New to Three Little Búhos Stationery

It's been two weeks already, where has the time gone?!

This week I have been working on creating gift sets ready for the lead up to Christmas, booking stalls at Christmas markets and getting new stock ready to pad out the shelves a little bit.

Some lovely new pieces have been added to the shop today (take a look *here*) and I have lots more scheduled to go live over the next few weeks including Totoro goodies, rose gold pens and some very pretty pencil cases. Make sure to favourite Three Little Búhos Stationery on Etsy so that you can be the first to hear about it when they go live.

Above is a prototype of the Pretty in Pink Gift Set that I will be launching within the next couple of weeks once I have decided that I am 100% happy with what is included. I'm trying to create kits that include a nice range of products whilst still having continuity to them. If you have any suggestions or requests then please feel free to contact me.

The next week is going to be spent perfecting the gift sets and designing my stall for the Christmas markets that I have signed up for. Hopefully I will have lots of exciting new goodies for you very soon!

Annie x

Christmas Gift Ideas: Aromatherapy Associates Instant Inner Strength Roller

It if officially Christmas shopping time and the shops are filling up with beautiful gifts that are sure to please even the pickiest of people.
I love Aromatherapy Associates, and have enjoyed using every product that I've tried from the brand.
Last Christmas I reviewed The Little Bell from the gift selection and today I have the Instant Inner Strength(*) roller ball to show you.

I love the idea of this product. Made from blend of essential oils that are designed to work together to calm an uplift, the roller ball has been created for those moments when you just need a little boost.
I was really excited to review this because I work in a role that involves a lot of dashing around between sites in order to assist in delivering courses, invigilating exams and goodness knows what else so I get quite flustered fairly easily.
When you're feeling a little worn down, flustered or in need of a pick me up, the idea is that you run the roller ball over your pressure points, releasing the blend of geranium, rosemary, clary stage, cardamom, vertivert, black pepper, frankincense, patchouli, rose, bitter orange and sandalwood oils (wow, that's a mouthful!) and take a few deep breaths to let the effects wash over you.

When trying the product, I have been applying the roller ball to the pulse points on my wrists and also on the inner of my elbows so that it is warmed and wafted when I move my arms. It really is beautiful. The blend of oils smells fresh and clean, and have a brilliant effect on my mood, leaving me feeling clear headed and lifted, ready to carry on with the day. It's hard to describe how quickly and effectively this product works- and it really works well- but after two weeks of use, I am sold.
It is the perfect gift choice for anyone who has a busy job, travels a lot or is running around after the kids day in day out. The convenient 10ml vial means that it can be slipped into a pocket or handbag and taken anywhere you go.

You can pick up the Instant Inner Strength for £15 *here* and as a little extra incentive to buy, 10% of the proceeds of all sales are being donated to Defence Against Cancer making a gift that keeps on giving.

What do you think of the sound of this product? Do you think you would benefit from a little Instant Inner Strength?

Annie xx

The Yankee Candle Christmas Style App

I spend way too much time on facebook...way too much.
Today I stumbled upon a cute little app that was added to the Yankee Candle Company page by the Yankee Candle elves to help you get to know their Christmas collection and suggest the fragrances that you might enjoy.

The app works by asking you simple multiple choice questions to determine what best fits in with your idea of a perfect Christmas (one question asks you to select your favourite Christmas film. It has to be Home Alone, right?!)

It then uses the answers you give to generate an answer as to whether you are more of a Christmas Past or Christmas Present type of style and tells you a little bit about some of the fragrances from the lovely new Festive Range that would be likely to appeal the most to you.

As a little extra incentive to give the app a play and spread the word, for fans of the Yankee Candle Company Facebook page who share the app with their friends either on Facebook or Twitter, there is also the chance to win one of 50 large jar sets of the new Spring 2015 range which I have heard tell smell beautiful.

You can find the Yankee Candle app *here* if you fancy giving it a go. I thought it was just a sweet and fun way to show people the winter collection and you guys already know how much I love Yankee Candles so I just had to share with you :)

Let me know whether you are Christmas Present or Christmas Past!

