Lush Shower Gels

When tidying my stash this weekend just gone I discovered that I have *way* too much Lush shower gel ~ twelve different ones to be honest!!

This is about as creative as I get (Google Images and Microsoft Paint!)

Here's a list of what I have (and a bit on what Lush says about them!) and if anyone wants a review of a particular one just let me know in the comments section.

Regular Range:

*Yummy Yummy Yummy (100g): "It's a deliciously fragrant strawberry and almond cream for the skin.... created with wonderfully natural ingredients: fresh strawberries, soothing honey and moisturising almond oil, with a drop of rejuvenating olibanum."

Flying Fox (100g): "has the stunningly sensual scent of jasmine, ylang, cypress and palmarosa. It's is so relaxing that even the most frantic, frazzled person will relax into a restful mood after a warm shower."

Happy Hippy (100g): "The smiley and revitalizing grapefruit one. Our pink grapefruit shower gel is a magic potion to make the office seem inviting and dreary Monday mornings. It's made with fresh, organic pink grapefruits."

The Olive Branch (250g): "The Olive Branch has a welcoming, Mediterranean warmth to it, with organic olive oil to soften your skin, an infusion of vine leaves, sea salt and the fresh juice of mandarins."

*Tramp (250g): "Tramp is beautiful, lovely and gorgeous. It is soothing, calming and refreshing for the skin. White horehound calms the mind and lifts the spirits, balm infusion is soothing and oakmoss keeps it healthy. It smells of mature, earthy patchouli, which will entrance your senses."

*Both Yummy Yummy Yummy and Tramp are on the current discon list and will be leaving the shelves shortly. Rumour has it that Tramp will be a retro item in future but there are no guarantees when that will happen.

Forum/Shop Specials:

Butterball (500g): Smells like shea butter and cocoa butter and has a similar creamy consistency to Yummy Yummy Yummy, but is supposed to be more moisturising. If you like sweet, rich foodie scents then you'll definitely like it. To me, this smells like a Frappacino!

The Comforter (500g):I adore this smell and I have to be honest and say that since I got this shower gel all others (bar flying Fox) have been seriously neglected! It is a beautiful blackcurrant fragrance that to me really does signify pure comfort as it reminds me so much of drinking hot blackcurrant drinks as a child.
"Just like it's namesake, this luxurious shower gel is just as wonderfully fragrant as LUSH's The Comforter bubble bar. It's made with cypress and bergamot oils and tantalizing cassis for mysterious and seductive showering pleasure."

(Ingredients: Cassis Absolute (Ribes nigrum), Bergamot Oil (Citrus bergamia), Cassis Absolute (Ribes nigrum), Cypress Oil (Cupressus sempervirens), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Perfume, Cocoamphoacetate Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Colour 45410, Colour 17200.)

Avoshower (500g): “Imagine the loveliness that is Avobath, with its fresh lemongrass fragrance to wake you up in the morning and put a spring in your step. Now imagine that same stirring scent in a shower gel….. Well, you can start clapping your hands and hopping up and down in glee because Avoshower is here!”

(Ingredients: Lemongrass Infusion (Cymbopogon schoenanthus), Water (Aqua) , Sodium Alkyl Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Fine Sea Salt, Glyceryl Staerat – PEG 100, Cocamide MEA, Glycol Cetearate, Propylene Glycol, Lauryl Betaine, Organic Avacado Oil (Persea gratissima), Bergamot Oil (Citrus Aurantium bergamia), Lemongrass Oil (Cymbopogon schoenanthus), Rosewood Oil (Aniba rosaeodora), Perfume, Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides) , Green Glitter ((Polyethylene terephthalate), Methylparaben, Propylparaben.))

Aura Suavis (500g): "The Aura Suavis Shower Gel is made with all the essential oils deemed necessary to balance your aura. We've made pink to represent the way a balanced aura is supposed to appear. We have clary sage to help you see things in perspective and enhance your inner perception, and we have coriander, named the spice of happiness by the Ancient Egyptians. Spearmint is used to refresh a tired mind, and geranium wakes you up and lifts the spirits? The Aura Suavis also gives you a lovely aura of clean, perfumed skin, detectable by almost everybody."
(Ingredients: Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Perfume, Clary Sage Oil, Geranium Oil, Spearmint Oil, Gardenia Extract, Colour.)

Retro:

Back for Breakfast (100g and 500g): "Step into the shower with Back for Breakfast, inhale the refreshing lime, grapefruit and lemon oils; feel the smooth honey and fresh juices as they cleanse your body. Lemons help you to think clearly, limes banish anxiety and depression, while grapefruits revive and alleviate stress."

Chai (500g): "Tea is an astringent, so it tones your skin. That's why strong tea feels as if its sucking your mouth inside out when you take the first sip. We mix ours with fresh lemon juice, which is also a very cleansing astringent, plus a stash of spices, including warming ginger, allspice and cinnamon leaf. "

Happy 4 Sad (100g and 500g): "Happy 4 SAD is a cheery shower gel for everyone who doesn't see enough sunshine. To bring some extra light to your life, we've bottled refreshing mandarin oil, grapefruit oil for its traditional anti-depressant properties and rose oxymel to help soothe tension. We also add serious quantities of neroli oil, the one that's been proven to induce euphoria."

Christmas:

Snow Fairy (500g): "Candy floss pink and sweet as sugar with iridescent sparkles and a hint of wicked fruitiness...."

(Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Lauryl Betaine, Perfume, Sea Salt (Sodium chloride), Lactic Acid, Synthetic Musk (Ethylene Brassylate),Cocamide DEA, Titanium Dioxide, Iridescent Glitter (Polyethylene terephthalate and Acrylates copolymer), Benzyl Benzoate, Colour 18050, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.)

