Lush Christmas 2019 First Impressions: Bath

Hey everyone! 

Welcome to a brand new blog post! I thought that today, I would talk to you all about my first impressions of the bath products from the Lush Christmas 2019 range. Yes, I know that it is early, but its better to be early than late... Am I right? 

(This will be a three part series, consisting all of all the bath, shower, and, other products within the range within three different posts.)

Amazeballs: 

Amazeballs are a brand new concept for 2019, They're a 3 in 1 bath bomb. They contain bubble bar powder in the middle and a stopper in the top therefore you can get three baths out of one product.

Fly Me To TH Moon 

Fly Me To The Moon instantly makes me think of Never Mind The Ballistics, which has a sort of Banana and Lime scent to it. I love the design on it but for this one and the rest of the Amazeballs (except for Jingle Bells) seemed like a bit of a pain to pick up in store. Either, they would nearly roll off the stand, or, the topper would instantly come off and therefore powder would too. This seemed stupid as it meant, that you were already losing some of the product before even leaving the store!

Dont Let The Bells End 

First of all, my impression was, I hope staff say the name of this one right and don't slip up sometimes as that might be a bit awkward... This one smells so sweet and would be great for an evening Bath where all you want to do is forget life and sink into a luxurious bath. The smell of this one reminds me of the Bakewell/Marzipan scent that Lush have released before. I can also imagine drinking a warm hot chocolate whilst using this product would be amazing.

Holly Golightly 

I love this one. Spicy yet a tad sweet. Honestly, I wished that it had more spice in it. I think this one would be amazing for first thing in the morning sort of bath!

Snow Fairy 

This is the first year that Snow Fairy has come out in two Bath Bomb forms. Snow Fairy is, definitely a love, or, loathe scent and I urge you to smell it at least once in your life. If you love SF, then you will love this as it is the product that has been made for the truest of Snow Fairies. This one is also great to give as a gift for say, a Secret Santa or maybe a little stocking filler!

Bath Bombs: 

Jingle Bells 

I love the sort of design on this though as it screams Christmas and festive to me. The scent is Zesty but Spicy at the same time, and almost, gives me a sort of Karma (Orange and Patchouli) sort of vibe

Golden Wonder

This is a Christmas Classic for me, and, if it ever goes I will hunt whoever discontinued it and scream at them... I love the zesty scent of this bomb, and even more, I love what this product does in the water! I appreciate the hell out of the fact that it takes 7 whole days to create one and every year I pray that it comes back. Boozy and citrusy. What more can you want in life?

Shoot For The Stars

Sweet, rich and oh so comforting! I love this one. I've had it pretty much every year that I could get my hands on it. I love the silkiness of the bomb, thanks to the gold stars. Speaking of said gold stars, I love anything with Glitter in! Everyone should try this one at least once!

The Worlds Smallest Disco

I got this product last year and I loved it! I love the fact that it is black, as it instantly matches my soul... The spots of colour slowly melt into the water to create an bath experience that goes from dark to light. The scent has changed this year and I still love it as it's citrusy. I love anything Citrus based!

Santa's Grotto


The design of this bath bomb is very unique and different, I feel. I love it just for the design alone. Sadly, I'm not the biggest fan of the scent sadly, its grassy and florally. but it has something that I can't put my finger on which makes me not the biggest fan of the product. I think it might be one of those ones that is better in the water than in stores.

Chris The Camel 

This is a cute Bath Bomb! I'm always a bit confused about Lush creating Animal shaped products, as you're basically drowning/killing it which can be seen as cute and kitsch, but also can be seen like its a tad going completely against half of Lush's ethos. I love the scent though as its spicy but fresh at the same time. I love anything that is spicy and I can't wait to use it.

Luxury Lush Pud

I love the Lux Lush Pud scent. So fresh and tangy! I also love the different spots of colour that melt and swirl into the water from this bomb. In my eyes, this is a Christmas Classic for me when it comes to Lush!

