For the holidays, Lush has plenty of offerings to tempt you. Here’s a quickie overview of some of the products I recently tried:

Melting Snowman ($5.95 for 2.1 oz.) is a bath melt, which are supposed to be used either in halves or wholes and tossed into the tub as you fill it with warm water. They’re supposed to add a hydrating element to your soak. He smells of chocolate, cinnamon, and orange. The “chocolate chip” eyes don’t fully melt and tend to float and smear on the tub (not so sexy to look at), and I did find myself needing to scrub those bits away post-bath. It’s definitely hydrating and makes the skin feel softer afterward.

Cinders ($4.95) is a bath bomb that also has “crackling vegan candies,” so you’ll actually hear it crackle and pop a bit once the majority of the bath bomb has fizzed away (about a minute). It smelled like spiced cider, not too sweet or too spicy, and it really was like splashing around in a vat of cider. You can hear the candies crackling here and there for about five to ten minutes. This was my favorite of the bath bombs I tried this season. It turned the water yellow, and I think this might have worked better if it turned the water orange or tangerine? in terms of aesthetics.

The Christmas Penguin ($7.45 for 3.5 oz.) is a bubble bar shaped like a penguin–and he’s a rather pricey bath bomb as a result! Crumble his little penguin body into a hot bath for some bubble action. When used, it will turn the bath water a light blue. It had a slightly tart, slightly sweet mix of citrus going on–a little fizzy and lemon-lime like.

Golden Wonder ($6.95 for 7.8 oz.) is a larger bath bomb that has a treat inside–if you shake it around, you’ll here something rattling inside. It’s golden and has gold glitter on the exterior, and it fizzes away in about a minute and a half. It had a very strong, somewhat synthetic, sweet orange. I didn’t love it–it didn’t give me a really fresh orange fragrance, more cloying and syrupy sweet. Spoiler alert: the portion inside is a vibrant turquoise-blue and did leave some bluish residue along my tub, so be sure to scrub and wash down accordingly.

Luxury LUSH Pud ($6.95 for 7 oz.) is supposed to be a lavender-scented bath bomb. When placed in a hot bath, it turned the water a muted, magenta pink with some foaminess. It took about two minutes for the entire bath bomb to fizzle away. It smelled like a mix of sweet vanilla and lavender.

Sandy Santa ($9.95 for 4.5 oz.) is a body buffer in the shape of Santa. It uses sand and sugar to exfoliate dead skin sells, plus it’s in solid form, so it also contains coconut oil and shea butter for softening and hydration. I wouldn’t say it hydrated all that much, and it really melts very, very quickly. I highly recommend breaking off just a small piece, going over the skin lightly, but then rubbing what you’ve melted off in with your hands, not the bar itself, as you’ll just waste most of it. It smelled primarily of orange oil with a little lemon, and for me, it read synthetic. Breaking him into pieces, I was able to get three scrubs worth of mostly legs and arms but not much else. I was surprised at the price point, given how few uses I was able to get out of him.

Let the Good Times Roll ($12.95 for 3.5 oz.) originally launched for the holidays but made it into the permanent range due to its popularity. It smells like incredibly sweet sugar cookies with a very, very subtle cinnamon spice. It contains maize flour and corn meal, so it is a gentle exofliator with fine bits that leave skin feeling soft but never raw, dry, or red. As a gentler exfoliant, I really liked it, and I’ve been feeling like there’s a void in exfoliators/scrubs in my routine lately, so this has been filling that void nicely. Of all the products I tried this holiday season, this was the only one I’d consider buying.

Celebrate ($29.95 for 7.7 oz.) smells of champagne and citrus–primarily orange–and has a slightly whipped consistency that makes it seem lighter than it is, but it is a rather rich product, because even after two hours of my legs dangling (open to the air!), my legs still felt greasy and slippery. I ended up toweling off what wasn’t absorbing so I could go to bed. I tried it again, and I used the smallest amount possible, and I still felt somewhat greasy after an hour. I would actually say it could make a nice massage lotion, since it never seems to really absorb, so there’s a lot of slip, which is great for massaging! I will also mention that my husband really didn’t like this scent–he found it overwhelming (and he can barely smell, I swear). Like his reaction is encompassed by this scenario: I take one step into his office, and then he says, “What is that smell?” with this face that says, “Please step back.” It had an almost medicinal quality to the orange/citrus in it for me.

