Wednesday 25 May 2016

Suffering from wonder lust? You will after this bath beaut: Golden Wonder review. Bath Bomb Wednesdays with Lush Cosmetics.

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all fine, well and having a lovely week so far this week. Back again with another sensual bath for you all, this time with a Christmas special. You might ask how I am getting a hold of these right now? People are still selling some of these on Lush Facebook groups, two of which I am a part of and it's fantastic for getting your hands on limited edition bath bombs or goodies, which may have been in the kitchen and you missed the chance or they were on special time and you missed that opportunity; it's also a fantastic way to make new friends. You should know the drill by now but just in case, my name is Natalie, I have been doing blogs for the past year and "Bath bomb Wednesdays" on Instagram for the past two months on natiee_blogs and in today's review, we have the one that started my best friend, Chloe, off into her lush loving phase, the Golden Wonder bath bomb.

I combined this relaxing beauty with a sample of Yellow Fun kindly given to me by the lovely Chloe (thank you my dear!) and they are given in these very generous sample sizes, but we'll do a small focus on that later on. Golden wonder is as you can see, shaped like a Christmas present and it really is a delightful present. Again, similar to the Golden egg I feel like this is another bomb that has decreased in size, but great things come in small packages (you don't have to laugh at my terrible puns, I'll do that for you). At the price of £3.95, this bath bomb is definitely worth your money, very relaxing and certainly leaves a one of a kind impression on you. I did have the misfortune of dropping mine before I placed it in the bath, though I did my best to keep it together but this may effect my overall judgement of the bomb as it may spoil the performance, it was still a whole bath bomb and I still thoroughly enjoyed this bath.
A blend of cognac, gardenia extract, lime oils and orange oils are a fantastic, sweet, floral and fragrant combination inviting Christmas into the home in the warmest way, whilst being combined with cream of Tartar gives the bath bomb and many of the bubble bars, their frothy and snow-like bubbles that land beautifully on top of the light, winter-frost blue waters. The smell which rose from the steam, winter warm bath greeted my nose and senses with a gentle, baby oil and body wash fragrance, definitely more calming, moisturising and nourishing, exactly what you need when being revealed to the winter elements. When placing into the water, I saw a gentle yellow, blue and white expel and dance around with the bathwater, creating a frosty like blue with glitter shimmer to add highlight and healthy glow to the body and with a combination of small stars, adds to this winter night bath in the middle of May (I know, bizarre).
This is a bath bomb I would recommend to have in the winter over summer, to use just before bed, it's rejuvenating, refreshing, Christmassy and warming in all areas of its ingredients and in bath experience. I personally, didn't find an overload of bubbles within my bath, which I enjoyed as I don't like to smother in bubbles. Soft, gentle and relaxing soak leaving the water falling off the skin in a fast motion from the softness this product has left the skin and the fresh feel lasted a very long time. My mood was lifted, relaxed and a lot more pleasant after a stressful day, I highly recommend when this bath bomb returns.
Rating: 5/5 


 

Sunday 22 May 2016

I'm blue though I should be purple (Da ba dee Da ba Hair-Dye?...) LA Directions "Violet Night" hair dye review.

