Lush : Butterball Bath Bomb

One of the cheaper bath bombs that Lush sell is the Butterball bath bomb at only £2.40. It is described as:

"Don’t let your skin turn to crackling in that hot bath. Vanilla fragrance and cocoa butter leaves you good enough to eat.

Hot bath water can sometimes leave you getting out of the bath dryer than you think. Put moisture back into your skin with this ballistic, so you can lie back, enjoy a long bath and top up that hot water as often as you like.

This ballistic is another of Mo’s early inventions – but its small size packs such a large punch of vanilla and musk perfume and skin protecting cocoa butter that it remains a best seller today."

To be honest, there is not much to say about this bath bomb, but that is not to say it isn't very good, it is just one of their more basic bombs! This is a great one to start with if you have never been to lush as it has a very soft delicate scent (musky vanilla) and I know a lot of people are put off by the strong scent when you enter Lush.

Once I dropped this bomb into the bath, it fizzed away very quickly and I was left with a very odd looking bath.

As you can see there are brown oil like particles floating around the bath, which I believe is cocoa butter. Although a little strange looking, it is lovely rubbed into the skin and leaves your skin feeling very soft and moisturised, which lasted through to the next day. This is definitely a good bomb to use if your skin has been suffering from the harsh winter and therefore feeling quite dry.

The only negative thing I have to say about this bomb was that the oil clung onto the side of my bath, which meant I had to give it a good old clean afterwards! But this wasn't too much of an issue, it just needed a little scrub.

Has anyone else tried Butterball, if so what did you think?

Carissa XXX

Amour #005 - The Kindle and The Hunger Games

I received a Kindle from my boyfriend for my birthday and have only just had the chance to use it, as I was already midway through a book. At first I was a little unsure at the idea of a kindle, as I do love reading hard copies of books, however after a week of using it they certainly have some great advantages!

♥

Firstly you can download a sample of any book, which is usually long enough to get a feel for what the book will be like - great if you are unsure about a book. You also have access to so many free books that you could easily never buy a book again. They also have a Kindle Daily Deal, where a book is 99p for one day, so you can get some great deals. Lastly, I love that you have access to any book 24/7, so if you have just finished a book you can easily get another without having to go out and buy one.

I am currently reading The Hunger Games which I am also loving. I heard so much about this trilogy but never really gave it a try, until I downloaded the sample and had to buy the book and now I can't put it down. It is worth a read. Has anyone else read The Hunger Games? I am looking forward to the film coming out next month!

What books do you recommend?

Hope you had a lovely weekend!

Carissa XXX

Ebay Blush Palette Swatches

Hi girls,

Many of you may have seen the blush palette on E-bay, where you can purchase 10 blush's for just £4.49. I literally spent days contemplating whether it is worth buying, or if it would just be a waste of money but I was pleasantly surprised!

As it comes from China I was a little worried it may arrive in pieces, but fear not as it has enough bubble wrap and polystyrene around it to survive a bit of a bashing and it came in good time (19 days from when I paid). If anyone is interested in purchasing this palette, I used this seller.

I have not had the chance to properly try these out yet, but here are some swatches and I will do a full review in the future. As you can see there is a lovely selection of colours, supposedly this palette is very similar to the BH cosmetics blush palette, but I cannot comment as I haven't tried BH cosmetics, has anyone else?

Top row of Palette

Bottom row of Palette

First thoughts are that some appear a little chalky as you may be able to tell from the photo, but otherwise they are very pigmented and a little goes a long way.

What do you think? Has anyone else bought any of these palettes?

Lots of Love

Carissa xxx

Amour #004 - Balance Me Radiance Face Oil

Hello my beauties!

The past week has been a bit hectic, all my posts have been scheduled, so I am looking forward to getting back to my normal blogging routine. As today is Sunday, my amour post is due, so here it is!

I have been using this product for a few weeks now, ever since I received it in Carmines January Box.

The Balance Me Radiance Face Oil is described as:

Highly emollient yet super-absorbent, our 100% natural powerfully active face oil with Amazonian buriti nut oil, Roman chamomile, yarrow and benzoin feeds skin lacking in lustre with a rich, replenishing blend of skin-boosting and smoothing ingredients. Suitable for all skin types, including combination complexions.

I have never used a face oil so I was intrigued to see what difference it would make. As directed I use this on a cleansed face, underneath my moisturiser in the evening and wow what a difference this has made! I can only really speak for those with dry/normal skin (I do not suffer from oily skin) and it really has worked wonders, but that is not to say it will not suit different skin types. In the morning my skin looks radiant and a lot softer and hydrated, I can really see that it is making a difference.

