Hey Everyone!
I’ve had a horrible urge to shop lately and not the kind of shopping that can be quelled by a credit card or a web browser either, the kind that calls for paper bags and more than a bit of immediate satisfaction. So today was shopping day and knowing me, I was prepared to walk away from this day empty handed as I often do but as I dug through my bag, I came across a 10% LUSH voucher. Recently turned LUSH addict, I merrily walked to the store knowing that this was my chance to satisfy a much abandoned urge.
I tried mostly all the products I got from LUSH (not very many) tonight. Yes, I did wash my hair with beer, slathered seaweed all over my face and then painted it over with a face mask that made me look more Smurf than human being. You gotta love LUSH right? Thus, I’ll give a few of my own first impressions of the slightly unconventional bath products I’ve added to my collection today. Plus, I have a little surprise from KIT and at the end of this post, I’ll quell your jealous smirks and tell you all about roseannebeauty mail order as well!
I have to say that I’m a huge supporter of LUSH. I’m not saying that because it’s the in thing to say but genuinely I feel their products are not only great, they make me feel amazing. Plus, their customer service to boot never fails to make my day unlike some cocky high-nosed sales assistants at MAC or Bobbi Brown. They always greet you with a smile, they leave you alone when you want to just browse and they’re quirky, funny, honest, helpful and happy. The sales assistant I met today who I fail to recall the name of (Sorry!) even told me what worked for her and what didn’t. She even told me what products to stay away from. Now that’s honesty I like. I’ll quit the compliments and get to the haul.
1. Aqua Mirabilis Body Butter
I’ve been looking for a good exfoliant lately. I didn’t want some chemical packed tube from Big W or Priceline, I wanted to take the more natural approach. Instantly, I thought of Ocean Salt, a hardcore scrub of sea salt, lime, grapefruit and avocado butter. Getting to the store, it was the first product I pointed at before reaching out my arm with a big smile on my face. Despite her wonderful hand massage, it was horribly too exfoliating. It kind of hurt to be honest. I then looked to the sugar scrubs and reached out my other hand. I loved the smell, it smelled just like brown sugar, but unfortunately I didn’t like the idea of me getting all sticky and sugary in the shower. Rub Rub Rub was the next exfoliant but even she said she didn’t like it because it dissolved way to easily. About to give up my search for a LUSH exfoliant, she instantly suggested a body butter, that being Aqua Mirabilis. It wasn’t as tough as Ocean Salt and the almond shells as the exfoliant meant that it wasn’t going to make a sticky mess. It was perfect.
First Impression:
I just tried this in the shower and I like it already. It’s the perfect sort of degree of exfoliant for me. It’s hardcore but it doesn’t hurt. The granules aren’t large enough for that and I appreciate its calm to me but tough to dead skin cells approach. It smells heavenly. A beautiful mix of rose and sandalwood. Me likey.
2. Catastrophe Cosmetic
I’m on a little mission here. I’m on a little mission to try each and every mask that LUSH has to offer and do my own reviews of them. Saying that, my next pick after brazened honey was slapdashly between cupcake (a teenage, oily skin fighting chocolate mask) and this one, an antioxidant rich blueberry concoction. With the unfamiliarity that comes with connecting chocolate to good skin, I picked the blueberries for now.
First Impression:
It looks like an utter mess, doesn’t it? I like it though. This was a really nice break from its slightly more abrasive sister, Brazened Honey. It was cool, thick and the little skins of the punctured blueberries brought a bit of an exfoliating bead, but nothing major. It was cool, soft and now my skin feels really well, soft. I can’t say too much for skin benefits yet. You’ll have to stay tuned to my future review I guess. Don’t worry, I’m excited too.
And of course LUSH once again takes the cake in customer service. They always ask if you’d like to try anything else (for free, yes for free) by giving you lots of samples. Whereas at the department store counter you’ll have to ask the cocky sales assistant with weak knees wheter you want to try something, here they pleasantly drop more than a few surprises in your bag. Let’s see what I got.
