Lush Offer Up Some Gorilla Perfumes

I'm know I'm in excellent company when I express the love that I have for all things Lush related.

The whole fantastic smelling place is just amazing, and ever since my blog began it's little journey, I've (very thankfully!) been introduced to the wonders that come out of their little doors and will openly admit that I've popped along more than once or twice to make a sneaky purchase.

You can imagine my excitement then, when I was invited along to a very new-to-me Lush store - one that I had never visited before - inside of the Meadowhall Shopping Centre in Sheffield

And what's more, this little invite of mine entitled me to an out of hours sneaky peek into the world of Lush's all new fragrances within their Gorilla Perfume range

Gorilla??

Perfume??

Gorilla-Perfume...?

Perfume...that smells of gorillas...??

No - of course not!

It smells really rather nice if you ask me

And as we entered the store we were greeted with lots of these lovely Lush scents...as well as being presented with lovely drinks and healthy snacks...

(Lush being those ever brilliant hosts that they are)

...and were then told all about the Gorilla Perfume's origins...

Apparently, the perfumers who created the range - Mark and Simon - wanted to to stick with the things they had learnt throughout their time at Lush, but wanted to push their perfumer limits, so they developed the range as a way to use scent as a tool to express the surroundings and the world around them.

~ Good stuff ~

So - back to the evening - as our perfume exploring group was fairly small in number, we had time for a little mingle around the store, naturally admiring everything and adding it all to the shopping lists stacking up in our minds.

We were then guided to take our seats and were asked to give a small introductory speech into who we were and what we do outside of the blogging world...

* g r o a n *

Public speaking is my worst thing...ever...but actually, it really wasn't that bad at all

Especially as afterwards, we were given a little background information into this fab new range.

The range incorporates three different scents, each representing a different stage - or part of the cycle - of life within nature...

~ Death

~ Decay

~ Renewal

...and there is a perfume, with a story, for each stage...

First up, we had Death & Decay

And I'll admit I found this a slightly strange name for a perfume, however the reason behind the name is that Death & Decay, for most people, is something we associate with sadness, dark times (and horrible smells).

With this concept in mind then, the really floral lilly scent of the perfume is quite a surprise and is a little unexpected - not death-like at all.

Death & Decay then becomes a scent to help focus on acceptance and positivity, rather than on the darkness.

I can't say that this was my favourite of the three scents we were introduced to, possibly because it remained quite musky on my skin - which I wasn't a huge fan of at all.

Oh well, maybe the next one will be more suited to my tastes - and it is...

All Good Things

Now this perfume reminded me of sweets if I'm honest...as it was...well...quite sweet scented.

It helps to represent the acceptance stage of things coming to an end - the sweetness represents all of the lovely memories we still have to hold on to.

A real bitter sweet combination

Good stuff eh

Now I wasn't expecting to be a fan of the last perfume - Kerbside Violet - as I don't really go for floral scents all that much, but it was very delicate, very pretty...and reminded me very much of Palma Violet sweets.

Now the background to this perfume revolves around new beginnings and chance encounters, and how the perfumes creator spotted a violet beginning to blossom in a place it shouldn't have been able to grow.

Almost like it was growing up out of nothing.

The perfume helps to illustrate that out of sadness and nothingness, new things can develop and new beginnings can start.

And so it fully completes the cycle - and what a very lovely, pretty way to complete it indeed.

This has to be my favourite of the three - if nothing, for it's fab story alone.

As we were presented with each of these three perfumes we were asked to place a little on our arm and then cover it up, allowing our body warmth to settle the alcohol a little before we inhaled the fragrance.

Then, we were encouraged to smell the other people around us - well - we were all friends at this point - and what I found most surprising was how different the same scent was on each individual person, which, we were told, is because our bodies are always the final ingredient to the Gorilla Perfumes, meaning that the end result will naturally differ from person to person.

~ How interesting ~

Once this section of the evening was all complete and we had arms smelling all crazy different, we were treated to our very own one-on-one personal perfume consultation.

A lovely Lush lady asked us questions about the scents we preferred and then gave us a few options to test based on our likes and dislikes.

Mine was a very close call between Karma - a fairly fresh, fruity scent and Dirty - a very minty, fresh scent

But I have to say, that for me, Dirty won the battle.