My only slight dislike with this product is the roller ball as I seem to have trouble getting the product out sometimes, which often results in me shaking it like a crazy woman. However, the full size appears to have a pipet style top which would appear to work much better - this can be purchased at https://www.balanceme.co.uk.

It is a tad expensive, at £30 for 30ml but you can try it out first for £15 for 10ml, but I would definitely recommend trying it out.

Has anyone else tried this out? What other face oils would you recommend?

Lots of Love

Carissa XXX

Nail Polish Tag

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I have seen this tag posted by quite a few bloggers recently and as I have an unhealthy nail polish obsession I thought I would join in. There are supposed "rules" to this, however the rebel that I am, I am not going to follow/post them.

Questions

1) How many nail polishes do you have?
I thought it was best to actually count them....so I have 72. I may have the odd few lying about, but roughly around this figure.

2) What is your favorite brand of nail polish?
This is a hard question! The brand that I own the most nail polishes of is No.7, but as you may know from a previous post this is mostly down to their £5 vouchers. I really quite like Models Own as they have lovely unique colours that are very affordable, so I think I would choose Models Own.

3) Do you like or hate crackle polish?
I have yet to try crackle polish so I can't really answer this, but I don't hate it! I think it can look nice if you do it right :)

4) What was the brand of your very first nail polish?
Probably Miss Sporty/collection 2000.

5) If you had a nail polish line, what would it be called?
I am so uncreative so it would probably be something silly like Crush. I really am terrible at thinking of names, it is really quite hard!

6) What nail polish color do not look good on you?
I have yet to make yellow look good on my nails. Also I think black may be a little harsh, although I haven't tried!

7) What nail polish shades do look good on you?
Nudes and dark colours.

8) Name 2 of your nail art best friends.
I haven't dabbled very much in nail art. But of what I have it would be nail foils and gems.

9) What is the best nail polish gift you have ever received?
I received some lovely nail polishes at Christmas, I especially loved the Models Own Beetlejuice Collection ♥

Who do I tag?
Everyone and anyone who wishes to do this! Let me know if you do :)

Lots of Love

Carissa XXX

Boujoir Boutique

You may wonder what the Bourjois Boutique is, so I am here to tell all. Bourjois have set up a pop up shop to coincide with London Fashion Week, that will be running from the 16th-20th February. At the Boutique you will be able to get your hands on limited edition products, save up to 65% on their most popular products, complimentary nail art and also have the chance to get your hair styled for free.

I have always been a big fan of Bourjois so I am gutted I cannot make the event as it sounds great! If you and your friends would like to attend just turn up on the day and enjoy the abundant macaroons whilst getting pampered and watching catwalk footage from LFW.

So to break it down:

Where : The Gallery, Beach Blanket Babylon, Shoreditch, London E1 6LA

When : 16-20 February, 12pm to varied.

If you would like to know more visit their website (which has a full schedule for each day) or follow Bourjois on Twitter.

If you cannot get to London, don't worry you can still take part in the fun by visiting their facebook page and entering their competition. You can win VIP tickets to the launch of the Bourjois Boutique, dinner held at the event, overnight stay in London hotel and a whole years supply of Bourjois products!

Will anyone be attending this week? I would love to hear from you!

Lots of Love

Carissa XXX

PS Make sure you get there early, the first 50 customers will receive a free goody bag.

Amour #003 - Lip Products

This week I have been suffering from dry lips and these two products have been my saviours and are therefore my Amour of the week.

Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Lip Moisturiser - Has no scent, very moisturising and very cheap!

Dermalogica Renewal Lip Complex - This sample from Glossybox is lovely, its a shame its so expensive though! So I use this sparingly so it should hopefully last a while.

Both are very good if you have dry/sore lips and help to relieve the soreness within a few days. I have heard really good things about Figs and Rouge Lip Balms, so I am going to try them out next. What does everyone else use?

Lots of Love

Carissa XXX

Birthday Time

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Today is my birthday, yay!

I was lucky enough to receive a Michael Kors Watch as one of my lovely presents, it was not one that was in my wishlist but I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. It's so unique and pretty! It is the MK5139.

