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I used to have an insane amount of hair until my idiot of a doctor at that time put me on the pill because of my PCOS. Then my hair started to fall out in huge amounts and kept at it for alost three years. This post is not about my struggle with hairloss though, but you need to be aware that back in those good old days when I still had a haystack on my head, one bottle of shampoo didn't last very long. None of them did. Every time I washed my hair, I used a lot of product and it took ages for it to lather up and be worked through that untameable mane of mine.

Then when I got to know LUSH I was given one of their signature shampoo bars (New) to fight hairloss with. Truth be told, it didn't do much in the way of making my hair stick to my scalp; nevertheless it soon became one of my favorite beauty products because of how it managed to transform my hairwashing ritual. I really just needed to swipe it on and around three times and it produced enough lather to make another wash perfectly unnecessary.

When I used up New completely, I decided to try a different scent (I'm really not a fan of minty things) and chose Ultimate Shine instead. The scent was much more tolerable (though still kinda minty thanks to the rosemary in it, sort of like Wick Vap-o-Rub), but it really did manage to make my hair more shiny and that's what mattered at the time. I used up about 5 or 6 of them before I yet again decided to try something else. By that time I'd been using Ultimate Shine for many years and was ready for something that didn't have any mint in it whatsoever.



After eliminating all the shampoo bars that I knew I would rather not experiment with (e.g.: Godiva; sweet Merlin, how I positively loath smokey jasmine...!!!; Seanik: had it once, used it up, but was royally pissed off because of the tiny bits of algae that kept sticking in my hair, the blah scent and the weird consistency when lathered up) my choice fell upon Squeaky Green, a nice, deep-cleansing shampoo bar with a lovely, smokey and woody green scent that just smells clean and fresh in my hair. It lathers up nice and fast, and unlike some people mentioned on MUA, it does not leave little bits of algae in my hair. However, like all of LUSH's shampoo bars this too begs for a conditioner to be used afterwards, otherwise it might leave your hair a bit brittle and dry. It's nothing a good conditioner can't help though (I recommend LUSH's Veganese or Fresh's Meadowfoam Cream Treatment Conditioner (thanks, Ladybird! ;-)) and I don't really mind it until the bar still cleanses my hair in a jiffy like it has faithfully done for years.

My only pet peeve is that LUSH shampoo bars seem to run out much sooner these days than they used to. (This one and my last Ultimate Shine practically melt compared to the shampoo bars of old.) Still, they are an essential part of my haircare, and I have a hunch I'll always keep one in my stash for days when I need to get washing my hair over with quickly.

Where to get them: in LUSH stores near you or one of LUSH's online stores
Price: 2190 HUF
Amount: 55 g
Rating: 5 out of 5
Ingredients: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Perfume, Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Nettle (Urtica dioica), Water (Aqua), Tea Tree Powder (Melaleuca alternifolia), Peppermint (Mentha piperita), Rose Absolute (Rosa damascena), Chamomile Blue Oil (Chamomilla recutita), Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla planifolia), *Coumarin, Geraniol, Benzyl Benzoate, Limonene, Linalool, Hydroxycitronellal, Chlorophyllin (CI 5810)  

Don't you just love 'em? I sure do. And now, inspired by Grayburn's post Current Lemmings, I'll show you mine. Thanks Grayburn for the prompt!



"My current list of lemmings consist of a few items that I think will be perfect for the Summer. What about you? What are your current lemmings?" /Grayburn/





1.) Clinique Naturally Glossy Mascara in Jet Brown (02)

Judging by the customer reviews on MUA this is exactly what I need and the mascara I've been looking for all my life. Unfortunately, here in Hungary it costs twice as much as in western parts of Europe or in the US which is why I'm waiting for it appear again on Strawberrynet. You see, I saw it about a months ago, but I didn't have the money to buy it, and by the time I got paid, it was gone. (And there was weeping and gnashing of teeth...)

What I want from a mascara:

1. it should be brown (=natural), as I have medium brown hair and eyebrows so black mascara usually just looks fake on me.
2. it should make my lashes, well... "naturally glossy"
3. I don't want it to lengthen at all: my lashes are long enough on their own, just not very visible
4. can add volume, but it's not compulsory either
5. shouldn't be waterproof

 

Interested in chocolate-scented products? See also my reviews on:

• Cleo's Chocolate Yoghurt Shower Cream and
• Faith in Nature's Organic Chocolate Shampoo

Another lip balm review, this time about my second favorite.

Pros:

• Color:
  
  It gives a subtle and natural tint to my lips thanks to its chocolate content. The color is not harsh or anything, but it is noticeable upon application, especially when my lips are a little paler than usual. At times when I don't want to use any lipstick or gloss, I'm really grateful for this balm.
  