Luxury Lush Pud Giant Bombshell

This one would be amazing as a gift. I love the fact that it has Extra Large Sea Salt in it to give a different dimension to the bomb! Personally I would use it as two separate bombs or even four if I could crack each piece into two as it is massive. I love the Lux Lush Pud scent though!

Not So Secret Santa 

Lush are definitely killing it with the concepts this year! I love the sort of cheeky peeking Santa that this bomb is based on. It gives me Peeking Santa vibes without it being as creepy as the old Peeping Santa Soap. If you love Cheer Up Buttercup, or anything Lemon based, then get this because it is Lemon personified!

Rudolph 

This bath bomb definitely shines your bright Red heart up, just from being cute. I love sort of Paper Ears as this means that it's less likely to break off when getting it home. If you love Cherry Bakewell based scents, or, Marzipan, then you will love this bomb. I'm not the biggest fan of Marzipan, but, I've slowly been warming up to this scent lately!

Pop Art

Pop and Art should always belong together. The shape of this bomb screams the same sort of mould as the Berry based Harajuku bombs, such as, Blackberry and The Comforter Bombs. The colour of the bomb is a bit one note but its the inside that matters with this one. I love the sort of smoky, sweet scent which reminds me of Burnt Toffee with this product. I've also watched a video on this product and seen that this bomb pops for a good 8-10 minutes which I absolutely adore!

Fireball 

I love the alcoholic drinks Fireball, so when I heard about this bomb, I was honestly hoping that it shared the same scent as the drink. Sadly, this was not the case, but I still love the scent as its Cinnamon and Almond. If you love Cinders from any of the previous years, then you will definitely love this one as its the same scent. I can't wait to see what this does just from the colours on the outside of the bomb!

Snowman Dreaming 

I love the shape of this product, as I love anything that is Snowman based, but I'm not the biggest fan of the scent. I'm not the biggest fan of the Twilight range, and can only cope with it in small doses. As this shares a similar scent as Twilight I wasn't enamoured with it.

Snow Fairy 

This is Pink, shiny, and can be smelt from a million miles away. It has a bit more of a realistic creaminess this year, compared to the general synthetic smell that Snow Fairy has. I love anything with Glitter in so I can't wait to see what this happens. If you're confused about the Amazeballs, but still want your Snow Fairy fix, then this is a good way to get it.

Bomb Bombs: 

A Bomb Bomb is basically a two part bomb set that makes up a certain character. These are amazing as gifts, to anyone including yourself, or can be used as either one big bomb, or, two separate bombs. It's entirely up to you!

Elf 

Sorry, but this looks more like a version of the Toy Story Aliens, rather than an Elf to me... The scent is slightly spicy but sort of fresh and something that I would love to enjoy, whilst its still that weather where you don't know whether or not, to take a coat out with you, on your travels.

Penguin 

I love Penguins, but this looks more like the Kappa Bath Bomb from the Harajuku range, rather than a Penguin! I love the sort of sweet but citrusy smell of this product though!

Santa 

This one kind of gives me Cyberman vibes with a Santas Hat... The scent reminds me of something that I can't completely put my finger on it. I get slightly delicate notes mixed with a punch of citrus? I'm not completely sure and I think I might have to sniff this one again!

Bubble Bars: 

Candy Cane 

I honestly wanted this Bubble Bar for, no other reason than, being able to push it into peoples faces, and shout, 'Four for you Glen Coco, you go Glen Coco! I was expecting this to be instantly mint, so it was a bit surprising to find out that it was more sort of fruity when I smelt it.

Santa Reusable Bubble Bar 

I did think that this had a big element of whimsy built into it when I saw it for the first time. I do love the reusable Bubble Bars, but I seem to find that the products don't stay omn the sticks for long, and thus become a bit fiddly to use sometimes. I get more of a Lemon Blossom/Verbena vibe from this one.

Polar bear Plunge

I want five of these, and I haven't even used this product yet. A cute bear that smells of a deep mint scent. Can Lush make anything more perfect for me when I find it hard to get ready first thing on those freezingly cold days? The mint is sort of a refreshing Mint like Christingle compared to a deep layered Dirty sort of Mint. Eitherway, I adore it and can't wait to use it.

