♡ iyastevie ♡: August 2017

♥ August Favorites

The month of August has dragged for me. I think it's because myself and Reece booked to go to London at the beginning of September and he's coming over here on the 31st, so naturally the month takes longer to end when you're really looking forward to something! This has also been a long month as I have been putting plenty of hours in at work, I don't think I've finished before 5pm, which is one hell of a long day! But the month of August is nearly over and I would like to share with you all some products that I have been enjoying this month!

Pictured - One Eskimo bubble bar

When this a photo of this bubble bar was shared over the internet, I think everybody wanted to get their hands on it, especially when the scent information was released and we all learnt that this bubble bar smelt just like Christingle! I think everybody was a little disappointed when it was released only to specific stores and we can't even purchase One Eskimo online. Luckily, I have a very lovely friend Jess, who I met on Instagram (@snapsoflush) very kindly asked me if I wanted any picked up as she was visiting Oxford Street. I nearly bit her hand off! I thought I was going to have to wait until September to get myself a couple, I couldn't wait to try this out! One Eskimo is a chunky bubble bar! You are definitely getting your moneys worth with this one. The scent is just like I imagined, a sweet mint scent that is super cooling in the bath. This bubble bar would make a beautiful combination with Intergalactic and Christingle, to cool you down on a hot summer night! I believe this bubble bar can be purchased at Oxford Street and all stores that have music playing in them. If you can get your hands on one, I would really recommend giving it a go!

Pictured - Bates Motel

(Photo Credit: Google Images)

Ever since Pretty Little Liars has finished, I haven't found another TV show that I've become really interested in. I was browsing through Netflix the other day and thought I'd take a look and see if there was anything I liked the sound of. I'd heard quite a few things about Bates Motel, and even though I've never actually seen the film Psycho, which this show is based off, I knew I'd be able to follow the story without the information of the film as the show is like a prequel, to explain how Norman Bates came to be the way he is. If I'm not interested in a show within the first five minutes, I'll leave it and I won't come back to it. With Bates Motel, I was hooked in the first 30 seconds and I've now watched the first two seasons in two days (embarrassing!) Bates Motel follows a young boy called Norman who moves to a small town with his mother. Norman has a strange relationship with his mother and the show shows you how she has gotten inside his head and is able to control how he feels and what he does, as if he has a split personality and she is a part of him. I'm not going to say too much, but I like how there are other story lines apart from how Norman became the way he is in the film. I would highly recommend Bates Motel to anybody who likes Thriller movies, it's really well filmed and the acting is incredible!

Pictured - Zoella Gelat'Eau body spray

I really like to support businesses that I enjoy and one of the things I spend the majority of my free time doing, is catching up on my favourite YouTubers. Whenever a YouTuber releases merch, I feel I'm a bit too old to walk around wearing a Sugg Life t-shirt (although I do have the faces phone case!) One YouTuber who's 'merch' as such, that I can vouch for is Zoe Sugg. Zoe released a beauty range a few years ago and more recently released a life style collection. I have a few pieces from both her beauty line and her lifestyle range. Zoe recently released a new beauty line which carries a fragrance called Jelly and Gelato. I was so excited to smell this collection as Zoe is great at picking scents for her collections. I grabbed myself the 45ml bottle of body mist and I have totally fallen in love with this scent! It's smells like elderflower water, one of my favourite drinks! I will be spritzing myself with this for the rest of the summer and I will probably grab myself some of the other products that carry this scent, like the body wash and body scrub. It smells so fresh as is definitely a great summer scent that stays on your skin for a long time after spraying! This is possibly my favourite Zoella Beauty scent ever!

And that is all! I've been trying to rack my brain of new things that I have really been enjoying this month, but I've honestly not bought a lot recently as I had to pay for London out of this pay. As I'm writing this, it is a week today until the Creative Showcase and I'm super excited! I should hopefully have a blog post up about my experience and haul there soon, so make sure to pop back for that!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post, it is very appreciated! Make sure to follow so you can see the next time I post! ♥ xo

**Disclaimer: All views, opinions and photos are my own - unless otherwise stated.**

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, by iyastevie

♥ Bath Bakes Review!

