Saturday, May 15, 2010

Review: My First Lush Haul

I'm sure that most of my readers know that I have a fairly active life on Twitter.  I also enjoy reading blogs from other enthusiasts like myself as well as those with industry experience.  Well, I'm sure you can only guess that it was just a matter of time before I tried Lush products for myself.  After all, praise for their products seems to be widespread across the makeup community.  I had actually been visiting Lush stores for roughly a year now--probably been inside them maybe three or four times before I actually ended up making a purchase.  I originally came in for a lip scrub, and well, I'm sure all my makeup addicts know how it goes:  I walked out with much more!
Sexy Peel Hand and Body Soap
What it is:
Sexy Peel is a soap that is meant for hand and body use.  It is a citrus soap that is recommended for use in the mornings, as its purpose is to refresh and wake up the user.  Featured in the ingredient list are: fresh orange, lime, and lemon juice; lime, lemon, and orange peel; and grapefruit, coconut, lime, lemon, and rape seed oil.
My impression:
At $5.95/3.5 oz, I had really high hopes for this soap.  When I first used it, I found the experience to be quite a lovely one--definitely refreshing for first thing in the morning.  I found it to have a nice citrus smell, almost like lemon or lime lollipops or even like lemon cake.  I can't say that it didn't give me cravings!  The peels in the soap seemed to give it some sort of scrubbing action, but I didn't find it overly harsh.  I felt clean afterwards and the scent was absolutely amazing--a must for someone who loves citrus scents like I do!  The only things that I didn't like about it was that it didn't seem to last long.  I shower every morning and the 1/4 pound bar that I picked up lasted me just a little over a week.  Despite keeping it in a place where it was less likely to "melt," it did show a little signs of melting.  Though it was refreshing overall, I found it to be just a little bit drying.  After I rinsed it off, my skin felt slightly tight.
My recommendations:
Overall, I thought that it was a very luxurious soap that left me feeling clean afterward.  Because I am very into that citrus smell, I thought that the scent was absolutely fantastic and surely refreshing.  I think that I would definitely get it again, but because of the price (and my college student budget!), I would probably just save it for special occasions--like if I was planning on having a relaxing weekend or going on a vacation.
The rundown:
  • Product:  4/5
  • Packaging:  5/5
  • Quality:  5/5
  • Overall:  4.7/5
  • Would I buy it again?:  Yes, but only for special occasions.
  • Where to buy:  Lush website and Lush stores
  • Price:  $5.95 per 3.5 oz.
  • Pros:
    +  Smells great
    +  Luxurious
    +  Refreshing
    +  Rinses clean
  • Cons:
    -  Doesn't last very long
    -  A little bit drying
    -  Pricier than other soaps
 Honey Trap Lip Balm
What it is:  
Despite having a few tubes of Carmex to use up, this came as an impulse buy as I was getting ready to check out with my Mint Julips and Sexy Peel.  I was asked to try it out and was told that it was the store's best selling lip balm and a personal favorite of the sales associate.  I found the feeling of it on my lips to be quite nice, so I thought I'd pick it up.  Included in the ingredient list are shea butter, olive oil, honey, and beeswax.  The main purpose of the balm seems to be to not only moisturize (shea butter and olive oil), but also to hold the moisture in (honey and beeswax).  It is also said to have a white chocolate and vanilla taste.
My impression:  
Even though most of you probably know that the cold winter made me a die hard fan of Carmex, I ended up liking this quite a bit.  I found it both moisturizing and long lasting.  I apply it whenever I feel that I need it throughout the day as well as at night.  I find that when I wake up in the morning, my lips feel nice and hydrated  I also feel as though the 0.3 oz tin should last me a while, but I do wish that it was in stick form.  I prefer sticks to pots because I don't like getting my fingers messy with it afterward!  The website says that it should have a white chocolate and vanilla taste, but unfortunately, I was unable to detect this during my use.  The scent is definitely something that I think would need a little bit of getting used to.  It smells almost like the massage bars that I had sampled in the store...or maybe like sweet Play Doh.  I can't quite put my finger on the exact smell.  I wouldn't say that it tasted like white chocolate or vanilla.  It tastes the way it smells, for the most part, but the taste is very faint.  It's not like Carmex, where you can feel like you've licked and entire soap bar a few times.
My recommendations:  
I actually think that, despite the weird scent/taste (very faint and minimal, in my opinion), I really do like this lip balm.  It works and it lasts long, two things that are very important in a lip balm since I quite often find myself with dry lips.  I think that if you're interested in this product, you should probably head out to a store to check out the smell of it to see if it would bother you, other than that it's great!
The rundown:
  • Product:  4.5/5
  • Packaging:  4/5
  • Quality:  5/5
  • Overall:  4.5/5
  • Would I buy it again?:  Yes!
  • Where to buy:  Lush website and Lush stores
  • Price:  $6.95 per 0.3 oz.
  • Pros:
    +  Moisturizing
    +  Long-lasting
    +  Doesn't taste as bad as Carmex!
  • Cons:
    -  The price
    -  Smells a little weird
    -  It comes in a pot
 Mint Julips Lip Scrub
What it is:
I actually first saw this product on What Style is to Nickel (the specific video can be viewed here).  He had purchased it from Lush's cosmetics sister company, but Lush decided to continue some of their products after the cosmetics brand shut down.  I decided to purchase it because I find that my lips get dried out easily, making lipsticks and other lip products look not so hot.  This sugar lip scrub is meant to exfoliate lips, lock in moisture, and protect lips.  As the name suggests, it has a minty taste to it mingled with a little taste of chocolate as well.
My impression:
I really enjoyed using this lip scrub and I felt that it worked very well.  I thought that the flavor was quite nice and I enjoyed the tingly feeling that the peppermint oil gave my lips.  I also thought that it was handy that you could just lick it off once you were through with it and not have it taste terrible.  Even though licking it off is possible, I usually just brush the majority of it off when I'm done with it.  Another thing I liked about it was the packaging.  It comes in a little jar so it is portable--perfect for tossing into a purse or in an overnight bag.  Despite claiming to lock in moisture and protect lips, I found that I needed a little bit more after I was done exfoliating.  I always followed this with lip balm and I felt all set.
My recommendation:
I think that this is a great product for those that are traveling or even as something to keep in your purse for when you need it.  It can make a little bit of a mess (as in stray sugar on your face, lips, and clothing), but nothing that a little mirror-looking and brushing off won't fix.  The flavor is refreshing, but if mint isn't your thing, they also have one that is solely chocolate and one that is also bubblegum flavored.  While it doesn't seem to lock in moisture or protect lips as it claimed, I would still say that it was a good product and that a little lip balm will solve the problem.
The rundown:
  • Product:  4/5
  • Packaging:  5/5
  • Quality:  5/5
  • Overall:  4.7/5
  • Would I buy it again?:  Yes!
  • Where to buy:  Lush website or Lush stores
  • Price:  $8.95 per 0.9 oz.
  • Pros:
    +  Effective exfoliating
    +  Refreshing tingling feeling
    +  Pleasant taste
    +  Easy to use
    +  Convenient packaging
  • Cons:
    -  Doesn't moisturize or protect
I hope you guys found these reviews helpful!  I'm looking forward to trying out more new things and sharing the stuff I've tried with all of you.  If you have any comments or questions, please don't hesitate to let me know!

