Journeys Are My Diary

Life, Adventures, Entertainment and more - A little bit of everything blog!

Ultraviolet – Lush Bubble Bar Review

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I am so behind! This should have been posted on Friday but with one thing or another, I’ve gotten myself a few days out of sync! Anyway, no surprise – my post today is another Lush review!

I did debate whether I wanted to write about this again this week, but since Mother’s Day is coming up fast, I didn’t want anyone to miss out. This week’s bubble bar is called Ultraviolet and its a special edition one, for Mother’s Day!

This particular bar is BIG! I’ve always been one to throw in a whole bubble bar (I like a luxurious bath) but even I cut this one in half! To be honest, selling at £4.75 you need to get the most use for your money anyway!

I was originally sold on the beautiful colours of this and its similarity to a rainbow, however ultimately I was sold on its smell! I can’t 100% describe it’s smell, but the best I can say is PARMA VIOLETS! I don’t know if that was the intention or not, but honestly, the smell is amazing.

Dive into a deep purple pool with bubbles scented with violet leaf and jasmine absolutes. Make it through the rain and find the silver lining to every bubbly cloud. Just what UV been waiting for.

Ever since Bathos disappeared from the shelves, there has been a hole in my heart where the parma violet scented bubble bar originally lay. Now, thanks to Mother’s Day, I can get it back for a short while! The colour of the bubble bar is beautiful but sadly its a dark sort of purple in the bath (but you can’t have everything right?). The smell is just as amazing once you’re in the bath and honestly, I wanted to eat the remainder of the bubble bar since it smelled so good!

Since its a limited edition, I highly urge you to rush out and buy this bubble bar. It’s amazing and you won’t regret it!!!

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Unicorn Horn – Lush Bubble Bar Review

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Last week I went to London for the Game of Thrones Exhibit and while I was there, I treated myself to a bit of a shopping trip. Part of my shopping haul was a couple of Lush items and this week I got to try one of them out! Today my post is all about the Valentine’s special item – Unicorn Horn – a bubble bar made just for the love season and sadly its gone again now!

Lush described this bubble bar as:

Sweet dreams are made of these

Sink into a magical bath filled with beautiful essential oils, colorful candy stars, sparkling glitter, rainbows and dreams. Gorgeous pastel colors and a shimmering luster create enchanting pink waters with silvery trails sparkling through it – just like the dazzling pools in magical forests that unicorns can be found bathing in. Lavender, ylang ylang and neroli create a unique and uplifting fragrance as you surround yourself with mounds of bubbles that will leave you feeling perfectly serene.

The bubble bar itself is so visually appealing – the colours and the design are so catchy and definitely pull you in to make a purchase. This is the only Valentine’s range product that I actually bought and that says it all really, since I technically banned myself from buying any!

Once in the bath, its fairly regular and dare I say, boring. However glitter and fizz and sparkle isn’t everything so that’s not really the point. The smell was lovely, though actually not what I’d expected. To be fair I hadn’t read the description and a sniff didn’t give much away. But once it was in the bath I definitely got hit by the lavender smell and while its lovely, I don’t really do lavender.

I love the look of this bubble bar and the bubbles and feel of the water is exactly what you expect from any Lush product. For me it wasn’t one to buy again but that’s only because I’m not a lavender fan. Honestly, looking as beautiful as it did, I would have wished it had sweet scents and verge on being like a candy mountain – but maybe that’s just me!

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Yes that’s right, I have a Selfie Stick*

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I want to make it quite clear before I make this post, that I am really not a selfie person at all. I find it completely embarrassing to take selfies, not to mention I very rarely wear makeup so I just end up feeling worse about myself if I do take them. However, I do love to take GROUP selfies – and that’s why I love the idea of a selfie stick!

I first saw selfie sticks, about 6-8 months ago, floating around on the internet. The idea of a stick that meant you could take better selfies sort of fascinated me, even though I didn’t really think I’d have a use for it. That said, we’ve had numerous Murder Mystery parties where taking a group picture has been a nightmare, so deep down I figured that maybe I would have a use for it after all. In October of last year, we went to Edinburgh on holiday for the weekend and while visiting the Elephant Cafe we saw two girls using a selfie stick. I have to admit I laughed but they were good hearted and chuckled too. I think you have to know (and be okay with the fact) that you look kinda silly using them! Anyway, when I was offered one to review, I figured “why not?”. We do have a lot of parties where it would be fun to have said stick and perhaps even in Florida it would come in handy!

