A couple of Fridays back I was invited to Lush Luton to take a look at their summer beauty range.

I plan on going abroad for the first time in over ten years this year, and being a pale kid, I was particularly interested in their range of sun protection, and what would work for me in warmer climates.

I’ll also be attending a few outdoor festivals and hope to go camping, so I was keen to see what they had in the way of festival must-haves. You know, the kind that make you feel a little bit better about yourself after you haven’t had wash for a few days…

As usual, the lovely Lush ladies were on hand to help.

Here are my top four summer essentials from Lush.

Toothy Tabs

If you’re heading to a festival this year, these “Dirty Toothy Tabs” will save your life – or your teeth from furring up, whichever means more to you at the time.

One little white tab will clean your teeth just as well as your standard tooth paste you use at home. Simply pop a tab in your mouth, crunch is up and then take a little water from a bottle or a tap and brush your teeth as normal. Leaving less mess and eliminates the gooey toothpaste you evidently find at the bottom of your festie rucksack.

The Sunblock Bar

Sun screen or sun block? What’s the difference. Many people use the two interchangeably but they are totally different things. Sunscreen, the more commonly used type of sun protectant, filters or screens the suns UV rays — keeping most rays out, but letting some in. On the other hand, sunblock physically reflects the suns rays from the skin, blocking the rays from penetrating the skin. Lush’s sunblock comes in the form of a bar which can be applied to your skin by lathering it up in water in your morning shower and applying it to your skin like a bar of soap.

Just don’t harshly dry yourself with a towel afterwards otherwise you won’t be protected from the sun. Plus the bar is a moisturiser too so you want to let it soak into your skin.

With a high SPF of 30, it’s perfect for people who have fairer skin. And a third of the bar will protect your whole body from the sun’s rays. However it is advised that you reapply your sun protection every 2 hours.

What I like about this is that you can make protecting yourself against the sun part of your morning routine. Most of the time I apply my sun protection once I’m dressed which means I usually manage to smear it all over my clothes which doesn’t look cool.

This has also scored big points with people who have tattoos as the sun inevitably fades colours so using a sunblock is a must if you want to keep your tattoos vibrant.

It smells of sesame  and rose too which is always a bonus!

Powdered Sunshine

Yes. That’s right, powder. I was a little skeptical about this but it’s pretty smart.

It’s an SPF 15 light sun powder that you sprinkle onto your skin. This new form of sun care is easy to carry around with you, and very handy for topping up your sun protection throughout the day.

This will be popular with those of you who hate the greasiness of typical sun screen lotions.  The powder is enriched with calamine – which is rich in the natural sunscreen zinc oxide – sesame oil, lemon, lime and patchouli oils giving it a fresh, zingy fragrance.

This isn’t something that I would use on my face as I need something in a higher SPF in this area, but it would be perfect to apply to arms and legs during the day.

British Nanny Face Cream

This is my favourite of them all: The British Nanny SPF 30 Face Cream.

It’s thick and creamy formula spreads evenly on my skin and doesn’t immediately dry, filing me with confidence that I’m protected against the sun. Not only is it a sun care product but it’s also enriched with almond, hibiscus and plenty of vitamin C and E so it works really hard to keep those wrinkles at bay too! It means you don’t have to use your usual face cream with it either.

I like to use powder to keep my face from looking too shiny and luckily this passed the powder dusting test. Sometimes sun creams can be too thick and powder just clings to areas of your face in streaks. But not this one. Here’s what my skin looks like after I’ve applied British Nanny with powder on top.

Do you have any summer essentials? Let me know if you have any recommendations for pale skin in the comments.

I’ve always been a massive fan of Urban Decay. Their stance against animal testing falls in line with my ethics and I’ve forever been in love with their eye shadow colour palette. They’re bright, bold and uncompromising. Something that I’ve always considered my style to be.

Urban Decay Perversion Mascara – Out of the Box Review

Today, I’m not reviewing their eye shadows; I’m reviewing their mascara from the new “Perversion” range, priced at £17.50. It’s a little more expensive than most mascaras out there, so I’m expecting a quality product.

Aside from having a slightly creepy name, the mascara promises to be “BIGGER, BLACKER, BADDER”. I like to think of myself as a ‘baddass’ so I’ll allow it.

Let’s see how the mascara looks on.

Here’s my left eye without any makeup. No nothing.

I kind of look like a blind horse, right?

The mascara wand itself comes out of the tube coated in plenty of mascara. However the wand is shapeless and just straight. A little unusual as many mascara wands are shaped to ensure you pick up every lash when you apply, but not this one. I’m not put off, more so intrigued to see if this will make for even coverage.

The mascara itself goes onto my eyelashes easily without clumping. Like many brand new mascaras fresh out of the packaging, I find that I have to do a lot of coats to get my eyelashes to look “blacker and thicker”. It might just be personal preference, but I tend to go overboard with how many coats I put on. One friend called me a cartoon ostrich because of how long my eyelashes are, but I’m not phased – cartoon ostriches have sick eyelashes, right 🙂

Here’s what my eyes look like after a dozen coats on each eye. I also apply two coats to the bottom lashes. That’s just something I’ve always done.

I’m pretty impressed with this new mascara. I used to be a firm advocate of Urban Decay’s Big Fatty Mascara and I would argue that this is better. My eyelashes are less spidery and more natural looking, whilst still being long and thick.

I wouldn’t say my lashes are necessarily “blacker” but the wand managed to achieve an even coverage which can make your eyelashes look a lot darker.

Verdict: 9/10

I think the higher price tag is well worth it. And you can feel safe in the knowledge that Bugs Bunny or Grumpy Cat hasn’t been hurt in the process of making it.

So what do you think? Do you think the mascara lived up to it’s promise of being “Bigger, Blacker, Badder”?

I’d love to hear about your favourite Urban Decay products in the comments.