Annie xx

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

Aromatherapy Associates Little Bell Gift

Christmas is now well and truly approaching. Unbelievably the Christmas adverts have already begun popping up on telly and stock is being piled into shops. This years selection of gifts really is pretty comprehensive, covering all sizes and budgets possible. I was sent the adorable Little Bell* gift from Aromatherapy Associates London to take a look at.

The cute little bell shaped box contains a single 7.5ml bottle of their Revive Morning Bath and Shower Oil and is designed to give an indulgent taster of the brand, just enough to leave you feeling like a queen and wanting to try more. The brand pride themselves on using only the highest quality essential oils to create their blends and are used in some of the most exclusive hotels and spas across the UK.

The prestige and the high quality of the product is definitely reflected in the size of this stocking filler I feel. The 7.5ml bottle of grapefruit, rosemary and juniper infused oil is recommended to spread between "Up to three unique bath or shower experiences" by either pouring one third of the bottle into your freshly run bath or smoothing all over your body before a shower. Whilst this does make for an amazing experience (seriously, it is incredibly uplifting on the senses and leaves skin silky soft as well) I feel that for a gift costing £10 it could have done with being just that tiny bit bigger, even if just 10ml instead of 7.5ml so that you can grab that one last shower. I also think it would make the bottle itself feel more satisfying as it is only the size of my thumb.
However, as a little taster of the brand and a little stocking filler gift I think the Little Bell does work well to get you interested and wanting to try more, and it really is very sweet, I just think, personally, I would be tempted to spend a little more and invest in a full sized bottle of Molton Brown Eucalyptus Bath and Shower gel which smells very similar and has a similar sensory effect. You can pick up the Little Bell gift from Selfridges stores, Liberty or online *here*

Annie x

Lanolips Christmas Kisses Gift

Beautifully soft, kissable lips are a must for the Christmas season, you never know when mistletoe might pop up and leave you needing to pucker up.

Lanolips have put together a super sweet Christmas gift designed to get you prepped and ready for all eventualities. Christmas kisses* contains the two best selling Lanolips lip products meaning you have all you need to keep your lips in tip top condition this winter.

First up is the classic 101 Ointment which contains 100% pure grade lanolin. It is completely colourless and literally just melts on contact with the skin (as you can see beginning to happen in my photo) leaving skin instantly moisturised as well as protecting from the elements. Because it is 100% natural, the 101 ointment is suitable for even the most sensitive of skin. I find this to be a great multi-purpose product and rather than using on my lips I use the ointment on my very dry elbows and on patches of stubborn eczema on my legs and ankles. Simply a wonder product.

The other product in the set is the Lanolips Lip Treatment with Colour and SPF 15 in the shade Rose. This super hydrating lip treatment makes a fabulous alternative to lip gloss when, like me, you need that extra moisture hit. The shade is universally flattering so anyone can pop it on without worry that the shade might not suit them. I also found (when taking this photo, I hadn't used the product before!) that you need very little product per use as lanolin holds up to 200% its weight in moisture so even the tiniest amount will give a tint and deep condition at the same time without feeling sticky and nasty.

The Christmas Kisses gift, containing two full sized products costs just £12.99 and would make a great gift for nearly all beauty lovers. I definitely find that its been useful to me as someone who wears a lot of lipstick which in the winter really drys out lips! You can grab one fairly easily from most stores like Boots and Superdrug.

Annie xx

A Very Lush Christmas #4 Gold FUN!

A product that I was maybe a little apprehensive to see as part of the Christmas range, Gold FUN is a product that I thought I might have a love hate relationship with. I've never been a big fan of FUN as I find it has a tendency to break apart a little bit and leave "crumbs" which bug me. I also found that when wet the original formula had a bit of an...oozy problem. BUT, thnkfully, so far, I've found that with the new gold FUN these haven't actually been an issue so I actually love it!

The golden play dough like product is made using the same base as other FUN products which is built up of a blend of talc, corn flour and glycerine which are all beautifully gentle and are what make FUN such a child friendly product to wash with, and they all also happen to be ingredients perfect for eczema prone skin like mine which gets really bad in the winter. What I like most about gold FUN though is that it is scented with my favourite Lush smell; Honey I Washed the Kids which is a soft caramel honey aroma which works really well with such a soft, relaxing product.

