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: Ring of Roses

This may actually be my favourite Lush product: which, you have to say, is a big call.

Ring of Roses is one of the five Buttercream products, which I cannot recommend highly enough. They're only slightly soapy, made up mainly of essential oils. Which means they clean you, but they also make you smell really, really good.

I took some newbie Lushies to the QVB store about two weeks ago, and I smelled the Ring of Roses Buttercream for the first time. That was it. Though I'd sworn not to buy any new products, I HAD to have it. It just smelled so amazing, and it felt really nice- like it wouldn't dry my skin at all.

It took a while to click exactly why I loved the scent so much... then I discovered that it's the same as my much-loved Amandopondo Bubble Bar. But, unlike the bubble bar, this is a product that stays with you throughout the day.

So alluring is the smell that I went back and purchased more, wrapped small pieces individually and placed them strategically throughout my house to make the whole place smell. And it worked.

At a very, very reasonable $7.95/100g, you will not find a better value product. Or one that smells so, so amazing.

Product Review: Fresh Farmacy

After the disaster that was Clinique, my skin was red-raw and in need of TLC. I even forked out good money for a facial... only to be told by the beautician that my skin was red-raw and in need of some TLC. Thanks, Sherlock... I paid $100 for those wise words? Anyway, I didn't take up her suggestion of trialling another fancy European skincare brand, and instead went in to Lush the next day.

I'd been using various other Lush products for about 2 months at this point... mainly the bubble bars and soaps, because I insisted on sticking with the Clinique, believing a miracle would happen. But after said discussion with beautician, I threw the chemically stuff in the bin and walked to my local Lush- at the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney.

Aside: I am well aware of how fortunate I am to live within walking distance of a Lush store; however, this can be both a blessing and a curse, as it is very easy to spend large amounts of money with alarming frequency.

I had a brief discussion with a relatively helpful salesperson (The QVB store has some of the most helpful Lush salespeople I've encountered, but this particular one was ok, but not FANTASTIC), I decided to try the Fresh Farmacy cleanser.

The cleanser comes in solid form, a pink soap-like substance which, incidentally, lasts forever. A tiny bit, mixed with a little water, makes the cleanser. A small portion of Fresh Farmacy, which is remarkably affordable at about $15/100 grams, has lasted months.

I saw results immediately. My skin, which had been raw and sore following The Clinique Disaster, began to recover. It was soothed and refreshed by Fresh Farmacy, and felt good again.

Which makes sense, really, when you look at the ingredients in Fresh Farmacy. It is made with calamine lotion- you know, the one you put on Mossie bites when you were little- and chamomile and lavender oil and rose oil. It's a calming, peaceful product.

That being said, I think I'm likely to try a new product soon, as I think my skin has adequately recovered from The Clinique Disaster, and I need something that is a little more aggressive in the fight against breakouts. However, I think I'll always keep some Fresh Farmacy in the cupboard for those times when my skin just needs a little love.

Check it out

- E

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.

Product Review: Amandopondo Bubble Bar

Best to start at the beginning, I think.

The first Lush product I really used was the Amandopondo Bubble Bar. It's on the small size for a bubble bar... you can probably only get 3 baths out of it, unlike some of the larger ones like "Blue Skies". I bought my first Amandopondo Bubble Bar on my very first trip to Lush, in addition to a Brazened Honey mask (more on that next time), and the resulting bath was a key part of my Lush conversion.

The bubble bar is a concept unique to Lush, as far as I know. Many confuse it with the more common bath bomb, but the bubble bar is a very different. Instead of dropping a whole bubble bar in an already-full bathtub, one should crumble a portion of the bar(around 1/3, though that is dependant on the size of the bar) under running bathwater.

The result is amazing. True, 1950s movie star bubbles. It's a tiny bit scary at first, because the bubbles are higher than your head when you sit down. But it doesn't take long to get used to the luxurious bubbles and the rather intoxicating scent.

The Amandopondo Bubble Bar is a light yellow colour, and has a rather delightful soft citrus scent. Some of the other bubble bars have a stronger smell that stay with you all day, but the Amandopondo is more the bubble bar for one who wants to enjoy the moment. It is not the bubble bar to use when you want to prepare for a big night or to soak away a rough day.

Rather, this is the bubble bar or luxury and indulgence. It is perfect for a big night in. Pour a glass of champagne, grab a great book, and soak under the beautiful lemony bubbles, and all your woes will disappear.

At least until the water goes cold.

-E

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