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

Help for sensitive skin

As a person who has suffered from excema her whole life, I can understand how frustrating, embarassing, itchy or even painful having sensitive or sensitised skin can be. These are all learnt from my own experience, so I cannot guarantee that it will work for you. Everyone's skin behaves differently.

1. Moisturise! This is so important. Use an unscented body moisturiser in the shower/ bath and whenever your skin feels tight or dry. I use Redwin's Sorbelene cream everywhere except my face, and on my face I use Neutrogena's oil free moisturiser with SPF 15+
Use sorbelene as a body wash and shave gel if you think you need to.

2. Avoid soap. Soap, for me, is Hell. I cannot use a bar of soap at all, and I have to use moisturiser after using soft soap. Of course, I am NOT saying you should avoid washing your hands, but use gloves when washing the dishes and things like that.

3. Don't wash your hair regularly, and always wash the shampoo and conditioner out with your head tipped forward so the chemicals don't run down your neck and back.

4. Use 'sensitive' laundry soap. This has made a huge difference for me because my clothes are always up against my skin (obviously). Also, don't wear itchy clothing on your worst effected clothing. My hands are my worst suffered, so I have to avoid synthetic gloves.

5. Be careful of fragrances and other chemicals. Clinique is a good brand because it is 100% fragrance free. Sure, the things won't smell as pretty, but it does make a difference, and also gives you an idea what is in the product. Perfume is also bad so use it sparingly and don't apply to any irritations, even if it wasn't the cause in the first place.

6. Avoid salt water. I cannot swim in the ocean at all, and some salt water pools affect my skin. Think red, stinging and burning...

5. If you skin is particularly bad or persistant, I'd recomend talking to you GP about it. There are some creams on the market that are prescription only, but do work. It can be expensive, and isn't that brilliant for your skin, so this should be used only when it is ruining your life.

I hope these tips can help you keep your sensitive skin under control.


xxx Lilly.

P.S thanks to everyone who has given me feedback about the new comments/ layout thing. I have finally gotten things working, and the support has been very appreciated.

Skin Lightening

It's potential that you guys don't know, but secretly, I am a YouTube freak. I spend far too much time (and downloads) there. Anyway, one of my favourite channels at the moment is SecretLifeofaBioNerd. It's a girl from the U.S.A doing DIY beauty, sewing and reviews with some information about the science of the products. If you haven't done any upper level (say, senior high school) chemistry or biology, some of it won't make sense, but I urge you to look anyway and learn something. =) Anyway, the point of all this, and it's something that will appeal to quite a few Goths I am sure, is this video...





Skin whitening is potentially dangerous, so be careful and FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS!!! =D
Enjoy.

xxx Lilly

DIY moisturizing sugar body scrub

Note: this needs to be used immediately because the sugar will dissolve. Also, avoid getting shower water in the container because it will dissolve.

Ingredients

Small container- plastic bowl is fine, but it helps to have a lid

Plain, unscented sorbelene - I use Redwin’s Sorbelene for everything. It is my savior.

Raw sugar

Olive oil (if you have dry skin)

Essential oils

Method

Mix a decent amount of sorbelene cream into the bowl. Only add as much as you are going to use, and use all of it. Then add 1 tablespoon of sugar and mix well. Add a few drops of olive oil if desired and a few drops of essential oil.

Use in the shower to gently exfoliate your skin and leave it feeling soft and smooth. Rinse well with water.