And how fantastic of Lush - they gave each of us a bottle of our own personal winning fragrance to take away with us

(so kind!)

...so I then naturally had to go and buy the shower gel to match too didn't I...

~ Of course ~

It was a really fun, educational evening which was very unique.

~ But then Lush do know how to put on a good party ~

Make sure you check out the Gorilla Perfumes for yourself, and let me know which is your favourite of the three newbies

Here's to smelling amazing for the rest of 2015

* PR invited event - words, thoughts & pictures are all my own

Shopping At Fat Buddha

There's nothing I like more than opening a box containing an all new, all fabulous pair of amazing shoes.

It just fills me with happiness.

Pretty things for the feet are always a winner in my book

...and so it would seem, they are also winners in the Hubby's book too...

I think this may be the second time now that a box containing new footwear has arrived at my doorstep and wasn't for me...

And this makes me sad

...and a little sulky...

But never mind - the delivery certainly made the Husband happy anyway.

This particular box was sent from those people at the clothing store Fat Buddha (find them here)

Great name eh.

Fat Buddha was first established in Glasgow, born from the idea that the city lacked anywhere selling the basics of street culture.

To help meet such needs, Fat Buddha opened it's doors in 2006 and they haven't looked back since.

The website followed shortly after, answering the demand of fans living further afield - many who regularly travelled from all over Scotland just to visit the store.

Fat Buddha have a whole array of amazingly fashionable clothing, footwear and accessory choices - mainly for men...but I'm sure there are a fair few things that could easily be adapted to suit the ladies too.

I know I for one love nothing more than pulling on a huge oversized jumper or hoodie for a lovely laid-back, lounging look.

But I've wandered off track slightly - back to the Husband and his feet.

So, when we opened this shoe box - the one which arrived that sadly wasn't meant for me (sob!) - we were both very impressed with what was inside

These Nike Blazer's (find here) looked great - really smart and rather impressive.

The monochrome colouring means that they are a really classic trainer and will go with most outfit choices

My Husband has worn these on a few nights out, casually during the day and has even managed to dress them up for a christening

Nikes in church - who would have thought it.

The material of these trainers is really different too - it just makes me want to scratch them all over - they aren't leather or suede or canvas either but are more of a vinyl type material.

This also makes me want to think that this material would help to make the shoes slightly waterproof - which is great for our very unpredictable British weather conditions.

The Hubby is certainly a fan of these anyway and I have been told countless times just how comfortable they are and that the fit is perfect too.

~ Brilliant ~

And what's even better for the penny-pinching duo that we are, is that we found these little lovelies in the sale section on the website too, and they were only £25

An absolute bargain!

I highly recommend that you check out Fat Buddha - they have so many great bits I don't think you could fail to find something that would take your fancy.

I'm having trouble steering the Husband away from the site now he has discovered it that's for sure...!

Happy Shopping

*item sent for free for consideration of an honest review.Words & photographs all my own

#SpreadTheLove - With Cakes

There should always be time for some love-sharing, happiness-giving, smile-inducing, positive-mood provoking acts don't you think?

It's always nice to feel happy, smiley, warm and fuzzy.

Intellicig launched a campaign as they wanted to #SpreadTheLove - and not just on Valentine's Day either, but help to promote a little bit of good-deed sharing as much, and as often as possible.

And how did they spread the love with me?

Well, they homed in on my fondness of all things calorific and sent me a lovely box crammed full of fabulous baking goodies.

Just how fab is it!

I really couldn't wait to get started on my own little bit of a #SpreadTheLove idea, and I initially decided to pull together some low syn creations to take to my Slimming World group...but then...well, if I'm honest, the chocolate and calorie-laden options totally won me over and I decided it just had to be cakes, cakes, cakes all the way.

Now with it being the half-term holidays at the moment, I love activities I can get my son involved in.

Baking is something that we both really enjoy - and whilst his nine year old attention span doesn't always last until the very end of the activity he does enjoy giving it a good attempt.

So, fabulous pinny in place - what exactly did I decide to do in my do to #SpreadTheLove?

Well I made an array of goodies - all incorporating chocolate of course - for my son's Half-Term-Holiday-Sleepover.

Nothing says happiness to nine year old kiddies than sweets and chocolate now does it.