For a couple of years, when it comes to my bath products I have rarely swayed from anything but LUSH. I use LUSH for everything, my hair, my skincare, my shower products, literally everything! I follow a lot of Lushies on Instagram and some of the lovely people I follow don't restrict themselves as much as I have done and buy from lots of different companies. I like LUSH because I like knowing that the products are handmade, they try to be as natural as they possibly can and not to mention that their products are bloody amazing.

I had been awing over the Bath Bakes products for a long time, as a lovely girl I follow on Instagram, @lushandgiggles, is a huge Bath Bakes fan and after seeing her photos and reading what she had to say about the products, I thought I'd really like them. I was particularly excited about these products because a lot of people have told me they smell good enough to eat, and I can confirm that they do! I made my first purchase last month and it was seriously that good, I made another order this month and grabbed everything I could afford!

My first order contained Vanilla Bean and Fudge De Leche bath creams. I wanted the 'foodie' scented products so I skipped the limited collection for last month as it was very fruity and to be honest, I regretted it as soon as I pressed pay! I waited for my parcel for only a mere few days and I was so pleased when I finally had Bath Bakes products in my life.

Pictured: Vanilla Bean bath cream

Vanilla Bean is very much a light foodie scent with, in my opinion, notes of butterscotch, just like Butterscotch Angels Delight pudding. The consistency is super thick in the tub but it melts into you once you start massaging it into your skin. It's such a soft texture, it feels amazing! After using my bath creams, my skin felt super soft and smelt amazing, with the scent lingering on the skin for a few hours after leaving the bath.

Pictured: Fudge De Leche bath creams

Fudge De Leche smells like creamy vanilla fudge, a gorgeous scent that would pair beautifully with anything from the Yog Nog or Snowcake families from LUSH. I really did have to stop myself dipping a finger in and seeing if it tastes how it smells! As for how the bath creams work, a little goes a really long way. I took a small scoop and it lathered up really nicely, a small bit covering my entire body. The bath creams are also titled as a shaving cream and I agree that this is the perfect consistency to shave your pins. It doesn't clump under the razor and doesn't cause a barrier between the razor and the skin, meaning no stray hairs are left behind.

After how happy I was with my first small order, I knew I had to grab some new items when the next collection launched. I'd had an inkling about the theme, Ice Cream Parlour, due to the teasing images all over the Bath Bakes Instagram account, so I knew I was going to love these products and to prepare myself, I set an alarm for 6pm. I was straight on the website as soon as my iPhone told me it was time, I added everything I could to my basket and checked out as soon as possible to make sure I got my goodies!

Pictured: Mint Choc bath cream

I grabbed another bath cream as I was so happy with my Vanilla Bean and Fudge De Leche tubs, I knew I'd love this product in more scents. I grabbed the Mint Choc bath cream. I love anything that has a minty scent, I love anything mint from LUSH, like Intergalactic and Christingle and my favourite candle ever is Candy Cane Lane from Yankee Candle, so I knew I would love this product. Mint Choc smells just like After Eight mints! It's the perfect combination of sweet mint and chocolate and seriously smells so good I could eat it! This product works just like the other bath creams I have, melting into the skin and lathering beautifully!

Pictured: Strawberry Velvet bath cream

I also grabbed another bath cream as I had looked at the Strawberry Velvet the first time I placed an order but it wasn't available to buy. I love strawberries and everything strawberry scented, I just find that some companies find it quite hard to make a strawberry product and it actually smell like strawberries. I know that LUSH has the Yummy Mummy or Yummy Yummy Yummy scent family, but being 100% honest, it doesn't smell like strawberries does it? Strawberry Velvet on the other hand, really does! It smells, to me, like a strawberry cheesecake, quite a foodie scent but you still have the fresh strawberry aroma coming through. I also love the extra little touch to this tub with the strawberry on top! You can never fault Bath Bakes presentation!

