Holiday Lush

Sorry to be posting so much tonight, but I just stopped by the Lush website to see if the Halloween items are out yet since I'll be going there next week, and to my surprise and pleasure the Christmas items are out.  I'm majorly geeking out about that. Here is a sampling of some of my favorites (or what I think will be a favorite):

MAGIC WAND: 
"Where do we start with the Magic Wand? There are just so many things to love about it. Let's start with the looks, a sweet pink star atop a wand with ribbons and bell. The beloved cotton candy fragrance is borrowed from our seasonal best-seller Snow Fairy. Then, there is the pure genius of being able to use it over and over for many baths. With Helen's invention of the amazing multi-use Bubble Bar mixture, this one can be swirled around in the tub to make mass amounts of bubbles, then put aside to dry for the next bath. Magic! For lovers of all things Snow Fairy! Each Magic Wand creates multiple candy-scented bubble baths. It may not come with whistles, but it certainly comes with bells and ribbons! " (From the Lush site)

 ABOMINABALL "Seeing as The Boog Bath Bomb isn't returning this year, we just had to have another snowman bomb one way or another. Abombinaball it is then! He rattles when you shake him. “What's inside?”, we hear you cry - you'll have to drop him in the tub to find out! We will tell you he's got a stunning vanilla, peppermint and sweet orange oil fragrance, and a bit of a froth in his fizz, making him bob gently around in the tub to comfort and delight you on a cold winter night."

ROCKETEER:
"For an out-of-this-world bathing expedition, pop a Rocketeer Bath Bomb in the tub. The blue rocket pack shoots around your tub, leaving a wake of froth, fizz and the sweet scent of candy sticks. Watch the water change from blue to yellow to green as the yellow “flames” push the rocket around the tub. We made this one to entice our little ones into the tub for an exciting adventure, but it turns out (as usual) we like using it ourselves too!"

STARDUST GIFT:
"Sprinkle a touch of Stardust over someone's Christmas by presenting them with this fetching parcel of seven limited edition, sugary bath and shower products. This gift is extra special this year as it includes one of our most exciting new inventions, the Magic Wand re-usable Bubble Bar, which shares the cotton-candy scent of Snow Fairy Shower Gel and (as the name suggests), can be used again and again. If you happen to be a fan of all things fruity and sweet, you may want to buy this box for yourself! For those who love all things pink, sparkly and sweet. "
 

CHRISTMAS STAR GIFT: "Six bathing beauties are to be found inside this gorgeous, re-usable gold box. Christmas Star is a gift we've had for many Christmases here at LUSH, but it's always so popular that we keep bringing it back! This year's incarnation contains three of our returning Christmas favourites, and three of our newest inventions. It's sure to brighten up the holidays for the shining star on your gift list."

Old Favorites like Snowcake and Snowfairy are back this year too!

My Wishlist - Boot addition

In no particular order, these are the boots on my wishlist:

1.  Shining Star Boots by Lucchese $319 Rods Western Wear

                                      
                                                      2.    Ugg Sundance II in chestnut $250 Zappos
                                         

                                             3.  Destiny Boots by Corral  $249 Rods Western Wear

                                                           4.  Gabriella Rocha Getts $84 Zappos

What I Want

I've been meaning to do some kind of wish list here, but with work and school and the kids I haven't had the time.  So now, even though Christmas is less than 10 days away, here is my list:

Hot Topic has this cute hat/scarf/mittens all in one at their shops, but I don't see it online.  They have buffalo, dogs, bunnies, etc, but I love the leopard.  Fun AND practical.  $34.99

Bath and Body Works  These cute socks are infused with shea (which smells amazing) and peppermint.  They're also available in other scents and infused with lavender or vanilla.  A steal at $5.

        


Homedics Squishy Pillow
I love these pillows.  My last one ran into an tragic accident with the vacuum and I haven't been able to find another Homedics brand until now.  They're $9.99 at Bath and Body Works and only $8 with the 20% off coupon Bath and Body Works always sends in the mail.






