Lush The Olive Branch

Sometimes we can be a fickle bunch of shits and completely forget all the oldie products that we love in favour of the newest kids on the block. So today's post is about one of my oldie but goodies and its The Olive Branch by Lush.  

What the lovelies at Lush say:

 "Fairtrade olive oil, fresh mandarins, bergamot oil and vine leaves. We’ve crammed the whole Mediterranean diet into this bottle – well, all bar the pasta, because that isn't lovely on your skin like the rest"

There isn't really a time this isn't in my bathroom now. I got this in a box initially and I must have walked past it on the shelf a thousand times and not paid it a blind bit of notice. I'd smelt The Body Shops Olive range before and wasn't keen so when I saw this poking out of the box I thought " Oh bumhole...can palm it off on someone probably" Uurgh I can be such a tit and I'm so glad I actually thought to give this a smell before I passed it onto someone else. The smell is heaven and even though it is packed with Sicilian Olives its not just them that you smell but also citrusy notes of Mandarin and Bergamot.

Also thanks to that olivey oil it's really hydrating and leaves your skin super soft. You have to give it a good shake before applying as it separates into two layers, the creamier products and the oils so jive about your bathroom for a few seconds before you bung it on. You could just shake it, but jiving is just much more bettered...

There is one small downside to the product and thats the price....abit... If you are a normal person and buy normal amounts of this then it's a brilliant little 'treat' item. Only because I'm such an Olive Branch whore I go through quite a bit of it. At £14.95 for 500ml its not the cheapest of shower gels but I don't drink, I don't smoke so this is my selfish, indulgent product.

Do any of you kids use The Olive Branch? If not, do!!! Do so now!!!

Burt's Bees Tips to Toes Review

Well I got this about 2 weeks ago now, but I really wanted to give it a good and thorough testing before I let you know what I thought about it. For years I have wanted a Burt's Bees collection and obviously you can buy online but I much prefer buying in person so you get to have a good sniff, so these are my first ever Burt's Bees products. You have to remember I live in a place where tracksuits are the fashion du jour and until recently, we didn't really get products like this in the shops- crazy I know... Being the glutton that I am, instead of just having a little Burt's nibble, I'm having a feast. These beauties all came in sample sizes so god forbid, I didn't like any of it, I wasn't stuck with a great big bottle of it and an even bigger hole in my pocket. 

First thing I noticed about this little set aside from the cute little packages- the smell. As soon as you are near the box you can smell all these yummy pudding creamy fruity smells. On that alone I was nearly won over.

The first thing I tried is the Almond Milk Hand Cream. Oh my days... This is heaven in a tiny pot. First of all I love the look of it. Second that smell- Jesus Christ its good! Almondy, milky, creamy.....yum! I thought that you wouldn't really get very much out of it, a few goes maybe due to the size, which I would have been happy with but after two weeks use; maybe once or twice a day, Im not even half the way through. Its just so thick and sumptuous. 

Next, the lemon butter cuticle cream. Exactly what it says on the tin, this smells of the best homemade lemon pie you have ever eaten. It comes in a tin a bit smaller then a vaseline tin but I'm not even making a dint on it yet. Cream it isn't really, wax it is and I rub my finger round the surface to warm it up a little then the product thats warmed onto my finger gets rubbed onto my cuticles. I don't particularly suffer with dry cuticles but I do get really dry skin down the sides of my nails sometimes that looks a little flaky and this has zapped them a treat. There's not one on my fingers at the min!

The Honey and Grapeseed Oil Hand Cream is exactly what I imagined a Burt's product to smell like. It a medium consistency cream and is great to have in your handbag instead of the Beeswax Hand Cream as it sinks in really quick so its great for on the go. 

This hasn't left my side this week and is a great little lip balm.  Maybe the least strong smelling of the products but still delicious. On the stick it looks red tinted but on the lips it gives a beautiful clear shine. I usually never leave the house without a pot of vaseline on me but now its going to be this. You know I moaned to you all last week about how I had dry lips and It made my Rouge Volupte look a tad cakey- this sorted that problem out in a few days and now it glides on beautifully. 

 I think that if my Grandad ever used a hand salve- which he never would, ever! It would be this... It smells gorgeously herbal. I think there's some Lavender and some Sage in there, think along those lines. I have probably used this the least but its probably the one that I have just picked up and smelled the most. Again its wax like and I use it the same as the cuticle cream but for really dry areas. I don't have stupidly dry hands and I know it's not its intended use but I've been sticking it on my cracked heels and dry bits of my feet and its already starting to make a difference and I have the worlds grimmest feet ever.