  
• Scent:
  
  It's sweet, powdery and aromatic, just like good quality dark chocolate. No wonder though: LUSH claims that they use only the finest quality Belgian chocolate in their products. I can detect a slight orangey undertone too due to the orange and tangerine essential oils in it.
  
  
• Taste:
  
  It's sweet but I wouldn't say it's chocolaty. The balm contains honey and glycerin, both of which could be responsible for the sweetness.
  
  
• Ingredients list:
  
  It's pretty impressive, containing lots of beneficial oils and butters, and the oat extract is something I was very happy to find in the balm because I have a strange fondness for oat. That's probably because it did wonders for my skin each time I used oatmeal as a facial scrub... :-)
  
  Oat Infusion (Avena sativa) , Almond Oil (Prunus dulcis) , Beeswax (Cera alba) , ChocolateGlycerine , Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Olea europaea) , Cetearyl Alcohol , Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii) , Honey , Wheatgerm Oil (Triticum vulgare) , Carnauba Wax , Flavour , Sodium Borate (Borax) , Tangerine Oil (Citrus reticulata) , Orange Oil (Citrus Aurantium dulcis) , Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla planifolia) , Cocoa Absolute (Theobroma cacao) , *Limonene , *Linalool , Methylparaben
  
  *Occurs Naturally in essential oils
  
  
  
• Effect:
  
  LUSH's Chocolate Whipstick does protect lips from the elements and does a good job at sealing in moisture, making lips soft, tinted and tasty, but it takes a long time for it to heal chapped, cracked lips, something which my beloved Alverde lip balm is much better at.
  
  

Cons:

• Packaging:
  
  It's cute and all, but LUSH's tin pots are a real PITA, and render the whole thing entirely useless when one is on the go all day. After all, what right-minded beauty-maniac would ever rub their fingers into the balm knowing that aforementioned fingers had been anywhere but a garbage dump that day. I mean we grab onto handstraps and poles on the bus and on the subway, we shake hands with people, handle money, pack away our groceries, and by doing so we come in contact with millions of bacteria every day. Now sometimes we get to wash our hands before we apply lip balm, but other times we only notice that we'd managed to lick the balm off our lips on a crowded street or on a jam-packed bus, and that's where tube packaging wins hands down. This was a major reason for me for switching to another brand.
  
  
• I'm not sure that orange essential oil really belongs into a lip balm. When you want something to heal your lips you don't necessarily want it to contain something that could actually irritate them, because that would considerably slow down the healing process. I'm not saying that this is a major flaw but it made me wonder nonetheless...
  
  
• Price:
  
  in Hungary this balm costs the equivalent of 11.65 US dollars, whereas in the US it costs 7.95 bucks and in England you can buy it for £ 3.95. Beside the fact that this totally doesn't make sense to me (Hungary's GDP is much lower that that of the UK or US, which frankly means that people are much poorer here.) I find the price just a bit too steep for 10 grams of lip balm. It does last me about 4 months, but hey, so does Alverde...

I actually bought this lip balm several times back when I was a LUSH fanatic, but I'm not entirely sure that I'll ever buy it again. For one thing, it costs too much; for another, I'd probably buy from LUSH something that I haven't tried yet.







 

You must have heard it at least once: “Use cosmetics only on the body-parts that they were developed for.” You heard it and it made sense, after all, a body-lotion might just be too harsh to use on your face. That is because us consumers need body lotion in much larger quantities than facial moisturiser, and while cosmetic companies can afford to create facial products using pricier and better quality ingredients (they will sell those beauty products in small quantities costing relatively more than body-products) they just cannot do the same when it comes to cosmetics of which we need bigger bottles. Therefore, they will often add fillers such as mineral oils, or in the case of make-up, talc. They will also put in ingredients which your body might still tolerate but your face most likely won’t.

Thus, I was properly shocked when one morning back in high-school I saw one of my classmates apply body-lotion on her face, explaining to me that the skin on her face is so dry that normal moisturisers won’t work anymore. I refrained from suggesting that treating her face with body-lotion is not very likely to help her case either, and might even worsen things (if it hasn’t already). For years, the image of her putting that cheap lotion onto her otherwise beautiful (and acne-free!) skin haunted me, and served as a deterrent from using cosmetics inappropriately.

But what if I was wrong? Lately I have been re-evaluating my standpoint after deciding to experiment a bit and be more open-minded when it comes to the rules set up by cosmetic companies. I’m not telling you to grab the nearest and cheapest body-lotion and start using it on your face from now on, especially not before taking a good look at the ingredients list. I strongly advise you to refrain from doing such a thing. But what if you do take a look at that list and find that all the things the product contains are perfectly safe to put on your face, or even better, your skin is simply bound to benefit from them.