Barnes and Noble





I love making lists and I love music.  It seems like my life has a soundtrack.  This book looks like a lot of fun.  $16.95.


Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite books.  I'm trying to convert all my paperbacks into nice books like the ones in this collection that Barnes and Noble has.  Last year I got the works of Jane Austen.  This year I want Alice.  $19.99




Lush

$34.95 a sparkling gold star filled with 6 of the Christmas bath bombs.  I got one a few years ago and the star was silver then.  I've kept it and I'd love to have the gold to match.  Not to mention the bath bombs are the best! 




I'd also like a ceramic hair straightener but I don't know much about them and I'm open to suggestions on which brand is good.


That's my wishlist for this year.  What are you hoping to find under the tree?

Gold Canyon Candle Scents/Products that Will be Out of Season in January

The following Gold Canyon Candle items are seasonal and will be unavailable beginging January 1st.  Be sure to place any oders for these items by the end of this month.

HERITAGE LINE:

Gingerbread House
Mrs. Claus’s Kitchen
Peppermint Bark
Pool Towel
Christmas Presence
Coconut Lime Verbena
Cozy Christmas
Days of Christmas
Juicy Pear
Orange Mango
Orange Vanilla
Pink Lemonade Spritzer
Cinnamon Garland
Cozy Cabin
Kings Myrrh
Sleigh Ride
Water Garden

BELLA LINE:
Lilac
Apple Spice
Birthday Cake
Cinnamon
Pool Towel
Cozy Christmas
Fresh Orange
Love Struck
Pineapple Coast
Cozy Cabin

SPECIALTY CANDLES:
Pink Sugar Cookie

TEALIGHTS:
Apple Spice
Birthday Cake
Cedar Woods
Citrus Garden Herbs
Cobbler on the Roof
Cozy Christmas
Cranberry Orange
Fabulous Fudge Brownie
Fresh Orange
Holiday Wreath
Mulled Cider
Pineapple Coast
Quiet Moments
Sparkling Apricot
Vanilla Latte
Warm Apple Crisp
Warm Welcome

VOTIVES:
Apple Spice
Cinnamon
Cozy Christmas
Fresh Orange
Lilac
Love Struck
Pumpkin Pie
Sleigh Ride
Sugar Cookie
SCENT PODS:
Candy Corn
Cinnamon Garland
Citrus Garden Herbs
Coconut Lime Verbena
Cotton Splash
Cozy Cabin
Cozy Christmas
Days of Christmas
Gingerbread House
Juicy Pear
Mint Mocha
Peppermint Bark
Pillow Talk
Pool Towel
Refresh
Revitalize
Serenity
Sleigh Ride
Vanilla
Vanilla Latte

FRAGRANCE OILS:
Cozy Christmas

Gold Canyon Candle Scents/Products that are being discontinued in January

The Spring catalogs are out and there are many new and exciting scents and products.  Be sure to check the website after January 1st for the new items.

Gold Canyon Candles is discontinuing many scents/products.  Please review the list and if they're discontinuing any of your favorites be sure to place an order by the end of the month as this will be your last chance.

I will also be posting a list of items that will be out of season, therefore, unavailable for an unknown span of time beginging January 1st.

HERITAGE:

Heather and Hyacinth
Jasmine
Marigold
Rose
Tangerine & Spice
Vanilla
Cotton Splash
Fresh Denim
Currant
Grapefruit Splash
Sunrise Tangelo
Spruce & Citrus

BELLA:
Spruce & Citrus

BOUTIQUE CHIC:
Amber & Vintage Bouquet
Powder & Violet Fleur
White Sage & Rose Noir
Woods & Vanilla Romantique

CAFFE VELLUTO:
Mint Mocha
Vanilla Latte

COMFORTS OF HOME:
Citrus Garden Herbs
Cobbler on the Porch
Living Room
Pillow Talk
Quiet Moments
Warm Welcome