It appears much bigger in pictures than in real life weirdly, but it is just the right size face :) I received some lovely presents and cannot wait to celebrate with my family tonight and friends tomorrow evening :) I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Lots of Love

Carissa XXX

DecalGirl : Phone Skins

I know you may not expect to see this on a beauty blog, but I thought it was too pretty not to share. I recently changed my phone skin, so I thought I would share it with you all! I discovered DecalGirl early last year when I was looking for a new phone case and came across the idea of a skin instead. Although skins do not protect your phone from any falls, it does protect it from getting scratched, which is the main reason I wanted a case (I tend not to drop my phone too often). You can still use a case with the skins as added protection :)

DecalGirl are located in America but i received both my orders very fast and had no trouble at all. I ordered the matt version as I was more attracted to those when I checked out their facebook page (you can see many photos of the different skins on electronics here), but all in all it cost around $15, which is about £9.50 including shipping. I think this is pretty good value considering I have seen some selling for £20 in shops and they are not as attractive as these! There are literally thousands of skins to choose from so there is something for everyone, even if you just want a plain white skin.

Skins are essentially stickers and are therefore really easy to install. You simply peel them from the backing and place them on your phone. I also really like that it doesn't just cover the front and back but the sides also! You also receive a free matching background that blends in with the skin.

These skins are not just available for iPhones, but most other mobiles, laptops, iPads, Kindles, Wiis and much more! They really are a great way to jazz up that plain electronic that you are probably very bored of looking at. I know I get that way with phones..

They last a very long time, I just replaced mine as I wanted a change, but as you can see the other skin is still in good condition. Just place your old one back on the sheet they send you and you can save it for another time! Here is a picture of my old skin if you are interested.

Has anyone tried any skins before? What do you think of them?

Carissa XXX

P.S If you are interested in what my skins are called, the first is Violet Worlds and the second is Peacock Garden.

Lush : Three Gold Rings

Another Lush Bubble Bar that I received for Christmas was Three Gold Rings. Again, this is not part of the permanent collection but is still available to buy at Lush for £1.88 at 50% off.

Three gold rings is described as

“A luxury foaming bath of gold and vanilla.
Three Gold Rings is a bath of bling, for days when what you need most is a bit of luxury and a sense that all is well with the world.
Its swirling waters of shimmering gold will mesmerise you, whilst it’s rich, layered vanilla fragrance will wrap you in a comforting hug.
This product contains Simon’s fine vanilla fragrance of myrrh resin, sweet orange oil and vanilla absolute that he developed for our Crème Anglaise body lotion.
Swoosh the water for ripples of shimmering gold, meditate on the patterns and let life pass you by for an hour.”

I honestly do not have anything bad to say about this product, I absolutely loved it.

As you may be able to tell, I love vanilla, and this product does not let me down, it smells divine. Once I dropped the bar into the water, I crumbled a little into my hands and distributed some onto my skin, which left it feeling silky smooth.

Once it had fully dissolved, the bath was filled with lots of bubbles and to my surprise the water was filled with a fine gold shimmer. Although the bar looks slightly shimmery on first glance, I did not expect this to show in the water and how I was wrong.

What I really loved about this bubble bar, is that once dissolved the water was very soft. I could rub the water into my skin and not only did it feel very luxurious but you could feel it moisturising your skin.

I know my last post was also to do with bath treats, but I wanted to share this with you before they sold out as I really cannot recommend this bath bar enough! So if you are going to purchase some goodies from Lush be sure to try the Three Gold Rings as you will not be disappointed. You could easily get away with splitting this bar up into three or four baths, so it is very good value for money.

Has anyone else tried Three Gold Rings? What did you think?

Lots of Love

Carissa XXX

Amour #002 - Vanilla Biscuit

This weeks amour is The Little Bubble Co Vanilla Biscuit Bath and Shower Gel. I received this as a present at Christmas and have been obsessed with it since. I have always wanted to try the brand Philosophy but I just cannot justify paying the extortionate prices they charge, therefore I was extremely pleased to receive this lookalike.

This honestly smells incredible, just like Vanilla Cookies, and I know it may not be everyone's cup of tea but it really is amazing. It lathers up really well, so you do not need to use much, as you can see I haven't got through much of the bottle but I have used it quite a bit already. I also really like that the scent does not linger too much on your skin, otherwise I can imagine it would be a little sickly.

This can be purchase from Boots for £2.99, so definitely give it a smell if you are in Boots. The Little Bubble Co also have many other scents such as Ginger Bread, Mint Candy and Strawberry which I cannot wait to try! Has anyone else tried The Little Bubble Co?