I pulled all of the fab goodies out of the box and set to work.

I loved everything, especially how they all centred around hearts and love - they look perfect in my kitchen.

I mean, come on, heart measuring cups - how brilliant!

I decided to whip up a simple (as easy as possible!) chocolate sponge cake mixture and made some easy-peasy cupcakes with it.

Then as there was so much mixture leftover I used the very fancy Cup-Cake (get it - cup cake) moulds and popped some in there too for a few extra special looking creations

Then the creativity continued...

~ We had heart-shaped chocolate brownies with white and milk chocolate chips inside...

~ We had heart-shaped chocolate chip cookies...

Yum

My kitchen smelt beyond amazing

So the question has to be really - did I manage to actually spread any love and happiness around?

Well - the Sleepover Crew and my Hubby were very happy when they saw what they were up against anyway - so I'd certainly class it as a bit of a success

The fab box of goodies had a selection of sweet decorations inside too and they certainly proved very useful...

Ooooh - my mouth is actually watering right now.

And what's more - yes more - if you're anything like me, with about a zillion recipe books dotted about, each with two or three favourites in, having to search through each and every one before managing to find exactly what you are looking for, then a little recipe notebook would prove very useful...

And now I have one.

All of the most important sweet treats jotted down and kept in just the one, ultra convenient place.

~ Genius ~

So - fancy Spreading The Love yourself?

There's a chance for you to win one of these fabulous heart-shaped treat kits all for your very own!

All you have to do it check out the Rafflecopter options below

It couldn't be easier - and is ideal with Mother's Day fast approaching...

~ Good Luck ~

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Baking

*goodies sent free of charge - a competition, collaborative post

Selfie Sticks And Christmas Stags

It's been a crazy old few months of full on busy, busy, busy times.

So busy in fact that a "couple" of my intended blog post seem to have fallen by the way-side a little bit, and are taking an age to make it to the published stage...

* naughty me *

But I'm not going to let this little blip knock me back - oh no!

I'm not going to let the fact that it is now fast approaching the end of February (how did that happen?!) stop me featuring a little bit of Christmas on these here pages - oh no!

But to do so, I think I should set the scene a little bit and tell a little tale...

(I do love a good story)

As we all know - if not, where actually have you been - the whole world has been taken over recently by photo taking - in particular the whole selfie taking phenomenon.

And yes - I do love me a good selfie-taking-session as much as the next person.

Around the Christmas period, the whole selfie stick craze seemed to take off.

I remember hitting Edinburgh earlier in 2014 and we saw tourists with selfie sticks and I remember thinking what crazy contraptions they were and how I would never ever own one myself...

I mean, how embarrassing are they...

...roll forward to December - Boxing Day to be precise - I was at my Auntie's annual festive party and I was actually sulking - yes, sulking, because my selfie stick hadn't arrived and my cousin was having all the selfie-snapping fun with hers...

~ sulk ~

* sigh *

But then, in early January, mine arrived

~ Y A Y ~

And as I had originally ordered it around the Christmas period - from those lovely people at Mobile Madhouse - it was accompanied with a fab Christmas themed phone case to decorate my mobile too

And what better way for me to jazz up any mobile device of mine, but by having pictures of STAGS all over it

(feed my obsession a little more!!)

Now I know that it does say Merry Christmas across the middle of it, and if I'm being honest, I will actually save this to use more around next Christmas rather than now -  but just look how pretty it is!

~ Snow

~ Baubles

~ Christmas Trees

and

~ Stags

Lovely jubbley

And it is a perfect fit for my phone too, and doesn't make it feel too bulky or heavy at all

~ Bonus ~

Now - the selfie stick

I loved this immediately.

My phone very easily slotted into the large, square "window" section at the top, and because this has rubber stoppers on it, it held the phone safely in place.

As it extended out - to an impressive 97cm at it's maximum length - the camera on my phone was able to get a whole host of scenery and background into the shot - which is just perfect for sight-seeing trips or making sure large groups of people can fit into the one photograph.

This particular selfie stick also has it's own little - very useful - remote with it too.

The remote is paired to the phone using the Bluetooth option, and once this has connected it is just a case of simply switching it on, activating the phone's camera mode and the image is captured by pressing the button on the remote.

Perfect for long-selfie-stick-handle-shots.