Forum Party - Lush

As some of you may be aware Lush have a forum for those registered on the site. The forum attached to the lush.co.uk site is called the International Forum for some reason. This is despite the lushusa.com forum being the North America (NA) forum and the lush.com.au forum being the Oz/NZ forum... Not that it really matters anyway!

One of the advantages to the forum is that we 'forumites' are supposed to get previews of upcoming products, the scoop on the discontinued items and so on. In essence it is a place for Lush to keep in contact with those who are most addicted to their products. Recently there has been some grumbling on the forum however as the Facebook page seems to be taking over to a certain extent. Personally I'm all for the information being shared and not too fussed on how it happens!

Another benefit however is that Lush on occasion spoil their forumites by having 'forum parties' where a limited edition/once off product is offered and made up after orders are placed so that only those who order on the day can get their grubby mitts on it! The items can only be ordered by phoning in to mail order between specific times and while this is going on the forum is turned into a party playground with people posting about how difficult it is to get through and the Lush staff running competitions throughout the day.

Lush had a forum party on April 7th to mark the fact that Auntie Pamela was leaving Lush Times and Big Harry was taking over. A number of the forumites weren't too thrilled however as many of the products offered weren't new and had been or would be offered as shop specials. One example being that my adorable friend had phoned me on the Saturday to say that the Cork store were selling Karma (shower) jelly and that she had picked one up for me... Only for it to be offered at the forum party the following Wednesday! Also, I ordered the Aura Suavis shower gel from the Forum party... Only to see it in my local store before my order arrived! Regardless it was lovely to take part in the Forum party: the choosing what I wanted to get, the agony of trying to get through, the stress of making sure I ordered exactly what I wanted and didn't forget anything... it was all part of the experience!!

The products offered were a combination of those made to order and some that had been 'discovered' in the stockroom apparently. You had to get in early to get the items that were already made but all others were going to be made afterwards, meaning that the orders would take a few weeks to arrive.


The items available were:

Made to Order:
Comforter Shower Gel (500g) ~ £11.95
Aura Suavis Shower Gel (500g) ~ £14.95
Karma Shower Jelly (100g) ~ £4.25B Electro Shower Gel (500g) ~ £19.50

Items 'discovered' were:
Avoshower Gel (500g) ~ £14.95 (made February 2010)
Avoshower Gel (250g) ~ £8.25 (made February 2010)
Butterball Shower Gel (500g) ~ £10.50 (made February 2010)
Snow Fairy Shower Gel (500g) ~ £5.95 (Special discounted price! +1 free Snow Fairy Solid Perfume with every bottle ordered) (Made December 2009)


Also on offer were all of the new products (which were not due instore for another few weeks) and the 100g bottles of the retro products.


I already had Butterball shower gel, Snow Fairy SG and solid perfume, and the Karma jelly, and am waiting on some B Electro to be sent on to me from where I had it sent to my friends house in Boston!(Lush NA don't deliver internationally!) I ordered Comforter, Aura Suavis and Avoshower. Each order also got three free mini bath ballistics and mine were: Blackberry, Big Blue and Think Pink.

My Order :)

I tried to phone from 10am and finally got through at 10:25am - seemed like the longest 25 minutes ever as I must have redialled the number about 100 times! The girl who took my order was absolutely adorable but in my nervousness I didn't actually catch her name!

All in all I loved the experience of the party... Or did I just love the fact that I now get to shower in Comforter?? Either way, roll on the next party!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Comforter Lotion the next time! What's that you say?? 5 pots?? Don't mind if I do!! :P

Review: Volcano Foot Mask

Today I decided that this is a product I probably won't repurchase. It's not that it is a bad product as such, it's just one that I don't find practical and don't really get the hype about!

I have purchased two pots of this and finished neither of them. One I used about 1/2 of and today I threw out a pot that I can only recall using once! Volcano foot scrub has a shelf life of only 3 months and I just don't use it often enough to make it worth purchasing. The texture is almost putty-like in my opinion and the smell is unusual, although one I am getting used to as it is the same scent as H'Suan Wen Hua which is now a staple for me!

It requires you to cover your feet in the mask, wrap them in plastic (cling film or old plastic bags), sit for 10-15 minutes and then scrub it off. It drives me insane that I am so limited for those 10-15 minutes. Have you ever tried to walk with your feet covered in plastic?? As someone who is naturally clumsy it is virtually impossible for me!

Like I said, not a bad product; I've loved the results when I have taken the time to do it! Unfortunately it's just a product that isn't for me and two pots later I've decided to spend my money on better things! Does anyone else feel the same about this? Or indeed about other products?

Review: Vanillary Perfume

Firstly I have to admit that I am not a perfume fan, I'd love to be but it is one thing that I have identified that triggers my migraines :( As a result when I first got into Lush I never passed a second glance on their two liquid fragrances - Karma and Vanillary.

Then came Christmas... And the quandry of what to get for one of my best friends - a fellow Lushie! Knowing she loved Lush and loved Vanilla scents (something I usually detest!) it seemed *way* too simple - a Vanilla Scoop giftset from Lush!! It contains vanilla dee-light body lotion, a vanilla puff dusting powder, a vanilla fountain bath bomb and the Vanillary fragrance all in a gorgeous hat box! (For those considering buying it as a gift for someone, hope your wrapping skills are better than mine!) Well, when my friend finally unwrapped the gift and I got a whiff of the scent I was hooked - and promptly ordered a Vanilla Scoop as a gift to myself!!

