Summer Favourites!

Hi there lovely people! How are you today?

Given that I was out at the beginning of August I didn't do a July Favourites, so I'll try to fit them all into a Summer Favourites post! I'll try to narrow it down because otherwise it will get too long!

-Herbalism face cleanser from LUSH
I wrote a review on this product and I'm seriously in love with it. It's really hard for me to keep a routine, to be honest, and since I started using this cleanser I've noticed a change so big that it has motivated me to use a cleanser, toner and moisturiser every morning and evening on my face (which I have NEVER managed to do.) It's even more perfect now that it's really hot (honestly, how are we at 35ºC on September?) and my face gets oily really quickly. I really, really recommend it!

-Evolu Protective Day Cream SPF15
Another part of my daily routine and I absolutely love it! I've talked about this one as well because it's the face cream I received from Rosie for her giveaway. A little goes a long way and it doesn't leave your skin feeling greasy at all! I use both these products along with the LUSH Tea Tree Water toner and my face looks honestly better than ever.

-Bonté Spring Water body mist
Refreshing, affordable, long-lasting... there's nothing to complain about. I have to go to the store to find a new scent when Autumn comes!

-Bonté Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover
I always had trouble with taking away my mascara with Bonté's Cleansing Milk and I honestly found the solution with this product. My mascara goes away SO quickly and it doesn't hurt my eyes at all!

-Essence Lash Princess volume mascara 
Loving Essence as much as I do, it was about time I bought this mascara, which is pretty much everyone's favourite from Essence. The brush is a little weird and at the beginning I didn't use it well so it didn't work that much, but when I got the hang of it looked great on me and left my lashes with a lot more volume. Also... the packaging is stunning!


-Essence All About Matt! Oil Control Paper
As I said, it has been a really hot Summer, and these have helped a lot when my face was feeling too oily and I was wearing makeup. You only have to pat them on your face and they absorbe the excess oil without messing up your makeup!

-All The Bright Places, by Jennifer Niven
I have read a good amount of books this Summer, and this one definitely stands out from the others. As someone who's dealt with mental illness for many years, I can say this is one of the best pictures of teenage depression I've found in a book. I strongly recommend it to everybody and I can't be grateful enough for Zoella to have recommended it!

-Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
I love me some Jane Austen and, funnily enough, I hadn't read her most famous work in the original version. It's still tricky to read a 200-year-old non-native language, but I've managed way better than I did when I read Emma last January! There's definitely a reason these books keep being published and printed and they have an undeniable quality.

-Sara Bareilles (especially her musical, Waitress) 
I've gotten into her music a lot recently, and it's weird because Gravity is one of my favourite songs and still I hadn't heard more music from hers! I discovered Waitress some months ago and I loved it the first listen (you NEED to listen to She Used To Be Mine, it's brilliant). Recently I've been listening to it non-stop! She has such a gift and the concert she did, which is fully uploaded on youtube, is the funniest one I've ever seen.


That's it! I hope you have a lovely day and your September isn't too tough!

A big big hug,


Acqua

Day In The Life: My Holidays in Italy!

Hi guys! I know I owe you an apology... On the 19th, I was about to save all my pictures on my laptop, choose my favourites and share them with you here and... well, to sum up, I messed up and deleted them all. I haven't been able to recover them, and I had only saved pictures from the 13th, 14th and 15th. Imagine how desperate I got... I was obsessed with those pictures and they were gone in a second. I couldn't bring myself to write a blog post until now.

I posted a few on Instagram, so those were easily recovered and I can do a full post. Without any further ado, here's how my trip to Italy went down!


Day 1: 13th of August

We packed up the car and left my house at 2 AM as we always do, my dad drives and the rest of us sleep. We drove all night long and stopped at the last service station in France, from which we could see Monaco! We had breakfast and jumped at the car again, and drove non-stop until we got to our first stop: Pisa! Here's a selection of pictures I took there:

Pisa is such a great place to visit on your way to someplace else! Everything is concentrated and you can park, see it and leave in just a couple of hours. We had lunch there as well, and we visted the Cathedral and the Baptisterium (and took our pictures with the leaning tower, of course!)

