May Favorites

Sorry this is so late! It's almost time for a June favorites isn't it... I wasn't able to upload this video at my house because my internet's as slow as glass (which is a slow-moving liquid). Wow. I'm smart?

Kirkland angled blush brush


Bare Escentuals Full-coverage Kabuki Brush
 

Covergirl 24 hr lash blast 

Extra-virgin olive oil

CVS Cleansing Wash for sensitive skin

Queen Helene's Mint Julep Mask


St. Ives Green Tea Scrub 

Lush Strawberry Feels Forever massage bar

Lush R&B hair moisturizer 

Kérastase Lait nutri-sculpt

Rosebud strawberry lip balm, minted rose lip balm, and cherry chapstick

Dior eyeshadows

Lush Lust: It’s Raining Men and Happy Hippy shower gels

I’ve only tried three of the Lush shower gels, two of which I’ll be reviewing here. I reviewed Dirty in a review with a bunch of the Dirty products, and the shower jelly I tried has its own review. 

I love Lush shower gels. They last forever, have a great lather, smooth my skin, and smell divine. I’d usually go for soaps, but these are so much more convenient in a dorm, as I find that bar soap gets soggy in a container and is a bit fussy to use in the dorm showers (there's no place to put anything really apart from the ground).

It’s Raining Men is a fantastic product. It smells just like the soap Honey I Washed the Kids, Honey Bee bath bomb, Ma Bar bubble bar, and a couple of the massage bars (Mange Too and Soft Coeur I believe). They brought it out for Valentine’s Day a year ago, but they had to bring it into the permanent collection because it was so well-loved. It’s moisturizing, makes the skin soft and smooth (again, helps with my KP) and nice-smelling. You can also use it in your hair, but it lathers better with a scrubby towel on the skin than in the hair. I used it as my shampoo for a while because I ran out of my regular shampoo, and I found I had to use a ton to get a good lather in my hair. It didn’t hurt my hair though. I found it pretty moisturizing actually. It lasts forever, too. I used up the smallest bottle just at the very end of May, and I had been using it since February or something like that. I just use a nickel sized amount in my scrubby towel and the lather goes a long way. If I got the biggest bottle, I could see me using this for a whole year literally. ($9.95 for 3.3 oz, $17.95 for 8.4, and $$27.95 for 16.9 oz)

I got Happy Hippy as a sample, I loved this stuff as well. It's definitely on my "purchase the full size" list. Happy Hippy is very lovely on the skin, with a great lather and grapefruit scent. It’s not an obnoxious citrus or a bathroom cleaner citrus. Just a very nice zingy citrus that really wakes you up. This really helped my KP, but it did leave me feeling a bit dry when I used it in the winter. I think this is more of a summertime gel. ($9.95 for 3.3 oz, $17.95 for 8.4, and $$27.95 for 16.9 oz)

What's your favorite shower gel? Recommendations are always lovely.

Lush Lust: Buffy, Aqua Mirabilis, and You Snap the Whip Body Butters

The idea of the Lush Body Butter is that if you can’t be bothered to put on lotion or body oil after your bath or shower, you can just use a body butter at the end of your shower (in the shower), rinse it off, and when you hop out of the shower you’re already moisturized. They really work. I think they’re great moisturizers, exfoliators, and time savers. The only thing I don’t like about them is the price for how long they last. They kind of tend to disappear after a couple weeks max with daily use. I’ve tried three of the four available now. I keep them in a body butter tin.

