Review: Lush Spa Treatment- The Spell (Lush Spa Liverpool).

A few weeks ago the lovely Melissa from Lush Spa Liverpool got in touch with me and invited me along to try out one of their spa treatments; The Spell*. I have always been a sceptic to the concept of reflexology on the feet, but I'm not one to turn down an hour or so of relaxation, plus I adore the Lush Spa in Liverpool (it is huge and the staff are always so friendly!), so I graciously accepted the offer and was booked in for the following week.

Upon arrival I was greeted at the front of the store by a welcoming staff member who offered me a cup of tea, a hand massage and a seat whilst she went and let my therapist know I was there. I spent fifteen minutes or so browsing around the store with my cuppa before the lovely therapist Louise came and met me and took me up to the spa area for my treatment.

I have already written a first impressions review of the spa from when I got to opportunity to preview it before it opened, so feel free to read it here and see more pictures- It is decorated to resemble a quaint English countryside and it really does feel like you have stepped in to a Wonderland. The sounds of nature and birds tweeting can be heard and your relaxing experience starts right here. Louise sat me down to tell me a little more about the treatment she was going to be giving me. The Spell was put together with the idea of clearing your mind and getting rid of any troubles and worries you may have, which was right up my street as I am a born worrier and I always struggle with bouts of anxiety. She talked me through all the products that she was going to use and let me have a smell of them all; one of the main products in this treatment is Volcano, which is a cleansing, exfoliating and cooling clay mask for your feet.

After filling out a consultation form, Louise handed me a piece of paper and asked me to write one of my worries down on it. I folded it up and placed it in a little brass teapot where it was then set on fire with the idea of abolishing my worry and sending it up in smoke! I was then taken in to the dimly candle-lit treatment room and left alone for five minutes to make myself comfortable. There was a little bell placed on the bed for me to ring when I was ready for Louise to come back in and begin the treatment, which started off with a foot bath containing the Waving Not Drowning Bath Bomb. After this I was allowed to lay down, close my eyes and let my mind wander off to another place for a good 30-40 minutes, with the enchanting sounds of The Spell soundtrack by Simon Emmerson filling the room whilst Louise used hot stones, a foot and scalp massage and reflexology with a variety of different products to relax me and sooth my mind.

Needless to say, I felt very drowsy when the treatment finished, but definitely very relaxed (with very soft, smooth and pretty-smelling feet). There was no rush for me to get up and leave, either- Louise brought me a hot cup of water containing lemon, lemon grass and ginger to sip on whilst I pulled myself back to reality. She also gave me a cute little tag that read the words "With my feet I stand in truth. I move forward with joy, understanding and courage", to keep in my purse for times when I need a little pick-me-up.

Despite not knowing what to expect from a foot treatment beforehand, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would love to go back and try a full body treatment in the future; The Good Hour and Tailor Made sound amazing! If you would like to find out more about The Spell or book in for your own hour of relaxation, you can check it out at the Lush website :)

Have you ever tried out a Lush Spa treatment?

*DISCLOSURE: This was a PR opportunity. My opinions are still 100% honest and my own.

Outfit: Chi Chi.

Dress: C/O Chi Chi* | Shoes: New Look | Watch: Michael Kors | Hair Clip: C/O Crown and Glory*

Somebody invite me to a special occasion so that I can wear this beauty out in all its glory! I honestly fell in love with this dress as soon as I took it out of its packaging- I knew that it was a beautiful dress just from looking at it on the Chi Chi website, but my, no photographs can do it justice. I own another Chi Chi dress and I am always impressed with the quality of them for the price you pay- I remember my high school prom dress costing *gulp* a few hundred pounds, but I think this is definitely a prom-worthy dress, and it is only £59.99! It is a gorgeous off-white champagne colour and the gem-detailing on the bodice looks stunning when it is caught in the sunlight- like I said, the photographs don't do it justice! It's one of those dresses that does all the talking whilst still looking classy- I kept it simple here with some nude heels and a pretty flower clip in my hair. I can't stop swooning at it; I'm hoping I will find an occasion to wear it to over the summer!

