LUSH Obsession

Eight years it took, eight long wasted years before I discovered LUSH! Isn't that disgraceful?

I received the 'shiny happy people' package on my last birthday from my dear Leeds course mates (I miss them so...)

We were having a meal at Zizzi's (Italian restaurant) and I remember thinking that the Calamari had a very fruity delicious scent. Little did I know there was a box of LUSH goodies hiding under the table.

I have always known LUSH as the shop that scents the whole street. I occasionally indulge my senses in the round candy looking 'things' and leave.

I loved my birthday present- it had some funky products with even funkier names- Happy Hippy shower gel, some ginger-bread-man-looking soap (Up You Gets emotibomb) and another soap called Sandstone. I absolutely loved these products and I found myself wondering how I never discovered them. I had a constant shower affair with the Happy Hippy since then.

The products came in popcorn and guess what? Yes, you are right. Her Majesty chewed the popcorn! Not all of it. It looked so enticing and the scent was so irresistible. The taste however is a story for another day.

I've gone into a natural craze now and I cannot stand anything remotely non-natural near my skin. I know LUSH is not 100% natural (e.g. Parabens) but it is better than many other brands.
I visited my local LUSH store and after spending 45 minutes walking round the store (at this point the attendant was wondering if I went there to steal), I invested in Cocoa Lotion, Dreamwash, Sugar scrub and Brazened Honey Fresh Face Mask (FFM)


Brazened Honey (£6.45)

HRP rating:

FFMs are wonderful. It doesn't get fresher than buying from ice and using fresh from the fridge. I love that LUSH products have an expiry date. There is no doubt as to when to throw them away, though I doubt I will ever have to throw away a LUSH product. I like the brazened honey FFM because it acts as an exfoliator and a mask and I would have been happy to save some pounds on an exfoliator. However (quite unfortunately as I love anything honey based), my skin does not like whatever fragrance is in there. As soon as I put it on, it was reminiscent of molten lava crawling my face so I had to wash it off ASAP! I tried it twice, same result. I tried it in the store on my neck and it was fine, but on my face it burns. What a shame. I have to throw away a LUSH product :(
One disadvantage of the FFMs is that they have a short shelf-life (5 weeks I think) as they have no preservatives. This means you have to use them often (twice I week I would recomend) to avoid wasting them. Their effects are not permanent or cumulative either. They are only good at temporarily making your face awesome, so you have to use them continuously. In a way I guess that could be an advantage. At least you know that nothing sneaky is accumulating in your skin.

Ingredients: Kaolin, Talc, Fresh lime juice, Sage, Rosemary and Juniperberry infusion, Free range eggs, Honey, Glycerine, Fresh fennel, Ground almond shells, Almond oil, Bentonite gel, Fresh ginger root, Fresh parsley, Fresh coriander, Ground tumeric, Ground cardamom, Clove bud oil, Ginger oil, Vetivert oil, Juniperberry oil, Benzyl salicylate, Eugenol, Geraniol, Benzyl benzoate, Linalool, Perfume.


Sugar Scrub (£2.50)

HRP rating:

What more can I say about sugar scrub except that it is sugar and scrubs your body? I love it. It has an invigorating fragrance that wakes you up instantly. You can feel it working as you scrub away.I don't know about the ingredients, I'm guessing sugar crystals, fragrance, some kind of soap. Basically I have no idea.
The only problem with this product is that it melts away in the shower. It might be better to break it into two and use one half at a time, or find a suitable container to store it in the shower.


Dreamwash (£8.37)


HRP rating:

I confess, I cheated on the Happy Hippy. In short I dumped him. I don't know how to explain in words my love for this product. It is a skin-saver! I had been battling with a fungal-looking thing on my left foot for about six months and I tried a lot of things. I got fed up with anti-fungals and resorted to different creams. Nothing worked until I met Dreamwash. 3 weeks of Dreamwash and my foot is now free. I wish I had before and after pictures. It is super amazing and I have no idea how it works. As a medic I should be more inquisitve but honestly I don't care. I suspect some pharmaceutical companies will soon be making complaints. Anyone who mentions skin problem- my automatic answer is Dreamwash.
I have taken away half a crown only because I am a foam freak, and it doesn't foam as much as I'd like it to. Otherwise, I would recommend this to anyone, especially if you have an uneven skin tone.

Ingredients: Calamine powder, Aloe vera gel, Water, Sodium palm kernelate, Glycerine, Sodium stearate, Rose absolute, Chamomile oil, Tea tree oil, Lavender oil, Sodium chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium editronate, Linalool, Perfume.


Coco Lotion (£8.50)



HRP rating:

I'm drawn to cocoa skin care products. It has something to do with cocoa being abundant in the Southern part of Nigeria hence I grew up knowing all it's amazing skin properties. Coco Lotion is no different. I lied, it is better than every other cocoa product I've used. I love how natural this product is, it has no artificial fragrance but it smells lovely anyway. It is perfect if you have dry skin or uneven skin tones. It does not feel heavy but it still moisturises and does it's job.
It gets 4 crowns because it is not super moisturising. If you have very dry skin, you might find yourself using a lot more, or using it twice.

All in all, I'm a fully converted LUSH-ness. The products work very well together. The brand itself is all about the planet. They use little or no packaging (hence the popcorn) and if they use any, you can guarantee that it is either recyclable or they are working on recycling it. If you take 5 empty black pots back, you get a free FFM, and all you had to do was to help the planet by recycling your empty pots. Isn't that awesome? If you have never tried Lush products, what are you waiting for?

Stay beautiful...