Buffy: This is probably Lush’s most popular body butter, and I know they use it in the hand treatment when you go to the Lush store. They have the big size in this one because people love it so much. I actually wasn’t the biggest fan of this. It’s rough and very greasy. The first time I used it, I used it all over my body (arms and everything), and it really aggravated my KP. My body was left unpleasantly greasy. I finished it eventually, but I only used it on my butt and thighs. I will give it this though: this made my thighs look fantastic! I have a little bit of cellulite, not enough to care though, especially because I wear long pants most of the time, and this really helped with that. So I would recommend this if you’re struggling with cellulite. Rub Buffy on the skin in an upwards, circular motion, do NOT press too hard or you could make your cellulite worse. The motion should get everything flowing in those regions and help a lot. A sales associate at Lush recommended this for shaving, and I tried that. It didn’t work that well because of the exfoliating bits. They just clog your razor as well as the cocoa butter. The smell also wasn’t my favorite. It was kind of herbal-y but nauseating. A fake lavender smell if you will. ($11.95/3.3 oz or $22.95/7 oz)

Aqua Mirabilis: This is my favorite body butter that I’ve tried. It’s a great exfoliator, but it’s not anywhere near as scratchy as Buffy. This is also better for my skin, too. I am able to use it all over, arms and everything, and it won’t irritate my KP, and it is NOT GREASY! This turns into a beautiful, milky lotion in the shower, and leaves me so soft and smooth, but with no residue at all. I love this so much. It smells amazing, too. Like almonds and milk? It’s soft, sweet, and lovely. I couldn’t recommend this more highly. ($10.95/3.3 oz)

You Snap the Whip: This is one of my favorite scents from Lush. You Snap smells just like The Comforter! This leaves you moisturized but not as greasy as Buffy. However, I wouldn’t buy it again because it’s very messy. This kind of leaves a slick black residue on you that you have to rinse off very carefully and completely or else it’ll get all over your towels. It also gets stuff in your nooks and crannies, like the armpits... hm. But it smells great. ($10.95/3.3 oz)

Sadly, since I’ve finished these, I haven’t repurchased. I didn’t think they lasted long enough for me to justify spending about $11 for a body scrub/moisturizer. However, in the winter I might repurchase Aqua Mirabilis, because it is the only one that I think is truly enjoyable and effective for me. Buffy, however, might be nice in the summer when you’re showing your legs off and want them to be nice and smooth with less cellulite. 

Have you tried the body butters? What do you think? 

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Lush Lust: Dirty shower gel, hair styling cream, shaving cream, toothy tabs, and cologne review

I was able to get one of those Dirty sampler boxes when the Dirty line first came out at Lush about a year ago or more. I love Lush sampler boxes so much, as they’re such a great deal and an amazing way to discover new Lush products. Unfortunately, I only was able to find one product that I truly loved from my box, as the Dirty line is supposed to be more for men.

The Dirty shower gel is probably one of my favorite products from Lush in general. It made my skin so smooth (soothed my KP and everything) and good smelling. It smells so fresh and nostalgic: it reminds me of the pool and just amazing summer days. The lather is also fantastic, and I had the smallest size for about three months, even using it everyday. The scent lasts on the skin, too. Lush says you can use it as a shampoo, but I didn’t try that. I would only do that if you had oilier hair or were a guy with short hair. For my thick, long hair, I’d want something more moisturizing (like Godiva! Yum). Also, when I do use shower gel in my hair (I used It’s Raining Men for a bit), I find I have to use more product to get a lather. Anyway, this product is amazing for boys and girls alike. Sadly, it’s just expensive. ($9.95 for 3.3 oz, $17.95 for the 8.8 oz bottle, and $27.95 for the big 16.9 oz bottle).

The set also had the hair cream in it. I didn’t like it at all. The scent was too strong, and it made my hair feel stiff and waxy, completely unmovable. It might work for flyways or something in small amounts, or be better for short guy hair, but I ended up giving that away. (Heh if I have something I don’t like, I leave it in the dorm bathroom with a sign that says “take,” and it magically disappears... At least someone’s enjoying it, right?). ($14.95 per 3.5 oz tub).

The sampler came with the Dirty shave cream as well. I have no clue how a guy could use this on his face. I could barely stand it on my legs. It smelled of lavender, which is nice, but it was too strongly perfumed to put on your facial skin, I think. This stuff made my legs feel nice and moisturized, and I got a nice shave, but this clogs the razor like CRAZY. It’s messy, gets all up in your drain, and has a ton of greasy residue that was sort of okay for legs, but if I were an acne-prone man, I’d stay away. You also have to use a ton of product. Not worth it. ($12.95 for 3.5 oz tub).

