April Favourites ’19

Image taken from GIPHY

I just had to add this gif here seeing as last year I added the IT’S GONNA BE MAY one! 😛

Wow. How is it May already?! It’s been a month since I started my new job, as well as Easter bank holiday passing and the first of two bank holiday’s this month are looming. How wonderful May is going to be. 😛

I have a feeling May is going to be a very busy month with both personal life as well as blogging life. I’m excited for what the month will bring to be honest with you. 🙂

Anyhoo it’s time to get on with my favourites from April!

• Molton Brown Fiery Pink Pepper Bath & Shower Gel.

This is a product I’ve owned for quite a while to be honest with you, but I’ve only just managed to start using it. This is purely by choice to be honest with you. My mom gifted this to me as she had two and wasn’t as keen on the scent as she thought she was going to be. I’ve never used a Molton Brown product before but I know they’re quite high up there as a company when it comes to their products, so I knew it would be good. Bloody hell, I didn’t actually think it was going to be as good as it actually was! I was pleasantly surprised and would DEFINITELY purchase their products in the future. Not going to lie, this isn’t usually the scent I would choose myself but it’s gorgeous! It’s like a feminine smelling aftershave scent… If that makes sense? A little bit of this product goes a long way and foams up really good. The thing I love the most about it though is how the scent actually sticks onto the skin and it lasts until mid morning. I feel like not many shower gels do this so the fact this one does gives me reason to buy from Molton Brown. I honestly recommend them so much if you can justify the price.

• EOS Lip Balm in Passion Fruit.

I didn’t actually need a new lip balm but when I spotted that Savers had the EOS Lip balms cheap at just £2.99 I decided to pick a new one up for myself. I’ve not used EOS lip balms for over 4 years now and reason for that being is that’s when my last one ran out (which you can read about here from back in my July Favourites 2015). I did purchase the Lemon Drop flavour a couple of years ago, but this was when I was having issues with infections on my lips and after I used it I didn’t touch it again. I still own it but I’m scared if I use it said infection will come back. I really need to just throw it away. ANYWAY! I have been loving this lip balm towards the end of April. I haven’t used a stick form style of lip balm for years due to that lip infection I had all that time ago (which you can read about here) so me buying this lip balm was quite a bit step because of that. I have no regrets however and have been loving using this. It smells amazing, tastes yummy and leaves my lips feeling gorgeous and soft. I plan to pick up more in the future at the steal of a price! I just wish they had more of the flavours I’d really like to try.

• LAB LED Sonic Teeth Whitening Toothbrush.

This is actually a belated birthday present from my mom. Granted she bought me gift(s) for my birthday but she also really wanted to get me an electric toothbrush. We kept umming and ahhing over which one to get me and due to the fact we couldn’t settle on anything, it ws left… Until recently. My mom found this electric toothbrush by LAB and decided to order it for me. This is meant to be a whitening toothbrush but to be perfectly honest with you, I can’t notice any change in my teeth… Maybe others will but alas I haven’t Both me and Dane use this toothbrush as we have interchangeable heads and not only do I love it, but he does too! I really do feel like this cleans my teeth better than a manual toothbrush ever could and I really do love it! This also came with some charcoal toothpaste, which I rather like. It tastes really nice but it doesn’t foam up much. Would you guys like to see a review on this toothbrush at some point this month? Make sure to let me know!

• The Body Shop Peppermint Candy Cane Fragranced Hand Cream.

This is another product that I’ve owned for ages but have yet to use. When I started my new job at the start of April I decided it was finally time to give it a go! I tell you what, I’m gutted that it’s a limited edition product from Christmas 2018 as this is by far one of my best The Body Shop hand creams I’ve ever used! I find with these hand creams they do NOTHING for my eczema prone hands and I end up hardly using them. However, this one really does work and I was pleasantly surprised due to that. It smells amazing too with the sweet peppermint scent. I am really sad that this is near the end of it’s life and I won’t be able to repurchase it… Hopefully this scent returns Christmas 2019!

• Tweak’d by Nature Rhassoul Rise & Shine Volumising Shampoo.

I was pretty sceptical when it came down to using this shampoo. I’ve been rather fond of my L’Oreal sulphate free shampoo for quite some time now but when my mom recommended this shampoo for me, I decided to give it a go. My mom is usually spot on when it comes down to stuff like this. Alas I have fallen in love with this shampoo and I’m actually considering repurchasing it! It leaves my hair feeling soft, voluminous and smelling gorgeous! When I’m drying my hair I really notice the scent it leaves behind. This isn’t a sulphate free shampoo but I don’t feel like I’ve really noticed this in regards to the aftermath of the shampoo after washing. My only issue with this shampoo is that it takes bloody ages to get it to a lovely lather. I worry I use too much of the product and then not only am I “wasting” it I’m also putting possibly too much product into my hair. If I don’t create a massive lather in my hair, I don’t feel like I’m getting it clean… If that makes sense? I would like to try more of the Tweak’d by Nature range as they seem really good, as well as different.