Then, we kept on driving until we got to the Umbria region, where we were to stay on the follwig days. We got there at night, had dinner and organised everything for the following week.


Day 2: 14th of August

Tired of our trip, we woke up late, had breakfast and went to the commercial center right next to our village, which had a huge supermarket where we could buy everything we needed. Imagine my delight when we walked in and BOOM! LUSH store right there! Who would've thought I'd find one in such a small village? I was running out of LUSH products and didn't know when I'd go back to Barcelona to buy more, so it was heaven-sent. We went into the supermarket and second surprise:

Of course, I bought it and read it in a day. In the afternoon, we went to Santa Maria degli Angeli, a church situated in Assisi's feet. Inside, there is the Porziuncola, a small chapel where St Francis of Assisi used to go. They built a huge cathedral over it because why not hahaha

I couldn't take pictures of the inside, but it was stunning!

Then, we headed to Assisi, which was our main destination for the trip, to walk around a little bit and saw the top of the city. It was BEAUTIFUL. It still has an awesome medieval feel about it, with its streets and houses. I absolutely loved it.

St Francis Basilique from our car

San Rufino

Assisi at sunset

Then, we headed back to Santa Maria degli Angeli, where they burn the prayers that people leave over the whole year on that day (total coincidence, we didn't plan it!) It was beautiful!

Day 3: 15th of August

MY BIRTHDAY WHOOP WHOOP! We jumped on the car and went North to get a taste of the Tuscany region. We visited Volterra, San Gimignano and Siena, and then went back to where we were staying.

Cathedral of Volterra

Streets of Volterra

Volterra

Siena

Cathedral of Siena

Streets of Siena

 

San Domenico, in Siena

Day 4: 16th of August

We went to Eremo degli Carceri, a beautiful walk through the mountains where Saint Francis used to retire. There was a small chapel and some small caves. In the afternoon, we met a friend of my mum's from the area and visited the rest of Assisi, including Santa Chiara and the Basilique of San Francesco.

San Francesco

Day 5: 17th of August

We jumped into the car again and went to visit Orvieto, a beautiful place which has an underground city, a lot of caves dug by humans since the VIIth Century b.c.! It was a very cool visit. Then we went to Todi, another city with a beautiful view over the countryside.

Details from the Cathedral of Orvieto

Day 6: 18th of August

Given that it was our last day in the Umbria region, we went to San Damiano and La Rocca, a fortress situated on top of Assisi which was ABSOLUTELY STUNNING. You could see the whole area from there, and there were still parts from the XIIIth Century standing. You could perfectly imagine people from the Medieval times walking around. These pictures are the ones I dread deleting the most... they were absolutely beautiful!

 Also, that's the day I went to LUSH to get my self-gift for my birthday! It was confusing because the names were different hahaha Here's what I bought:
- The Comforter bubble bath
- The Experimenter bath bomb
- Yoga Bomb bath bomb
- Lava Lamp bath bomb
- Herbalism face cleanser
- Outback Mate solid soap
- Sympathy For The Skin body cream (sample)


Days 7, 8, 9 and 10: 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd of August

We jumped on the car and went to another region, the Piamonte. We have some friends there whom we visit very often and always have a place for us to stay. They're the reason I learned Italian! It's a beautiful, beautiful area full of vineyards and fields and mountains. We finally took a rest as we had spent the last days going up and down and hadn't slowed down a moment. On the 22nd, we woke up, packed up and went back home.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Good luck to all those who are going back to school and I'll see you next week!

A big big hug,


Acqua

What I'm Bringing On Holidays!

Good morning everybody! This time tomorrow I'll probably be in Italy already, and that's soooo exciting! We're jumping on the car tonight to travel to the Umbria region in the North of Italy (and hopefully we'll visit as much Tuscany as we can too!) We're staying near Assisi and we'll stay there for over a week (I'll have wifi though, so I plan on writing posts anyway, expect loads of pictures!)

I've never done a post like this one, so I thought I could try it out! I'm going to show you all the beauty-hygiene products I'm taking with me for my trip. There are a lot, so let's go!