Here’s a very brief list of cosmetic products I dared to use on my face and have not regretted in doing so:

1. Weleda’s Wild Rose Body Oil
   I bragged enough about this stuff in a previous post so I shall not repeat myself here.
   
   Let the ingredients list be enough to convince you:
   
   Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus (Sweet Almond) Oil, Rosa Moschata Seed Oil, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Fragrance (Parfum), Limonene, Linalool, Citronellol, Benzyl Alcohol, Geraniol, Citral Eugenol, Farnesol
   
   
2. LUSH Skin Sin Body Lotion:
   Yes well, there were times when the wind was harsh and the weather was cold and I had no proper moisturiser at hand, and I had to turn to something that had some natural oils and butters in it to protect my fragile skin. Thus, I put Skin Sin on my face and neither did my skin look like an oil-slick nor did it break out, burn, swell or experience any adverse reactions to the body lotion. I was properly amazed, of course, and it was the first time I questioned the beauty rule on top of this post.
   
   Skin Sin body lotion contains:
   
   Water (Aqua) , Almond Oil (Prunus dulcis) , Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao) , Glycerine , Stearic Acid, Tagettes Oil (Tagettes glandulifera) , Tangerine Oil (Citrus reticulata) , Chamomile Oil (Anthemis Nobilis) , Lavender Oil (Lavandula hybrida) , Triethanolamine , Cetearyl Alcohol , *Citronellol , *Limonene , *Linalool , Perfume , Methylparaben , Propylparaben
   
   * Occurs naturally in essential oils.
   
   
3. Alverde Lime&Cocoa Shower Cream
   Today, I had this idea to use this smooth, non-lathering shower cream as a facial wash in order to remove my make-up without drying out my skin too much by stripping it of its protective layer of oils. In short, it worked like a dream: all the make-up was gone and my face was super soft and hydrated after washing. I could best compare Alverde’s Shower Cream to LUSH’s cream soaps because instead of detergents they both rely on their natural oil and butter content to remove grime from your pores and lift dirt off your skin. Another success story!
   
   List of ingredients is as follows:
   
   Aqua (Water), Glycine Soya (Soybean) Oil*, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Xanthan Gum, Parfum**, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Extract, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Tocopherol, Limonene**
   
   * ingredients from certified organic agriculture
   ** from natural essential oils

Have you ever owned a cosmetic product that you did not use according to the instructions provided by the manufacturer and it still worked well? Please let me know, I’m curious!

alverde

 

I used LUSH's Enchanted Eye Cream all summer but not exactly the way it was intended by the folks at LUSH. You see, I used it all over my face and not just on the eye area. I wanted a light moisturiser which would not make my skin more oily than it already was and which would give it a nice dewy look at the same time. I was also drawn to this product because it didn't have too many ingredients in it and didn't contain cocoa butter at all. That is a must because I promised my Mum we would split it between us (using two separate containers of course) and she's terribly allergic to cocoa butter.

My bottle contained a runny white lotion, although I know from MUA that its consistency can vary and some people got a creamier version. I didn't mind though because I thought it would actually be lighter and less heavy on my skin. I tried detecting a scent but there was none, just as it should be: a lotion that goes near our eyes should have as low an irritation factor as possible. Also, the fact that it doesn't clash with my perfume (like so many of LUSH's products) was an added bonus.

Upon application it felt light, though somewhat plastic-y and oily, and all through the day I felt as if there was a thin film of plastic on my face. I persisted for a week but after that I started using it only as a nightime lotion and it did a good job as such. My face was well-moisturised, soft and had a rosy glow in the morning. Now you could say that if my skin is oily then perhaps I should stay away from any kind of lotion that contains oil, but here's the deal:

LUSH's Enchanted Eye Cream:

Lavender Honey Water (Lavendula hybrida, Mel, Aqua), Stearic Acid, Cold Pressed Almond Oil (Prunus dulcis), Glycerin, Cold Pressed Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia chinensis), Cetearyl Alcohol, Triethanolamine, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.

Weleda's Wild Rose Body Oil:

Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus (Sweet Almond) Oil, Rosa Moschata Seed Oil, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Fragrance (Parfum), Limonene, Linalool, Citronellol, Benzyl Alcohol, Geraniol, Citral Eugenol, Farnesol

They both contain jojoba and almond oil, yet Weleda's oil actually balances the sebum production of my skin and gives me a beautiful matte complexion all day long. I think that even though Enchanted Eye Cream has very few ingredients, the proportions are not very good: too much artificial stuff and too few natural ingredients.

As for my eyes, I didn't see any miracles here either. I have some not-too-dark circles under my eyes: they did not disappear or become less noticable. I never had any puffiness, so I cannot make claims about the cream's effectiveness in that area. There are some small wrinkless but again, they stayed in place.