I would probably have been better off just ordering the perfume and the body lotion to be honest as I haven't used the dusting powder yet (4 months later!) and I have given away the bath bomb as I don't like baths. The perfume however, is now a staple and gets used at least 3-4 times a week. As someone who isn't in the habit of wearing perfume for fear it triggers a migraine this is equivalent to applying a perfume 5-6 times a day for a regular perfume user!! I adore the scent and, touch wood!, it hasn't triggered a migraine so far!!

I'm not very good with scents but the Vanillary fragrance is less sweet than most vanilla fragrances I have experienced and seems to have many more layers to it. It has a hint of sandalwood and burnt caramel to it and lasts for ages on the skin (and in your hair!). There are times when I have still been able to smell it the next morning having had it on for almost 24 hours.

The thing that prompted me to write this review? The compliments I have gotten! On a few nights out in recent times the menfolk have picked up on the scent (maybe there is some truth to the way to their hearts being through their stomachs?) and a number of women have sniffed me out to ask what the fragrance was! The best compliment however was from my cousin's little girl who informed me that I smelled like a princess!! Isn't that what every girl wants?? :)

My New Obsession: Urban Decay eyeshadows

My newest obsession is Urban Decay eyeshadow. I love the vibrant colours and how easy it is to apply. Of course, as usual I have gone OTT and in a short length of time (6 weeks) have purchased all four of the currently available eyeshadow palettes but they are being used, as are the mini primer potions which are something I would never have considered purchasing in the past!


Sustainable Shadow Box:


This was my first ever Urban Decay purchase and I am in love with it! The set is really eyecatching and comes presented in eco-friendly packaging. The case itself is made from bamboo and the interior tray which holds the eyshadows is made from recycled paper.

This box contains 10 Shadows, an applicator and Mini Eyeshadow Primer. The shades included are:

• Flash (bright iridescent purple),
• Flipside (electric teal w/ blue sheen)
• Grifter (sheer lavender w/ lots of silver microglitter)
• Half Baked (subtle, lustrous bronze)
• Kiddie Pool (ocean blue w/ iridescent glitter)
• Midnight Cowboy Rides Again (golden beige w/ bronze, gold & silver glitter)
• Oil Slick (black with silver glitter)
• Twice Baked (brownie brown w/ gold glitter)
• Uzi (metallic silver w/ big iridescent sparkles)
• YDK (bronzed mocha w/ golden microglitter)

Deluxe Shadow Box:

This set contains a mini Eye Shadow Primer Potion as well as two applicators in addition to the 9 Deluxe Eye Shadows:

• Fishnet (light purple)
• Graffiti (green)
• Honey (gold)
• Peace (turquoise)
• Ransom (dark purple)
• Scratch (champagne)
• Shag (bronze)
• Underground (fawn)
• Zero (black)

The casing is very 'bling' as it is wrapped in faux purple suede and features a window of irresistibly touchable shiny silver mesh on the front.


Eyeshadow Ammo Shadow Box:

This limited edition eyeshadow box was released to celebrate Urban Decay's tenth birthday. When you open the box you are presented with 10 of UDs best-selling shadows arranged as five sets of coordinating duos.

This eye shadow box contains the shades of:

• Chopper (coppery fawn w/ silver microglitter)
• Grifter (sheer lavender w/ lots of silver microglitter)
• Last Call (plum punch)
• Maui Wowie (antique gold with silver glitter)
• Mildew (deep green)
• Oil Slick (black with silver glitter)
• Polyester Bride (white w/ silver glitter)
• Shattered (bright green/blue shift)
• Sin (champagne)
• Smog (deep bronze)

The Urban Decay Ammo Shadow Box is covered in a touchable, matte black paper with overlapping textures of violet metallic foil and rich velvety flocking. It comes complete with a perfectly sized mirror, applicators and a magnetic closure to ensure that it will stay closed in your handbag.

This is the only eyeshadow box I have purchased from Urban Decay that did not come with eyeshadow primer potion.

Preen Shadow Box:
This set contains 6 eyeshadows (only one with glitter!) and also comes with a 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Zero (black) and a mini eyeshadow primer potion in a really cute bottle.

The colours in this set are

• Flash (electric purple)
• Mildew (deep green)
• Painkiller (turquoise shimmer)
• Smog (deep bronze)
• Snatch (peachy-pink w/glitter)
• Toasted (copper)

This palatte is one that you could use for day-to-day wear and also for going out. It's ideal for packing for holidays as it is quite versatile with the shades ranging from neutral to quite bright.


Matt eyeshadow:

The one problem that I have with the Urban Decay eyeshadows is that the majority of them have a large amount of glitter in them. I love a small amount of glitter at times, but not to the extent that it goes everywhere. I purchased the matt eyeshadow in Yeyo so that I can use this as a base and hopefully reduce the amount of glitter as a result!

Boots Haul

I got a notion into my head yesterday that I wanted to go to the Boots in Liffey Valley so off I went. This was inspired by a quest for the Preen eyeshadow box from Urban Decay which is my latest obsession! (I will be dedicating an entire blog post to Urban Decay as soon as I find the lead for my camera!)


Boots were doing an offer where instead of the usual 4 points per €1 spent you got 10 per €1 spent if your purchase came to over €22. You also got a voucher for €7.50 off Ruby and Millie if you spent over a certain amount. I ended up doing three different transactions in order to take advantage of the offers.


My first transaction was:


The Preen Shadow Box from Urban Decay

This comes with 6 colours (two of which are exclusive to this set: Snatch (peachy-pink with glitter) and Painkiller (turquoise shimmer)), Zero 24/7 eyeliner pencil and a mini eyeshadow Primer Potion.


From No7 range:

A Foundation brush

Stay Perfect eyeshadow Palatte in Smoky Mint

Stay Perfect Lip Lacquer in Lovely Pink


And because I spent so much on the No7 range I was entitled to a free "Pink Box" which has 6 mini No7 products in it.