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are ok, fine and having a fantastic week so far.
Those of you who have known me for years know very well that I am one for the crazy hair colours and have been since I left school, going to college at 16 (we're talking 7 years of crazy hair, that is dedication) so for the past 2 years I've just stuck to blonde hair but I never fully felt like myself.
Recently, I reverted back to a crazy colour, having in mind a Deep plum purple to lavender ombre as the aimed colour, I put my trust in La Directions, who seemed to work tremendously well for my friend, Becky Cook (Disney Polar). Usually for my crazy colours, I do tend to lean on Manic Panic just because I know they're a good brand, they're 100% vegan and their colours last well above the usual semi-permanent hair dyes, however, I thought to be a fair blogger it might be nice to gain a difference and go with a different brand.
LA Directions are vegetarian-friendly, founded in 1981 in U.K, which not only offers hair dyes but they also have products such as tattoo balms, shampoos, conditioners, toners and lightening kits. I have some of my manic panic pasteliser left over, so I figured that would do the lavender perfectly. You can purchase LA Directions from Tribal voice, Trudi's in Paignton and Blue banana, online or Hot Topic stores, the hair dyes require a minimum of 20 minutes in order to sink into the hair and work.
In the products defence, I did not bleach my hair before hand because it was already somewhat blonde aside from the roots, which I deemed to be ok as I wished for the hair to be darker at the roots and fall into lighter shades of purple until the tips were lilac to white.
 The image on the right is a rather vain selfie of my hair before I placed the dye on it, I figured it was a mousy blonde that might take the colour quite well, this one little slip up and thought lead to something that could be a recreation of a Laurel and Hardy sketch. Image the left after a slight trim and the purple dye was placed on is the outcome of the LA Directions violet night. The semi permanent dye did take on my hair quite well, leaving this purple tone for a few washes however, due to the hair not fully soaking up the colour, after one wash it soon came out and the colour seeped everywhere I was asleep, turning my white pillow cases a light blue colour. Obviously, being a purple there were blue tones within the dye, which as I washed the dye out it stained my head, neck and parts of the bath requiring a thorough bleaching afterwards. The brand are cruelty free and at a very affordable £5 a pot in comparison to Manic Panic at £9.99 a pot, with some of the colours that work on freshly bleached hair a lot better than it's taken on my hair.
Honestly, I really did not enjoy this hair dye for the fact that it went everywhere, the colour lasted 2-3 washes and soon became a green to blue hair colour, it stained my clothes and pillow cases whilst I was asleep. I would not repurchase anything from LA Directions in all honesty and I am more of a Manic Panic purchaser as when I did have bright blue hair, I had no issues with Manic Panic at all. I will gladly pay more for quality over value for money and manic panic being vegan friendly is massive bonus.
Rating 1/5.  




Wednesday 18 May 2016

I want a Golden Egg Daddy and I want it NOW! Bath Bomb Wednesdays with Lush Cosmetics.

Hello Everybody,

I hope you are all fine, well and having a lovely week so far. Those of you who have been here before, welcome back and those of you who are new, my name is Natalie I am a vegetarian/vegan beauty blogger based in the South West of England.
Some of you who follow me on Instagram or follow this blog will know I have been doing "Bath bomb Wednesdays" regularly as a feature of my blog, today we will be exploring one of the Easter Specials that everyone pretty much loses it for, including Veruca Salt (we understand Veruca, we really do) and I think all Lushies in unison begin chanting.
The Golden Egg works as a two in one with the bath oil on the outside and the bath bomb on the inside, so with this product, you get the two in one luxury with all the glitter as well. I believe for first-time lush buyer or cocktail makers, this would be a perfect first purchase as you wouldn't frantically be searching the shop for two bath products, which compliment each other, though the members of staff are helpful and extremely good at advising. Egg shaped, covered in glitter and joy, however in comparison to last years golden egg, it's a lot smaller in size, the bath bomb certainly does draw in your attention and eyes like a clan of magpies (if you tell me you aren't drawn to shiny things, you're lying just a little bit!).
I do not recommend this bath bomb if you are not a fan of glitter, although within the bath it practically sits with the rest of the water, it's simply picking up the egg the glitter gets everywhere so do ask if you can have it wrapped up, to keep your stuff glitter-free safe.
Being a bath oil as well as a bath bomb in the centre, when first placing the golden egg in the water the lovely oils slowly turned the water to this golden yellow with a shimmer to it, something that reminds me of sunshine in a bath and the scent was a very sweet toffer like fragrance which can only be described as the inside of Willy Wonka's factory, the smell raised slowly from the bath and lasted a long time. The oil disappearing into the water almost looks like a potato lightly peeling, it isn't as extravagant a show as experimenter or intergalactic however, it is very relaxing to watch and makes for a very calming, soothing bath.
The bath bomb centre was slow fizzing, calming, simple and added to the golden yellow which the bath oil created, soking within this hydrating, slight glittery lagoon really is like bathing in liquid gold and rising from the glitter to smell just like toffee and caramel. After effects of the bath leave the glitter maintained on the body to give a slight highlight and natural looking glow, as well as the sweet toffee fragrance, which I thoroughly enjoyed though I do wish the bath bomb was a lot bigger, as it was last year.
The hype that surrounded this product made me feel slightly disappointed by in someways, but for a relaxing yet luxurious bath I do recommend the Golden Egg. To see this bath bomb in action and many others, you can view it on my instagram at "natiee_blogs"
Rating as a bath oil: 4/5
Rating as a Bath Bomb: 2/5

 

 

Wednesday 11 May 2016

BANG! And the Fizz is on! "Fizzbanger" Bath Bomb Wednesday with Lush cosmetics!


