Lush Haul | First Impressions

It's been a long time since I've done a Lush haul. I've been using up all the products that I've accumulated and don't get a chance to use so I have slowly depleted my collection. I ran out of bath bombs and bubble bars so I decided now is a good time to try some new Lush products that I hadn't tried before. It is definitely a different experience ordering from Lush online rather than being in store. Mainly due to the fact that you can't smell the products and you have to rely on the description. I picked up a few things that I thought I would enjoy, I bought three bath bombs, Marshmallow World, Strawberries and Cream (which I used before I took the pictures), and Dirty. Also, two bubble bars, Party Popper, and Abracadabra. I haven't tried all of these yet so they will just be first impressions.

Starting with bath bombs, Strawberries and Cream was the first one that I used as it smelled the best to me. It smelt as it is named, what I loved is that it was sweet but not a fake sugary sweet, but a gentle fresh kind of sweet. This bath bomb has a creamy middle and two crumbly sides that shape it like a strawberry. This is a very small bath bomb and the scent isn't over powering when dropped in the bath, but it does linger after on the skin for a few days which is really nice. It leaves the bath a mixture of red and pink.

The next one is Marshmallow World, which I have written a review about that will be up next week, as it is one of my favourites I've had in a long time. Intergalactic is still forever my favourite.

The last bath bomb is Dirty, and I am very disappointed with this bath bomb, the smell is not for me. I know it's based off the popular Dirty scent, but it is very musty and dry smelling. It is slightly citrus-y but not enough for me to enjoy it. I think I will like the colours when I use it in the bath as it is a multicolour of varying shades of green, blue, and yellow, and I think that they would blend well together. I hope that it surprises me but I'm not looking forward to using it. If I smelled it in person I know I wouldn't have gone for it so it could be a good thing to try something new. 

 

On to the bubble bars, the two that I picked I chose because they looked like a lot of fun. The first one is Party Popper, which is shaped like a party popper. The detailing on this is cute as it has flecks of colour underneath and I'm guessing through out also. It's a swirling of orange and yellow and it's definitely one of the more vibrant shades Lush has. I can't wait to try this one out and it smells great too, very bright and cheerful in scent and looks.

The last product that I purchased is the Abracadabra bubble bar, which is shaped like a magic wand. It's a very small and skinny bubble bar, with colourful stars at the end (I'm guessing to show the magic). I really like that this product smells very different to other products. It's very subtle for Lush products, it's very natural scented, almost like lavender and lemon but also smells bubbly (if that can be a scent). This won't last as long as other bubble bars but it is cheaper than a lot of others too so it might be a good option to try if you haven't tried any bubble bars before. Also looks like a lot of fun for kids to use.

Has anyone tried any new Lush products recently? What are your favourites?

Harry Potter Studio Tour | Review

At the very start of the year I got to visit the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London for the very first time. Upon looking back at some photos I decided to post about the experience there in case any one is interested in making a trip in the future. It is the place to be if you love the movies as the majority of the movies were filmed there in the studios that were there before they dedicated the space purely to the tour. The tour is longer than I could've imagined, you can wander by yourself at your own pace but there is a lot to get through and if you're a huge fan you'll want to take your time. This post will be full of spoilers about stuff that happens and what you can do in the tour so don't read if you want to be surprised on your visit! 

The first section is mainly props from each of the movies. One of the most exciting pieces for me was the Great Hall set-up. They had decorated it as if it were Hogwarts in the snow (they change it every once in a while to match the seasons and change it up a little if you visit often). We went during the Winter months so everything was snow-covered. The Great Hall was set up as if it were a scene in the movie with the tables decorated with food and garnishing and there are members of staff giving you information about the set and doing some small demonstrations. There was then a section full of various props from horcruxes, to costuming, to wands, and building pieces including Griffindor common room. There is an option to buy interactive earphones to hear about each display but I opted out as I like to read the signs and explore at my own pace usually. My favourite pieces from this section were the entrance to Dumbledore's office and the common room. 

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There were a lot of photo opportunities in each section of the tour, some including green screens and interactive pieces. There were also wand classes and interactive spots in-between and a lot of the behind the scenes into how they filmed/shot certain scenes like Quidditch. I loved how the tour was split up. The next section was into the forbidden forest (which you could skip as it is a little scary) it was so well done and the effects in that area were really realistic, if you've seen any of the movies you know how many creepy things live in that forest. When you come out you then get to see the Hogwarts Express and platform 9 3/4 for the first time, at first I thought it was just another photo opportunity, which it is, but you can also get on and explore different scenes from different films. After that you're able to head outside and visit some of the outdoor sets including The Night Bus, Privet Drive, and one of the pieces of the outside of Hogwarts. There's also a little cafe to refuel, with Butterbeer which you need to try if you haven't already. You can get it in ice-cream form too if you prefer but it's not made out of beer at all either way. It's a root beer mixture with cream poured on top it is very sweet but very nice.

