Lush Haul

I may or may not be just a bit obsessed with Lush right now. There's just something so relaxing about running the tap and then watching the explosion take place that I've constantly been having baths. Seeing as Lush had recently released their Valentine's Day products, I used it as an excuse to spend way more money than was needed and buy practically everything I could lay my hands on. (Jk, I didn't have that much money on me!)

I'm LOVING my storage tins, they're so vintage!

UNICORN HORN BUBBLE BAR  
Key Ingredients: lavender oil, ylang ylang oil
I'm pretty sure almost everyone on the internet has heard about this by now and that's because IT'S JUST TOO DAMN CUTE! This was the first thing I picked up and although it's not my favourite Lush smell, I'm sure the colours it'll give off in the bath will be amazing!

DRAGON EGG BATH BOMB
Key Ingredients: lemon oil, jasmine absolute, popping candy
When I smelt this, I just couldn't decide if I liked it - it's quite a strong citrus/lemon scent but I overheard one of the Lush employees describing it to another customer and I grabbed it. Although it's quite a slow fizzer (which annoys me to no end), the smell makes up for it. It was so so SO relaxing and reminded me of holidays to Spain and Italy.

BUTTERBALL BATH BOMB
 Key Ingredients: cocoa butter, ylang ylang oil
This is unlike other Lush bombs, in the sense that it doesn't explode in a load of different colours. It's quite similar to the bath melts as it has a very simple and subtle smell and seems so nourishing for your skin. This is smaller than the average bomb so was only about £2.

HONEY BEE BATH BOMB
 Key Ingredients: honey, sweet wild orange oil, rhassoul mud
I've been loving their products that smell like honey or toffee (Honey I Washed The Kids and It's Raining Men) so when I smelt this I knew I just had to get it. It's almost like a mixture of honey and caramel and smells UH-MAZING. 

IT'S RAINING MEN SHOWER GEL
  Key Ingredients: honey, sweet wild orange oil, tiger lily infusion
This basically smells like heaven in a bottle. At first I couldn't decided between this and the Valentine's day Prince Charming shower gel but amidst all the smells in the shop, this was the one I could liked best.

BUBBLE GUM & MINT JULIPS LIP SCRUB
  Key Ingredients: caster sugar, jojoba oil, flavouring
To be fair, I bough the Mint Julips one for my sister but boy am I planning on using that one too! Lush lip scrubs are amazing - they're basically a mixture of sugar and other stuff to exfoliate your lips but best of all they're EDIBLE. No need to say anymore.

My current favourite Lush shower gels - It's Raining Men and Hot Toddy

(DISCLAIMER: I am in no means showing off or bragging in any shape or form. I simply want to share with you the products I have enjoyed and maybe even guide you along your Lush-filled path. Also, I know this haul is slightly late as it's already been Valentine's day but I thought it wasn't too late to upload this!)

Have you got your hands on any of the new Lush goodies?
Natalie xx

Loving Yourself

I think that on a day like Valentine's Day, it's very easy to get caught up in the whole 'love your boyfriend / girlfriend' thing and that if you don't have one, or maybe even if you do, it's very hard to remember to love yourself first. I, as usual, was a #singlepringle this year and I really don't mind this (I am only 13 after all) but there are so many people I know that feel it's necessary to have a boyfriend / girlfriend to be worth something and that is the furthest from the truth you could possibly get. No-one needs somebody else to love them to feel confident, you're your own worst critic so if your worst critic, all self-doubt and worry will go away. At least that's my theory. Anyway, here are a few things I use to love myself more everyday.

1. TAKE A LITTLE SUGAR
It's often too easy to beat yourself up when you make a mistake, to punish yourself for not going to the gym, for forgetting that piece of homework or for missing that bus. Don't. When something goes wrong, take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Look at what the worst possible outcome could be, look at how important this mistake really was - it's likely that it actually wasn't as important. Punishing yourself will never solve the problem, you'll only make it worse so be a bit sweeter and take a lil sugar.

2. SET YOURSELF ACHIEVABLE GOALS
This is something I do at the start of every month, and it really helps to get the right mindset and to start off the month all motivated. The key here is that they are achievable, that you feel as if you can easily complete them and avoid being disappointed with yourself but so that you are stretching yourself and improving. It's important to move forward so don't underestimate yourself but that being said, if you've never spoken a word of Spanish before don't expect yourself to be able to hold a long conversation with a fluent speaker within a month.

