H&M+LUSH= a happy SBG

As you know, I just got back from a weekend in Toronto, Canada. My relationship with the city is love/hate, as I usually hear of at least one homicide in my hotel's area per stay and have a miniature anxiety attack when I'm forced to drive on the roads that have streetcar tracks. However, this stay was an absolute dream and I really did enjoy myself.

We took the subway to the Eaton Centre for a little shopping on Saturday morning and I made a few choice purchases from H&M, LUSH, and Sephora. The thing about the Eaton Centre is that it's a BIG mall with next to no stores. I'd say it's moreso used for its fourth level office space than it is for shopping, but it's a definite spot to check out as a non-Toronto native. Note to travelers: don't look up while walking on the street, locals find this absolutely repulsive for some reason or another. Also, don't look directly at the CN Tower. They hate that, too. SORT of kidding.
In this post, I'm going to gush over my H&M and LUSH purchases...I'll be doing a separate piece on the Naked 2 Palette. I promised myself that I was going to limit myself as the goal of this trip was to "enjoy ourselves, eat delicious food, and relax".

I picked up a soft knit sweater with cream and navy horizontal stripes, that features an adorable gold knit collar. It's quite nautical and preppy, but I think it's feminine enough to go with a number of outfits. This sweater was $29.95.

H&M Knit Sweater

I also grabbed a braided leatherette bracelet adorned with clear gems. I like this one because it was a)cheap and b) has a 2 button enclosure so I can make it tight enough for my child sized wrist. The bracelet was a mere $9.50 so I won't break down crying if I lose it, but it definitely looks like it cost much more!

Leatherette Bracelet

Leatherette Bracelet

While I waited for my husband to finish up his H&M shopping, I traveled over to LUSH Cosmetics and picked up a few items. First, I scoured the store for any leftover Angel's Delight Body Soap. Unfortunately, as I predicted, it has been sold out for weeks as it's a limited edition fragrance only available around the holidays. Boo. I grabbed the closest thing to it, Miranda Body Soap. It smells almost identical to Angel's Delight and comes in a sea foam green bar. It's loaded with organic kiwi, bergamot, ylang ylang, and juniperberry. Love!

Miranda Body Soap - image from Lush Website

Tip: Put the wrapper in your sock drawer to "save a tree"... but mostly to keep your feet smelling delicious

I am trying to get into the routine of taking one, long, warm bath a week (typically occurs on a Sunday evening to recharge for the work week and send me off to a deep slumber). This week I'm going to try Phoenix Rising, a bath bomb. You drop it into warm water and watch it sizzle and fizzle down to nothing, while releasing delicious fragrance and moisturizers into the water. Some bombs come with a tag in the middle that says something fun like "Bang!" or "Hey!"... this bath bomb has a cinnamon stick at its core. I won't be eating it as that's disgusting but it's pretty cool. Did I mention that it smells of apple cinnamon and pure delight? It also has orange scent in it, so it's perfect for reviving tired minds and bodies - particular during the winter.

Phoenix Rising Bath Bomb

While passing the checkout, I grabbed a Mint Julips Lip Scrub for $8.95. I've mentioned in previous posts that my lips have been simply atrocious and that I can't believe people can stand looking at me as of late.... OK, maybe they're not that bad but I've convinced myself that they are. This stuff is AMAZING. I don't know how I held back from buying this up until now, and I absolutely recommend you check it out. You just take a pinch of the peppermint oil infused sugar and rub it into your lips to rid them of dry, dead, flakes. Finish it off with your favourite lip balm and you've got yourself a beautiful pucker you're sure to be proud of. The sales associate suggested I "lick the scrub off" but I'm going to wipe it off like a normal person who doesn't enjoy eating dead flakes of skin. I'm not Goldmember, after all.

Mint Julips Lip Scrub

That's it for this post, but you can expect another one in which I'll review the Naked2 palette, and a third in which I'll review our experience at Le Méridien King Edward hotel.