LUSH Honey I Washed The Kids Bar Soap

Late winter is the time of the years when my skin is the driest and I have found that I benefit from swapping out my Bath and Body Works Shower Gels for more gentle bar soap formulas.  This always means that I need to have a decent-sized LUSH order made well before the end of December.  This usually presents no problems as I order from them in late fall once their Christmas collection releases and then I often order again right after Christmas so that I can grab up some last items from their big sale.  This time around, I decided to order a combination of holiday products and a few of the best sellers that I haven't tried yet.  One of the best sellers that I ordered is the best-selling Honey I Washed The Kids Bar Soap and I am regretting that I only ordered one bar of it...

Honey I Washed The Kids has been a cult LUSH product that I remember ever since I started shopping the brand in 2008.  This caramel-scented product is perfect the fall and winter and I can easily see why this is one of the best sellers of the brand.

"This is one of our best-selling soaps and it's no wonder why: it's simply irresistible!  One sniff and you'll need this sweet caramel fragrance in your life.  But get ready to share, because it's so gentle, buttery, and scrumptious that you'll have a hard time keeping it to yourself.  We use real honey and beeswax in every batch to soothe skin, while honey water and aloe help soften and moisturize, leaving the whole family clean and smelling bee-autiful.", states the LUSH website.

The star ingredient in this product is Honey, a natural humectant and hydrator.  I have used honey in my winter skincare for years now and this ingredient (plus the smell!) are what made my try this Bar Soap over some of the other ones that they offer.  Honey will attract moisture from the atmosphere and pull it into the skin and the thicker texture of this ingredient will also help keep moisture locked into the skin.  This is exactly what I need at this time of the year and I will be using this product until it runs out.

I have tried using this product applied directly to wet skin and applied to a washcloth.  I tend to prefer my bar soaps applied directly to wet skin, they will usually lather less and help my skin stay hydrated for longer periods.  I still liked it when applied with a washcloth but I would prefer to use it right on wet skin in the shower.  I have also found that applying the product directly to my skin makes the soap lasts longer and I should be able to use the same bar until the beginning of March.

The caramel fragrance is light and wonderful, this is pretty fragrance for fall and winter but will be too heavy in the warm weather months.  The scent remains lightly on my skin but fills the whole bathroom with fragrance, this is typical of most LUSH bar soaps and is one of the major reasons that I keep purchasing them over and over.

I can't say that Honey I Washed The Kids is any more or less hydrating than any of the other LUSH Bar Soaps that I have used in the past.  All of their Bar Soaps hydrate my skin nicely and I will continue to order these every year.  I will order another bar of this product once the cooler weather starts to roll around again!

photo courtesy of LUSH

Fresh Seaberry Exfoliating Soap

I have been spending much more time than usual at the Fresh counter in my local Sephora and I have been picking more and more items up from this company than I ever have before.  I have quickly become addicted to their face masks and I now want to pick up their face oil once I finish up my current bottle of Josie Maran Argan Oil.  One of my last purchases from Fresh was a highly rated bar soap and one that I have been loving for my dry winter skin.  I have always had dry skin on my body every winter but this has been a rather harsh winter so far and my skin has had far more dry patches than normal.  I normally used shower gels (or a rare bar soap) from Bath and Body Works or LUSH and I tend to look to very few other companies for body products.  I decided to branch out a bit and try a body product from a company that has been producing some of my favorite face products so far.

Fresh has a pretty large line of body products and I will need to order more of these in the coming months.  I started with a bar soap that multiple sales associates at Sephora recommended to me for helping to treat and soothe very dry winter skin.  The Fresh Seaberry Exfoliating Soap is just one product in their range of bar soaps and I am ready to pick up another bar of this product as soon as I run out of it.  I don't know that I will be using this product all throughout the year and I am sure that I will go back to my favorite Bath and Body Works shower gels once spring comes.  I have been using this bar soap every morning for the past few days and I have been very impressed so far.

"A triple-milled soap that gently buffs away dry, dull skin while cleansing the body to reveal a smooth complexion.  Seaberry Exfoliating Soap gently buffs away dry, dull skin while cleansing the body to even skin tone and reveal a radiant glow. The nourishing formula is fortified with seaberry oil, a powerful antioxidant rich in omegas that restores and softens the skin. Natural exfoliants of cranberry, bamboo, and bitter orange help diminish dehydrated skin, while shea butter nourishes and hydrates. Triple-milled to last longer, it produces a rich, non-drying lather for a luxurious cleansing experience.", states the Sephora website.

The website also provides a quick story about the history of this ingredient (as it does for nearly every Fresh product), "The story of seaberry: “When I was two, living in a small town in East Siberia, I tipped over a pot of boiling water and burned my arm. The doctor treated me with a pasty orange salve that I later learned was seaberry oil. Native to Siberia, this restorative oil has been used for generations as a natural cure.”—Lev Glazman, Fresh Co-founder".  High quality ingredients are very important to Fresh as a brand and they are known for providing all kinds of background about their products and the active ingredients contained in them.