BAG NUMBER 1: Hygiene / bathroom products

(From left to right - I forgot the hair brush and hairbands and everything!)

-GingiLacer toothpaste: the best thing I've found for my gum problems! (I always bleed when brushing my teeth)
-Extra Soft Toothbrush: same reason, stronger ones don't help!
-Bonté Purifying Attack: you apply it on any spot you might have and it dries out overnight.
-LUSH Tea Tree Water Tonic: I had this in a favourites post and I absolutely love it! You just spray it and you're ready to go.
-Evolu Protective Day Cream SPF15: I won Rosie's giveaway and this was one of the prizes! I received it a couple of days ago and I'm already obsessed with it. I'm so sad this is only in New Zealand! And New Zealand is... well, literally on the other side of the world. The antipodes of where I live ^^'
-Bonté Professional Satin Liss Hair Mask: Bonté's hair masks are some of my favourite products in the world. I haven't used conditioner any more since I found them! Right now I'm loving the Satin Liss one, but the Keratin&Argan one and the Repair&Protect one are great as well.
-Pantene Repair and Protect Shampoo: I'm a big fan of Pantene's shampoos and I'm always switching from this one to the AquaLight one.
-Bonté Romantic Orchid Body Cream: You apply it after a shower and it leaves your skin feeling really smooth.
-Avène Cleansing Gel: my Herbalism cleanser sample has run out. NIGHTMARES! Instead I'm using this one, which to be honest, is very good as well. It's soap-free and directed to oily skin.
-Lactovit Shower Gel (not on the picture): I forgot, okay, over it.
-Bonté Sun Spray SPF20: I don't need a high SPF because my skin doesn't burn easily, and I always use transparent sprays because my skin is too greasy for the creams. I'm not bringing Aftersun so let's hope this one works!
-Bonté Spring Water Body Mist: refreshing, smells great, affordable, LOVE IT.
-Bonté Fresh Watermelon Hand Cream: it has argan oil and it's the perfect size to carry around. I always have one in my bag!


BAG NUMBER 2 (makeup)

I'm not bringing a lot of makeup as I don't think I'm going to wear it too much. You know I'm an Essence girl, so I'm mainly bringing my favourite Essence products!

-All About Bronze Eyeshadow Palette: shiny, gold, everything I might need on holidays!
-Multi Use Eyeshadow Brush: it has an angled brush, a crease brush and a sponge, so it's really useful if you don't want to carry everything around!
-All Eyes On Me Waterproof Mascara: my favourite mascara: it just adds a little volume and blackness so it still looks natural, it lasts all day long... I love it!
-LongLasting Eye Pencil in the shade 01 Black Fever: my go-to black eye pencil.
-Kajal Pencil in the shade 21 Feel The Eclipse: it has a really pretty blue undertone that I love. It doesn't stay defined, but the slight blurriness gives you a softer, pretty look anyway!
-Bonté Cleansing Milk: it's very moisturising and takes away my makeup very easily.
-Primark Beauty Sponge: not the best beauty sponge in the world but hey, it cost me 1€ and it does its job!
-Coverstick Concealer in the shade 04 True Nude: now that I'm more tanned it doesn't match as well as it used to, but it works great to conceal any imperfections and undereye bags.
-All About Matt! Oil Control Paper: this. Is. Great! When your skin is feeling too oily or sweaty, you just pat it on your face and it takes away all the excess oil! This way your makeup doesn't fade away as you rub the oil.
-XXXL Longlasting Lipgloss (Velvet Matt) in the shade 06 Soft Nude: it looked better when I had less of a tan, but it still looks lovely and surprise! I've found out it works magically to put under your lipliner if you want to use it to fill your lips. I was really shocked hahaha It makes it feel smoother and more moisturising!
-Longlasting Lipstick in the shade 06 Barely There!: this has quickly become my favourite lipstick. It's a stunning dark nude and it's perfect for every occasion.
-Lipliner in the shade 07 Cute Pink: I own 3 Essence lipliners and I can truly say I think they are Essence's best products. I think they cost €1.29 which should be illegal, and I absolutely love them. This shade is my favourite, but I own 15 Honey Berry and 12 Wish Me A Rose and they're great as well!
-XXXL Nude Lipgloss: I've said this is my favourite lipgloss before and I stand by it. Moisturising, looks cute, feels good, lasts a fair amount of time... love it!
-Liquid Lipstick in the shade 06 Make A Statement: I love it, it looks good on me but I still haven't had the courage to wear it outside my house! I tend to go for nude shades and it's quite scary to be honest, but maybe it's time!
-Rimmel London Keep Calm And Kiss Lip Balm: it's very moisturising and it has a really pretty pink undertone. I wear it all the time!