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Lush for Holiday 2013

Melting Snowman

Melting Snowman

Cinders

Cinders

The Christmas Penguin

The Christmas Penguin

Golden Wonder

Golden Wonder

Luxury LUSH Pud

Lush Holiday 2013

Sandy Santa

Sandy Santa

Let the Good Times Roll

Let the Good Times Roll

Celebrate Hand & Body Lotion

Celebrate Hand & Body Lotion

Celebrate Hand & Body Lotion

Too Gritty to Call It True Love

LUSH Vibrance Liquid Lipstick ($22.95 for 0.20 oz.) is described as a “shimmering, golden orange.” It’s a brightened tangerine orange with lighter, golden orange shimmer/glitter. OCC Banjee is similar in color to the lighter shimmer, but it’s an opaque lip color with no shimmer. I couldn’t think of anything that came that close. You would better be able to achieve a look like this by wearing an orange lipstick and pairing it with a gold-shimmered gloss.

It was somewhat challenging trying to figure out what exactly the formula was supposed to do, so I referred to the original press release. I gathered these should be hydrating, fairly pigmented, and leave lips soft post-application.  The color coverage is semi-sheer to semi-opaque, but it’s rather uneven. The shimmer/glitter felt noticeably gritty, and the particles seemed to gravitate towards each other in bunches, which contributed to the uneven application. It had a watery consistency–thin, loose–but it felt more like a lipstick once it dried down on the lips.

I didn’t detect any scent or taste while testing it for wear. It managed four hours, but there was some stray glitter/shimmer that had traveled outside of my lip area. Not drying, not hydrating, but the grittiness of the sparkle made it uncomfortable to wear.  It’s housed in a glass bottle with a doe-foot applicator attached to the black screw-top lid. The applicator doesn’t reach the bottom of the jar, so if you end up using the majority, you may not be able to reach the bottom (try using a separate lip brush or turn it upside down in a sample container).

LUSH Vibrance Liquid Lipstick

LUSH Vibrance Liquid Lipstick

LUSH Vibrance Liquid Lipstick

LUSH Vibrance Liquid Lipstick

LUSH Vibrance Liquid Lipstick

LUSH Vibrance Liquid Lipstick

Beautiful Beginnings with LUSH

What was the first LUSH product you ever tried?  Did it pave way for a real romance or did it put you off the brand entirely?  What was the first product you purchased?  Did you love it? Hate it? Still own it?

my answer: Oddly enough, one of the first products I tried was a shower gel! Not all-time favorite but good. I’m a huge fan of Angels on Bare Skin, Coalface, and all of their fresh face masks. I’m not much of a bath person, so while I enjoy their bubble bars and bombs, I rarely use them.

Share your first time experiences with LUSH in the comments!

LUSH Launches Happy Feet for Summer 2012

With summertime right around the corner it’s time to start thinking strappy sandals and flirty flip-flops. If your feet aren’t feeling up to par, don’t fret! LUSH has wrapped up some positively perfect products to help perk up your pedicure. The new limited edition Happy Feet kit will keep your tootsies looking terrific all summer long.

Start with a soothing soak with our Geo Phyzz bath bomb, then scrub up with Stepping Stone foot scrub, be sure to dip into the detoxifying Volcano foot mask and finally, slather on some Fair Trade Foot Lotion to keep heels hydrated. One round of this treatment will have your feet stepping pretty come sandal season!

Availability: Happy Feet ($24.95) is available while supplies last at LUSH shops and LUSHUSA.com starting June 11th

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LUSH Do Knot Disturb

LUSH Do Knot Disturb ($29.95) includes four products: French Kiss bubble bar, Sex Bomb, Lust soap, and Soft Couer massage bar. Note, mine is a press sample, and it came with Dirty Toothy Tabs, whereas the ones for purchase include French Kiss–boo!hiss! since I adore lavender! The bubble bar as the fourth item is a way better pick, because those Toothy Tabs aren’t for everyone (so just ignore it in my photos!). With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I wanted to share this with you, because I think it’s absolutely adorable. Totally a cute gift to give to your special someone who loves LUSH!

French Kiss is a bubble bar, which is described as a “calming and reviving lavender, rosemary, and thyme bath.” Bubble bars are typically used to add bubbles and scent to a hot bath. While you can certainly drop the whole thing into the tub, the best way to use these is to crumble a few pieces into the bath. I normally get two to three uses out of each bubble bar.

