Unboxing Papergang - Box No. 44 - October 2019 Edition - Papergang x blurt *

Right after a couple of rubbish weeks,  I've actually had a busy but productive week - on Tuesday we celebrated my Godmothers birthday,  I managed my first trip to the Metro Centre in months and had a meal with Mummy Lou, and I've also managed to do quite a bit of blog prep. I've got a haul post, a super rare outfit post, a kitchen review, and a high end beauty review to come but first I'm going to play catch up and get on with my October unboxing's, minus the furry photo bomber ;)

As well as their usual involvement with Tree Add, Octobers Papergang box was produced in association with The Blurt Foundation. Although charity is a really personal thing, The Blurt Foundation is a charity that's quite close to my heart. I've suffered from depression and anxiety for many years now, and The Blurt Foundation is a charity that's dedicated to spreading awareness and understanding about depression and mental health, and £1 from every October box sold was donated to The Blurt Foundation, you can find out more about the charity and their work here.

The theme of October's box is happiness, and that's reflected in the very Max friendly, colour palette, and the cheerful, brightly coloured, almost doodle style design of the outer box sleeve.

Underneath the jazzy, sleeve you find the usual brown cardboard box, and the contents inside the box is wrapped in a sheet of bright orange tissue paper.

The first item in the box as per usual, is the information booklet. October's booklet focused on the work of The Blurt Foundation, and the work they do in drawing attention to mental health issues, and as per usual it also included a designer profile, of the creator of October's box Melanie Johnsson.

Competition Colouring Poster

Now, normally the outer sleeve of the Papergang box contains either something to cut out and make or something to cut out and use, October's box though, didn't. In this crazy world, that we live, it's really important that we all take some time out, to chill out, to relax and to regroup, and one of the biggest trends in the last few years has been colour or colouring therapy. Adult colouring books are huge at the moment, and a lot of people find it a good way to regain focus.  So instead of the cut outs, October's box contained a poster, that you can colour in and decorate in any way that you wish. 

Not only that but if you share your finished creation with Papergang, either via email, or via social media before 28th November 2019, then one lucky winner, will receive a 6 month subscription to Papergang.

I haven't started mine yet but I've got a few ideas what I'm going to do, i just need to make some time to do it.

Happiness Planner 

Next a gorgeous, fabric backed book featuring the same eye catching doodle style, squiggles, crowns and stars, as the outer box sleeve, only on a off white coloured background, and with the words "HAPPINESS PLANNER" embossed on the front in a metallic, copper orange.

Featuring a ribbon page marker, and a sheet of coordinating stickers, it's a sort of organiser / planner but instead of being a conventional diary it contains space to write down happy things, and to highlight the positives in each day. It also contains pages with motivational / positive statements and phrases.

I know things like this aren't for everybody, but I'm a firm believer in trying to find the positives in life. Last year I did the 365 days of happiness tag on Instagram (I'm @LouLou699 if you fancy a follow), where every day for a whole year I posted a picture of something that made me happy, or of something good that had happened that day. I know it doesn't always seem that way but I do think that there is something good in each, no matter how small, it's just that sometimes it takes a bit of finding, and hopefully writing things down in a planner like this might help us put things into perspective, and help us find the positives. As per usual with Papergang the quality is excellent, it's a well made nice thick book and it contains STICKERS!! Unfortunately I can't find anything similar on Ohh Deer so I can't give a price comparison.

Scratch & Reveal Postcards

The next item is actually 6 items in one, it's a set of 6 scratch and reveal postcards. Using the same colour palette, and doodle style design, they aren't just plain postcards, every one has a scratch off section, like a lottery scratch card, that features a motivational quote or a phrase. The postcards include quotes and phrases on Live, Trust, Dream, Do, Nurture and Listen.

I've only scratched off one, all be it a little too vigorously, but I love the whole concept, either to reinforce self belief, or to let someone else know that you are there for them.

These particular postcards are exclusive to this kit, but plain, non scratch postcards, retail at around 75p each on Ohh Deer.

Dual Tip Art Pens 

Next up a set of pens. Now although you only get 4 pens, they are actually double ended so you actually get 8. You can a yellow, and an almost neon orange, blue, and pink. As I say each pen is double ended, one end is a fine liner pen that's ideal for handwriting, the other end is almost a brush marker style, felt tip.

