Product Review: Herbalism

I just tried this product about four seconds ago and simply HAD to share my thoughts. ;-)

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You know how when you go into Lush and buy a whole heap of stuff they sometimes give you free samples? This was one of my free samples from my last excursion. The girl at the counter (at good ol' Lush QVB) asked me what my skin type was, I replied, and she handed me this cleanser. I've been intending to give it a test drive for a while now but was suddenly inspired to get off my arse and try it after a morning spent trawling the Lush website when I should have been househunting.

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Aside: Do you know how therapeutic just looking at the Lush website can be? Even if you don't buy anything, just looking at all the pretty things and earmarking some for purchase next time you get up to visit your ol' friend E. is very awesome. I'm trying to find a new place and it's not going so well at present, which is a bit depressing. But looking at all the lovely Lush products has cheered me up immensely. Even vicariously, Lush stuff is fabulous.

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First thing's first: the smell. This is NOT your typical cosmetic smell. It is in no way floral or fruity. It takes a while to become acclimatised to it. You're supposed to take a small amount of the Herbalism cleanser, mix it into a paste and then apply. Adding water and mixing releases the smell, and boy, is it pungent. It is certainly not unpleasant - as the name of the cleanser might suggest, it is a herbal smell. It has rosemary in it and you can definitely tell. It smells sort of like a garden after rain, green and earthy, but stronger, because, you know, it's on your face, right near your nose.

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At first, I thought I'd got the ratio of cleanser to water wrong - I thought I'd added too much water. But I think it got it just about right... I could probably use a little less water, but on the whole, it was good. But looking myself in the mirror, looking sort of like a ghoul with this green watery stuff on my face, I thought that maybe this one (or, at least, this application, because at this point I thought I'd messed it up) was a bust. Add to that the overwhelming herbal smell....

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But experiments are experiments, and so I washed it off, just like you're supposed to do. (Though, I mean, what else was I going to do? Leave it on?) To discover...

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...fabulous skin.

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I can't stop touching it. It feels all supple and smooth and... you know, good. This cleanser has rice bran and ground almonds in it for exfoliation purposes, and they work, as I discovered when I took it off. And the best news? I only used about a third of the sample pot I got at Lush QVB, so I can use it again! I expect that this is the type of cleanser that works even better with cumulative use (though the sales assistant who gave it to me said not to use it everyday... cumulative in the sense of once or twice a week, I expect) and so I'll definitely be purchasing some next time I find myself in a Lush... or, if I get desperate, ordering it off the website!

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A word of warning, though. The smell is overwhelming at first, and though I liked it, it is probably not the smell for everyone. So, if you prefer your cleansers floral or fruity or more gently scented, I'd go with something else. But if you want to try something a bit unusual that produces results pretty much instantly (seriously, this trial run was about ten, fifteen minutes ago) then give Herbalism a go!

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- J.

Product Review: Jumping Juniper

Like many, I suspect, I was initially sceptical at the notion of solid shampoo. I don't think I had any particular reason to be sceptical aside from the fact that I'd never heard of it before, but... hey, well, I guess that's a reason. I mean, solid shampoo? What is that? How could that possibly work?

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I suppose I should mention here that I have very long, Rapunzel-style hair. It's temperamental and it takes a whole lotta lovin' to keep it shiny and pretty. So again with the scepticism. Solid shampoo, I remember thinking, might work well for all them folk with short well-behaved hair, but not for me. But E. swore by the stuff, and her hair looked pretty darn good, (albeit nowhere near as long as mine) so I decided to give it a try.

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And once again, Lush came through with the goods. This stuff is fabulous.

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With solid shampoo (and, by all accounts, solid conditioner as well), I think you need to be wary of thinking that it's going to behave the same way as normal shampoo instantly. The first time I used solid shampoo, I was initially disappointed, because it felt sort of like it was stripping all the moisture out of my hair at the same time as the dirt. But it isn't so. It feels different at first, but once you dry it off, you discover that a) your hair is fine, and b) it's suddenly become really, really shiny. I'm not sure why it presents itself so differently when you wash your hair with it, but it does, so just ride the wave and you'll be laughing.

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And another thing: you might not think it, but these babies produce about 17 times the amount of lather as your normal chemical shampoo. And it smells fantastic.

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My one criticism of this particular type of shampoo - I picked out the Jumping Juniper to test drive, because a) it matches up to my hair type and b) it smells great - is that the smell doesn't hang around quite as long as you'd like it to. This one smells fabulous - it's full of juniper and lavender and smells kind of like G&T - but you have to wash with it a few times before the scent starts to cling, and even then, if you use a heavily scented conditioner (I'm currently using American Cream, also by Lush) it tends to block it out. But on the whole, I can't heap enough praises on Jumping Juniper. Fabulous stuff.