Yog Nog 

Why is this shaped like a Garlic Bulb? Or a bit like a Hersheys Kisses? I love the scent of this as I love Yog Nog anything and I love the shimmer on this one. I can't wait to try this one out with the rest of my Yog Nog goodies!

Magic Wand 

Again, the wand part of this Bubble Bar has always been a bit of a disappointment with me. This was a part of the Goody Bag from my first ever Lush Bloggers Event that I went to in Leeds, and, is a symbol of mine and one of my best friends friendship, so this holds a lot of memories for me.

Bath Oils: 

If you want something that will moisturise you whilst you're soaking in the tub, then Bath Oils are definitely for you! Run a bath, pop the product in, and let it melt, all of its essential oils and your worries in life, into the water.

Dala Horse 

Lush always deliver with the cuteness! Sadly, I couldn't hold this for long to properly smell it due to the fact that it was slowly melting from my body temperature. I did get a sort of creamy fruity smell. Kind of like Peachy with a bit more depth. I can't wait to try this as I might be able to get more of the scent when its melted into the water!

Warm Sock 

Warm Socks and Cold Days is the epitome of Winter for me. I love the fact that this is pretty much a little sock! The scent is very Spicy and Cinnamon based which will instantly warm me up in the Christmas period!

Igloo 

This product has a light Peppermint fragrance which I absolutely adore. I think that this would go amazingly with Polar Bear Plunge!

Bath Oil Tablets:

You use the rope to either hang these on your Christmas tree, or to hang on the end of your tap so the water can run directly onto it and melt directly into your bath,

Cinnamon Orange 

I love Cinnamon and I love Orange, so when I saw this, I knew that I would love it. It's spicy bit fresh at the same time. It also contains a piece of Cinnamon and Orange which will ensure that it fully infuses into the bath. 

Santa's On His Way 

I love the cute little design of a Santa that's upside down that's on the front of the product. This would also be a great product to use on Christmas Eve! It's got a slightly deep fruity smell which reminds me of Satsuma's!

Retro Tree 

This one is screaming to be hung up on the Tree! This one is Zesty and Citrus based. It reminds me of Avobath and I love Avobath!

Snowman 

Snow always screams Christmas to me and so does this Bath Oil Tablet. I love the sort of vivid colours on the tablet! The smell is crisp and sharp. The product reminds me of Whoosh in some way shape or form.

Check out my last post, and, my Lush Halloween post.
Check out Lush for more info on any of these products.

I hope that you have enjoyed this post. If you've tried any of these products, then let me know your opinions in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!
Jamie x

Finding The Perfect Quirky Gift For Fathers Day

Hey!

Welcome to another blog post! Today I'm talking about some quirky gifts that you can get your Father's or male people within your life for Fathers Day that you can get from Qwerkity,

Glass

The first gift that I think is quirky but great for anyone who is into sports then I think that this rugby influenced glass is the perfect thing for them. They can use this first thing in the morning or last thing at night, They could also definitely use this to drink out of when it comes to rugby matches being on TV. (Search rugby glass via Qwerkity to find this glass.)

Chocolate Tea Pot

Okay, I know that this sounds completely whacky but if you know someone who loves chocolate then they might like this gift. The teapot is made out of chocolate which is pretty quirky on its own but when you put water into the teapot it creates a creamy hot chocolate from the inside therefore you get something great to munch on and something delicious to drink. £23.99

Whisky

Do you know anyone that is into Whisky? If so then this is the gift for them! This gift set contains 5 30ml bottles of Whisky and a tasting card which means you can be a connoisseur within your own home which I think is absolutely fabulous! £69.99

Grill Sergeant BBQ

With the current weather, this would be the perfect gift for anyone who loves to cook or to barbecue when the weathers right. I think that this Army Sargent BBQ is definitely for anyone who is into anything to do with the Army. Barbecues are a great lasting gift! £26.99

Messenger Bag: 

Does the big man within your life love to travel? If you nodded to this question, then I suggest that you get them the National Trust Messenger Bag. Great for travelling as it's big enough for everything that you would possibly need. It's also big enough for things such as laptops and tablets so you can stay on top of things whilst on the go. £22.99.