The colours are lovely, and so cheerful. The pens have a nice angular feel, which makes them easy to hold, and they almost seem to taper slightly towards the fine liner end, which it makes the pen easier to control, and to write with. Again the pens are exclusive to this box, and there is nothing similar on the Ohh Deer website. 

Universal Calendar Card

Finally the ever present Universal Calendar Card, which coordinates perfectly with the rest of the box, and features the same crown, triangle, swirl, and splat type design, only with a slightly blurry finish and in much brighter almost neon tones. 

Although I've had Papergang boxes with more items in them, I still really liked this box, and the whole self care theme, and I can't wait to start filling in my happiness planner, and colouring in my poster. If you fancy trying Papergang for yourself, you've still get time to get your hands on November's winter, Hygge, themed box, so please click my link to find out more x 

*This Post Contains Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links

Sample Saturday - Lush Charity Pot Hand And Body Lotion*

After quite a long hiatus, it's time for another instalment in my Sample Saturday series. Life got in the way a bit with this one, but I'm back on it and it will hopefully become a regular feature again on my blog in the weeks and months to come. If you're one of my newer readers and you've missed out on those early posts, Sample Saturday is where I try out some of the miniature bottles, jars, tubes and even sachets that seem to be taking over my house! Because of the size of the products these won't be the most in depth reviews that you'll ever read on my blog but hopefully you'll still find them helpful.

I thought I'd restart the series with a product that I was given at a recent Lush event (you can find out more about the event here.) As well as producing some fine products Lush are probably one of the most ethical and caring companies on the high street, Unlike some companies they aren't afraid of controversy and alienating themselves, they do what they think it right, be it with regards to animal welfare, environmental issues or human rights. Over the years Lush have released a lot of one off products to campaign for certain causes but one product has stood the test of time and has remained on sale in Lush stores since 2007.

Lush Charity Pot Hand And Body Lotion first hit stores nearly 8 years ago and it's remained one of their most consistent, best sellers. Every penny from each Charity Pot sale, bar VAT or local taxes is donated to charity. The proceeds are donated to a wide variety of causes that help both people, animals and the environment. Since 2007, sales of the Charity Pot have raised more than £7 Million worldwide, for charities involved in farming collectives, fair trade producers, food production and education.

Like most of the products that Lush sell, the Lush Charity Pot Hand And Body Lotion contains only fair trade, organic and ethically sourced ingredients, it's also suitable for vegans and completely cruelty free.

Suitable for use both on the hands and on the body it contains vats of super rich moisturising ingredients including shea, and cocoa butters, and moringa, jojoba and olive oils, and aloe vera. It also contains vanilla absolute and essential oils of rosewood, geranium and ylang ylang.

It's almost pale yellow in colour and it has a rich creamy texture. When you first start massaging it into the skin it feels slightly tacky but give it a few minutes and it soaks right in, leaving the skin looking, and feeling smooth and hydrated. As you would expect from the essential oils and the vanilla absolute, it has quite a warm, heady scent, but whilst it is noticeable it's not overpowering.

This is a really nice product with a really good back story and it's something that most people could find a use for somewhere in their hand and body care routines. My hands and cuticles are particularly dry at the moment so I've been using this as a hand cream last thing at night, and I really do think that it's making a difference. It's a little bit rich for me to use during the day at the moment but in the winter time I can see this little pot coming in to its own.

Lush Charity Pot Hand And Body Lotion is available either online or in your local Lush store and comes in 3 different sizes, including the 10g trial size pot, which you can see here, which is just £1, It also comes in a 95g tub which retails at £6.95 and in a huge 240g tub which retails at £12.95. Even if you just buy the trial size pot, you could still be helping to change someones life for the better, and your skin will thank you too x Have you tried Lush Charity Pot before? Let me know your thoughts x

*Sample

I'm Going Bearfaced For Children In Need

I know charity is a personal thing but if you're in the UK, Children In Need is something that you just can't ignore. Since 1980, this yearly event had raised over £600 million for disadvantaged and disabled children and young people throughout the UK. This years event will be live on BBC 1 from 7pm and as per usual you can expect all kinds of comedy, music and mayhem, and stories that are bound to make you cry.

Like every year Children In Need has teamed up with several retailers including Greggs, Asda, and Boots to produce a wide range of fund raising merchandise from Pudsey ears, to wristbands, and for the third year running paw print transfers.

This year as part of their 11 year partnership with Boots, Children In Need are encouraging women to go #BearFaced and to sacrifice make up for one day, and instead wear a Pudsey paw print. 

