Lush Ocean Salt Face & Body Scrub – Review

Another week, another Lush review! This week I’m talking about Ocean Salt Face And Body Scrub. This is actually a product I have now finished, which I feel sad to say as I loved this scrub! Including this version, this came in four different types and I found it a little trialing to try and decide which one I wanted to buy. I finally settled on the original Ocean Salt, and I’m pretty pleased with my choice.

I first tried this product when my local Lush gave me a sample of this a month before I finally picked it up. I’d always wanted to give Ocean Salt a go, but I worried that it wasn’t for me. I’d heard various people comment on how this was too rough for their skin, sensitive or not, so I of course worried it would be the same for me. I also worried that this wouldn’t last me that long… But more on all that throughout the review.

I bought this scrub towards the end of July, start of August and it’s lasted me just over a month… Something that was rather disappointing. I expected it to last me at least two months like my Soap & Glory Sugar Scrub did. I guess I’m just glad I picked up the bigger size! You can get this in two sizes, 120g for £7.75, or the 250g for £13.95, which is the one I bought. Also as I mentioned previously including the type I bought, you can pick up Ocean Salt in four types, the original, alcohol free, self-preserving, and alcohol free and self-preserving. These are also all the same price as the original, which I think is good. They of course come in the same size tubs too.

As you can see from the above picture, I had used nearly all of this when I took the pictures for this post. I wish I had taken pictures sooner to be honest, but it was only recently I decided I would start this series, as regular readers will know. This is a creamy product that smells really fresh, and reminds me of holidays. It’s white in colour, but when you get a new tub there is some blue swirling and coloured sat on the top, which makes it look really pretty. There is thick, course sea salt throughout this product as well, which makes it great for a good scrub!

Ocean Salt contains lime, coconut, and vodka, which of course gives it that rich holiday type smell. I wouldn’t say you could smell the vodka that much, but when it comes to that sort of scent my nose isn’t all that sensitive to it. If you don’t like that smell however and are thinking of ordering this online, I would advice popping into Lush and giving it a good sniff beforehand, just incase you don’t like it. You can definitely smell the lime throughout this product, something that really appealed to me. It’s a fresh scent and you can smell it on the skin all day long after use.

When using this on both my face and body, I noticed that it would leave behind a sort of moisturising layer on the skin. Nothing too thick and greasy feeling, but just enough to leave me feeling gorgeous and smelling lovely too. If I didn’t use this all over my body, I would definitely use it on my feet, my thighs, my bum, and the tops of my arms to ensure they got a good scrub.

I mostly used this product on my face once a week when I first bought it, and it would leave my skin feeling soft and smooth! I have sensitive skin and I did worry that this may irritate it, but if anything it was really good! Vodka being alcohol is actually really good for spots, so it really did help in that department.

I noticed when I used this on dry skin it did go that little bit further than it would when I used it on wet skin, which might be a reason why it didn’t last me so long… But I don’t see why that should be an issue. This is definitely not a product where a little goes a long way, which was something I was really disappointed about again, especially considering how much it cost.

However after I bought Cup O’ Coffee Face And Body Mask (review here) it was soon replaced and that’s when I decided to use it on my skin as a once a week, or fortnightly treat. Although I love Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub (review here) more than any other scrub I’ve ever used, this has been used more so than that. Why? I don’t really know to be honest, as Rub Rub Rub to me is the better body scrub. I think the scent reminded me of holidays abroad so much, that I just enjoyed using it more so, especially with the summer season coming to an end.

So, would I buy this again? I don’t actually know. I really loved Ocean Salt, but I didn’t love how long it didn’t last. I guess if I had just used this on my face like I intended to when I first bought it, I would probably still have loads left. So I may pick this up again in the future and make sure I JUST use it on my face, not my body. But that won’t be until I get back from my holiday, or at least when I run out of Cup O’ Coffee, as that is lasting me ages already, and it runs out of date in November! Oops!

Do any of you guys own Ocean Salt, or want to pick it up? If so what do you like about it, and has my review helped you decide whether to buy it or not? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time all, take care and have a great weekend.

