Doing your bit for the ECO system, with Lush.

In a similar way to MAC Lush operate a system where if you bring back empty containers you can get a free product.  If you are a regular shopper it is something you should take advantage of, and at the same time you are helping the ECO system. I'm not the most green of people (I could do a whole lot more) but this lets me feel like I am contributing a little.  We could all always do a little bit more for the ECO system though.  Any super green bloggers out there? 

Considering I have been shopping at Lush since I was at high school it is astounding that I have never returned '5 clean tubs' in order to get a free fresh face mask.  I am going to blame the travelling to and fro from Stirling for the past four years, but I actually don't know why I have never done this.

Even if you are not a regular shopper at Lush, in order to collect five, the little tubs are great for decanting other products into and are a nice way to let a friend have a sample. I have also used them in the past for washing my make-up brushes. There are loads of different uses for them.

I think I am going to get a little tub of my old favourite face mask Catastrophe Cosmetic.  This one is great if you are prone to sore break outs, it soothe the skin and makes the problem a little less problematic.

Does anyone else know of other beauty houses that do their part for the ECO System?

Let The Good Times Roll

In case you haven't heard the Lush Christmas cleanser Let The Good Times Roll is being continued by Lush into the New Year.  Out of fear that it wasn't being continued I stocked up on it in the Lush sale though, but I am so happy to hear that is is staying.  It is without a doubt my favourite cleanser from Lush.  I liked Angels on Bare Skin, Ultra Butter and Aquamarina but this is the superstar cleanser. 

It looks like cookie dough and it smells like popcorn, a lovely morning treat.  The maize ex-foliates the skin and the corn oil leaves the skin beautifully soft.  It is not the best cleanser for taking make-up off unless it is used with a muslin cloth but it is nice to use before bed in replacement of a moisturiser, 

I was given a handy little tip by one of the men who work in Lush also, a really obvious one.  You can stock up on cleanser and freeze it, because Lush use natural ingredients they do go out of date pretty quickly.  I had that problem with the moisturiser because I would never use it all by the sell by date but now I am considering in the future decanting it into smaller tubs and freezing the rest. 

I also picked up some shower gel in the sale, as much as I love lush paying £8.00 for some shower gel seems a bit crazy but I didn't mind paying the sale price.  Orange and tequila scented it is a acquired taste but I quite like it, its unusualness attracted me.  I really did not like the Twilight gel they had out this year though, as another woman in the shop said 'it smells like bleach'.  Snow Fairy was naturally sold out.

Did anyone try the other Lush Christmas cleanser?  I was told that it was very good for eczema.

Lush Haul - Pass it Forward

A couple of weeks ago I made a visit to Lush in utter despair about the state of my skin.  I have been experiencing quite a few health issues over the last eight months and it starting to take its toll on my skin.  This is not what I would call a breakout because it has been more or less permanent over the last few month and I needed something to calm it down and make it less sore.  I was caking my face in sudocrem to soothe the irritation (which does help by the way) but I needed something more and when I have skin problems I run to Lush - a haven of natural skin goodness.

I went in with the intentions of purchasing the mask of magnaminty but the sales advisor told me that it would probably be too strong for my skin and could make the problem worse.  I have combination skin which is more dry than oily despite being acne ridden and mask of magnaminty is targeted at oily skin. She did sit me down and advised me on which products would be good for my skin though.  One of things I love the most about Lush is that I never feel pressured into buying anything and the sales advisor always take a genuine interest in what it is you are looking for.

Cleansers

Both the cleansers that I were suggested for my skin tone I have reviewed before through samples:

1. Angels on Bare Skin 
2. Ultrabland Cleanser

I purchased a big tub of Angels on Bare Skin and went away with more little samples of Ultrabland.  I would not change anything that I have said in the previous reviews other than adding that Ultrabland is a great alternative to the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish if you cannot afford it.

Toners

Tea Tree Water

So far I really like the tea tree water as it is very refreshing on the skin.  You can either spritz it on to your face or spritz some over a cotton pad to wipe it over your face.  Spritizing is good in the morning or after a work out to freshen your skin up. It is really good at removing excess make-up or grime from your face after cleansing.  The sales advisor carried a bottle with her when she went to South America to keep her skin in top condition due to the sweltering heat in the jungle. If I were going to a hot country this would be top of my list of things to take with me - so holiday goes take note.