Nowadays though, my skin tends to drink this stuff up and my face feels much better after applying this cream: it's soft and there's no residue that would cling to my face all day and feel like a mask. Looks like even such a light formula as this is too much for me during the warmer months. I'll stick to my regular beauty regime though (wash face with mild soap, pat in Alverde Wild Rose Toner, apply Weleda's Wild Rose Oil) but I'll definitely reach for this cream whenever I feel my skin itch from dryness or just add it as an additional step after the toner.

For those with sensitive skin I have good news: my Mum didn't experience any allergic reactions after using this cream (and she's got hyper-sensitive skin!!!), so I guess it's safe for you guys to use.

Don't take my word for granted though as we're all different and so different things work for each of us. You can alway ask for a sample from your LUSH saleslady, and the amount is usually enough for quite a few applications so you should be able to decide whether it works for you or not.  

I've seen this on so many beauty blogs, I though I'd give it a try and share my current beauty regime with you.

FACE:

• Alverde Seaweed Foaming Cleanser (This is a brand that's only available in Europe, but it's really nice and it's claimed to be organic too. )
• Alverde Rose Toner
• Acnefug Mild 3% Benzoyl Peroxide (Sadly, this is the only thing that keeps my zits at bay.)
• LUSH Enchanted Eye Cream (Just bought it today! I actually use this as moisturiser for my whole face, as it is very soft and light. It has a runny consistency and because it only contains jojoba and almond oil and no butters, it could be the perfect summer moisturiser for my combination skin. What's more, it can also be used as an eye cream! Genious!
  EDIT: see this post about the product!!!)
• Alverde Calendula Lip Balm (Alternating with LUSH's Chocolate Whipstick and a Hungarian drugstore brand lipbalm. Both are really nice and have the perfect consistency for me.)

BODY:

• Nesti&Dante Grapes&Blueberry soap (Doesn't much remind me of grapes and blueberry, but it has this wonderful clean smell: soap and laundry and a whole bathroom put together, and it still manages to remain feminine and unique. Love it to bits!)
• Olive oil+Rough Sugar used as a body polish (Cheap and works better than anything I've ever tried, and believe me when I say I've tried lots of things already. Maybe, but just maybe LUSH's Aqua Mirabilis does compare. But I'm not sure, I should test it soon... :-) )
• LUSH Skin Sin body lotion (It does smell like cherries if you really want it to, but to me it smells like a lavender field. )
• Nivea Fresh Natural 24 Hours deodorant (Works wonders and keeps me dry during days when humidity is 90%)
• LUSH Pied de Pepper foot lotion (I use it only during the nigh as it's way too greasy to wear in the day. Smells heavenly though: as if we had Christmas during the summer.)

HAIR:

• LUSH Ultimate Shine shampoo bar
• LUSH Veganese conditioner (The only thing that works for me and which does not contain that friggin' lanolin I hate so much...)
• Olive oil (Mixed with conditioner to soften my hair, and also to prevent split ends.)
• L'Oreal Hot Liss heat protection balm (I really don't like this, but I have yet to find an alternative product to invest in...)

MAKE-UP:

• Bourjois Plus Que Parfait Mattifying Foundation in Péche Constante 12 (Niiiice! Lightweight and once it settles into my skin it delivers a smooth even finish. That is, if I can be persuaded to use it: I really cannot stand anything on my face in 30 Celsius degrees...)
• Bourjois Pastel Teint Essentiel in Sablé 65 (Smells like rose and vanilla, and has a great texture.)
• Bourjois Et MAt Anti-shine Stick (Now this is something I absolutely adore! Without it I usually need to blot away excess oil after a mere two hours. With it though that time goes up to half a day and even when my skin develops some shine it's much easier to get rid of. Great product, was worth stocking up on.)
• Bourjois Blush in Lilas D'Or 33 (People seem to love this shade and I'm no exception. It's a lovely and natural reddish pink with fine gold shimmer in it. )
• Bourjois Ombre á Paupieres Eyeshadow in various colors (What can I say? I love them to death...)
• Bourjois Longeur Sublime Mascara (I've got one in brown and one in prune, and both look great. They won't really give my lashes any kind of vavoom; they merely give them a nice tint and make them visible, which is what I'm after. My lashes are pretty long and full, but they are very fair so color is the only thing I'm concerned about and I hate false-eyelash effects of any kind.)
• Bourjois D'Ombre Á Paupiéres Les Bruns Cuivré used as a bronzer (I hated the stuff on my eyelids but I discovered some time ago that they are perfectly fine used as a bronzer.)
• Bourjois Effet3D Lipglosses (I have more than 20 shades so sometimes it is difficult to decide, but my all time favourite is Rose Enigmatic 49 which is a beautiful grapefruit pink with lots of golden shimmer. )

That's all I guess. :-)

alverde