Now, the concept of solid toothpaste is absolutely genius! You don’t have to worry about liquids in a carry on, and the packaging is recyclable. You just pop one tab in your mouth, chew, and brush. However, you won’t like these tabs unless you can stand the taste of baking soda, which I can’t (to me it tastes like vomit). However, the baking soda cleansed my teeth really well, and I think it fought stains. It also foams amazingly! A con aside from the baking soda taste is the perfume taste. At first, it tastes like you’re eating soap. Not fun. The vomit taste is just the after taste... Also, be careful. These tabs have citric acid in them, which wears at tooth enamel. Oops... So these probably aren’t a good long term toothpaste. Maybe just a weekend trip kind of thing to pack. The Dirty Toothy Tabs are also more expensive ($3.95 per box) than the average big tube of toothpaste that I’m sure lasts longer.

The last little guy in the set was a sample of the Dirty perfume. This is a guy scent afterall, so I didn’t like it for me. It’s not as light as the shower gel. It’s a very heavy, manly scent that is very long lasting. Dirty is supposed to be for guys and girls, but maybe not the most feminine of women. I tried it on, thought I smelled like a guy, and then gave it away first chance I got. I gave it to my best friend (who's a guy), and he didn't like it. I was at his house the other day though and gave this another sniff, and it was kind of addicting. I couldn't stop smelling it. It had that same note  of "pool" that I love in the shower gel. It's just surrounded by much stronger notes. You can definitely smell the lavender and mint in this. ($29.95 for the atomizer, $9.95 for the solid).

Basically, get the shower gel whether you are a guy or girl, stay away from the shaving cream unless you’re okay with clogged razors and pores, hair cream only if you like it stiff... get your mind out of the gutter, toothpaste is good for travel but it might wear your enamel and taste like soap and vomit, cologne: guys only.

What do you think of the Dirty line?

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Lush Lust: Sweetie Pie Shower Jelly

I’ll just start this by saying that the smell of Sweetie Pie is amazing. It smells just like The Comforter bubble bar, and that’s pretty much my favorite smell ever.

This also lasts a pretty long time. I had the small 3.5 oz jar ($5.95 which is pretty cheap for Lush) and I was able to use it for a month or more. It lathers very well in my scrubby towel, so a pinch (maybe a nickel sized pinch or more) will get you a good shower.

This is very refreshing, cooling (if you’ve frozen it before), and hydrating. It made my skin soft and smooth.

What I didn’t like about it was that it’s kind of hard to get the hang of to use. You have to be very careful not to drop it (you will almost never get it back!) while you crush your piece into your scrubby towel or whatever you use. I find that the process takes a long time, and that I’m just sitting there with the water running, wasting water, until I can prepare this to use. The jar’s also not as convenient as a bottle. Water just gets in.

I also don’t like how if you do want to keep it in the freezer, you have to remember to get it out to use it. I just got annoyed with forgetting my shower jelly and having to run all the way upstairs to my room and back down again. Not fun in a dorm. I eventually stopped freezing it, and then it didn’t feel as nice.

I don’t think I would repurchase this. It’s much easier to use a regular shower gel, and I find I don’t care how fun it is to play with or how pretty it is (glittery and dark purple). I don’t play with my products really, I just want to get in the shower and get out. I just wish they’d make a comforter scented shower gel.

Do you love the shower jellies? What’s your favorite body cleanser of all time?

Lush Lust: Dark Angels

I’m not the biggest fan of the Lush cleansing rolls in general, but I’m completely obsessed with Dark Angels.

Dark Angels is made with oily-skinned girls like me in mind. It’s charcoal based to absorb oil and draw impurities out of the skin (it does!), but has avocado oil to moisturize.