Pictured: Cookies and Cream sugar whip

I love using exfoliating products in the bath and I go through Rub Rub Rub and Scrubee's so quick it's ridiculous. I think there's nothing better than getting out the bath and having silky smooth skin, especially when you've got fresh bedding, ahhh! When I saw that Bath Bakes also made sugar whips, which are intended to enjoy a 'lathering gentle buff,' I was sold! Bath Bakes have a regular line sugar whip called Lavender Anglaise which I have been told is similar to LUSH's Twilight scent family. I planned to purchase a tub but then I saw that as part of the Ice Cream Parlour collection, Bath Bakes had created a Cookies and Cream scented sugar whip and I fell in love with the idea of it. Oh and it did not disappoint! Cookies and Cream smells just like a freshly baked cookie, it smells so god I actually want to eat it. If the ingredients didn't tell me it contained salt, I probably would try it! This works beautifully on the skin, giving you a gentle scrub to work with that it's abrasive as some scrubs can be. It smells delicious and works perfectly!

Pictured: Coconut Mallow body conditioner.

The second to last product that I picked up was the Coconut Mallow body conditioner. I didn't even look at what the product actually was, I saw the two words coconut and mallow and decided that this would smell insanely good and added it to my basket. If you have never used a body conditioner before, you are to use these types of products as you would a hair conditioner. You wash your body and then apply your body conditioner to your damp skin and then rinse, just like a hair conditioner. I find the best pro of using a body conditioner is that you don't need to use a body lotion when you leave the bath as the conditioner has given your body that little extra moisture that you might need. I love this idea as I hate being sticky from applying lotion and I find body conditioners to be a good work around. However, when I feel a little dry, especially on my arms, I will apply body conditioner just like I would a lotion and I can confirm that this works. I have taken a small amount of Coconut Mallow and applied it to my skin, and it works amazingly. The product sunk into my skin super quick so I'm not left with a tacky feeling to my skin, just super silky smooth! This product also smells amazing, it's more of a gentle scent than some of the other products that I have used from Bath Bakes, but I can definitely appreciate the soft coconut scent with a sweet marshmallow fragrance. Coconut Mallow pairs beautifully with every Bath Bakes product I've tried, the scent is so gentle and easy to combo!

Pictured: Rocky Road crumble scrub

And finally, the product I was most excited about, my Rocky Road crumble scrub! This product is heaven in a tub. The scent of Rocky Road is perfect, like my most favourite desert, just like it's name packed with chocolate and biscuit and a little bit of an adult kick with a slight alcohol scent that I can't work out whether it's Rum or Brandy, can you guess I don't drink.. This is thick, so a little bit goes a long way, as it does with all Bath Bakes products! I really regret not buying more of these tubs as I know I'm going to go through this one super quick and as it's limited edition there's no promise that it will be back! This is probably my favourite Bath Bakes product I own! Do you ever get them tiny bumps on the back of your arm? This product will be your life saver! One use of Rocky Road and they're gone! While this crumble scrub gives a more deep exfoliation than he sugar scrubs, it doesn't hurt to use, it doesn't feel like your scraping through your skin, it really is the perfect consistency. I am in love and I need more!

I can't wait to grab some more products from Bath Bakes and for the next collection release to see what products will be available. I think it's really good to support homemade businesses, especially when their products are this good! I applaud anybody who can make products by hand and make them this amazing and beautifully presented. Sara Meg, you deserve a huge hug for how much love you put into your products and creating such delicious scents!

With a good sized collection of products including the bath creams, shower creams, sugar whips and a solid scrub that I've heard can compare to LUSH's much loved Scrubee, I think it's fair to say that if you like LUSH, you'll love Bath Bakes! I've fallen in love with this company and I think this may be my latest addiction..

You can find all these scrumptious products here and you can follow Bath Bakes on Instagram to see sneaky peeks of the newest collections and get updates on releases and restocks at @bathbakelove.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post, it is very appreciated! Make sure to follow so you can see the next time I post! ♥ xo

**Disclaimer: All views, opinions and photos are my own.**

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, by iyastevie

In bath bomb, bath bombs

♥ How I Store My LUSH Collection - Updated!

When you have a lot of LUSH you have to have a dedicated area in which you store it, right? I have changed where and how I store my products a few times now. It started out with my shelf in the bathroom, which my parents soon complained about so I moved it all to my bedroom. I then had a small set of three drawers that kept it all tucked away. They then became too small and I toyed with baskets and boxes but I wanted to store my bath bombs and bubble bars in a dark and dry area out of the sun to make sure they last as long as possible, so I took the plunge and bought furniture specifically for my LUSH! I bought a white ladder shelf which was a complete bargain and a white bathroom sideboard to keep everything in. I will link both pieces of furniture down below if they're still available for you to take a look at if you need something to keep your own stash in!

