Shea Butter

On the First Day of Christmas… Bath Goodies from Lush!

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I’m kicking of my 12 Days of Christmas Gift Guide Challenge with a classic.  Every year Lush brings out its wonderful Christmas Collection and this year’s offering includes all the favourites.  I am particularly keen on their bath bombs which make the perfect stocking-fillers.  So here are a couple that caught my eye this year.

The Melting Snowman Luxury Bath Melt, £2.25

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I couldn’t resist this little guy when I saw him on display!  He is so cute with his little carrot nose and button eyes.  Not only that, but he smells just like Christmas!  Fragranced with ‘Hot Toddy’ he contains a blend of cinnamon, clove, patchouli, lime and sweet orange oils which will have your bath smelling warm and festive in no time.  But he is not only a treat for your nose – with cocoa butter, shea butter and almond oil he’ll leave your skin feeling soft and moisturised after he has melted in your bath.

Golden Wonder Bath Bomb, £3.50  

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Golden Wonder is another luxuriously festive treat for bath time.  It smells of a delicious, fizzy champagne cocktail and contains sweet orange oil, cognac oil and lime oil.  Perfect for anyone who loves treating them self to a nice, long, relaxing bath, this bath ballistic is made up of lots of different layers – it changes colour and releases little stars (which are soluble by the way, so you won’t be picking them out of your bath for weeks afterwards!).  I don’t want to ruin any more of the surprise but this bath bomb is really spectacular – you’ll just have to try it and see!

So if you’re stuck for present ideas this Christmas, head down to Lush and have a rummage through their festive delights.  Not only are all Lush’s products handmade and free from preservatives, they are very great value.  Perfect for treating someone you love without breaking the bank!

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What’s more, if you are no good at wrapping, you can just use the brightly coloured bags that the products come in because they have little labels on them already.

The Cream of the Crop: My Top 3 Hand Creams

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Now that the weather is getting colder the days of dry chapped hands are imminent and so I have been keeping my favourite hand creams on standby for around the clock moisturising!

The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector, £10 for 100ml

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If you read my review of the Body Shop’s Hemp Hand Protector from back in August you will know how much I love it.  This product is the mother of all hand creams and it is my go to solution for extremely dry, irritated skin.  This is the heaviest and greasiest of my three favourites so I tend not to use this during the day.  I consider this Hemp Hand Protector more of a super-moisturising hand treatment.   I apply it to my hands and elbows before I go to bed and let it work its magic overnight so that I can wake up in the morning to soft, moisturised skin.

Soap and Glory Hand Food,  £2.50 for 50ml

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This hand cream is the cheapest of my top three.  I have the 50ml tube because it is the perfect size for carrying around in my handbag but the full 125ml tube is only £5.  That is incredible value for a fantastic product.  This cream is very light and non-greasy – it absorbs straight away which makes it the perfect cream to use throughout the day because you can do other things without getting greasy fingerprints all over everything.  Unlike the Body Shop hand protector this product smells lovely.  If you like the typical Soap and Glory scent, then you will love this!

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L’Occitane Shea Butter Loving Rose Hand Cream, £8 for 30ml

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The newest hand cream to join the ranks is this pretty little offering from L’Occitane.  It is part of the Limited Edition Shea Butter Collection and is 20% Shea Butter.  This makes it incredibly effective for moisturising dry hands.

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I am usually not a big fan of rose scented products because it reminds me of rose flavoured Turkish delight and is usually quite sickly and overpowering.  However I absolutely love the scent of this hand cream.  The rose fragrance is very subtle and sophisticated.  I also love this product’s packaging, especially the pink flower lid.

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At £8 for 30ml this is the most expensive product of the three.  However I got mine free in this month’s edition of Marie Claire.  If you act fast, you may still be able to get your hands on one of their four different scents.  As well as my ‘Rose Tenderness’, there’s ‘Subtle Violet’, ‘Jasmine Passion’ and their original hand cream for dry skin.

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Have a good week!