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The selfie stick I got came from 7DayShop.com and can be found here. The one I got was called a Monopod and came with Bluetooth remote. It sells for £9.99* and comes with everything you can see in the pictures above. It was really easy to use and connect to your phone via bluetooth, meaning that you could take the pictures easily and without any effort. Though there was an app you could use (free to download), we found that it worked just fine on the iPhone camera app, so long as the bluetooth was all synced up. The stick extended to 95cm so it was great for making sure everyone was in the frame!

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Unfortunately our next Murder Mystery isn’t until March, so I wasn’t able to use it on a large group (I can’t wait to try though). Instead we just used it as a family (Chris spent a whole morning playing with it when it arrived) and when we went out to breakfast on Valentine’s morning we also took it with us.

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As someone who dislikes selfies, I’m definitely not going to be using this alone – but then I don’t really think that’s the point of them anyway. I can’t wait till our next murder mystery party to give this stick a try – or perhaps stand in front of Cinderella’s castle in Florida and take a picture of our whole family.

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Book Review: I Was Here

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Just recently I was sent a book to review and since I’ve been trying really hard to read more, I was keen to get my last book (Allegiant) out of the way, to get on with this new one. The book is called “I Was Here” and is written by Gayle Forman.

A brand-new, heartwrenching novel from the bestselling author of If I Stay, Gayle Forman. This characteristically powerful novel follows eighteen-year-old Cody Reynolds in the months following her best friend’s shocking suicide. As Cody numbly searches for answers as to why Meg took her own life, she begins a journey of self-discovery which takes her to a terrifying precipice, and forces her to question not only her relationship with the Meg she thought she knew, but her own understanding of life, love, death and forgiveness.

I’m sad to say, I had never heard of Gayle Forman before being offered this book to read. However, having read this book, I’m now going to be looking out for her. I started reading “I Was Here” on January 25th and I was finished by 31st. I started reading just a few chapters at a time but by Saturday I was so into it, that I lay on the sofa and read for about 3-4 hours straight, just to get it finished.

As you know, I always try to give my reviews, without any spoilers. So here’s the best I can do. Cody and Meg were best friends, right from Kindergarten. The story begins with Meg having committed suicide and everyone who was connected to her, feeling very effected by it. The story is told from Cody’s point of view and her family background and connection to Meg and her family, make the loss of her friend even sadder. However Cody starts to look into the circumstances of the suicide and actually manages to make other friends, broaden her horizons and I guess find some closure too.

At first I was worried that the subject was one that would be too hard to read about – suicide. However I was soon into the book, enjoying the characters – especially Cody’s narrative. It’s a really clever and interesting storyline that I personally felt I could connect with but I don’t know if that’s because I’m female and therefore maybe its more of a chick lit read? The story and writing style was easy to read and the I felt like it all flowed and read nicely. I cried at the end (no suprise really) but I was also happy with its outcome. There was an element of predictability if I’m being honest, but after such a sad basis for a storyline, we all need a little happy ending sometimes. I gave this book 5 out of 5 on Goodreads as I did genuinely enjoy it – as my read in a week shows. That said, I do believe its a book best suited to women and possibly should even be considered a sort of young adult lit too.

Father Christmas – Lush Bath Bomb Review

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Last month I posted about a bath bomb from Lush, called Butterbear. It was a fun little teddy bear, perfect for kids. Today I want to bring you another bath bomb I’ve come across – again, great for the kids, especially at Christmas!

This bath bomb is called Father Christmas, which of course is the person this bath product gives a resemblance to. It was sold to me on the fact it smelt like Snow Fairy, one of my favourite Lush scents and of course the Christmas aspect.
Lush sells this product as:

A festive bath bomb to bring Santa’s presence into the bath. Once you pop this jolly bomb in your bath, it turns your water from bright red to vivid green. This year, Father Christmas will fill your bathroom with the popular sweet scent of Snow Fairy. All we want for Christmas is this Santa, baby!

I obviously hadn’t read this before using the bath bomb and secretly I’m a little glad. I threw Father Christmas into my bath and didn’t really expect much. However instantly there was a pop of green and I realised Santa had a surprise! As the bath bomb fizzed away, the green was released and before I knew it, my bath was a beautiful, if not a little unexpected, shade of green!
I am happy to report that my bath did indeed smell of Snow Fairy! While the usual pink of the shower gel was replaced by a rather vivid green, the smell was definitely the same. As with all bath bombs, I miss the bubbles of a bubble bar, but I love the smell that comes with these bombs. Father Christmas is now high up on my list of recommendations and I might even buy it for my kids on Christmas Eve!