Starting from the top of my ladder shelf, is the smallest part of my collection, my body lotions, jelly face masks and my regular line solid perfumes. I have eight 240g tubs of body lotion, all apart from two I have purchased within the last couple of months due to the LUSH Kitchen spoiling us Lushies! I think my favourite body lotion is still American Cream although Calacas is a strong contender! I have these on the top shelf as they are the products I reach for the least. I also have all the jelly face masks that were released in the UK recently. I have tried 1000 Millihelens, Just to Clarify and The Birth of Venus so far and I quite like them. I also have two original jelly face masks that were shown at the LUSH Summit. I actually won these in a giveaway from an Instagram user called @lushlover_. The formula has changed since the Summit, hence why it took a while for these to be released so I'm glad I have them in my collection. I also only have 4 solid perfumes from the regular line but I'm hoping to expand my solid perfume collection when the Volume 4 perfumes hit stores, which should be very soon!

The second shelf is probably my favourite as I find it so visually pleasing! Here I have my eight 500g bottles, my body sprays, my small collection of bottled perfumes and my LUSH Kitchen solid perfumes. This shelf holds some of my most precious LUSH items that I own. I have my two American Cream liquid perfumes, which may not smell perfect but I'm still so glad I own them and my 500g bottle of Ponche which was very kindly gifted to me last year by my local LUSH store. Up until last year I didn't own any 500g bottles, but I accidentally picked up Rose Jam and Bubbly in this size and it started a need for more! I currently only own 3 body sprays but I have a feeling we may be getting a new one for Halloween or Christmas this year, so I think this may grow! I think I have a good amount of Kitchen solids and there are only a couple I would love to get my hands on, American Cream of course and Lord of Misrule.

This shelf is home to my shower jellies and miscellaneous large black pots which you can't see in this photo as they're all tucked away at the back! I have a lot of shower jellies as I find them great for a quick shower, being able to use them as both shower gel and shampoo. I also love that you can use these for bubbles, they really are a great innovative product that can be used for so many different uses. I have also recently added my Bath Bakes pots to this shelf as I wanted to show case them and they fit on here perfectly. I have fallen in love with these products, they all smell insanely beautiful and I can't wait to grow this collection. I have never been disappointed with a product from Bath Bakes and I highly doubt I ever will be! I have bath creams, bath glazes, sugar whips and a crumble scrub and I could not recommend them enough! I am currently writing a whole blog post dedicated entirely to this brand so keep an eye out for that if you're interested in trying these out!

My last shelf is dedicated to my 250g bottles, which is probably the largest part of my collection. I have managed to collect every one of these bottles in just over a year. I believe my first 250g bottles were Calacas and Sonic Death Monkey, which were my first ever Kitchen order about 14 months ago and then the collection just kept spiralling and here we are at 31 bottles! They are all different bar I have two Calacas as I love that scent so much! I also have my one and only 1kg bottle, which is of course Snow Fairy! Last year I had Snow Fairy in every size possible, 100g, 250g, 500g and my 1kg and I'm still on my 250g bottle, so I think it'll be a while till I get to this bottle! But I couldn't say no to it in the Boxing Day sales when I realised that this bottle would only set me back £11! I think this is part of my collection that will definitely continue to grow as I love my shower gels and I love pairing them with other products in matching scents or trying them out with other products. I also love to use these to wash my hair with, my favourites being Snow Fairy, Plum Rain and Lord of Misrule as I find they leave my hair super soft and easily managed. I also keep my little sample pots and my lip scrubs in a little tray underneath the shelves and my old copies of the LUSH Times that I have wrote a couple of blog posts on that I will link down below.

My bath bombs and bubble bars are the part of my collection that change the most often as I go through bath bombs so quick! I use one and sometimes two, in every single bath I have, so they never stay around for long. My bubble bar collection is just growing constantly as I never use a whole bar in one go and I keep buying new ones when they come out and I bulk buy ones that I really like that are limited edition or being discontinued. I have some bubble bars that are around 3 years old and they still work just as well as the fresh ones, so I will use these until the go. Bath bombs on the other hand, I can't keep hold of for long as they just become duds and won't perform as they are supposed to in the bath.I imagine this part of my collection will grow a hell of a lot once I have been to the Showcase in September and once the Halloween and Christmas stock comes to stores as some of them products are my complete favourite and I like to stock up on those.

