Vintage Styling with Babyliss

Vintage Styling with Babyliss-8

I’m having a bit of a hair dilemma at the moment. It never seems to do whatever I want it to, and so most of the time I resort to having it piled in a bun on top of my head. What I would really love is to have a polished ‘do every day of the week, but that’s something which is impossible with early starts to get up and go to work.

Just when I thought all hope was lost, in steps Babyliss. I was very kindly asked to select something from their Boutique range, and I chose this Soft Waves curling wand(*), sold at John Lewis. It’s intended for creating beachy styles on longer hair, but I wanted to do something a little different with it. It comes in a beautiful looking box, and would make a gorgeous gift for someone (Mother’s Day coming up… maybe?!).

My ‘Hair Envy’ Pinterest board is full of photos of retro styles, and I thought I would see if I could create a quick but polished retro up do before popping off to work one morning. I’ve attempted a full set of overnight curls before, but it never works. This way, the styler does all the hard work so I don’t have to!

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The curling wand has a variable heat setting, which is great if you’re not comfortable putting a lot of heat on your hair. I set mine at a fairly low temperature, and set about curling my hair by wrapping the ends of it around the barrel. I have to admit it felt a bit weird not having anything to grip it to (and I’m rubbish at doing things backwards in a mirror) but after a few minutes of fiddling about I finally got the hang of it.

Vintage Styling with Babyliss-3
Vintage Styling with Babyliss-4
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Once the curls are in place it’s super easy to do a quick victory roll on each side. Wrap a little piece of hair around your thumb and slide it off, then take the little roll of hair and turn in in on itself, winding all the way to your scalp. Fluff it out a bit and pin in place. Voila! This is a really great tutorial if you’re stuck. (If you can’t do victory rolls then I always do cheat ones – take a piece of hair and twist it towards your head, then place against your hair and push it slightly forwards to ‘bump’ it up a bit, then pin it in place).

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Vintage Styling with Babyliss-7

I love how the width of the barrel makes a nice big loose curl as well – I think it would probably work a little better on longer hair but it’s not too bad on my kind-of shoulder length mop.

I’ve always been a fan of this look, but never had the time to commit to a full head of curls. I’m quite enjoying the vintage style though, what do you reckon?!

[this product was sent to me to review, but opinions are my own]

Posted in beauty / Tagged babyliss, babyliss boutique soft waves, Beauty, pin up hair, retro, sponsored, vintage style / 8 Comments

Spring Preview at Lush Bath Spa

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With the excitement of Valentine’s Day out of the way, it’s time to start looking forward to all those other pointless wonderful calendar events coming up, and start getting excited about spring! Lush always manages to know exactly how to cater for every event, plus we have the excitement of a new bundle of goodies just in time for each season. I was lucky enough to be invited along to the shiny new spa store in Bath (which is BEAUTIFUL) for a look at what’s new for the spring.

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The new range certainly does not disappoint. There are flowers – LOTS of flowers. A gorgeous new bath bomb, Secret Garden, is quite literally stuffed with a magical centre which bursts with flowers once the floral fragranced outer has fizzed away, and it’s truly beautiful. There’s also a few new bubble bars – the African Paradise-scented heart shaped Heart Throb, the psychedelic coloured Purple Haze, plus the downright adorable Mother Superior and Bubblegrub!

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As well as loads of product demos happening on the night, we had the chance to make our own products! Here is the lovely Emily making a Big Blue bath bomb, which was a lot harder than it looks. Sadly there was no bath bomb mixture left when me and Steph got there, but they popped out back and came out with another mysterious box, and we got to make their awesome orange-scented Sunnyside bubble bar. Mine was a grotesque heart shaped blob, but kudos to the chap who worked in Lush, who made a pretty good resemblance to Jake from Adventure Time!

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It goes without saying that regardless of who you’re treating this spring, be it yourself or your mam, Lush have got you covered. I really recommend popping in to the new Bath store as well, it’s vast and absolutely beautiful. I can’t wait until their spa opens in the summer! I’ve got my eye on the Good Hour massage.

Thank you so much to Lush Bath Spa for the invitation, I had such a lovely evening testing out all the gorgeous new products! What’s your favourite Lush product?