Sex Bomb is a bath bomb, which is described as “jasmine, clary sage, and ylang ylang.” It also has soya milk to make the water milky and helps to soften your skin while you soak. It primarily adds scent and color to a bath, and this particular bath bomb turns the water pink. Not as moisturizing as a bath melt, but skin won’t feel dry after a long soak with this. It will leave a faint purple ring around the tub, which I found rinsed off once I turned the shower on, but still something to mention.

Lust soap is all about jasmine. It’s full-on, unabashedly jasmine. I’m personally not a fan of jasmine (or most floral-based scents), but if you do love jasmine-scented products, it’s nice. It’s not synthetic or like a layered perfume.

Soft Couer is a massage bar, which is described as a mix of honey and cocoa powder. If you’ve tried Honey I Washed the Kids, the scent should be familiar. Massage bars are solid forms of moisturizing butters that melt as they’re slid around the skin (assuming you’re warm-blooded, of course!). I actually picked this up a couple of years ago in a trio of massage bars. If you do any massage, these are excellent–they really melt upon contact with the skin, and you can work it in over time, because it doesn’t dry down immediately.

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LUSH Do Knot Disturb

LUSH Do Knot Disturb

LUSH for Valentine’s Day

Sweetheart Soap ($4.95 for 3.4 oz)

This sweet smelling soap is chock-full of aphrodisiacs like jasmine, sandalwood, ylang ylang and bergamot to help lift the spirits and give you a boost of confidence to take your relationship to the next level.

Love Potion Massage Bar ($9.95)

Give your love a little rub and cast a spell with this sensual massage bar. Delicately scented with the fragrance of Love perfume this heart stopper is sure to put you, and keep you, in the mood.

Leap Frog Bath Bomb ($4.95)

Ladies the world over will be popping the question as 2012 is a leap year, and it’s the girls’ turn to do the asking! LUSH has created the Leap Frog bath bomb, made with the sultry scent of jasmine, sandalwood, ylang ylang, rose and neroli, to help ladies everywhere get a ring on their men. Once he gets a whiff, he’ll have to say yes!

A Million Kisses Lip Tint ($8.95)

This gorgeous red lip tint is scented with the same rose fragrance and will leave lips soft, supple and tinted a romantic hue…all ready to give your beau a million kisses! Pop on your cheeks for a bit of lustful blush. Available all year round!

25:43

25 minutes and 43 seconds is the amount time it took Mark Constantine, our founder and Gorilla Perfumer, to make this fragrance for his son Simon’s wedding. The main notes are lime tonka accord with sweet warm hay and a fresh green citrus top that are sure to have your lover smitten in no time flat!

Do Knot Disturb Knot Wrap ($28.95)

This is one knot we wouldn’t mind undoing! Inside you’ll find four products sure to make your Valentine’s Day a little more special. The paper band around it can be used as a door hang once cut out, wink wink… Contents: Soft Coeur, Lust soap, Sex Bomb, French Kiss

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Happy Lunar New Year with LUSH Red Dragon Soap!

LUSH Red Dragon Soap ($7.95 for 3.5 oz.) is a limited edition soap infused with Lush’s Karma fragrance to celebrate the Year of the Dragon. I made sure to suds up last night with this soap to kick off the new year myself. The top of the dragon has a dusting of “gold,” which does immediately disappear after it hits the water. Lush describes the Karma scent as a “spicy blend ot patchouli, lavender, and pine.” There is also orange oil in it, which is one of the more noticeable notes of the scent for me.

I get the citrus along with a spicy earthiness. It makes the whole shower smell just like the soap, though the scent will dissipate after you’ve finished, and it doesn’t linger for long on the skin (which may be good or bad, depending on your preferences!). The scent fits for Lunar New Year, but I could see it being a love it or hate it kind of aroma overall.

I will say that the actual shaping of the dragon could be more precise, but I’ve never made soap, so maybe it’s not the easy feat I imagine it to be.  I think it’s the head–perhaps a more distinct shape or with better detailing.  Still cute and a nice way to celebrate the beginning of the year!

Happy Lunar New Year!

Holiday Gift Guide: Totally Holiday, Totally Gift-Worthy and Over $50

The last part of the Totally Holiday, Totally Gift-Worthy section of the guide features the more indulgent gifts to give this holiday season. These may be luxurious, or they may offer tremendous value but will be an investment for years to come. Next part of the guide will focus on limited edition holiday color favorites. If you missed it, I already posted the under $30 and under $50 guides!