Do you own anything from Chi Chi? Make out their huge collection of stunning occasion dresses! :)

Event: Sheffield Bloggers Meetup

We have DEFINITELY seen an increase in Northern blogger events over the past month and it has definitely kept me busy! I have been jumping on trains all over the place to attend some fabulous blogger meetups and parties and as a result this (plus trying to sort out some of the more boring post-uni life stuff), I'm a little behind on blogging! Things are calming down a little now however, so bare with me over the next couple of weeks as I try to blast out the posts from these lovely events as well as my usual outfit posts and reviews!

So- Just under two weeks ago made the journey out to Meadowhall for the Sheffield Blogger's Meetup which was organised by the lovely Rachel (Life of a Sweetaholic), Charlotte (Confessions of a Small Town Girl) and Caroline (Caroline's Catwalk). I had really been looking forward to this meetup as Rachel, Charlotte and Claire (Claire Louise) are bloggers who I have been following and talking to from the very beginning and it was great to finally have the opportunity to meet them as well as lots of new faces! The meetup was held at The Handmade Burger Co., who were ever so patient and accommodating for our party of 30 bloggers, and even offered us all a free lunch, which included a burger, a side and unlimited drinks refills! Despite being a healthy-eater, I wasn't going to ruin the opportunity to take advantage of a free meal and just order a salad, but I did try to be as good as possible by just ordering a classic grilled chicken burger with a side of chargrilled vegetables which still tasted amazing. I was a little jealous of everybody else's chips though- they looked so yummy and the portions were huge!

After our meal, we were free for an hour or so to mingle with the other bloggers- The girls who were sat on my table I had never met before, so it was lovely to have a chat with them :) Make sure you check out their blogs which are listed at the end of this post! The girls who organised the meetup also put together a brilliant goodiebag for all of us containing lots of exciting products including a full-sized Benefit Porefessional, A Lush bubble bar and some Paul Mitchell goodies. We were definitely spoilt- Thank you to all the brands who contributed!

There was also a second part to the meetup that was made possible by the lovely staff at Lush Meadowhall- We were split in to small groups to take part in a little workshop where we were able to make our own miniature models out of their playdough-like FUN. I made a little rosebud out of mine, and our models were put on a little display at the front of the store. We were then given a tour of the shop and introduced to the Emotional Brilliance makeup range, of which I have completely fallen in love with the collection of vibrant colours. We were lucky enough to be given another Lush goodie bag which contained a few makeup products that I am currently loving- I got the Dark Yellow Colour Supplement and the Charisma Skin Tint, which is a gorgeous golden-bronze colour, perfect for giving my face a summer glow.

That pretty much sums up a lovely day, and I send out a huge thank you to Rachel, Charlotte and Caroline for all the hard work they put in to organising the event! Don't forget to check out their blogs and also the lovely ladies below :)

Rachel from Lost in Lipstick

Jen from Bows, Bangles and Bakes

Abby from un-observed

Have you attended any meet-ups/events recently? There seems to be loads now that Summer (ahem-"Summer") is kicking in!

Event: South Beach Swim.

Megan (whats new pussy catt), Charlotte (Lurch Hound Loves), Danielle (A Blog from Blackpool) and Me :)

May seems to be the month of Northern Blogger events and I am loving it! I have been all over the place the past couple of weeks and I still have a few events lined up! On Wednesday I made the short train journey over to Manchester to attend the South Beach Swim event which was organised by the lovely Katie (The Quick Red Fox)! We were greeted by her and handed a tag with our blog names on them so that we could hang them on our favourite swimwear piece later on, and also an amazingly refreshing Strawberry Prosecco Bellini. We were then set free to mingle with all the other bloggers and munch on mini cupcakes and chocolate cornflake cakes (which took me back to my childhood and were incredibly more-ish; very dangerous for my healthy eating!). Of course, with the event being held at Frurt Frozen Yogurt, we were treated to a portion of their tasty froyo. They had lots of toppings and different flavoured yogurts to choose from such as luxury chocolate, mango and strawberry lemonade, but I decided to just go for the natural plain yogurt with a naughty topping of chocolate brownie bites and strawberries- a match made in heaven and not too guilt-inducing as the yogurt itself is fat-free and a tiny 60 kcal per 100g portion [that's my excuse, anyway! ;)]. There were also some yummy-looking alcohol-free cocktails available that were made with froyo and Vita Coco which I didn't get to try, although I wish I did now as I love coconut water!

