Tuesday 22 November 2011

LUSH! How it all began!

Lush, my latest and possibly greatest obsession. I started with the My Fair Lady hatbox, the Soap Box and Japanese Aid soap. I will review all three of these in this post.



My Fair Lady hatbox: The contents of this hatbox has changed as some items went retro. But mine contained Smitten Handcream (30g pump), Figs and Leaves soap (100g), Buffy Body Butter Bar (90g) , The Olive Branch Shower Gel (100g), Charity Pot lotion (95g), Creamed Almond and Coconut Smoothie (100g) and a sample of Ultrabalm. It costs £30, I don't know how much the individual products add up to, but generally Lush charge a little extra for the packaging. I LOVED this set. It was part of my first Lush haul. I had seen so much about Lush from the online beauty community and was so enchanted I had to try it. Unfortunately my nearest Lush is 2 1/2 hours away by bus and as of today I still have never been inside a Lush store! So down to the nitty gritty of each item.
Smitten Handcream: Marzipan scented goodness, the same scent as Snowcake Soap, Marzibain bubble bar and Melting Snowman bath melt. The cream is thick and luscious, and melts into your hands a treat, leaving them sweet and soft.
Figs and Leaves Soap: How to describe this scent?! I love this soap, it is one of my all time favourites, it has figs in it to exfoliate gently and it is very moisturizing, the scent on it's own is not that impressive, it is a very light earthy scent, but it is great for cocktailing.
Buffy Body Butter Bar: the cellulite slayer, I was impressed with it when I first got it, it is a very harsh exfoliator, but I assumed that is what it was meant to be like (I then tried and fell in love with Aqua Miribilis) and in my opinion it offers nothing in terms of moisturization.
The Olive Branch: A HUG IN A BOTTLE, this amazing bottle of showery goodness is possibly my favourite Lush shower gel (between it and Ghost) it is a warm, earthy smell that envelops you in the shower, the oils make it very moisturizing and it is great when used with Figs and Leaves.
Charity Pot: Lush's moisturizer that gives to charity when you buy it, even as part of the hatbox. The scent is described as chocolatey, but I personally do not smell that, it is sweet and very light, and leaves me feeling a bit greasy, but it is great for dry patches!
Creamed Almond and Coconut Smoothie: DO NOT LIKE! I don't know what it is about it, it may be the combination of the formula but I just cannot stand this product. The smell is tolerable, but when I used it I got no lather and had to use a lot of product before I felt clean!
Ultrabalm: Not to be confused with the cleanser Ultrabland. I do not like this product either, it is a vegan version of petroleum jelly, and I do not like petroleum jelly based products either. The smell, taste and texture are horrible, it moisturized my lips very well, but I can't stand it being on them!

All in all this is a great box to try the more sophisticated Lush scents, it also has some of their bestsellers and is one of the few good shower gift sets!



The Soap Box gift  was perfect for me, it is no longer available. It is five 100g chunks of soap, perfect for a beginner wanting to try a bit of everything. I can't remember how much it cost me! It contained 100g each of Miranda, Rockstar, Sea Vegetable, Honey I Washed the Kids and Sexy Peel. I always cut my soap up into about six chunks, makes it last longer and there is a shorter time between getting to change up your soaps!
Miranda: The fruity, kiwi soap. It smells amazing, but for some reason it has not been into the shower with me yet! I love it, but I don't reach for it!
Rockstar: I LOVE I LOVE!! I have used 100g of this soap and have a back up bar in my soap stash (the hatbox from my My Fair Lady gift!) It is sugary goodness! But, as it is so creamy it melts REALLY fast!
Sea Vegetable: I like the smell of it, but I wouldn't want to smell like that! It has been resigned to the hand soap dish. It is good but a bit drying, at least when I use it on my hands I have an excuse to use more Smitten ;D
Honey I Washed the Kids: One of Lush's most famous soaps, and for a good reason! It is sweet and moisturizing but doesn't melt as fast as Rockstar! I do not reach for it too much, but it is my go to soap for when i want a sweet yet grown up shower!
Sexy Peel: I have a weird relationship with citrus scents! This soap went to my sister as i couldn't stand the smell. I like citrus scents if they are lemon or lime sherberty (lemony flutter, lady catrina etc) but most citrus scents just do not agree with me! My sister loved it though!



And finally (phew) The Japanese Aid soap, it was released after the tsunami hit Japan as a way of raising funds. The soap was a white bar, uniformly shaped, with a red circle in the middle, creating the Japanese flag, it was only available in 100g chunks and cost around 5 pounds. The scent was I Should Coco (which is now in the retro section of the website for a limited time!) and is a realistic coconut scent with sweet undertones. I liked the soap, but I won't be rushing out to buy more of that scent. I use Curly Wurly in my hair and don't like to overload on one scent! But it is a good soap, fairly moisturizing, no exfoliants.

So that is it for my first Lush post, many more to come!! Do you want them split up more? I feel that this wall of text is a bit intimidating!

xx
Saoirse

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