The Body Shop Cruelty Free Face Masks

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So last year and this year so far I've hardly blogged, which is why I bought these face masks in DECEMBER 2018 (Christ) and have been meaning to write a little something about them ever since then. Lockdown is doing wonders for me attempting to do all these things I haven't got around to yet, apart from any kind of long-standing cleaning projects I'm avoiding. Cleaning my oven is just too much of a commitment, okay?

August favourites, my first trip to Wales and (not so) soaking up the summer sun

The title of this post kind of reminds me of all the Angus, Thongs, And Perfect Snogging books, but I'm going to roll with it. 
September's here, bringing with it colder evenings and darker mornings. It's the start of Autumn and that time where we seem to get some of the most beautiful sunsets. I'm excited for things to get a little more cosy, but as I've got washing I want to get dry (extreme adulting over here), I'm also happy to have a few more warm, dry days.

Affordable base makeup from No7

No7 is definitely a brand that I completely looked over until a couple of years ago. I just feel as though they don't aim themselves at a young demographic, and the brand's always had an air of 'this is what my Grandma would use'. Except it's actually incredible??? I'm fully ready to embrace my inner Grandma on any given occasion, so it's not a surprise that this is no different.

July favourites and life update

Another hot hot month has been and gone, and I'm just as hay-fever riddled as ever. At this point I'm wondering how I've managed to avoid dehydration what with all the sniffing and the sneezing and general snot. Delightful.

Massive LUSH Easter and Spring products haul

LUSH really has gone all out for Easter this year haven't they? I always felt as though their Spring/Easter range was lacking a little, but there are so many new products this time around that I hardly know where to start. 

LUSH's Grease Lightning - my spot cure

I've been scouring the shelves of LUSH for years now, and every so often I come across something that I've totally overlooked before and I wonder how I ever glanced past it before. That's 100% what happened here. 

Massive LUSH haul - Christmas presents, sales picks and little treats!

It took me an upsetting amount of time to condense everything I wanted to say into the title for this post, so soz, but I am hyped to share all the goodies I've got from LUSH over the last few weeks. As I'm not doing a 'what I got for Christmas' post, I'm sharing all the bits I was lucky enough to receive a week ago today(!), as well as my picks from the sales, and a few treats I gathered in the post Christmas slump. 

NEW LUSH Naked Winter skincare products*

Winter really feels as though it's here now. It's less than 5 weeks until Christmas (and guess who hasn't really started their Christmas shopping? *raises hand*), morning frosts are becoming more regular and holy poop on a scoop I am living for steamy showers and hot baths. 

Honey I Washed My Hair Solid LUSH Shampoo review

Solid shampoos are my ultimate bae at the moment. They last for ages, they don't waste any plastic packaging, and once you get the hang of it, they're really easy to use. I've got a myth-busting post all about how to use them and what they're really like here, but essentially you massage the shampoo bar into a lather between your hands and then use it as you would normal shampoo.
I've got quite dry hair at the moment, what with it being summer and with having dyed my hair a lot in the last few years. So, I wanted to go with something that would really moisturise my hair, keeping it soft and shiny. Honey I Washed My Hair seemed like a fab answer to this, and in a way it was.
It kept my hair shiny and feeling super clean, but I was so upset to realise that it's definitely had an impact on my sensitive scalp. I've had really bad dandruff recently, and once I stopped using this there was a noticeable improvement. However, if you don't have a sensitive scalp and just want your hair to be kept hydrated and moisturised then this is honestly really fab. 
Have you ever used a solid shampoo? What did you think?
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LUSH Valentines Range Picks

LUSH's ranges always seem to signal the start of a new season, or festive time. We all get super excited when the Halloween range comes out, because duh, that means Autumn is here, and I'm not even going to mention the Christmas range. But I actually think that the Valentines range is my favourite (wild, I know). It offers a bright little variety into the bleak dullness of Winter, reminds me that I probably ought to find a card for my OH right about now, and the pieces they bring out are just so cute. 

A review of every Superdrug facemask

This post is something that I've been planning, and piecing together for months now. I don't know about you, but a Superdrug facemask was always a staple of a teenage sleepover. They're fun, cheap and cater for a whole range of skin types. Now that I'm in my twenties, it seems to be all about buying expensive face mask pots, filled with golden flakes and exotic ingredients. But sometimes all you want is to pop into Superdrug, pick up a little face mask and have a pamper evening. So I've spent the last couple of months trying out every single one they sell in their range to let you know what's hot and what's not.

