Lush Review: Let the Good Times Roll

As many of you know, I have an unhealthy addiction to Lush. I am slowly getting back in to control over my Lush obsession, however two products I recently purchased were the Limited Edition Christmas in July products Snow Showers and Let the Good Times Roll. Snow Showers is an orange cocktail scented shower jelly and I love that.

But the product that I was more concerned about performance-wise was the Roll. LTGTR is a roll cleanser that reminds me of Angels on Bare Skin, but the texture is creamier and smoother. If you have used AOBS before you would sort of know what to expect, but in my opinion LTGTR is actually a lot better. It has a caramel scent that actually smells edible! If you have a sweet tooth (Ironically I don't really have much of a sweet tooth, but I adore salted caramel oh so much) then you would love the scent! Also, it's slightly cheaper than the usual roll cleansers for the same amount of product in grams.

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I find using this product in the shower is the easiest and least messy, as you need quite a bit of water to wash off the product. However you do need to be careful as this product doesn't have any preservatives, so contact with moisture will result in the growth of bacteria and possibly even moulds. Eeeek!
Anyway I actually wouldn't mind a product that was preserved as it would greatly increase the shelf life of the Lush cleansers...
Warning: Tangent/ elaboration! Currently I also have Dark Angels, which is a facial scrub that is too harsh to use every day, I use it about twice or three times a week. But the product is Best Before after only three months, so that's about 12 weeks. That equals around thirty six washes at most and you only need a tiny amount each time. So the product is going to go off long before it's even finished! Argh! That is so annoying and I actually feel like I've wasted my money when I see half a pot left over at the use by date.

I made sure I asked the Lush staff member about whether Let the Good Times Roll is suitable for everyday use before I purchased, and it is. It is even less exfoliating than Angels on Bare Skin, if you can imagine that, and for me this is a good thing. I feel like I am washing and polishing my face, rather than scrubbing it away.

The pot is filled with a few pieces of popcorn, which makes sense as this product shares the same scent as Popcorn Lip Scrub, which is also LE. (However I think Popcorn tastes really salty, and not in a good way) But the pieces of popcorn are pretty much just decoration rather than being part of the product you're paying for, and it's still really expensive. I thought they would be exfoliating, but honestly they just scratch your skin . It is not pleasant at all.

The product softens into a milky creamy texture with only a small amount of water and smooths on to your skin. I don't see quite as much product dropping into the skin or down the shower drain as much as AOBS, so that means more of it stays on your skin to be worked with.

So, the final verdict? I really do love this product. I am being very critical here, but that's because the product is really really good. I find this works for my dry/combination skin so well. I would recommend it if you are looking for a polishing cleanser to use daily.

Hope you enjoyed and found this review helpful. Please leave your responses in the comments below!

xxx Lilly

My Relationship with Lush

If you've spent any time around me, both online and in Real Life, you would know that I'm a fan of Lush. Ok, maybe 'Fan' isn't the best word to use. I'd even be tempted to use the word Lushie.  But I don't like that word so much as it tends to mean 'loves all of Lush and doesn't hate a single product', and for me that's not the case. I think it would be fair to say that now I have a love/hate relationship with Lush.

So I discovered Lush around 5 years ago. That's not all that long ago I know, but please remember that I lived in a small, remote country town for 12 years and didn't get to the city often.

The first product I purchased was Goth Juice, now discontinued. I still adore this lovely purple pot of moss-scented goodness. I recently had to turf the dregs of my 2nd last pot that had expired and turned gray, so now I am using up my last ever pot.

Since then I've spend hundreds of dollars on their products, often purchasing something once or twice a week. This is a problem for someone like me who is a full time student and doesn't work.

Also, I'm not totally sold on some of the ingredients used in Lush. I recently became aware that they use parabens in their products, and have only recently been changing their recipes to limit plastic glitter that ends up in the oceans.

As of sometime in February this was my collection, not including any empties or dregs of products. Naturally my collection of Lush has expanded considerable since this photo was taken. Also please note that some of these products are samples. Some of my additions since then include Dark Angels, 9 to 5, Shimmy Shimmy, The Godmother, Breath of God Toothy Tabs and Charity Pot.


The Bath Bombs wrapped are Phoenix Rising and So White.

I've became aware that I really need to stop wasting my money on cosmetics from Lush and start saving my money for other more valuable things. Hopefully this blog post will have helped me with my addiction to Lush.

Please share your cosmetic stories!

xxx Lilly

Lush Reviews 2012 Part One

Hello everyone.

I thought I'd share some of my opinions on some of the Lush products that I have tried over the past amount of time. I can guarantee that this won't be everything that I have tried recently, as many Lush products are single-use things eg. bath bombs. These are just the ones I can remember or have their remains lying around. Some of these products are samples that were given to me without charge.