Disclaimer: I have not been paid to review any of the products featured above. I purchased all of the products reviewed in this blog post and did not receive them for free. I ensure that this is my true and honest opinion.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Library: Make-Up Masterclass by Jemma Kidd

Jemma Kidd
Make-Up Masterclass
$24.99

I purchased this book probably around February, and it wasn't until now that I was able to read it thoroughly enough to post a proper review.  Makeup is probably one of my biggest hobbies and I'm always looking forward to learning more.  Be it through trial and error, blogs, YouTube, websites, magazines, or books, I'm always looking for new things to learn and new things to try.  After previewing the selection in my local bookstore, I thought that I would give this book a try.

The intention of this book is to teach the everyday woman how to apply makeup in a way that enhances their natural beauty.  It is meant to be a go-to book, a "beauty bible," if you will.  There were definitely things in this book that I encountered during my 1+ years exposure to the makeup world, but there were plenty of other things of which I had never heard.  I found that the book was very organized and the formatting was consistent throughout while still being able to draw my attention.  The photographs were beautiful and helped to illustrate the author's purpose.

One of the things that I liked about the book was the author's concept of "Skintelligence," which is an understanding of skin and how to keep it healthy.  I consider myself to be someone with oily skin, and there were definitely a handful of helpful tips.  I not only picked up a few pointers about keeping the skin healthy, but also about what types of makeup would be most effective.  In her book, Kidd has different ways of breaking sections up into skin type, skin color, and age.  She also includes how to address specific skin problems, such as scarring, open pores, and redness.  For those of you wondering which colors are best suited for your skin tone, Kidd includes suggestions of colors and color combinations for each skin tone.  There's a section for everyone and I'm confident that a vast majority of people would be able to find a description fitting them.

Another thing that I liked about the book were the Top Ten Tips that were included in almost every section of the book.  I thought that the tips gave a good overview of the previous section and highlighted the most important points into something that was easy to remember.  There were also lots of other tips that I found useful, including a section on when to throw away makeup (it's always difficult to say good-bye, especially for something you spent $14+ on!) and a section on what to do when the seasons change.  I'm not sure if other makeup books have sections on nail care, but this one does and I thought that it was very helpful and a nice addition.

The last thing that the book includes is a collection of looks that the readers can try on their own.  It's not step-by-step per se, but it has very detailed instructions and a few illustrations that I think anyone could follow.  Because this book focuses on enhancing a woman's natural beauty, there aren't really looks that you would find on a runway, for example.  Despite this, I still appreciate the looks and find them very useful.  For example, there are looks for corporate settings, nights out (including a way to spice up daytime looks for the evening), and vacations.

Overall, I thought that this book was a nice read for beauty beginners and makeup enthusiasts alike.  It gives a lot of good advice and I like that it strives to play up a woman's natural beauty.  Although it stresses natural beauty, it does not completely write off playful colors in total favor of neutrals--it just shows what Kidd feels best suits and is appropriate for different skin tones.  I felt that she was very knowledgeable about what she was writing and by the end of it, I thought that I had learned a lot.  I felt that she was not only knowledgeable about skin and color theory, but also about products.

Fellow makeup mavens might know that Jemma Kidd has several lines of cosmetic products.  First impression would be that she would try her best to market her products and her products solely.  However, that is not the case!  I was very surprised when there were mentions of different brands like Clinique, and this continued all throughout the book.  Of course, there are occasional mentions of her products and it is predominantly her products that are featured in the pictures, but I liked that other options were given.  In fact, there is even an index in the back of the book of some brands that Kidd recommends, among these are brands like MAC and L'Oreal.

I hope you found this review helpful!  Please don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions!

Disclaimer: I have not been paid to review the book featured above. I purchased the book reviewed in this blog post and did not receive it for free. I ensure that this is my true and honest opinion.

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