1.) Orange and Black Lava Face Mask

For: all skin types.

Smell: fresh, zesty orange.

Texture: slightly lumpy clay mask. Contains bits of orange peel that you can feel.

Dries: hard and lighter in colour. Makes my sensitive skin sting a little.

Effect: Could feel it exfoliating my skin as I took it off. Skin feels tight and looks a little red.

2.) De-stressing mud mask

Smell: fresh, can smell the aloe vera.

Texture: smooth and cooling.

Dries: Stayed wet to the touch despite keeping it on for 20 minutes. It started to dry in places and had tiny cracks. Easy to remove; gently.

Effects: Skin feels soft and plump and looks clear.

3.) Tropical Cocktail Peel-Off Mask

For: all skin types

Smells: like fruit salad Chewits

Texture: sticky! It stays very wet, and even dripped off of my face. 

Dries: tight. Took 30 minutes to dry so that I could peel it off, rather than the 10-20 that the packet advised.

Effect: skin was shiny.

4.) Cucumber Cooling Face Mask

For: sensitive skin

Smell: fresh

Texture: smooth, clay

Dries: stung slightly as it dried, even though it's recommended for sensitive skin. 

Effects: skin left feeling a little dry.

5.) Chocolate Orange Self-Heating Mask

For: normal to dry skin

Smells: exactly like a dark chocolate Terry's chocolate orange

Texture: like melted chocolate. You use a different application to a normal face mask as you need your face to be wet before applying it. A very wet, smooth face mask.

Dries: self heats as soon as it touches your face. Stays wet and glossy. Dripped off me and onto my clothes.

Effects: easy to remove. it calmed down my spots and made my T-zone less greasy.

6.) Black Seaweed Peel-Off Mask

For: oily skin

Smells: like unpleasant, harsh minerals

Texture: very wet and smooth

Dries: tight and smooth to the touch. You can however see where it's sunk into my pores.

Effects: skin a bit dry, but was great for my T-zone. Sucked the oil/pus (grim, I know) out of some newbie spots I had forming. My pores looked a lot cleaner.

7.) Detoxifying Dead Sea Mineral Mask

Smells: fresh, like a spa. Very mineral-y

Texture: thick and mud like. Feels a little lumpy on your hands but smooths out over your face.

Dries: hard and lighter in colour. Tightens.

Effects: soothed my sensitive skin and made my spots less oily

8.) White Chocolate Mousse Mask

Smells: not very nice. A little like alcohol and not at all chocolatey.

Texture: smooth

Dries: unsure. Had allergic reaction to the mask as soon as I put it on and had to remove it instantly. The mask is no longer on Superdrug's website so perhaps other people reacted badly and they've discontinued it.

9.) Fruit Sorbet Antioxidant Peel-Off Mask

For: all skin types

Smells: like fresh apples and berries

Texture: smooth and sticky

Dries: smooth - peels off all in one. Takes about half an hour to dry enough to peel off.

Effect: my face was blemish-free the next morning. It dried all of my whiteheads out.

10.) Anti-Ageing Moisture Mask

Smells: fresh

Texture: creamy, almost like a moisturiser

Dries: doesn't really dry, it sinks into the skin a little instead.

Effect: skin is soft, plumped and hydrated

11.) Dead Sea Purifying Clay Mask

For: oily and blemish prone skin Smells: like tea tree. Fresh and clean scent. Texture: smooth and thick. Dries: tight and hard. You can see that it sinks into your pores. Effects: skin looks clean and clear, but feels very dry. 

12.) Superfruits Exfoliating Mask

For: all skin types Smells: like a sweet, fresh smoothie Texture: rough because of the strawberry seeds it contains for exfoliation. Thick and creamy. Dries: stings my sensitive skin a little whilst drying. It goes hard, tight, and a light purple colour. Effects: pores are clearer and skin is soft, but a little red.
Now that I've tried all of them, I would definitely repurchase the: anti-ageing moisture mask, detoxifying dead sea mineral mask, de-stressing mud mask and black lava peel-off mask. These four all suited my combination, sensitive skin. 
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My NYX lipstick collection