SOY CANDLES:
Refresh
Revitalize
Serenity

SPECIALTY:
Iced Bayberry
Roasted White Peppercorn
Sugared Vanilla Bean
Candy Cane
Candy Corn
Brown Sugar Spookie
Cider Brew
Pumpkin Pie


TEALIGHTS:
White Sage & Rose Noir
Woods & Vanilla Romantique

SCENT PODS:
Amber & Vintage Boquet
Currant
Fresh Denim
Grapefruit Splash
Heather & Hyacinth
Jasmine
Living Room
Marigold
Powder & Violet Fleur
Spruce & Citrus
Sunrise Tangelo
White Sage & Rose Noir
Woods & Vanilla Romantique

Gold Canyon Candles GIVEAWAY!!!!

Gold Canyon Candles is the original 2-wick candle company. There are two safety wicks to burn evenly and prevent tunneling, thus eliminating wasted wax. Gold Canyon Candles are made to burn longer and maintain their scent while scenting every room of the house. GCC has over 600 products and 100 different scents. Here is a sampling of some of what GCC has to offer:

 Tea Light Snow Bell

A beautiful holiday tealight holder to liven up your holiday table.  $14.48

Heritage 16 oz Candle

Comes in over 60 fragrances and has a burn time of 120-140 hours.   $15.98

I'm currently burning Mulled Harvest, "a traditional autumn scent that captures boiling spices on the stove mixed with apples, berries, brown sugar, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and pumpkin."  Also perfect for this time of year: Pumpkin Pie, Gingerbread House, Iced Bayberry, and Mrs. Claus's Kitchen.

Pod Warmers

GCC Pod Warmes are easy to use, come with an automatic timer

and come in a variety of styles to fit any personality.  Use with

scent pods which come in over 80 fragrances.

 Gold Canyon Candles also has fragrance oils, soy candles, room spray and skin care.

Gold Canyon Candles is having a sale from now til Monday, 11/29/10. For free shipping with orders over $75 enter HOLIDEALSHIP at checkout. For free shipping AND $5 off orders over $95 enter the promo code HOLIDEALSHIP5. For free shipping and $10 off orders over $125 enter HOLIDEALSHIP10 at checkout. For free shipping and $15 off orders over $175 enter HOLIDEALSHIP15 at checkout.

I am giving away a 16 oz Heritage Gold Canyon Candle in the scent of the winners choice.  Retail value of $15.98.  The winner will be chose by random number generator on December 15th at 11:59.  Winner will  be notified by email.  In the event I don't hear from winner withing 48 hours a backup will be chosen.  Winner will be posted here as well.  This giveaway is only open to people in the United States.

Mandatory Entry



Go to Gold Canyon Candles and tell me what scent you would choose if you win.  Make sure that you leave a way for me to contact you if you win.  This entry must be completed before any bonus entries are counted. 

Bonus Entries

5 extra entries go to Gold Canyon Candles and sign up for my mailing list.  Come back here and leave a comment with the email address you signed up under.  (Leave 5 seperate comments for this entry)

15 extra entries go to Gold Canyon Candles and purchase any item, then come back here and let me know you ordered.  (Leave 15 seperate comments for this entry)

1 entry go to Gold Canyon Candles and come back here and comment with something you learned.

1 entry go to Gold Canyon Candles and tell me another item that I haven't posted here that you'd like to have.

2 entries follow  my blog on Google Friend Connect (leave 2 seperate comments for this entry)

2 entries follow my blog with Networked Blogs (leave 2 seperate comments for this entry)

3 entries for subscribing to my blog (leave 3 seperate comments for this entry)

2 entries follow me on twitter engelsigh and comment with your twitter username (leave 2 seperate entries for this entry)

1 extra entry tweet about this giveaway and come back here and leave a link to your tweet.  This can be done once a day.