The bottom two drawers of my cabinet are for miscellaneous products including fresh shampoo bars, wash cards, FUN, massage bars and hot oil hair treatments. This is basically my drawer for all the products that aren't in tubs and need to be stored away. I also keep my samples in here that aren't in black pots so that I know where they are. This drawer is getting pretty full and I need to start reaching for these more often! I used to wash my hair with FUN all the time and I really liked it, so I may incorporate this into my routine again as I don't want to run out of my Dr Peppermint shampoo bar and I have a lot of FUN to get through! My bottom drawer is full of bars of soap that I never ever reach for, yet this part of my collection never stops growing as when limited edition soaps come out, I can't help but grab a piece! I don't not use them because I don't like them, because I really do enjoy them when I do use them, I just don't want to leave them in the bathroom as I still live with my parents and I know they'll use them all up! I think when I move out this part of my collection will start to drop.

I think this is possibly the most pointless part of my collection is stored away at all times in my Karma wooden gift box from the Kitchen, is my collection of gift tags and gift inserts that tell you what products came in what gift sets. I started collecting these after Christmas 2016 and it's grown quite a lot since then! I make sure that I purchase a gift box from every limited edition release so I can add to my collection of gift boxes and I can have the tags and insert to look back on and compare from year to year. I know quite a few people who collect these and I think they're really quite cool! I might frame them when I move out and put them on show as it's a shame they're tucked away all the time.

And last but not least, what is a LUSH collection without a LUSH Kitchen Polaroid collection! I have a total of 50 Polaroids at the moment, which I think is quite an accomplishment as I have only been buying from the Kitchen for about 14 months so I think 50 orders is quite good! I have had more Kitchen products than 50 though as I have purchased via group orders and in destashes, so I have a few products that I don't have a Polaroid for. My favourite Polaroid by far is the Celebrate one from the LUSH Kitchen's third birthday as it has embossed gold on it and I think it's really pretty! This one also has all the Kitchen members on which is rather rare! I don't know what I want to do with these, I did initially store them all in a book but I've took them out as I didn't like them on there. I think I might either frame these too or get some string with pegs to hang them on. Let me know down below in the comments what you do with your LUSH Kitchen Polaroids!

I still don't think I have a large LUSH collection, I'd say I have a modest medium sized collection. I know for a fact that my collection is going to continue to grow and I am so excited to add to it! I think we're going to get a lot of new products in the upcoming months to replace everything that has been discontinued this year and I can't wait to see whats to come. I also plan to buy quite a lot at the Creative Showcase, as I think for me this is going to be a once in a life time opportunity for me to do and I want to be able to grab as much as I possibly can! I also know I'm going to buy a lot this Christmas and Halloween. I feel this is going to be a good year for new LUSH!

You can find my previous posts all about the old copies of LUSH Times here and here.

You can find my white ladder shelf here and my sideboard here.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post, it is very appreciated! Make sure to follow so you can see the next time I post! ♥ xo

**Disclaimer: All views, opinions and photos are my own.**

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, by iyastevie

In american cream, frozen

♥ My Dream LUSH Products!

I think one of the greatest things about LUSH and the Kitchen, is that they can take products that so many people know and love and create something brand new, something that they know will excite all the Lushies out there and make them go a little bit crazy to get their hands on it. The Kitchen have been releasing a lot of new products lately, they had the lotion and solid perfume week where they took scents we all know and love and made new products, they brought out some amazing body conditioners not too long ago and they still like to throw the odd bath bomb out on a Friday with no notice for everybody to enjoy!

There are so many scents that LUSH have created that a lot of people have fell in love with and would like to see more products made in that scent. I have a list as long as my arm, but I thought I would share with you all the products that I would most like to see the LUSH Kitchen bring to life! If you're a common Kitchen user, you may know that they do take requests, do if you like what I describe, be sure to let them know!