2016 really was the year of the liquid lipsticks. It seemed like just about every single brand out there brought out a range of them, and the market was awash with masses of new colours, formulas and styles. Goodbye tube lipstick, hello liquid.
Despite the massive influx of new liquid lippies out there, NYX has remained my favourite brand for this particular type of makeup. At the beginning of 2016 I didn't own anything by NYX, but now I'm feeling pretty proud of my little collection. I find that their products are so long-lasting and well-pigmented that no other drugstore alternatives come near to my love for them. An added bonus is that they're also cruelty free. 
From bottom to top, the lipstick shades I have swatched are as follows: Lip Lingerie in Exotic, Liquid Suede in Stone Fox and Soft Matte Lip Creams in Buenos Aires, Morocco, Copenhagen and Moscow. As you can tell, I've gone for a broad range of colours in this little collection. Over the past year I've been experimenting with some fruit inspired makeup looks over on my YouTube, and so 'Moscow' and 'Buenos Aires' were purchased for those. 
Out of all of the types I've tried, the Lip Lingerie range has the greatest staying power on my lips. 'Exotic' is my go-to work liquid lipstick. It's a nude that appears only a little darker than my lips, and doesn't rub off after a cup of tea or two. The Soft Matte Lip Cream in Morocco, however, is my favourite pigment. It's such a bold, coral-y red that I can't get enough of. It makes me feel festive in Winter and bold in Summer. I am in love. 
Do you own any NYX lipsticks?
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LUSH Face Masks Comparison

I know, I know another LUSH-based blog post. We all know I have really sensitive skin, and LUSH face masks are simply something that I can come back to time and time again with the assurance that my skin won't flare up after using them. I've been thinking about it recently, and although they're not all pictured here, (I've spent forever scouring back through my archives to find pictures, but it turns out I'm pretty shit at taking pictures of the face masks!) I've used almost every face mask that LUSH has to offer. Whoops. 
Some of them I've done full review posts on (check out my BB seaweed one and my Oatifix one), but most have really fallen under the radar. So, here's a round-up of all the LUSH face masks that I've given a good go. Bear in mind that I have dry-combination skin, so all of my favourites are going to be ones that are good for that. However, I used to have really oily skin, so I should have you covered on that front too *insert wink face emoji*.
First up is BB Seaweed, which is particularly fab if you've got dry and dull skin. The rosemary oil and rose absolute in it help to hydrate your skin, whilst the millet seeds and ground almonds get rid of dead skin cells. This is one I come back to time and time again, particularly in the winter when my skin is likely to get chapped.
Next up is Oatifix. Obviously I've talked about this and BB Seaweed pretty extensively in their own posts, but I have to say that this is 100% my favourite face mask of all time, and that is a pretty darn large honour. It smells like banana-y oatmeal (NOM) and is incredibly nourishing for your face. If you've got dry skin and are heading to LUSH to give one of their masks a go, this is the one I would recommend. Again, this has ground almonds for some gentle exfoliation. 
Love Lettuce is another favourite of mine for dry skin. This was actually the first LUSH face mask I ever used, way back when I was still in school. I love the fact that this has a kind of classic face mask vibe - dark green, thick and would go perfectly with some cucumber eye circles. This one has lavender in, so almost creates an aura of aromatherapy whilst you use it. It also has honey to go that little extra mile in terms of moisturising your skin.
Although a lot of LUSH's products are vegan, Brazened Honey uses honey too, as well as eggs. SO, if you're looking to go cruelty free, this one isn't a mask you should be opting for. This is a pretty fab one for combination skin - it keeps your skin moisturised, without using oils, so it shouldn't make your skin too greasy. Indeed, the moisturising honey is combined with cleansing (and a little drying) lime juice. This is my go-to in the heat of summer when my T-Zone is getting a little cray cray and slippery (grim). 
Now let's move on to the ones a little more suitable for oily skin. Don't Look At Me was totally an impulse buy on my part. It's bright blue, and I wanted to give a bright blue mask a go #sorrynotsorry. However, it turned out to be my least favourite LUSH mask. I used it during winter, when my skin really needed a little extra moisture and gentleness. Don't Look at Me is a really drying mask, and was a little too harsh on my skin. It contains grapefruit and lemon, which are both fab at toning your skin, but also dry it out in the process. If you've got really oily skin, then this will be great for use once a week, but for me it was just too drying.
Finally we have Cupcake. This is one that I'd seen a tonne of other bloggers raving about, and it smells like chocolate muffins, so I obviously couldn't pass it up, right? If you've got super super sensitive skin, this is one that you might want to pass over, as it works on getting deep down into your pores, and excavating as much dirt as possible. This isn't as drying as Don't Look at Me - nowhere near - but it still won't do much for hydrating your face. Instead, this is one that you should look to if you want to soften the skin on your face. 
So there it is: my roundup of all the LUSH masks that I've given a go. Next up on my list is the Mask of Magnaminty as I've heard amazing things about it. What's on your list?
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