A Lush Haul

I love when Lush come out with new products. By the time I decided I wanted to get some of the Easter goodies, they were basically all sold out so I only ended up with one and got some other things I'd never tried instead. Here's what I got.

Jason and the Argan Oil Shampoo Bar
Lush came out with a bunch of new shampoo bars and I was intrigued. I have the Jumping Juniper one and love the idea of a bar as they save a lot of space in the shower. This one is rose jam scented and said to help make your hair stronger, softer and shinier. With moroccan argan oil, glycerin and lemon rose perfume, this bar smells really nice. If you've never used a shampoo bar, you just rub a bit on your head, or hands if you prefer, and lather away. A little goes a long way and the bar is meant to last up to eighty washes!

Twilight Bath Bomb
Lavender and tonka absolute make for a relaxing, de-stressing bath. Said to change colours from pinks to purples like the sky at dusk. I look forward to laying back, relaxing and inhaling the herbal aroma.

Bubblegrub Bubbleroon
This cute little guy was from the Easter collection and unfortunately is falling apart. With vanilla, tonka, sandalwood and a shea butter filling, this guy will make for a skin softening indulgent bath.

Dragons Egg Bath Bomb
This citrusy sherbet bathbomb features lemon and bergamont. It claims to fizzle, crack and have a glitter explosion finale. It smells amazing so hopefully this one lives up to the excitement they've given me.

The Repurchases

We all have those products that we have to run out and buy again right when theyre finished (or maybe even before). These are a few of those products for me.

Maybelline Dark Circle Eraser
A fuss free concealer for those of us with dark under eyes. It blends easy, comes in an easy to use sponge applicator bottle and doesnt break the bank. Nothing not to love here.

Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless Mascara 
The original or new Endless option, both of these are great for my lashes. They dont clump no matter how much you pile on and makes my lashes look miles long. The endless mascara has the added volume effect on my lashes, which is exactly what I look for.

The Body Shop Body Washes
The Body Shop have many amazing products. I think theres something for everyone in there. One of my favourites is the body washes. They have your usual gel formula, or a cream which is perfect for winter usage or drier skins. I love that they offer many scents and that they actually linger on your skin. The vineyard peach scent is to die for.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation
After hearing all the UK bloggers rave about this foundation for years and finally finding Bourjois in Canada, I knew I needed to try it. Im glad I did, because it instantly became my favourite. It blends in to leave a beautiful skin like look to the skin, doesnt have too much coverage and also has a pleasant scent. The shade vanilla is perfect for me and doesnt require alot of work to blend in. MY only complaint is that it isnt easily found here, nor as inexpensive as the usual drugstore option.

La Roche-Posay Hydreane Legere
This is a lightweight moisturizing cream, perfect for day use and also great as a makeup base. It absorbs into the skin quickly but leaves it feeling soft and hydrated. I wasn't completely sold on this when I first purchased it but when it came to the end of the bottle I was actually quite sad and needed to pick up another.

This Month I Read #1

To go with my reading challenge, I thought id give little reviews of each book I read during the month. There may be one, five, or none at all but I thought it would be good for those readers out there looking for a new book.
*These are the books I read in January and February. I wanted to post this a while ago but I let my mom borrow a book and couldn't take the photo for the post, so while i've actually read five books to this point I'm only including three right now so it's not too overwhelming. I'll put March and Aprils together in the next one.

No Place Like Oz by Danielle Paige
For the Wizard of Oz fans, like myself, this is probably a series you'd be interested in. This is a prequel to Dorothy Must Die, which is the next book I read. Taking place I believe two years after returning home from Oz, Dorothy makes a second appearance to Oz, but this time with her aunt and uncle. She is happy to be back because here she was a hero, whereas back in Kansas she was seen as ordinary and possibly a little crazy for believing a dream was reality. She discovers that a lot of time has passed in the magical world and many changes have been made. Oz has a new ruler and Dorothy believes she was sent back for a reason.

Unfortunately this one is only available as an ebook so if you're a paperback reader you're not going to be able to find this one. It isnt necessary to have read before Dorothy Must Die, but it does give a back story as to what it is going on in the series. This author seems to have an odd obsession with prequel books as she's apparently writing three or four to introduce the characters in the series. Im not sure they are all necessary, but this one did make a pretty good read and had me wanting to get into Dorothy Must Die right away.