1 extra entry for any of my other posts you comment on and then come back here telling me you commented and where.

5 extra entries, make a blog post about this giveaway and comment with a link to your blog (leave 5 seperate comments for this entry)

3 extra entries post this giveaway to any giveaway site or mr Linky giveaway event.  Post the link to the event (leave 3 seperate comments for this giveaway).



Pickle Lip Balm

A pretty well known fact about me is that I love pickles. Yum! I even sometimes eat pickles for breakfast. I have fond memories of the dill my grandmother grew in her garden.

Some time ago doing a pickle lip balm search (yes, I was actually searching for pickle lip balm – I had gotten pizza flavored lip balm from My Lip Stuff – it’s gross, lol). In my searching I re-stumbled across Archie McPhee & Co. They have pickle lip balm, pickle soap, pickle flavored mints, pickle gumballs, pickle floss, and a ton of other pickle items.

Additionally they have bacon lip balm, nacho lip balm, and corn dog lip balm. They have Thanksgiving gum balls that taste like turkey, cranberry and pumpkin pie.

They are also the home of the crazy cat lady action figure.

I’d love to try some of their weird flavored items. How ‘bout you?

Mmmmmmm.... It's time for pumpkin pie!

This must-have Gold Canyon fragrance is a traditional holiday favorite and is available in both Heritage candles and Scent Pods. The perfect gift for your family and friends or your Thanksgiving dinner host!

Order your Pumpkin Pie candles and Scent Pods online now!

Breast Cancer Awareness Candle

Gold Canyon Candles is donating 10% of all sales of their special 16 oz Pink sugar cookie candle to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Monies go to breast cancer research, education and prevention. The candle has a burn time of 120-140 hours. If you'd like to help the cause you can buy a candle here.

January Lush Trip

I went down to my local Lush New Years Day hoping to get some of the holiday goodies. Unfortunately they were out of almost everything. I had to buy a gift box in order to get the bath bombs that I wanted. I ended up getting the Happy Bathday gift which came with Think Pink, Avobath, Big Blue, Blackberry, Honey Bee and Butterball bath bombs. The the buy one bar of soap get two bars free promotion was still going on and I got Father Frost, Chox Away and Vanilla in the Mist. I also got Celestial Moisturizer and Sakura and Waving Not Drowning and Vanilla Fountain bath bombs.


Fortunately we made an impromptu trip to Vegas later in the month and SCORE!!! According to the sales associates there, people don’t do Christmas shopping on the strip and they had tons of goodies left (minus the soap – that was all gone). My first night there the buy one get one free on all holiday items was still going on. I was able to get the last two Stardust giftsets at the buy one get one free price. The gift set includings Snow Fairy shower gel (one of my favorite scents), Snow Fairy solid perfume, Candy Cane bubble bar, Star Luxery bath melt, Double Fast Luck emotibomb, Fairy Tail sugar scrub, and Angel’s Delight soap. Snow Fairy is pink and shimmery and smells like candy floss. It’s only available around Christmas.

The store was having a party the next day and I bought more of each of my favorite bath bombs, helping hands cream, Ultimate Shine solid shampoo, To Be Jolly gift (Mr Buttterball, Cinders, and Ice Blue) and Tis the Season (Snow Cake and Lil Lush Pud) gift (the gifts were still buy one get one free), Aquamarina face cleanser, Jungle, two free Dreamtime melts and samples of I Love Juicy, Big and Daddy-O. I went back my last day and bought a bottle of Daddy-O. Oh, and I had a 15% off coupon!

I love Lush because they are handmade, organic, natural, and vegetarian. Their products feel great on my skin and hair. Not to mention the products are beautiful to look at and smell great. They are well worth the money, and the special trip I have to make to buy them.

Demeter Giveaway!