I have been using this bar soap only in the morning and keeping with my traditional routine of Bath and Body Works shower gels and body moisturizers at night.  I like this product in the morning because it smells very fresh and helps me to wake up in the shower.  It also gently scrubs off the dead skin and leaves hydrating ingredients in its place.  I love that this bar soap rinses clean and leaves no residue on the skin, a great feeling for before I get dressed and go to work.  I really don't have any cons about this product and I will be purchasing another bar of it once my current bar runs out.  It seems like Fresh has more shower gels than bar soaps so I will check many of those out once the weather starts to warm up and my skin is a bit less dry overall.

photo courtesy of Fresh

LUSH Karma Bar Soap

I have been on the fence about trying the LUSH Karma Bar Soap for quite a long time, I can stand the scent of patchouli but I don't think that I love it enough to use it on my body.  This is a cult LUSH product so I really wanted to see what all the hype was about and decide for myself if this is a fragrance that I could wear in small doses.  I don't mind patchouli notes in perfume and they were well on my skin so I thought that I would be able to wear it on my skin.  Turns out...I can't and this is not the Bar Soap for me.

I waited for cooler weather to arrive before I tried this strongly fragranced soap and I will only use this soap at night.  Even with the advent of fall, this fragrance is still too strong on my skin to use during the day.  As much as I love LUSH soaps, this is not the fragrance for me and I will use this one bar and then not order it again.

"An all-time classic, Karma is the ultimate LUSH scent. Spicy patchouli is complemented with refreshing lemongrass, orange oil and pine oil to create a clean and lovely smell that lasts on the skin for ages after you've washed. One whiff and you'll be hooked - for this life and the next. There's enough Karma fragrance in each bar to perfume your whole body each time you wash, and transport you back to the days of free love and flower power. Give yourself good Karma; if you've been mindful and brimming with loving kindness, this is the soap to reward you.", states the LUSH website. 

This soap performs very similarly to the rest of the LUSH Bar Soaps that are translucent, foams up well and rinses clean without drying skin out.  I have no issues with the way that this soap performs. The reason that this soap is not for me is the fragrance, it reminds me of entering a head shop and this is not a fragrance that I can wear.  Incense doesn't bother me in small doses but I cannot wear this fragrance on my skin.  I was hoping that a bar soap would leave the lightest amount of fragrance but this is still too strong for me so I cannot buy this product again.

This is a very polarizing product, people either love or hate this fragrance however this same effect tends to occur anytime that patchouli is used in a fragrance.  I cannot wear this fragrance on my skin, the only aspect of this fragrance that I like is the smell that is leaves in my shower after I get out.  It reminds me a bit of the yoga studio after a class and I love that fragrance.  I am realistic enough to think that this fragrance would begin to annoy me toward the end of the bar.

I love and will continue to order LUSH Bar Soaps but this cult product is just not the fragrance for me.

photo courtesy of LUSH

Bath and Body Works True Blue Spa Mango Butter Nourishing Body Bar

Many of you will remember that I went crazy for the Bath and Body Works True Blue Spa Mango Butter products last summer and after I bought all of them, they were discontinued and then I couldn't replace any of my favorites.  Well I am very happy to see that they must have been seasonal since they are now all back on the shelves and ready for me to go shopping!  I have already picked up another Body Butter and another Bar Soap to put away for the summer months.  I then realized that I had never reviewed the Bar Soap on this blog, as the product was unavailable by the time that I got around to using the soap early last winter.  Which was sad because I really loved this product and I have already opened up my new bar and am deciding if I should pick up yet a few more to satisfy my obsession with these products...

Bath and Body Works really only carries bar soaps in their Spa line, a line of high quality product that always perform well (I loved this line back from when I first worked there in college and still do).  The Mango line of products is a favorite of mine, I have loved the scent of mango for years and I have used the Mango line from The Body Shop for years now.  I am really excited that I now have two whole body product lines to choose from!

"Mucho mango! This rich, nourishing body bar with abundant lather gently cleanses skin while lavishly moisturizing with tropical Mango Butter.  With richly replenishing Mango Butter and Glycerin.  Fresh and juicy mango butter fragrance.", states the Bath and Body Works website in a description of the product.

The first aspect that I noticed of this product was that the fragrance filled the whole bathroom as soon as I took the wrapper off the product.  For the rest of the day, every single time that I walked by the bathroom, I could smell the lovely mango scent coming out at me.  The only other soap that I have had the same from is the LUSH Rockstar soap (my absolute favorite soap ever!) and I was instantly in love with the product.  The soap lost its scent a little bit over the four weeks that I used it but i could still smell it every single time that I went into the bathroom. 