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
Apparently, though I dont know if it's true or not, there was a mistake with the printing of the back description and the second novels description is on the first. With that being said, it makes sense as to why this book didn't seem to follow it exactly.

The main character is Amy Gumm, who lives with her drunk mother in a trailor park in Kansas. She isn't popular and often spends days on her own while her moms off drunk doing god knows what. One day there is said to be a tornado, and her mom goes out to the bar leaving her alone. Turns out they werent lying and there is a tornado and Amy ends up in a big field which just so happens to be a part of Oz. She remembers the story and the movie, and this place looks nothing like it. She makes some friends and loses some along the way and gets recruited to The Revolutionary Order of the Wicked. There she is trained to fight and you guessed it, kill Dorothy. After her arrival, she had let magic get to her head and has become an evil, awful person. Amy has no idea what she's doing but goes along with what she's told to keep herself alive.

This is a bit of a hard one to explain without giving too much away. Its a more modern setting, but definitely more dark than The Wizard of Oz (aka not one for the kids). I enjoyed it and read it within a few days but some parts weren't explained in enough detail. Going back to what I said about the description, a lot of it wasn't even mentioned until the last chapter, and then it just ended. Right when it's getting into something it just stops, and that's when I realized there actually was going to be a second book. I was slightly dissapointed in the way they set the book up like that, but nonetheless it is a good story line and I am looking forward to the second book coming out in May.

Seriously.. I'm Kidding by Ellen Degeneres
I seriously love Ellen. Doesnt everyone? She's got a great personality and sense of humour. If you're a fan of her talk show you'll love her books. This is her third, updating you on her life since last writing eight years ago. Its an easy read with good laughs and many topics. I also like that the chapters arent long, making it easy to read one here and there throughout the day. It's just a bit of a silly book so it's a quick read and doesn't require a lot of attention. The back of this book is also hilarious, so if you ever see it flip it over and have a read.

Lily 7 Month Update

I love doing these posts because I get to look back and how much Lily has grown and accomplished. I meant to do a 6 month update but I didn't get around to it until now. It feels like she's learning and doing new things every week lately, which is really exciting to watch. When she had her six month appointment the scale wasn't working right so I dont know her real weight. It said she was 18.5 lbs but theres no way she only gained one pound in two months, especially since she had started eating solids at four months. I believe she is over 20 lbs because she is getting super difficult to carry around without having a sore back or arm.
She is now able to sit up on her own! I was propping her up up with pillows on the couch, and one day she lifted herself up and was able to sit on her own. I still need to keep pillows around her when she sits om the floor incase she flops over, but she's doing really well. She kicks her legs around when she's on her tummy, but she has yet to figure out crawling.

As for food, she started solids(purees) after her four month appointment. I started with rice cereal, peas, apples, sweet potatoes etc. So far the only thing that didn't settle well with her was a apple mango kiwi blend. She is now starting with more chunkier foods like chicken and mashed bananas. For little snacks I give her Baby Mummums. They're little rice crackers that she can hold and chomp down on herself. They melt in the mouth so they're easy for her to eat and she loves them. They come in handy when she's being fussy in a store or when we're out in general.

She's getting into more of a routine with her napping. She wakes up 7/7:30 and tends to fall asleep for  10-30 minutes around 9 in my arms. I don't bother putting her in her crib because she won't sleep long at this time. Then around 12 or 1 she'll have a nap for usually and hour sometimes more, and another around 3 or 4. She's in bed around 7:30 and is usually good until morning, unless it's a teething time inwhich case I may need to go in and calm her down or give her Tempra to get her to sleep through the night. She has a third tooth coming in on top now though it's not really visible unless you go looking for it.

She is very focal. She'll bable away, sing or make happy screams as she's playing and sometimes even to put herself to sleep. How cute! Lately she's starting with the mum mum/mumma sounds which I just love. She has been getting a bit clingy with me lately, where she doesn't want me to leave the room even if it's just for a minute. If I go out without her, she will sometimes cry out "mumma" for me until I come back. It makes me sad but she'll have to get over the separation anxiety before I go back to work or it's going to be a nightmare for whoevers watching her. Otherwise she's a very happy, smiley baby. I think thats everything new for now. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone.  It's almost time for me to go back to work! Sad face. I'll be back with another update when she's nine months old. Which will feel like a blink of an eye to me.

H&M Purchases

I went shopping! I thought id share a few things I bought incase you want to see whats in store.

