Lush Magic Wand Bubble Bar

Hi everyone,

I hope you’re all having a lovely weekend :)  Mine has been pretty quiet to be honest but I think it’s what I needed after a busy couple of weeks and another ahead! To try and relax amongst the mayhem recently I have taken to having more Lush baths. I love the Christmas range that is currently out with one of my all-time favourites being the Luxury Lush Pud. In the spirit of trying something new though I bought the Magic Wand Bubble Bar which I was immediately drawn to as it is just so girly and cute.

Apologies the photos aren't amazing quality! Was just about to jump in the bath and remembered I needed to take them but it was a bit dark!

This is a Snow Fairy scented product which is always a hit with me and is reusable so you although it’s a bit more expensive than some (£5.25), you do get your money’s worth. To use you simple swish the wand around in your bath to create lovely pale pink bubbles with a hint of silver glitter. The water actually looks pinker in real life than it does in the photos but as it is pale it didn’t show up very well on camera. Once you have got the amount of bubbles you want, you can supposedly leave the wand on the side to dry out ready to use again next time. However, it is two days since I had my Lush bath and the bubble bar is still very wet. Although this isn’t a major problem, I do find it a little annoying and messy and would prefer to be able to put it away rather than just leave it on the side.

I didn’t notice any benefits to my skin from using this bubble bar but I think it’s really just one for fun. It didn’t create the most amount of bubbles but I still really enjoyed using it and it is definitely one for the girly girls out there!

Have you tried the Lush Magic Wand? Which other products from the Christmas collection have you enjoyed using? How do you like to relax?

Thanks for reading,

Hannah xx

Obey Your Body Radiance Repair Peeling Gel Review

Hi everyone,

I’m an absolute sucker for any sort of marketing ploy so when I discovered a beauty and fashion section at the Ideal Home Show in Manchester, there was no way I would be leaving empty handed. The first product that caught my eye was the Obey Your Body Radiance Repair Peeling Gel. The gel is meant to provide your skin with a deep cleanse as well as gently exfoliate and promote skin renewal. It contains Dead Sea minerals and herbs and claims to be for all skin types, including those that suffer with psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, eczema and severe acne.

I very rarely write completely negative reviews and always try to look for a positive aspect to a product but right off the bat I didn’t like this gel at all. Firstly I was told the 50ml bottle would last me a year and although I can’t say for sure after only using it for a couple of weeks, I really can’t see that it would last that long. Compared to other skincare products that I use regularly, you need quite a lot of the gel to cover your entire face and even then for me it never really gets going. Once you have rubbed it in, little balls of supposedly dead skin appear but I really just think this is the product gathering up rather than skin actually peeling off. I also found it really difficult to remove these little clumps of product / dead skin and they seemed to stick in some areas of my face which took a round of Clinique Foaming Cleanser to get off.

Once I had finally removed all the gel from my skin I took a look in the mirror and was shocked to see a bright red patch emerging on one of my cheeks where I had had particular trouble with the product sticking. I do have really sensitive skin but very rarely have a reaction as bad as this from a skincare product. This was after the first time I had used it and I have since tried it a few more times where the redness hasn’t been nearly as bad. However, this initial reaction has put me off using it more long term.

If I can draw one positive from this product it would be that my skin does actually feel very soft after use and this lasts for around three days. It was recommended that I use the gel twice a week but after my experience so far I think it’s safe to say I won’t be sticking with it.

The sales person at the show told me this peeling gel would normally retail for around £70 but that day it was on offer for £20. I have looked online and seen it mostly available for £32 - £35 which I still think is vastly overpriced.

Overall I have had a very negative experience with the Obey Your Body Peeling Gel and I certainly won’t be finishing this bottle let alone buying it again. I have read mixed reviews online with some saying it is a wonder product while others have had less of a positive experience. For me it is a product I massively regret buying but I have learned a valuable lesson and won’t be buying skincare products on a whim like this again.

Have you tried anything from Obey Your Body? If you have I’d love to hear your thoughts so leave a comment below :)

Thanks for reading,

Hannah xx

Healty eating and exercising right - at least trying to!

Hi everyone,

I don’t know about you but I find exercising and eating right so difficult! There is just too much temptation everywhere, like today when I went out for tea with some friends I was determined to pick a healthy option and resist having a dessert. However, my strength quickly vanished when everyone else was ordering pie and mash with chocolate cheesecake for after and I just couldn’t help myself. Before I knew it there was a huge plate of fish and chips in front of me swiftly followed by profiterole cheesecake and I devoured the lot. The guilt has now well and truly set in and although I know you're allowed a treat every now and then, this is too much of a re-occurance for me at the moment and I’m now sat here with my food baby feeling thoroughly sorry for myself.

Up until this weekend I had actually been very good after deciding a few weeks ago that I wanted to live a healthier lifestyle involving much more exercise and food that was good for me. I’m rubbish at going to the gym and when I do manage to drag myself there I don’t really know what I’m doing. So instead I opt for workout DVDs and my favourites are any by Jillian Michaels but especially the 30 Day Shred and Six Week Six Pack. I discovered these DVDs a few years ago and once I started doing them I noticed so much more of a difference in my body than I had when I was working out at the gym. After my holiday though they were quickly forgotten about until I dusted them off recently and decided to try them again. Each workout is only around 30 minutes long as well which is great as I find them much easier to fit into my day and to commit to.

 

Food wise I have been using the My Fitness Pal app to keep track of what I am eating. I think a lot of people use this one but if you haven’t heard of it then it is essentially a daily diary where you can input what you eat it and it will work out for you how many calories are in it as well as its nutritional value. Based on my current weight, age and how active I am on a day to day basis at work it has given me a target on 1200 calories a day to keep below. It can be quite challenging at first but I think it’s helped me to input all my meals in a morning before I have actually eaten them. I have been caught out in the past and eaten something I thought was relatively healthy only to find it contained about a billion calories and hidden ingredients so now I know if something is good or bad for you before it’s too late.

 

Controlling portion sizes has been another step I’ve made towards being healthier although I am still constantly having to remind my boyfriend that I don’t need to eat as much as him! As he does all the cooking in our house (I’m really terrible at it), he has got into a habit of making too much and piling it all on my plate. Then of course if it’s in front of me and it’s yummy, no matter how hard I try the temptation is too much and before I know it it’s all gone. Measuring out how much I want and making sure he doesn’t overload my plate with food has really made a difference and helped me feel much better too.

So basically I am trying to eat healthier and do more exercise but as you can tell from my experience today, it’s not always easy and I am far from the fitness guru I’d like to be. However, I think the fact that I am trying is an improvement and I am getting there with it, even if it is very slowly! As I’m very new to this if any of you have tips or tricks to staying fit and healthy or if you know of, or write a healthy eating or exercise blog then please let me know in the comments below! I’d love to hear how you do it and any ideas that might help me stay on track :)

Thanks for reading,

Hannah xx