Revisited: Gold FUN from Lush

In my post earlier today I mentioned a product that made me realise that I as ready to start blogging again. That was this; gold FUN. It's a product that I first wrote about around this time last year when it was released as part of the Lush 2013 Christmas range, but has been brought back this year as part of the 2014 range.

For those who haven't heard of FUN before, it is a 4-in-1 product from Lush that is able to be used s bubble bath, body wash, shampoo and soap... It also happens to look, feel and handle in the same way as play-doh!
Designed to be suitable for those with even the most sensitive skin, FUN was released as a bath product for those who are unable to use the bath ballistics and bubble bars, due to their slightly harsher ingredients. It is made using a base of talc, glycerine and cornflour which work together to make it silky smooth as well as humectant.

Now, I'll admit that during the time that I worked for Lush, I absolutely hated FUN, and I mean really hated it. In my mind it was messy, gooey and just generally not my cup of tea at all. I think a lot of this was based on the demo station for the product which was always soggy, messy and gave me a headache, especially on a busy Saturday!

However, when sorting through my stash the other evening, I found a bar lurking from last winter that had gone a bit droopy and sorry for itself so I decided to give it a real chance and have a FUN only bath so that I could use up the whole bar. I have to say that as much as I didn't think I would, I loved it. I pushed the boat out and used around two thirds of the bar as bubbles by breaking it up and swirling it under the running water. If you have ever used one of the Sunnyside bubble bars then you will be aware of the swirling gold effect in the water, Gold FUN has the same effect. It also smells like the much loved Honey I Washed the Kids soap. By using two thirds of the bar I was surrounded by mounds of bubbles so I could have easily gotten away with using much less.
With the other third I washed all over and also shaved my legs by lathering a little up and using it in place of shaving foam.

I found that after my bath I came out feeling really smooth and relaxed. I often get trouble with eczema on my legs but I found that even they felt soft and supple and whilst I still moisturised, I could have gotten away with not using any.

So, as much as I will always carry memories of children modelling penises out of Pink FUN or mixing every single colour together on purpose because clearly it's very funny when I was working in-store, I can honestly say that FUN is not the product of nightmares that I originally thought. In fact, it is everything that it claims to be, and something that I will actually repurchase regularly and very soon.

Annie xx

Remember Me? Why I Backed Away from Blogging

I've just taken a look and found that I haven't posted since July. Wow, that's a while back now! So here we are in October.
But I'm not going to say anything like "I'm such a bad blogger" or "Sorry for being pants" because stepping way was a conscious decision.
I found that I had got to a place where blogging was becoming more of a stress in my life than a pleasure. I was trying to juggle working full time, doing a college course, drama rehearsals twice a week and also maintain a social life. Yet all the while, even if I managed to achieve all of these things, I found that if I flopped into bed having not written a post, or taken photographs of my make-up, or of my latest skincare routine etcetera I felt guilty about it. And I didn't want that.

To me, blogging has always been a hobby. I love to write and I love all things beauty. So for me, using writing to share that love for beauty products is a way to relax and enjoy a passion that my friends just aren't really interested in (I have a lot of male friends!).
It's great that blogging has opened so many doors to me, and given me the chance to try new things, meet amazing people and attend brilliant events, but when it came to the point where it felt like writing about eye shadow and lipstick was causing more stress than it was relieving, I just felt like I needed a break.

So what have I been up to?

Well, I am still juggling all of the mentioned above, but I am really enjoying it.
I recently started a new job working at the City of Bath College for the Adult Community Learning department where I help to provide a wide range of courses for adults in the community who may have never got the chance to achieve what they would have liked, want to learn new skills that will help to develop themselves, or due to certain circumstances slipped out of employment and haven't been able to find their way back. I am really enjoying it, and seeing what we do, and what we help people to achieve is really satisfying.

I spend most of my weekends in Weymouth these days with my lovely boyfriend which is pretty special. It makes nearly every weekend feel like I'm on holiday in a beautiful place. I could spend hours on the sea front just watching the world go by. Believe it or not, I have even taken up sea fishing (very out of character I know!)


In short, I am happy, and back in a place where I want to blog again. But not because I feel like I have to. I am not going to try and promise myself that I will post daily, or about anything that I don't think "Oh my goodness, I need to share this!" because that is never what my blog was meant to be. I am working on a post to go live later today that features the product that got me thinking "wow, I need to blog this" several nights ago and made me see I am ready to come back so look out for that :)

Right, ramble over!

Annie xx