good, drying time average (although felt like a long time without the help of Seche Vite!)

The polishes are a lot more sparkly in real life, I thought that the glitters would be matte but its is the base that is matt not the glitter.

I thought the texture of the polishes would be quite rough but while you can feel they are slightly rough I wouldn't say its a much as a normal glitter.

I was disappointed that no stars come out of the bottle for the swatch of The Impossible!

These have one coat of Seche Vite, they probably need two coats to feel smooth.  

Caroline got me these as a Christmas present!

Wet n Wild palette in Petal Pusher

EOS balm in lemon drop

I can't wait to try the palette the shades are perfect for me.  I have read a lot of good things about Wet n Wild eyeshadows!

I love EOS balms, I currently have three on the go.  I'll open this one when the weather starts getting sunny as the SPF15 will come in very handy.

What do you think of these polishes?  Will you be buying them?

Weleda Skin Food Review

Weleda skin food* is a natural body cream for dry and rough skin.  It doesn't contain synthetic preservatives, frgrances or colourants and is mineral oil free.

It contains voila, camomile and calendula to smooth the skin.

The cream is in a handy squeezy tube which means it is easy to get the right amount out.

30ml retails for £5.89 on natureshealthbox website.  I think this is a good price as a little of the cream goes a long way!

The cream is quite thick and does take a while to sink in, it seems to leave a slightly oily layer which is then absorbed.  I have been using it on my elbows as they are rough as sandpaper in this wintery weather!   The cream has definitely made a difference, they feel much smoother.  The instructions on the cream say to apply several times a day, I have only been applying it in the evening before I go to bed due to it taking a while to absorb.

The cream has quite a strong herbally scent but this disappears once the cream has absorbed. If you have rough skin that needs a bit of TLC then this cream is fab if you don't mind waiting for it to sink in!

This product was sent to me to review by Natures Health Box a newly launched website selling natural, organic and eco-friendly brands from health and beauty to food items.

They have kindly given me some discount codes to share with you:

BLOGTASTIC2013 10% off 

25% off Salcura -amazing treatments for eczema, psoriasis, dry and irritable skin

15% off A.Vogel - a vast range of remedies and tinctures extracted from plants

20% off Amy's Kitchen - Seriously delicious soups with no nasties

The discount codes are valid from Monday 14th January until Thursday 31st January, the blogtastic2013 10% discount can also be used with the other discount codes!

Let me know if you buy anything!

2013 Targets and Challenges!

Happy New Year everyone! Lets hope it's a good one!

image source

So this year instead of making resolutions I am going to set myself some challenges:

1.  To read 4 books per month and review them on my blog

2.  To swim twice a week and enter the Marie Curie Swimathon in April

3.  To complete a 100 day spending ban starting 15th January 

4.  To pay my credit card off by the end of April

5.  To organise a family get together once a month

6.  To attend an evening class to learn something new

I will keep you all updated with how I get on!  

Did you make any resolutions? Leave me a link to your post!