This transaction put me well over €22 so I got plenty of points and also gained a voucher for €7.50 off Ruby and Millie. I'd already been eyeing up some of the products so decided to have a little look to see what I could use the voucher for.


Second Transaction:

I found a Smoky Eyes Kit from Ruby & Millie for €19.50 which contained 4 eyeshadows in pink, light blue, grey and a dark blue, a black eyeliner (with smudger) and a really decent double ended eyeshadow brush. At only €12 when using the voucher it was a bargain I couldn't leave behind!

Unfortunately the Ruby & Millie concession was really close to the nail varnishes and I couldn't help having a look.

My lack of willpower meant that I also ended up purchasing 3 nail polishes from 17: Cocoa Berry (from the High Gloss range) and Mint Choc Chip and Orange Soda (from the Lasting Fix range). They too had an offer on so I got a free "Nautical But Nice!" makeup collection.


Of course this transaction meant I got yet another €7.50 off Ruby & Millie voucher so I ended up carrying out a third transaction and getting a 7mm eye liner brush which came to exactly €7.50 and refused to let myself look at any other products!!

So approximately €95 left behind me in Boots but I feel I got plenty of bargains with my free makeup brush, free 17 set and free No7 gift set! I also nabbed about €10 in points which means I now have over €35 worth so my next spree may be free!

Lush: Emotibomb review

Prior to the discon announcement one of the items that was rumoured was to be going to be discontinued was the range of emotibombs! I could actually cry at the thoughts of this because these are one of my mainstays that I rely on to restore me to the little sanity I have left after a tough day at work!! They've been saved this time but I need to face up to the fact that in time some of my beloved products will be no more!



I'm so obsessed with emotibombs that as some of you will know I recently placed an order from the Australian Lush site as they had the Up the Wooden Hill emotibomb which is a more relaxing one and ideal for bedtime.

Up the Wooden Hill:
Ingredients:
Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Perfume, Lavender Oil (Lavandula augustifolia), Lavender Absolute (Lavandula augustifolia), Chamomile Blue Oil (Matricaria chamomilla), Neroli Oil (Citrus amara).

Description:
"...If you've only got time for a shower (or you've only got a shower), you can use a lavender, camomile and neroli scented Up the Wooden Hill for a quick, powerful dose of sleeping potion. Brush your teeth first before you get into the shower because you might be too sleepy afterwards."

My take on it:
These are amazing. Even just the smell of them in my room helped me to sleep better. They're a lovely burst of Lavender without being overpowering and I am going to use them sparingly to make them last as long as possible.



The emotibombs that are more readily available due to the fact that they are in the stores here and on the Lush.co.uk website are:


Too Drunk (aka 'Too Drunk to F**k')

Ingredients:
Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Dipropylene Glycol, Perfume, Peppermint Oil (Mentha piperita), Tagetes Oil (Tagetes minuta), Sweet Wild Orange Oil (Citrus sinensis), Fennel Oil (Foeniculum vulgare), Chocolate Bean

Description:
It has essential oils of peppermint, tagetes, fennel and reviving sweet wild orange to refresh you, soothe a sore head and bring you back to life. Just stick one in the shower, turn on the water and stand there - or sit if you can't manage being vertical - getting drenched, until it all feels a bit better. Of course, you don't have to have a hangover to use one.

My take on it:
This is probably my least favourite of the emotibombs although there are days where I am drawn to them so I still keep one or two in the house just in case. The smell isn't really definable in comparison to the other emotibombs but I do love the shape of them and the fact that they aren't just plain white.



Up You Gets

Ingredients:
Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Dipropylene Glycol, Perfume, Lime Oil (Citrus aurantifolia), Grapefruit Oil (Citrus paradisi), Lemon Oil (Citrus limonum)

Description:
"If you need to wake up in the morning, Up You Gets with this reviving Emotibomb. While it can't give you winning lottery numbers, it can send its tiny little fragrance molecules clambering up your nostrils to give you a lime, lemon and grapefruit slap. There isn't anything that works better than this. Nothing legal anyway."

My take on it:
I love this emotibomb. I find it really does what it says to give you a boost both in energy and in emotional well-being as it seems to uplift my spirit as well as my flagging energy levels. It's a vibrant, almost summery scent and when paired with Happy Hippy shower gel puts a smile on my face and a pep in my step!



Sex In The Shower

Ingredients:
Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Dipropylene Glycol, Perfume, Juniper Berry Oil (Juniperus communis), Ginger Oil (Zingiber officinale), Ylang Ylang Oil (Cananga odorata), Rose Oil (Rosa damascena), Jasmine Absolute (Jasminum grandiflorum), Geranium Oil (Pelargonium graveolens), Mimosa Absolute (Acacia decurrens)

Description:
"Our new Sex in the Shower Emotibomb encourages people to share a shower to conserve water. As the warm water touches its surface, wafts of sensual scents entwine themselves around you. Get some soap and lather your partner all over. Just remember to turn the water off while you're in a lather. With great showers comes great responsibility."

My take on it:
Without a doubt this is my favourite of all the emotibombs I have tried. As a single girl I can't vouch for its aphrodesiac properties (and being honest I'm not sure I'd be willing to share it!) but this product never fails to calm and destress me after a tough day. If this shows up on a discontinuation list in the future without a good alternative having been made available I can guarantee I will be stashing about 50 of them to get me through!!

Lush Discon List Spring 2010

The dreaded discon list was announced on the Lush forum by Hilary on Friday 23rd April...

