Fallen for Sugar Crush from Soap and Glory and some etcs!

Oh, how I love a Soap and Glory Body Butter.  The Daily Smooth and The Righteous Butter, are the ones that you NEED in your life.

However, when it comes to the Soap and Glory body scrubs, I'm not quite as passionate. The scrubs I have tried (Scrub 'Em and Leave 'Em; The Scrub of Your Life and Some Like It Hot) have always done the job, leaving my skin a little smoother and smelling a little more fragrant but until now, I haven't really fallen for one or found one that just HAS to be repurchased.

Yes, I said, until now . . .

Let me introduce you to Sugar Crush,' a super scrub with smashed brown sugar and sweet lime, almond oil & macadamia grains'.

 

 

 

 

Absolute amazingness in a tub!

As usual(!), let's talk about the scent first.

Actually, this is where I have to be honest and say that when I first used this product, I was a little saddened. The scent was actually a little too much, the lime filled the bathroom immediately and it was just too much fruit (I'm not so keen on fruity scents) and with the heat of the bathroom, I actually felt a bit nauseous and like I'd just came hone from a night drinking too many stale cocktails. Yes, I was quite disappointed. After all, for me if the scent ain't doing it, the product ain't going to be used up!!!

However. . .

that first time seems to have been a one off as from then on in, the fruitiness seemed muted to just the right level leaving the most lovely but subtle, long-lasting scent on my skin. I think, the key is to to wake the product up and give it a little shake or mix before you first use it. You can smell it for hours and hours between washes. It lasted like The Daily Smooth does yet the scents are not the same.  Sugar Crush is not as floral or as feminine as the Daily Smooth but it is just so clean and pleasant. When the scent catches my attention, I feel a little burst of happiness and health. It makes me feel like a good girl living a good life.

I told you, it was powerful stuff!!!

Anyhow, that's enough of my rambles and delusions. I'm sure you're more interested in how this scrub actually scores in exfoliating and doing what a scrub should do.

Well, let me tell you, Sugar Crush scores highly!

It really works, my skin is noticeably smoother around the decolletage, elbows and knees since I started using Sugar Crush and as of yet, no breakouts or abrasions. Normally, when I find a body scrub I like, I use it religiously and end up breaking out or leaving myself with little scratch marks (this was my only problem with the Ocean Salt from Lush) but this one has just left me with skin that almost seems to have a sheen and is so, soo smooth.

It feels so luxurious to use too, the consistency of the product is thick. You sure get plenty of scrub for your money but there is nothing abrasive or harsh about it. You can smell the lovely sweet lime and sugar (as I might have mentioned . . .) but the almond oil really softens the mix and makes it a product easy and 'pleasurable' (is that the right word?!) to apply. You actually forget once it is on your skin, that you are 'scrubbing' and I'm not sure how, but there never seems to be any flaky residue from the scrub in the bath or shower afterwards. Once on the skin, the 'scrub' almost seems to become a balm that conjures up the results of a darn good exfoliation.

Yep, I have to admit, I always follow with a body moisturiser. Usually, that is The Daily Smooth and this may well, help to soften the skin and yield such good results but I still maintain there is something different about this particular scrub because normally when I scrub, I always moisturise (often with The Deep Smooth) and yet, I'm not sure I've ever been this impressed by a scrub before.
Note: I must admit the bargain that is the Pink Cow Coconut Creme feels good to use but it only seems to rejuvenate the skin over time. Also the N-Spa Hot Butter Body Fudge brightened the colder evenings last year. Yet, there just seems to be something more to Sugar Crush and I'd happily pay a few pounds more to have this one in my bathroom.

I've got to say that a little goes far with Sugar Crush. We all know that I overuse the products that I like and you'll find no exception here. Soap and Glory suggest using this scrub twice maybe three or four times a week (if you're blessed with lizard limbs) but yes, little old me uses it every time I shower or bath and then I use two or three applications each time - I like to let the second one sink in to my skin before rinsing off, I think the scent lasts longer that way -yet despite me hoovering it up over the last two weeks, I still have at least a third of a tub left of this gorgeous scrub. Since a tub is only £8 (and it works) and I'm probably using four times too much, that seems darn good value!