Grey Embroidered Tee
I'm a fan of a good tshirt. I loved the embroidery on this- the colours are really pretty and dress it up. I love the fit of the shirt too. It has a nice flow to it, not clinging to my belly which is great. They also had a cream/white but the grey is more flattering on my skin tone.

Dress
I think these are called shift dresses? I'm not quite sure. Anyway, I saw this in a rack with a sign for $10. I wasn't sure if I liked it just on the hanger, especially the bottom, but I thought it was quite cute on. Had it of been full price I probably wouldn't have gotten it, but for ten bucks it's not bad. I think it'll be cute in the spring, or fall time with tights and a leather jacket. I also like that it has sleeves as I tend to wear cardigans over dresses, but I won't need to with this.

Pants
I have no idea what these style are called but I always see people wearing them and think they're so cute but never bought any myself. I spotted these and they were only twenty bucks so I brought them to the change room to see how they looked on and I was in love. They are super comfy and I think they will dress up a basic tee or something, paired with some sandals. I think i'll really like these and I may need to get some more.

Empties #15

Bath and Body Works Bali Mango Body Lotion
I love this scent. It reminds me of summer time. The lotion was nice. It didn't dry out my skin and a little goes a long way. The scent also actually lasts on the skin, which is always nice. I also finished the body wash but it seems to have gotten thrown out.

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Hilighting Concealer
I was  actually finished this a while ago but it sat in my drawer for some reason. I loved this. It was a nice tone for my skin (in ivory) and really did brighten up under my eyes. I had heard good things about the Loreal one so I didn't buy this one again, but I wish I had because I found this one to be way better.

Melvita Narcissus Extraordinary Water
This is a brightening toner. I liked the herbal scent, but I didn't find anything amazing about the product. I didn't notice much of a brightening effect so Iprobably wouldn't get this again.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation
This had become one of my top foundations. It's the perfect colour for me, has a great light to medium coverage and a really nice satin finish. My perfect foundation.

Coverage Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation
This had amazing reviews from everyone when it came out that I had to try it even though I'm not a big fan of Covergirl products. It is said to have the lasting power of a primer, coverage of a concealer and blendability of a foundation. I thought it had good coverage but it was just too dull looking on my skin. I prefer a glow to my skin and this just wasn't for me. I barely used it and now it's gone off so I'm just throwing it away.

This Works Perfect Skin Super Moisture 
Possibly my favourite Moisturizer. This hydrated and made my skin feel so soft and took the itchy tight feeling away form my dry skin. I hate that this isn't available on this side of the world so I have to buy it online only. I've been using other things that I have and still like, but I may buy this again next winter.

Nuxe Creme Prodigieuse Anti Fatigue Moisturizing Cream Sample
This was okay. It moisturized my skin but I didn't find it to be anything special and I won't be buying a full size.

Current Favourites

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer
I dont know why I didn't try this sooner. This concealer really does give a more awake look and has a flawless finish. It doesn't crease like most concealers do on me without powder, so thats a plus. Love this stuff.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Pink Cognito 
A super easy peachy nude. This goes with everything and anything and ive been wearing it quite a lot lately.

Mac Plumful 
As i've said many times, as much as I love the look of a bold lip, I very rarely wear them. I have a collection on reds and berries and get scared to wear them. Since getting a full bang, ive been really liking the look of a pop of colour with my hair up. I've worn plumful a few times lately and am really loving it. It's a nice plum shade- a perfect mix of berry and purple.

The Body Shop Vanilla Eau de Toilette 
I dont use a lot of body mists, but on those days when you want to smell nice but you're not going anywhere that a strong perfume is necessary, they come in handy. The vanilla scent is delicious. I smell it on myself throughout the day and just love it.

The Body Shop Pomegranate Softening Cream Cleanser
I bought this online on a whim with no background on the product. With dry skin, cream or milk cleansers are a must. While purusing the site I came across this and thought ooh, lets give that a try. Im glad I did. It leaves my skin feeling so soft and lovely, plus it smells great. Its not too expensive either which is always nice.

Skintimate Cream Shave
I'd never heard of this but I saw it when looking for a shaing gel. It was on sale and I thought i'd give it a go and see what the difference was. I'm glad I got this one instead but it makes a world of a difference. The cream consistency is similar to if you've ever used conditioner to shave your legs. A little goes a long way, it smells great and leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth after, which foaming gels never do. Basically this is my new go to shaving product.