The soft doughy texture makes it nice and easy to break a piece of FUN off of the bar before stowing the bar away somewhere dry (important because otherwise it will go a bit gloopy from the wet!) and it can be used for all sorts of different things. Uses I've tried have been showering, hair washing, bath bubbles, soap and shaving my legs but I've heard of people using FUN as a face mask, to wash clothes, and even as washing up liquid.

Whilst FUN will never be my favourite Lush product, I do really like the golden FUN bar and I think that some of the bigger problems I had with it have been fixed. I think it will make a lovely little stocking filler or secret santa gift and is fab for children who, from my experience, love squidging it and making a bit of a mess with soapy play dough :)

Annie xx

A Very Lush Christmas #3 Let the Good Times Roll

Christmas launch day is tomorrow! Wow this week has gone fast. Unfortunately I didn't get around to blogging yesterday because things got rather ridiculous on the illness scale but todays product is a favourite for so many people that hopefully you'll be so glad to see it back that you'll forgive me :P
Let the Good Times Roll is a facial cleanser originally released last Christmas and became such a huge success that when it was discontinued in the new year because "too much of a good thing can be a bad thing" customers were devastated and all year customers have been asking about its return.

This facial cleanser uses a lovely soft blend of polenta and popcorn to give a light but effective cleanse and the products naturally slightly oily nature makes it a good choice for normal to combination skin types as it will draw any excess oil on the skin into the cleanser and out of the skin so that when you wash it off your skin is left fresh and clean and will also be lightly moisturised. Fab right!

Just like the other Lush roll cleansers, to use this all you do is mix a pea sized amount with a little water and rub to form a milky paste that you can make as thick as you like, then simply massage onto the face in little circles to make the most of the scrubby ingredients and rinse off with warm water before feeling smug about your soft, caramel scented skin ;P

This was my favourite Christmas product last year and so far it has been this year too from the things I've tried. I cannot express enough how much I think people should try it out, or at very least head into your nearest store and give it a good long sniff! A lot of love for this one!

Annie xx

A Very Lush Christmas #2 The Penguin

Hello,
Today has been nothing but illness and drama so I'm afraid this is a lot later than planned. I'm now sat in bed forcing down throat sweets with my scented candles on the go to make myself feel a bit calmer.
Todays little peek is at one of the cutest Christmas products in this years range, a bubble bar, simply named The Penguin.

Isn't he just adorable? This sweet little guy is full of orange flower absolute and Sicilian mandarin oil so you get a lovely warming, festive scent to your bath. The design inspiration behind this cute bubble bar actually comes from the smallest breed of penguins in the world who are blue and found in the south of Australia.
Whilst it makes me feel like a really mean person crumbling The Penguin into my bath, the bubbles produced are gorgeous. The mixture used to create the white part of the bar are made using what's known as bubble crumble, which has extra cream of tartar added to give softer, foamier bubbles (especially good for people living in hard water areas like I do)

I think the penguin makes a great little add-on gift, stocking filler or treat for a cold, rainy winters evening although I can't promise that you won't feel guilty breaking him apart!

Tomorrow I have a product that is making a welcome return from last year and I'll be honest, it may be my complete favourite ;p
Annie xx

A Very Lush Christmas #1 Santa's Scrub and Santa Baby

Its that time of year again and all of the Christmas ranges are being released!
One of the most anticipated has to be that from Lush with devout Lushies asking in store for several months prior to the launch when it will be. Well this year its on 4th October (this Friday!) so I thought I'd give you a few sneak peeks this week to get you s excited about the range as I am.

First up are two items that I've already pretty much fallen in love with being a bit of a lipstick junkie. We have Santa's Lip Scrub which is a gorgeous, cherry cola fragranced scrub complete with edible glitter hearts and lip plumping lime and black pepper oils which is designed to not only taste amazing but get your lips beautifully soft and ready for those festive parties where you may want them kiss-ably soft.
There is also Santa Baby lip tint which is a vibrant holly berry shade of red with the same scent made up from cherries, dates, lime and pepper giving that cola aroma. A great festive lip colour to pair with shimmery eyes.

