Cambridge Haul!

 So some of you may know that I've been in Cambridge for the last week and will be here for another five! I'm here on placement for my Uni at Addenbrookes Hospital so have been pretty busy since I got here on Sunday, and today is the first chance I've had to have a look around the city centre and, of course, do a bit of cheeky shopping!

I went to John Lewis and picked up these cuties. I wanted a mug because I only brought one with me but it's not really enough and I'll take this back to London with me - can you ever have enough mugs?! I love the barista design and it's big enough to hold a decent cuppa. This was £5 which was quite a lot, but as it had a few small chips on the handle and rim (barely noticable), I asked about getting a discount and they offered it to me at £3, which I happily accepted! Bargain!! The notebook I picked up for £6 as I've found myself wanting to jot quite a few things down this first week of placement, and it's a lot easier to have it all in one place, rather than bits of paper all over the place! I love this notebook as the embossed design is just really beautiful and the paper inside is really good quality. I figured during a 9-5 shift, it would make me happy to pull this out to write something down. It's also a micro size and so fits really easily into my tunic pocket.

 I also went to LUSH and bought a 100g bottle of The Olive Branch shower gel for £4.45. The Olive Branch smells gorgeous and is such a beautiful colour! I was a bit trepidus at first because of the olive oil, but the scent that stands out is the mandarins which are really nice. I also picked up another block of Coalface. I mentioned this product in a previous LUSH haul, where I was given a sample of it and didn't use it for ages, but when I finally did, I really loved it! I'm going to be doing a full review on Coalface so keep your eyes peeled for that! Coalface is £4.70 for 100g but I think it's hard to get that amount exactly cut as I paid £5.55 for 118g.

I also picked up this bag from River Island. I needed one of these cheapy canvas bags to carry my stuff in for placement and this had quite a cool (and true!) logo on the front and it was only £1!

I shall be getting some reviews coming up over the next week so be sure to subscribe and comment below :)

Review: LUSH Retread Conditioner

Since starting to highlight my hair blonde at the beginning of November last year, I'd noticed the ends getting more and more dry and they got dyed again and again. I decided it was time for action and decided to order a tub of LUSH's famous Retread conditioner. I'd heard some good things about this online and I thought it would do the trick to sort out my silly hair. 

After using it for a few weeks and going through about a third of the pot, I can say that...I really, really like this conditioner! After using it for the first time, straight away my hair was less knotty, softer and easier to manage. You don't get a huge pot but it's quite thick and gooey so a small amount covers your entire hair. It doesn't leave your hair feeling weighted down either, it's formula is nearly perfect - if they could just sort out the smell! It's not a horrible smell by any means (my Mum ordered Coolaulin at the same time and that reeks!) but it just smells a bit strange. It's hard to describe. The first smell you're hit with is soya yoghurt, and then there is a little whiff of the melon and possibly a hint of olive oil. It's just not the kind of smell you would want for your hair, and nothing compared to my beloved American Dream.

I'm not sure I'll be repurchasing straight away as it's a lot of money for a small tub but I would definitely consider picking one up if my hair was in the same state and needed a bit of a pick-up. 

July Favourites coming over the next few days, camera issues and moving about has slowed my blogging down a bit but I will be back on track next week :)

Excuse my hair on it!

Photos taken when I first bought it so that's why it's full!

Mini Beauty Haul & Announcement!!

This was fuuun :) I've been on a spending ban for so long, it was nice to treat myself to a few things - and finally pick up this NARS* eyeshadow duo I had been eying up!

John Lewis was the first place I hit - I swatched a few eyeshadows but this one had been calling out to me for a while. It's called Alhambra and retailed for £24, I paid £21.60 and John Lewis had 10% off beauty. It was between this and Isolde (which is next on the list) but I thought I would get more wear out of these neutral peach shades for the summer. Both shades are shimmery, but one side is a natural pinky-peach and the other is a golden peach shade. They compliment each other perfectly and are beautiful enough to use separately. I also tried out the NARS Laguna bronzer but it didn't look too good on me! Although that might have been the 8 hour shift in the heat!

NARS* Eyeshadow Duo in 'Alhambra'

I went to MAC* then as I really wanted a nice matt brown shade for the crease - I was looking for something like Cork, but then I tried out Wedge on the back of my hand and really really liked it. It's surprising as I'd never really liked the look of it online. Thankfully, the eyeshadows in MAC haven't gone up in price along with the lipsticks and they are still £12.

Finally, I popped into LUSH to check out their new make-up and to get a new pot for my Retread conditioner, as my mother knocked mine off the shelf and a big chunk broke off the bottom! LUSH handed me over a replacement pot to decant my conditioner into without delay, they are all so lovely. I had a look at their make-up line, but nothing particularly 'wowed' me and leapt off the shelf. There were a few nice lip colours but £14.50 is a lot of money and I don't have endless amounts of money. I buy a lot of make-up yes, but things I've looked at a lot and things that I know I'm going to use a lot. So nothing stopped me in my tracks, but I will have a proper look and try and get a few things to review them for you guys. While I was there, I picked up another massage bar as my beloved Therapy will be no more soon. I bought 'Peace' this time - it has a very earthy, woody smell, rather than the orange-cocoay smell of Therapy. I believe I paid £6.95 for it.

That's it for now, I should be picking up a few things over the next few weeks - if there's anything in particular you want me to review, let me know in the comments and I will try my hardest to get it done :)


EXCITING NEWS:

I know I'm a long way off, but if I can get to 50 subscribers, I will be doing a giveaway of either: a MAC* Lipstick or a Chanel Nail Varnish. Possibly limited edition! You will have to be subscribed to my blog to enter so make sure you do!

LUSH | Emotional Brilliance

I am so excited for this to launch, LUSH are one of my favourite shops for their firm and definitive stance on animal testing. After the sell-out of The Body Shop, it will be really amazing to have another place where I can go for everything and not compromise on my ethics. 

This new make-up range will have a lot to live up to, the success of LUSH's bath products and their overall popularity means that the make-up range will have to be something really special so people aren't disappointed. I

What I'm hoping to see in particular...

A good choice of lipsticks

Concealer

Nail varnishes?! (Out there, but could happen!)

A curling Mascara.

I know from reading Temptalia's blog that there will be cream eyeshadows, liquid liptints and liquid eyeliner

I really hope that LUSH expand into their hair styling products - the bane of my life is trying to find a good quality hair spray! Come on LUSH, I know you can do it!