Moisturiser

Cosmetic Lad

Do not be fooled by the name it is for us ladies.  The name is actually a typo the moisturiser was meant to be Cosmetic Lab but it turns out it is very good for men (especially after shaving) so the name stuck.  I forced some on my boyfriend to test the theory and his skin looked loads better afterwards.  I was a bit envious of the results on him but it does work well on my skin too and I imagine if I had stubble it would work equally as well (insert lol). It has the lovely scent of terry's chocolate orange and it dries very quickly which I love so it is fine as a base for make-up.  It works really well with my combination skin giving enough moisture to the dry areas but not aggravating the greasier areas like the T-zone.

Pass it Forward

I was advised for many different things for my skin during my visit but I was honest with the sales lady and told her I didn't have that much money to spend since I had just graduated and had not found a job.  I also told her about my under-active thyroid after she told me that spots round the chin area are due to hormonal reasons and she told me her mother has this as well and has suffered many problems due to it. She sends her mother (who lives in America) the above products every month.

I don't know if she felt a bit sorry for me or could just tell that I was having a crap week but when I stopped to admire my new products on the train I found the little card photographed above and a full size bottle of the  grease lightening spot treatment that I could not afford to buy. It make my week and I still smile when I think about it.  It was such a lovely thing to do and it just shows how great the customer service at Lush is.  One day I will go back in and thank her for reminding me that not everything is bleak.


Grease Lightening

I have previously reviewed a sample of Grease Lightening here but now that I have had a bigger sample I can say more about it.  It smells very similar to the coal face soap if anyone has tried that? So almost a little like liquorice and the texture is like a gel (this is due to the seaweed) and as you can see from the photo it looks a little ERM...sinister.  However it is beautifully ugly.  It works wonders at cooling down spots and making them less painful but I am probably not the best person to review this as I am now on a 27 day course of antibiotics for my skin and no matter how wonderful this product may or may not be at sorting out spots it probably wouldn't make a dent in my skin problems. It certainly has not made my skin any worse though and I still use it daily to make my skin feel better. It is like a painkiller for the skin.

So happy ending?  I certainly had a happy shopping trip and I cannot advise people enough to take a trip to Lush if they are having a crap week because I can ensure you'll leave the store feeling a little bit better. However I am still battling the horrors of my skin and it truly is a bad day when Lush cannot sort the problem out but here is hoping the antibiotics help some.

Lush - Seanik - Solid Shampoo Bar - Review

I have pondered the wonder of the solid shampoo bar for a long time, always humming and hawing about whether to actually purchase one, despite being told they last longer than a typical bottle of shampoo.  After I handed my dissertation in I decided to treat myself.  I would usually reach for a nice soapy bubble bar but my flat has no bath.
There are a few different bars to choose from but I went with Seanik because as the name suggests it smells like the sea and it contains sea-salt which I was told by the lady in Lush is good for volume - something my hair badly lacks - it is as limp as a bit of seaweed. 

As you can see it looks a little bit like a blue macaron. 

Other ingredients are: 

• Irish Moss and Nori Seaweed - to soften the hair.
• Lemon Oil - for shine.
• Mimosa Absolute, Orange Flower Absolute and Jasmine Absolute - for a light fresh feeling.

The bar works just the same way a bar of soap does and does not take much to get lathered up and you really do not need to use a lot of it in your hair.  I always wash my hair twice but when using this you could easily only wash your hair once because it gives you hair such a deep cleanse but it does leave your hair feeling a bit too squeaky clean in texture so I use my typical conditioner afterwards but if you don't use conditioner you will probably see the benefits such as volume more. 

It would be handy if you travel about a lot as it takes up a lot less room than a bulky bottle of shampoo and I would be good for a festival I am considering taking mine to Download Festival so help get all the dirt out of my hair!

I would like to use it with a condition from Lush such as American Cream as I have been told that is is really good for dry hair. Anyone any experience of Lush conditioners?

£5

Lush - Ultrabland - Review

This was another of the samples I received from Lush a while back.  After the sales assistant mentally noted that I for one complaining about bad skin and two wearing a lot of makeup she decided I needed to try this.

She marketed it as more of a makeup remover but it is listed as a cleanser on the website.  I initially thought the product was called Ultrabutter but is is actually called Ultrabland.  The reason I thought this is because it is buttery in texture and is quite oily.  I was advised to use it at night rather than in the morning.

You only need a little bit of the product at a time because it is so rich in texture - it spreads far - just like butter. The way I use it is to simply rub is all over my face and then wash it off using a warm flannel.  The skin feels nourished afterwards as it lifts grease, dirt and makeup but without stripping the skin of its natural defences.  This is also means that if you have bad skin it will not aggravate it further.