It’s fairly straightforward to use, I think. For all Lush cleansing rolls, you just take a little pinch of the product, and put it into the palm of your hand (which you should make a little “cup” out of), then put in a few drops of water using your other hand (like the tiniest bit - don’t over do it with the water), and rub it in to make a paste. Then smear all over your face and get to work.

There are some pros and cons with this product as there are with every product. But firstly, I must warn you: this is only for those who like it rough. The charcoal is very abrasive, and it has black sugar grains in it as well for extra exfoliation. This isn’t your daily gentle scrub, but a once or twice a week exfoliating treatment. I really don’t think Lush should market it as a cleanser, but as a scrub. That said, it leaves your skin SO soft. The softest. Just don’t overdo it. If you would like your face to be touched with an angel’s wing, remember this is a DARK angel and is not for you.

The above didn’t really sound like a pro... haha but it was. Here’s another one: this product has the most amazing way of getting blackheads to surface on your skin. What I mean by that, is that it gets those deep blackheads, even those pesky ones that never seem to budge from your nose, to come up so you can yank them out with pore strips. What I do is use this in the shower to give myself a good scrub, with all the steam opening my pores and such, leave it sitting on my face for the rest of my shower, use my Clarisonic and my beloved CVS feminine wash to cleanse my skin at the end, hop out of the shower, slap on a Bioré pore strip while my pores are nice and open, and rip out all my blackheads fifteen minutes later. I never get as many blackheads out as when I use Dark Angels. It’s fantastic.

Another pro for me is the smell. It’s gorgeous and licorice-y. ‘Nuff said. It also lasts ages. A little goes a nice and long way.

Now for the cons (which I think the pros outweigh by far).

Like I said earlier, it is rough. I had to kind of get used to it as first, and I learned to use a very light scrubbing hand. 

As with all the Lush roll cleansers it is very messy. But since it’s black, it’s even more visible on a white porcelain sink (which could make the cleanup process easier because you can see where you’re cleaning... hmm). The way I combat this is that I use it in the shower. It then washes down the drain nice and neatly. I find it’s more effective there anyway.

Another con is that it leaves a residue on your face if you only use it and no other cleanser to wash it off. I tried to use it just as a cleanser, and it took me three cotton pads soaked with toner to get the excess charcoal and oil residue off. This is why I only use this as a scrub and then wash my face later with my Clarisonic and cleanser. Cleanser gets all the residue off. So this is a combatible con.

As with all Lush products, another con is the price. This is $11.95 for 3.5 ounces, whereas most scrubs (St. Ives for example) run about $3-7 for 4.5 ounces or more. However, as I said earlier, a little goes a very long way, and since it’s such a powerful exfoliant, you don’t use it as often as you would with a scrub like St. Ives Green Tea Scrub. I had a little Lush sample jar full of Dark Angels, and it lasted me FOREVER. I would get a sample before buying this, not only to see if you like it, but because it’ll last you a long time before you have to suck it up and buy it for real :P. Since you pay by weight at the Lush store anyway, you can get a smaller amount for a cheaper price for you, and it’ll still last a long time. Plus, you don’t want to get a ton anyway and have it expire and have to toss it and waste it.

Last thing I really like about this cleanser compared to other Lush ones, is that it’s the only one I can justify spending money on. I’ve tried almost all of the Lush cleansers, and I’ve found they’ve all left such a bad residue behind that I’ve needed to wash my face with something else, which defeats the purpose, doesn’t it? Since this one is a good exfoliant (the others really aren’t aside from Ocean Salt), I can use it in place of my scrub and not have a horrible cleanser that makes my face more dirty than when I started.

Overall, great cleanser for acne-prone skin. Highly recommend. Get a sample!

Have you tried this? Thoughts?

Lush Lust: Lust! Solid perfume

Lust is such an amazing scent, just like Godiva and Flying Fox. It’s a really nice, intense Jasmine that is just so addictive. I got the solid perfume, because I like the concept of not having to spray a perfume if I take it out with me in my bag, and because I can take it with me in the first place.