Lush Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub – Review

This is a series I have wanted to do for ages, and finally I am starting it! I’m inspired by my friend Mali over at maliberrymakeup who reviews various products from Lush, and has done for as long as I can remember. I’ve started to get more into Lush again since the start of the year, and I’m so pleased. I’ve loved Lush since 2008 and my long love of it’s products are still going strong.

My new series is being kicked off by a product I have wanted for a long time, and one that is probably now one of my favourites from Lush to date. That being Lush’s Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub.

I picked this scrub up a couple of weeks ago and since then I’ve used it quite a few times, in various different ways. When I bought this at the time it only came in one size, 330g for £8.75, but since the summer collection and a lot of the Oxford Street exclusives coming into stores all over the UK, so have the tub sizes. You can now get this baby in a huge 500g pot for £14.95 online, but I’m unsure if you can in store. Something I can see me picking up in the future!

The first thing I noticed about this product when I first looked at it, was how gorgeous it looked. I don’t know why but I’m always attracted to blue beauty products, probably because it’s such a strange colour. It’s a bright blue product and reminds me of a blue raspberry Slush Puppie. This is also said to share its scent with Sakura Bath Bomb, a Lush product I really want to try. This doesn’t have a thick consistency, which I really like as I feel it goes a little farther than a thicker product.

Lush say you can use this on either dry skin for a more harsher scrub, or wet skin for a more gentle scrub. I’ve tried both and the dry skin one does work that little better, but due to how sensitive my skin can be at times, I’ve found that I’m using it more on wet skin. Either way it works beautifully and to the same affect.

Rubbing in circular motions I apply this generously all over the body and then rinse off in the shower. I also use this in the bath but I don’t feel it works as well as it does in the shower. I find that after you rinse this off it leaves your skin feeling silky smooth, and like a babies bum! It has a sort of moisturising component inside which leaves a moistursing layer on the skin.

I find this is perfect for use on the tops of my arms, my thighs, my bum (TMI?), and my back. My boyfriend really likes the smell of this shower scrub and although he hasn’t used it himself, I can only imagine sometime soon he’ll ask if he can. It smells so fresh and yummy, it reminds me of a floral, yet sweet and uplifting scent. Perfect if you want a good scrub for in the mornings.

This is a product I’ll only have as a once a week treat, even though I have used it a little on other parts of the body as and when I need it. This works great on tired and achey feet too, which has been nice to use on mine after pole dancing classes.

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like Rub Rub Rub, infact it’s probably one of Lush’s best products that they sell! It’s so good it was turned into a body scrub bar, Rub Rub Rub Body Scrub, one of Oxford Street exclusives, as well as one of the new summer products. I would like to try this just for a change, but I can’t see it beating the pot version.

I don’t think I have anything else to say about this product, it’s a staple if you ask me and one I will want to take away with me on holiday at the end of the year.

So, that was the first of my Lush review series. I’m so glad to finally have it started and I can’t wait to add more reviews to it. I think it’ll be a once every two weeks series as I don’t want to talk about Lush TOO much on my blog.

What do you think of Rub Rub Rub, do you love it, or hate it? Let me know in the comments.

Until next time all, take care and have a great weekend!

July Pay Day Haul

Okay so I said I wouldn’t be spending any money due to a voluntary spending ban, but I ended up spending… But this being said I don’t feel I spent much when I was out and I wrote my wish list post a day before pay day, so I didn’t know I would earn as much as I actually did.

So with a few extra pounds burning a hole in my pocket I bought a few things on a shopping trip with my boyfriend and our friend Sophie (hello!). My mom also owed me some money and offered to pay me back in a few items I wanted to pick up, so she kindly ordered said items for me. Oh and a couple of things my boyfriend kindly bought me. So I did save some money in that sense.