A Few Tips on Breaking the Bank for Gifts

• Typically, the thought really is what counts, and if you have the budget for it, great gifts can be pricey gifts, too, but make sure you’re still thinking about the person you’re buying for and getting them something indulgent that they want.  Similarly, just because it’s a gift you’d love to receive doesn’t always translate to one your recipient would love to receive.
• Not all sets are created equal–I picked my favorites (across all the holiday kit/set guides) that I felt were good overall, both for quality as well as value, but sometimes kits have minimal savings or it might be in a product you’d never use (maybe it’s a mascara or primer or whatever).  It’s easy to get caught up in “savings” when it’s plastered all over the kit/sale page but remember to read the fine print and see what’s really inside.
• Sometimes buying full-sized products is better if your budget is bigger.  For instance, for the price of the NARS set ($125), you could purchase five full-sized, individual NARS lipglosses–and you could hand-pick the colors or shades.  You can also mix up brands, product types, and whether something it’s limited or permanent that way.

Eyes: One of the ultimate gift sets this season is Make Up For Ever Wild & Chic Aqua Cream Collection ($175.00), but it presents a good opportunity to have several full-sized Aqua Creams at less than retail; I love Aqua Creams in general, and this set is mostly neutral, so it’s workable across skin tones and preferences. If you thought that was indulgent, check out Make Up For Ever’s Wild & Chic Collector Case ($330.00), which contains an instant makeup stash (it’s valued at $616 in product), just at a rather hefty price tag. For Bare Escentuals fans, one of my favorite kits from their holiday offerings is Bare Escentuals bareMinerals Oh La Luxe ($79.00) which contains fifteen shades for eyes/face. They come in a metallic zippered bag, too, which is nice for travel.

Cheeks/Face: There didn’t seem to be very many cheek/face kits/sets this year in this particular price range, but I did like Make Up For Ever Wild & Chic Best of Make Up For Ever Kit ($55.00), since it contains several of their ultra-popular products without having to shell out fully for it–like their HD Powder, Aqua Cream, and Primer. Let me share with you a fantastic Hair kit since this category is a bit barren, Blow Out in a Box ($200.00), which features my favorite T3 Featherweight Hair Dryer, along with a T3 AntiGravity Barrel Brush and Wide Tooth Comb, plus Living Proof Full Thickening Cream and Straight.

Lips: NARS Kudoki Kabuki Lip Set ($125.00) is one of those products that very few of us actually buy but something most of us would appreciate receiving as a gift; it’s decadent, intricately designed, purposefully made–it’s pure luxury and a collector’s item.  I cannot comment on its quality, as I don’t have it and haven’t seen it, but I see this as that, “ooh, ahh” item for the season. Chanel Les Deux Levres Scintillantes ($55.00) contains two glossimers (Spark and Liaison) along with a miniature-sized Nude Lip Definer all housed in a black Chanel-emblazoned makeup bag; the set is fairly neutral and should work universally, and because it’s Chanel, it can impress (for instance, my aunt would much more appreciate a designer brand, because she would never buy it herself).

Skin/Body: The ever-popular Clarisonic has several year-round kits/sets, but they do put a few more together for the holidays. They all tend to be a good value overall, and it’s really a matter of what accessories/bonuses you’d like with it (or what color!).  LUSH has a fantastic offering of holiday gift sets and boxes, including plenty over $50 (and plenty under!), and I love giving LUSH sets for anyone I know who likes to take baths or extended showers to relax–also great for younger teens!

Fragrance: When you’re not quite sure what scent someone wears, or if you know they’re looking for a signature scent or just getting into fragrance, I love the sets Sephora puts together. This year’s Sephora Favorites Rollerball Collection For Her ($65.00 for 7×0.20-0.34oz.) includes popular favorites in rollerball format, so they’re small, travel-friendly, and very convenient; for the fragrance collector, you might consider the collector’s edition, which features miniature sizes of popular scents. I also love fragrance sets like Jo Malone Fragrance Combining Cologne Collection ($95.00 for 5×0.3 oz.) because they can be used individually or together–it’s a great opportunity to pick-up Jo Malone scents in smaller sizes (and for lower prices!).

Do you have any suggestions for readers looking for a really big ticket item to add to their wish list or to splurge on for a loved one?