Happy shiny people. =)

I want to tell you about something I like, as opposed to ranting and raving about things that BOTHER ME, which I feel like I do too much.

Think of it like show and tell from when we were little. =)

Today, I'm talking about LUSH Cosmetics!

Now most people are put off by the word "cosmetics," imagining labrynthine aisles at Walgreens with messy powders and goopy glosses. Well, LUSH isn't that way at all. They make soap.

And they're doing a damn fine job of it, too.

A little about the company first: LUSH is self-described as a "hippie-driven rollercoaster," and I feel that's about 100% accurate. All of LUSH's products are vegetarian and over 70% are vegan. They don't use any animal products, by-products, or buy from any suppliers that test on animals (the animal lover inside me rejoices). They also employ what they call "naked" packaging, meaning they use as little external packaging as possible (to save the cost and resources of packaging their products in paper, glass, plastic, etc.). Seventy per cent of their products can be bought without packaging at all (hence the naked bit). And the packaging they do use is made of post-consumer recycled materials and is all biodegradable. Via their website, statistically speaking, LUSH using recycled/recyclable packaging saves 800 barrels of oil each year. That's A LOT.

TLDR: they're eco-conscious and a REAL "green company."

They use all natural ingredients, like strawberries, bananas, lemons, coconuts, spearmint, seaweed, almonds, etc. This thrills me and cracks me up, because when I was little, my best friend Aubri and I would concoct "beauty products" (foot scrubs, facial masks, hair conditioner lol) in her kitchen made of strawberries, potatoes, eggs, sugar and the like. We always joked that if we couldn't eat it, we didn't like it. And apparently LUSH agrees with the eight year old us's. Every product is made fresh, by hand in the stores, using fresh natural ingredients. They make a mass batch and then slice it up by pounds, like at a butcher's. And every product has a use-by date, since real ingredients REALLY DO go bad. That may seem off-putting at first, but think of it this way: how weird is it that Dial soap literally lasts ten years?? What's IN IT that makes it last forever?

You could probably eat any of their products and while it would taste nasty, you would likely not need to call Poison Control.

I DIGRESS.

I've been aware of their company for a few years now but had only used one or two of their soaps. I sort of rediscovered them a few months ago and have branched out to more soaps and their lotions and dusting powders. I have to say, I am madly impressed with everything I've ever gotten there. I like to think of myself as something of a semi-soap connoissuer. I've been buying and using soap bars for AGES, starting with pirating my mother's cupboard beneath the bathroom sink and stealing her Caswell-Massey bars. I pick up organic soaps every time I visit my family in North Carolina, because there's such an abundance of "green" stores. Certain areas are much more eco-aware than others. Brevard, North Carolina is far more conscious of that sort of thing than Orlando is. I've tested, used, and made a number of soaps myself, and some of my all-time favorites (especially in the organic category) come from LUSH.

I know "organic" tends to have a connotation attached to it, too, of having weird smells and textures. This is regrettably true. I once had a goat's milk lavendar bar that smelled good in the box but melted to the texture of cottage cheese once it hit the water (and smelled about like that, too). NASTY. And I am extremely picky about my shower products, because feeling clean is about #3 on my list of Life Priorities behind sleep and eating.

LUSH might be vegan and organic, but you'd never know.

I want to review a few of the specific products that I've used and REALLY liked from them.

SEXY-PEEL SOAP


First of all, the name is awesome. Sexy Peel is my favorite LUSH soap, possibly because it was the first one I ever got from them, but it's just soo...YUMMY! It smells like everything citrusy in the world, but not acrid or oversweet. It just smells delicious. I want to EAT it. I always have them slice it fresh in the store for me, because nothing in the WORLD smells like fresh-cut Sexy Peel. There are little pieces of orange peel in the soap, which sounded yucky to me at first, but they act as a really gentle scrubber on your skin. Not gross or garbage-y at all! It lathers so nicely, rinses off SO nice and clean, and makes your entire bathroom smell like a sunshiney orange grove. I'd recommend this to EVERYONE. It's entirely appropriate for gents, too.