Before we went on our shopping adventure, I received the goodies my mom ordered for me in the post, the first one being Neal & Wolf’s Daily Cleansing Shampoo in a huge 950ml tub! I remembered testing this shampoo out two years ago and I loved it. I just can’t believe it has taken me that long to order a bottle to finally use. I’m also really impressed with how quick Neal & Wolf shipped my shampoo as well. I ordered it Thursday late morning/early afternoon and it arrived first thing Friday morning! I was so happy that I would get the chance to use it Friday (as that’s a regular wash day for my hair), so happy in fact that I dropped Neal & Wolf an email to thank them on their awesome customer service. It was packaged really well too, which I was glad about. I’ve used this a couple of times now and after use my hair feels smooth and looks fresh and clean. I’m so happy that I finally have this shampoo, but now I’m just wanting to try out more of their range.

The next thing my mom offered to order for me was some Lush goodies as she knew I was after a new body scrub, as well as a new face scrub. I knew I wanted Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub, but was umming and ahhing over Ocean Salt Face And Body Scrub. I tried a sample of it from Lush the last time I visited one of their stores, and I did really like it. So I ended up caving in and told my mom to order both.

Since having these I’ve of course used both and I have never loved a product as much as I love Rub Rub Rub. I used it on wet skin and it has left my rougher parts (top of arms and thighs) gorgeously smooth! I don’t want to talk too much about it as I really want to review it soon. As for Ocean Salt I can’t really praise it as much as Rub Rub Rub, not because it’s a bad product but just because I don’t feel I’ve used it to it’s full potential yet. That being said I used it on my face as a scrub, at the time I was suffering with some bad breakouts, but a day or two after using Ocean Salt, they appeared to go away. I put this down to the vodka ingredient in Ocean Salt. I didn’t find this too rough on my skin, which is strange considering I have sensitive skin. However, due to this I’ll only use this as a once as week treat.

Our first stop on our shopping trip was IKEA, mainly because we wanted to get it out of the way. My friend needed to pick up some frames, whilst me and my boyfriend just wanted to have a quick mooch around. Whilst in the frame section my boyfriend suggested I pick one up for a picture we had drawn of us at Hyper Japan (you can read all about that here and here) and I was worried it wouldn’t fit in the frame, but alas as you can see it fits perfect. It was only £2 as well, which was a complete bargain!

A couple of other things I decided to pick up were some small candles. I picked up some scented candles… Which I now regret because 1. I forgot that there is a Yankee Candle store where we went shopping, and 2. IKEA candles are bloody awful! I picked up a pack of chocolate fudge and peppermint candy. These came in three packs of each, but I gave three to my boyfriend, two chocolate and one peppermint. I’ve so far only burnt the peppermint ones (which is why one is missing from the picture above) and as I said, these just aren’t very good. They’re great if I don’t wish to light a Yankee Candle, or have anything with a strong throw burning, but I expected SOME scent. So IKEA, very disappointed.

Whenever I go to the shopping centre we visited, I ALWAYS go into the Yankee Candle there, and more often then not I leave with something, usually something big. This time, like always I left with a large jar candle. This store are amazing when it comes down to Yankee Candle exclusives and they always stock them, and even more of a range than the official store which I think is great. Oh and can I mention that they don’t charge £21.99 for large candles either? I’m disgusted that Yankee Candle have put the prices up on their large jars. It isn’t right!… Mini rant over… So I made sure to sniff every exclusive jar they had in store and I wasn’t going to buy one and to be honest, if I had a lot of money I probably would have left the store with at least five candles… Oh yeah! I was tied between Blueberry Scone, Cotton Candy, and Hazelnut Coffee. My boyfriend was asking me which I liked the most, as well as which I didn’t have a scent similar to already, which was definitely Hazelnut Coffee. So with that choice made he took it off of me and made his way to the till. It was really lovely that he bought me a candle, as he was the one who said, “you should save your money Nat.” but alas, it was so sweet of him to buy this for me. I’m not burning it until I have used up all the IKEA candles I bought. It smells so rich and delicious that I cannot wait to use this in the autumn. Roll on September!