This soap is a very creamy formula and I really recommend it for drier skin types, my skin is very dry and will remain so until the beginning of May.  The product produces a very rich and creamy lather while still rinsing clean and not leaving a film on the skin.  I was very impressed with the rich lather created by this soap but I must say that I was even happier when I got out of the shower and my skin wasn't as dry as it normally is.  This bar soap didn't solve my dry skin (not that a bar soap ever really could) but it didn't strip my skin and leaves it feeling better than many liquid shower gel formulas do.  I would recommend this for anyone with dry skin or skin that can be easily irritated in the cold weather months.  This one bar lasted about 5 weeks for me, it is large and dense bar that didn't disappear with the addition of warm water.

I love this bar soap and I really hope that this line will stay around longer this time, I would love to see the Mango Butter product line be available all year but if it isn't, I know that I will buy a bunch of these in the next few months!

photo courtesy of Bath and Body Works

LUSH Holiday 2012 Bar Soaps

We have just wrapped up the bath products from this company and now we are moving onto to another favorite LUSH product of mine, Bar Soaps.  I mostly use bar soaps in the winter months as some of the chemicals in traditional shower gels can really dry my skin out in the winter and soap is much gentler on my skin.  I have a hard time finding good bar soaps anymore, they are getting harder and harder to find in many traditional beauty product stores and I am turning to LUSH and the farmer's market to find great formulas to use.  The only other place that I have found great bar soaps is some of the independant etailers (Cleanse Your Soul) that I have ordered from in the past (I need to get back on ordering from this company, I haven't placed an order in way too long!) and I will need to keep ordering bar soaps online in order to get my fix for the winter months.

I have used several holiday bar soaps in the past from LUSH and I am so excited to see the limited edition soaps out again.  Every single holiday soap that I have used from this company is fantastic and I can't wait to reorder some favorites and try some new ones this time around!

Here are the holiday Bar Soaps!

Snowcake Bar Soap - Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without a festive cake. So this holiday we brought back our customer favorite, Snowcake! This almond icing and marzipan scented confection is just what you need during the season of sweet indulgences. Its rich, creamy lather and rose absolute infusion make it a gentle treat for dry winter skin. So what are you waiting for? Grab a slice of this holiday treat before it’s gone.

Angel's Delight Bar Soap - When you're need of some holiday cheer, ask the angels to help raise your spirits. Our best-selling Angel’s Delight soap returns with the same merry tangerine and orange scent we all love. Inspired by the popular English custard of the same name, our uplifting sudser is just as sweet and fruity as the beloved dessert. If you're lucky enough to encounter a whole round of Angel's Delight in store, you're sure to be mesmerized by its beautiful gold moon "frame". LUSH co-founders Mark and Mo Constantine happened upon a similar gilded frame in an antique shop while on an inspiration trip to Venice, but we think they may have surpassed the original design with this beautiful soap!

Northern Lights Bar Soap - When designing new products, inspiration can come from the most faraway places. For our neon wonder, Northern Lights, a few of our lucky LUSH inventors traveled to Finland and were taken by the midnight light show called the aurora borealis. Once back in the UK they enlisted the help of our Finnish perfumer Pia, who created a phenomenally fresh scent that recalls the chilly adventure to the land of the midnight sun. She combined pine needle, cypress and lime oils to create a refreshing woodsy fragrance that’s as unique as the phenomenon this soap was inspired by.

Snow Globe Bar Soap - When the weather outside turns frightful and your spirits aren’t looking so bright, it’s time to lather up with Snow Globe soap. A blend of grapefruit, lemon and lemongrass oils refresh mind and soul after long, snowy days. As the season begins to take its toll, turn to this turquoise wonder to give you a feeling of relaxation. We add ylang ylang oil to help you keep calm during moments of festive frenetic energy. And those suspended white globes? We wanted to recreate those blizzards of faux snow you see swirling in traditional snow globes. No shaking required.

Spice Mountain Bar Soap - After an epic day of shredding the slopes, your muscles can get stiffer than that unfortunate fruitcake your granny sends every year. When you’re feeling in a pinch it’s time to unstrap your skis and lather up with this mulled wine scented sudser. We add a warming blend of clove bud and cinnamon leaf oils to heat things up and help ease stiff muscles. If you plan on skipping the slopes, this soap is perfect for those weekend warriors who have to string Christmas lights too.

Mr. Punch Bar Soap - When you turn it upside-down, this soap looks like a delicious bowl of punch with fruit floating in it. We were inspired to make a fruity, tropical, boozy punch scent for this soap, and we did so with juniper berry oil, blackcurrant absolute, lime oil and a splash of gin. That'll cheer you up on dark winter mornings!

