LUSH - Continued

ok, so I used everything else (except for the shampoo) this morning and am ready to provide an initial review.

First up-

Buffy

This is an exfoliant and a moisturizer. I used it as the very last item in my shower regime this morning. I started by rubbing it on my skin, then slowed down. When it says it exfoliates, it means it. I doubt there is actual glass in the bar, but wow. It's very rough. I suggest doing a light sweep over limbs, then rubbing the resulting moisturizer and exfoliating goodies all over with your hands. Be... gentle. Moving on. After the shower, I was left very soft. Very, very soft. It's awesome. And my trouble spot with dryness- my tat on my arm, is soft and moisturized. It's awesome. I'll update after work when I see if it lasted.

American Cream

Uhm. Honestly, I'm not too impressed. I'll give this a couple more tries, but like I said- not impressed. My hair is a bit easier to manage, but not by a large amount. There's not as much of a yummy smell as I was expecting- more a dusty vanilla than anything. I'm really just meh about this product.

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I'm gonna take a moment and talk about Ultra Bland some more. I used it again this morning. I had a MASSIVE hormonal acne cyst on my forehead. massive, red, inflamed, GROSS. After using Ultrabland the first time, it went down CONSIDERABLY. I was shocked. I used it again this morning and let me tell you, it's looking even better. Now it's just down to a regular size. Inflammation is completely gone. Redness is down. The only noticeable bit about it now is a little scab where I picked a bit(I know, I know, not supposed to do that)

If this cleanser continues to perform like this, and manages to prevent my from even getting any hormonal acne next time, this is going to become my holy grail product.

LUSH

Ok, This is slightly different than doing a single product review. This is just my (pretty much still initial) review of all of LUSH. At least, everything that I've tried so far. I'll admit, I haven't tried everything. I haven't ventured into the realm of bath bombs yet, so nothing on that end. There are a bunch more products that I haven't tried yet, but I'm not gonna bother listing them. This is about the things that I have tried.

As a side note, one of LUSH' big things is that they're all vegetarian and vegan and whatnot. I really don't care too much about that, I'm just liking the yummy smells and the effectiveness of their products. That said, here's my feedback on the products I've dabbled in.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="My LUSH Collection"][/caption]

1. The Godmother Soap

When I let the sales lady know that I was "a lush virgin" and that I liked fruity smells, she led me to this soap. It smelled absolutely delicious. I was a little torn between the godmother and Honey I Washed The Kids but I settled on this one. I ended up buying a good sized chunk. The whole chunk came wrapped in some paper, like when you buy custom cut meat from the butcher. I purchased a soap tin from them also and cut off a tin sized chunk from the main bar with a knife. I lather it up on a loofah and I end up with a really decent amount of lather. It smells delicious, leaves my skin squeaky clean, and makes my bathroom and room smell awesome.

2. New Shampoo Bar

I'm gonna be totally honest. I was baffled by the idea a solid shampoo. My "wtf" meter was all over the place. But I was hearing good reviews, so I decided to try one. I got this bar because of the awesome cinnamon smell. The first time I used it I was blown away. It just smells amazing. I got my hair wet, ran the bar over my hair a few times (honestly, the first time I did it about 5 or 6 times. Now, only 3 or 4) and lathered up. The lather from it is crazy. Especially considering that it's... a bar. lol. I'm so used to having a blob of liquid shampoo be necessary for a lather that I was shocked by what happened with the solid. But anyways, it makes me hair clean, smell like cinnamon, and makes it really soft when it's dried. The only downside I've got so far with it is that when my hair is still wet and no conditioner has been used it's really... tangle-y. Rough. Difficult to handle. It's fine when it dries, but a conditioner will help with handling when it's still wet.

3. Ultra Bland

Ok, I've only used this once. I got it this afternoon and used it when I got home, so I've only got the one use to go off of. My review for this everything else has been a week or so- this is... just the one time. My initial impression is that it seems greasy and is difficult to spread out on my face. There is no lather from this product. And when trying to rinse my face off, it was really difficult to rinse off, leaving my face feeling like it had a film on it. The up side is that my face is clean and now, a few hours later, my skin feels uber, uber soft and silky. I'm going to try it again tomorrow and see how it goes.

4. Buffy

I haven't used this yet. My skin always seems... ashy. dry. Gross. So I got something that says it will exfoliate and moisturize. I can't wait to try it.

5. American Cream

I got a conditioner to go with the shampoo bar that I got earlier. I haven't been able to use it yet, I'll be trying it for the first time tomorrow and am super excited.

6. I Love Juicy

A bottled shampoo that I haven't tried yet. I got it with my initial purchase because it smelled yummy and fruity, but haven't gotten around to trying it because of how much I've fallen in love with my shampoo bar.

Diorshow Maximizer Lash Plumping Serum

When I first heard about eyelash serums.... designed to help eyelashes grow longer, thicker, stronger, I was a bit skeptical. Like, seriously skeptical. Some have reports of seriously harmful side effects, some need a doctors prescription to even get ahold of, and some require that you shell out a few hundred for the product.

I finally went out and bought L'Oreal's Lash Serum. I totally... did NOT like it. It was goopy, had a really weird applicator, was goopy, weighed down my eyelashes, and was goopy, leaving a oddball residue when it finally dried. It smells a little like glue, too. I totally did not like it. I really don't even know why I still have it. I used it a couple times, then left off. I know with those things, you have to stick with the program to see results, but I was not feeling it at all.

Moving on.

I heard about Dior's serum. It sounded promising. It got REALLY GOOD reviews. It was more expensive than the other one I had tried, but based on reviews, I decided to order it and give it a shot.

I have had it for only two days... and I am already in love. The applicator is just like any other mascara wand, with little bristles and everything, so you can coat every eyelash down to the root. The formula isn't goopy at all. It glides on evenly, and "dry". Eyelashes don't get weighed down, they get separated. Even better, this serum doubles as a primer, making lashes longer for when you apply a coat of whatever mascara you want. The formula is white, but it dries to a clear, although you can still see a... ghostlike whiteness at the very tips when it's dried. But since you're putting black or brown over it... *shrug*

Immediate results- lashes that are separated, fanned out, longer. It dries, but doesn't leave lashes crunchy or crinkly. If you rub your eyelashes afterwards, no weird residue comes off on your fingers. It stays on your lashes till a wash.

Longterm results- I'll post those after a month or so of using it everyday.