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Exante Diet*

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As you’ll know, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, I’ve been dieting since April of this year using these appetite suppressants. I started at 13 stone 3lb and I want to get down to 10 stone – preferably before we visit Florida in April of next year.

I’m currently around the 11 stone 9lb mark (weigh in tomorrow!) so I still have quite a way to go. As such, when I was offered some products from Exante Diet, I gratefully accepted.

Exante Diet offers very low calorie meals and meal replacements. There are a huge variety of products and flavours, all at a really reasonable price. Depending on what you hope to achieve, there are a wide range of Diet Plans. These include very low calorie, low calorie, 5:2 and a stabiliser program.

Some of the items I was sent included Shepherd’s Pie, Red Bean Chilli and Pasta Carbonara. There were three snack bars, three soups and three shakes – all in various flavours. When shopping on Exante Diet there are loads of different options for how you can purchase too – a starter pack, a four week or six week pack, boxes of 50 and more. Most prices are around £1.59 per item, but with the various deals, you can definitely get a lower price. Not only that, but the food tastes really good.

 

The first thing I tried was Pasta Carbonara. It was really quick and easy to make, which is definitely a necessity when dieting as it stops you picking or worse – ordering takeaway through laziness. You basically add hot water, cover in clingfilm and wait 5 minutes. After that you remove the clingfilm and microwave for 2 minutes, before leaving to stand for 1 further minute. The taste was delicious and I actually did find myself full. This makes the idea of dieting a lot better.

Since getting these products, I’ve tried sticking to 3 in a day. To be honest I often skip breakfast so that wasn’t really an issue, then it meant I had one actual meal in a day, one soup or shake, then a bar. It was really easy to stick to only 3, they taste good and I feel full. Come the new year I honestly think I might me making my own purchase of these foods – a little kick to get me to my target by April!

Hobbycraft Christmas Crafts*

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A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be offered some Hobbycraft Christmas Crafts to kick off my Christmas festivities. The girls and I were so excited to get crafty – not only because we love to make things, but also its a great way to get into the Christmas spirit.

One of the main things we were sent, was a Hobbycraft Advent Calendar set*. It comprises of a Christmas truck, complete with 24 little doors. As well as that, there were paints, glue and numbers to decorate and stick onto the advent calendar. This is such an awesome idea – making your own advent calendar and filling each little door with a gift of your choosing. Having two girls its a great way to only need one calendar, as I can place 2 treats in each. Sadly we didn’t get ours finished before December 1st so we’ll have to save it for next year!

As well as the advent calendar, we were sent two decoration kits. There were some felt owls and some pom pom reindeers. Both kits come with everything you need and while they definitely required some adult supervision, the kids loved making them together.

I would definitely recommend a look at the Hobbycraft site – they have some lovely Christmas stuff. Unfortunately the light is too rubbish in the house tonight to take pictures of our decorations but I’ll post pictures soon!

Ozeri Touch 200 KG / 440 LBS Digital Bathroom Scale*

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As everyone who reads my blog will know, I’ve been dieting since April of this year. It’s a slow process but I’m getting there bit by bit. I started off at 13 stone 3 lb and at last weigh-in, I was 11 stone 8 lb. I still have quite a way to go to my 10 stone mark but I’m feeling fairly positive. A few weeks ago I got some new bathroom scales from Ozeri. They’re not just basic bathroom scales though, as they also measure body fat, hydration, muscle and bone mass.

The Ozeri Touch scales are a nice sleek design with a clear display. They can be programmed for up to ten different users as well, so they are great as a family set of bathroom scales. They retail around £30* and can be found on Amazon.

I gave the scales a pretty good trial run – leaving them in the lounge for a few days and weighing myself most days. They seem to be fairly accurate, though differ from my regular scales by about one full pound. These are far nicer looking though so I’m not going to complain about being a pound heavier.

The scales are really easy to set up and come with an easy to follow instructions booklet. I took pictures of each of the digital display screens – and my phone kindly made me an animation out of them!