Posted in beauty / Tagged Beauty, Lush, lush bath spa, lush cosmetics, mothers day, spring / Leave a comment

Valentine’s Day Gifts for Him & Her

Let me confess something – I really don’t like Valentines Day. So just writing this post makes me feel a bit icky. But having been doing some pretty extensive online shopping these last few days I’ve stumbled upon some little gifts which are far too adorable not to share with you all. This is my mini gift guide for the special one in your life, as I reckon you could get away with giving any of these to a lady or gent (yes, even the Lush bath bomb, cos everyone loves glitter… secretly).

Valentines day gifts for him and her

Hello Beautiful Pennant by Sass and Belle £6.25 // ‘You are my Lobster’ biscuit by Eat My Cake £7 // Mr & Mrs mugs from Tigerlilly Quinn £9.99 // Heart Throb bubble bar from Lush £3.65 // Favourite Song Soundwaves Print by House of Yve £25

Sass & Belle are a name I’ve heard a lot of recently – amongst their website stuffed with treasures (like this awesome badger on a bike) I found this super cute pennant with a cheery message on it. If quirky is more your thing, how about expressing your love with a biscuit shaped like a lobster? This edible delight from Eat my Cake is sold out but hopefully they’ll restock in time for the big day! Fritha’s shop is always stocked to the brim with cute gifts, but she’s got Valentines well and truly covered this year, my fave being these Mr & Mrs mugs.

Another shop who does well at this time of the year is Lush, and after going to their Valentines and spring preview last night I can say with the greatest confidence that you won’t be disappointed with Lush over the next few months! My favourite from their Valentines collection is this heart shaped bubble bar, which shares the same scent as their African Paradise body conditioner and of course has heaps of glitter in it.

My last pick is from Not on the High Street – this art print can be customised with the soundwaves of your special one’s favourite song. I reckon it makes a nice little abstract piece of art, plus it has a nice meaning behind it. Aww.

Our Valentine’s tradition is forgoing the gifts and instead spending a small fortune on cheese! What’s yours?

Posted in beauty, home / Tagged gift guide, gifts, valentines 2015, valentines day, valentines gifts / Leave a comment

M&S Christmas

Marks and Spencer Christmas Event Cribbs Causeway
Marks and Spencer Christmas Event Cribbs Causeway
Marks and Spencer Christmas Event Cribbs Causeway
Marks and Spencer Christmas Event Cribbs Causeway
Marks and Spencer Christmas Event Cribbs Causeway
Marks and Spencer Christmas Event Cribbs Causeway
Marks and Spencer Christmas Event Cribbs Causeway
Marks and Spencer Christmas Event Cribbs Causeway
Marks and Spencer Christmas Event Cribbs Causeway
Marks and Spencer Christmas Event Cribbs Causeway
Marks and Spencer Christmas Event Cribbs Causeway
Marks and Spencer Christmas Event Cribbs Causeway

The week before last I was invited along to a special Marks & Spencer Christmas event in Cribbs Causeway – a chance to catch up with some of my favourite bloggers and share a drink whilst scoffing a sausage roll or two!

I think it’s fair to say that Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a bit of ‘magic and sparkle’ from Marks, and they most certainly won’t let you down this year – as well as sampling the absolutely delicious treats they have for the Christmas dinner table it was a chance to catch up with the season’s latest trends… there’s a lot of gold and glitter! There was also a beauty bar where I got my nails painted a very festive shade by Leighton Denny, and Emily had tested out a new shade of lippy.

We were also all entered into a draw, and I was pretty shocked to find my name read out! It was my job to be one of the M&S Christmas fairies, and pick out gifts for a charity of my choice. Enlisting the help of Emily, Lyzi and Megan, we wandered off around M&S to pick out some special toys (including a 1D puzzle, which no Christmas would be complete without) which I then chose to donate to Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal.

All in all it was a very festive evening, and it was so lovely to catch up with blog friends, and meet new ones too. Thanks to Marks and Spencer’s for such a lovely event, and for letting me be a fairy for the evening!

Posted in beauty, fashion, life / Tagged #followthefairies, , charity, Christmas, M&S, marks and spencer, the grand appeal / 1 Comment

Christmas Shopping at Swindon Designer Outlet

I’m not really a natural shopper. Most of my Christmas shopping is confined to a hurried Amazon shop a few days before the big day, but I’ve really been trying to get organised this year. We’re a bit spoiled for choice with shopping here in Bristol, but let’s not forget that a short trip down the M4 you arrive at McArthur Glen Swindon Designer Outlet, with over 90 shops to choose from, all at amazing discounts! I do love a bargain, me.