Lastly is the Coconut Foot Cream. Again, smells heavenly... The texture is an odd one, it reminds me of sap from a tree? Twatty comparison I know but it's the closest thing I can think of to compare it to. Maybe honey like- but thick honey... This isn't a product for on the go and I now have an evening ritual of doing my feet before bed and popping some socks on to sleep in as this is really thick that it would get everywhere without them. My foot tattoo, due to the nature of how quickly you shed skin from your feet- bork- sometimes looks a little dull but the minute I wack on a layer of this it really pops! 

So I think you can tell really that I'm in love. I know I'm behind the times on this brand but I'm just in heaven that I have found it. This set was £12 I think- AND was on 3 for 2 at Boots. I thought that it may give me a couple of goes at each product, just to kind of pick out ones that I like and that I think have potential etc but I am still luxuriating in its company 2 weeks later without even a hint of any of them being close to the end- especially those little waxy tins. If I needed it I wouldn't even hesitate to buy any of these products again. They are totally boss and I know they are mass produced and everything but they just feel like a lot of love has gone into getting them just perfect and I am sending that love back ten fold Mr Burt!

No7 Vital Brights Lipstick in Blooming Pink

Hello lovelies. Well finally, as promised a non nail polish post!! So I went into Boots to spend my birthday pennies and this display was the first thing that attracted my little peepers. The best thing was that I had a £5 off No7 voucher too! No7 vouchers are like the herpes of the cosmetics world, once you get one, you always have one knocking about somewhere....  So there were a few different blushers but at the minute I'm swamped in blushers so I thought I would go for a lippy instead and the one that caught my eye was this little beauty in Blooming Pink. Vital Brights is Boots new spring/summer range and in all honesty on looks I could have bought it all. I love the packaging, It's the main the reason I bought this really- I'm a sucker for a pretty box.

As well as looking pretty outside, I like the actual lipstick packaging itself. Its very simple, almost clinical looking but it really makes the colour sing out. Tres Chic! 

As for the innards, which is probably the bit your most interested in.... This is the flap from the Boots website: "Their lightweight texture gives a sheer, glossy finish while the moisture-rich formula delivers sumptuous, long-lasting colour."

I agree with a bit of it. The texture is lovely, part creamy, part glossy. It slides on wonderfully with no dragging. The first layer is very sheer but it can be built up to a brighter shade with a few more coats depending on how sheer or bright you want it so I wouldn't exactly call it sumptuous but it is a lovely colour. My lips are a little dry at the minute but it didn't make them look worse and has actually moisturised them a little. The thing that I really don't agree with was that it's long lasting. I would say it stayed on my lips roughly an hour but I imagine if your eating or drinking it would slip right off due to its glossiness. 

Taken without the flash

(god you can tell I have been in the sun for about 2 minutes, freckles all over the shop!) 

and with the flash...

This was with about 3 slicks of the lipstick as I like my colour with a bit of a pop. I really like the shade but there was one slight problem that due to the colour of the lippy, it made my teeth look ever so slightly yellow in some lights- not the best so make sure your packing some whitening strips if you smoke or drink a crap load of caffine. Don't let this put you off though because it was ever so slight but I just wanted to put it out there. The price was brilliant at £5 (normally £10 but I had my No7 voucher) and I would buy this again if I had a voucher knocking about, if I spent £10 on it I might be thinking that for another 3 quid, I could be getting a MAC which generally lasts a little longer on the lips. It is a lovely colour and has a yummy sheen to it. I don't think Boots are being completely honest with their bumf about it but don't let that it put you off because they are half right and an half the price this is an equation I can work with. 

Review: Lush's Charity Pot

Well here's what my night consisted of, pretty happy days really... For my Valentines present the ever amazing beau got me a ton of Lush goods so I was in heaven as you will know if you saw the post- the best thing about it aside from 1- now my house smells amazing and 2-I have the nicest baths and showers at the minute, is that I have so much blogging ammo!! 

The beau's selection had quite a few bits and pieces that were new to me so needless to say, in the name of scientific research, anyone who has come near me in the past week has been drenched in lushness.

The first thing I've been playing with is this little "Charity Pot". I'm an absolute devotee of Karma Kream so getting me away from that has been a bit of an ordeal-we're very attached...but I've done it for you kids. Soooo what did I think? First thing that hit me was the smell, between me, my sister and the beau it took us a day and a half to figure out what it smells like and the answer is.......Fry's Turkish Delight!! It smells exactly like that yummy squidgy stuff that had chocolate round it. My grandma loved those so that was a nice little thing to be reminded of.  Im guessing it's the combo of almond oil, ylang ylang and geranium- all quite "eastern" smells, plus a nice hint of chocolate, so smell wise if you like Turkish Delight your onto a win.

I love that Lush, minus the VAT, send the whole of the money from this pot- not just the profit but the whole sale price to charity. If that isn't an incentive to buy it, I don't know what is. My pot was supporting Sims Hill Shared Harvest so big up to Sims Hill- woop woop!!!!  For a 100g tub you will be paying £6.95 or £12.75 for 240g and you can buy it by clicking here!