Wow, that was quite a long post! I hope you're not too bored by now and you've found new products you might want to try out. Have you tried any of the ones I mentioned? Let me know!

I'll keep on packing everything! Have a great week, I sure will ^^

A big big hug,


Acqua

Herbalism Review (LUSH)

Hi guys!

When I went to LUSH last month I was given two free samples of their products, and one of them is the face cleanser Herbalism. For some reason I hadn't used it until recently, and I thought I could review it!

First of all, the product itself. It's a kind of green powder that you put in your hand and pour just a little water into. Then, it becomes more fluid and you can apply it to your face. You only need a tiny bit (I was given a small pot for the sample, I've used it for a week AND I STILL HAVE SOME LEFT!) and you can cleanse your whole face. You can also leave it for some more minutes and use it as a face mask.

The product itself is unlike anything I've seen before, and I like it even though I applied either too much or too little water at the beginning so it didn't work as well. It takes some practice to get used to it, but once you get it it becomes very simple. It goes away from your face very easily as well.

You can feel the change even after the first time you put it on (I would add specially the first time you put it on). I find it works better if you wear it on your face for three or four minutes at least, and it leaves your skin feeling like a baby's behind. I don't think my skin has ever felt this soft! It has taken away spots I had, and every time a new one appeared, it would dry out in a couple of days. It does a really good job with helping your pores to breathe, and that's something I'm really thankful for in this hot Summer (it's over 30ºC every day, help me.)

As you can see, I'm verrrry impressed with this product. I don't have acne, only some spots here and there, so I can't tell you if it helps with that, but maybe someone can share their experience on the comments! It did a very good job with my greasy skin and I can feel some traces from old spots I managed badly starting to fade away, which is something I NEVER thought would happen!

Now, the price. When I went to the LUSH store, I thought "there is no way I'm buying this when I come back, it's way too expensive!" but I might change my mind. Yes, it is pricey, but it's handmade and, most importantly, it lasts for ages. I think the whole pot would last for maybe 3 months and it costs a little under 10€, so I'm fine with it.

Overall, I find it's a really good product and, honestly, it adds to the list of items I've tried from LUSH and I loved (which is every single one.)

Have you tried this cleanser or any other cleanser from LUSH? Let me know your recommendations in the comments!

A big big hug,


Acqua

A French Kiss Bubble Bath Review | LUSH

Hello everybody! As you know, I went to Lush some days ago and I've been trying out some of their products, so I wanted to share my thoughts with you!

Lavender is one of my favourite scents ever, so I was really excited to try out the A French Kiss bubble bath. The main ingredients are lavender, rosemary, thyme oil and coconut oil.

The first thing you notice is the smell, as it is very strong. But on the moment you start melting it under running water, it becomes natural, more delicate and less overwhelming, and it fills your bathroom with the nicest scent ever (which, as a bonus, lasts for a whole day). It doesn't stay on your skin for a long time, but it does leave you smelling fresh.

When it comes to the bubbles, I was really impressed! It's true that I had never had a bubble bath before so I don't have a lot to compare it with, but I melted half of the product and almost my whole bath was covered. What I should have done and will do the next time is break a piece off the product and melt it, because I put the whole thing and then the humidity of the bath didn't help for the rest to stay solid and ready for the next time I use it.
 

Sorry it's blurry, I was really worried about my phone falling in the water!