We all got to have a nosy through a rail of South Beach Swim's Spring/Summer range where there were a LOT of gorgeous, colourful bikinis on display, but in the end I fell in love with this black fringed swimsuit (in my 7th photo) and left my name tag on the hanger. There are competitions going on for us to win our chosen piece, so fingers crossed! ;)

There was also a lovely goodie bag for each of us as we left, which included a South Beach snapback cap- Not my usual style but I'm having a lot of fun thinking of ways to style it- I wish I was going on holiday so I could wear it on the beach! Thank you Katie and South Beach Swim for putting on a lovely event and to Frurt Frozen Yogurt and Vita Coco for providing us with some yummy treats! :)

Do you love Vita Coco or Frozen Yogurt? Have you checked out South Beach Swim's Spring/Summer collection?

Outfit: Psychedelic.

Jacket: C/O Quirky Me* | Top: Primark | Disco Pants: C/O She Likes* | Shoes: eBay 

Okay, so I know that this is going to be very hit or miss, but I am in LOVE with this jacket from Quirky Me.  It is currently hung on my mirror in my room and I seriously can't stop admiring it. A couple of posts ago I mentioned my sudden obsession with anything loud and neon, and with my already-established love for leather this jacket caters for my every need- not to mention it fits me perfectly! With its very 60's/70's inspired psychedelic print, it is definitely a statement piece and I think it is going to add a nice touch to many of my plain black outfits paired with my go-to bright lip. Quirky Me is a young, up-and-coming brand based in Barcelona, and they stock a range of quirky, alternative-style pieces including other variations of this jacket; I also really love the houndstooth print ones! I really recommend checking them out; they might not be for everybody but they definitely sell some unique pieces that you won't find anywhere else!

Is this jacket a hit or miss for you? Are you in to the bright/neon trend this Summer?

*DISCLOSURE: Starred items are PR samples.

Review: Popband.

"Minted" Individual Popband £5.00*

"Wild Thing" Twin Pack £6.00*

"Candy Girl" Twin Pack £6.00*

Hi ladies! Sorry about the lack of posts over the last few days- I haven't been able to find the concentration to sit down and put any blog posts together... I don't know why but recently I've been having trouble sleeping at night; I thought as soon as I finished uni that I would sleep like a baby! And as a result of this I've been feeling so lethargic during the day :(

Anyway, enough of my moaning! Today's post is a review on some little hair accessories that were kindly sent to me by Popband. I have very thick, stubborn hair, and problem that I have always found myself having to deal with is pulling tangled, broken-off pieces of hair from my hair bands after having to wrestle them out of a messy bun- such a nightmare and so, so painful! However, two weeks ago Popband came to my rescue. I have seen hair ties like these before and have really wanted to try them out as I had heard a lot of good things about them. They claim to be gentle on your hair whilst keeping it firmly in place until you want to take it down, and when you do they won't rip your hair out and they also won't leave that annoying kink behind. Plus, they come in lots of different colours and prints with a sparkly bead attached so that they look pretty worn on your wrist as well as in your hair!

Okay, so they might seem a little gimmicky- they're essentially just a piece of elastic tied in to a loop, right?  But I really do think they work and I won't go back to using a regular hair band- I quite like being able to effortlessly (and even better, painlessly!) take my hair out of a pony tail after my gym sessions and not look like I have just rolled out of bed. And if you're a lazy girl like me and like the work done for you where possible, these won't set you back too much, ranging from just £4-£6 with the option of buying a single band or a multi-pack, plus free shipping within the UK! If you'd like to see what Popband has to offer, visit their website here :) 

Don't you just hate the trouble that comes with tight elastic hairbands? Have you tried Popbands?

*DISCLOSURE: PR samples. My opinions are still 100% honest and my own.