My First Date with Lush


Yes, you read that right: my first.  After I shared about my struggles with acne, I took the advice of the comments and got my butt to Lush on the Upper West Side. 

It was a rainy Thursday afternoon, and I was the only shopper in the store, with three knowledgeable and enthusiastic employees.  We dished on everything from tattoos to ghost tours and we sampled. a. lot. of. lotion.

Herbalism face wash was recommended to me.  It’s a very gentle scrub that smells like you’re rubbing an herb garden on your face.  Not as intense a scrubber as the apricot scrubs I’m used to, but a nice gentle cleaner.

I asked for a face mask recommendation, and it was love at first sniff with Mask of Magnanimity.  I love minty things, and this makes my face feel tight, and fresh, and kind of looks like I’ve slathered Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream on my face.  It scrubs off nicely and doesn’t leave that feeling of “face mask residue” sitting heavily on my skin, which I am grateful for.

I’ve also tried the Cupcake mask, that’s the one at top.  Marketed for “teenage skin” and it smells like chocolate.  BINGO!  I definitely noticed softer skin afterwards, some fading in my marks, and the smell lingered.  THE SMELL!  It’s like rubbing chocolate buttercream on your face.  I smelled like a dark chocolate cupcake all day, because the smell lingers.  It’s not too sweet, has some floral notes, and I ain’t complaining one BIT.

Then, oh nelly!  I went bonkers on the bath bombs.  I knew I was going to walk away with The Experimenter, and it truly lives up to all the hype.  It bursts into rainbow colors, then settles into purple glitter.  WOW.  I don’t think I’ve ever had a bath so nice before IN MY LIFE.  And I have taken so many baths.

I also tried out the Yoga Bomb, which was a lit like steeping in tea.  The water turned kind of brown, but with lots of gold flecks in it. I can see how this might be more coppery and appealing in better lighting.  And the smell was spicy and right on the money for me.  I left that bath feeling sooo smoooooth, I didn’t even use lotion!

I was also treated to MANY samples, one of which was the Cup o’Coffee mask.  Looks like buttercream with coffee grinds in it!  The smell was a bit powerful to get used to , but it was a pleasure to smooth on.  Taking it off was the best part, those little gritty bits were such an intense scrub!  I like my scrubs like I like my fictional vampire boyfriends: a touch on the rough side and possibly problematic. (Hey Spike, hey Edward! Sorry Angel).

Speaking of boyfriends!  After hours of hearing me rave about the experience, my own real not-vampire boyfriend broke down in frustration and asked, “Just what is it that’s so special about Lush?”  Well, I love me an ethical company.  Natural ingredients.  And the quality of the products is right up my alley! 

If you’re still not convinced, or you think you’re not into bath products, let me say, I hear ya.  Too often, the smells fall into one of two categories:  Way Too Sweet, and Way Too Floral.  You want to smell somewhere between being covered in vanilla frosting, and having rolled around in stale potpourri.  None of the things I smelled in Lush were cloyingly sweet, nor were they overly perfumey!  I love the spicy, herbal scents, and even the sweet smells were complex enough to not be headache-inducingly sweet.  So you have a wide variety to choose from without smelling like the “body splash” you wore to your first middle school dance, or the bottom of your grandma’s purse.

Well, I’m a total LUSH convert!  What are your favourite LUSH products?  OR HAVE YOU NEVER BEEN!?!  Have I convinced you yet??


7 responses to “My First Date with Lush”

    • I can't wait to hear how the Cosmetic Warrior is! I'm like, addicted to face masks and face wash – I've spent 2 decades putting ANYTHING on my face that I thought would help. You wouldn't believe the things I've tried over the years!

  1. OK. I'm sorry but the Angelis version of Angel – SWOOOON! I've loved trouble since way back! 🙂 Also, I mentioned this on Twitter, and I know you responded but I found a Lush in my mall! I walked by it recently but I'm waiting until after the Christmas Crazies go back into hiding before I venture in.

    • Angel as Angelis temporarily fits the "rough and problematic" criteria so I'll allow, including Angel the human before he was turned by Druscilla because he was kinda problematic too. William the Bloody is always hot, even in his tragic poetry days. Because accent. And reasons.

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