1. Sea Vegetable Soap
This smells wonderful. I didn’t know what soap to try so she just picked a random one out for me. I’m so glad she did though. It smells like a really nice guy’s aftershave. It’s seaweed, sea salt, lime and lavender. It smells super refreshing.
I love how there are seaweed bits in the soap. I haven’t tried this one yet. I totally forgot to use it in the shower tonight because of the body butter! Will update you though.
2. Aqua Marina Cleanser
I’ve always been at least a little bit intrigued by the looks of this cleanser. First of all it’s pink and then it’s wrapped in dark green seaweed. Kind of like a pink fish caught in a seaweed rave party.
I have to say that upon using it for the first time, it’s well very thick and creamy. It feels funny when it’s on the skin. I didn’t know if it was a slight allergic reaction or the feeling of a little bit of exfoliation going on. Examining the substance, there seemed to be no outstanding particles whatsoever, leaving me well mermaid mystified.
3. Cynthia Sylvia Stout Liquid Shampoo
I’m that girl who walks by the hair section at LUSH back and forth wondering what washing your hair with a solid shampoo would be like. With a 10% voucher, I became a little bit more than brave. Picking one up, I asked her to show me how to use it. Suprisingly she wetted the bar and scrubbed it in her hands and it produced such a nice lather. The founder of LUSH actually specialised in hair so I reckon you’d get some pretty decent hair products from LUSH. You’re probably scrolling down and asking, “Um, Roseanne, why isn’t there a picture of a solid shampoo?”. Well simply because I didn’t get one. Because of my long hair, she suggested something more unconventional, a liquid shampoo made of stout.
I reckon you can smell the beer but I think it smells more like cough syrup than anything. LIke a really liquidy liquid foundation with great coverage, I was suprised at such a decent lather such watery consistency produced. After smelling my hair a few times, my hair doesn’t smell like beer and that’s good. Although quite slightly, being the first wash, I think I’m seeing more volume actually. *Plays with hair and sniffs it again* Hmm. This could actually work. I’ll use it for the next few days and probably tweet about it or something.
With the free samples you get, you also get a 10% off voucher if you decide to buy the product you sampled the next time you’re at lush. Very useful. I told you LUSH has good customer service.
But enough with that, let’s talk scent shall we? Particularly one very seducingly beautiful one that I’ve had my eye on for pretty much the longest time.
Nudite Intense
This is the scent you imagine yourself cuddling up with your boyfriend with – in front of a nice fire, on a soft couch, wool blanket on, while rain patters on the window. It’s the scent that urges him to ask you what you’re wearing before he gives you a kiss on the forehead. This is the stuff that makes people close their eyes and think of happy things when they take their first whiff. It’s pretty much undescribable but I’ll have to try. I am a beauty blogger afterall.
The package says that it has clean rain notes and that it has ephemeral notes like a gentle breeze with sheer, clean and rain soaked undertones. Ridiculous as that sounds, it’s pretty much totally accurate. It works with your body to produce this scent that is so seductive, not disgustlingly whore like, nor sweet like Victoria’s Secret, its seductive because it’s you. I mean, it’s quite hard to explain obviously. When you think seductive, you think of a someone with a bunch of lingerie and I know this is riskay, but its seductive because its nude, it celebrates the human form. It’s weird. It’s a scent, not a perfume which is why it’s in rollerball form and theres only 8.5mL for the same price as a 50 mL bottle of eau de parfum. I wish I could just shove this through the computer, you’ll understand when you smell it. It’s simply incredible.
The scent comes in a rollerball form because you’re supposed to hit your hot points (your wrist, back of your neck etc.) so that it mixes with your natural body heat to produce a very unique scent that is you. Of course it keeps to its original basics but it becomes stronger throughout the day with your body heat. I swam with it and I reckon I was the best smelling one in the pool. You never know what hot boys you’ll meet in there! Just kidding, I didn’t put this on for swimming purposes it was just that I was going to go swimming after I tried it out. Unfortunately, this was the second to last bottle I grabbed. It’s being discontinued!
Roseanne