So now my beauty favourites are done, time to talk about the miscellaneous favourites of the month!

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite TV Show – Fruits Basket.

First of all I just want to say – I chose the gif above because I thought it was so bloody cute!

I really need to give myself a kick up the arse lately as my reading of anime and watching of manga has been SHOCKING since the start of the year! Alas April was my month for picking both of these things back up, which I’m really happy about! A new and adapted version of Fruits Basket launched in April and I’ve been watching it every Friday when a new episode came out on Funimation. I ALWAYS wanted to watch Fruits Basket back in the day when the original anime series was out, but I just never got to. I watched all of one maybe two episodes at a push but when it came down to watching the others I could NEVER find them anywhere to watch. I know the full series was out on DVD but the price of them was quite expensive back in the day and I just couldn’t justify it. Recently I was tempted to buy them all on DVD but I am so glad I left it, due to the new series coming out. Fruits Basket is about a girl who moves in with some friends but discovers they can all turn into animals from the Chinese zodiac. So far it’s been such a cute, funny and yet emotional anime and I’m so happy that the remake has come out so I can FINALLY watch this series somehow!

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Movie – Dumbo and Avengers: Endgame.

April was definitely the month of movies and I swear, I was LOVING it! 😀 First of all me and Dane went to go and see Dumbo before the Easter bank holiday and whilst he wasn’t arsed about seeing it, I sort of was. The original Dumbo from 1941 is by far one of my favourite Disney movies and at almost every moment in this movie I WILL cry because it’s just a sad fucking movie. Even when good stuff happens (which let’s face it, is rare!) I cry. Anyways the Tim Burton version of Dumbo is really good and it was a film I was glad I went to the cinema to see. I’d gladly watch it again, especially with Dane’s nephew and even friends children as it was an enjoyable watch. I loved that they kept some little aspects of Dumbo in there from 1941. It was typical Tim Burton to be honest with you. If you have children I’d say take them to see it and if you’re like me and loved the original Dumbo then I recommend you go see it too.

Image taken from GIPHY

Onto Avengers: Endgame… I don’t quite know what I can say about it without worrying I give anything away… It is an emotional 3 hours to be perfectly honest with you and I don’t think I’ve cried at a film so much since I went to watch Marley & Me – which I sobbed at! I recommend if you go to watch take some tissues and find a guide online of when is the best time(s) to go for toilet breaks! I found one AFTER we got out of the cinema and I actually went for my pee break at the right time. Not bad eh? 😛 I just loved this film so much for so many reasons… I just wish I could say more here without the worry of spoilers.

Image taken from Good Reads

Favourite Book – In Real Life by Cory Doctorow.

I picked up this book around the start of April after finding it in Waterstones. I’d had it on my Amazon wish list for years but eventually removed it as I didn’t think I’d ever pick it up. Waterstones were selling it for £10 which is the cheapest I’ve found it anywhere. I’d have been a bit of a fool if I DIDN’T pick it up! This is about a girl whose family don’t have a whole lot of money. She hears about an online gaming world from a guest speaker at her school. After kindly asking her mother if she can pay to play the online game she goes into the game and discovers some stuff through it that open her eyes. It’s such a great book and I recommend it for people to read who love graphic novels as well as gaming.

Favourite Music – Ozzy Osbourne “See You On The Other Side” and Halsey “Without Me”.

I’ve really been getting into loads of new artists and songs lately and it’s thanks to the music that plays during my pole dance classes, as well as listening to KERRANG! Radio all day at work. It’s amazing in all honesty and it if wasn’t thanks to both of those things lately I wouldn’t have discovered these two songs recently. The first one is by Ozzy Osbourne and is quite a sad song, but all the same I am addicted to it! It’s clearly about losing a loved one and it’s such a touching song. The second one by Halsey is another sad song about how she’s been through a rocky relationship and her feelings now it’s over. Both songs are beautiful and I love listening to them both on a daily business.

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Game – Yoshi’s Crafted World.

I know this was my favourite game last month too but in all honesty I have been LOVING this game! I played it nonstop over the Easter bank holidays and adored it! Not going to lie, I plan to play it tonight after I’ve finished writing this post (day before this post went live!) as I just love it that much. I’ve played a couple of Yoshi games over the years but none of them have been as enjoyable as this one has to me. I just find it so relaxing to play and every level is so in depth with all the different secrets you can find, collecting items through gatcha machines and even two player mode. There’s nothing not to like about this game and that’s why it’s here again for another month running. 😀

So those are all my favourites from April! The month went by so bloody quick and I already can’t quite believe I’ve been in my job a month today. I’m really enjoying it so far.

How was April for my lovely readers? Also which items were you loving in April? Make sure to let me know in the comments.