I can't even pick my favorite of these Bar Soaps - I just want all of them!  I have used Angel's Delight (the soap pictured here) many times before and therefore I know that my order will start off with a large bar (or two) of this soap.  This soap smells exactly like a sweet orange scent and I have used it all year long.  I just love how pretty the bar itself is, it is just so nice to see it when I get up in the morning and it helps to start my day off right!

What other soaps do I want from this collection?  Snow Globe sounds great and I love citrus scents in the shower.  The aqua color of the bar is so pretty and it makes me love the product even more.  Snowcake is a wonderful almond scent and it is very easy to see why this soap became a best selling cult favorite for this company.  Good almond scents are rare and I would love to see a full product line in this scent.  LUSH are you listening?!

We have one more part of the holiday collection to look at, the rest of the body products that come out for the holiday season.  And this is the part that includes my favorite Snow Fairy line of products.  Snow Fairy!!

photo courtesy of LUSH

C.O. Bigelow Mentha Body Exfoliating Soap

I have been all over the Mentha Body Product line lately and I have just opened up the last product that I haven't tried yet.  I have been using most of the body products all summer however I hadn't opened the bar soap until a few days ago.  The peppermint oil in the body wash and matching lotion have been super refreshing over the pat few days of heat and I decided that this would be the best time of the year to open up the bar soap.  I only use these products in the summer months so there would be no point in me trying the products anytime after Labor Day.  I use the bar soap in the morning to add another layer to my Mentha routine and it's one of my new favorite ways to start the day!

"Our mint-infused exfoliating soap refreshes, energizes, and lightly sloughs drab skin with a super-infusion of peppermint oil and crushed walnut shells, for a wake-you-up cleansing experience.  Infused with cooling peppermint for an invigorating experience.", states the Bath and Body Works website in a product description.  If you like the fragrance of peppermint the way that I do, then this will be one of the greatest ways to start off a summer morning!

The entire C.O. Bigelow Mentha product line is infused with real peppermint oil, it cools the skin and leaves a tingly feeling long after you get out of the shower.  The bar soap is the least pepperminty of the products (the lotion packs a real punch) and therefore this is the product that I would recommend that you start with when trying this line out.  This is a lightly scented mint bar, the peppermint oil effect is present in the shower but doesn't linger as long as the body wash or body lotion does.  This is a huge bar of soap and will last quite a long time, it should get me through the rest of the summer with no issues. 

This bar soap is a softer texture and I use it right on my skin in the shower.  The soap itself is very creamy and produces a slight lather when used directly on wet skin.  This bar soap also contains crushed walnut shells to lightly exfoliate, I initially hesitiated to use this product when I was also self tanning since I was afraid that it would take the tanner off faster than I wish but I haven't noticed that issue so far.  What it does it helps to lightly exfoliate areas that have absorbed too much color, overall it is helping to keep the color more even than if I was using a bar without any type of exfoliator.  The exfoliator in this bar soap would be too much in the winter, that time fo the year my skin gets very dry and the crushed walnut shells would make the problem even worse.  The exfoliator is yet another reason that I could only use this product in the middle of the summer.

If you haven't tried the C.O. Bigelow Mentha Body line then I really recommend starting with this bar soap, it is an easy way to get into the products and has the least amount of the peppermint oil in.  This is great product to use in the morning and gets my day started on the right foot.  This product would also be great for men, all the Mentha products are uni-sex and I believe that men would love this scent too. 

photo courtesy of Bath and Body Works

LUSH The Godmother Bar Soap

I may have just reported on the new Valentine's Day product offerings from LUSH but I am currently using one of their core product line bar soaps.  The Godmother is a product that is carried all year round but always makes me think of the holidays.  It is little known fact but the limited edition Snow Fairy scent is carried more times of the year than just the holidays.  For the longest time, I thought that it was carried only at the holidays and I was always surprised that it never came offered in their best-selling Bar Soap formula.  I learned last summer that The Godmother is the Snow Fairy scent but in a bar soap formulation.  I ordered a bar of it with my next LUSH order and I was so happy that it actually does smell exactly like Snow Fairy!  I am on my last bottle of Snow Fairy Shower Gel and I know that it won't last until next October when the holiday products come out again.  I am glad to know that I can order a bar of this soap anytime that I need my Snow Fairy fix...

"For really soft hands that smell like the famous fairy.  Our loyal fans and customers wanted a soap that smelt of our Snow Fairy Shower Gel and we just couldn't say no.  Your hands and body will smell like sweet bubblegum and they'll do more than wishes.  These days, liquid hand soap is used by most North Americans for daily hand washing.  But, did you know that solid soap is just as effective and much less wasteful?  Put down the liquid soap and step away slowly!  Mo, our soap-inventor supreme, has made this special soap for keeping by the kitchen sink.  Think of it as your fairy godmother."