So the following products will be disappearing from the stores and the website:

Happy Pill bath bomb
Supernova bath bomb
Q10 Toner Tab
Mirror Mirror neck cream
Razorantium shaving cream
Shave the Planet shaving cream
Tramp shower gel
Yummy Yummy Yummy shower gel
Crash Course In Skincare fresh face mask
Candy Fluff Dusting Powder
Karma Dusting Powder
I Should Coco soap
Hard Shampoo Bar
Soft Shampoo Bar

It's a Wrap is also going to be discontinued.



Out of all of these products It's A Wrap and the Crash Course In Skincare fresh face mask were actually the only things I had used so it didn't hit me too hard... Crash Course In Skincare fresh face mask is the one I use when my beloved BB Seaweed is out of stock but I'm not overly dedicated to it. I find the smell of yogurt can be a bit much.

The announcing of the discon list has (not surprisingly) spurred me on to get my hands on some of the products before they were discontinued. As a result my last trip to Lush saw me splashing out on some I Should Coco soap and a small bottle of Yummy Yummy Yummy. They didn't seem to have any Tramp in stock so I have ordered some of that from the website. We've been told that it is almost definitely going into the Retro range before long so that fans can still get their hands on it.

I have also ordered two of the It's A Wrap from the website as I love the one I have in my bathroom and it is getting very crowded so I have been putting off buying another for the last while... I think it's a great bargain at only £9.95stg off Lush.co.uk when you consider that it is a Fairtrade product and includes three of the tins which bought separately would retail at £8.40stg. Not sure what I will do with all the massage bar tins I am accumulating though so might ask one of the sales assistants if there is any chance I can swop them for body butter tins as I find them a much better shape! Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Worst they can say is no!

Nail Varnish Stash

It's coming into summer... In fact, we officially enter summer time this weekend!! One of the things that is quintessentially summer to me is painting my toenails and as a result I have a pretty decent collection of nail varnishes - 32 in total! (Bet you're surprised to hear that!!)

(My collection of Nail polishes)

Most of my nail varnishes are Rimmel. The first Rimmel nail varnish I purchased was for my Debs in 2000 and I have to say I haven't found any that match their quality so far. I honestly can't think of any flaw with them. They have a great selection of colours which attract me back again and again and last for ages. They also have a new brush on the 'Pro' range which I have fallen in love with as it is a wider brush, making application so much easier. Other brands I have randomly accumulated and include in my current stash include H&M, 17, Natural Collection, Gosh and Avon.

Due to work I tend not to paint my finger nails too vivid a colour so my collection includes a number of clear nail varnishes and one or two slightly tinted ones. Out of these my Sally Hansen Diamond Strength polish is my favourite as it is slightly irridescent and has a lovely shine to it without being too obvious. I know Sally Hansen nail polishes can be a bit hit and miss however so I'm counting myself lucky that this one has worked out for me!

Review: Full of Grace face serum (Lush)

Full of Grace face serum is one of the newest products to appear in Lush. (There is also a Saving Face bar which is for less sensitive skin.) The blurb on the website for this is:
"Calm sensitive skin with our concoction of soothing tropical butters and mushrooms. Our Full of Grace serum bar is made with a concentrated blend of moisturising murumuru and cupuacu butters to hydrate skin, and rose oil to relieve irritations. We've also used portobello mushrooms for their plentiful vitamins and antioxidant property. The serum is easily absorbed by the skin, creating a soothing treatment for the face. Massage into the skin before you use a fresh face mask, or whenever you feel your skin needs a little grace."


Now, I will be the first to admit that I was more than a little skeptical about putting mushrooms on my face! It just didn't seem very... Lushious! My delivery arrived on Monday and as soon as the bar was unpacked I looked at it and thought "Why did I waste my money on you?" and placed it on my beside table. The bar is small - smaller even than Soft Coeur - and has a rather unusual smell that I was more than slightly wary of, probably because I knew the bar contained mushroom rather than anything to actually do with the smell!

On Monday night I planned to do a facemask and whipped out the instructions on the different ways to use the serum that I had printed off from the International Forum. It suggested that you could leave the serum on for 20 minutes before doing a face mask so this is what I did before following it up with my BB Seaweed fresh facemask. Have to admit my skin felt pretty good afterwards but I wasn't quite sure if this was down to the serum or not.

On Tuesday I decided to be adventurous and try applying the serum before going to bed and just leaving it to sink in overnight. Unfortunately due to a Puppy related crisis I didn't get time to wash it off on Wednesday morning and it was only later in the day that I realised how amazing my skin felt. It felt moisturised, soft and not at all oily which was what I had feared.

On Thursday I decided to apply the serum early in the day and leave it to sink in as I was just going to be pottering around the house. I then had a shower and did a facemask later in the evening and followed my usual skincare routine of Angels on Bare Skin/Ocean Salt combo, facemask, Eau Roma toner water and Catch a Wrinkle moisturiser (Soap and Glory). As my moisturiser is a day moisturiser I have been on the lookout for something slightly heavier for night-time, I think Full of Grace may just be the answer to my prayers. So tonight, I am heading to bed with Full of Grace once again applied- nothing ventured, nothing gained!

I know three days is very little to use a new product before reviewing it and hopefully I will come back to the topic at some stage to give you an update. However, my initial reaction is that this is an amazing product! I have tried a number of the Lush moisturisers and have yet to find one that suits my skin. As I have said before I have very picky skin that knows what it likes so to even get to Day 3 with this product is a big deal for me and bodes well for the future use of this product! I am loving how soft my skin is, the fact that the serum appears to moisturise where needed without causing less dry patches to get oily, the fact that the serum doesn't actually look oily on my face when applied and the overall calming and balancing effect it seems to have on my face - so far it's 5/5 from me!!

