LUSH Emotional Brilliance Lipstick: Ambition.

By now, I think any one who reads this *waves at my mother* would possibly have cottoned onto the fact that I quite like nail polish. I counted, roughly, the other day, and I have about 194 nail polishes.  Some people may not understand WHY…. and that’s ok too. But, there is something about rows and rows of colour on my wall.. something almost colour therapy-ish about collecting nail polish. (and some people may not understand why I only have so few, hehehe, I’m working on increasing it! :D)
So when I wandered into Lush in Palmerston North two weekends ago to see if any of their new perfumes were in stock, and I was confronted with a small wall of vibrant colours, I knew I was in trouble.

image from the email they sent me 😀 It’s actually a fun game, you can pick the colours online! Awesome! 😀

Lush have this new range of makeup called Emotional Brilliance, and I got to play a game that should be called make-up tarot; it was fun. Basically shut your eyes, think of nothing, open your eyes and pick the three colours that call out the strongest. The last of the three I chose was this, Ambition.

LUSH Ambition Lipstick, in a cute little dropper style bottle (lip wand inside)

Its meaning is given as ” as a strength you have an ambition, whatever that may be. Your weakness is that you are not using the make it happen part of AMBITION. Now you have no excuse. Have a think and stop being put off. Wear daily until your AMBITION is achieved.” (from Lush’s page here)

And as it was the third I picked it was my ‘thing I need to make the other stuff happen right’, I bought it. Yep, just like that. Sighs. Hey, it’s pretty, ok? Thats got to count for more than me just being a sucker for a great marketing gimmick. Right?

LUSH Ambition – no primer

The texture of this is interesting, it is somewhat like a sticky lipstick, or a VERY thick lipgloss. The pigmentation is amazing, and even when blotted this colour LASTS. There is no smell that I can detect, and the colour is gorgeous, a nice red-orange.

Funny lighting, but shows some of the intensity of colour. This is BRIGHT!

My only complaint is the wand – this was very loose and wiggly from when I bought it, and has since broken off completely. Unfortunately I didn’t keep the reciept and I can’t get into LUSH often, so I’ll see what I can do to fix it.

dinky wee wand. NOT the easiest to work with, but certainly do-able. A lipbrush would be a good idea 🙂

That aside, I really do like this idea, the gimmick of it, the colours available (all of which can be used anywhere on the face, so if you have more than one brush you can multi use these), and most of all I love the intensity and long lasting-ness of the colour. My favourite way of wearing this… use lipliner (it bleeds!), blot, then put a lipgloss/balm on over the top. Every time you reapply the colour gets a bit lighter, but it keeps the stain effect going. 🙂

On it’s own, in the dim bathroom lighting…

And blotted with a silver lipgloss over the top.

Much more wearable for the kindy run – do it count as Lack of Ambition though? Argh the dilemmas of Makeup Therapy 😀

There are available in store for $29.00 each, or online at in NZ here – go check them out if you like pretty colours, but check the wands first 😉

Have a joyful, colourful day!

Ami

LUSH Lustre Body Powder Photos and Review

Yep, I found a reason to go to Lush anyway, in spite of doing the anti-animal testing petition online. Was pretty simple, along the lines of  ‘I wanna go!’ I still have some Lush vouchers left over from my birthday – assorted family members chipped in and got me a heap, I am so lucky! Thanks again, you guys. All of you. You know who you are 😉

First and foremost among yesterdays purchases was Lustre, a brand new addition to Lush’s range. Its a shimmery gold body powder, scented with their Lust perfume – i.e a whole heap of Jasmine, a touch of Ylang ylang and Rose, and a subtle hint of vanilla and sandalwood. Sandalwood is my favourite essential oil in the whole wide world (although I have a soft spot for many of them) – and I wish there was a bit more Sandalwood in it. But I do like this blend! My mother hates Jasmine with a passion, it smells like cat pee to her. Huh. Takes all kinds, right? 😀

Here is the bottle pic, with all it’s fingermarks. Please ignore those.

