My Biggest Ever Lush Cosmetics Haul | December 2017

I keep telling myself that i really shouldn't 'waste' my money on Lush products but this christmas Ive come to the realisation that, that is a stupid plan and is likely to never, ever happen. You do you if it makes you happy I say.

The majority of these bits were purchased in the Christmas sale because I hate spending money and it was cheaper (hate spending money lol obvs not soph), but ill mark the bits that weren't. Lush has been a brand I've been buying things from for around 9 or 10 years now which is crazy, dread to think how much I've spent. I find the products to be of fab quality which is why i'll always repurchase! :) (oh I should also add this is more of a 'look at the pictures and appreciate how pretty the products are because I cannot describe scents and the products have been taken off the website now, and I've no idea what they're all called, sorrrrry!)

BUBBLE BARS

SHOWER GELS | JELLIES | BODY CONDITIONERS 

(you can pick up the comforter in a gift set as it's currently discontinued!!)

BATH BOMBS

SOAPS

(this smells exactly like a pear and is honestly the best smelling product out of the lot, Lush need to use this scent more please!)



and after all that, I STILL want to buy more! 
did you pick anything up in the Lush sale?! 

Soph xo

GIVEAWAY! | bakerdays Personalised Cakes.

December is a busy old time for me as I have so many birthdays coming up (and an expensive old time), my cousins is the 3rd, my mums is the 28th, and my baby cousin Ralphie's is the 10th. I was recently contacted by bakerdays, a personalised cake company  which specialise in cakes for every occasion, balloons and also cupcakes. We've teamed up for this post to celebrate Ralphie's 1st birthday which is so kind of them.

bakerdays sent me the letterbox cake, which is exactly what it says on the tin, a cake which fits through your letterbox. The perfect gift in my opinion, I'm always stuck on what to get people for their birthdays, & it's super handy as a lot of my pals live far away, & with this I can fill out my details of what I want on the cake, provide the address I want it delivered to, and voila. Who doesn't love cake?! It's an adorable little 5" cake, just the right size for Ralphie, (other sizes are available) 

The letterbox cake is reasonable £14.99, can be delivered to any address, in the exact time you need, fully personalised to your taste. 

I opted for a woodland theme, along with a photo of Ralphie in the centre. You can also choose the flavour, I decided on a chocolate cake however lots of others are available, lemon, or classic victoria to name but a few. There's also a gluten free option should you need it. 
What's also really handy, is the balloons and candles that come in the box, this is something I always forget to buy and without these I would've turned up to Ralphie's without candles for him to blow out, top cousin award! 

It's his birthday tomorrow (Saturday) which I'll be filming as part of my weekly vlog, so do make sure to head over there to see his reaction, I'm sure he'll be super pleased with seeing his little face on a cake bless him. 

Now for the part I'm sure you're here for, which I totally don't blame you for, love me some cake! bakerdays are kindly offering one of you guys your very own letterbox cake which is super generous of them, I didn't want to make the giveaway super complicated with a million requests for you to do, because personally I find that really annoying! All I ask is that you make sure you're following me over on Instagram, which is SOPHCULLEN, and enter below. It will run for a full week, & as always the winner will be chosen completely at random. The giveaway will run from FRIDAY 8TH DECEMBER - FRIDAY 15TH DECEMBER, I will contact the winner via instagram DM and we'll go from there to get you your personalised cake. I should also add that this time it's just for UK residents only. 

*please note your cake will be sent after Christmas*

Lotsa love,
Soph x

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The 3 Products That SAVED My Dead, Blonde Hair.

3 weeks ago I had my hair dyed blonde, I'd opted for Balyayage which basically means bleach is applied to the ends of your hair, it ensures it looks a lot more natural and blended. Basically ombre, if you will. 100% go for this style if you want the ends of your hair blonde, it looks so much better than the 'dip dyed' version of it & is a lot less 'harsh'.

My hair wasn't in that much of a bad condition before I had it done, although it really wasn't looking/feeling its best.. I knew that having it bleached definitely wasn't going to help my situation so I opted to have an OLAPLEX treatment. Honestly, believe me when I say, this has COMPLETELY transformed my hair. 

Its a deep conditioning treatment which is carried out in 3 steps, the first step is carried out in your hair salon. The conditioner is mixed in with the bleach and applied to your hair, the second step (using a different bottle) is applied to your hair and brushed through after the bleached has been rinsed out, its left on for 10 minutes, & then rinsed out like normal. 

The conditioner is different to the ones you can buy in your supermarkets & drugstores because it repairs the broken bonds in your hair, which actually lasts a bloody long time! Unlike your normal conditioners that leaves your hair feeling soft for a day or 2. The third step is carried out at home by you, you apply the conditioner once a week on dry hair before you wash it, leave it on for 10 minutes (I usually leave it for 20 though!) and wash it out as normal. Ive been using this since I had my hair bleached and my hair is STILL in incredible condition, the only thing I can compare it to is a child's hair thats untouched from heat damaged, it's so so SO soft and genuinely the best thing I've ever used for my hair. The whole process cost me £38 which is brilliant and well worth the money, & you only need to use a tiny amount so considering the pot is relatively small, it will last a long old time.