This isn’t beauty or fashion related, I know but meh not everything can be! I’ve been after this game for years and with my and my boyfriend playing Lego Jurassic World at his house recently it’s made me realise just how much I miss playing the Lego games. So I decided (if it was the right money) to pick up Lego The Hobbit. I loved the trilogy and I especially loved playing Lego The Lord of The Rings. Plus I’ve wanted this game ever since it came out. Since buying it I’ve been playing it loads, and it’s a definite chill out treat after work, as well as for lazy days in bed.

I didn’t buy anything from Lush whilst I was out shopping, as I had already picked up what I wanted a few days prior, but I did know that I wanted to grab a sample of one of their coal facial cleansers. I gave Dark Angels Facial Cleanser a go in store and it was really nice! With Lush I always try before I buy if I can, as I’m allergic to some of the ingredients they use and I don’t wish to spend a lot of money to find out not long after I’m allergic to said product. This felt lovely after I used it in the store on the back of my hand, and as of yet I haven’t tried it out on my skin, but I will soon and will make sure to update.

I do just want to say the staff at the store I visited were lovely! We had a good natter about all the new products that will be hitting all the Lush stores and online for Summer tomorrow! A huge majority of these new products will be from the Oxford Store (can read about my experience there and see my haul here) too! I will be making a small order of products I didn’t manage to pick up in London. I cannot wait.

Finally when I popped to Asda to grab some dinner for me and my boyfriend, I decided to pick up a new album for my car, as quite frankly my music at the moment is really boring me. Plus I wanted something relaxing. I listened to most of this on Spotify before I picked it up to make sure I liked it, and I loved it. Very chilled music that I can listen to whilst I write for university, for my blog, or if I just want something mellow in the background whilst I chill out. It was only a tenner and when we got to the till my boyfriend was lovely enough to buy it for me. Total sweetheart! I now have this album on my iPod, as well as in the car and it’s a definite must have if you like chill out music.

At the moment of writing this post, I haven’t been able to take pictures of the actual products yet due to them not arriving, but as you can see I’ve edited a lovely image of the two things I bought from eBay. The first one being a new case for my iPhone 6, which I should be getting today! I like to have a wrap around case for my phone whilst I’m at work to protect it that little more. It was only 99p with free postage so I’m pleased at that. It’s The Fault in Our Stars themed, which is a book/film I adore.

The second thing I bought was something I wasn’t even sure I would bother bidding on. But alas I bid on the last 10 seconds and won! I’ve been after a new piece from Black Milk Clothing for quite a while now. I bought my mermaid leggings about a year ago and they weren’t cheap at £35, but I was content with that, considering they cost a hell of a lot more from Black Milk Clothing themselves, not to mention how much the shipping costs! So every week I had a good look through eBay to see what I can snag for a bargain in my size, and I found this dress. It’s a thermal dress and will be perfect for autumn and winter when it’s chilly outside. I managed to snag this beauty brand new with tags for just under £30! I’m so pleased with how much I got it for and I know I’ll enjoy wearing it when it arrives. I already have the idea to team this up with my Jake Dr Martens boots (can read about those here) and depending on what happens, I may even wear this dress to my graduation. But we shall see. I can’t wait to do a look book with this dress though already.

So that is my haul from pay day! I didn’t spend much and I’m really pleased about that. I won’t buy much more this month now and although I should really save money, I don’t feel like I made any ridiculous purchases, which I’m pleased about.

Has anyone else bought some lovely little bits and pieces for themselves since pay day? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time, take care all.

August Wish List 2015

I’m not going to lie. I’m skint. Not like “Oh my god I have noooo money!” Like seriously, I’m poor. Help?

So I really shouldn’t make a wish list this month, but I would feel weird not to. This is definitely a wish list as I can’t really afford anything on the list. I’m going to try and go on a spending ban until I get a better job as I only recently realised how I’m getting by on next to nothing in my current job.

But, as I said, I can still make a wish list and not buy anything that’s actually on said list. Can’t I? 🙂

• Yankee Candle Salted Caramel Small Jar.

I’m kinda running low on my Yankee Candle’s at the moment. But to be honest unless I REALLY want a certain scent, or their on sale or have money knocked off, then I’m not buying any anymore. This is in sale for £4.00 and I’m tempted to stock up on them to keep me happy for a while. I have liked the scent of this candle for a while, but I’ve just never caved in and bought it and whilst it’s cheap I am really tempted… But alas, I do need to save money… Sad times people, sad times.