It is so easy to use and really handy.

I even found that it works with Snapchat too - it allowed me to get a fantastic video of myself and my son whizzing down a hill on a sledge in the snow - it was brilliant.

I am certainly a fan of the selfie stick that's for sure.

It fits into my bag, isn't heavy or too bulky at all and really does help to get some great photographs

Very fun and very fab - no matter the time of year.

Thanks lots Mobile Madhouse - this selfie stick will certainly be getting it's fair share of use that's for sure

Happy Snapping!

* items provided free of charge for an honest review - all words, photos & selfies are 100% my own

Toxicfox Have A Mother's Day Competition

So that's Christmas done with for another year.

The hangovers created from welcoming in the New Year are now a far distant memory.

And more recently, cupid has popped his heart-shaped arrows back into the cupboard and is resting his love-creating feet until 2016.

Wow - 2015 really is flying by isn't it

So - what's next?

I know that we have Easter fast approaching haven't we...well...the supermarket shelves are telling me that it is on it's way anyway.

And then (very important for me obviously) we have Mother's Day.

A lovely day of (potential!) relaxation, pampering and all out appreciation for the lovely Mummies out there.

~ I love it ~

And if you've seen a past post of mine (find it here) then you'll know that I also quite love all of the offerings that Toxicfox have, and lucky for me - and for you all too - the two have been combined together and a little competition has been thrown into the Mother's Day mix.

A competition to win a fifty pound Toxicfox gift voucher nonetheless

The perfect way to treat some of the lovely Mothers out there

So what do you have to do to enter I hear you ask?

Well, I don't think it could be any easier really...

~ Pop over to toxic fox

~ Check out all the Mother's Day goodies and pick out your favourite gift

~ Share this on your social media channel of choice (or all of them if you like!)

There are four chances to win - one from each of the following:

- Twitter

- Pinterest

- Facebook

- Google +

~ Make sure you use the hashtag #toxicfox to get your entry seen by those lovely people at Toxicfox too!

And that is it!

See - I said it couldn't be easier didn't I

The competition is open now - as of today - the 18th February - and it closes on 1st March with the winner being notified soon after on 2nd March.

Naturally I've had a little browse about the site myself and have been picking out a few things that I wouldn't mind having presented to me on Mother's Day morning

...after my traditional lie in of course...

Each category of gifts on the site is broken down depending on the Mum "type" you have.

Amongst others there are:

~ My Glam Mum

~ My Vino Mum

~ My Beautiful Mum

...and my favourite...

~ My Sentimental Mum

~ Awwww ~

Well, what could be better than a lovely meaningful, personalised pressie from my beautiful boy.

Something like a cuddly little teddy...

Who wouldn't want a cute, cuddly Me To You Bear - I know I would, I just love them.

So what are you going to choose as your most favourite piece?

Let me know in the comments below what you picked and entered the competition with...just in case I happen to have missed any of the little Toxicfox gems hidden away.

There's also 10% off at the checkout until 15th March on anything that may take your fancy using code TFMother

Fab things and a discount

There's a whole lot of lovely stuff to tempt you that's for sure

* a collaborative post

My Very First Berghaus Number

Is this weather ever going to warm up?

Even just a teeny tiny little bit?

Just enough to stop my toes from freezing off when I'm out and about carrying out all of the various outdoor activities we partake in over a weekend these days?

I really hope it does - and soon too.

At the moment, it's just all gusty winds, freezing temperatures and miserable showers isn't it.

And the worst thing about this?

I have to stand in a muddy field every weekend in all of this miserableness to watch my little lovely playing rugby.

Not that I'm moaning about watching him at all - I love him playing and it makes me so proud to see him doing so well...but...it's just the weather...the horrible, horrible weather...it certainly makes those early mornings all that harder.

But you have to just suck it up sometimes and get on with it don't ya.

And trust me, having the right (warm and waterproof) clothing really makes everything a whole lot more bearable.

And whadda ya know - look at what I now have...

...a brilliant waterproof jacket to help stave off all of those freezing British showers.

And what's more, this one is a women's Bowfell number too...one from those outdoor specialists-types Berghaus none the less...

~ Very fancy pants I know ~

Now, knowing that this would be more "jacket" and less "coat" I ordered a size larger than I usually take because I knew I would want to put a fair few layers underneath it to help keep me toasty, and this has proved to have been a very wise move - I now I have a little extra room to layer up as much as I need.