3. MAKE TIME FOR THE THINGS YOU LOVE
Sometimes, in this hectic and scheduled world we live in, it's very easy to get caught up in all the busy-ness and to start feeling very overwhelmed with all the deadlines and the meetings. This will lead to stress, anxiety and possibly even irritation, and we all know how horriblet it is to be around a grumpy person. When you plan the day's, or week's, work, set time aside for a little me-time. It's important to have a certain slot of time solely dedicated to you where you can relax and make sure you're completely happy every week, ideally every day. A little example I love using is the Sims 4 game - you can busy them with work, study and cleaning all you want but if their fun level's are too low, they start getting stressed and take their anger out on the world. When you do have a little me-time, I advise turning off all your devices or putting them on aeroplane mode so that they can't distract you. I love filling this time with baths, reading or watching a little Friends but it's all up to you really.

4. DO THINGS FOR YOURSELF, NOT OTHERS
I recently had a little dilemma in life: I really wanted to go out wearing the outfit I was but thought people would stare at me and laugh because not a lot of people wore stuff like that. In the end, I wore it anyway - my logic being that I enjoyed wearing it and that there was no real reason why anything else should be stopping me. I think that that's a really good lesson to have learnt, if you spend your whole life worrying about what others will think or doing things because you'll seem "cool" then you'll never do the things you love or anything which will benefit you. In the grand old scheme of things, who cares about what other people think of you? It's your life, not theirs, and you can do what you want with it.

5. HANG OUT WITH THE HAPPY PEOPLE
Okay, so that may sound a bit weird but hear me out (even though this technically isn't something you can do, it's still super super important). Surround yourself with people you love, people who love and understand you but most importantly people who support you. If everyone around you doesn't fully support your decision, then they're not the right people to be friends with. Everyone in your life should want the best for you and the more time you spend with people who make you happy, the longer you'll be happy for. Anyone who doesn't want to help you and your life isn't good enough for you, so just chuck them out, simple as.

All images courtesy of the Tumblr-world of course

Every single one of you is perfect, remember that.

Natalie xx

LISTEN WATCH DRINK

This month has mainly been about gettinga into my new routine, with all the changes my New Year's Resolutions brought but I've still made time to listen, watch and drink. (#titlereference)

LISTEN - I'm sure you've heard at least 1 person obsessing over Taylor Swift's 1989 and that's because it's just sooo good! Even if Taylor Swift's old music wasn't your cup of tea or you don't like her personality, just listen to it! It's completely different than her old music, it has a kind of 1980's-pop inspired vibe and I swear if every song was released as a single, they'd all be #1. (And if you're basing your opinion on Shake It Off, don't. It's probably one of the least good songs on the album, no offence Tay-tay.) My favourite songs would have to Wildest Dreams and I Know Places. 

WATCH - My TV watching habits haven't really changed that much (just constant reruns of Friends) but I've definitely been watching new types of youtube videos. For some reason, I've just really been digging vlogs - I just think they're so down to earth and relaxed. I've been watching Alfie's daily ones, Gabby's weekly ones and even Zoë's old ones but I've especially been loving Louis' ones. He's currently in New Zealand I think? and now I can't wait till I have the money to travel!

DRINK - As the snow began to fall a few nights back, I set the milk to boil for the best hot chocolate I have ever had. Although I've bought a lot of hot drinks at places like Starbucks lately, nothing has quite beat drinking homemade hot chocolate while cuddled up in a nice, cozy blanket.

What you'll need (for 1 mug): 2 teaspoons cocoa powder, 3 teaspoons sugar and an assortment of spices
1. Measure out the milk and set to boil
2. While you do this, mix the cocoa powder, sugar and a tiny bit of milk together. Keep adding the milk until there aren't any lumps left.
3. This bit is down to personal preference but add in about 1/2 a teaspoon of mixed spice or cloves.
4. Taste and adapt it according to preference and then add the boiled milk, stirring as you do.

(I know this may seem like a bit of a random first post so go check out my All About Me page.)

Natalie
Xx