However, the downside to the solid perfumes is that they are not retractable. You push them up from the bottom like a push pop ice cream, but you have to screw the cap back on, and that presses the product down, getting it all up in the lid and ruining it. Lush needs to fix that packaging to make it more like a large chapstick that goes up and down.

Another downside to this is the color. It is bright red, and the color goes to your skin. This could be like a very pigmented gel/cream blush almost. I put it on my wrists and then have to rub that onto my neck, and it makes my skin look like it’s irritated (you don't want to rub your fragrance anyway because the friction ruins the staying power). So make sure you put it behind the ears so that way no one can see it. It’s very red. I don’t think Lush should put coloring in the perfumes at all.


This also has a very jelly-like/greasy? feel to it. So you have to rub it in or else you'll get stuck to it.

This smells so good though, and I think it lasts for a good amount of time. Not all day, but a decent while. I also get complements on how good I smell when I wear it. Who doesn’t like complements?

The solid perfumes run for $10.95 a tube and expire after a year.

Have you tried Lush’s perfumes? What are your favorite scents?

Lush Lust: Grease Lightning Rave

I have been using Grease Lightning for over a year and a half now. I can’t live without this stuff. It is so effective for my acne-prone skin, and here’s why:

This stuff is loaded with some of the best ingredients for acne-prone skin. It has tea tree oil, which fights off fungus and bacteria, thyme and rosemary, which also have anti-bacterial properties, lavender oil, which balances oil production of the skin without clogging pores, aloe to moisturize (you don’t want to dry out your skin, because it’ll produce more oil to overcompensate for that dryness), soothe, reduce redness and irritation, and witch hazel, which is nature’s astringent. It also has grape in it, which is supposed to be very good for cleansing. This is a true gem in my skincare routine.

I use Grease Lightning morning and night, not as a spot treatment, but as a serum all over my face before my moisturizer. I find it helps control my oil, and it prevents my bacterial breakouts (sorry, there’s nothing you can really do for hormonal breakouts except maybe retinol and patience). This also reduces redness and pain. If I have a huge breakout, (I am sure you’re familiar with the kind that just sit on your face and ache) I can dab this on, and it’ll relieve the pain. I don’t know how it does that, but it does. It’ll also shrink it down a bit.

I got this as a sample, let it reduce my pimples in a matter of days, lived off my sample for a very long time, and then decided I couldn’t live without it. I’ve gone through one bottle and am finishing up my second over the span of almost two years. Only $26 bucks a year to treat acne without irritating chemicals? That’s fine with me. This lasts so long, because you only need less than half a pump to cover your entire face. The bottle never seems to run out. You’ll think you’re finished, but you really have a ton of product left.

There are seriously no cons for this product aside from it being $12.95 for 1.5 ounces. However, most serums and spot treatments are way more than that for way less product, and this lasts forever. So the price isn’t really a con, especially because of how effective this gel is. I couldn’t recommend this more highly. Get a sample, and you will never look back. 

Have you tried Grease Lightning? 

Lush Lust: Soaps Review!

I am such a huge fan of Lush soaps. They make my skin feel so amazing (smoothing down my KP), smell so good, and lather so well. They all are different though: some don’t lather as well as the others, etc. Just a tip for Lush soaps: use a soap saver! It will save you money and headache, as it keeps your soap from melting and helps it last longer. I don’t cut my soaps up, because I find that actually wastes it. When I use the whole bar with my scrubby towel, I have to work less hard to get a good lather, which saves me product in the end.