My essentials

Due to Puppy having had an operation last week I have found myself down at my parents house for probably the longest time since I moved out almost ten years ago. It's a very strange experience to say the least! I don't visit here too often (and when I do it tends to just be for an overnight visit) so I don't have anything more than the very, very basics of deodourant, toothbrush and toothpaste stored here. Due to the fact that I was travelling in a Yaris with an ill dog, all her acessories (beds, blankets, food, treats, crate etc), a large amount of clothes and a boot that I hadn't managed to clear out for a number of reasons I had to be pretty selective in what toiletries I brought with me - bringing my entire stash was not an option! This forced me to examine what my essentials, rather than wants, were!

The items I deemed absolutely necessary for my 10 night stay were:
Lush Products:

• Rehab shampoo
• Coolaulin conditioner
• American Cream conditioner
• Flying Fox shower gel
• Olive Branch shower gel
• Ocean Salt
• Lemony Flutter
• Ultrabland cleanser
• Eau Roma toner water
• BB Seaweed & A Crashcourse in Skincare fresh facemasks (they would have gone off otherwise!)
• A small tub of Angels on Bare Skin mixed with Ocean Salt

Soap & Glory products:

• Catch A Wrinkle In Time Age Avoiding Day Moisturiser
• Some Like It Hot Body Softening Thermal Scrub

I also had a Lush Mail Order delivery coming to my parents house which contained mainly bath stuff as gifts for others, but also my Full of Grace face serum bar which I had really been looking forward to trying and has far exceeded my expectations! A review will follow!!

Project 10 Pan

Project 10 Pan was apparently concieved by a beauty Guru called Lollipop26 (who can be found both on her blog and on youtube). The idea is that you put yourself on a spending ban in relation to beauty products until you have 'hit pan' on ten items. "Hitting pan" comes from the idea that when you use up an eyeshadow you expose the 'pan' (metal) at the bottom. Lollipop26 however considers that you have hit pan only when the item is fully used up.

As I have an excessive amount of beauty products I have started a semi-'Project 10 Pan' for myself. Some things I will continue to buy, but others I just want to see the end to. For example in my decluttering I have uncovered numerous duplicates of basics such as deodourant and toothpaste which mean that I will not need to replace these items as I use them up. I don't envisage however that I will completely stop buying beauty items (particularly Lush items) but I will be thinking twice before I buy things.

I will be using this blog to celebrate when I finally do hit pan on items and hopefully I will get to 10 before too long... Maybe then I can justify some of my excessive Lush hauls!


Items I have used up since starting:
Palmolive Soft & Gentle Aromatherapy deodourant (anti-stress)
Lush American Cream conditioner (100ml)
Biore Pore Perfect Strips (nose)
A Crash Course in Skincare (Lush Fresh facemask)

Lush; Solid perfumes Stash

When I went to the 'Spring Fling' in my local Lush on March 6th I managed to complete my collection of Lush Solid Perfumes...

I now own all of the regular line, the Christmas edition from this year, and one extra special one!!


The regular line of solid perfumes contains:

• American Cream
• Honey I Washed The Kids
• Karma
• Sakura
• The Comforter
• The Olive Branch, and
• Vanillary

The Christmas/Holiday limited edition solid perfume for 2009 was Snow Fairy. It's not my favourite scent but I think I got three of these in grab bags at different stages so have at least two of them left.


And finally, when I was ordering from Lush.com.au I added a Potion Solid Perfume to my basket. This was ordered completely blind as the only Potion product available over here is the Potion lotion which is a retro item and only available online. I am loving this - and yes, being honest, part of it probably is that no one else will have it! I'm a big child that way!!

Lush facemask night

I was in Lush for the 'Spring Fling' and had been in the week previously too and bought a fresh facemask each time... The first week I bought A Crash Course in Skincare as they were out of my beloved BB Seaweed; so when that was in the next week I just had to buy it!!

A Crash Course in Skincare is described on the Lush.co.uk site as: "the kind of blend your mum would create if she could. It has rich, nutritious, organic avocado, freshly squeezed lemon juice to brighten and tone the skin and soothing natural yoghurt." It's a very smooth blend with no 'pieces' in it (BB Seaweed contains pieces of seaweed) and maybe because of this I have myself convinced that you get an extra use out of it. I've used it three times already and there is still some left in the pot.



BB Seaweed is described on the website as; "Relaxing and reviving, mineral-rich mask to cleanse, soften and beautify all skins. This blend, inspired by the sea, contains fresh and nutritious seaweed and seaweed absolute. Cleansing kaolin, antiseptic honey, calming aloe vera and rose absolute make this a great mask for everyone." It's the one facemask that I come back to again and again. It seems to calm my skin. I have very sensitive skin but I am very lucky in that I rarely suffer breakouts. I do however, like many females, get the occasional very painful spot on my jawline. (You know that one lone spot that has you in agony but 90% of the time no one else can see it?? That one!!) This mask is a godsend at those times as it seems to just clear it up in no time! A few times this mask has gone past it's best before date before I got to finish it. I won't use it on my face if this happens but have used it on other parts of my body to great effect so don't feel you have to throw it out immediately!




As the Crash Course in Skincare facemask was due to go out of date (expires 18th March) I decided to give my skin some TLC tonight. I cleansed with UltraBland, used my Angels on Bare Skin/Ocean Salt combo for an exfoliator, and then used my BB Seaweed mask. It is due to expire on 30th March and despite having bought it over a week ago I hadn't used it yet!! I then cleaned off the mask, used some of the Eau Roma Toner water to take off any residue off my skin and went on to apply A Crash Course in Skincare facemask. When that was done I again cleaned off the mask, used toner to take off the residue, used a Biore Pore Perfect strip on my nose (it was the last one left in the box and annoying me if I'm being honest!) and when that was done used toner again to remove residue before lathering my face with Skin Drink moisturiser. I got this sample in a grab bag the last day I was in Lush. It's definitely not a moisturiser that I could use during the day as it puts a really oily film on my skin but I have used it at night twice lately and found that it gave a good boost to my skin so I may as well use up the samples!!