If I'm honest, I was a little worried that the jacket would be a funny length - I like to have my bum covered up as much as possible - and I initially thought that the jacket wouldn't do that, but I needn't have worried at all.

The slightly bigger size provided me with my much desired coverage, no problem

I really like the colour too - the dark grey will go with anything I happen to drag out of my wardrobe early on rugby mornings and the fuchsia pink just brightens it all up a little bit.

And come on - who doesn't love the colour pink!

The lining is all pink and is a definite winner of a colour choice in my book.

What also helps to make this jacket a tad special is that it is Gore-Tex laminated - meaning that the jacket is not only wind and waterproof, but it is also breathable and guaranteed to keep me dry
(or so the label says anyway!!)

Oh - and there is a fold away hood too - for when those showers hit harder than anticipated.

Certainly thought of everything didn't they...!

There's loads of outdoor-pursuit goodness available from Berghaus, and I'm very happy I was given the opportunity to get my mitts on this very practical, very useful little number.

Thanks lots Berghaus

*PR Sample sent for review. Thoughts & pictures all my own

TanOrganic Self Tanning Oil - A Review

As we all know, over the weekend, it was time for that Heart's and Flowers, love-filled day that is Valentine's Day

Sound thrilled about it don't I...

Call me a scrooge if you must, but I don't really buy into the whole Valentine's thing that much anymore.

I mean...

~ Yes, I did buy my son a card and some heart-shaped chocolates for him to take to his "girlfriend" at his school disco

~ Yes, I did buy heart-shaped crumpets for him and Hubby for their breakfast

~ Yes, I did buy them both a Valentine's card 

...and...

~ Yes, if I hadn't had a card presented to me by the Husband then there is every chance that I may have spent part of the morning in a little sulk somewhere...

...so OK then...

Maybe I do buy into it all a little more than I actually thought...

But not so much so that I'm willing to pay double the usual price to sit in an overly crowded restaurant, being stared at by the owners who are telepathically willing me to finish my meal so that they can sit others in my chair and begin the process all over again

Been there, experienced that before

And anyway, who needs all of those added extras when there are lovely companies out there, like TanOrganic who make the very kind decision to treat me to a lovely, luxurious box of Valentine's Day chocolates.

~ I mean come on - how very thoughtful is that ~

Especially when such a lovely, calorific treat was accompanied by a luxurious glass bottle of their fab looking self tanning oil too

It just gets better and better doesn't it!

As the name suggests, TanOrganic are an all natural, all organic brand who specifically make self-tanning products designed for people who crave a natural-looking, buildable tan but also want to have moisturised, nourished skin.

Personally though, I've always been a little weary when it comes to using self-tanning products if I'm honest

I've heard (and seen the orange faced results of) my fair share of streaky-body-horror-stories to put me off of it for a lifetime, and having a Grandad born in the West Indies, I'm lucky enough to have a complexion just the right side of not needing to fake tan so I have never bothered with it before.

But after suffering our brilliant British winter, consisting of months - and months - of freezing cold, snowy temperatures, it has meant that I have definitely felt the need for a little bit of a skin pick me up recently.

So when I received this product I just couldn't wait to give it a whirl.

Out came the razor for a good old (much required!) leg de-fuzz...

Out came the trusty exfoliator - a self-tan essential don't ya know...

And (unfortunately for you having to look at the pictures) out came the legs...

I followed the instructions to the letter, and applied a few sprinkles of the tan onto a tanning mitt and rubbed it across my legs in circular motions, trying to get the oil as evenly distributed as possible.

Novice or not, I do know that traditionally, tan is supposed to smell all distinctively nasty and very much like biscuits isn't it - or so I have heard anyway - but this oil was none of these things at all.

It is a fairly clear in colour and doesn't smell horrible at all - in fact it doesn't even have much of a scent, and the little bit that it does have isn't horrible in the slightest.

I made sure I pulled on some loose clothing after application (any excuse to stay in my PJs all afternoon!) and then I waited...

...and waited...

...and then went to bed, so I waited some more...

...and when I woke up I had legs that were really very smooth and fairly silky to the touch (thanks to the exfoliator/oil combo) and they were ever so slightly darker in colour.