What quirky gifts have you received? Let me know down below! 

Don't forget to check out Qwerkity and Qwerkity Fathers Day Gifts here.

I hope that you've enjoyed this post and that it has encouraged you to purchase some quirky gifts for Fathers Day. I hope that you've enjoyed this post and that you come back for another post next time.

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x

This post was in collaboration with Qwerkity. Their photos are theirs and not mine. All views and opinions within this post are my own. 

An Open Letter To Piers Morgan | Mental Health Awareness Week 2017

Hey!

Dear Piers Morgan, 

A stock image via pexels.com 

I saw that you tweeted about mental health/mentioning that the citizens of England need to 'man up'. I also saw via social media you had some very strong words to say about celebrities and their battles with mental and being gender neutral and I thought that I respond to your views with my own. I know that I might be bias due to being a young Millennial white male citizen who suffers from mental health problems and I know you won't care but let's be honest here someone needs to call you on your bullshit.

First of all, thanks for arguing that 34 Million people did not suffer from a form of mental illness. I'm sure that the Mental Health Foundation loved you ripping up the data that they had created for Mental Health Awareness Week into shreds on social media as you believed that it was fake. I'm sure that they loved you mocking the time and energy they spent to gather data to reflect the society that we live in today and the comments that you made about the data show that it might be more than 34 Million due to the stigma that's still attached within the media because some feel like they can't talk openly about the things that they suffer with because they may put down just like you did via the click of a button. Well done for that.

Second of all. I want to talk to you about this whole James Bond reference that you made which was absolute bullshit. James Bond isn't the best role model for men except for maybe the exception of the portrayal of James Bond via Daniel Craig within Skyfall. Why does any respectable male citizen want to look up to a character that is sexist, misogynistic and a plethora of other shitty traits that uses alcohol as an aid within their life. He talks about nothing and gets the mission done via all sorts of illegitimate means. James Bond is a character that the general public might look up to in the 50's but to say that citizens should still be sticking to these traditional 50's stereotypes is fucked up and wrong in so many ways. It just shows the ideologies that you have Piers and to be frank with you I think that you should keep those to yourself.

I also believe that the whole 'man up' comment that you made ties in with the above as back then no one talked about their feelings and they got on with their stuff. Guess what, Piers?! We're not living within the 1950's so sadly for you and your ideologies things have changed dramatically and just like your little tangerine sodden friend Donald Trump you need to think about the future and how things will change instead of trying to stick into the hay day/ I know that people like Trump helped you have a career in writing bullshit via articles but by this time you should have learnt to respect others at least a little bit or am I just being stupid there, Piers?!

Why should we man up? What does manning up even mean? If manning up means keeping our feelings to ourselves and portraying the hegemonic views of masculinity that the media portrays then I think that it would be better if it was called something like being stupid. Talking about our feelings and things such as insecurities and our vulnerability isn't a bad thing nor is it decreasing our level of masculinity. Not being James Bond or someone like John Wayne doesn't make us less of a man because masculinity is something that we measure ourselves and not something that the media should be drilling into our minds via middle class white men with right wing ideologies like yourself Piers so if you want to do that on your own where you're far away from the rest of society then that's fine by me.

I believe that everyone should talk about their mental health because if we don;t talk about mental health then the stigma will never end and ideas like yours Piers will end up being engraved in people's minds for years to come.

Finally, I want to mention this whole tweet thread that you dedicated to celebrities using mental health for a platform for them to further their career and brand as a whole therefore you're saying that mental health is used as a marketing campaign and I doubt that for the celebrities that you have mentioned in your tweet that they wouldn't do that. I hope that one of the celebrities take what you'vd said further because I think that it's needed. Mental health is a serious thing and you've turned celebrities who have tried to remove the stigma via the mass audience that they have into a large marketing campaign which is morally wrong on many levels. I think that before saying this you needed to actually research what these celebrities have done for mental health as making allegations is wrong on every aspect which every journalist that's working for a mainstream media outlet should know including yourself.