• Rose water and rose absolute reduce redness of the skin and balance and calm it.
• Honey soothes, moisturises and is antiseptic.
• Fresh irises steeped in the almond oil are an ancient skin beautifying ingredient.

 There is no need for a night cream when you have this little beauty.

£6.45 - for a 45g tub or £10.25 for an 100g tub.

Angels On Bare Skin Cleanser - Lush - Review

This is the second cleanser I have tried from Lush and like pretty much everything I have tried from Lush I rate it highly.

The sales lady advised Angels On Bare Skin for my skin type because its quite dry and it leaves skin feeling soft and moisturised but not in a greasy sort of way - so it would also work for those with oily skin.  If you use it in the morning you could probably get away with not putting any moisturiser on.

The little seeds you can see are lavender flowers and this makes the cleanser smell heavily of lavender which I am personally not a fan of but my flatmate though it smelt lovely.  So it will depend on your personal taste what you think of the smell.  The lavender flowers also kind of work as an exfoliant.

The cleanser not only leaves you skin feeling deeply cleansed but also evens out skin tone, reduced redness and improves the health and appearance of your skin.

The ground almonds in this product release their goodness and turn to an almond milk on your hand when you add water. Almond milk has been used in many parts of the world for centuries as a toning and brightening ingredient.

Other ingredients:

•  Kaolin -to absorb grease and gently cleanse
• Vegetable glycerine - to soften and moisturise the skin
• Blend of essential oils -all chosen for their abilities to balance and tone the skin.

Although I also liked the Aqua Marina cleanser the sales lady was right and this one does work better with my skin.  If you are interested in purchasing a cleanser from Lush you should ask in the store for some advice on which one will work best with your skin type and if you don't know your skin type they will be able to help you work this out also.

Grease Lightning - Spot Treatment - Lush

Product No.3 of the free samples - Grease Lightning.

This is one of newer products at Lush and one I have pondered about but as I get prescribed cream off the doctor for my skin I have never bought it but on having tried it out for free I am now considering purchasing it.

The product is actually quite similar to my prescribed product Duac and Freederm cream which I also have a history of using.  Both very good for acne but sadly dry the skin out.

One of the main thoughts behind this product is to create a product for spots that does not dry out the skin - it contains: carrageen moss - a seaweed - which is very softening as to not dry the skin out surrounding the spot(s). 


Ingredients

• Aloe vera gel to soothe and moisturise
• Seawater for its antiseptic properties. 
• Grape juice to cool and calm the skin.
• Thyme, rosemary and tea tree herb infusions to be gently antibacterial.
• Witch hazel, an astringent that is great for bruising and helps broken blood vessels shrink and contract.
• Tea Tree oil, a powerful antiseptic

I haven't used the product for long enough to see if it is successful in completely removing spots but it certainly makes them feel a bit better and I have only been using it at night when I remember to put it on.  I think if it was used every night it would be really great.

It is only £5.65 - a bargain compared to the price of some other spot treatments.  I think I will be making a change over from my prescribed cream.

Cosmetic Warrior - Fresh Face mask - Lush Review

This is the second review out of the free samples I received on my visit to Lush.  I have used Lush face mask's before but I have never asked about which one would be best from my skin.  I usually just make a judgement on 1.  The smell of the product and 2. What the product card says.

The sales lady advised Cosmetic Warrior for my skin - dry and spotty.  Like most students.  As if university was not stressful enough.  Here is a product to make things a little less stressful.

The first thing that hits you about this product is the tea tree oil - one of my favourite products and one that is very good for combating spots.  I used to dab pure tea tree oil on my skin - little tip for anyone with bad skin. I can be rather nippy though.  In the face mask however though it isn't nippy it makes the skin feel beautifully fresh.  Just like a lovely gust of cold wind has swept across your face.  The mask would go lovely with an iced mojito and a vivid imagination.

"Fresh white grapes clean and cool the skin. Fresh garlic and tea tree oil are antiseptic.

Fresh eggs tighten the texture of the skin. Honey softens and moisturises the skin and is also antimicrobal. We bind all of these ingredients together with kaolin and cornstarch to give the mask a smooth texture that goes on easily and does not drag or pull sore, sensitive skin. All of this means that Cosmetic Warrior fights spots and the causes of spots, without harming the natural balance of the skin and without creating puffiness".

The further description suggests that the product smells really quite bad because of the garlic but I think the product smells really fresh - although it obviously doesn't smell quite as good as the chocolate scented face mask cupcake.

You can almost feel the product working as it is on your face which is nice.  The sales lady also advised that you leave a little bit of the mask on over night if you have a particularly bad spot.  I haven't tried this as of yet but I will once I invest in a larger tub of the product.

