You know what is the best cure-all for a bad day? Taking a trip to LUSH. A magical land of bath bombs and bubble bars, the LUSH shop is a cheery, heavenly-scented place to visit, and always seems to brighten my mood. Amidst the insanity that has been my life as per late, I was totally in need of of retreating to said happy place, and (to the surprise of no one) also decided to splurge on a few new pampering products.
If there was one thing I would purchase forever and ever from LUSH, it would be their bath bombs. They are a bit of a splurgy treat when you consider how much you're spending for a single use product. However, the whole experience of taking a bath with one of them is so incredible and luxurious that I think it's totally worth it for special occasions. I can't tell you how many of them I've tried (it's a lot), but one of the few I knew I had not yet had the chance to experience was theHoney Bee Bath Bomb ($6.45). I'm a total sucker for gourmand scents in the bathtub, so I'm surprised it took me this long to pick up one of these toffee-honey scented guys. The ingredients list on this looks lovely, with rhassoul mud to deep cleanse and detoxify your skin, calming aloe vera, and sweet wild orange oil to tone and brighten. I have a feeling this would be great to use post-vacation to revive yourself after lots of soaking in the sun.
The next bath bomb I picked up is an old favorite that I haven't had on hand in quite a while. The Avobath Bath Bomb ($6.35) is chock full of skin nurturing avocadoes and olive oil to give you super soft skin, and has a zingy lemongrass fragrance to perk you up. I'm a total citrus addict, so the scent of this is basically like heaven to me. I'll be saving this to use on a morning I need some extra centering and focus before I have something big and important to do.
So, I'm not usually one to drop serious cash on a body product, but this one is just so darn amazing I think it was worth every penny. The Ro's Argan Body Conditioner ($32.95) is unlike any other product that I've got sitting in my shower at home, which helped to justify my purchase (or at least that's what I'm telling myself). I've got more body lotion at home than I can probably use in a lifetime, but I find that most days after I get out of the shower I'm so easily preoccupied running around getting ready that I totally skip using it. This body conditioner, however, is used in the shower after cleansing, much in the way you'd use conditioner in your hair. Right before you're about to get out of the shower you smooth it all over yourself, let it sit for a minute, and rinse off. It leaves your skin feeling baby soft and smelling SO AMAZING I CAN'T EVEN HANDLE IT. If you've never smelled anything with the LUSH Rose Jam fragrance and you are a fan of rose scented products, you need to drop what you're doing and go find a LUSH store to stick your nose in. It's seriously incredible. Unlike a lot of rose scented products that are heavily floral, LUSH's Rose Jam also has notes of lemon and vanilla. The resulting balance of sweet, zesty, and floral is just to die for, and I'm basically obsessed. Part of me doesn't want to go crazy and use this whole tub up too quickly because it's so darn expensive, but I also look forward to using it every day. I'm curious to see how long it lasts!
The last two products I picked up were a new shampoo and conditioner to try out. While I usually try to avoid shampoo with sulfates, the one place I'm willing to cave is on LUSH shampoo bar. While they tend to use slightly more drying cleansing agents, they also balance things out with tons of butters and extracts for nourishing your hair. While I don't think I'd necessarily use it daily, it's nice for a weekly deep cleanse. With my nose as my guide, I decided to try the newly launched Montalbano Shampoo Bar ($9.95). The scent of this reminds me a lot of Sexy Peel soap (a hugely popular product in the shop), and is very lemony and bright. I think this does a great job of degreasing my oily roots, while leaving my hair looking extra shiny and healthy.
The sales associate I was chatting with in the store also suggested I try out the Veganese Hair Conditioner ($9.95 for 3.3 oz), which has a light formula that won't weight down my long, stick straight hair. There is more lemon to be found (which makes my nose oh-so-happy), as well as seaweed, lavender, and rosemary to soften and soothe. It's definitely lightweight and has a more watery texture than a lot of conditioners I've used, but still provides a decent amount of moisture to my hair. So far I'm not amazed by this, but it's decent. I'll reserve further judgment until I've used it a while longer.
Long story short, I'd call this session of retail therapy a great success! I think I picked up some really great things that I'll be using a lot in the coming weeks. I did also want to mention that the Sales Associates in LUSH stores are basically the nicest people ever. If you have a question about a product, need a recommendation, or just want to gush over your favorite LUSH items, they're generally super friendly and happy to chat with you. I think a lot of beauty stores (especially high end ones) can sometimes be a bit snobby or pushy, which totally takes away from my shopping experience. If I head in to LUSH in my scrubs, looking like as much of a train wreck as I feel, I'm greeted with smiles and an offering of a hand massage. If I go to Sephora I'm pretty sure I'll be ignored the entire time I'm in there. It just irks me that people judge how valuable of a customer I'll be by how I happen to look that day, and the last thing I need when I'm already feeling crappy is someone making me feel worthless because I'm not perfectly presentable.
Anyway, I'll end my ranting there. LUSH is awesome, and if you haven't had a chance to check them out I'd highly recommend it!
What are your favorite LUSH products? Is there something you're dying to try?
