Lush Bath&Shower Recommendations

I believe it is finally time for that Lush review. I will separate the review for the bath and shower products and the makeup into different blogs. The bath and shower products will follow here.

1. Green Bubbleroon Bubble Bar

I love "green" smells, like leaves and freshly cut grass so from the description on the Lush website (see the link) this would be perfect for my Friday afternoon bath. I used half of it (it's perfectly shaped that way) in my bath yesterday. Because I have found that even when I crumble the Lush bars, they don't always dissolve  completely, I put the piece into the leg of a pair of tights and tied that onto the tap before filling the bath. This produced a lovely amount of foam. Because I take books into the  bath with me I don't want the foam to come up too high and this was just right, it covered the surface of the water without piling up. The smell of the bar is indeed lovely and reminds me of that aforementioned cut grass. Unfortunately the smell does lessen considerably while you are in the bath. A massage therapist told me that essential oils sink to the bottom of the water. This can be fixed by adding a cup of milk to your bath water: it props up the oils so you catch their scent better. I will try that with the other half of the bar. All in all, I'd recommend this one if you like naturey scents.

2. The Bright Side Bubble Bar

This one I bought because I wanted to invite its title into my life more. I tend to look at the dark side of a scenario and it is doing me very little favours.

The scent of this is as you would expect, citrussy and reminiscent of sunlight and joy. I love it.

For my first bath I used about a third of the bar as it is quite large and I like to make expensive products like these last. I found it was just about enough to create the amount of bubbles I like. It also coloured the water a lovely orange shade. I had the same problem with the disappearance of the scent as with the other bubble bar, so I will use milk with this as well when I use the rest. Another products I would definitely recommend: especially to have your spirit lifted. 

3. Spank Me With Saplings Shower Gelly

This product (the makeup aside) was me favourite from this order. It smells amazing. It is just so fresh and invigorating and perfect for early morning pre-work showers. Though I shower after work most of the time as it allows for drying my thick hair and it is also great for picking yourself up after work for an evening of socialising or whatever. The best way to use this is to get one of those shower flowers (is that what you call them? Click for a picture of what I mean), take a little piece of the jelly and rub that into the flower. It creates a good lather,makes your product last and exfoliates you in the process. Of course if you're feeling in a whimsical mood, take the whole thing out of it's pot and jiggle it around. This isn't prison, you can drop the soap!

So long story made slightly longer, I was very happy with this order. Tonight I will put on the makeup so I can upload a blog on that tomorrow!

Online presence

I think this is now officially my longest running blog. I have had a few but they have all fizzled out sooner or later. What makes this blog different? I haven't figured it out yet. It hasn't gotten more comments than any other blogs I have had (I think unless you're famous, getting comments on your blog is a toughie), nor have I made any friends through it.

The latter was my one of my main reasons for starting out with this one. I used to be an active member of online communities and hoped to be one again with this blog. I realise now that unless I show my face on forums or other people's blogs, people will not be coming to me. I linked this blog to my Pinterest which might help and I'll tweet it more too. I even started a web design course on Alison.com to help me build a proper website for myself.

Of course it's not just about the people. I also use this blog as a soapbox to shout from about cruelty free living. It remains the cause I have decided to focus on in my life and it becomes more and more natural every day.

And it's a place where I can share whatever I want with whoever wants to read it.

The Internet is pretty awesome :-)

What's New?

On the eve of a three day weekend, courtesy of Saint Patrick, it is time to update my blog. Quite a few interesting things have happened in the last few days.

On Monday, I was Tweeted by a friend about the new ban on selling animal tested cosmetics in the EU. Naturally, I'm delighted by this news as any step towards a cruelty free world is to be celebrated. Having said this, I do not believe it will change much about the way I go about purchasing cosmetics. I know very well that companies like L'Oreal sell their products in China, where animal testing of cosmetics is still law. And as long as a company supports that by testing their products or allowing them to be tested, they do not get my money. But news like this gives me hope that humanity is approaching the right track.

Fortunately for me, my box of completely cruelty free Lush goodies arrived today. So far I am happy with them and I will write a review probably later this weekend.

Other things that have been dropped in my lap this week are: the new Tomb Raider game, which is currently doing its initial update thingy and it is taking an eternity; a McKenzie lumbar support (not impressed so far); a horse riding lesson and many other goodies, mainly courtesy of a wonderful husband.