Aqua Marina Cleaner - Lush - Review

Recently my flatmates and myself made a little trip to Lush after we decided we were going to have a hair dyeing and face mask night. I wish the hair dyeing had been as successful as our trip to Lush.


I rave on about Lush as you may have noticed but I usually stick to the same products.  I wanted to try something different so I asked the sales lay for some samples. Well I call her a sales lady but she did not end up selling us anything but instead gives us lots of samples of the products we enquired about and threw some extra products in to what turned out to be a rather large goodie bag. 
It was such a pleasant shopping experience.  At no point did I feel pressured to purchasing anything and I went in with the intentions of purchasing a face mask and getting one free sample of the Aqua Marina Cleanser.

I first tried the Aqua Marina Cleanser years ago.  It was one of the first products I ever bought from Lush but it didn't make much of an impact on me back then.  I think it was because my skin was so bad with acne back then that anything that did not immediately make my skin like porcelain was rendered useless but I had a better experience with it this time.

The sales lady advised me that with my skin being quite dry it was probably not the best product for my skin as its got calamine powder in it but she gave me a little sample anyways and another cleanser that is more suited to my skin type.

As you can see from the photo it looks almost like an obscure piece of sushi due to the seaweed but the seaweed is my favourite part as its so obviously a natural ingredient and this makes me drawn towards putting it on my face.  Don't ask me why - I don't know.

To use the cleanser you break a little bit off and run it under warm water to mix, until it becomes like a milky paste. Give your face a  good rubadubdub and then rinse it off. Pat dry - ala! Pretty face!

It leaves you skin really soft and calm feeling - if like me you have irritated skin.  I don't feel the cleanser has dried my skin out but it does leave it feeling a little bit tight across the cheeks but not as tight as soap does.  I am going to compare it to the Angels On Bare Skin Cleanser and then made a final judgement on which one I think is better.

Oh and if you are interested in the hair dyeing - my roots turned a gingery blonde colour whilst the rest of my hair remained dark brown and my flatmate's turned bright blonde rather than a medium shade of blonde.  The Lush experience was far more relaxing.

Catastrophe Cosmetic - Facemask - Lush - Review

This is one of my favourite Lush products. It's in my top three.  I like to chop and change with Lush face masks but this one if my favourite out of them all.  Even though Cupcake smells like chocolate.

The Catastrophe Cosmetic mask is great for spot prone skin and if your skin is feeling particularly sore then this will calm it down.  It is kept in the fridge so it is lovely and cooling on your face. 

• It contains:
• Irish moss gel - which softens the skin.
• Almond oil - to moisturiser - the mask doesn't dry out your skin like some face masks can.
• The mask is lilac in colour because of the fresh blueberries that it contains.  The blueberries act as an antioxidant.
• Rise absolute and chamomile essential oil reduced redness and irritation.
• Calamine and talc cleanses the skin but without causing puffiness.

The mask leaves the face feeling cool, clear and calm.  It is designed to be used regularly in order to prevent spots.

If this mask does not suit your skin type then I highly recommend any face mask by Lush - if you go into store they will be able to recommend which products will suit your skin type.  Any facial products will be most effective if they suit your skin type so it is important that you find out your skin type.

£5.75

5/5

Lush - Oatifix - Face Mask

After being inspired by my friend Fiona's beauty blog I decided that I would try some beauty blogging myself.  Since I use a lot of beauty products it makes sense.  I will probably specialise in nail polish since I always have my nails painted and own an obscene amount of polishes. 

I'm also going to get back into the habit of using a face mask at least once a week.  I used to use one weekly and then I just stopped...I think I got too busy with uni work and my bottle of mask ran out.  However since I have started my new job and I'm working in an air-conditioned environment my skin has dried out something awful.

One of the best face masks in my opinion are those that Lush make - all fresh/natural ingredients - so nothing that is going to be bad for your skin.  Unlike some skin products that are full of things like alcohol which just dry your skin out. I usually use the face masks 'catastrophe cosmetic' or 'cupcake' from Lush but I decided to try one I haven't tried before which is good for dry skin.

The ingredients are:

• Banana's - which are a rich oily fruit - good for sorting out dry skin.
• Illipe butter -  to moisturise the skin and leave it supple.
• Oatmeal,ground almonds and kaolin bind -  act as a very gentle scrub to lift dead skin away and leave the face looking brighter.
• A soft fragrance based on vanilla absolute finishes off this nourishing mask.

I'm a big fan of banana's and the way they smell so I found this mask simply define but it also leaves your skin full of the moisture that it was robbed of.

5/5