LUSH COSMETICS

I thought I’d share my thoughts on my current obsession, and it smells delicious and works amazingly well!

I recently ran out of face wash and was on the hunt for a new one. And since I only use products that are not tested on animals, this can turn out to be quite the mission because I don’t have the most cooperative skin.

I was browsing Fashion Valley (huge mall in San Diego) when I spotted LUSH and I thought “duh, you love LUSH why didn’t you think of this sooner.” I blame a lapse in my neurons firing. LUSH is one of my all time favorite stores and ironically enough I discovered it while in the U.K. LUSH products are all hand-made and 100% vegetarian, woohoo!! LUSH takes a strong stance against animal testing, reiterating that animal testing is neither required to ensure safe products nor mandated by law. LUSH tests its products on humans, as I absolutely believe it should be. I mean we’re the ones using the products and I guarantee you my difficult skin is significantly different from our furry friends.

Not only do LUSH products vehemently stand against animal testing, they are also environmentally friendly. Each of their containers boots a “not virgin” slogan. Meaning that the containers are made from recycled materials and if you bring 5 empty pots back to any LUSH store, you’ll get a free face mask, how great is that!

If you’d like to learn more about LUSH products and their story, please visit: http://www.lushusa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Lush-Site/en_US/Home-Show

So I went into the Fashion Valley LUSH Store and was immediately offered assistance. I was helped by this awesome sales associate, I wish my little goldfish mind was better at remembering names! I explained that my skin is prone to black heads (gross) and is sometimes oily, but is also extremely sensitive and dry. Yep, I got the mother load of facial issues. She assured me that LUSH had something perfect for me and she was right!

She tried the different products on the back of my hand and together we went through my likes and dislikes until I finally settled on two products that I fell in love with. To be fair, I also liked the moisturizer and Tea Tree Cleanser, but alas I haven’t won the lottery yet.

So this is what I ended up with:

“Let the Good Times Roll”– this is a facial scrub. You know to get down into my pores and remove the nastiness that cause blackheads. It smells divine! Like salted caramel, or what I imagine the roaring 1920s carnivals’ popcorn smelled like. I’m thinking Fitzgerald people, I’ve got a vivid imagination. But trust me, it smells great and the results are amazing! My skin feels smooth, brighter, clean, and minimal blackheads. I don’t like my skin to feel oily, but I don’t like the squeaky clean feel either, so this was a perfect match for me. Oh I forgot to mention because these products are made with natural ingredients, some of them have short shelf lives, this one I believe is 2-3 months. But I guarantee you’ll have used it up before the expiration date!

“Ocean Salt” is up next. This also smells divine, but more along the lines of a crisp clean smell versus a sweet scent. It’s the ocean after all. The product is a scrub and it leaves your skin baby-soft! I was instructed to limit my use to once per week because it packs a pretty powerful punch. I’ve sneaked it in twice and seem to be okay 🙂 Ocean Salt is self-preserving so technically it has infinitely long life-shelf, but I’m sure the physicists would disagree. But we won’t even have to engage in a debate, because you’ll also use this right up! A caution to those with even more sensitive skin than mine, it may be a bit too harsh for you because it definitely keeps my skin in check, but it tingles similarly to salt-water.

The sales associate gave me some samples to take home, and I am going back for these little guys asap!

The left one is “Imperialis Facial Moisturizer.“  It’s packed with all these different types of flowers, including lavender which is my other current obsession! The delicate blend of flowers do the dirty work so your skin stays nice and moisturized without becoming oily.

The right one is the “Tea Tree Oil Cleanser” and its name may be somewhat deceiving because you don’t have to wash it off. It’s more like a toner. So you use it after the face wash and before the face moisturizer. This little guy is great and has been drastically helping with those pesky blackheads! You can use it to spot treat or like me, all over your beautiful face!

I’ll definitely be sticking to this skin routine. At 28 years old I think I have to face (get it, haha I know I’m hilarious) it that I can’t get away with soap and lotion. If you’re in need of a custom skincare regime that actually works, I highly suggest you visit your local LUSH! Your skin will look great and you’ll feel great knowing no furries were harmed in the process of making these wonderful products.