All in all, I think that you need to do way more research into mental health including things such as talking to people about it. I think that you need to try and have an unbiased view on things instead of being a stubborn old privileged man. I think that you just need to actually think before you say or type many of the things that you come out with but most of all as a young man with mental health problems I think that you shouldn't be saying the things that you've said until you've either done the above so you have an understanding of how it feels or better if you have no experience of mental health problems then you shouldn't be saying anything on the matter.

You took data that was gathered to remove stigma and you turned them into a story of silken spun shit which is unacceptable.

If you suffer from any type of mental health problems then please make sure that you know that there are people that you can talk to. Please talk to your GP if that's possible at all.

I hope that you have found this post/open letter interesting. I doubt that Piers Morgan will read this but I felt like this post was necessary. I hope that you check out the rest of the blog for other amazing yet interesting posts.

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x

Lets Boost Male Body Confidence | Male Body Confidence Due To The Media

Hey,

This had to be done and this is probably going to be a bit ranty* so it might be best to go grab a drink (non-alcoholic or alcoholic, we don't judge) and get ready to read. (*Ranty means that it might not make much sense.)

I feel that a lot of people are going to read the title of this post and go 'you're only writing this as women go through this on a daily basis' when in fact I'm writing this because both sexes get an equal amount of shit and men don't really talk much about it for many reasons. This might be due to the stereotype that men have to not show their feelings and not discuss anything thats not overly masculine as they fear a lack of masculinity. Who knows because I definitely don't.

Everyone needs to talk about their body confidence no matter what age, gender, sexuality etc that you are. If you're feeling body confident then it's great to turn to your friends or whoever and be like, you know what? I actually feel great and I feel confident about my body. I'm not going to think about what people think and look amazing' and if you don't feel that confident then just talk to a friend and make sure they help you resolve why and help you via maybe complimenting you.

The media portrays men and women in such stereotypical and disappointing ways when it comes to the media. Just look at celebrities and models that are depicted in many print, TV and digital texts. They're airbrushed to hell with edited lighting. They get their makeup and hair done professionally on set to make them just pop within the light. (Yes, guys get makeup on them for things such as shoots.) Abs get more scuplted, things get thinner, things get taller such as limbs, things look more contoured. Everything can be perfected within the click of a trackpad. David Beckham doesn't look perfect all of the time, Kim Kardashian never always looks as good as she does on the cover of magazines.  Things happen so the audience of the media text go ohh and ahh and want to buy whatever is the main pull (this could be a magazine, a razor, anything.)

Men have the points of being up against male celebrities that look amazing via the above but they don't have to try and be like the above/what media perceives as 'the best' and they can just love themselves for who they are and rock it as much as they can. Men can have a beard to feel confident but at the same time they don't have to have a beard to feel confident about themselves and their body. Men can have thin or muscly arms to feel confident about themselves and their body. Men can be thin, average, slightly muscly, not muscly, have no abs, have a 2/4/6+ pack, slightly chubby, chubby or fat (before you start saying anything, yes plus size is a word but guess what it's fat that we have on our body) and feel confident in their own skin. They can wear anything they want such as a vest and shorts without feeling like they have something to be shameful of. They can be themselves and rock it and media needs to stop pushing this idea of the perfect person.

I know that women are pushing to get others of the same sex to feel confident in their own skin but I also think that guys need to do this more as well! I also think that guys need to give compliments to other guys when they can tell that their friends are not having a great day.

Join in the conversation about male confidence getting some loving as well as female confidence in the comments section below!

I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post and come back to read the next one!

Kind Regards,
Jamie x

Preparing For The Super Bowl at Shooters Sports Bar Leeds

Meow!

I was invited by the lovely Shooters Leeds to try out their Super Bowl package in preparation of Super Bowl which is happening this weekend.