Figs and Leaves: I love this soap so much. It has a lovely, light floral smell that lingers on the skin, and reminds me of this one Hermes perfume or cologne that a friend of mine wears. It also smells like Dorothy bubble bar, which is just divine. It has fig seeds in it, which neither bother or help me (Lush says they’re supposed to give you a scrub, but I don’t think they make any difference). The leaves kind of get stuck in my scrubby towel, and that’s slightly annoying, but nothing that would stop me from repurchasing this. This soap is so moisturizing, as it has loads of aloe in it, and it’s creamy with a lovely lather. It lasts for a decent amount of time, too. ($8.85/3.5 oz)

Rock Star: I have a love/hate relationship with this soap. I love the smell, but the smell lingers and can get really peppery in a way and strong. It makes me feel a bit nervous when I wear it around other people, because one time I used it to wash my hands and came downstairs, and my mom’s friend was there, and she had this huge coughing fit. I don’t want to kill anyone with the way I smell. Sometimes the smell even irritates my lungs. The soap lathers well, but it kind of makes me feel rubbery, and it dries my skin out. I would not repurchase this. It smells just like Creamy Candy bubble bar, by the way.($9.45/3.5 oz)

Sea Vegetable: This is one of my favorite soaps ever. It has a lovely lime and lavender smell, which is fresh but relaxing at the same time. It makes my skin so smooth and doesn’t dry me out. It’s also beautiful looking. The seaweed doesn’t bother me also. It lasts a long time. I would repurchase this again and again. ($9.30/3.5 oz)

Karma: I got this is in one of the soap stacks with HIWTK, and I washed my hands with this once and never used it again. The smell lingers, and the smell is so gross. I gave it to my dad because he didn’t mind the smell, but he gave it away later because he didn’t like the smell on him or in the shower. It’s a spicy, citrusy scent that’s loaded with patchouli. Nasty. Sorry if you like this, but I can’t stand the smell. I have no clue how it’s a best seller for Lush. Maybe the smell grows on some people? ($9.45/3.5 oz)

Sandstone: Another favorite from Lush. It smells exactly of LemonHeads (the candy). I could do without the sand because I use my scrubby towel anyway. This makes my skin so smooth, as all the Lush citrus-y soaps do, and you can smell it on yourself all day. This stuff makes me so happy. Repurchase and have it for a long time (my piece lasted forever). ($8.75/3.5oz)

Ice Blue: I like this soap, but I can’t say I’d buy it again for sure. It’s a bit drying, and while it does make your skin smooth, it leaves a manly after-scent on your skin. Sort of aftershave-y. If you’re a guy, you might like this. It lasts a long time and lathers well, too. ($7.00/3.5 oz)

Honey I Washed the Kids: The scent of this is fantastic. So amazing. This is a favorite as well. I got this as the other half of my soap stack with Karma, so it didn’t have the beeswax topper on it, which I can do without, but some people can’t. It’s very moisturizing with a rich lather. It doesn’t last as long as other soaps, which is slightly disappointing. I love the shower gel version of the scent, It’s Raining Men as well. I would repurchase. ($9.45/3.5 oz)

Sultana of Soap: Another favorite! This made my skin so soft and smooth (moisturized and helped my KP), and it smells divine and slightly berry-ish and nutty, just like Blackberry bath bomb. The lather is so rich and creamy, and the actual bar lasts a long time. A lot of people don’t like the chunks at the top, and I don’t think I would either, but my piece didn’t have a lot in it anyway, and I’m sure you could ask the Lush folks to cut off that part for you before they weigh it. I love this so much. ($7.00/3.5 oz)

Lust: I’ve been trying this out for a couple of days now, and it’s quite lovely. It’s made my skin so smooth. If I was raving enough about my CVS cleansing wash, that doesn’t even come close to the Lush soaps (it’s just cheaper and multi-tasking) when it comes to smoothing down my KP. Lust soap doesn’t smell as strongly of jasmine as the perfume, which is slightly disappointing, but it has a softer more soapy smell that’s still very nice, too. It doesn’t linger on the skin though. It’s a very pink bar, which gets all over my scrubby towel but rinses away. The lather is very rich and creamy, not necessarily foamy, and my sample is lasting me a while. It makes some soap scum, but I’d just use it shower only, not in the bath. I think I might buy this eventually. ($9.25/3.5 oz)