He also put me in the direction of Neuro Linguistic Programming. It's something I am not very familiar with but it sounds incredibly interesting and relevant to the phase I am in at the moment. I need to get out of my comfort zone and start taking some risks. Otherwise that bucket list will remain undone.

Anyway, that's the story of my life at the moment. I don't have any pictures at the moment but hopefully I will get to do some sketching this weekend at least. I am strongly considering the purchase of a Wacom Inkling to encourage more of this. If anyone has one, I would love a review.

Thanks for reading!

Life Update

It is Friday afternoon and two hours ago I finished my first working week in over five months. As blogs are so public I will not go into what I do where, it's more to let my readers know my change in situation. I'm glad of it. It is nice to have an income again that I earned myself, rather than have one handed to me by the government. It also adds a structure to my life that I believe will force me to make more effective choices in my free time.

The drawback is that since last night, my back is once again very sore, and I must presume that all the longterm sitting at work is responsible for this. I contacted an osteopath I have seen before but due to a history with a herniated disc, he does not feel confident that whatever he can do will have a positive effect. And I would so love to get my back sorted out so I can do everything from sitting at work to an active day outdoors without having to worry when my pain is going to ruin my concentration or my fun.

Another effect of being back at work is that it really makes me think about the future. When I was on my own for most of the time, I did my own thing whenever I wanted, which allowed for much more living in the moment. Now I see people around me from all walks of life and it makes me thing about what I can do and what I want to do. I am very insecure: if I hear of one person failing at something I have not done before, I become convinced that I too will fail. It's a very irrational thought because although I have certainly failed where others have succeeded, I have more often succeeded where many have failed. I passed my driving test the first time, got my degree in the three years that are in it, roasted a perfect Turkey last Christmas and have many other achievements and talents under my belt. My husband says I can do anything I put my mind to and he may not be 100% right but when I really apply myself, I do not tend to fail. I also have to believe that when I do my best and I fail, the situation was not right for me, rather than me not being right for it. As Einstein said: "Everybody is a genius but if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree it will spend its entire life thinking it is stupid". And I am still searching for that perfect fit, that water to my fish. Currently I am considering graphic design as I hope it could provide me with a career that combines the stability of working for a company with the creative outlet of art and design. I also like the idea of publishing: I love to edit, in fact I can't help but edit when I see a grammar or spelling error. Perhaps technical writing or translations (being bilingual helps here) are options to consider. Other things I love are art, animals and products. Hopefully the situation will present itself when I am ready. For now I can develop myself in my current job. I would just like to work toward something.

But the next best thing is looking forward toward something! This week my husband and I booked a B&B in Bath, a place we have been before, but this time will be different. Instead of flying, which I hate, we will be taking the car across the Irish sea by ferry which will provide us with unlimited freedom in what we want to see! Glastonbury town, Exmoor and Exmoor Zoo, the Cotswolds and many other sights are on the cards. There is something about the area of the UK I just love so I am convinced it is going to be fantastic.

  Our holiday is not until October though so there is a lot of time to fill in Ireland! There are a few festival I want to attend around the country and I'd really like to be a bit more social. My unemployment made me something of a hermit and made me intolerant towards people but being part of a team again has made me realise that I can enjoy the company of people and people enjoy my ocmpany in turn. I just need a bit of a push.

I expect that from next week I will want to go out and be seen and smelled because I have a Lush Cosmetics order on the way, courtesy of my dear husband! It includes mascara, lip colour, a shower gelly, and two bath items AND a bottle of shower gel for the mister himself. All the items I am getting will be my first time using them, so I will definitely review them here as part of my cruelty free lifestyle.

The last thing I want to talk about it my art. Spring has sprung in Ireland and I am feeling heavily inspired by bird song and flowers. I am thinking a brightly coloured Art Nouveau or stained glass style piece with snowdrops and long tailed tits.

But for now I am going to give myself a much needed manicure with a neutral polish by Elysambre. Hopefully I will update again soon with some images.

Thanks for reading!
Dutchess

First Art Doll

I finished my first OOAK art doll! She is not perfect and I am realising FIMO Air is probably not the best medium. I struggled with gravity and with putting clothes on her. But it was a great learning process. I am quite happy she is finished as she has been one of the more time consuming art projects I have worked on between sculpting her, painting her, adding her hair,  and sewing her clothes. So without further ado, here she is, posing in the local woods.