I don't waste this product at the sink, this one lives only in my shower and I use it every morning to start my day off on a good note.  This soap is exactly like the Snow Fairy Shower Gel in a solid form, a product that I have been wishing would come out at Christmas for the past few years.  Apparently I wasn't the only one since this product was made based on the demand of the Snow Fairy fans.  Once you try Snow Fairy, your outlook on body products will change and you will fall in love with this fragrance.

I love LUSH Bar Soaps in the wintertime, they are hydrating and don't strip my skin like most normal soaps do.  This one produces very little foam and therefore is very good for dry skin.  My skin isn't as tight after I get out of the shower (versus when I use a traditional shower gel) and I love this product so far.  I just love LUSH products so much and this might be in my Top Ten of favorites...

photo courtesy of LUSH UK

LUSH Shark Fin Soap

My LUSH order has finally arrived, what a week of waiting!  I can never resist LUSH and when they introduced their newest soap two weeks ago, I had to make a little order.  I considered waiting a bit but I am now so glad that I did it immediately since the product that I wanted the most is limited edition and is currently out of stock on the LUSH website.  LUSH has always supported a number of charities and has created products that allowed their fans to learn about the charities and support them through their love of LUSH products.  Shark Fin is the newest product to join this series and is my favorite of the products so far.  This bar soap is just so adorable that I can't handle it!

Shark fin is a product that was created to both draw attention to the shark fin industry and through purchase of the product, donate money to a charity that is attempting to stop this industry from functioning.  So what is shark finning?  It is a horrid practice that is mostly done in Southeast Asia where shark fin soup is considered a rare delicacy.  The sharks are pulled up out of the water and their fins are sliced off.  The shark (still alive) is dumped back into the ocean to bleed out and die.  This practice has gone on for years and has dramatically reduced the shark population.  Environmental and animal activist groups are strong fighters against this practice and are working to end this and to have shark fin soup removed from the menu at many restaurants.  I don't eat meat at all and I can't imagine eating a bowl of soup made from a shark fin...
LUSH has jumped onto this charity and is helping to bring a spotlight to this inhumane practice.  "Did you know that tens of millions of sharks are killed every year for their fins?  Take a bite out of shark finning with our limited edition sea-inspired soap!  Packed full of softening seaweed, scrubby fine sea salt, and zesty lime oil, Shark Fin soap is an incredibly refreshing way to cool down from the summer heat.  100% of the proceeds from the sale of Shark Fin Soap will be donated to Shark Savers, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and conservation of sharks.  Now you can swim with the sharks, and help protect them too!"

Shark Fin Soap is the traditional Sea Vegetable Soap with a fin added to it.  I pulled up the information on Sea Vegetable to see what the active ingredients are.  Sea Salt is a main ingredient, "Salt is stimulating, cleansing, antiseptic, and astringent.  It is softening for the skin and hydrates it.  It is used to exfoliate in Sea Vegetable."  This soap actually contains dried seaweed.  LUSH uses arame seaweed to add to the texture and to futher soften the skin after the salt has done its job getting the top layer off. 

I used this soap for the first time the other day and it is great scent to use in the morning to help get you going for the day!  The lime scent is zingy and mixes well with the seaweed scent to create a fresh and clean fragrance in my shower.  This scent doesn't stay on my skin after I get out of the shower so it doesn't interfere with anything that I happen to be wearing that day.  I prefer to use this soap alone and not put it on a washcloth or sponge since I feel like the seaweed comes off really easily if it rubbed against a rough surface.  This product rinses clean and doesn't leave my skin tight and dry, which are my two biggest requirements for a bar soap. 

I am so glad that I got to order this product in this limited edition form though I know that I will continue to rebuy it in the traditional form.  The shark fin is a thin piece of paper so it looks cute but it didn't stand up to one wash and I ended up just pulling it off before it got in my way.  This soap does contain salt so I don't recommend using it after shaving.  Lastly, I really recommend this product during the summer and early fall since it exfoliates with every single usage and helps to even out my fake tan and it will continue to be helpful as I finish off my last bottle of tanner for the season.

photo courtesy of LUSH

LUSH Miranda Soap

A LUSH Bar Soap can never fail to make my day!  This time around, I am trying out the Miranda soap, also known as The Girl From Ipanema soap from the LUSH Japan website.  A bit of background because I confuse everyone.  A close friend of mine lived and worked in Japan for two years and was able to go into LUSH in the major cities every few months.  One time, she bought me a piece of this lovely scented citrus soap and sent it over to me in the States.  I had never heard of this soap before and so I tried looking through the United States LUSH website.  Armed with a scent description and the bar itself, I was forced to give up becuase it resembled nothing on the website.  However, I was playing around on the site a day or two ago and found this new soap that I had never heard of before.  It is called Miranda and it IS my soap!!  Both the description and picture match exactly and I pulled a shot of the original up from the Japanese website and they are perfect matches.  I was so excited since I love this soap and have been keeping a small chunk aside, thinking that I would never see it again.