Other things I'm loving at the moment, the etcs:

- Solange Knowles new music video, 'Losing You'. The song is kind of sad and yet the video is quite upbeat and not what I was expecting. So much fun, I want to visit this little community.

- Running, I'm sure there will be posts galore to come but . . . I've signed up to do the London Marathon next year with a very special charity. I'm gonna do it, I'm just not sure how yet!!! Any running tips, motivation welcome!

- These coats that I saw advertised in Vogue last month, they are from Gerard Darel.

I think this is one of them (How I wish I was tall and rich!). Oh and look, somehow, I stumbled across the Sheepskin Biker here. :)

- Oh and a bit more music, love, love, LOVE this.

- And the blogging community, I actually joined in with the #bbloggers twitter chat last night and everybody was so nice. I have found some wonderful new blogs to follow and met (in that online way) some lovely peeps, I wish I'd joined in sooner. Pretty sure I'll be making the #bbloggers chat a date on Sunday evenings, when I'm not working, now.

 

Have you used Sugar Crush, what do you think? Are you a big fan of Soap and Glory? Have you found your perfect winter coat yet? If so, link me!
 

X

Treats!

This post starts with a tee shirt so has the potential to be quite boring but lets face it, this is not any old tee shirt.

1/ Just in case you didn't notice (!), this tee shirt is full of sparkle and therefore, can add that little bit more to any old outfit from a pair of jeans to a maxi skirt. Also, as soon as you slip this sequined number over your head, bam, you're 'in fashion'!

2/ Unlike many fashionable pieces, this garment is easy and comfortable to wear. I have really struggled to find a sequined number for my wardrobe. I found a lot of the high street stores were selling very heavily sequined vests. When I tried these on, the thin little straps seemed useless under the weight of the sequins, giving very little support and the top would quickly lose all of its shape. This one keeps a flattering form when you put it on. The tee shirt form is obviously a factor here but equally important, is the fact that this tee shirt is not covered in back to back sequins. Although, there are probably hundreds on the top, you can see, when the top is hanging, gaps between the sequins. They are kind of sewn on in a spiral trail and the size of the sequins varies. This looks a little bit strange on the hanger (and did put me a little on the defensive!) but once on, the gaps are not as conspicuous and effortlessly become part of the design. This helps to lighten the load a little but I also love the fact that only the front of the top is sequinned. The surprise factor as you turn and what looks like a decent but bog standard black tee turns in to a full on sparkle fest (lightweight style) is genius!

3/ Finally, I have to mention that this top is not too expensive compared to many similar numbers that I have seen on the high street. This find is from Quiz, a shop that, over the last month or so, has really surprised me with a few gems. Remember the metallic tops?

The cropped jacket that I've paired it with here is the Top Shop cropped one that Laura has featured a few times. I've always regretted not grabbing this one when she first posted it but it was summer and like most of my wardrobe, black again. It was also quite expensive so I made that age old silly decision to think about it. Of course, once I made my decision, my size was sold out online and I trawled a few stores with no luck. I looked for similar versions in New Look et al but none of them had all the little details of this one, collarless, cropped, a satin trim. In short, this one is about as exciting as a jacket can get!

Reluctantly I was considering putting the newer Top Shop faux leather offering ( It has the same lovely shape but with a collar and a faux leather trim) on my Christmas wish list when I wandered aimlessly in to my local Top Shop (tiny!) and something caught my eye on the back of a rack. My dream jacket with the satin trim and yes, they were in my two Top Shop size possibilities. Yay! When one fitted, have no doubt, I was at the till point handing over my card just like that. I couldn't believe my luck, still can't! I'm sure within a couple of weeks, this lovely little jacket would have earned its price tag twice over.