Demon in the Dark: This is a lovely soap. Very minty, like toothpaste but in a good way, (you can’t detect the apple in it) and refreshing, also smoothing with a good lather. The only things I don’t like about it are the chunks at the bottom and the black wax it’s covered in. You don’t really use those, but you’re still paying for them, and they’re just annoying to get off or work through when you’re using the soap. I wouldn’t repurchase for me for sure, but my dad liked it, so I might get this for him one day. Also, don’t use it in the bath, as with a lot of the Lush soaps, but this one especially, because it generates quite a bit of soap scum. ($9.40/3.5oz)

The Godmother: One of my favorites EVER. It smells exactly of Swedish Fish. I could’t love this more. The bar lasts a long time, the lather’s good, it’s soothing and smoothing, and makes me smell divine. Yummm. ($6.75/3.5 oz)

Miranda: Another favorite... heh they’re all starting to seem that way, but I can’t help it! This is so creamy and moisturizing. It makes my skin soft and smooth, and it smells so heavenly and fruity. I could sit and smell this all day. Doesn’t last as long as the others, but it doesn’t disappear or anything. It says it has scrubby bits in it, but again, not enough to do anything for me as far as exfoliation goes. I like it rough. ($7.95/3.5 oz)

Sexy Peel: Not a soap I’d repurchase. It made my skin nice and smooth, but no better than some other Lush soaps. The chunks of peels in it were annoying for me, too. It smells very citrusy, but not in a good way like Sandstone or Bohemian. It smells more like a bathroom cleaner. Lathers well and lasts a long time though. ($7.00/3.5 oz)

Bohemian: I love this soap so much. Again, it worked wonders for my KP. It has a true lemon scent and also helps with body acne. The lather’s great, and it lasts long. This is a staple in any citrus lover’s collection. Just beware of soap scum in the tub. I would repurchase. ($8.75/3.5 oz)

I got the prices from the Lush times, which is not always the same as the store or online price. So just keep that in mind please! Hopefully this was helpful. What may work for me might not work for you, and the other way around. I didn’t review all the soaps I’ve tried because some have been discontinued, sadly. Also, a general trend I've noticed is that the clear soaps (not the creamy ones you can't see light through) last longer than the opaque soaps, which tend to be more moisturizing.

What’s your favorite Lush soap?

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Lush Lust: Each Peach (and Two’s a Pair) and Strawberry Feels Forever Massage Bars

As you probably know, Lush has some very interesting products. They really love to cut down on packaging because it’s a lot better for the environment (even recyclable packaging requires energy to recycle). Because Lush is so environmentally friendly, they have a lot of solid “naked” products with no packaging, such as their soaps, solid shampoos, body butters, and their massage bars. 

I think the massage bars are such special products. They melt into a moisturizing oil when you rub them in your hands, perfect for giving someone a massage, rubbing onto yourself as a moisturizer, leg shine, and combatant for stretch marks. I know some people use these as bath melts as well (cutting off a tiny piece to throw in the tub).

I’ve been using mine after my shower at night to moisturize my stomach down (I find them a bit too oily for upper body), and I use them on my legs when I’m wearing shorts and want them to look their best. Since the massage bars are oily, when I use them at night, sometimes I’ll sprinkle my Vanilla Puff Dusting Powder over the areas I’ve moisturized to absorb some oil. I then wash my hands and use a hand lotion. 

I also give my friends massages from time to time, and I like to use these versus regular massage oil, because it’s much easier to warm this up and then put it back in the tin than to use a bottle and get the bottle all oily while you’re working. Also, Lush has more scents that are more special, I think, than your average massage oil. My friends always enjoy their experience (feel and scent), but then again they are getting a free hour-long massage... :P What’s also great about these, is that the oil draws blackheads out of my friends’ backs while I’m massaging them. (I’ll feel the blackheads rolling around during the massage, which I don’t mind). I tell my friends to take a shower after to wash off the cocoa butter (because that will clog pores), so they have a nice blackhead free back after I’m done with them.

I have two different massage bars that I purchased before going to Italy last year. I wanted to take them so I’d have a solid lotion in my carry on. The solid Lush products in general are amazing for travel (especially the shampoos). I got two, because at the time, if you bought two of the massage bars, solid shampoos, or body butters, you’d get a tin free. I have Each Peach and Strawberry Feels.

