Lush Tea Tree Water

Recently I picked up Grease Lightning from Lush to try to rid myself of a rather large spot that had appeared on my chin. I am lucky enough to get very few blemishes on my face, as a general rule, however my chest is a whole other story. 

After about two days of applying this morning and night my spot was completely gone and I decided that I should try using it on my chest. I quickly realised that this wasn't going to work too well as Grease Lightning comes out in 'blobs' of gel formula that works really well on individual blemishes however is a little tricky to apply all over, as is necessary on my chest.

In comes the Lush Tea Tree Water, a toner containing only tea tree water (as the name would suggest), grapefruit water and Juniperberry water. This comes in two sizes and I picked up the smaller, 100g bottle for just $10. Boy, am I glad I did. This little bottle has helped so much to clear my skin. I wouldn't say I am completely blemish free but after three weeks of use, twice a day, my blemishes have reduced to well over a quarter of what they were before. 

I am absolutely besotted with this toner and would recommend it to anyone. It works quickly and effectively, does what it says on the tin and is vegan! What more can you ask for, really?

xx Gemma

Lumos

An illuminating Harry Potter tag. (Yes that was indeed a Harry Potter pun).

1. What is your favourite book?
The first question and already I can't decide! I think probably Prisoner of Azkaban or Order of the Phoenix (but I also really Halfblood Prince and Deathly Hallows).

2. What is your favourite film?
I do enjoy Prisoner of Azkaban and I love Deathly Hallows part 2 as it holds fond memories of going to the midnight premier (I was too young to go to all the others!)

3. What is your least favourite book?
My least favourite book would have to be Goblet of Fire. I was really scared the first time I read it and can't seem to shake my hesitancy towards it.

4. What is your least favourite film?
Again I would have to say Goblet of Fire. I enjoyed the storyline of the fourth so I have no idea why I dislike both the movie and book so much but that's just the way it is I suppose! I also am not a massive fan of the Halfblood Prince movie as I think a little too much artistic licence was taken with here and it deviates too much from the storyline of the book (burning down the Borrow was definitely not in the book and, as the Borrow appeared in the next movie, completely unnecessary in my opinion).

5. Which parts of the books/films made you cry?
I don't think I have ever full on sobbed in Harry Potter but I may or may not seem to get something stuck in my eye when Fred, Sirius, Remus and Tonks die.

6. If you could hook up with any character who would it be?
Dean Thomas definitely. Although having said that almost all of the Potter cast had incredible transformations and are incredibly attractive so...

7. Who is your favourite character?
Luna or Ginny. Both are such strong women, in quite different ways, and it makes me so happy that they were/(are?) friends.
Edit: Narcissa Malfoy is also incredibly kickarse and I do have a very large soft spot for her.

8. Who is your least favourite character?
I must no tell lies so I have to say Umbridge. Most Harry Potter characters have at least one redeeming quality (or at least a good back story as to why they don't) however Umbridge is not one of them.

9. What is your least favourite line?
"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?" - Albus Dumbledore
 or 
"You're not going mad. I can see them too. You're just as sane as I am." - Luna Lovegood (after being introduced as a very odd/slightly mad girl because it was really not a comforting thought to Harry).

10. What would your patronus be?
I think probably a cat however if I was living in the world of Harry Potter I am sure there would be many magical creatures that I would identify even better with.

11. If you could have the invisibility cloak, resurrection stone or elder wand, which would you choose?
I would choose the invisibility cloak as the stone could not fully bring people back from the dead and the elder wand just creates trouble. Also who wouldn't want to be able to turn invisible?!

12. What house would you be in?
I think the Hogwarts houses represent personality traits that everyone has a bit of so you could argue any house really (although I really struggle to see myself as a Gryffindor) however on Pottermore I am a Hufflepuff and I think this is fairly accurate.

13. If you could meet any member of the cast who would it be?
I think it would have to be Evanna Lynch (can you tell I have a bit of a crush on Luna Lovegood?) because she seems like the least 'famous' of all of the HP cast and I think we would get along really well (and really what's the point of meeting a cast member if I cant become best friends with them!)

14. If you were on the quidditch team, what position would you play?
This is tricky because I play so little sport that I cant relate it to anything. Having said that I did use to play netball so I might be an alright chaser. I think I would probably enjoy being a beater as it would release a lot of pent up frustration haha.

15. Were you happy with the ending?
That depends. I really love the ending of the books in that Voldemort dies in a very human way but the ending of the movie I didn't like. I thought they changed it quite a lot from the ending of the book (although I enjoyed all of the Deathly Hallows part 2 aside from how Voldemort dies) and having him burst into little pieces of paper, or whatever that was meant to be, wasn't very symbolic of the whole 'no matter how much power you hold in life, all die equally' thing that the book represented so well. Maybe I just analyse Harry Potter too much.

16. How much does Harry Potter mean to you?
This is such an odd question because surely anyone who does a Harry Potter tag would answer with something along the lines of 'a lot/heaps etc'.
Harry Potter is my go to series if I have had a bad day and I need cheering up or even if I just have nothing new to read. It has shaped so much of my primary school life and I am eternally grateful to J K Rowling for the amazing world and characters she has introduced me to.

This was a slightly nerdy post today for which I apologise, hopefully you all love Harry Potter enough that you are able to forgive me, but when I saw this tag I immediately knew it was something I had to do.

xx Gemma

The Wickedest Witch There Ever Was...

Last Thursday my sister, Kate, went to see the musical Wicked and came home insisting that I see it. This sounded wonderful until I realised that the show finished that Sunday and that I had three days left if I wanted to see it. I didn't want to go by myself (as I like to share my enjoyment of musical theatre with others) so Kate said she would go see it again with me (that's how badly she wanted me to see it, the dear).

We had a quick bite to eat at a lovely little Indian restaurant in the city (which was both super cheap and really delicious) before heading off to the show.

It was incredible! I thought it was quite different from the 'stereotypical' musical sound (it wasn't the same sound as Mamma Mia and definitely not like Les Miserable at all) but the music was amazing and the storyline had me laughing and hanging off the edge of my seat. For the past week me and Kate have had the soundtrack playing whilst we wash the dishes and I have been singing all the songs non stop. And if I happen to now follow most of the cast one Instagram well, no one needs to know.

It was such a brilliant show, I am so happy that I got to see it before it closed and would recommend it to anyone who has the chance to see it!

xx Gemma

Clinique Clarifying Lotion

Clinique Clarifying Lotion

I realise that my previous post about the Clinique CC cream was a fairly negative one so I thought I should combat that with a much more positive clinique review.

When I bought my clinique CC cream I saw the 3 Step Skincare range (i think that's what its called but I'm not 100% sure on the actual wording) and, as I didn't have any kind of skincare routine at the time, I thought I should give it a go. Although I own all three of the 'steps' today I am just reviewing the Clarifying Lotion as it is my favourite out of the three.

As I have mentioned before my skin is quite dry and dehydrated and when I put this toner on I can feel my skin getting softer. My skin absolutely loves this stuff and just drinks it up. I apply it morning and night and can definitely see an improvement in my skin (although I'm sure that using the moisturiser also aids this). 

I have nearly used up all of this bottle (although it has lasted me an impressive six months of use twice a day) and already have it placed on my list of things to buy. I am in love.

Have you tried Clinique's clarifying lotion? What did you think?

xx Gemma