This post ends with a treat (yes, I know, another one but it is nearly Christmas). Broken umbrellas, practically gale force winds and paddling through puddles everywhere has slowly got to me this last week and my visions of a romantic English winter (not sure where such cinematic ideas came from, I've lived through the reality enough times) with pretty little snowflakes falling and an air just chilly enough to justify that new super cute, cosy coat purchase have all been dispelled. Now obviously I know on a worldwide scale, I'm very lucky with the weather. I haven't lost my home, I have water and all of these things that I take for granted but miserable weather still has the potential to make you feel a bit blah. What can I say, it's biology, psychology or something. However, the Hot Butter Fudge Sugar Body Polish from N-Spa has really brightened my evenings a little. It has enough chunky flakes to really smooth the skin but there is also just the right amount of jelly mixed in to soften the exfoliation and keep everything gentle. Now, I'm not always a big fan of food scents (particularly fruity ones) but this hot butter fudge offering is divine. It is so warming and soothing. I can not recommend this one enough especially since, I brought it in Asda for just four pounds.

Oh and did I say this post was ending?! Well, not without a little boast. I can now (and have ran several times, thanks to the Get Running App) run solidly for 25 minutes straight. Not much but I am so ridiculously proud of myself and have to play Drake and Nicki Minaji, Make Me Proud on the way home. This performance is so frigging adorable.

I hope you're all doing ok. A big hello *waves, jumping up and down* to my new followers and commenters. Just a few more until we hit the GFC 50 followers (so go follow now) and then there will be a giveaway and eek, I think, I know what I want the giveaway prize to be ; )

What sequined tops are you flaunting? What beauty treats can you recommend to brighten the mood a little?

X

Skirts and sparklers!

Times are changing for I wore a skirt last night and it wasn't the pencil one! I was just browsing in Next (I thought, I would be safe, I haven't brought any clothes there for a longgg time . . .) when I came across two beautiful skirts.

 I'm so pleased with them and swapped my jeans last night for the navy one (pictured above) and some thick black tights. It worked a treat with my sparkly cardi and the Topshop blue vest (see last post).

This black skirt is a midi one but looks like a maxi on me and I felt very glam, swishing around in it, when I got back to my flat. I'm quite proud as I always thought long skirts would swamp me but it is actually quite flattering. The block of black might actually make my legs look slightly longer!

Fireworks

Yay, firework night was no washout. I had a lovely evening with my family. My parents had a little shindig. Sparklers, rockets and jacket potatoes. . , in my opinion, the best way to spend bonfire night. My little nephew is four now and seems at the perfect age to embrace it all. He was so excited at first, shouting that one was 'cool' and 'another one please'. Though by the end, he was a little blase and fireworks were so last year. In fact, after the last firework went off, he decided Christmas was almost here and that was to be the important business of the night. I think, the Argos book even came out!

Running

 I've also had a go at the Get Running App that Laura  (she is doing a giveaway for ten winners to get a free one. It ends today so be quick if you want a shot!) blogged about earlier in the week. The app is great but the run was a bit of a disaster! As I'm usually more comfortable on a treadmill, I decided to go out of town to do my run so that nobody could see me. The problem being that every time the lady said, 'Start running again now', it was just as the footpath met some steep bank or scrambled trees. So I'm not sure how much running I actually did but I decided as long as I was moving, I was doing something. However, the terrain was not the only factor that I hadn't planned for. I also lost my car keys somewhere along the line and then I lost the footpath and could see it would be dark soon.

Luckily (reclaimed keys in hand), I found my car (the last one left) in the car park just as the sun was setting. Looking on the bright side, it meant I got to catch some gorgeous views on my phone.

All in all, what with the shopping, scenery and sparklers, yesterday was almost the perfect Saturday. Did you have a good bonfire night? What do you do to keep fit? Oh and any skirt recommendations as they might just be my new obsession?!!

X