Each Peach (and Two’s a Pair): This massage bar smells amazing: exactly like Pez candy. It’s so citrusy and fantastic. You’d think it would smell like peach, but that’s just the name. I wish Lush would come out with a peach scented product though... I also like the shape and design of Each Peach. The design’s gorgeous: a flowery branch, and the shape of it fits perfectly into the massage bar tin. ($9.95/2.2 oz)

Strawberry Feels Forever: Another fantastic smelling bar. It smells like vanilla/berry and is deeper than you’d think. While Each Peach is more refreshing, zingy, and vibrant, this is more sexy and creamy. It’s also made with fresh strawberries. The one I have isn’t and wasn’t as pink as the ones they’re selling now. (My massage bars are more than a year old, so they’re expired, but I still use them no problem. They’re solid, so I don’t think they really expire anyway, just dry out a bit. Another great thing about the solids is that they don’t need preservatives. I also like Strawberry Feels even better now that it’s expired, because the smell isn’t as potent and doesn’t irritate my mother, who hates scents and gets mad at me when I wear them, but anyway..). A downside to this is the shape. Even though you get more product than the oval bars, you can’t fit the funny shaped ones in the tins. I’d rather they shaped the funny ones into ovals and lowered the prices so I could fit them in my tin. I had to use this one strategically (wearing it down in different areas) in order to fit it in the tin as opposed to storing it in a plastic bag, which gets kind of messy. ($9.95/2.6 oz)

A con about these is that once they get thinner, they break when you use them. My Each Peach snapped in half the other day, then in fourths, etc. Strawberry Feels did that to me, too. 

Just a note about the pricing and buying these: I know a lot of people like to order Lush from the UK site as opposed to the US site. This is because the UK site is cheaper for certain products. However, massage bars are actually more expensive to order from the UK site last time I checked. I worked out the conversion from the pound to the USD. So don’t put these in your order from the UK site, just get the massage bars at your nearest Lush store.

I hope this was helpful. Please give these a try! They’re great.

Have you tried the massage bars? Do you have a favorite?

Lush Lust: T Tree Toner Tab

The T Tree Toner Tab from Lush is supposed to be for oily, spotty skin. I got one of these toner tabs because I wanted to try a Lush toner for my skin type but didn’t want to splash out on the bottled kind. One of these little guys is just $1.95, as opposed to the big bottle of toner (which I did decide to get in the end) for $19.95 (or the small bottle for $8.95).

A con of this product is that it does cost $1.95 per use. You drop the tab into super duper hot water, and it fizzes away like a bath bomb. After steaming your face (you sit over the bowl with a towel over your head for a bit) you can bottle this up and store it in your fridge for a while ( I used it for about a week before I forgot to put it back in the fridge and then had to dump it out) and continue to use it as a toner. 

I don’t think I’ll buy this product again. It was one of those things that’s a huge hassle to use. You have to boil the water, carry it upstairs to your bathroom while trying not to burn yourself, sit over it on the floor for a while in the dark, and get suffocated. No, this obviously won’t kill you, but I found when I first dropped the tab in while I was under the towel, the aroma came up my lungs so strongly with the steam I had to come out from the towel. By doing that, the steam escaped, and then I never got a good steaming. So my pores never really opened to release my blackheads, which defeats the purpose. 

I used this tab in a bowl so that way I could salvage the toner in a bottle after the steaming session. The thing is, this toner isn’t that potent because it’s so diluted in a bowl full of water. You still have to dump out a lot of the toning solution down the drain, because you can’t save this toner indefinitely and use it all up. You have to toss it after about a week. When I used it as a toner later, it wasn’t concentrated, and I hated having to run downstairs to get it to and from the fridge.

I wouldn’t get the toner tabs again, even though they are cheap. But I am excited to try my bottle toner, which I’ll get way more than a week’s use out of.

Have you tried the toner tabs? Did you have a better experience?

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