And an ingredient list.. the label is covering Radiant Gold Lustre. I wonder what that is? Lush Speak for glitter, possibly. Don’t quote me on that, I’m guessing. 😀

Close up of the powder in the lid, to show off those glimmers – multicoloured in some lights!

And this is how it comes out – you shake it GENTLY and it falls out in little lumpy mountains like this. Cute. Be resigned to sparkly palms. Highly Edward 😀

But once blended in, it takes on a subtle sheen, very pretty, and a lovely fragrance.It also has a lovely soft talc feel to it, thanks to the cornflour and, er, talc. Soft without being greasy!

Click to see more shimmer!

I bought this because I love glitter – and could see potential for a front-of-shin shimmer (to make legs look thinner, it’s a trick apparantly!), collar bones and cheek bone highlights. Also, for my hair! I tried this yesterday, and it worked really well. My hair did have a bit more shimmer, and it smelled really nice. It also contained my frizzies a bit without that horrible gunked-up product feeling, so it’s a triple win for me, am super happy I bought this! Was $20, and I think it will last a long time as I only need a tiny bit.

Thanks, Lush, for not only being ethical re. animal testing and education, but also for continuing to bring out new products for us to check out. 😀  You can get their goodies from their website, too, if your local shop isn’t so local! NZ site here, otherwise there is bound to be one for your country, just spank Google for the info 🙂

Hope everyone has a sparkly happy day!

Ami 🙂

LUSH Snow Fairy Shower Gel and Anti-Animal Testing Petition

Good morning! Quick one here, I’ve got a road trip to be on. Yup, yay!

Ok, this is Lush shower gel in Snow Fairy – its limited to Christmas, but when it’s in, go and get it.

First up, it works. Lush do use a number of surfactants (bubble makers) that can be drying to the skin, so perhaps get a sample first (just ask for one, they’re lovely in there!). But the same surfactants make it an effective cleanser – you will want to moisturise after though. (Hey Lush, do you make a moisturiser with the same fragrance??!)

Second and important: this smells beautiful. It smells happy. It smells… pink. Its not a complicated fragrance, it basically smells like raspberry and sugar… sweet, happy, pink.  Makes me feel good on those not-so-good days. Also, it’s not so ‘Christmassy’ that you feel silly using it in June.. it’s an all-year-round puppy, not just the silly season.

One thing.. I wish, wish, wish that there were more sparkles in it. Look at them! So far they’ve stayed down the bottom of the bottle and I can’t shake them through the gel.. pretty. I want. I’m sure I’ll get there, but in the meantime.. more glitter, please!

And last but pretty much the whole point of me writing this now: Lush are running a petition against animal testing – (http://www.lushnz.com/shop/info/9/animal_testing) – from the 17th to the 26th April. Now. Go, read, if you think you’d be keen, sign. It’s a strong statement, especially banning the sale of new cosmetics that have been tested on animals, and I know some people won’t like that.

I do. It makes me feel sick when I’ve seen the results of the tests – and I’m not saying pictures or anything gory. Just wee statements like ‘does not cause genetic abnormality in generation tests on rats and mice. Does not cause occular damage in 12.5%, 25%, and 50% strengths’. Oh yeah. Lets deliberately set out to see if we can kill and cripple the foetuses and babies of other animals. People don’t like rats, I do. Nonetheless, it is an intelligent, living, feeling creature – and not only are we hurting her, we are hurting her babies. Oh, and its not just rats or mice – its also commonly bunnies and beagles: ‘they dont bite, they’re nice tempered. Lets drop chemicals in their eyes’.  I really think we need to know what goes on, and take a hard stand to stop it. I also think that looking ‘pretty’ at the expense of another being’s pain and torture isn’t pretty at all. And if you agree, petition at Lush! And if you don’t, hey, thats cool. At least I’ve said my piece 😀