In support of the campaign several famous women including Sophie Ellis Bextor, Rochelle Humes, Michelle Keegan, and You Tube's very own Tanya Burr have gone bear faced for a photo shoot with renowned photographer Rankin.

My selfie was taken by me, not Rankin, but I'm taking part and I've uploaded my #bearfaced picture to the BBC website.

I know it's a little bit late but you might still be able to get your hands on a fab, glittery paw print transfer of your own from Boots They're just £1 and at least 75p goes to Children In Need, if you don't manage to get one you can still text BEAR to 70701 to donate £1. To find out more about Children In Need, the work that they do, and other ways to donate please check out the official BBC Children In Need website. Thanks for reading x 

(Images Were Provided By PR, I Purchased My Own Paw Print And Was Not Given Any Form Of Compensation For Writing This Post)

Getting Sparkly With Candy Rocks Jewellery

I love jewellery and I love blogger events, and this week I had the opportunity to combine the two courtesy of a local North East based company Candy Rocks Jewellery.

So on Thursday night along with several other lovely bloggers, I headed to The Town Wall, a pub not to far away from the Central Station in Newcastle city centre. The event took place in the Secret Cinema Room, an intimate, and cosy below ground room, with a bar and lined with sofas, and tables and chairs. 

Upon arrival we were greeted with sparkly fruity, drinks from one of the event sponsors, Glo Worm, who produce a range of fruity, caffinated drinks, that are ideal for use as mixers, we had the raspberry one which I would thoroughly recommend! 

The main purpose of the event was to showcase Candy Rocks, newest range of jewellery. Unlike a lot of jewellery brands they just focus on necklaces, and in particular statement necklace. Huge, statement pieces are everywhere at the moment and as you've probably already realised I'm a big fan, so this really was a match made in heaven. 

Excuse the ridiculous amount of pictures but I can honestly say I wanted everything, they had everything from huge, heavy sparkly in your face pieces, to slightly more delicate brights, with just a touch of sparkle.

After having a chance to have a look at some of the pieces, and a welcome from Lisa, it was time to kick back and have some fun. Some of the girls from local salon Glitz N Glamour Hair And Beauty, were on hand to show off their hairdressing skills and quite a few ladies got their hair done -  Chloe from New Girl In Toon, had some gorgeous curls and waves put in

and Becca from Polka Dot Notebook Blog, had the most fabulous up do done, it was stunning, and would be a perfect bridal do .

Talk about sods law though I'd only had my hair done on the Thursday morning so it seemed a bit pointless to get it done after I'd already paid for a blow dry, after seeing Becca's though I was really tempted to change my mind.

As well as having sweeties and lollipops on the tables, we were also treated to some vanilla cheesecake shots courtesy of local company Simply Cheesecake, they were so nice and I'm ashamed to say I ate the crumb too, they weren't that big honestly ;)

After the cheesecakes it was quiz time, I don't think we did particularly well on my table but it was a good laugh. We also had the opportunity to name and win a necklace and of course there was the raffle.

There was a small charge for the event but all the proceeds went to a fabulous charity Head Start For Babies, which raises awareness of plagiocephaly and brachycephaly. A raffle ticket was included in the ticket price, but once everyone saw the prizes, we nearly all bought more. The fabulous prizes included items from Tare, Marc Jacobs Beauty, Benefit and more.  I wasn't lucky enough to win anything this time but lots of ladies went away with some lovely goodies x 

10% of all jewellery sales on the night were also donated to the charity so it would have been wrong not to pick a few things up. It was so hard to choose, and I'm still longing for one of my rejects but I'm really happy with the two necklaces that I got. They are both in exactly the same design but in a different colour. These are probably the most delicate pieces that they had, but that doesn't make them any the less statement or eye catching.

I love the gunmetal chain and setting on both of these necklaces, it's really unusual and not something that you see a lot in jewellery. The first necklace is almost orange / red in colour, and is scattered through with sparkly crystals.

The second necklace is almost rainbow / neon in colour, and contains lots of multi coloured acrylic stones, and crystals again set in the gunmetal effect finish. This is much brighter than it's showing here, my camera has really washed this one out. 

All of there jewellery would be great for evening wear, or even for a special occasion, but I also think that they would work with a shirt, t-shirt or something plain. I love how people seem to style necklaces like this, even with a plain white, t-shirt and pair of jeans, you can create a stunning, individual look in minutes.