Apart from the bubbles, it left a pinky-purply undertone to my bath which was really nice. The oils really do their work, because they left my skin SO immensely soft, I was quite impressed by that. I left my bath feeling relaxed and full of energy at the same time. Moreso, I always have problems because I breathe too quickly (my singing teacher always scolds me because of that) and I swear I left the bath breathing slowly and inhaling and exhaling looooong breaths.

The only downside it had is that I find it quite expensive for the amount of product you get. It cost me €5.95, and in pounds it's 4.25. I think that for just two baths, it's too much. Having said that, I think I'll repurchase it because it worked wonders on my skin and left me feeling immensely relaxed, it's been my favourite product from LUSH out of the ones I've tried so far!

Have you tried this bubble bath? Let me know what you thought in the comments!

And by the way, I finally have my blog twitter account! You can subscribe here so we can interact over there ^^ See you!

A big big hug,


Acqua

HAUL | Primark, LUSH, Claire's

Hi there!

I want to start today's post apologising because I haven't been commenting on your blogs lately >.< I've been very, very busy with my Uni exams and I just wanted to focus on that! But I finished on Wednesday, so I've started to comment on everything I owe and I plan on doing it for the whole weekend! So if I haven't commented on your blog yet, I'm sorry, but I'm going to soon!

Wednesday finishing my exams also meant something else... I have the tradition that, on the day after my last exam, I go shopping on Barcelona because I deserve it hahaha I didn't buy much this time, but I still wanted to do a haul :) And it's my first haul, so I'm really excited!

Claire's

The first place I went to was Claire's, because I have a singing show on Monday and my singing teacher asked me to wear a flower crown, so I went and picked one up. I wanted to pick one I would actually wear on a daily basis, so I chose this one with the delicate pink and white flowers which I thought was really cute! I also picked up some hair bands and scrunchies, because you can never have too many!


Primark

This is usually where I spend most of my money, but I was saving for Lush so I didn't buy a lot this time! I just picked up a t-shirt (this kind of t-shirts with a little pocket are my favourites, I own some in different colours!) and some black shorts. I also picked up two t-shirts for my mum, a blender sponge, some white socks and a couple pairs of tights.


Lush

This is where I wanted to go all along! Let me say first, thank you all for the recommendation. Some of you have been telling me to go for ages and omg... I wish I had gone there before! It smells amazing, and the girls who worked in there were the NICEST PEOPLE EVER. I'm not kidding. When I go shopping on Barcelona I'm used to being ignored, but they just came to help but weren't too pushy about it, because some times you feel a lot of pressure when that happens! They just gave me a cute basket to put my items in and let me know they were there in case I needed any help. After having picked what I wanted to buy, they also asked me about my skin and gave me a couple of free samples of what they thought would be good for me! I was really happy and can't wait to try everything out!

Anyways, I'm rambling, so here's a list of what I bought!

- Butterball bath bomb
- Dragon's Egg bath bomb
- Think Pink bath bomb
- A French Kiss bubble bath
- Tea Tree Water liquid tonic
- SAMPLE Herbalism face & body cleaner
- SAMPLE Rub Rub Rub exfoliant shower gel


FNAC

FNAC is a place with electronic products and books and music and geeky stuff and I just love it. I went because my little sister is reaaaaally obsessed with the Falling Kingdoms saga by Morgan Rhodes, and the fourth book has just been published in Spain and she asked me to buy it. I also picked up Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, which I've been wanting to read for a while. One of my resolutions is to read more classic English literature in English, because if I want to translate books from English as my future job it's something I need to do :) And I'm quite enjoying it, although it's a bit hard not being a native speaker!

I actually went to The Body Shop after that, but I didn't find anything I especially liked (I tried on samples of their new Piña Colada range, but even though they were quite hidrating, I don't like pineapple so I didn't like the smell hahaha). I was also running out of time, so I left to get to the train.

This was my morning in Barcelona! I had such a fun time there :) Expect reviews for the Lush products soon! I've actually tried a couple already, so maybe on Monday?

I hope you enjoyed this post and see you on Monday!

A big big hug,


Acqua