In an effort to get get more traffic to my blog, and make it better, I'm hosting a Demeter Fragrance Library giveaway. I have a set of four fragrances: 2 Pick Me up Sprays in Wet Garden and Honeysuckle and 2 fragrance splashes in Chocolate Chip Cookie and Rye Bread. All are the 1/2 oz size. They are all new, and have never been used. I haven't opened the Wet Garden or the Honeysuckle as I don't do flower scents, but the Chocolate Chip Cookie smells amazing and the Rye Bread smells just like fresh baked rye bread.

Winner will be selected by random number generator on November 15th. Winner will have 1 week to respond to my winner notification and then an alternate will be chosen. Winner will also be announced in a blog post after prize is accepted. This giveaway is not being sponsered or supported by Demeter in any way.

**Due to the cost of shipping, this contest is only open to residents of the United States.

There will be multiple ways to enter, and each entry should be left in a seperate comment so that random number generator works correctly.

IMPORTANT: First Entry: In order to enter please look around my blog and tell me something that I can do to improve it. I haven't spent much time blogging lately and I know I could use some work. Please be constructive - not mean (Keep in mind I work a full time job, go to school full time, and am a part time mom, with limited knowledge of html). I will be reading each and every comment, and I really would like to improve. This entry must be done for any other entry to count. Anyone that doesn't first do this step will be deleted.

Additional entries:

1 entry - add me to blogger favorites
1 entry - follow me on twitter
1 entry - tweet about my givewaway then come back and post the link
2 entrys - add my contest to a contest site or mr linky and leave me the link to the entry
2 entrys - read one of my other blog entries and leave a meaningful comment on the entry then come back here and tell me which entry you commented on.
3 entrys - Blog about this contest and post a comment with the link to your post.
1 entry - suggest a bath and body company not listed for me to try
1 entry - suggest a handmade site or company that you think I might like
1 entry - suggest a book for me to read, and tell me why you think I would like it
2 entry - I like baking, so email me your favorite cookie or cupcake recipe to rasberryswrlgirl@ hotmail.com then come back here and tell me you did it. Be creative - no chocolate chip or peanut butter unless there is something extra special about them.
1 entry - go to the Demeter site and tell me what your favorite scent is from their library
1 entry - suggest a scent that you would like to see Demeter make that they don't already make.

Daily entry - Tweet about the contest Daily or Come back daily to suggest a book for me to read or a handmade/indie site for me to try

Any questions, send me an email and I will be happy to answer. Thanks for reading and entering!

The coolest candles ever!

I just got an email from Bath and Body Works showcasing their new autumn collection. I love, love, love! the new candle collection. I haven't smelled them yet, but I want one of each of these just for the adorable holders:

The acorn shaped candle in the Leaves scent, The pine cone shaped candle in fresh balsam,

And the Pumpkin shaped one in sweet cinnaomon pumpkin scent.

They are each 3 oz and only cost $12.50 each.

Forthcoming Reviews

Drew at Eden Fantasys was nice enough to send me some products to review some months ago. Due to some health problems I wasn't really able "try out" the products in order to give them a fair review. So, coming up soon I'll be posting my review of the Fetish Femme babydoll and the 101 Nights of Grrreat Sex Boardgame. In the meantime head over to Eden Fantasys for all your romantic needs.

I finally broke down and spent the close to $4 on the Yes to Carrots lip balm. Give me a few days to try it out and I'll have a review for that.

My order from Gold Canyon Candles arrived yesterday so I will have something to say about those in the next week or so as I try them all out.

Finally, I have a review on soap rocks coming up as well.

Stay tuned! And I'm back!!!

Free Book Fridays

Check out Free Book Fridays. Every week they give away several books. There is a teen site as well. A few weeks ago I won 1 of 5 signed copies of Sorrow Wood by Ramond Atkins. Look for my review when I finish reading it.