Lots of Love

Carissa XXX

PS How cute is the text on the bottle?

Mini Beauty Haul

Don’t worry guys this was before my beauty spending ban so I haven’t failed yet! I bought these in mid-January but haven’t got round to sharing them with you until now :)

£4.75 from Boots

I had been eyeing this up in Boots for a while but did not really want to pay £19.00 for 5 mini perfumes, so when it was reduced to £4.75 in the 75% off sale I just had to buy it. I already knew that I loved Ghost so I was intrigued to try the others. I may review these as I try them out :)
Has anyone tried any of these perfumes? What did you think?

£3.00 (Buy one get one free) from unknown but you can get them at NYX and Love Makeup

I can’t remember the name of this shop, but I am pretty sure it is a one off shop near me. I have always wanted to try out NYX products after hearing many good things about them, but they are only really found online. That is until I popped into this shop and found they stock NYX! They do not carry the biggest range of products, but they have enough. There are also plenty of nail polishes at great value, so no doubt you will see more of these.

I tested Blue Avenue on my nail and it is very interesting! It does not come out blue like you would expect from the photo, but you are left with a lovely foil glittery effect on your nail. I think Golden Pink will look lovely layered with another colour, as it is quite transparent by itself.

£2.60 from E-Bay

Lastly I purchased this back combing brush from E-Bay with the intention of achieving more volume in my hair. I am aiming to use this along side some other volume boosting products (such as moose and mattifying powder) to hopefully solve my problem of flat hair! Has anyone else used a back combing brush like this?

Have a lovely weekend,

Lots of Love

Carissa XXX

Beauty Ban and Wish List

Hello beauties!

I have decided to go on a beauty spending ban this month! I spend way too much on beauty related items that I rarely get to finish a product. Therefore I am not allowed to buy anything beauty related unless one of the following applies:

1. I run out of the product and have no other alternative.
2. I receive a gift card - I have a few that I am waiting to receive, therefore I am allowed to purchase beauty items with these (should this be allowed? I don't know!)
3. The products are purchased by someone else as a gift for me.

It is both my birthday and Valentines day this month so I don't think it should be too hard, as I expect I will get a few beauty items, but we shall see. At the end of the month I will post what items I have managed to finish, if any!

As I said, it is my birthday is coming up and so I thought I would make a little wish list. For my main present, I think I would like to get a watch, I just can't decide which! Please help!! I am loving rose gold at the moment, hence why there are so many, but I just can't decide! Does anyone have a Michael Kors or Fossil Watch? Which do you think I should get below, from 1-10?

Michael Kors gold tone jewelry, $195 / Fossil jewelry, $115 / Michael Kors ceramic jewelry, £199 / FOSSIL yellow gold jewelry, £115 / Michael Kors face jewelry, £200 / Michael Kors brown jewelry, £219 / Michael kors jewelry, £219 / Michael Kors rose gold jewelry, £199 / FOSSIL link jewelry, $135 / Michael Kors Mk8096 Rose Gold Watch, $392

I have also made a wish list for other items that I am really liking at the moment. So friends/family/boyfriend if you are reading this, take note ;) Kidding!

Rebecca Minkoff ink leather handbag, $195 / THOMAS SABO heart jewelry, £43 / Smythson Azure Blue Leather Iphone Case, $158 / Prada Candy Eau de Parfum, 30ml, £40 / O.P.I Original Nail Envy Natural Nail Strengthener, $34 / BaByliss 2285U Curling Wand: Amazon.co.uk: Health & Beauty, £15 / bobble Water Bottle (18.5 Oz) : Target, $14 / MARC BY MARC JACOBS Funda Iphone D2 4g Warpikat Iphone Co Green, €31 / Kindle e-Reader with Wi-Fi, 6" Display, £89 / Ted Baker Metallic Croc Large Flapover French Purse, £79

This is not a complete list, but a general idea of what I would love to purchase right now. I would really like a charm (not the one pictured as I couldn't find one I wanted on Polyvore), also I need a new purse due to losing my on NYE, but again not necessarily the one above. How pretty is the peach bag?! LOVE IT! Its a shame its so expensive.

I know the bobble water bottle is very random, but I do not drink enough water throughout the day and thought this may help! I have tried to keep the beauty items to a minimum as this is all I spend my money on, but I wouldn't say no to any :)

What are you hoping to purchase this month? Has anyone else gone on a beauty ban?

Lots of Love

Carissa XXX