I was kindly invited along by McArthur Glen to take part in their Gift Hunter Challenge – to find gifts for my three nearest and dearest for under £250, as well as a treat for me! Of course, being the hopeless gift finder that I am, I jumped at the opportunity to explore the new mall and tick a few presents off my shopping list.

Swindon Designer Outlet Christmas 2014
Swindon Designer Outlet Christmas 2014
Swindon Designer Outlet Christmas 2014

We started with a little tour of the place, which has considerably grown in size since my last visit a few years ago. The recent addition of the ‘longshop’ mall has added a whole host of new stores to choose from, including Phase Eight, Ghost and a beautiful Paperchase which I spent far too much time in! After our tour we made a beeline straight for the Lindt shop, to fill our boots with tasty treats.

Swindon Designer Outlet Christmas 2014
Swindon Designer Outlet Christmas 2014
Swindon Designer Outlet Christmas 2014
Swindon Designer Outlet Christmas 2014

The whole mall looked really festive, with the halls well and truly decked with wreaths, holly and impressive lifesized nutcracker statues. What I love about the Swindon Outlet is that they’ve maintained some of the history of the place – sitting alongside the modernity is hints of it’s former life as part of the GWR, with trains and Victorian bits galore. I was in history geek heaven.

Swindon Designer Outlet Christmas 2014
Swindon Designer Outlet Christmas 2014
Swindon Designer Outlet Christmas 2014
Swindon Designer Outlet Christmas 2014
Swindon Designer Outlet Christmas 2014

After a busy morning shopping it was time for a sit-down and a well earned Wagamama’s at their beautiful new food quarter, which has just opened. Cue happy noodle face! If noodles aren’t your thing then there’s a Pizza Express and a delightfully kitsch-looking Ed’s Easy Diner, if that takes your fancy.

Of course, let’s not forget why I was there in the first place – for hardcore gift-buying. I had an idea of who I wanted to buy for before I went in there, but that may have changed a little, seeing as I took Tom along to help, and thought he deserved a bit of a treat.

Swindon Designer Outlet Christmas 2014

We picked Tom up a new jacket from Tog 24, a new pair of jeans from Ben Sherman (who, as well as being at a discounted price, also had an extra 25% off! Woo hoo!), and some sturdy looking boots from Timbaland. We hardly ever get Tom new clothes, so it was a nice chance to pick up a few bits which will be really useful during the winter. Plus he looks very dashing in his new get-up.

Swindon Designer Outlet Christmas 2014

Next up was my little sister, who at the grand old age of 12, isn’t the hardest person to buy for! We have a very similar taste in things (naturally), so I picked out things I would be happy to recieve myself. Alongside a little hot chocolate kit I made with a Le Creuset mug, Lindt chocolates and fancy hot chocolate from Whittards, I got a mini gift set from the Body Shop, plus some of their banana conditioner which I’ve heard amazing things about. As well as this I picked up a few bits from Paperchase, including these awesome cat highlighters and tortoise push pins. I’m definitely resisting the temptation to keep these for myself…

Swindon Designer Outlet Christmas 2014

When we first thought about who to buy for with this challenge, the first people we decided to tick off the list were Tom’s parents. They have just re-done their dining room, so we decided to treat them with a new set of salt and pepper grinders from Le Creuset, as well as two mugs in their iconic volcanic orange finish. As well as this we found this absolute bargain Sabatier knife set in kitchen shop Amefa, down from £200 to a very tidy £30!

Swindon Designer Outlet Christmas 2014

Of course I needed to find a gift for myself, which turned out to be a lot harder than I thought it would be! I settled on a few treats which I’ve always wanted – a decent fitting pair of jeans from Levi’s, a massive Yankee Candle (plus some mini ones), and I also treated myself to a new pot of my favourite eye cream from their amazing Cosmetics Company store.

All in all, a day well spent I think!

Thanks so much for McArthur Glen for inviting me along to see the new mall and pick out these treats to take home. I think I did pretty well at my Gift Hunter Challenge, but I won’t know until the 25th! What do you reckon?