ICE BLUE


Ice Blue soap is described by LUSH as "the zippy iceberg soap." I think that's about right. It's made almost entirely of peppermint, so it's SUPER minty and extremely fresh. It's almost a must-have, especially in the sticky, hot Florida summer. It's cooling to the touch with sea salt in it (to make it look like an iceberg and as a natural scrub). I ordered a very tiny piece of it, and unfortunately, when it arrived, it had melted in transit. I wasn't upset at all--LUSH is very clear about informing its consumers that the lack of unnatural preservatives means the soap will LIKELY melt in transit. I don't know if it's because it melted or if I just got a weird batch, but it doesn't lather as well as I'd hoped. I'd rather use another soap in the shower, but I've put Ice Blue in a soap dish and it makes a really nice hand soap.

Rock Star

If you're a closeted pink-lover who wants to run around in a poufy white Marie Antoinette wig, sprinkle your sheets with confetti or glitter, and secretly start to drool at the mere mention of the word "cupcake,"Rock Star was created with YOU in mind. It's one of LUSH's all-time best selling soaps. It's a pink, sudsy and saccharine block of coconut-vanilla goodness. It lathers up nicely, rinses off cleanly and leaves your skin smelling like you've been kissed by the Candy Fairy. I've been using Michael's shower in lieu of the flood, and when I got out of the shower he was like, "What did you do to my bathroom?" I panicked, thinking he'd be livid that I made it smell girly or something. I told him I used a new soap and he's like, "It's not bad. It smells like the lollipops at the Semoran Skateway." HAHAH! =D Personally, I like the way it smells on my skin better than the way it smells in the shower. In the shower, it's almost too sweet for me. But it rinses off really nicely and leaves me smelling sweet but not like I fell in a vat of cotton candy. I'm picky. I like sweet smells, but I don't want to smell sticky, like a mosquito-magnet. I'm glad I tried Rock Star, but it's probably not something I'd buy again unless I was in a really sweet mood/phase. It's likely perfect for someone else though!

I've also purchased 17 Cherry Tree Lane ("soap-acalifragilisticexpialidocious!")and Demon in the Dark. I've been finishing off the Ice Blue and Rock Star and then I'll use those. Can't wait to see how they do and I'll let you know my thoughts!

Dusting Powders

...not just for old ladies and George Washington anymore. ;)
I've long been a fan of dusting powders. My mom has used them my whole life (Caswell-Massey, applied generously with a luxurious white pouf...memories of a little girl!). I think they're fantastic, especially since we live in such a hot climate where sweating is so prevalent. LUSH's powders are silky-smooth, and don't feel rough or talc-y at all. I've used other organic powders that felt huge--like dusting cornstarch on myself. BLAH! But LUSH's are soft and comfortable, absorbent and leave JUST the right amount of fragrance on your skin.

I've tried all of the above. Candy Fluff powder was recently discontinued (NOOOO!!!!), so I had to snap some up before it leaves (there are a few still in stock at the Florida mall if you're desperate. Hurry before they're gone!). Honestly, of all three of the above, it's my least favorite. It has tiny irridescent sparkles in it, which makes me TOTALLY happy. It's not quite as sweet as Rock Star...the smell reminds me of something Marie Antoinette would have created, bottled and worn around Versailles. Definitely a super girly powder.

Silky Underwear, despite its naughty name, is probably the best all-purpose powder out there. It leaves my skin dry and babysoft. It smells like jasmine (one of my BEST smells) and vetivert, so it's fragrant and a little bit herbal/spicy, making it perfect for ladies AND gents. It has miniscule amounts of cocoa butter in it, leaving your skin totally soft. I'd definitely rec this!

My personal fav so far has been the Vanilla Puff Powder. It also has hints of jasmine and smells like a more grown-up dessert vanilla, not the saccharine-sweet of Candy Fluff and Rock Star. It's slightly more sophisticated and leaves skin as clean and awesome feeling as the other powders. Right now, I am OBSESSED with layering this over Strawberry Feels Forever, because together it smells like a light whippy strawberry and cream dessert!!! I'm loving it.