Like the Japanese version, this soap smells of sweet kiwi and orange, it is great choice to get me going in the morning.  "A fresh fruit salad of a soap, Miranda is made with fresh, organic kiwi fruit because they're bursting with Vitamin C and gently cleanse the skin.  We add in bergamot because it's soothing and smells of oranges.  There's toning ylang ylang and juniperberry for clearing up congested skin and refreshing tired spirits.  Simply fruit-tastic." 

This isn't the only product in the LUSH line that uses fresh kiwi as an active ingredient, it is in both a face mask and a shampoo.  For today's purposes, I will write about how well it works in the soap and leave the other two products for when I get to purchase and review them.  "Fresh kiwi fruit is an excellent addition to our palm free soap base in our juicy Miranda soap to really refresh the skin.  Kiwi fruits also contain excellent levels of Vitamins E and A and have exceptional mineral content too.  Kiwi fruits contain a very high level of anti-oxidant Vitamin C, even greater than that of oranges.  Anti-oxidants combat the formation of free radicals.  The damage our skin develops through the onslaught of sunlight pollution and the aging process can be helped the action of anti-oxidants.  Raw kiwi fruits contain an enzyme called actinidin that is capable of dissolving protein.  Enzymes accelarate a chemical reaction without being used up in the process and are known as catalysts.  Actinidin breaks down the surface protein based dead skin cells and dirt on the skin."

So, we all see that this soap not only smells fantastic, but it has a host of other great properties to it.  Personally, I never knew that Kiwi was this effective before since I rarely ever see it used as an active ingredient.  Hopefully more companies will pick up on how effective it is and begin to work with it but I won't hold my breath for products as high quality as those from LUSH.

This bar of soap ranks in my top five favorites soaps from LUSH and might even end up in my top five favorite overall products from this company.  The scent is nice and strong and just like the Rockstar soap, I can smell it in my bathroom long after my shower is over.  I use it right on the skin instead of on a washcloth so I get just a bit of foam from it.  It is a heavier soap and so far my bar has lasted over three weeks (this is not a big bar).  It doesn't dry out my skin at all so I could use it in the winter months without any problems.

LUSH soaps are always a winner for me and this is yet another one that I have come to hold in very high regard.  If a shower gel or body scrub would come out in this scent, I would be first in line for it...

photo courtesy of LUSH

LUSH Japanese Relief Support Efforts

We were all horrified to learn of the devastation in Japan last month and the continuning nuclear issues surrounding the country and the world.  LUSH has just released two products that are in line with the relief efforts and the culture of Japan. To help in the efforts of so many already, LUSH is releasing both a limited soap and a variety of Charity Pots, all of which benefit different organizations that are currently helping to relief some of the disaster in the Pacific Ocean.

"We are heartbroken over the devastation and destruction in Japan.  For us it is very personal, as LUSH has over 145 shops, a factory, and 1,600 staff in Japan.  Some of these staff and their families have lost everything.  Knowing our connection to Japan, many customers have contacted us asking how to help.  We're just what we do best; we've created a limited edition soap and Charity Pots, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to grassroots organizations in Japan.  Thank you for your help."

First we will look at the variety of special Charity Pots made for this cause.  LUSH has stated that they are making 24,000 Charity Pots and are hoping to raise $24,000 for the cause.  "LUSH North America has launched three limited edition Charity Pots, with funds going directly to those working on the immediate humanitarian and animal welfare needs of Japan."  Your purchase will benefit one of three charities.  The first is Rescue Stock Yard, "A Japanese domestic disaster releif non-profit, has started emergency relief and preparation for long-term support for thousands of survivors".  The second charity to benefit is NGO, "The NGO Collaboration Center for Hanshin Quake Rehabilitation staff members have been in Miyagi Prefecture providing support for the victims of the Tohoku Pacific off shore earthquake".  The last charity is Animal Peace, "A grass-roots organization providing medical care, spay and neutering services and collecting food and blankets for displaced animals".  At this time, LUSH doesn't have the option of which Charity Pot you can pick, they ship any one of the three (but they still state that the full amount goes to charity whichever Pot you receive).

The second of the new items is a soap that resembles the flag of Japan.  It is named The Rising Sun and the proceeds from the sale go directly to the Peace Boat organization.  "Peace Boat is a Japan-based non-profit organization that works to promote peace, human rights, equal and sustainable development and respect for the environment.  Since the earthquake, they have been organizaing volunteers, transporting aid, and providing meals to those affected by the disaster.  Your purchase of The Rising Sun soap will aid in their continued efforts to support people in need.  Soap up with sweet cherry scented suds and support Peace Boat in their continued efforts to aid people in need".  I just love cherry scented products so the fragrance just adds to the allure of this soap for me.