Posted in adventure, beauty, fashion, home / Tagged Beauty, Christmas, christmas shopping, , home, mcarthur glen designer outlet, sponsored, swindon designer outlet / 2 Comments

Bleach London ‘Washed Out Orange’ Review

Bleach London Washed Out Orange Review | Lily Doughball UK lifestyle blog

To say that I change my hair quite frequently is just a bit of an understatement. I first dyed my hair jet black at the age of 13, and since then I’ve been highlighted blonde, white blonde, ginger, red-brown, and back to my normal mousey. After most of this year attempting to get my hair blonde again (it was one of my yearly goals!) I’ve decided that I love having blonde hair, but blonde hair doesn’t like me. It felt most of the time like it weren’t my own hair – I’d look down at my shoulders and be genuinely surprised to see it there. I could never seem to get it as blonde as I really wanted it, either. Plus, I looked like Garth from Waynes World when I had my glasses on. Ha.

I’d previously tried Bleach London’s ‘Awkward Peach’ and found it to be a really simple and cheap way to experiment with a new colour. Having found that Awkward Peach was a bit too pinky for me, and wanting to go back to the good old days when I had ginger hair, I thought I would test the water with their ‘Washed Out Orange’ shade. As before, the formula is that of a coloured conditioner – you apply to shampooed, towel-dried hair, leave on for 15 minutes, and rinse with lukewarm water.

Here is what my unwashed, blonde-ish locks looked like pre-Bleach:

Bleach London Washed Out Orange Review | Lily Doughball UK lifestyle blog

… and here is the result!

Bleach London Washed Out Orange Review | Lily Doughball UK lifestyle blog

The keen-eyed among you may have noticed another difference – my tiny fringe has returned! I missed my ‘Bettie Bangs’ so much me and Emily went up to Mack Daddy’s on Park Row and got matching fringes, and she vlogged all about it !

Bleach London Washed Out Orange Review | Lily Doughball UK lifestyle blog

I’m pleasantly surprised at how much colour managed to find its way into my frazzled locks, and I personally much prefer this shade to the pinkier Peach shade, but that’s just me. Bleach London recommend that for the best colour effect you take your hair to the lightest it can go with their bleach kit, which includes a restoration mask so you don’t wreck your hair. After that you apply a toner to take the brassiness out, and then the colour you want. I didn’t bother with any of that, as my hair was light enough anyway, and seeing as I put this on a warm blonde it has brought the orange out really well.

To test the staying power, I washed my hair the day after. Here it is after one wash:

Bleach London Washed Out Orange Review | Lily Doughball UK lifestyle blog
Bleach London Washed Out Orange Review | Lily Doughball UK lifestyle blog

(If you’re wondering why I look so awkward in the first pic it’s because it was super-duper bright in my garden yesterday morning, and I was trying reaaaally hard not to squint)

The bleached portion of my hair has grown out quite a bit since my last colouring. As you can see, it didn’t take to the natural mousey brown colour of my hair at all, which proves that for the best colour effect you really need to bleach your hair first. As for the staying power I’m overall quite impressed, but I did wash my hair with a really mild shampoo, and used the coldest water I could. A few of my top tips to keep your colour lasting longer are:

1. Don’t overwash your hair.
Try to get into the habit of washing your hair 2-3 times a week. This might seem a bit gross to begin with, but after a couple of weeks your hair will get into the natural ‘rhythym’ of being washed only a couple of times, and it will give it time to replenish the natural oils, plus help keep your new colour which can be stripped with too much washing.

2. Use cold water 
Try to use the coldest water that you can endure when washing your hair. Bleach London recommend rinsing with lukewarm water, as the hotter the water, the more it rinses the colour out, in my experience. Top tip – when I had red hair I would flip my head upside down and wash it over the bath with cold water, so I didn’t have to stand in a freezing cold shower!

3. Use a mild shampoo
Find a shampoo which won’t take too much of the colour out. I’m still experimenting, but some of my favourite shampoos are Lush’s solid shampoo bars, of which the mildest is Squeaky Green. I also use baby shampoo as it’s the mildest I can pick up from the supermarket.