As you can see both have a lovely vivid colour. They're also both very soft on the skin.
Santa's Lip Scrub has a much softer base than some of the previous scrubs. It uses a blend of extra virgin coconut oil and coconut milk powder as the base to keep the texture light yet nourishing.
On the other hand, Santa Baby uses a lovely rich blend of fair trade shea butter, organic cocoa butter, capuacu butter and aster oil to give that lovely soft texture and stop lips from drying during wear making the tint great for wearing all day and evening without worry of lips getting chapped and sore.

What I like the most about these two products though is how well they complement one another. The combination makes a great little gift for a beauty lover that won't break the bank. I think the scent and taste of the scrub may divide a few people (as they all do) but the effect is lovely and the prodcts, as always, are great quality so for me, a big thumbs up :)

Tomorrow I have an ultra cute bubble bar to show you :)
Annie xx

Boohoo Party Pose Blogger Competition

There's lots of fabulous christmas party clothing floating around at the moment to tempt you in and make sure that we're all getting excited about christmas parties. Boohoo are currently running a #partypose competition for bloggers to promote their range of gorgeous sparkly things, the prize being a £100 boohoo voucher for the winning blogger and a £250 for them to offer one lucky follower :)
What you have to do is put together a christmas party outfit for under £100 using at least three Boohoo pieces. Simples.
I likes the sound of that!

I've gone for black and gold pieces, my total favourite for christmas time. Theres something so opulent and magical about gold so its fab for celebrating at christmas.

Skirt: I chose this gorgeous sequined mini skirt because its really special without looking too formal. The black and white help to break up the gold detail so that it isn't too over the top. £25.00

Top: So pretty. I love the slightly edgy look of the gold sequins against the black mesh of the top. I'm going for LOTS of sequins but the black coming through between the gold breaks it up and keeps the look young and means it isn't too much paired with the skirt. £20.00

Tights: Black tights were a must to contrast. I think fake suspender tights are a great look, and very now so make the outfit more grown up without making it boring. £10.00

Shoes: More sequins! Christmas is the perfect time to treat yourself to some amazing party shoes and I can see these looking so bold against the thick black tights and shining in the lights :) £35.00

Accessories: With such a bold outfit I kept accessories simple and just opted for this thick gold cuff to catch the eye and complete the look. £8.00

So all together my #partypose outfit comes to £98 which is pretty fab for a whole outfit including some amazing shoes!

If you want to take part in the Boohoo #partypose competition then check out the details *here*

What do you think of my outfit? How fab are those shoes?! Will you be entering the competition?
Annie xx

The Time is Upon Us!

So, the sun has dawned on an exciting day. Lush Christmas has landed! Today marks the launch of the much awaited (and totally amazing by the way) Lush Christmas goodies, and you know what? I am totally going to show you them!

 Can you imagine the glee I felt last night clutching this box? Digging inside was like christmas in itself!

Inside, nestled among many MANY packing peanuts was one of almost all the products being released today (6th October 2012) just waiting to be tried out and shown to all of my fellow Lush fans. So what do we have?

First up, bombs!

This year, there are lots of bath bombs being released. There is So White, a classic which returns every year, Cinders, another that is making its comeback, and Father Christmas which is a new product for this year. If you enjoyed Satsumo Santa from last years range then you'll love Father Christmas this year :)
Next we have bubbles!

Everyone's favourite, Candy Mountain is back once again, this time with green and pink swirls and it is joined by a revamped Christmas Eve. This year, Christmas Eve is designed to look like the moon sitting against the night sky and my late night photography really doesn't do it justice. However, this years newbie is Santa's Sack (yep, we all made lots of jokes during the training) which is bright red, bulging with bubbles and also contains two re-usable bubble stone presents meaning that it will actually be good for up to 5 baths!
On to bubble stones!