Photo credit: Google Images

This would be the most refreshing lotion to wear during the summer months, I don't understand why this hasn't been made yet. So White is a very crisp and fresh green apple scent. This bath bomb make look really boring, plain white and no glitter. I thought this as well at first before I actually tried it. The core of this bath bomb used to be a vibrant blood red, but in 2016 they changed it up a little and made the core green and blue. To be honest, this bath bomb could be purely white and I would still use it as I love the scent so much. I would love to see many products in this scent, but mainly a lotion as it would sink into your skin, making you feel refreshed and clean. It would be a beautiful product for the hot months. I would love to have a tub or two in my collection!

Photo credit: Google Images

American Cream is my all time favourite LUSH scent, I think. I adore this conditioner and every other product that I have used that has this scent, be that not many! American Cream is a pretty small scent family compared to some, and I want it to get bigger! I think this gorgeous strawberry milkshake scent would be gorgeous in so many different formats! We already have a lotion and shower jelly that crops up in the Kitchen often, the conditioner and a shimmer bar that are part of the main line, we have the very rare liquid and solid perfume and then the almost never seen because they've not been released lately, bubble bars and one lonely bath bomb. I think this scent has the fan base to create tonnes of products and sell out quickly. I think the product I would like to see the most would be a body spray. I would love to douse myself in this scent every day and walk around stinking of a strawberry milkshake, who wouldn't!

Photo credit: Google Images

I have fallen deeply in love with the Plum Rain scent. I love love love the shower gel and everything about it, and I have also fallen for the body spray which I use nearly daily! In order to layer up that scent and make sure I smell like fresh tart plums right throughout the day, I'd love to see a lotion in this scent. I'd actually like to see a lot more in this scent as it is new and hasn't been around that long, and I have seen a bit of leaked information that told me we may possibly be getting a bubble bar in the Plum Rain scent for this years Christmas.. So keep your eyes peeled if you're a fan of this scent!

Another one of my favourite scents is the Frozen scent family! I am obsessed with this bath bomb as it makes such beautiful bath art and smells so good! I think it smells that good that I managed to get my hands on a solid perfume with the Frozen scent. The beautiful scent of neroli really stands in the foreground with this scent, and I feel it would make a great shower jelly! Just imagine, this scent in a neon baby blue shower jelly that's packed with lustre.. Sounds amazing right!

Photo credit: Google Images

Oh my gosh, the Let the Good Times Roll scent. I want LUSH to create everything in this scent, a body lotion, a shampoo, a hair conditioner, a shower jelly, a perfume.. But more than anything I want them to create a shower gel! I adore the scent of LTGTR as it smells good enough to eat! With popcorn and cinnamon powder, this smells like a freshly baked product that you want to sniff all day! Unfortunately, there are no other products in this scent! I have seen other Lushies show their dismay at this as they really enjoy the scent too but the Kitchen haven't made any new products.

Photo credit: Google Images

I would love everything and anything in this scent, but considering how loved this scent family is, LUSH don't really have that many products with it. I have been scouting out eBay and Depop for way longer than I can even think now for a Lord of Misrule perfume, but they sell for way over the recommended retail price and I just can't justify paying it! Therefore, the next best product would have to be a body spray! This wish list product is a product that has been teased before hand, which makes me think that this actually may be in the works and may be coming to either the Kitchen or stores soon. I would love to be able to spritz myself every day with this beautiful blend of patchouli, vanilla and black pepper and be reminded of the build up to Christmas on a daily basis.

**
If you also agree and would like some of these products to be created or you have an idea of your own, the LUSH Kitchen note requests that are left of their social media, so contact them on Instagram @lushkitchen or via their Facebook page which can be found here.
Alternatively, you could pop your request in by emailing the WeCare team at: wecare@lush.co.uk
**

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post, it is very appreciated! Make sure to follow so you can see the next time I post! ♥ xo

**Disclaimer: All views, opinions and photos are my own - unless otherwise stated.**

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, by iyastevie

♥ August Favorites

♥ Bath Bakes Review!

♥ How I Store My LUSH Collection - Updated!

♥ My Dream LUSH Products!

♡ ♡ ♡

@adventurewithstevie

archive

♥ August Favorites

♥ Bath Bakes Review!

♥ How I Store My LUSH Collection - Updated!

♥ My Dream LUSH Products!

♡ ♡ ♡

@adventurewithstevie

archive

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