4. Dry shampoo is your best friend
Because of 1., you will grow to love and cherish whoever it is who created dry shampoo. Batiste are obviously the market leaders when it comes to this sort of thing, and they even do coloured versions for most hair types. I seem to get through it too quickly though, and at the moment I’m testing out Herbal Essences’ new dry shampoo for coloured hair. It seems to go on almost invisibly, but does leave a bit of a weird residue. Next up on my list is No Drought from Lush, I’ll let you know how I get on!

5. Top up your colour
I used to re-dye my hair every 4-6 weeks, to keep the colour looking vibrant. Obviously with the Bleach London products they last 2-10 washes, so I would just top up the colour whenever it begins to fade too much. At £5 a pop they are pretty good value, plus because of the conditioning nature you’ll be doing your hair some good too!

I’ve most definitely caught the ‘ginger bug’ again, and have been frantically pinning pictures of gorgeous red hair over on my . I think I might have a few more experiments though, as I know how often I can change my mind!

Posted in beauty / Tagged bleach london, bleach super cool colours, bleach washed out orange, coloured hair, orange hair, pastel hair, super cool colours, tips for coloured hair, washed out orange / 3 Comments

Neal’s Yard Organic Beauty Pamper Evening

Beauty products, skincare and make up are a funny old thing. It is something which I and probably most other ladies (and gentlemen) couldn’t do without, but until recently I hadn’t paid much care or attention as to what I was scrubbing, smoothing or slathering onto my skin. I’ve tried to live by a ‘quality vs quantity’ approach to most things nowadays, including skincare, and only buy products which I have heard good things about or tested myself, rather than just waltzing into Asda and picking up the cheapest moisturiser they had on offer, which usually resulted in al least four unused pots languishing in my cupboard for months.

Neal's Yard Organic Beauty Pamper Evening | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle and Beauty Blog
Neal's Yard Organic Beauty Pamper Evening | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle and Beauty Blog

Organic beauty is something which I confess I had never really seriously considered, up until I was invited along to a pamper evening in the rather swanky Finzel’s Reach just down the road, which was being hosted by organic beauty giants Neal’s Yard. I had used NYR products before and thought them just another high end brand which was out of my price bracket, but as I found out on the evening, I had a lot to learn.

The evening began with a strange turn of events whereby I ‘bumped’ into SJ whilst finishing my dinner in good old Bristol institution, Bagel Boy. I say bumped into, it was more of a chance glance and an awkward half-mouthed conversation through the window – “are you going to the event?” “Yeah! Are you? How are you?” – and soon she was sitting next to me and we were having a lovely catch up. We walked the short distance to the event, and marvelled at the impressive looking Finzel’s Reach, before being warmly greeted by the lovely Jessica, who took us up to a flat on the first floor.

Neal's Yard Organic Beauty Pamper Evening | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle and Beauty Blog
Neal's Yard Organic Beauty Pamper Evening | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle and Beauty Blog
Neal's Yard Organic Beauty Pamper Evening | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle and Beauty Blog

We could smell the products even before we were properly out of the lift. It was absolutely amazing, a heady mix of herbs and floral smells which drifted down the corridor. We discovered when we got inside the flat that the various smells were coming from a beautiful line of their distinctive blue glass bottles down the hallway, plus vaporisers stationed at strategic points around the room. After meeting fellow bloggers, our lovely hosts, and some friendly ladies from the Soil Association, I made a beeline for the balcony to catch a rare view of the other side of Castle Park. I almost wanted to live in this flat, were it not for the noisy rowers every 10 minutes!

The whole evening went by far too quickly. I have learned so much about organic beauty, I cannot even begin to describe. We were first given some neat organic essential oils to smell, and we had to guess which oils they were, and describe how they made us feel. Apparently this sense of smell and the effect that the scent has on your mood is incredibly important – your body will naturally be drawn towards the essential oils it needs most. For example, if you have dry skin, then you may find yourself naturally drawn towards the beautiful orange flower range of their products.

Neal's Yard Organic Beauty Pamper Evening | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle and Beauty Blog
Neal's Yard Organic Beauty Pamper Evening | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle and Beauty Blog
Neal's Yard Organic Beauty Pamper Evening | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle and Beauty Blog

I was lucky enough to sample their gorgeous Frankincense range, and I was given a luxurious facial. You can see me above demonstrating my excited face, my “I’m learning all the things” face, and finally my super-duper relaxed I’m-having-a-facial-face. Thanks to SJ for taking these lovely photos of me! I sampled what felt like every single product in the Frankincense range, my favourite being the facial oil. I have to admit I have always steered clear of oils and oil-based products, believing myself to have the oilest skin known to man. Apparently though, this one is more of a ‘dry’ oil (I know, weird right) which sinks into the skin, and has exceptionally nourishing properties. I then had my make-up did, and felt very pampered indeed!