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So think outside the box. Solid shampoo: the way of the future. And it's environmentally friendly, too...

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- J.

Product Review: Catastrophe Cosmetic

'Catastrophe Cosmetic' bills itself as a facemask that is more prevention than cure, and it is certainly not false advertising. It is the best thing that has happened to my skin, ever.

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Blueberries are not the first thing you think of when it comes to skincare, but they must have something going for them, because this facemask is sheer brilliance. Facemasks are something I have approached with scepticism in the past, but after the experience at E.'s (that facemask was not this one) I am a convert. I thought the facemask I did there was good, but this one is something else.

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I bought this one because it was supposed to be soothing - coming off a long theatre makeup bender, I figured I needed it! I mean... 'Catastrophe Cosmetic' - clearly it was screaming my name! I didn't think facemasks were often blue, but hey, I was open. And I am glad I was, because this stuff is amazing.

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Facemasks feel funny, if you've never used them before. You slap 'em on thick and then it dries and every time you move your face you can feel it cracking. But I swear, with this one, you can actually feel it doing you good. You can feel it soaking into your skin, feel it drawing the badness out... it's cold (not just because you have to refrigerate it) and it's soothing. And then when you take it off - you have to be careful not to get any in your hair, otherwise you look like you dipped it in concrete! - your skin feels so amazing!

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I didn't know my skin could feel this way. I use this mask maybe twice a week now, and the difference is very, very obvious!

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And, as an added advantage, your skin smells like blueberries.

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This product is great for one-off use - after a particularly bad makeup night, perhaps - but the effects are cumulative, and prolonged use will give you excellent rewards!

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-J.

My Lush Story - The Other Me

My beauty regime, prior to E. introducing me to Lush, was pretty much non-existent. I had kind of a 'hope for the best' attitude towards cosmetics... occasionally, I'd use witch-hazel and other cleansers after shows (I'm an actor, and stage makeup is not good for your skin!), but otherwise, I wished and prayed and hoped my skin would behave itself.

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And then E. introduced me to Lush.

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A few words, first, on me and E. We have known each other for years and years - our mothers were friends at high school - but we fell out of contact for most of our teens. But then, last year, E. found me on Facebook, and our friendship was rekindled. We live in different cities, but we manage to visit each other occasionally... though there is no Lush where I live, so me going to see her definitely has its benefits!

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Ah, Lush...

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We had a discussion one time about how it's almost like a cult. You get converted to Lush. It's not something you use part-time. There's commitment involved. Once you're in... you're in.

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But why would you want to leave?

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Because Lush, quite frankly, is wonderful.

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The first Lush product I ever used was at E's place - a facemask, I can't remember which one. But I was coming off four weeks of a show, my skin was a mess, and I didn't care which one it was at that point. It made my skin feel fantastic. Normally, after a show, my face is a mess for at least a week. After this? Nada. It was just that good.

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And so, after a visit to E's local Lush, I went home with an armful of products. And oh! they were amazing! I don't want to write about them all here - because what will I blog about later then? - but suffice it to say that I have a beauty regime now, and it is ALL Lush.

-J

My Lush Story

I'm a vain woman. I don't pretend not to be. I mean, really, I'm young. I'm female.

In August last year, after finally securing a full time job, I decided to spoil myself with the Clinique 1-2-3 system. It wasn't cheap. In fact, it was damn expensive. But I was in Melbourne on business, and it seemed a justifiable luxury. After all, appearance is damn important in the workplace.

Not long after, I was talking to a friend of mine.. I was outside the doctor's office. I was telling her about my Clinique, and she suggested I try Lush once it was finished. She said the Honey mask was just amazing.

So I did some research , and found the nearest lush was quite close to my house. I trekked up there one night and bought the brazened Honey mask and a bubble bar... the lemon one I can't spell.

That night, I crumbled the whole bubble bar under my running bath (rookie mistake!), but on my green Brazened Honey mask, and sunk down under bubbles that almost reached the ceiling.

My conversion was quick and thorough. Weeks later, after continuing to use the clinique out of principle, my skin was raw, blotchy and sore. I ditched the clinique, and now I am all about the Lush.

In recent months I have tried a very wide range of their products and converted my dear friend J. This blog will provide a forum for us to discuss recent lush purchases, and their relative merit.

Lush. Real love.

-E