Lush Christmas/Boxing Day Sale Haul

My parents gave my sister and I a certain amount to spend for Christmas. I had already placed an order with Whittard of Chelsea, but still had money left over, so decided to wait until the sales started. I knew I wanted some things from Lush in particular, so made my list and set my alarm early on Boxing Day morning, ready for the online sale to start. The website was a nightmare last year, but this year was different. It was so much worse. It was so bad that they had to take the website down to try and fix it. It was down for a large part of the day, and was still crashing when back up. It was irritating, but I wasn't angry because some bath products really don't matter in the grand scheme of things. I just kept refreshing while watching TV and eating allll the cheese, simply because I'd come too far to give up! I finally managed to order at 11pm, and while the whole experience was less than ideal, delivery was incredibly fast. It was sent with the next day service, even though I only paid for standard, so I'm assuming they were trying to make up for things. I think I may try my local store next year, though!

I didn't get everything I wanted because the website was so limited, but I did get two pots of Christingle, which was at the top of my list. Christingle is a body conditioner, much like Ro's Argan, but smells minty and makes your skin tingle. I'm going to try and save this for the summer because I think it'll be perfect on a hot day. This was £8.25 down from £16.50.

I also added a 500g bottle of Snow Fairy to my basket for £6.38. I'm not as obsessed with it as some people are, but I am a fan, so kind of wish I'd bought another now. I do have two 100g bottles as well, though, so it's not too bad.

I wanted another chunk of Reindeer Rock, but that wasn't available, so settled on Baked Alaska for £1.63. I love Baked Alaska, and actually bought a ton of the stuff a couple years ago.

I'm not a big fan of the scent of the Snow Angel bath melt, and the gold glitter is already everywhere, but it's a good size and should make my skin soft. It was only £1.98 as well, so thought I'd give it a go.

I bought Santa's Belly shower jelly (also £1.98) with my sister in mind because she smelt it in store and didn't mind it, and she doesn't like a lot of things in Lush.

I really wanted a bottle of Rose Jam, but that also wasn't available, so settled on The Winter Garden gift set (£8.48) containing a small one. It also contains Respect Your Elders soap and Love & Light hand cream. The soap is menthol-y and berry like, and reminds me of a throat sweet, but in a good way. The Love & Light hand cream has a similar scent to the Don't Look At Me face mask, which isn't my favourite, but I can deal with it. It's citrus-y, but in a green way, not in a sweet, fruity way. I've read some positive things, though, so I'm looking forward to trying it.

I also chose the Little Snow Fairy gift (£4.25) at the last moment. It contains 100g of Snow Fairy and 100g of the pink Fun, which I've never tried before. I've yet to undo it because I don't want to ruin the beautiful wrapping, but it'll happen soon!

Did you buy anything in the Lush sale? Did you battle the site, or the crowds in-store?

My Christmas Jumpers

Ahead of Christmas Jumper Day, I thought I'd show you the ones I've bought this year. Up until a couple months ago, I'd never bought a Christmas jumper. I thought they were a waste of money because you can't really wear them all year round. I wanted to join in with festivities this year, though.

The first one is from Primark, and was £14. I bought it in September just in case they sold out quickly, but I think it's still readily available now (possibly at a discounted price too). Fairisle is my go to Christmas/winter pattern, and I love the little reindeer on it.

The second one is from the men's section on Boohoo, and was £18. I was a big fan of Breaking Bad, so when I saw this play on words, I had to have it. I'd prefer a Game of Thrones one more, but have yet to see one I like. One with the words 'Let It Snow' and a picture of Jon would be great.

Do you go down the pretty or tacky route with your Christmas jumpers?

A Christmas Gift To Myself (and other things)

The Origins Glow So Nice Christmas Gift Set was in my post-Christmas sales wishlist, and the one I wanted to get my hands on the most. Its contents is worth £71.75, with the VitaZing alone costing £29. The GinZing eye cream is £20 to buy individually (in pot form), the KissZing lip crayon in Rosemance is usually £16, and the GinZing mascara sample is worth around £6.50. On top of this, you receive a mirror and little cosmetics case to hold it all, so the £40 price tag isn't astronomical. I still wanted to wait until after Christmas, though, seeing as we haven't got long to wait now anyway. However, I was browsing the Boots website the other night and saw that it was a third off, at just £26.66. Then I added it to my basket and my staff discount brought it down to £20.66. It had taken off double the amount of discount that is was supposed to. Seeing as it was nearly half price anyway, I decided to buy it then, because it's not guaranteed to be in stock after Christmas. I'm looking forward to trying all the products because I've heard great things!

The Boots website (and some stores) now stocks NYX, so I added the Concealer Wand in Green (£5.50) to my basket as well. I've had the pot version for a few years now, and after not using it for a long time, I've recently dug it out again. The texture is really thick and drying, though, so I wanted to get the liquid formula. I haven't used it properly yet, but it already seems to be a lot more manageable. 

I've decided to start using my Boots Advantage Card points before I get to £100, because I know that once I hit three digits, I'm going to withhold from spending them even more. The first product I bought with them was the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Creme De Rose (£4.99). This is supposed to be a dupe for MAC's Painterly. I don't wear eyeshadow, but thought this would be a beautiful wash of colour to get me into doing so. The lid implies it's a lilac shade, but it's actually a creamy beige.

