LUSH Haul/Unbox

After a 9am-5pm day of being chief sub-editor for the StaffsLive pages at uni, I was greeted at home by this...

Eek!

I can already smell it...

I don't shop at LUSH often. When I do, it will always be done online, despite having a store in my local shopping centre. The smell always gives me a headache so I never ever browse in there. The one time that I decided to actually go into the store and have a look around, I managed to (slightly) damage my phone. Typical, huh? 

I reached up for a product that was just above my eye level and pulled it off the shelf to read the label on the side. Unbeknown to me, the Marilyn hair treatment had no lid and had started pouring onto my phone that I had placed on the countertop. It was only when my fingers started to feel cold that I realised my phone had been engulfed in the yellow, gloopy treatment! 

The staff were incredibly helpful, but my phone speaker was no longer working so I could not make any calls (as a journalist, this is a bit of a nightmare). In a bit of a rage, I took to Twitter to cool down and have a little rant. I know this isn't the store's fault and any LUSH addict (and I know there are a lot of you out there!) will know that LUSH don't provide lids for any of their testers. Obviously, I wasn't aware of this policy.

The LUSH Twitter team advised that I email them the specifics of what happened. At this point, my phone speaker had improved (I made sure I told them this) and I was very polite in the email. Worse things could have happened, I am sure! 

I received a response saying they had spoken to my local store and were sending me a  parcel of complimentary goodies! 

Lovely!

So, the box arrived... The huge box.

Inside the box was...

Millions of polystyrene Wotsits ("Wotsits" are crisps, for those who are unsure). 

Under this was...

OOH! Two beautiful boxes - one labelled "Hello Gorgeous" and the other "Shiny Happy People"... 

*Que R.E.M*

Shiny happy people holding haaaaands... 

*ahem* Anyway... 

I love the way these boxes are decorated. 

The Shiny Happy People box came wrapped in yellow, floral embossed paper, secured with a yellow ribbon. Once I had carefully peeled this off, I was left with another brown box filled with the Wotsits! But under said Wotsits...

From left to right:

50g Mini Buffy Body Butter

100g Happy Happy Shower Gel

100g Bohemian Soap

In the Hello Gorgeous box...

From left to right on the back row:

100g Vanilla Dee-Lite Body Moisturiser

200g The Comforter Bubble Bar

130g Rub Rub Shower Scrub

From left to right on the front row:

Think Pink Bath Ballistic

10g Gorgeous Trial Size Facial Moisturiser

Everything smells like a toned down version of the shop - which is incredible! I love the smell of LUSH, but the shops themselves are too strong.

Again, iPhone photography! Sorry! 

I have not tried any of these products out yet but I will be sure to post about each one as I try them! 

Thank you to LUSH for my complimentary goodies! <3 

Very generous!

I hate and love my sensitive skin

If you have sensitive skin, you'll already know how difficult it can be to maintain a fresh and glowing look.

My skin isn't quite as bad as it once was and I definitely know that other people have it a lot worse. But, if you have sensitive skin, you'll probably know which products you can use and which you can't and you will stick to those.

Having sensitive skin is the bane of my life! I recently spent a fair amount of money on Estée Lauder lotions and potions and have had to give away two of the four products! I usually don't try products because I'm too scared to part with the little money that I have on products that may cause a break-out.

For years, I have stuck to The Body Shop's moisturiser and toner from their aloe vera range, but not the cleanser because that makes my skin flare. I use the cleaner from Simple and an exfoliator from the vitamin E range in Superdrug. I have spent a ridiculous amount of money on foundation. For the first 19 years of my life, I tried every brand of foundation over the counter. I would either get instant irritation or be lured into a false sense of security, believing that I had finally found THE foundation for me, only to wake up covered in flaky red rashes all over my cheeks, chin and forehead.

About a month after my 19th birthday (bearing in mind that I am not even 20 yet), I finally tried MAC's Prep & Prime BB cream and their Studio Fix Powder Plus foundation. I can wear it for a few days until my skin starts to dry out - but I never get a red rash! It's a bonus that the BB cream is slightly tinted since I can't wear false tan either!

But having sensitive skin isn't all that bad. It took me 19 years to realise that growing up and going through your teenage years never be able to wear makeup and not being able to use any shower gels that you got for presents isn't all that bad! I'm actually almost HAPPY that I have sensitive skin now. I feel like I'm part of a rare group of girls who will happily go for weeks without wearing any makeup at all. I will go to lectures, shopping and even work without wearing even mascara. People always say I have a "fresh" look. I love that I can spend more time making my outfit look amazing instead of focusing on my face. I love going all out for events like nights out and birthdays and I get some lovely compliments when I do because people aren't used to seeing me that way.

I love my skin being sensitive for the confidence and originality it has given me. But I hate it because it costs a lot to find the right products.
The most important part is to listen to your skin. Don't over-treat any out-breaks but don't be afraid to try new products, if that is what you want (just be prepared to look a little blotchy if things go wrong).

And for those who wear makeup everyday, why not try going bare-faced for a few days?! It's not as scary as it sounds!