I want to order both of these products, possibly two or more of the soap.  I highly recommend that all of you guys check these out and make a little LUSH order to help benefit those in need of your help...

photo courtesy of LUSH

LUSH Chox Away Soap

Chox Away is a soap that was released by LUSH in mid spring 2009. I wanted it as soon as I heard about it but since it is a chocolate scent, I put off getting it until it was closer to fall and winter. I finally bought it last September in the LUSH store on Broadway and I was very excited to use it. Now that I have finally gotten enough items out of my shower that I could open it up and get it out, I have been using it every morning. And my very high hopes for this product were utterly dashed...

The U.S.A. LUSH site states the following about the product, "We love chocolate and know we're not alone in this. Luckily for us, chocolate is softening on the skin and smells delectable, which is why we stir white chocolate and dark chocolate into each batch of Chox Away. We scent this soap with the mouth-watering sweet orange, vanilla, chocolate, and peppermint fragrance from our Honey Trap lip balm. So if it's chocolate you love, lather up with Chox Away; it will satisify your cravings and won't increase you waist size!"

So why did I not like this soap? First and foremost, it has little to no scent at all. The little bit of scent that comes from the bar is a chocolate peppermint (which I don't mind at all), but overall this is the lightest scented bar soap that I have ever used. And I love how strongly scented LUSH bar soaps are, Rockstar makes the whole bathroom smell for hours after I get out of the shower, this one I couldn't even smell on my skin after rinsing off. The scent coming off the pile of soap in the store was very chocolate and so I was very excited for a strong chocolate scent.

This soap doesn't lather at all and therfore doesn't dry my skin out. This I do like in this wintertime since my skin is very dry right now. So I like this performance of this soap but I wish that it had a much stronger fragrance. I am also mad at myself for buying a huge chunk of this soap without having tried it out first. Initially, I wondered if I just got a bad bar of this soap since LUSH products are much more natural and I thought that maybe my bar was going bad already. However, I asked the question on the Makeup Alley Bath and Body Board and all the responses were about the same experience that I had with the soap. I will use up the bar that I have but I won't be buying this product again, I will just be sticking with my beloved Rockstar.

photo courtesy of LUSH USA

LUSH Palm Oil-Free Body Products

Over the past few months, the bath and body company LUSH has been on a mission to "wash their hands of palm". LUSH has traditionally been concerned with the environment and has always strived to reduce the company's impact on the environment. Also, along with the concern for the environment, LUSH extends their concern to the social aspects of the product of this ingredient. I received both an email and a LUSH Times focusing on this environmental and social issue.

During a recent trip to Indonesia to explore tha palm oil industry, the people from LUSH were able to witness first hand the effects of the oil's production on the world. They witnessed massive deforestation, indigenous people being pushed further and further from their homes, and the native orangutans being pushed from their natural habitat and growing closer to extinction. I had learned about the deforestation issues in Indonesia while in college but had no idea that many items that I purchase from the beauty industry actually added to this problem. I was mostly under the impression that logging was to blame but I understand how the palm oil industry can greatly add to the problem.

According to this issue of LUSH Times, the cosmetic industry currently consumes about 6 - 7% of the world's total palm oil and it is a main active ingredient in many soaps from traditional beauty companies. After reviewing the horror that the palm oil industry has racked on the lands of Indonesia, LUSH decided to review their soap recipes and devise products that are free of palm oil and are much more ethically formulated. LUSH has now introduced the world's first commercially available palm oil-free soap base.

LUSH North America has now switched all of its soap production over to this new formula and they are also using palm-free glycerin. The end goal of this company is to remove palm oil from every single item offered from the LUSH collection and they are currently running an investigation on all surfactants which may contain palm oil dervatives.

I am already a big fan of LUSH soaps and today we are going to look at one that is unisex and a great product for both genders of all ages. I have only sniffed and played with this product at the LUSH store on Broadway but even after a brief encounter, I was quite happy with it and will be purchasing it very soon. This product is the Sea Vegetable soap and one that reminds me of the summer and the ocean.

LUSH USA describes the product as follows, "Fun, relaxing days at the beach don't need to be a thing of the past. With Sea Vegetable soap, you end up right at the ocean shore. Atlanic sea salt crystals and arame seaweed make you feel like a mermaid as you wash yourself clean with this fabulous soap. Seaweed absolute nourishes the skin and gives it a seaside scent while lavender and lime oils refresh and revive dull skin".

LUSH will continue to be tops in my book for soap and I am very happy to see that this company (who has a history of being responsible) is still continuing to update and improve their products to benefit the environment. The soap that I talk about in this entry is great starter scent for everyone and one that will hook everyone to LUSH soaps.

photo courtesy of LUSH USA

LUSH I Should Coco Soap

This soap was one that I purchased in the springtime with the intention to use it during the summer mostly because it tropical scented. However, what I didn't realize when I bought it was that it contains exfoliating bits. During the summer, I rarely exfoliate since my self tanning routine is regimented and doesn't allow for exfoliation unless it is alternated before tanning sessions. So this bar of soap went into my tubs of unopened product and was forgotten about until recently. However, when searching for a lip gloss, I found this soap and decided to try it out.