Hello Everyone,

I hope you are fine, well and having a lovely week so far. Today, I am back with another bath bomb review with Lush Cosmetics and it is a citrus, yellow, beauty under the name of "Fizzbanger". The reviews available to read on this blog are to go hand-in-hand with the "bath bomb Wednesday" on my Instagram.
Barry Scott can officially eat his heart out and watch all of his dirt or worries disappear, but even Cillit bang has nothing on this beautiful product; mostly because this is definitely intended for relaxation, cleanse and detox rather than scrubbing the bathroom or kitchen. Looking somewhat like a child's expectation of the sun, yellow and perfectly circular, very simple and plain but looks are very deceiving and the performance which comes inside this little ray of sunshine really is something to marvel. Upon touching the water, we see the outer edge slowly dissolve into the water leaving a creamy yellow to fill the bath and the bomb itself turns a yellow, white as the foam slowly spreads around the bath, casting a beautiful fresh fragrance up through the air and into our noses. Interestingly enough, although this product does not contain any lemon and actually has far more floral scents, I would say the product is a citrus fresh sort of fragrance this probably coming from the citrus oils, which seem to be quite overpowering and cast a shadow on the slight Ylang-Ylang and cinnamon leaf oils within the product, but that doesn't mean it's not a beautiful scent. Warming, brightening, and energy-lifting, upon placing this bath bomb into the water and the smells unleashing, I felt the tired bags under my eyes slowly cast away whilst the rest of my body slowly relaxed into the cleansing, deeply relaxing and revitalizing waters. Very slow fizzing when it was dissolving but the colours that all joined together were truly beautiful and leave you soaking in a very green and almost alien-like bath as the slow blue, mixes with the yellow and inside you can find a cute little note saying "Bang" just like the blackberry bath bomb, which was so adorable. Its scent is a lot stronger than the other bombs I used which meant a pure, deep cleanse and this was certainly felt as the ingredients within it contain high amounts of anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory and a deep cleanse into the pores pulling all toxins out the body.
Personally, I'm not overly fond of slow fizzers, but I have to admit I have a soft spot for the Fizzbanger, though it isn't my favourite product but it is very much what I would say, a summertime bath bomb. Very moisturising, the popping candy is not really heard of and the scent is very cleansing as well as the bath being very awakening. I would use this more so as a morning bath product than an evening relax unless I really felt I needed the detox.
Rating: 3/5




Wednesday 4 May 2016

"Intergalactic" will take your brain to another dimension: Bath Bomb Wednesdays with Lush Cosmetics.

Hello my Lovelies,

I hope you are all fine, well and having a lovely week and that the rest of it is scrum-diddly-luscious!
For those of you who are new here, Welcome my name is Natalie and I have been blogging for a log period of time now... almost a year. Wow.
Upon doing my blog, I have become extremely passionate to (as best as I can) avoid using products or brands, which sell to China, owned by a mother company which tests or test on animals, it is against my beliefs that we should harm another living creature for the sake of vanity. Upon doing this, I have fallen head over heels in love with Lush cosmetics, who pride themselves on being against animal cruelty as well and to celebrate how wonderful Lush truly are I have been doing throughout this month "Bath Bomb Wednesday's" on my Instagram (@natiee_blogs) and in the second week of doing this, I was very much persuaded by the members of staff in Lush Plymouth to purchase "Intergalactic", which has quickly become one of my favourite bath bombs.
 Intergalactic is shaped in a beautiful blue bath bomb, with slight pink and yellow around it almost making it look like the northern lights, whilst its fragrance is light mint and quite refreshing. As it dissolves in the bath, quite therapeutic to watch the pink, white and yellow expel from the bath bomb to release a deep, dark lagoon blue bath with a slight sparkle, which really did take you into outer space.
As I entered the store to purchase this product whilst bringing the pots back, a lovely store assistant showed me how truly amazing this bath bomb can be when adding SunnySide bubble bar, it creates the very beautiful bath cocktail "mermaid's tail" which looks absolutely beautiful, the intergalactic alone is superb but the extra sparkle really does add something unique and the smell is a warm, mint, refreshing fragrance that definitely cleanses your body inside and out. In this case, I also saw another cocktail again by Lush Plymouth on their twitter, with the Intergalactic and Ladybird bubble bar, which deepened the blue, it added a slight berry refreshing fragrance and really complimented the fragrance from Intergalactic it was beautiful and all toxins officially destroyed. The mix of the mint to detoxify, cleanse and used in aromatherapy to refresh and relax the mind really does work along with the mix of popping candy, grapefruit oil and cedarwood oil offers a load of different benefits for skin and body from antiseptic, tonic to help tone up all organ systems and encourage detox through body functions to anti-inflammatory properties meaning your body gets the full works.