To compliment the conditioner (I've literally never been so bothered about my hair, I've been trying out so many products because I'm so obsessed with keeping it so soft and shiny haha!) I've been using my new favourite shampoo & conditioner from the John Frieda Frizz Ease collection. Before I had my hair dyed not only did I have a fair few split ends, but my hair is naturally really curly/frizzy so pair the two together and you can imagine how horrendous my hair was haha. 

These two focus on keeping your hair less frizzy and make it a lot easier to straighten, which is handy for me as straight hair is my go to at the moment. They smell amazing too and leave my hair feeling super soft and the scent lasts for ages too, I've even had people asking me what shampoo and conditioner I use because my hair smells so lovely, thats a new one for me! The Frizz Ease collection in general is bloody huge and I'd throughly recommend their products for just dyed hair to keep it looking fab, you can have a little browse HERE if you're interested.

All of the products in this post were purchased by myself and will continue to be a regular one as my hair has honestly never looked so good, who knew dry hair could be saved and brought back from the dead without cutting it haha.

Soph, x

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Are You A Blogger If You Don't Pick A Pumpkin?

 

 Apparently not.

 

We had such a lush morning on Sunday visiting our local pumpkin patch, (who knew this was suddenly a thing? and especially where I live.. nothing ever happens here!) I wanted to take Alfie just so we could take some nice photos for his memory book, I wasn't too fussed about the pumpkins which definitely makes me a blogger haha.

 

It was so windy when we arrived but Alfie absolutely loved it, we popped him on top of a few of the pumpkins which he seemed to find hilarious, and generally spent a good while trying to find the perfect one.

 

We found the perfect one, well nanny and granddad did!

 

 

 

 

 Just look at Alfie's little face?! Our main aim was to choose our pumpkin and carve it together, and get a cute photo of Alfie sat in it. We took so many nice ones of him smiling away which are adorable, but my favourites have to be the ones where he's crying haha! I promise I'm not a bad mum, but they're just too cute not to share. I vlogged our whole week last week as we were super busy seeing friends and pumpkin picking, so make sure you have a watch of that over on my youtube channel, it's definitely my favourite vlog so far!

 

 

 

Soph xo

 

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My Essentials For A Cosy Autumn Night In.

When the colder months finally showed themselves, I honestly could've done a little squeal of joy, don't get me wrong I do enjoy summer but theres nothing like a cosy a night in when the weathers cold outside. I love autumn especially because its that in between season where it isn't too cold & the weather is still kind of ok (she says). As I write this the sun is shining and it's a little chilly outside, honestly my idea of perfection.

 A few nights ago I had an evening all to myself which is pretty rare nowadays! I made the most of every second and decided I would have a little pamper evening, I realised it's been ages since I shared the products I use to do so on my blog, and how I go about having a chilled evening. So this afternoon I thought I would share the products I use religiously to ensure I have a stress free evening. 

A night in wouldn't be just that without a hot drink of some sort, I pretty much live on tea (honestly, I really do, it's worrying) so a cuppa or 5 is exactly what I need to wind down after a busy day of changing shitty nappies and singing to Alfie haha. Believe me it's a very tedious job!

If you know me well, you'll know I'm a sucker for a bubble bath. Theres nothing I love more than crumbling a bubble bar (from Lush obviously, where else?!) under the water, sticking a bit of Netflix on my macbook & adding a bath bomb. Ive recently got through 3 of these sparkly pumpkins from Lush, weirdly they smell like lemon/lime which is odd as looking at it you'd assume it would smell of spices but, heyho, I love it regardless. It has to be my favourite seasonal bubble bar and leaves me smelling lovely. Ive been using this time to catch up on Youtube videos more so than Netflix, I've fallen out of love with Netflix recently as I've genuinely watched 99.9% of the crap on there haha, I'm obsessed with my pal Han's videos at the moment, Alfie and me always sit down to catch up on what she's up to, he seems to just love her which is sweet, she's the funniest little love so make sure you check out her channel here - FABHAN.

Who doesn't love a candle this time of year!? Especially when they smell like pumpkins apples and general christmassyness (I know it's Oct don't judge). People will often visit me and laugh because I've got at least 4 candles burning at one time haha. Yankee's have always been a favourite of mine but I'm obsessing over Bath & Body Works at the moment, this pumpkin apple one smells AMAZING and leaves my house smelling of appley goodness for hours. A cosy night in with shite TV and a cuddly blanket isn't complete without a scented candle, is it really. Im already looking forward to buying the Christmas which I 100% know I don't need but will definitely be getting. 

& finally the last thing I like to use is a face mask, (another product from Lush because I seem to be unhealthily obsessed) the cup o' coffee mask is my absolute favourite from Lush as it completely sorts out the redness in my skin. It smells lovely, so I like to leave it on for around 20 minutes to properly do it's thing before washing it off and revealing super soft skin. Aside from Mask Of Magnaminty I haven't found any other face mask that sorts my skin out as well as this one; imagine me sat on my sofa with my cuppa tea, candles lit, and a face mask on, honestly my idea of heaven even if I do look ridiculous haha. 

Are you as excited about the cooler months as I am?! Give it a few weeks and I'm sure ill be moaning about how cold I am all the time, but for now I'm embracing the season and loving all the cosy nights in to come.

Soph x

*all items in this post we're purchased by myself and all opinions are honest & my own*