• Nintendo New 3DS XL (Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer Limited Edition).

This isn’t out in the UK yet (and I’m not even 100% sure if it WILL be coming out in the UK!) but it is out in Japan tomorrow and I’m pretty jealous of them right now. This is the limited edition New 3DS XL that is coming out to accompany the new Animal Crossing Game, Happy Home Designer. I’ve already pre ordered my copy! I would like to get my hands on the new 3DS in the future and if I can get one as cute as this, I don’t see why I shouldn’t.

• Jeffree Star Liquid Lipstick in Abused.

I want to first of all say, apologies for the name of this lipstick… I didn’t name it. The name of this is causing a stir with people, especially due to the shade it is too. Personally it doesn’t affect me but I can understand why it is upsetting a lot of people. That aside, I do really want this shade. I’ve wanted one of Jeffree’s lipsticks for ages now and this is my number once choice. When I was younger I used to wear blue lipstick all the time! I got bullied for it terribly and ended up stopping wearing it, and now everyone is wearing it. What a joke… This is a gorgeous navy blue, which you could get away with if you wanted to get a shade close to black. I bought a black lipstick recently and whilst I love how it looks when on, I feel to scared to wear it out of the house. However, I would love wearing this, especially during winter. It’s not cheap though, so I’m going to wait until I can find it at a decent price.

• iPhone 6 Case.

As you have probably seen in the image above, there’s an iPhone there. So of course with a new phone, comes a new case. I need a case like this for work to ensure if I drop it, it would remain safe and unharmed. I wanted something a bit different to my current red one for my iPhone 5, so when looking around eBay for something different, I found this one. I love The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, so I knew this would be perfect. What makes it better is it’s cheap as chips for £3.00 something.

• Lush Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub.

Although I said I need to save money, this is something I’m probably going to pick up pretty soon. Not because I want it, but because I need a good scrub and I’ve had my eye on this one since I finished my Sugar Crush scrub. I’ve tested it in store before and it really did feel like it was scrubbing my skin without irritating it. It also smelt amazing, which you can never complain about. OH and it foamed up a little too, which is something I always look for in a body scrub. I would also like to try Ocean Salt Face and Body Scrub too, as I have used a sample of it now and as a multi purpose product it got two thumbs up from me. Gosh, like I haven’t bought enough from Lush this past month! 😛

• OPI Nail Lacquer in Visions of Georgia Green (Coca Cola Limited Edition Line).

I really liked the Coca Cola collection that OPI came out with a year ago, and own some of the shades from the first collection. A couple of collections later and OPI are bringing out another to symbolise Coca Cola being around 100 years. They’ve brought out a green and a silver shade, I’m talking about the green shade, Visions of Georgia Green here. It’s a beautiful green metallic shade with shimmer running throughout. Looks gorgeous on its own, and I’m sure it’ll look lovely applied over a green or black shade. I wouldn’t like the big bottle, but either way if this ever goes down in price I’ll be picking it up.

• Apple iPhone 6 in Gold.

This is the last thing I’ll be talking about on my wish list, because it’s totally the best one! I’m hoping to get a new iPhone in a week as I’m due a new contract deal. It’s not that I don’t like my iPhone 5, it’s just I want my own phone. One that’s actually mine. My previous one broke due to being faulty in manufacturing and instead of being given a new one as a replacement, I was given a crappy refurbished, second-hand one. Which also didn’t work. So then I was given my phone now, which is perfect! I guess it’s an excuse as well to get the new one. I already have an awesome and cute case for it (the Eevee one mentioned here) and everything. So I just want to get one now, so I can say I have one and show it off and all that jazz. When I get it, I’ll make sure to write a post relating to iPhone’s. 😉

So that was my wish list! I can’t believe it’s August already, can you? What things are on your wish list? Make sure to let me know in the comments.

Until next time though, take care all and have a great week.