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It took roughly two hours to complete the first half of the tour. I would consider this part the longest due to how much there is to see and the interactive elements. The next part is a more in depth look into behind the scenes, where there is detail into how costumes were made and the CGI effects which surrounded them. This showed a lot of detail into the creatures in the films like Dobby and how he was animated, as a lot of the previous props were inanimate. There was a lot to see here and you could spend just as long here especially if you're into special effects and makeup. There is also a section on different conceptual designs and inspirations from various artists. There is more set like pieces then where you can enter Diagon Alley. This was amazing to see the detail that was put into each shop to make it equally as individual and unique to the next one, definitely put you right in the movie scene. There was also a set for Gringotts at the end which was equally as stunning and detailed. Although Gringotts wouldn't be the place I'd want to visit first if I was in that world. There is then another interactive scene which I believe is new in this area, where a dragon seems to come toward you and breathe fire. It is very atmospheric and very clever visual effects to do the stunt, I'm sure there's videos online if you want to watch, but i recommend leaving it until you see it in person for the full effect.

The last little bit was probably my favourite and the most interesting to me. There was a huge replica of the Hogwarts castle all decorated under a snow effect. This was just magical to see. The detail of it is remarkable, and this was a set piece that was used throughout all of the movies to get shots of the castle for long distance shots. It's crazy how realistic it is. There's a lot of information about how it was build and its uses in the film around it and it was so stunning, I probably spent the most time here surprisingly. 

At the end of the tour there is a huge gift shop full of every thing you could possibly want from the wizarding world. Overall I really enjoyed the experience and I would recommend it. It is highly worth the money and you get a full days experience from it. It's not too far from London and if you are visiting there are tour buses that will do a day trip for it, and also scenes around London where they also filmed the movies. I would love to visit again in the future in a different season maybe when they do something new with it or go with someone who hasn't been before but it's a lot of fun.

Has anyone else been here before? What do you think?

Glamglow Mud Mask | Review

During quarantine I had a lot of time to try out different face masks I've had around and use up different products I don't always get the time to use everyday. I got these Glamglow masks as a gift and I've heard great things about the brand so I was really looking forward to see what they could do for my skin. They are the Gravitymud and Supermud masks. 

These are masks that are to be left on for 15-20 minutes and are used in different ways to clear your skin. They are both very different to each other in terms of texture - which I feel is important in a face mask. My favourite is the Gravitymud this formula is a shimmery silver which is strange for a face mask and it is very sticky in texture. This face mask hardens on your skin and becomes a peel that you peel off as one whole which helps cleanse your skin. This makes my skin feel really soft and does help pull pores out but not very much. The other mask the Supermud I don't like as much this is more of a black charcoal scrub which you let dry into your face and you wash off instead of peeling it. I haven't noticed much happen from using this mask and I hate how it looks so I don't use it much. The only downfall to both is that they both have a really strong smell which isn't great when you're putting it on your face. They do seem like high quality products

Has anyone tried any of these before? Any thoughts?

Looking for New Blogs to Follow and Recommendations

This is a very different style post. I realised that it's been a long time since I've followed some new blog accounts/bloggers. I recently gained access to Bloglovin' again after leaving it for so long and realised a lot of the accounts that I follow are old/vacant accounts that don't post much anymore. Also the things that I would've loved reading about years ago are so different than they are now and I would love to continuously grow alongside my tastes. Honestly, I love reading about everything from general fashion, to politics to food posts. I've wanted myself to branch off into a few different blog styles too just to write about everything as I just love writing and need to refocus my time reading other people's work to help me on my journey too. I would love some recommendations of accounts to follow. Feel free to comment your own blog below or your current favourite blog below and show them some love! I will be checking them all out! If you want to follow me on Bloglovin' you can by clicking here. 

I've also noticed that Blogger is changing up their look and platform and it feels like a long time since I've seen anything change here so I am very excited to see this. It's almost giving a new lease of life to something that has been the same to me for so long. As much as I don't love change, it always pushes me to do better so I'm happy for that. I'm sure others feel the same. 

I feel like the blogs that I've been reading recently have all felt one note and all of the same variety and I would love to see some more unique posts. It's often why I take breaks from blogging as it often feels un-motivating to see every blog post the same recycled posts every day, but again I'm probably looking in the wrong places so I need a nudge in the right direction. 

I can see that this post is mainly ramblings but I just want to open up conversation a little bit that isn't limited to a single post! Generally in this post I just wanted to get some recommendations of things people have been enjoying, favourite books, movies and hobbies to help inspire me! I'd also love to know where everyone reads their blogs and what's everyone's favourite type of post to read? I don't expect many people to respond but I love hearing stories and sharing things I love with people (hence the blog obviously) so please let me know!