Like all good events the lovely people at Candy Rocks made sure that we didn't leave empty handed. We each got a lovely goodie bag crammed full of sweeties, beauty samples, and more Glo Worm drinks. The samples were largely from US and high end brands, and I was lucky enough to get some Make Up Forever, NARS, and Peter Thomas Roth goodies to play with. You'll definitely see some of these bits popping up in a new series I have starting soon on the blog Sample Saturday x 

As well as the goodie bags, we could also chose a necklace to take home, there were four different options to choose from and I went for this one.

It was very different to anything else that I bought, and again I love the gunmetal chain and setting, and I love the combination of the purple/ lilac, the yellow and the pale blue, with the almost champagne coloured crystal. Again the colours are a bit more vibrant irl x 

I would like to say a huge thank you to the ladies at Candy Rocks, and everyone else involved for having me. I had a really nice evening, and got to indulge in one my favourite things, no not cheesecake - jewellery! You can find out more about Candy Rocks, and purchase from either their facebook page, or their instagram page and you can also find them on twitter. If you like something though go for it, the pieces are often available in quite limited quantities. Are you a fan of the statement necklace? Leave me a comment and let me know x 

Bloggers Teaspoon - Tea, Cakes, And Laughs All In Aid Of Lupus UK

I seem to be blogging quite sporadically at the moment but it's for a good reason, for the first time in a while I'm actually having a social life :) Chronic illness makes life hard on so many levels but one of the biggest ones for me is how much it's affected my social life and relationship with others, so when I've got the chance I'm embracing these opportunities with open arms and resting up whenever and where ever I can.

Sometimes a bit of pain and exhaustion is worth it though, and despite feeling horrid on Sunday, I can honestly say I had one of the best Saturday afternoons that I've had for a long time.

On Saturday afternoon  I attended Bloggers Teaspoon, a social event and tea party arranged and hosted by two lovely North East based bloggers Rachel and Becca, in aid of Lupus UK.

Lupus is an auto immune disease with many varied and debilitating symptoms, including muscle pain, weakness and fatigue, and internal and circulatory problems. At present there is no cure, but like a lot of invisible illnesses the symptoms can be controlled to some degree with varying medications ranging from steroids to immunosuppressants.

Rachel has the disease herself, and it's something that is close to my own heart too, as it's one of the potential auto immune diseases that I could potentially have, so when I heard that these lovely ladies were hosting a tea party on World Lupus Day, I knew that come hell or high water I needed to be there!

The event was held at Salsa Cafe And Tapas Bar, slap bang in the middle of Newcastle City Centre - maybe not the first place you'd think of when it comes to afternoon tea, but the upstairs rooms had been converted into a vintage tea shop, with mismatched vintage china, bunting, balloons, cupcakes courtesy of Alice, sandwiches, sausage rolls, cakes, sweeties and tea courtesy of Tea Pigs.

I have to admit I was a bit nervous because I hadn't been to an event for a while, but there was really no need for the butterflies, everyone was so friendly, and I met lots of new bloggers and caught up with some that I'd met before -  In fact I would probably go so far as to say that I haven't laughed so much in ages! -  bit of an in joke but sausages, NARS, 69's and mince were my highlights!

I wasn't having the best of spoonie days so I didn't circulate as much as I would have liked but it was so nice to meet so many new bloggers, in such a relaxed, friendly and fun atmosphere.

I know it isn't all about the goodie bags, but thanks in part to Hays Travel and Intu Metro Centre these were good ones! I mean look at the bag! that is just so me!

They contained all sorts of beauty samples, lifestyle things, sweets, a holiday voucher! and Vitamin Water (not in the pic I'm afraid I drank it!). I also managed to pick up a few extra Tea Pigs varieties to try - I loved the chai one I had on the day but I can't wait to try the creme caramel and chocolate flake bags! There were also a couple of things in the goodie bag that I'm going to review separately including the most gorgeous candle and a really pretty indie brand nail polish!

Obviously there was a serious side to the event though, and by means of collection tins, the ticket price and the raffle, the event raised nearly £200 for Lupus UK, which was an amazing result. Please, please, please have a look at their website to find out more about the illness and the work that they do. Also If anyone wishes to donate to Lupus UK you can text LUUK16 and the amount you wish to donate to 70070 i.e. LUUK16 £10 to 70070

I'd like to say a huge, huge thank you to Rachel and Becca, their sponsors and their army of little helpers for hosting a fab event for a great cause, you deserve a huge pat on the back xx Definitely a job well done and I hope it won't be the last Teaspoon event x