Atomic Toothy Tabs
A firm favourite of mine. I have also tried the toothy tabs Dirty and Ultrablast. These two flavours in my opinion are just not very nice tasting and don't work effectively. Atomic is flavoured with clove, coffee and ginger, which is a lovely flavour with not much sweetness. I also don't believe that these shold completely replace a toothpaste with added fluroide. Lush seem to be against added fluroide which is odd. I do agree with their decision to minimise packaging and preservatives, but fluroide is proven to benefit teeth. I think they just don't want to have too many synthetic chemicals listed on the labels. I am just speculating here though. The do smooth the surface of the teeth really nicely, freshen breath well and make a lovely in-mouth feeling (stop laughing). In my opinion these are perfect for the morning brush but probably not so great after a day of eating and drinking.

American Cream
This product was recomended to me by one of the staff members on my local store. I'll admit that the product worked very well for my hair; it was softening and smoothing but didn't leave much unwanted residue. However, I didn't really like the scent ( I can't remember exactly what it was though, vanilla and strawberries or something similar) in liquid form. Shimmy Shimmy uses the same scent, but it is less overpowering in that solid form. Lastly, I bought the smallest bottle of this product, but it was empty in just over a month! Even for a small amount it should have lasted much longer than that; it was too thick. I only apply product to the lengths and ends of my hair, but I have very long and thick hair that is quite dry. I need a fair amount of product to cover my hair properly and evenly. I won't be using this product again.

Ghost
A limited edition Halloween special, this lily scented product is lovely! It is coloured a soft white with a shimmering lustre. It foams up so well that often I had too much lather than I needed, you only need a tiny amount for a decent wash. I use all my shower gels and most soaps with a shower puff; I don't know how well these products would work on a wash cloth or just in you hand. My guess is that a wash cloth would work fine and long as it didn't become to heavy with the product, in your hand it may just go down the drain as this product has quite a low viscosity. I am pretty sure that this product is still availible in my local Lush storeseven now, but you may find it is sold out near you.
This may seem trivial, but on my bottle, and all of the bottles I have located, there is a simple small typo printed on the front of the label. While the product itself is what I'm reviewing here, I wish that this had been corrected before the product went into production as part of what I'm putting my money towards is a bottle with the word 'Ghost' on it. That's part of the appeal. Currently my bottle is sitting on my bookshelf with my other favourite bottles. Part of Lush's appeal is their lovely names. I want to show off the beautiful name and lable of the product as well!

The Olive Branch
This shower gel seperates into two layers; the oils float over the juice base, and you shake it up before using. The only problem I have had with this lovely product is that it is almost impossible to get a really even amalgamation between the juices and the oils, especially in the first few uses when the pocket of air that does the mixing is smaller (go to your physics lectures if you don't know what I'm talking about here!). The oils are still in the top section more, meaning they come out of the bottle first. I only find this problematic as in the future when I have used up more of the bottle there will be less oil to use. The product, suprisingly considering it contains olive oil, lathers really well and has a claming, unusual yet lovely scent. It is quite thin and tends to run everywhere, so a shower sponge or washcloth is necessary.

Twilight shower gel
This Christmas limited edition has the same perfume as the Lush Bath Bomb of the same name. However, this scent is more strongly lavander and less creamy. The scent is still lovely but not as nice as the bath bomb in my opinion, which is one of my favourite Lush products. This shower gel is a favourite of mine to use at night, due to it's strong calming aroma. It has the perfect gel consistency and foams up in the ideal amount, so there is not much wastage. The colour is described on the bottle to be blue purple, but I think that it is more of a red based purple. It has fine silver glitter suspended through the product, with a large amount of build up at the bottom. I wish this glitter could have been suspended in as well, as it doesn't mix through even with shaking. I also wanted some of the lovely lustre to remain on my skin after rinsing, but this didn't happen. I think I'm in the minority here though. Also I found there was ocassionally a purple tint to the foam. I assume that there was just too much dye in this batch, which was the first of the Australian editions. The product did not stain the skin at all though. The fragrance doesn't linger much on the skin either, which was dissapointing too.

Lustre
This is a gold shimmering powder that is scented with the Lust perfume. It smells pretty strongly of jasmine, which tends to make me gag, but I find this scent tolerable (only just). The powder is very versatile and can be used as a body highlighter, eyeshadow or hair glitter. I personally prefer to dust this product over my arms and chest if they will be exposed in my outfit and dust it liberally in my hair before combing evenly and styling. The product tends to go all over clothing which initially creates streaks of gold when brushed which looks very messy, however soon these fade into a golden dusting of glitter over my clothes. It's easy to remember to apply the product before putting on the final layers of clothing, but it is still annoying and a bit tedious. Some people may not want any fallout, so unless they use a kabuki brush or similar to apply then this product is not for them.

Breadth of God sold perfume
This is lovely. Just lovely. Fruity notes that are softly smoked; this scent is difficult to describe. Either you will love it or hate it. It is so unique. I chose the solid as it was the most economical at the time of purchase. You need to push the product up from the base to use more. I wish the had developed a mechanism similar to many lip balms, but that would increase the packaging and the cost. I can remember Amy from Juliet's Lace mention in this post that she didn't like having to squish the lid over the product.  I found a solution that works for me. I simply use my wrist where I had applied perfume to carefully squish the product back into the tube. This meant the only a little extra was applied to my wrists with minimal waste overall. The liquid based perfumes have slightly different aromas due to the ingredients and you skin's chemistry but all B.O.G scents are lovely for me. The solid perfume wasn't as strong or intense as I would prefer as I love wearing perfumes. Still it is nice and subtle, which would be perfect for others.