Demeter Home Fragrance Library

I recently won a gift certificate to Demeter Fragrance in a giveaway hosted by
Grocery Price Books. Head on over and check out some of her other giveaways. I used my gift certificate this morning to order the following fragrances: chocolate chip cookies, funeral home, beet root, string bean, and rye bread. I can't wait to get them and start sniffing. I've had funeral home before and I love it. It's a carnationy fragrance. I'm interested to see how the others smell as they are different than your normal perfumes. I love the smell of fresh green beans as I'm cutting off the tops and preparing to cook them. Demeter Fragrance has some normal fragrances such as rose and violet but also some more interesting ones like glue, playdough, paperback books, dirt, crayons, and Hersheys chocolate.



If you'd like to win a fragrance for yourself check out the contest hosted by
Pour Some Sugar on Me. She is giving away a 1 oz cologne spray in one of the following scents: watermelon, Bulgarian rose, fuzzy navel, raspberry jam, gardenia or Kahala coconut.

Stayed Tuned!

Between now and next Wednesday stay tuned for the follow:

1. Eden Fantasys review.

2. Savor Soap review.

3. Introduction to the Biographer's Club.

4. Craft updates.

5. Several book reviews.

Broken Teepee Designs

In October Weird Stuff In My Desk hosted a bloggy carnival. I was fortunate enough to win a $50 gift certificate to Broken Teepee Designs. I used my gift certificate to get these gorgeous Rainforest Fantasy earrings.





The earrings feature faceted amethyst kisses and AAA quality Russian Chrome Diospide.

The listing states "Sparkling 7mm rich purple Amethyst kisses are handwrapped to sterling silver "v" hooks. Falling from the "flower" are AAA rich emerald green faceted rondelles of Chrome Diopside. A smooth,clear AAA 7mmm teardrop of the same glorious stone falls at the bottom. All are wrapped with sterling silver to sterling silver chain. These one of a kind lovlies will fall 2" from your lobes."

These earrings are handmade and of the most amazing quality. I love wearring them and have received so many compliments. The stones are very clear and great quality. The light hits them and they have amazing sparkle.

Check out her shop for some wonderful handmade peices of the finest quality. You won't be disappointed. The owner is incredibly friendly and easy to work with.

TVAL

I first heard about TVAL on the Lush forums. I checked out the website and though there were a ton of products that looked great, I didn't immediately place an order.

I received a Banana Lavender shea bath treat in a swap. Upon receiving it I thought, "What a weird scent combination." Surprisingly banana and lavender work well together. Not only did this treat smell amazing, but it was moisturizing without being greasy. I am in love and I'm anxious to try some of the other scents.






I am also currently using their cupcake soap in the Nirvana scent. I am a huge lover of cupcakes, and what can be cuter than soap shaped like a cupcake? The Nirvana scent is a lovely blend of mandarin, vanilla, amber and patchouli. It smells great. I am often wary of patchouli scents as they can be overpowering. That is not the case with Nirvana. The soap also lathers nicely and is long lasting.

Cupcake pictured here in Candy Cane

TVal not only has great prices, but unique scent combinations. Take for example this soap cake in coconut mint.






They also make skin care products and mineral makeup and offer generous
samples for just $1.70.

I'm dying to try their solid shampoos (which happen to be SLS free), hair masks, and sugar scrubs.




I'm especially interested in the banana sugar scrub.





Check them out. You won't be disappointed. They offer so much more than I've mentioned. The items are fabulous and you won't regret it.

2monkees

I found this great etsy shop, 2monkees and had to share. She has very reasonable prices and fun, feminine jewelry.

Some of my favorite pieces are:

This pendant, “Does He Love Me” at the low price of $19.

These ultra-girly rose cabochon hair pins for $6.50.

This cool Ganesha cameo ring for only $9.00.

Cool Giveaway!

I found a fun and exciting giveaway from The Copper Cauldron. The prize is a six month soap subscription value approx $90. It sounds like a lot of fun and there are six ways to enter.

Check it out and good luck!