Well, not that I post a lot of selfies, or think I look wonderful all the time, but I still thought it worth while to share my experiences with Lush.
I went to Lush for the first time in August 2014, and even though has only been 7 months, I have already converted almost 100% of my self care routine to their products.
I started safe and picked up a Big Blue bath bomb and the Mask of Magnanimity face and body mask. Big Blue was reminiscent of sea air, reminding me of my childhood near Monterey, I’m still so happy it was my first Lush purchase. With MOM, to be honest I picked it because of the name. As an English Major, you tend to grow attached to certain underutilized terms. Magnanimity is one of mine. It means generous in forgiving an insult or injury; free from petty resentfulness or vindictiveness. It is something I strive to be. The mask itself was refreshing but did not really change the condition of my skin.
The next time I went was with my husband, so while I picked up a few more bath bombs, including the cute lavender robot for our daughter, he came home with Ocean Salt face and body scrub, Coalface face bar, and a sample of Enzymion moisturizer. Since the last few things mentioned were for my husband, I didn’t use them for a great many weeks. However, after I noticed he was not using them, I totally usurped that Lush. The bad: Enzymion smells horrible, like a lotion for feet maybe. The moisture it provides is ok, but not enough to make up for the smell. The good: Ocean Salt uses Vodka infused organic lime juice and really kicks you in the face, but in a good way. I use it about 3 times a week in the shower to keep exfoliated. The best: Coalface is the best think I have ever used on my face, and I’m 28 and have been regularly washing my face for over 10 years. It actually makes a difference with clearing my skin and making it smoother. If you have oily, blemish prone skin, this could be for you. Plus it’s a bar they cut up and sell by the once so it actually ends up being way cheaper than most of their other cleansers.
I also have a lotion obsession. I have been applying full body lotion after every shower since I was 15. I go through a lot of lotion. However, my life has slowly become less forgiving of the time I need after a shower to apply lotion. I needed to just get dressed and go most of the time, especially in the mornings when I wanted to be out of the house before 7. Enter body butters. After some demonstrations on my arm in the shop, I went home with Buffy. I absolutely love this body butter. At the end of the shower, turn the water away from you and rub Buffy all over sparingly. Then rub in with your hands. I actually went back and got samples of some body conditioners after I saw how fast Buffy was wearing down, but they just didn’t leave me feeling as silky as Buffy. It completely cured me of my need for daily lotion. Now when I get out of the shower, I do my hair, get dressed, and go.
Now we’re just getting started. A few months ago, my obsession really began. I have curly hair. If you don’t know, that is really not all that fun. Everybody loves natural curls but has no idea what a pain in the ass they are to make happen. Also, everything in the world thinks you should straighten your hair so there are very few resources to teach someone about their curly hair. As was my case about 10 years ago when I finally stopped wearing my hair in a bun everyday. No one in my family has hair like mine, we don’t know where it came from, so I couldn’t ask anyone how they made it work. Back then, straight was in so even my wonderful stylist thought straightening my hair was the best idea. I straightened all the time for years. Finally, about 2 years ago, while sick with a fever, I took a shower and simply laid about as my hair dried. I never left my hair alone after a shower, never. It curled wonderfully, but had frizz and was unruly. I had to figure our a way to tame it. Until Lush, I had been using a combination of products that worked, but was really just masking my hair when I wanted to enhance what was already there.
Enter Lush hair care. Keeping budget in mind, I ventured for just R&B hair treatment to replace the styling paste I had been using. You guys, this isn’t a styling product, it is a treatment. So when I put it in my hair, sure I swoop my hair the certain way I want it to lay but for the most part, it’s just my hair being itself. R&B is not telling it what to do, just calming it down a little, keeping the frizz at bay.
Next, after strong recommendation from a friend, I decided to try a shampoo bar. I was initially drawn to them because they are much nicer on the wallet than any of the bottled shampoos, but once I started researching them, I found they had a wide enough selection to get something truly perfect for you. Plus, the bar requires no bottle and lasts as long as 4 bottles of shampoo: Woot for reducing plastic consumption.
So I went in and talked to the Lushies. They are always so helpful. My previous routine involved a 2 in 1 shampoo/conditioner followed by a heavy duty frizz control conditioner. The woman helping me had the perfect idea: their Godiva shampoo bar is actually meant to be a 2 in 1 and has tons of shea and nut butters to moisturize. I was in love from the first time I tried it. When you usually wash your hair, you feel that strange slickness of all the products you use washing out of your hair. With this, all that slickness was gone. I was really feeling my hair for the first time in my life. They sent me home with a sample of American Cream conditioner, but that wasn’t nearly thick enough for my curls.
I recently went back and picked up Retread conditioner, which is their heaviest conditioner available and so thick it comes in a pot instead of a bottle. I also decided to try Jasmine & Henna Fluff Eaze hair mask. It was a concept I had never heard of before, 20 minutes before your shower, but this mask on your hair and then wash with shampoo. More moisture for my curls? Yes, please. I’ll be honest, I haven’t showered since I bought them yesterday, but I have high hopes for their effects.
The other thing I got yesterday was their Full of Grace moisturizer bar. It’s a solid moisturizer guys! It works like their massage bars in that you can rub it in your hands and that will be enough heat to activate the oils. I thought it wouldn’t work because I have oily skin, but it is really fantastic and a great follow up to my Coalface since that really cleanses all the bad oil out of my skin. It’s refreshing to put a little good oil back. It is also meant to even out skin tone, so I’m really excited to keep using it since I suffer from a lot of splotchiness. I also scored a sample of their Ultrabland cleanser and since a little of this stuff goes a long way, I am going to be using this sample for a while. Even though I already know I’m going to get it. You wet your face, rub Ultrabland all over, then wipe away with a hot washcloth. All your make up will be gone and your skin will feel so relaxingly smooth. I finished with Full of Grace and felt wonderful all night.
There is plenty more I want to try and my number one item on the wish list right now is Gorgeous moisturizer. I took a sample home and fell in love, knowing it would not be mine soon because of its $90 price tag. Some day Gorgeous, someday we’ll be together!
At this point, I see no reason to shop anywhere else for any kind of body care. In addition to having awesome products that actually work, they are made from all natural ingredients without chemicals. The company itself also believes in fair labor practices and supporting charities. And my favorite part, they love puns so much they try to get at least a subtle one into every product description. I am a 100% converted Lushie.
Mask of Magnanimity: Soothing but not a big difference.
Ocean Salt scrub: Really exfoliating and invigorating, use around 3 times a week.
Coalface: Literally the best face cleanser I have ever used. Great for oily skin and great on the wallet.
Enzymion: Moisturizing effects ok, but smells so bad you won’t want to use it.
Ultrabland: Really great cleanser for night, to take away all the dirt of the day.
Full of Grace: Solid moisturizer bar that works really well and should even out skin tone. Also nice to your wallet.
Gorgeous: Best moisturizer ever, made of all organic, cold pressed juice ingredients, originally crafted by the creators for Princess Di. Hefty price tag but you need so little, one pottle would probably last a year.
Godiva shampoo bar: 2 in 1 bar that is extra moisturizing for curly hair, smells wonderful and not way expensive.
R&B hair treatment: I use it as a styling product but since it’s all natural I don’t have any chemical residue and my hair just ends up ultra nourished.
Retread conditioner: Their heaviest conditioner and what I believe will be just right for my curls.
Jasmine & Henna Fluff Eaze hair mask: Unique concept of soaking on hair 20 minutes before washing should yield great results for frizzy, curly hair.
Buffy body butter: Silky way to skip lotion after a shower even if it does wear down fast. You will love the way you feel.