Here is the description of the soap from the LUSH USA website, "Creamy pina colada soap softly scrubs skin. Go loco for I Should Coco! The dreamy, creamy scent of this handmade soap leaves you smelling fantastic while its yummy coconut bit soften even the roughest skin. The sweet hint of citrus from the orange oil wakes you up on the cloudiest of days and takes you away to a warm, exotic locale. Get buff and soft all in one go with I Should Coco".

I love the light exfoliation that this soap gives me. It has a bit more lather action than most of the other LUSH soaps, a feature that I really love about this product. It doesn't dry my skin out and smoothes out some of my rough spots. The scent is pretty light on the skin and leaves a faint hint of pina colada in my bathroom.

My intial thought was that this is a summer product but I have revised my opinion to think that it might be a better product in cooler weather when my skin is drier overall. And the scent is one for those grey days when I dream of Hawaii.

The LUSH stores are just my giant playground these days...

photo courtesy of LUSH

LUSH Rockstar Soap

"I'm unusual, not so typical

Way too smart to be waiting around

Tai Chi practices, snowboard champion

I can fix that flat on your car"

"I might even be a rock star

If you only knew the real me

I might even be a rock star"

Several weeks ago, I finished up my first bar of Rockstar soap from LUSH and it is pretty safe to say that this is now my favorite soap that I have ever used and I think it will continue to be my utter favorite for a very long time.

I was first drawn to this product last time that I was in LUSH because of the name and I was ready to buy it purely for that reason. A bit of background, in the early spring of 2008, I was madly in love with a keyboardist in some garage band. He invited me to his show and it was in the most disgusting venue that I have ever come across. I went and tried to look cute and alternative and everyone else there looked like they just came back from the tattoo parlor. I brought a friend with me and pulled her around by her arm all night becuase I didn't want to get separated in the scary place. And after that night, I was told that I was as much of a rockstar as Hannah Montana. And so that nickname stuck...

Then I discovered the LUSH Rockstar soap, it's pink and girly and it is made for a rockstar...like myself and Hannah! Here is the description from LUSH, "This best-selling, creamy soap delight may smell as sweet as sugar, but it is still just a little bit naughty; you know how rock stars are. So lather up, smile for the camera, then party all night long. Warning: This vanilla-berry handmade wonder has been known to increase singing in the shower so be careful who you give it to!"

This made my whole bathroom smell like candy for hours after I used it in the morning. It didn't dry my skin out or irritate it in any way. If you visit a LUSH store, then they will cut a chunk off for you (any size that you wish) or you are able to order it from the LUSH website.

Sing it Hannah!!

photo courtesy of LUSH

lyrics courtesy of Lyrics.com

LUSH Ring of Roses Buttercream

Technically winter hasn’t even really begun yet and already my skin is tighter and drier than it has been in months. My skin is normally on the drier side to begin with but in the winter months, the skin on my body is so dry that I develop alligator patches all over and it hurts to move sometimes. How very attractive.

Every other year, I have tried to combat this problem with exfoliating and trying to moisturize after every shower. However it is the busiest time of the year for me, between the holidays and the end of the semester crunch so I don’t always have the time for a full routine. So I decided that I needed to change my routine in the shower instead of out of it. I have found that body washes that claim to be hydrating often do nothing to save my skin so I needed to find something else to use in there. I briefly considered trying some different bar soaps but I needed a quick solution and didn’t have the time or patience to purchase and try all different kinds before I find one that works for my skin.

I turned to the people at LUSH to try and find a product that would help me. Last summer, I bought myself a huge gift set from them and I really hadn’t opened it yet. I went through every thing in there and found a treasure. I found the Ring of Roses Buttercream soap. I was already attracted to this product because it has a rose scent, but I really didn’t know all that much about it. Buttercreams are a blend of 15% soap and 85% emollients. The 15% soap is just enough to cleanse but is not enough to produce the usual lather that is expected when using bar soap.
The first time that I tried it, I rubbed it all over a wash cloth and was rather disappointed with how much product that I ended up using to create just the littlest bit of lather. When I got out of the shower, my skin was slightly less tight feeling but it wasn’t very much of an improvement. I was rather unhappy and decided that I would just be using this product for the scent and would need to look elsewhere to find a product that would be hydrating enough.

The second day, I didn’t use the wash cloth and rubbed it right on my skin. It didn’t rinse as clean and didn’t foam up at all. However, my skin was much softer when I got out and stayed that way for the next few hours. After a week of use, my skin remained soft all day and now I am very happy with the product. I wish that it foamed up more but I know that then it wouldn’t be hydrating enough for my skin.

photo courtesy of LUSH