Until next time all, take care and I hope you’re having a great week so far. I’m off out tonight for a blog event! Exciting times!

The Body Shop Peppermint Candy Cane Bath Bomb – Review

CHRISTMAS IS COMING! Move over Scrooges because it’s officially less than a month until Christmas now. I don’t care how “early” it is to be talking about Christmas related stuff, I’m doing it. 😛

If there is one brand I am loving this Christmas it’s definitely The Body Shop. They’ve introduced three new scents to their Christmas range and I am LOVING THEM! There are three new scents, Berry Bon Bon, Vanilla Marshmallow and my favourite Peppermint Candy Cane.

I really want to pick up more of the range but at this moment in time I’m really skint and I’m not even halfway through my Christmas shopping yet. Meh.

When I went to London at the start of the month I popped into The Body Shop with my friend Sophi and we picked up some bits and pieces. They had some bath bombs in there and as I have fallen head over heels in love with The Body Shop’s bath bombs and bubble bars lately, I decided to buy a couple of each scent.

I recently and finally tried Peppermint Candy Cane’s bath bomb and I just knew I had to review it for your guys. As always on my blog, my reviews are honest there’s no BS here. 😛

So without further ado, let the review begin!

The one thing that bugs me the most about the bath bombs The Body Shop have brought out with the Christmas scents is that they don’t stock them online. I’ve only seen them in store and even then they fly off the shelves so quickly! When we were in the London store we had to ask if they had anymore of the Peppermint Candy Cane scent left as the shelf was empty. Then me and Sophi practically wiped the shelf clean of the other two scents.

I couldn’t wait to get home to give them all a go and the first one I decided to use is my favourite scent out of the three!

All of the bath bombs have colour schemes to match their scents as well as animals that are on the front of advent calendars. Berry Bon Bon is red with a fox, Vanilla Marshmallow is yellow with an owl and Peppermint Candy Cane is green with a deer. A lot of people are confused about whether the Berry Bon Bon bath bomb is a fox, a wolf or a raccoon. I can only assume it’s a fox as that’s the animal on the most expensive advent calendar box.

Each bath bomb costs £2.50 and you get 50g of product. The normal range of bath bombs cost £1.50 and you only get 10g. Such a bargain really when you think about it!

The character designs are all so cute, which makes these perfect for children and teenagers.

When it comes to bath bombs I usually break them in half so I get more for my money, aka Lush bath bombs. These are perfect though for just using in one go, which I really like.

In the packaging and as a whole the scent of this bath bomb isn’t in your face and strong, but it isn’t light enough that you cannot smell it.

The only way I can describe Peppermint Candy Cane is a fresh and minty scent with a warm sort of comforting smell too. Not like a fresh peppermint scent, but comforting and soft. That’s the main thing I love about this scent, it really does remind me of Christmas and I don’t feel like many places actually have peppermint scented things at this time of year. SO a massive thank you to The Body Shop for FINALLY doing it. 😛

Sadly when the bath bomb had finished fizzing and I got into the bath, I smelt NOTHING. Not a single thing and I was so disappointed. I sniffed the water, my skin, even when I finished bathing and went in and out of the bathroom I couldn’t smell anything. I don’t know what happened considering in the plastic wrap it smelt rather strong of the Peppermint Candy Cane scent. It’s to be honest, a bit shit.

I don’t even feel like this nourished my skin either, which was even more disappointing! It left a lovely pale green colour in the water, which was pretty but that’s pretty much all it was which for £2.50 is such a shame to me.

I bought two of these bath bombs and although I did wonder whether to give the second bath bomb a go to see if it was just a case of a had a dud bath bomb, I shouldn’t have to. What if I had just bought one? I’d be disappointed regardless, you know?

Sadly the only thing I really liked about this bath bomb was the way it looked and smelt BEFORE I decided to use it, which sucks.

Now if this had cost more than £2.50 I think I would complain more, but considering it didn’t break the bank I’m not surprised really. I’m just disappointed.

I feel like you would need to use this with either/or the bath foam, shower gel, body scrub, body lotion or even the body butter to feel the full effect of the peppermint scent. This in itself is annoying because as we all now, The Body Shop isn’t cheap.

I’m a bit miffed about the fact you can’t pick this up online considering the staff member in the London store told me it’s online. It’s really not.

Overall whilst this was a lovely idea I was left feeling meh about it and I just hope the other Peppermint Candy Cane bath bomb, as well as the other scents I own have a better pay off! If they do I’ll definitely update at the end of this post.

This bath bomb would be great for people with sensitive skin, children and teenagers. If you’re used to strong scented bath products like Lush and maybe even Bomb Cosmetics, then this is a no go for you.

Have you tried the Christmas bath bombs from The Body Shop? If you have, how did you get on? If not, will you give them a go? Let me know in the comments down below.

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re having a great week so far!