Karma Komba
This is the solid shampoo bar that is scented with Lush's Karma perfume. In it's other incarnations, I actually dislike the fragrance. Yet in this form the scent is fresher and slightly greener. I actually really love it. Apart from the lovely scent, this shampoo is nothing too special. It lathers so much it is easy to wash the hair with. Lasts for ages and is quite moisturising. It is everything I would want in a shampoo. 

It's Raining Men
This is the shower gel equivilant to the best selling soap Honey I Washed The Kids. Personally, the scent is nice, but nothing special. I don't see why it is the best seller. If you don't like the scent or want to avoid using honey then this product is not for you! The product's downfall is the texture. It has the viscosity of honey making it difficult to pour out, however it is so efficiant that you only need a tiny drop! So much of this product has been wasted I've found. Thankfully I've only recieved samples of this product; I won't be spending my money on it. If you were enamoured with the honey scent, I would recomment HIWTK soap.


That is all I'm going to write about for now. I'll do a part two with the rest of my recent Lush tries; there were far too many to put for just one post!

xxx Lilly

A lovely, Lushy Christmas

Firstly, I'm very much moved in to my new house with my mum, brother and sister. It's still chaotic, but reallly, what else were you expecting? I've also gotten my results for year 12 (finally) and am thrilled that I passed the audition requirements for the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. So, yeah the last 12 years of musical education have paid off. =D

Anyway, I've been spending a fair bit of money at Lush on Swanston street and in Melbourne Central lately. Actually, I'm so pleased by everything I've bought there, I want to work there! That's a big deal for me as I've never seen myself doing any sort of retail work. Time to rewrite my resume, it seems. So, as a tribute to everything I've bought or tried there, I have decided to write a rave/ haul about the products I have purchased, and I'll be totally honest. Disclaimer: I have paid for everything listed and haven't been asked by Lush to write this. Just so you know. =)

Goth Juice: This pricey little pot of discontinued goodness has been my favourite ever since I first tried it. I love the mossy, earthy scent so much I would wear it as perfume if it was ever bottled. Apart from the cost, my only complaint is that I wish the scent would linger more once the hair gel was in my hair, but you cannot smell it once it's applied. For some, this may be a good thing. It's a lovely purple colour, too, and purple is my favourite colour.

Demon in the Dark: This is a bar of soap containing mint and clove oils. Have I ever mentioned that I have a 'thing' with mint? You know, how some people go gaga over the smell of garlic frying in butter, or vanilla? Well, I love mint things so much, if I could only smell/ taste one flavour for the rest of my life, it would be mint. So, I may be a bit one sided when I say how much I love this soap. It foams into a light lather and rinses away easilly. Also, I have sensitive skin, so I was a bit cautious about trying this soap, due to the stong oils. Almost all mainstream soap bars irritate my skin, but this soap is fine.

Sweetie Pie: This is something that is a novelty in my opinion. It is essentially sodium laureth sufate made into agar jelly, not gelatine. I've always felt a bit iffy about using gelatine products and food. I'm not a vegetarian, as I eat fowl and seafood, but I know that I'll be a vegetarian when I'm older. Anyway now's not the time to talk about that. The soap contains glitter and is dyed blue/ black. It has a scent of blueberries that reminds me of jelly lollies. Everyone else in my family is a bit repulsed by this soap, but think it's really fun to hold. In the shower it becomes really slippery, but it can be brushed over a shower sponge or puff and used like a shower gel.

Mint Julip lip scrub: This is something I feel I could have made myself, but I was curious to try it and, well it has mint oil in it... Super satisfied witht the results; smooth, soft lips and a delicious flavour.

Dirty perfume: This is a men's perfume, but I feel that it is suitable for ladies to wear just fine. It is fresh, minty and subtly earthy. Very expensive for the amount, though, but cheaper than a high fashion brand. It's hard to go wrong with perfume, mind you. Either you like the scent, or you don't.

Dirty Toothy Tabs: I have only bought this a few days ago, and only tried it twice. Essentially it is a small tablet that you chew and then brush your teeth with. It foams up to a light lather similar to toothpaste. I initially tried one without a brush. DON'T do that- it really tastes awful. It is really important to follow the directions on the box. In my personal opinion, I feel that toothpaste is better tasting, easier and more efficiant at cleaning my teeth, but I actually bought these for a camping trip I'll be embarking on soon enough. I think that they are very convenient and they have far less packeging than toothpaste tubes. I though that it wasn't minty enough for my tastes, as I love a good strong mint flavour.

I also bought a bar of Teo Deodorant for my dad, but as I'm sure you can understand, I didn't try that. It smelt pretty though.

I hope you are all enjoying your holidays!

xxx Lilly