Refreshing LUSH Soap Loving :)

I get really OCD with soap - I love having ones that match my mood. For example, one fruity one for refreshing feelings or one sweet one for cozy feelings. Recently with the heat still going at me with full force, I've been opting for 'refreshing' but leaning towards more the citrus scents :)

Because of how easily sweetness can turn into sickliness in the heat, I felt the Body Shop ranges (one of my faves!) were a bit too sweet. So naturally, I turned to my other favourite bath/shower shop - LUSH, which I kind of see as a similar type of brand with good ethics and good products but with a twist of creativity, a sense of humour and an offering that's very different from the BodyShop!

The soap that I'm using now is called Sandstone which you can see above. It has a citrusy scent to it, and the soap itself has some tiny sandbits that help exfoliate your skin (and it's small enough that it doesn't clog your bath!)

I really like this soap, and find it a good middle between a soap and a scrub and don't mind using it everyday. The scent is really refreshing and unoffensive (which I find is kinda rare in LUSH soaps!), and the scrub slowly gets rid of bumps and spots. However, the lack of soapy bubbles makes me wonder how much cleansing it's actually doing.. but it leaves your skin feeling clean and leaves no residue or unnatural squeakyness and leaves your skin feeling like it should - not too dry, but not waxy/greasy - which I absolutely love! :)

The soap that I used before the Sandstone was the Sexy Peel soap (above), which also falls under the category of citrus, but it has a bit of a marmalade-y sweetness to it too. It's still very refreshing and leaves your skin clean, albeit with bit less perfection on the aftertouch than the Sandstone. However, I found that this soap was more suitable for humid weathers as the finish keeps you having fresh skin for longer! Would recommend this for those who play sports or the like :)

The bits of orange peel occasionally falling out and the less bubbling up compared to some other soaps on the market are just tiny blips of a product that does what it says on the tin and smells absolutely amazing! Definitely a must have for the summer!

So which would I prefer? Probably the Sandstone, as while Sexy Peel is better for a soapy cleanse and for humid weather, there are other soaps I like for that! The Sandstone's gradual exfoliation and aftertouch is pricesless, and I would say is the solid version of the Simple Exfoliating Gel - AMAZING stuff! I feel like with both soaps bumps/body spots have gradually gone away. I'm sure if I looked I could find soaps that do it faster - but maybe not necessarily as gently.

What's up next? I recently bought this set off my mom - as my mom runs a charity store, she gets loads of donations, and while this was a great donation she has a policy against cosmetics so I offered to donate some money to her cause in exchange for this set :) I love the little "YOU CANNOT EAT THIS" paper that comes inside the box lol!

I was SO happy when I saw what was inside (I bought it off her without taking a look, as I never mind donating to her cause) - two products I'd considered getting: a 100g bottle of Happy Hippy (which contains pink grapefruit) and a bar of Bohemian soap (which is primarily lemon and is probably the simplest/gentlest soap LUSH offers).

I'm really excited to try these out next - I LOVE LUSH! :D But I'm not sure how much I'll crave refreshing citrus in England's weather at the moment! :P My favourite 'sweet' LUSH soap is Porridge, although I really want to try Miranda too!

What are your favourite 'refreshing' body soaps?

Any favourites from LUSH? :)

<3yu

Review - Ted Baker Girliest Convenience Vanity Set

Since Ted Baker is a really popular brand, and there are loads of other gift sets that include products from this vanity set, I thought I'd do a review :).. especially for those wondering what to get people (or themselves) for Christmas! This set is like.. the almighty Ted Baker gift set that is available at Boots, and at the moment it's included in the 3 for 2 Christmas deal. But there are sets down to £10 with mini-sizes that would be perfect for stocking-fillers or friends :) The video on it will be attached at the end.

The products included are as follows:

• Heavenly Cleansing Body Wash 300ml 
• Lathers so nicely, a lot goes a long way, leaves you smelling gorge :)
• Divine Relaxing Bath Soak 300ml 
• Doesn't bubble up too great, you need to use a lot, packaging isn't easy to get a lot out of.
• Heavenly Rich Body Souffle 250ml 
• Light moisturisation, soaks into skin, love the smell!
• Divine Moisturising Body Lotion 300ml 
• Light moisturisation, awkward amount comes out with one pump (too much for just hands, not enough for body), not rich enough for coarse areas.
• Heavenly Fragrance Body Spray 150ml
• Divine Fragranced Body Spray 150ml 
• Both Body Sprays have a light amount of fragrance, not as fragranced as perfumes so kind of dies away unless topping up either the Souffle or the Lotion with respective smells.
• Divine Scented Candle 
• Never used, doesn't really smell like the other Divine items :S

Scents: The Divine & Heavenly are distinctions of not only the colour of the case (dark and light respectively), but also the scent. Divine is more of a sugary sweet smell, while Heavenly is more of a fresh smell with a bit of a lemon-y tint. My preference is definitely the Heavenly :)

Packaging: The only complaint about the packaging would be the Body Lotion & Bath Soak as mentioned above. Otherwise, the design is suitable for the products, and aesthetically, they are so pretty, I love swirly patterns :)

The Vanity: I LOVE IT! The pattern is obviously a personal taste thing, but I personally find it very pretty, neutral, and appropriate for all age groups. There is a little pouch inside as well as rubber bands to keep items in place (see video), and these confuse me because they're not the right size for the products that come with the gift set.. so I'm guessing it's meant for use with other things :) Can't wait to travel with this one day!

Price: £40 - pricey, but there are other little gift sets that include mini versions of some of these products for as little as £10. These will give you the chance to try them out before you get full sizes/get them as gifts/stocking-fillers for other people :)

Rebuy? Well, not the whole set lol but I would rebuy the Body Wash for sure, and the other things don't jump off the page but I do like them, so I may! :)

I've also tried the Invigorating Sugar Scrub and that is my favourite exfoliator of all time! Definitely recommend :) The smell is from the Divine range.

What are your favourite 3 for 2's at Boots or Ted Baker products? :) Has anyone tried the make-up from them?

<3yu

P.S. Thank you to my darling boyfriend from getting me this set :) LOOOOOVE <3