Shooters Sports Bar is a very well respected sporting venue within the North. They are the epitome of sports watching with several HD TV's and projectors, You can experience the ultimate sporting experience via your own VIP seating area. The Shooters bar has two floors. One for casual drinking and one for sports maniacs so if you love sports or want somewhere amazing to hang out and watch some good sports then I suggest coming here!

Myself and Luke travelled to Leeds as we normally do. When we got to Leeds, we thought that we do a little bit of shopping as we arrived a tad bit early so we went into Yorkshire Soap Company to start with as Luke loves there and as they have some new stuff out for Valentines Day, If you want to find out what they sell then click here. We wandered around Boots as well but we then realised that it was nearly time for Shooters as we had a reservation booked in for five so we made our way leisurely to the establishment as it was only five minutes away from Boots.

We entered the venue and realised that it was heavily packed due to a darts meet and greet event. We walked up the metal stairs and walked to the bar. As it was packed, I waited a few minutes before enquiring at the bar. I showed the email and then was told that Chris would sort us out. Chris is the lovely manager of Shooters Leeds. Chris showed us to our table and told us a little bit about Shooters Leeds. He also told us about the Super Bowl package which contains a large sharing platter and some drinks. He asked us if we wanted a Coors to start off which I obviously agreed to as I was wanting something to drink and Coors fit the bill of being in the Super Bowl theme of the night. He then also told us to take plenty of pictures which I will put throughout the post. (Remember that I aren't the best photographer within the world so please don't expect professional photos!)

I took some pictures of the venue and then decided to watch a bit of basketball as we were sat in front of a big screen which was showing basketball. Shooters has many big screens that show a variety of sport shows every day. We waited a few minutes and someone came over with food but as I zoned out I didn't realise that it wasn't our food. Oops. Chris came over and sorted it out straight away! Five or so minutes later, Chris came over with our platter which looked incredible. (Shooters also do a lot more food so if you're not feeling a platter to share then you can always get a pizza/burger/other food to eat whilst watching a game!)

The platter contained many items of food but I think that it might be best to talk about them separately. There was onion rings which I love. They were crispy and sweet. I could literally eat Onion Rings for days. There was also BBQ sauce to dip stuff in. Okay, I love BBQ Sauce on anything savoury. This one had an acidic kick but it wasnt too much that it made your lips pucker but it was nice especially when contrasted with the Onion Rings. The next thing on the platter was Mozzarella Melts/Sticks. Okay so lactose is my ultimate bad vice mainly because I can't have it due to my body not liking lactose so I love Mozzarella Sticks and I loved these ones a little bit more due to the fact that they had a little bit of a kick from some Chilli I think but it wasn't too much of a kick that the Cheese couldn't speak for itself.

The next thing was Potato Wedges. I love Potato Wedges especially when I have BBQ sauce and Sweet Chilli Sauce to dunk them into. They were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. They were pretty great but I do think that they could do with a bit of pepper. I also think that these would be great as a massive bowl on their own with dips whilst watching a game at Shooters. There was also Cheesy Nachos. I rarely eat Nacho's due to the amount of Cheese and Lactose but these were pretty great/ They had slices of Onion running all the way throughout which gave a fresh kick when the Cheese got a bit too much. The Cheese sauce that they were in was really nice and I think the sauce reminded me of Sour Cream and Chive. I do think that it could have done with either some Lime Zest or Lime Juice as I like my tortilla chips with a bit of added zing. There was also Chicken Wings They were crispy and warm on the outside and succulent on the inside. I love a good Chicken Wing especially when I have BBQ sauce to dunk the meat into. I feel like I could eat all of this platter again and again but also it would be pretty good to have when out with friends in Leeds.

All in all, I had an amazing night. Chris was amazing, the whole place was filled with enthusiasm and there was just a good vibe during the time that we were there. The TV and acoustic music gave some amazing entertainment to the venue as me and Luke decided to play a game of guess the next cover which was a lot of fun. You can make bookings for Super Bowl on the Shooters Website which I shall link here.

I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post. I can't thank Chris enough for sorting us out when we got to Shooters and I can't thank the PR for inviting me. I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post and I hope to see you next time for another blog post!

Meow!
Jamie x

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