One of the things LUSH is kind of the original inventor of are solid lotion bars. They like to solidify a lot of their products to help reduce packaging waste. They also have solid shampoo, but I haven't quite warmed up to that idea. Anyway, something I DO like is their solid lotion or massage bars. I've tried two and love them both...I'd order each again and would love to try more!

Schnuggle

With a name like "Schnuggle," it HAS to be good. *that was bad, and I know it* Schnuggle is one of those products that blows my mind. I'm like, "Who came up with this? HOW DO THEY DO IT?" The deal with the solid massage bars is that they're activated by your own body heat. You rub them between your hands and they warm up, leaving their soft, buttery goodness on your hands. Schnuggle is absolutely 100% NOT GREASY. And it feels POWDERY on your skin! I'm not sure how it works...it goes on as lotion, stays a lotion, but FEELS like a powder. It was specifically designed as a before-bed lotion, with the goal in mind to not greasy up your sheets. GENIUS. As such, it also has calming herbs in it like lavendar and chamomile. It's ugly on the outside, but certainly does it's job, so don't judge the bar by appearances, for beauty is found within! It's amazing and I WILL re-order it when mine runs out.

Strawberry Feels Forever

Those of you who know how fanatical I am about the Beatles will know exactly why I ordered this. First of all, thanks for the shout-out to one of my all-time favorite Beatles songs. Secondly, Strawberry Feels Forever smells like a sweet, delectable dream. It's not at all sugary-sweet like Rock Star or Candy Fluff. It smells light and fruity, and leaves your skin AMAZINGLY hydrated with ZERO greasiness. My frequent readers and close friends will know that my skin is of the oily variety and I'm a bit phobic of hydration for fear of breakouts. This is a wonderful moisturizer, leaving my skin soft and smooth, moisturized, and in no way overly greasy or oily. As aforementioned, I smooth it over my arms and neck and put the vanilla dusting powder over it. It feels SO silky, and smells like I bathe in strawberries and cream (but not in a cloying, annoying way. Just a hint!). I wore it out yesterday and within FIVE MINUTES had TWO people stop me and ask what I was wearing--NO JOKE! I suggest you try it. Try them both together! It's simply divine.

Foot and Body Creams

I've only JUST tried LUSH's body creams, and I've used sample sizes of the above, Fair Trade Foot Lotion and Karma Kream Body Lotion. Fair Trade is a super duper foot lotion. I am PHOBIC of grease, and Fair Trade is sooo not. Foot lotion is usually is. This is not. And it's also healing! I had some heinous blisters from working in the boot, and I put this lotion on. Literally, overnight, they were 10x better than they were with the application of Neosporin. LOVE. It's pink and minty. It smells delicious, and the mint is refreshing, cooling and leaves my tired achey feet feeling revitalized.

Karma is LUSH's signature scent. It smells like Woodstock, VW buses, the summer of love, rock and roll, and peace. Clean beautiful hippies would smell like Karma. It's got patchouli, lemongrass, orange, and a plethora of other amazing smells. Combined, it smells like love and sunshine. The lotion is non-greasy and perfect for moisturizing hands and just about everything else. Karma is perfect for both sexes, too! I rec it to everybody!

I also tried Pied de Pepper foot cream, and didn't care for the smell. Which is odd because I adore cinnamon. It just smelled too spicy for me. But I think it's a very dude-appropriate smell, for those of you wondering. :)





WHEW! If you read all of that, you deserve an award. I hope you enjoyed and I hope that you'll all try some LUSH for yourselves! The only stores in Orlando are, unfortunately, at OIA and the Florida Mall. But I think it's worth it. The people who work there are SO super nice and amazingly willing to help. You can definitely tell when people love their jobs, and the good folks at LUSH have every reason to. If, like me, the airport and FL mall terrify you, I can attest to the excellent service at lushusa.com. Shipping is prompt and they slice their soaps into perfect sizes. Again, be ye warned of meltage--it WILL happen. But I pop mine in the freezer for an hour or two and they're right as rain. Give it a shot!

Have any of you used LUSH before? If so, what's YOUR favorite?