Neal's Yard Organic Beauty Pamper Evening | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle and Beauty Blog
Neal's Yard Organic Beauty Pamper Evening | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle and Beauty Blog
Neal's Yard Organic Beauty Pamper Evening | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle and Beauty Blog

I’m incredibly grateful for being invited to such a fantastic event, I learnt so much on the evening. On our way out we were given a pot of their best-selling product, Wild Rose Beauty Balm, which I’ve since been using every evening to cleanse my face and get rid of all my grubby impurities from the day. It really is the most wonderful product, simply melt it into your face and remove with warm water and the muslin cloth provided. It leaves your skin bright, smooth, squeaky clean and beautifully soft. People have even commented on how good my skin looks, which is a first for me!

Thanks so much to Neal’s Yard for inviting me, and also to the Soil Association, who taught us a great deal about organic beauty on the evening.

Posted in beauty / Tagged Beauty, Neal's Yard, neal's yard remedies, organic beauty, organic beauty week, soil association, sponsored / 4 Comments

A Lock-In at Lush Cribbs

The Friday before last, I took a rather massive detour from my place of work in Bath, got lost in some windy country roads snaking through little villages, and somehow managed to end up at my destination – Lush at Cribbs Causeway! I love how Cribbs always seems equidistant from everywhere, a mecca of pure indulgence and blissful consumerism. Me and Tom used to pop to Cribbs just to have a wonder around (and inevitably come out with much lighter wallets!).

I had been invited along to a very special event that Lush were hosting, to showcase their new suncare range. It was a very lovely end to a rather crappy Friday; I very nearly didn’t go, but I am so glad I did.

Lush Blogger Event Cribbs Causeway | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

After treating myself to dinner at Wagamama (yes, I am one of those weird people who has no problem with sitting by themselves in a restaurant… you can stare all you wish!) I hotfooted it over to the teeny little Lush store, and immediately bumped into fellow Bristolian blogging lovelies She and Hem.

We were ushered inside, and I was completely overwhelmed at how friendly and welcoming the staff were. I’ve always considered a career at Lush – every time I’ve been into one of their shops the staff seem genuinely pleased to be there, and are always cheerful and helpful. There was a member of staff positioned at various ‘stations’ around the event, talking us through some of the products.

Lush Blogger Event Cribbs Causeway | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

Lush Blogger Event Cribbs Causeway | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

After chatting to a lovely lady about haircare, I wandered over to where some fellow bloggers were getting stuck in making fresh face masks! This particular mixture was destined to be a pot of Catastrophe Cosmetic, packed with powerful antioxidant blueberries and calming to the skin. If you follow me on you will know that I could hardly wait to plaster it all over my mush when I got home, and it really did do my skin wonders.

Lush Blogger Event Cribbs Causeway | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

Lush Blogger Event Cribbs Causeway | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

Of course, the next half hour or so was spent wondering around pressing various brightly coloured things to my nose, and smelling absolutely EVERYTHING. I can get completely and utterly lost in Lush, and love how there are always new things to smell every time I go in there. I also spent a good deal of my time completely boring the pants off the poor chap who stopped to listen to me, detailing every single product I’ve bought, the things I’m sad they don’t sell any more (including Alkmaar, Tramp, and that weird banana soap they made in drainpipes), and how they should bring back Rose Jam.

Lush Blogger Event Cribbs Causeway | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog Lush Blogger Event Cribbs Causeway | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

Of course, the star of the show was their new suncare range – I was lucky enough to be a guinea pig for a sample of the African Paradise treatment, and can confirm that it both smells absolutely gorgeous, and left my skin beautifully smooth and moisturised. It has fresh mango to brighten the skin, as well as one of my favourite scents, moringa. We were also treated to a sample of Million Dollar Moisturiser (which left my hand baby-smooth), and the lovely Lush lady explained to me the benefits of their SLush fund, and how it is contributing directly to their products. As if we needed an excuse to love Lush any more?!