LUSH Vanilla Fountain Bath Ballistic – Review

One of my all time favourites! This is what the Lush website has to say about it:

A” comforting vanilla scent with natural vanilla absolute – the posh stuff made from vanilla pods – with a touch of restful sandalwood and a note of burnt caramel. It was inspired by the extraordinary desserts at Heston Blumental’s amazing restaurant.”  (http://www.lushnz.com/shop/product/product/path/143/id/474/bath-vanilla-fountain )

And there’s not much more to add to that. Its gorgeous. It smells a bit like crème brulee, a lot like vanilla, and it is just warm and gorgeous smelling. Doesn’t make the bath water go a funny colour, either! And.. it has a real vanilla pod in it.

Vanilla Pod!

With these I break or chop them in half, or thirds, and use them like that. They are $7.50 each, but big enough to break up so it’s not so expensive.

You can buy them online (http://www.lushnz.com/ for New Zealanders!), or at any Lush store. Check their website for store locations if you don’t know where your nearest one is.  The great bit about their website is all the ingredients are listed there, so you can peruse and choose at your leisure, then go in to a shop and buy later without the postage costs.

LUSH: Angels on Bare Skin Cleanser – review

Lush makes a series of face cleansers that are unlike any other I have tried – not a lotion, or a soap look-alike, but.. more like a soft oat scrub in a tub. And I guess that is exactly what this is! Angels on Bare Skin is “the Lush version of an expensive medieval skincare recipe. Rose oil and lavender oil were discovered to do wonderful things for the skin, too. Almost a thousand years later, you’d be hard pressed to find a better all round cleanser and exfoliator than Angels.” (http://www.lushnz.com/shop/product/product/path/154_159/id/103/skin-cleansers-angels-on-bare-skin)

Personally, I can’t smell rose in this, it just smells lightly of lavender to me. There are blobs of lavender flowers throughout, which is really pretty. The texture is dry – you mix a pea sized blob with water (in the palm of your hand works best!) and gently rub it on your face and neck, then rinse off. I find it very gentle in its exfoliating, but very effective. It doesn’t make my skin dry, but it does make it bright red! (I’m so sensitive at the moment that almost anything does, though). I do moisturise afterwards, but my skin isn’t dry and screaming out for it, its more a preference of mine.

I really like this cleanser, and although it seems a bit expensive ($18.30 per 100g), it’ll take me at least 6 months to go through that amount, and thats using it everyday. I had a sample from Lush (they are great there, just go and talk to them! Shops in most cities around the world, I believe.. check online for shops near you) – and it was tiny, and lasted 2 weeks.

Lush don’t test on animals, and in this cleanser there is nothing bad for you, and heaps of things that are good for your skin. 🙂

LUSH: Charlotte Island Body Tint Review

I have only recently discovered Lush, and with some reservations, I love a whole lot of their products. This one, Charlotte Island, is a light coloured body tint. Their blurb states “Smooth on our light and fruity body tint for a tropical glow all year round.”

Light and fruity is accurate – it is a very light lotion in texture, and the smell is sort of generically tropically fruity.  The colour in the bottle is a bit daunting, that doesn’t look light!

Does it work? Yes, but not straight away. It’s a sort of hybrid between a normal colour developing fake tan, and a body colour. At first it made my skin look moisturised and glowy, and then the colour vanished. Oops I thought… till I looked half an hour later and there was a very light tan. Yay! I used this on my legs for those first skirt/dress wearing experiences of summer, and although I don’t think it made a HUGE difference, it made me feel better! I tried it on my wrist to take a photo of, and it just didn’t develop to any degree I could photograph, but it DID leave a slight stain. Which is strange, as it didn’t leave any marks on my legs. So, to be sure, if you use this product, follow the exfoliate first and rub in really well principles of normal fake tan.

Overall, a lovely product for a night out or special occasion, but not a ‘must have’ in my book, anyway.