I personally don't think I applied enough of the product for there to be a huge difference though.

Rookie mistake

But with this being my first ever self-tan experience I didn't want to risk having legs mis-matched in colour to the rest of my body but now I know what I'm doing I'm going to add another layer of the oil this evening to darken the effect a little more.

On the whole, I was really pleased with the product.

The tan that I did have was really even, was a lovely natural shade and there were zero streaky marks in sight

~ Yay ~

Thank You TanOrganic

...not only for the yummy chocolates...

...not only for the lovely bottle of self-tanning oil...

...but for giving me summer ready legs in the middle of winter!

I'll be leg-baring ready in no time

*product sent for review.Words, images & thoughts are all my own

City Bloc Bouldering, Leeds

I'm always on the look out for new, fun and exciting things to get my son involved in

Especially things that get us out of the house and away from all kinds of technology.

Don't get me wrong - I love me a little bit of (*read as "a lot of") social media, but I think stepping away from it from time to time - especially for the kiddies - has got to be a must.

I thought we had exhausted pritty much every different angle and different thing to try and was becoming a little unstuck as to what to suggest to him if I'm honest - that was until Christmas Day arrived.

My Auntie (who has always been amazing at pressie giving) presented my son with a gift voucher for a child's package to try his hand at bouldering at City Bloc in Leeds.

Local, different and it sounded really fun too

Brilliant

There was a little hiccup with booking a time slot to begin with, but we just cancelled a few of our plans and turned up last minute to make sure there was no missing out on the session...and...well I'm still waiting to hear back about booking our second-free-included-in-the-gift-session (which seemed to pose another hiccup) but apart from this, I was really impressed with the set up.

Now, I (obviously rather stupidly) thought that bouldering would include ropes, harnesses and all that safety equipment malarkey.

Nope

How I was wrong

Basically, bouldering is climbing up a wall/mountain/rock face using nothing but yourself...oh and a pair of rock climbing shoes...and a little dusting of chalk for the hands...

~ No rope

~ No safety harness

~ No nothing to stop a fall...

...for an overprotective, worrier of a mother like me, this could never be good for the nerves...

But my son was so up for trying it and Mum has to learn to back away a little bit...

...back very slowly away...

* s i g h *

Anyway, City Bloc provided free shoe hire and helped my son choose a suitable fitting pair

And once the rest of the little group had arrived, into the wall climbing room we all went.

And it was freezing - the same temperature as outside, or so we were informed - but kids don't feel the cold at all do they, and off they went.

For an hour on a Saturday and an hour on a Sunday, an instructor will talk children of a similar age through the age appropriate basic steps of bouldering, and will help them to progress their skills at a steady pace, safely.

The session begins with a full body warm up and then the group stays together and all take turns to learn how to safely navigate the different numbered climbing sections of the wall, obviously progressing from easy to hard.

It was obvious to see that the few other children in the group had attended sessions before, but not once was my son made to feel slow or left behind or lacking at all - which is really important, especially for his confidence levels.

As he climbed he was coxed in how to position his hands or how to distribute the weight on his feet to make the climb easier and more comfortable.

Everything was really relaxed, quite calm and not formal in the slightest.

My son really seemed to enjoy himself and looked to give everything a real good go

Myself and the Hubby stayed around for a little while watching everything but then, when our fingers were just about to drop off, we headed upstairs to where the others parents seemed to have already retreated and came across a very spacious, airy cafe and opted for a lovely warming cuppa.

Everyone was really friendly - although my Hubby's toasted teacake seemed to take a lifetime to arrive - keeping him from his grub is never a good thing.

Once I had thawed out (and whilst he waited to fill his belly) I headed back downstairs to catch the back end of my sons session.

He certainly seemed to be enjoying himself and even ran over and said that he really wanted to come back again.

Hopefully, I'll get my second session sorted out soon and then I can block book another set for him.

It's really great to find interesting things, not too far away from us, that he is really keen to continue with.

But then I'll no doubt be worrying that one day he'll decide to take his newly developed skills into the great outdoors, onto all of those huge, dangerous, real-life boulders...where there is no spongy-safe flooring...

~ Eeek ~

*breathe*

For now, I'll just concentrate on letting him enjoy himself safely indoors