Lush Blogger Event Cribbs Causeway | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

We were very lucky to receive a goody bag on the way out – as well as the samples of Sunblock, Yuzu & Cocoa, Happy Hippy and Shine So Bright, I also treated myself to a larger than usual bottle of my favourite conditioner, American Cream, and some Daddy-O shampoo to re-blondify my brassy locks.

I haven’t had a chance to test the Yuzu & Cocoa bubble bar, or the Sunblock, but I am intrigued to see if it really does have the SPF protection, if the sun ever makes a reappearance! The Happy Hippy shower gel is sure to be a favourite with everyone – I can’t see how anyone couldn’t love its cheery grapfruity smell. It also benefits from frankincense, which compliments it beautifully, and is gentle enough for all skin types, leaving mine lovely and soft.

My favourite product from this entire haul, however, is the Shine So Bright. This little tin is a balm for hair, something I had trouble grasping at first. The solid balm melts instantly onto your fingertips for easy application through the ends of your hair, leaving it feeling nourished and smelling absolutely amazing. I really can’t rate this highly enough – it tames my flyaway, over bleached locks without making my hair greasy, and the citrussy floral smell has a slightly spicy woody note to it, and lingers on my hair all day. Beautiful.

What’s your favourite Lush product?

Thank you so much again to everyone at Lush Cribbs Causeway for inviting me, for all the lovely treats, and for putting up with my crazy fangirl ramblings!

Posted in beauty / Tagged Beauty, Cribbs, Cribbs Causeway, Lush, lush cribbs causeway, sponsored, summer, suncare / 8 Comments

The Somerset Toiletry Company

… or fancy beauty treats that won’t break the bank!

A couple of weeks ago, I found an email in my inbox from a lovely lady who works for the Somerset Toiletry Company. She asked if, to celebrate the launch of their brand new site, I would like to try some of their products, to which I (of course) jumped at the opportunity!

The Somerset Toiletry Company began life in 1999, producing beauty products for larger companies such as Zara, Anthropologie, Laura Ashley and John Lewis. Now they are venturing on alone and have created their own label, with the ethos of developing products which are beautifully designed and reasonably priced, packing the best ingredients into each range.

As well as their shiny new website they also have an outlet store in Clutton, conveniently placed between Bath and Bristol. There are absolute bargains galore to be had; I know where I’m making a beeline to do my Christmas shopping!

Somerset Toiletry Company | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

I was very kindly sent a Ministry of Sound perfume (RRP £20, outlet £1.50 – WHAT?!), a Laura Ashley Garden Replenishing Lip Balm (RRP £7, outlet £2.50), Naturally European Luxury Hand Cream (RRP £7, outlet £4.50) and a bar of Asquith and Somerset English Rose Soap (RRP £4.50, outlet £1.50).

Somerset Toiletry Company | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

Let’s start with the absolute bargain of the century, this Ministry of Sound perfume (*), which is only £1.50 in their outlet store! Crazy. I loved the spherical bottle, but I have to admit wasn’t mad about the smell – it’s certainly floral, but a little too sweet for my liking, but certainly fresh, and perfect for summer.

Somerset Toiletry Company | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

I did a little squeal of joy when I saw that there was a lip balm poking out of the box. A gal can never have too many lip products in her life. This Laura Ashley Replenishing lip balm (*) certainly does not disappoint. It’s a very melt-y, buttery texture, which sinks into your lips fairly quickly, leaving them feeling very nourished. Plus, it has a very pleasant minty smell and taste, which is just perfect for someone who drinks as much coffee as I do (sometimes breath mints don’t cut the mustard).

Somerset Toiletry Company | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

This hand cream I was also a massive fan of. Naturally European are one of five ranges under the Somerset Toiletry name, with the aim being to have something to suit everyone’s budget. I suffer from chronically dry chapped hands, even in summer, so this was an absolute blessing. It is quite rich, being 20% shea butter, but incredibly luxurious, and the smell is absolutely wonderful.

Somerset Toiletry Company | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

I am an absolute sucker for anything which smells, tastes, looks like or even vaguely mentions or resembles roses. I adore roses. Therefore, this soap was right up my alley. The trouble is, I rarely use soap at all, and being the thrifty and resourceful housewife that I am, I’m afraid this chap is going to have to wait until we have used up our current stash of bathroom products. The smell is something I can assure you of, at least – it is beautiful, and at £1.50, you can’t really go wrong.