This year, alongside the much loved, Snow Fairy scented Magic Wand, we also have two brand new bubble stones; Bubblebeard and Rocket. I love the design of the bubble stones, all you do is swish it around in the bath as you run the water and watch the bubbles appear. They are also amazingly reusable so you get around 8 baths worth from each. Rocket is a great addition as it is the present for boys that is equivalent to the Magic Wand so it fills a gap that was very clearly there last year. And on top of that, we also have Bubblebeard, my personal favourite, which is just a fab novelty gift for EVERYONE. Who doesn't like mustaches right?
Lets not forget bath melts!

How cute is this little guy?! This bath melt is called The Melting Snowman and he is packed with amazing ingredients including cocoa butter and shea butter which are great for soothing dry, winter beaten skin, water softening bicarb of soda and a fragrance made up of cinnamon, cloves, benzoin, almond and orange.
On to the shower!

She's back. How could she not be? Snow Fairy has, of course, returned, this year with pretty new packaging. With her, she has brought Twilight which is designed to look like the night sky full of twinkling stars and shares the lavender rich fragrance of the popular Twilight bath bomb. The third shower gel in the collection is my total favourite from the whole christmas range, and that is Ponche, a gel that is full of citrusy, Mexican Christmassy, tequila enriched amazingness! Each bottle actually contains tequila and boy, you can smell the kick but what makes it smell really yummy is the spicy warmth of cinnamon, plum and orange.
Now, a scrub!

For anyone who loves Sugar Scrub, or Rub Rub Rub, we have Sandy Santa which is another Mexican inspired product. The scrub is made using a combination of sand and sugar which gives a lovely, abrasive scrub. The smell is a nice zesty orange with a slight floral tone to really uplift.
Smoothing off!

This years massage bar is truly beautiful isn't it? Inspired by Dali's melting clocks, Midnight Massage is a sensual, slightly sexy bar designed to help you melt time away and unwind at the end of a frantic day. The scent is full of dark, deep fruitiness from figs, carob and quince and is lifted by a touch of jasmine to give it a lighter edge. And to get the soft golden sheen, it has been covered with a light dusting of Lustre powder.
And now, cleansers!

Buche De Noel has got to be one of the best selling christmas products at Lush year after year, and its back again! Full of cocoa butter and almond oil as well as using ground almond shells to provide a light scrub, this cleanser is designed to help restore winter damaged skin. Let the Good Times Roll is a new product for this year and boy is it a good one, I got it last night and I've used it three times already! It is designed to brighten the skin, leave it super soft and feel nice and revitalised. The roll of cleanser actually arrives to the shop topped with popcorn and one of the key ingredients is popped corn oil along with maize and cinnamon which helps stimulate blood flow.
Finally, lets see the soaps!

If you're a soap lover, this is your year! We have 6 soaps being released for christmas, including returning favourites Snowcake, Northern Lights, Angels Delight and Snow Globe which need no introduction, as well as two new comers, including my favourite, Mr Punch which is packed with warm, fruity scents all set together to look like a bowl of punch that has been left to freeze in the snow. The other is North Pole which comes in two colours; pink and white and arrives to the store as a long pole, ready to be sliced in to rounds freshly for customers. North Pole is a fresh, minty soap that reminds me of Candy Cane from last winter.

Whoa, theres your lot. This isn't actually the whole collection either! There is also a Popcorn Lip Scrub, Cracker Snap re-usable bath bomb, Party Popper bath bomb and of course, the amazing Golden Wonder bath bomb as well as around 15 gift sets that are made up using combinations of all these goodies and some from the regular Lush range.
I am so excited about this years Christmas range, I love all the bright colours, warming smells and wacky designs; they are all so definitely Lush products and just looking at them is fun.
What will you be trying out first? Is there anything that jumps out at you? Which are you happiest to see returning this year? I cant wait to have a bath using Ponche, Sandy Santa, Mr Punch and Cinders. Mmmm.
Annie x

*I received these products as a member of staff for training and so that I can talk confidently and knowledgeably about them to customers, I was not asked to post this, I just thought it would be exciting for all my Lush loving readers to see all the products on offer this christmas*