The water in the bath is absolutely spectacular being as dark as the night sky with the sparkle of the stars that make it absolutely beautiful and when leaving this out of this universe pamper planet, my skin was left feeling quite hydrated, clean and a slight sparkle to give the skin a natural highlight glow, which looks absolutely beautiful. The colours of the bath water along with the fresh grass, floral and mint-like-scent on the skin truly made me feel like a space mermaid and the scent was not overpowering on the skin, great for those who aren't keen on strong fragrances. The combination of the two was beautiful and I definitely recommend it, one of my favourite products and baths.


Rating: 5/5

Monday 2 May 2016

Lets get personal...Or not you know. It's only 20 things anyways.

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all fine, well and having a lovely week so far!
It's been a year since I began blogging and roughly 4 months since I started doing YouTube videos again yet I don't think I've ever given you much information about myself at all.
I figured it's time we bonded, it's time to let down those PC walls and personas to let you in on who I am as a person... maybe.
  1. My middle name is Tracy, after my mother. 
  2. Music taste is completely varied, one minute I'll be listening to Craig David, Two door cinema club, Arctic monkeys, The Beatles, Beach Boys, Fetty Wap, Trap city remixes, Queens of the Stone Age etc. and then next It will be Cute is what we aim for, Taking back Sunday, Beartooth, ACDC, Metallica, Queen etc. I have no genre. 
  3. I prefer fruit to chocolate. Fruit will be the first thing to go snack wise, then when it comes to desperate measures because we're out of fruit, I will go to chocolate or buy chocolate because it's cheaper than buying more fruit. 
  4. I dislike sweets, they remind me of a time when I was younger and my friend dared me to fit 20+ sweets in my mouth all at once, I ended up vomiting them back up within 5 seconds and I've never liked sweets since. 
  5. I have made tiny steps towards the transition to Vegetarian/Veganism with just beauty products such as skincare, deodorant etc. I feel like it's wrong that we test on animals in the sake of "vanity" but I respect that it is a big lifestyle change and I don't expect anyone else to make the same decision, they can still talk to me and I will still advice them on makeup that does animal testing, if they ask for it. 
  6. I was vegetarian for a year, though, but it made me ill (I didn't eat anything to replace the loss of Iron)  
  7. I frantically worry about upsetting other people, so much so I often annoy people by constantly saying "sorry" and never making a decision in case the decision I make upsets someone. 
  8. Also, I sometimes become quite distant quite often out of fear that I'm annoying people. 
  9. I have two dogs that are lazy as anything but they're my best friends and I love them more than fruit. 
  10. people once thought I was my mother at a wedding, I got called "Tracy" for the whole evening whilst my mother got called "Natalie"...it upset me a little because I'm no way old enough to have a 40-year-old daughter at the age of 23. How does that even work? 
  11. I almost went to audition for the role of Hermione Granger, however, I got so worried about missing a day of school and my education that I decided not to go. (Ironic!) 
  12. I started YouTube when I was 16 when a friend of mine was sectioned under the mental health act and she didn't have anything else to look forward to. I cheered her up so it was my way of being there for her, though I was not allowed to visit her. 
  13.  I take things to heart even if it's not a personal attack, I will beat myself up religiously over a tiny error or mistake. It is a habit I really wish to break and one that maybe one day, I will if I persevere. 
  14. I am very, very easily distracted with a short attention span and I often find my mind will wonder even during conversations. 
  15. Normally I have different coloured hair and people say it suits who I am because I'm a very different person and natural hair isn't my thing because I don't blend, there is something beautifully unique. 
  16. I am not allowed caffeine really, it gives me heart palpitations quite badly and migraines if I have too much caffeine in a short space of time. 
  17. I don't like drugs and I'm not the biggest fan of getting absolutely drunk. 
  18. I have one younger sibling called Emily, who is my best friend and I love her more than fruit as well. 
  19. Exercise and drawing are my releases or the activities I choose to do when I'm alone, as well as blogging, reading etc. 
  20. Heels and I do not get on, look like a deer learning how to walk.  
thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed learning more about moi! Love you all so much and you're all wonderful people, have a lovely day xoxo