If you’re looking for a nice new set of scales, in a modern looking style, with clear display and easy use – these could be just what you’re looking for. They suit everyone from the sporty to the non-sporty and even have a set up function to allow for the more athletic person. I’m very happy with my new scales and hope to get plenty of use out of them!

Wizard – Lush Bubble Bar

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Several times over the last week I’ve been posting about the products I bought in a recent Lush haul – when I went to Edinburgh. Products I’ve covered have included Sparkler, Northern Lights, So White, Hot Toddy and over on Twice the Mum (later published on my own blog), even the Butterbear. Today is the turn of “Wizard”, a bubble bar that I bought, largely because of the name (huge Harry Potter fan here) and also cos it looked interesting!!

Unfortunately “Wizard” was just for Halloween, so its now unavailable (that’s why the link is actually to the US Lush site). This makes me twice as glad that I got to try it when I did and hopefully one day it might be back again!

Wizard bubble bar looks a lot like a wizard hat and not only that, its a funky colour. To be honest, if it wasn’t that colour, I think it could quite easily be confused with the Penguin bubble bar!

As I’ve mentioned before, I love the idea of a magical bath and as a Harry Potter lover I’m always sold on anything witch, wizard, magic related. This bubble bar was no different, almost excited to see how it turned out.

 

As I crumbled the bubble bar, the water turned a beautiful shade of purple. The smell was lovely too. However as the bath filled more, the water took on a slightly darker shade of purple which was still nice but just not as pretty as the shallow water. While I could place the scent at all (and having this eternal cold it seems) it did seem familiar and in the end I associated it with lavender. As with all Lush bubble bars, the water felt beautifully soft and moisturising, the bar creating loads and loads of bubbles.

Lush describe this product as:

As the weather casts a cold, frosty spell over us, there’s only one thing better than soaking in the bath: the Wizard. This magical, handmade companion will help keep your spirits bright even on the darkest days. Energizing tangerine, juniperberry and fennel essential oils help balance the skin, while its warming and uplifting scent banishes stress and helps you recover from the day. It’s pure magic for your mind, body and soul.

While there is no mention of lavender, I feel sure that there is something in the bubble bar with the same qualities.  After getting out of the bath I felt incredibly relaxed and then not long after, tired. I slept really well that night too and so I would have recommended it for people with sleeping problems.

This was a lovely bubble bar and I’m genuinely sad it was here only briefly. I hope it makes a re-appearance next Halloween as I’d definitely stock up on a couple for those exhausting days when you know you need a good night’s sleep.

Still to review: The Christmas Hedgehog, Father Christmas, Sparkly Pumpkin and my all time favourite, Candy Mountain!

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Butterbear – Lush Bath Bomb Review

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Over on my personal blog, Journeys are my Diary, I’ve been blogging a lot about my recent Lush Haul (purchased on our weekend away to Edinburgh).

I’ve covered So White, Hot Toddy, The Sparkler and today I want to talk about Butterbear. The main reason I’ve decided to place this review here, is because I definitely think its something very child orientated and that our lovely readers over here might like to know about it!

When we first picked up Butterbear in Lush, Megan misread the sign and thought it said Butterbeer. This is of course a Harry Potter reference and then made the bear, a must buy! A part of me did wonder if there was a connection, but I don’t think there is. That said, he’s a very cute little bear!

Lush describe the product as:

Cocoa butter creates a creamy soft bath that is great for nourishing and protecting your skin, with the same vanilla-like fragrance as Butterball bath bomb. Moulded into a friendly and sweet-smelling bear, this is sure to be a winner with little and big kids alike!

My little bear got a bit dirty! By dirty, I mean my “Sparkler” bath bomb disintegrated all over him – that’s the yellow bits. Otherwise, you can see this little chappy is a white/cream colour with flecks of brown.

When we first placed him in the water, he acted exactly like a regular bath bomb – fizzing and bubbling away. However as he started to dissolve, you could see bits of brown and I began to worry that it was one of the few Lush products that leave bits in your bath (I’m not a fan of those!).

 

However I shouldn’t have worried as given a little time, that dissolved too, leaving a very clear bath. You could see the oil in the water from the cocoa butter and Lily who was having the bath, seemed very happy with the vanilla smell.
I would definitely recommend this bath bomb for kids as its kind and gentle on their skin, plus it smells good. That said, kids also love bubbles and if you’re looking for that then you’re not going to get any here! Perhaps throwing in a Lush bubble bar as well, might be a bit extravagant for the kids…