I'm a fan of the Barry M Satin Super Slick Lip Paints I already have, so wanted to use my points to add 169 Mannequin to my collection. It's the nude that I wanted Nuditude to be. I find that it looks more brown in the bullet than it does when swatched, which suits me perfectly because the brown lip trend hasn't won me over yet. These lipsticks are only £4.49, so I'd definitely recommend checking them out. 

I know I've just posted a haul of sorts, but I can't help it if things catch my eye so soon after! Let me know if you've purchased any Christmas gift sets for yourself this year. They work out to be better value for money than buying the products individually, so they're a great way to sample a brand.

Recent Purchases - Primark, Lush, and More

I go through town on a daily basis to get to work, and will quickly pop in somewhere to get the odd item, but I hadn't been on a leisurely shopping trip in months, so my sister & I decided to do just that yesterday morning. It was nice strolling around without thinking that I need to be somewhere in half an hour. I thought I'd combine yesterday's buys with some other bits I've bought recently, not including the coat and Christmas bits I've acquired over recent weeks. This haul has a little bit of everything; home, clothing, beauty, and food.

I love bedding, as sad as that may sound. I actually went in Primark intending to buy the fairisle Christmas duvet set, but couldn't bring myself to buy it because it was brushed cotton, and the ones they have on display always look worse for wear. I settled on the paisley damask and grey floral bird sets, both of which are shown above. At £11 a set, I didn't need to decide on just one. The grey one is right up my street as I love anything grey and floral. I'd seen the paisley damask one on Primark's Instagram page, and even though it's a little over the top, I really like it.

I rarely buy clothes these days, but did find a couple items yesterday which took my fancy. I used to love the basic v-neck cardigans from H&M, having nearly one of each colour, and didn't like round neck cardigans at all. My tastes have clearly changed because I absolutely loved this black one from Primark (£6) when I tried it on yesterday. It'll be perfect for work.

I've never liked high-necked, thin knit jumpers on myself either. They look great on other people, but I felt like I couldn't pull them off. I liked the neckline and colour of the one above, though, so decided to try it on. Initially, I didn't like it at all. Then, not even 30 seconds later, I started warming to it. I've called it my Parisian Chic jumper. The best part was that it was £4.90 down from £6 - Bargain! I just have to remember to put it on before I do my makeup because it's difficult to get over my head.

Of course I bought some more pj bottoms. These grey ones with little white stars on were £6.

I didn't plan on showing these, but was so pleasantly surprised when they arrived yesterday that I just had to. They're novelty tins filled with biscuits! I needed a Christmas gift for my grandad and someone else who are incredibly difficult to get for. I know they're the easy/boring way out, but you can't go wrong with biscuits, especially when they come in an awesome tin. They're quite big actually, and I'm tempted to keep the radio one for myself. These were £10 each from Debenhams, but there's often some form of discount on them.

I have the Freedom Eyebrow Pomade in Soft Brown, and while it matches my hair perfectly well, it's a little too warm for my natural eyebrow hair, so I picked up Medium Brown in Superdrug for £5. It's cooler, and a touch darker than my Anastasia one, but with a light hand, I have high hopes.

Lush have changed their bath melts to bath oils, so I wanted to try my two favourites, Mmmelting Marshmallow Moment and You've Been Mangoed, in this new formula. They're a lot smaller, but they're also only £2 now. I'll be using a chunk in a foot soak later, so will see how that goes.

If you've been to Primark recently, what's your favourite purchase?

Flamingo Candles The Melt Crowd - December

The final box of 2015 arrived on my doorstep this afternoon, filled with even more wax melts. I'm either going to have to up my melting game, or cancel my subscription for a few months, because I have so many now! I'm not keen on December's selection as a whole, but I knew this would be the case because I'm not a fan of many Christmas scents to begin with.

The two I really don't like are Mistletoe and Christmas Pudding, which both happen to be The Melt Crowd exclusives. Mistletoe smells like a bitter perfume to me, and will be staying in its wrapper. Christmas Pudding has some warm notes, and smells a little like cake, which sounds nice on paper, but they're not scents I particularly like in wax tarts.

The scents which I don't hate, but don't love either, are Cinnamon Sticks, Black Tea & Almond, and Asian Pear & Plum. I like my fruity scents to be light and fresh, but Asian Pear & Plum is quite heavy, and this is down to the floral and musky notes.

My favourite three are Vanilla Milk Bottles, Black Cherry, and Mulled Wine & Berries. Vanilla Milk Bottles and Black Cherry smell just like you'd imagine, which I'm a fan of! I know I said I'm generally not a fan of warm notes, which is why I don't like many Christmas scents, but Mulled Wine & Berries is beautiful. I think it's because the berry notes remain crisp and tart.

This month's box also came with a couple extras. There's a flamingo shaped tree ornament, and because I've been subscribed to The Melt Crowd for six months, they included a melt in the scent of Snow Angel. Snow Angel is a combination of peppermint, spearmint, and buttercream, and I absolutely love it. I'm tempted to buy the mega melt of this, which is £4 for 70g.

Are you a fan of Christmas scents? I know a lot of people are, but I prefer sweet and fruity over warm and spicy.