It's quite messy I do have to say, I think it's something to do with the consistency. While its not watery by any means, it does seem to be more liquid than say, the Karma Kream. It got all over the rim of the lid and got a bit sticky and messy so that was annoying.

Like I said the consistency is slightly "loose" but it is a lotion and not a body butter...The picture above is me with my hand upright and it holds it's own so it can't be that runny can it??!! Personally it sank it quite quickly and wasn't overly sticky. We all have been putting the Charity Pot on before bed and it can still be smelt in the morning so I'm pretty impressed with that. I do wonder if it would last throughout the day when your up and about; only further testing will tell so I'll update on that at some point... 

I can't tell if it's very moisturising as I am always dowsed in cream so have damm soft skin! I do know that I get dry skin, especially on my hands if I don't use a cream and I haven't gone dry since using this so it must be keeping my skin nicely hydrated. I'd like to try it on someone who does have dry skin to see that happens there but with cocoa butter being so famous for keeping skin deliciously soft I can predict it would be a good outcome. 

After our weeks use:

My 17 year old sister's sum up was: "nice smelling but messy. Its slightly tacky until its dried which took a couple of minutes. The price is good, I don't mind paying a little extra for products if they're from Lush 'cos they smell so yum and it's a bonus the money goes to charity."

24 year old hub said: "nice smell and I like that it supports a good cause. Its a bit of an effeminate smell for a guy though but i'd buy it for Bea."

and I'm saying: "delish smell, good price, would recommend but I'm still a Karma Kream girl."

Im such a Karma devotee that I can't say I'd give it up for this, the messyness put me off a little too but otherwise it was an absolute treat. If I was in the market for a present for one of the girls this would be a great go-to and the charity aspects allows you to have a warm 'n' fuzzy feeling that you have done your bit for a little while. 

Nicki Minaj For OPI

Well finally!! It seems like I've been waiting an age to get my hands, well fingers, on these bad boys. I've been a fan of OPI since I first got hold of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" last year and have never looked back....anything with a bit of a sparkle and Im in, so when I saw that my new lady crush Nicki Minaj was launching a collection of them I had to get some of that action. 

I got the Minis collection because I think they are a great idea if your not ordering an old favourite that you know you love. I'd be a bit deflated if I paid the full price for a varnish, about £11 and I didn't like the colour so this is a great way to test. 

My only niggle about this though, is why can't you buy a full set of minis? I got the 4 set including:

"Did it on 'Em"

A unique chartreuse shade, just the right side of Shrek green. This was the colour that attracted me to the collection, it's so kooky and different. It covered great with 2 coats and has a brilliant self levelling quality so no streaks here. 

"Fly"

A Cerulean blue that I haven't seen so much in nail colours. Super glossy with a unique muted tone when it dries. Heaven!! 

"Pink Friday"

This is little girls eating sweets and skipping BUT with a grown up twist, I can't put my finger on quite what it is that saves this colour from being straight out of a my first nail polish collection. Bubblegum pink and glorious. My new pink for sure. 

"Metallic 4 life"

My least favourite but this is purely just a taste thing and it is still a great varnish. The colour isn't actually quite black it's charcoal with varying sizes of silver glitter suspended inside it. Love the touch of the different sizes as it brings it out of the playground and steps it up a notch. 

I've since found that ASOS are selling this minis set with the "Super Bass Shatter" in full size for £18, but why is no one selling it with the "Save Me"? I mean, if they are and I just haven't found it then PLEASE comment below, but I don't think they are. Im pretty convinced that just by looking it at that the "Save Me" would be my new glitter varnish and I've seen some pics of it over the "Did it on 'Em" and it looks sweeeeet! So where is it O.P.I hmmm?? Especially seen as it's the colour Nicki is modelling in all the promo material. 

As with most O.P.I varnishes they went on a treat.

This was after 1 coat, 

and 2...

The coverage was great, they dry quickly and theres non of that business you get with some nail varnishes that the minute the second coat goes on, it all seems too thick and the moment you knock it it ruffles up. I was sat poking frantically at them a couple of minutes after the second coat and nada, no movement what so ever which is a huuuuge bonus to me as this nearly always seems to happen to me. 

The "Metallic 4 Life" took 3 coats to build up a deep base colour and the first coats were a little streaky but I imagine this could be due to the glitter. The 3rd coat levelled any lines out and it looked slick by the last coat. It didn't quite dry as hard as the other varnishes too and is susceptible to ruffling if knocked; again probably due to the glitter. 

All in all I LOVED the collection. The three "colours" remind me of a late 50's colour palette but with a modern kooky edge that perfectly reflects Nicki's style. Definitely ordering a full sized "Pink Friday" and "Did it on 'Em" with a "Save Me" thrown in there too and quickly as it is a limited edition collection :(

Have any of you tried the collection and what are your thoughts??