So now, its time for me to head to bed, making sure I have enough time for a nice long shower in the morning (Flying Fox / Olive Branch here I come!) and time to cleanse, tone and moisturise. Really can't skip this tomorrow as the excess Skin Drink will need to be removed. I will use Catch a Wrinkle from Soap and Glory as usual for my daytime moisturiser. Trying to get into a better routine as I can be very lax about it given that apart from dry skin I don't really have problem skin at all!

Home manicure

Have made a vow to myself to try keep my nails in better condition and went for a manicure in my beauticians not that long ago. To be honest, I wasn't that impressed! The nail polish was applied too thickly and as a result smudged over 2 hours later when it should have been well dry in my opinion. During my decluttering I had organised all of my nail varnishes and emery boards, orange sticks and so on into easily accessible containers so one of the days last week I decided to give my nails a tidy up myself! We're in a recession y'know!

All I needed was:
Nail varnish removal wipes
UltraBland cleanser (Lush)
Ocean Salt Scrub (Lush)
Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter (Lush)
An orange stick
An emery board
and a neutral shade of nail varnish (Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Nail polish in Brilliant Blush)

• First step was to make sure my nails and hands were clean so I just gave my nails a wipe down with a nail varnish remover wipe before giving my hands a thorough washing.
• I then covered my hands in UltraBland cleanser and scrubbed them well with Ocean Salt Scrub before giving them another good washing.
• Following this I put a good amount of Lemony Flutter on each finger nail making sure to cover the cuticles well and left it on them while I went about the house doing some bits and pieces - probably for about 30-40 minutes in total - before massaging it in.
• At this stage I set to work with the orange stick and pushed back each of my cuticles well, tidying them as I went. I added a small bit more Lemony Flutter to each nail and then started on the boring job of filing.
• Once each nail was done I massaged in the remaining Lemony Flutter and again washed my hands giving a quick tidy again with the orange stick where needed.
• At this stage I have to admit my nails were looking pretty well so all that was left was to add a few coats of the nail varnish. I prefer to add 3-4 coats of varnish thinly over time than do two thick layers as they did in the beauticians. I find it dries faster, leaving it less likely to smudge and you get a more even colour overall.

I did this last Wednesday and it is now Monday and none of the nails have chipped so I'm pretty impressed with myself! Perhaps with a little practice in time I will even be able to perfect the painting of white tips and be able to give myself a french manicure!!

Lush: Spring Fling 06/03/2010

My Lush store on Grafton Street had a 'Spring Fling' event on Saturday for the entire day. There was a 10% discount on purchases before 2pm, free hand massages and facials, and a grab bag with every purchase over €30! They also had some of the new products out, although I was disappointed to find that they aren't expecting the new skin serums in until this week. I'd been hoping to try one as my skin has been very sore and sensitive over the last week or so due to a variety of factors.


Items I purchased:
BB Seaweed fresh facemask
Colour Supplement in Light Pink
2 Ickle Bot ballistics
Turkish Delight Body Polish
Karma Solid Perfume
Sakura Solid Perfume
HIWTK soap


I made two purchases and each qualified for a grab bag. Both bags had the exact same stuff in it! By my calculations each bag was worth approximately €20 and I'd use all the stuff in it so they suited me down to the ground!!

They included:
Heavenly Bodies Butter Cream
American Cream Solid Perfume
Love Soap
Up You Gets emotibomb
Samples of Skin Drink and Vanishing Cream moisturiser


What was particularly cool (in my opinion) was the fact that I had picked up Sakura and American Cream solid perfumes initially but when getting my freebies the sales assistant warned me that there were solid perfumes in some of them, checked my bag, saw it was American Cream and gave me the option to swop for something else!! Yet another example of awesome customer service!!

Also, my friend who was with me opted to get a facial done as she was new to Lush so didn't get to shop until after 2pm (we only arrived at 1:30!) and the sales assistant made sure to give her the 10% discount regardless!! Have to say, my Lush is always an awesome shopping experience!! Well done to all the staff there!!

Lush: Robots have invaded!

One of my friends on twitter asked me when I last posted there about my blog if there would be a post about killer robots soon... And I know he was being smart but knowing that this new product was in the pipeline I responded 'yes, if by killer you mean awesome!'... So here it is!!

The latest of the 'ickle' bath ballistics has arrived!! The Ickle Bot Ballistic has literally gone on the Lush website in the last hour so it really is new!! This awesome ickle ballistic joins the already very popular Ickle Baby Devil and Ickle Baby Angel ballistics. Although (unfortunately) rumours are already saying that the arrival of the Bot may be paving way for the disconuation of the Devil and Angel forms.

All three of the Ickle ballistics are made with chamomile, lavender and sandalwood essential oils so are designed especially with the purpose of calming and are ideal for a hyper child's pre-bedtime bath!! Both Angel and Devil weigh in at 50g (costing £1.40 on Lush.co.uk) and the Bot weighs in at 65g (£1.75).

Personally I think the Angel and Devil are a lovely gift for little girls in particular (due to the pink and purple colours) and the addition of the Bot (in green) now gives boys a chance to get in on the action!!

Retro Delivery Received: 22nd February 2010

My Mail Order delivery from Lush.co.uk arrived today! I got it delivered to the office as I knew I wouldn't be home to sign for it and it was being brought by courier so it was lovely to arrive back after a meeting this morning to find it there!