You don’t have to wait til Christmas to pay them a visit (I certainly won’t be) – you can find them over at their website, or if you’re local you can pop down to their Clutton store – Somerset Toiletry Company, Clutton Hill Farm Estate, King Lane, BS39 5QQ.

Posted in beauty / Tagged Bath, Beauty, , clutton, discount beauty, outlet store, somerset, somerset toiletry company, sponsored / 5 Comments

Princess Peach – Bleach London ‘Awkward Peach’ Review

To say that I have heard a lot of buzz about Bleach London is a bit of an understatement. There seemed to be a time, a couple of months ago, when my Facebook feed was crammed full with pictures and statuses about guys and gals dying their hair all sorts of wacky colours. Even more cryptic was that these photos were coupled with captions such as ‘dying my hair Washed Up Mermaid today’… erm, excuse me?! A little further investigation showed that they had not completely lost their minds, and were referring to a pretty eccentric and totally hipster-cool London based brand, Bleach London (clue’s in the name, really).

bleach london awkward peach

At the beginning of June, as a birthday treat, I had my hair cut and coloured at arguably the best salon in Bristol, Betties and Baldwins, and decided that after months of mousey hair I wanted beautiful peachy locks. I cannot rate B&B more highly – I went to see Kadi, and after hours in the chair and a couple of rounds of bleach later, I stepped out the door completely besotted with my new ‘do. Some of you who follow me on Instagram may have seen glimpses of my noggin pre bleach, during the process, immediately post, and after a couple of washes. Thing is, the trouble with such a bright colour such as peach is that it washes out pretty darn quickly (even worse when your hair is in a bad condition, like mine). So I decided to spruce it up between salon visits with Bleach London’s Awkward Peach.

It comes in large-ish bottles, which cost a fiver and are available from most Boots stores, although my local didn’t have it, so I ordered it off the interweb. You slop it all on your head, wait 15 minutes, and rinse out with lukewarm water. I decided to comb it through my hair for a more even coverage, and also took the executive decision of covering my hair with clingfilm, partly to save my bathroom from drips, and partly because when I used to henna my hair this helped it permeate a little better. I left it on for a bit longer than 15 minutes (probably about 20), but to be perfectly honest I don’t think it will help if you leave it on longer – this is more like a tinted conditioning treatment, rather than a dye, designed to last between 2-10 washes.

Here is a glimpse of my miserable tired face and my faded hair before dying…

bleach london awkward peach review

As you can see it’s not completely gone, but most of the colour from my salon visit has washed out, and it’s not as vibrant as it used to be. It’s a little pinker at the top where the bleach took to my roots better than my ends, and soaked up more of the dye. All it needed was a bit of an even colour coverage. After 15 minutes of Awkward Peach it looked like this…

Bleach-London-Peach-after

Look at my happy little morning face!

As you can see, the colour is a lot more even between the roots and the ends. Because the ends of my hair have taken such a battering from bleaching over the years, they lose the colour a lot more quickly. What was nice about this treatment is that it provided my hair with some much needed moisture, whilst saturating it with glorious peachy goodness! I was a little concerned when I started applying it to my hair, as it seemed really pink, and I was looking for more of a faded orange colour. It certainly is a lot pinker than the initial peach colour that I had, but I quite like it, and it’s blended my roots into the rest of my hair nicely.

bleach london awkward peach review

Comparing the two side by side and you can really see how much more vibrant my hair is after the Awkward Peach treatment. At £5, you can’t really go wrong if you want to top up your coloured hair between salon visits. Obviously, I used the Bleach London product on top of already dyed hair – if you want more of a paler/washed out colour, I’m sure it would look lighter on completely pre-bleached hair (although please don’t take hair advice from me, go see your hairdresser!).

I will confess, this was a few weeks ago – most of this colour has washed out and I’m not sure which colour to go next, although now I’m considering dying it back to peach again. Bleach London don’t just do peach, however – Washed Up Mermaid looks pretty cool, as does Sea Punk, although I’m not entirely sure I’m quite cool enough for green hair!

Posted in beauty / Tagged awkward peach, Beauty, bleach london, haircare, peach hair / 3 Comments