(Pic of the actual order - I'm getting better at this technology lark!)

This was the order of Retro items containing:

• Fizzy O'Therapy bath ballistic
• Lemon Days & Ginger Beer ballistic
• After 8:30 Massage Bar
• Sore Labours Massage Bar
• free Massage Bar Tin
• Happy 4 Sad Shower Gel
• Chai Shower Gel
• Back for Breakfast Shower Gel
• Mud Flats Soap

Out of the shower gels so far Chai is my least favourite which wasn't what I expected. I am loving the smell of the other two but haven't had a chance to use them yet. One problem I have with retro bottled items is that they only come in the large size (500g). This is a bit awkward for in the shower, especially as I already have a few Lush shower gels in there that I like to switch between.

I haven't taken the massage bars out of the wrappers but I can already smell how yummy After 8:30 is - really mint chocolatey! I'm almost afraid that if I open it, I'll want to eat it!!


I had also asked for samples and the ones I got were: Potion Lotion (Retro), Temptation soap (Retro), HIWTK soap, Sea Vegetable soap and Quinquereme Of Nineveh soap (Retro).

Makeup and Jewellery storage

So far this blog has been entirely about Lush and Soap & Glory, but unfortunately they're not my only beauty related obsessions! I also have quite a stash of jewellery (95% costume jewellery before you decide to break in!!) and makeup. During a recent declutter I came up with some better storage options for them which I have now decided to share with you.


Makeup:

I have quite a large stash of makeup even though its not something I wear everyday. Brands are mainly Gosh, Number 7, Essence (the only foundation I have found that suits me!) and Avon. I have it all stored in a Fira mini chest which I bought in IKEA in Belfast in January 2009.
Top left drawer: Makeup brushes and small makeup bag (empty).
Top centre drawer: Foundation, tinted moisturiser, concealer, primer etc.
Top right drawer: Lip balms, lip glosses, lipsticks and lipliners.
Middle drawer: Eyeshadow, eyeliners and mascara.
Bottom drawer: Makeup palattes, spare makeup brushes, tweezers, pencil sharpeners, nail scissors and other similar items.


Jewellery:

I have organised my jewellery using two GLIS boxes which I got in IKEA in early February 2010. These have three main compartments and can be divided up into 9 compartments in total if needed. This made them ideal for dividing my jewellery by colour in the smaller sections and allowing me to keep a larger section for items which needed more space.


Now when I choose an outfit its literally a case of opening the box and being able to lay my hand on the colour jewellery that I want before I dash out the door!



So now, courtesy of IKEA, I am feeling super organised!! What did we do before they came along??

Lush: Orders I am Waiting On

Part of why I haven't posted a massive amount lately is because I am (very impatiently) waiting for a pretty substantial order to be delivered from Lush.com.au... and no, you didn't read that incorrectly!! Yes, I am insane enough that I have ordered from the Australian website!! The cause of this madness?? Spice Curls soap!

With comforting cinnamon, cardamom and ginger, Spice Curls is great for warming you up during the cooler months. According to the website "Its color comes from spices which are ground to just the right size to give your skin a scrub while you wash. You hardly notice them working but when you rinse off and feel your skin, it's surprisingly smooth. With all those spicy essential oils, you'd expect to come out of the shower feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed – and so you do."

I got a sample of this soap with one of my very first Lush purchases and fell in love with it on first use! As my skin is so dry I really need to exfoliate on a regular basis and this soap just made it so easy to do. So, having searched high and low for it, I was amazed to discover it was still available on the Australian site. Unfortunately there was a $45 delivery fee which wasn't really feasible for ordering one piece of soap. Rather than putting me off this lead me to look and see what else they had that perhaps I couldn't get here!

So my order ended up being for:

• Lite Lip Balm
• Let Them Eat Cake Lip Balm
• Emperor of Ice Cream Buttercream
• Nutts Massage Bar
• Potion Solid Perfume
• Lily Savon Soap
• Spice Curls Soap
• Keep It Fluffy Soap
• Up the wooden Hill Emotibomb

Out of these I am most looking forward to getting my hands on my Spice Curls soap (all 3 of them!), the Up the wooden Hill Emotibombs (I ordered 7!) and my Let Them Eat Cake lipbalm (even if it is a bit out of season now!).

The site said the order would take 2-4 weeks to be delivered... It has now been 19 days so fingers crossed the wait is almost over!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In addition to this I have also been promising myself that I would order some Retro items off the Lush.co.uk site so last week I placed an order for:

• Fizzy O'Therapy bath ballistic
• Lemon Days & Ginger Beer ballistic
• After 8:30 Massage Bar
• Sore Labours Massage Bar(which meant I got a free Massage Bar Tin)
• Happy 4 Sad Shower Gel
• Chai Shower Gel
• Back for Breakfast Shower Gel
• Mud Flats Soap

All of these items are in the Retro range and therefore can only be ordered online. It means that unfortunately I am going on the descriptions Lush have given of the item and the feedback it has received on the site rather than getting to check it out instore before purchasing.

The Sore Labours massage bar I have purchased before and loved so much that I also got it for my mum for Christmas as she is an avid walker so something to help her muscles after a mountain hike is always welcomed!
That's also why I purchased the Fizzy O'Therapy bath ballistic this time. The site describes it as: "a Ballistic made specially to warm, soothe and relax your muscles when you've been exercising or you're feeling a bit tense. Imagine a bath fizzing with ginger, cloves, cinnamon and coriander. It's almost worth spending a couple of hours exerting yourself to justify indulging in such a spicy, scented, soothing soak."
I figured that they might make a nice addition to any Mother's Day pressie - which is coming up on March 14th for anyone who needs a reminder!!