Regulars to Alas will know my love for the shop, so it will come as no surprise that their products make up about 90% of my daily routine before I leave the house! I thought I'd take you through this routine and the products I use...
I picked up Ponche at my local Lush store (Bournemouth) last week for half price- being Christmas stock, it was the last few bottles hence the cheap price, BUT this is not a Christmassy product at all!! Inspired by "A traditional Mexican Christmas", the main ingredients are oranges, with hints of lemon and lime and a shot of tequila- so as you can imagine, is really spicy, zesty and perfect to wake you up in the morning!
This is not a subtle product at all and I love that- it really gets you ready to leave the house and face the day. It is a shame it was limited edition during Christmas, but I'm hoping we see a return of Ponche in the Christmas 2013 Lush stock. In the meantime, get down to your local store to see if they have any bottles left, and grab yourself a bargain!
To accompany Ponche in my morning shower, I use "Let the Good Times Roll"- which is one of Lush's trademark facial cleanser range. The cleanser actually comes in a putty-type substance, which when mixed with water creates the right consistency to use on your face. I love this, as it seems to make the product last much longer!
Anyway, this product just smells so delicious it gets really difficult not to try a taste, because it just smells like cake mix!! So good....the ingredients actually include cinnamon and polenta, and apparently shares its fragrance with "popcorn" lip scrub...so I know what my next purchase will be :)
"Good Times" is a great morning cleanser because it leaves your skin feeling really soft and "glowy", nice and gentle and smells delicious!! I'm a huge fan of the range of cleansers Lush offers but for the smell alone this has skyrocketed to my number 1. Delicious!
I've become really strict with my skincare recently- it was never something I paid much attention to before, but since upping the ante on my regime I've really noticed a difference. I use "Breath of Fresh Air" toning water, which does exactly what it says on the bottle...It's second only to a brisk morning walk along the seafront in winter!!
I've tried a few of the toning waters, and whilst the Tea Tree one was lovely (and smelt amazing), this one I feel really tightened my skin and gave it a lot of life. I also think for £3.95 this is a really reasonable product, as I've become used to paying a little extra for the luxury of Lush. Bargain!
For my body, I've become a complete convert to Lush's range of dusting powders. I was actually pretty dubious of these at first, as I just assumed a powder would dry out the skin rather than soften and moisturise, but I was given a bottle of "Silky Underwear" from a friend back in September and fell in love as soon as I tried it. Again, this product is very rich in cocoa butter so really does leave your skin feeling soft and very luxurious, and leaves a very subtle jasmine smell behind, which I find complements the perfumes I use beautifully.
When I decide to treat myself to a bit of a tan (not often, I'm so pale it becomes quite a chore for me) I use "Lustre", a sister dusting powder with a soft golden glow:
Now, I've written about the Lush makeup range before, so you may know how much I love it and the variety of colours and products they offer. Lipsticks are a staple in my makeup bag anyway, and another thing I love about the Lush lip colours is they double as cream blushers!!
Now, again in an earlier post I have mentioned the new perfume range at Lush, where I told you the new signature scent I'd fallen in love with; Sikkim Girls:
I still adore this fragrance, but the more I wore it, the more I felt like it was too overpowering for day wear- the jasmine was just too "sexy", which isn't a look I think I'm very good at channelling So, Sikkim Girls has taken a back seat of sorts and been given the title of my "night-time fragrance". Luckily, however, for Christmas my mum bought me the box of Gorilla Perfume exclusives, which was great as it gave me the chance to try out loads of perfumes which I'd simply overlooked before, and really experiment with them and see how they worked on my skin. There was one fragrance I absolutely fell in love with....
I'd never given Ginger a chance before, because I was just reminded of the herb my dad is always using when he cooks, but since trying it I've discovered it's more Ginger Rogers than Ginger Beer! It's very spicy and retro, and still contains a hint of jasmine which I like- leaving correlation between my day and night-time scents. Also, being from the older range of perfumes, it also comes in solid form- perfect to pop in your handbag and top up throughout the day, I found I was really missing these when I wore Sikkim Girls!
I really recommend the Exclusives set for anyone who just hasn't had time to become familiar with Lush's amazing range of fragrance, or even if you just fancy treating yourself to a new scent :)
Recently, I've been spoiling myself and finding any excuse to treat myself with a bath full of Lush goodies ("oh, really hard gym session, I'll get some Lush goodies for a bath when I'm home", "I had a really difficult time eating that roast dinner, I think I'll get some bits from Lush for a bath later on") BUT I must admit I have found the perfect combination!! It starts with this cute little bubble bar:
"Creamy Candy" is so sweet smelling, cute and girly that it's quite hard to resist popping in the bath with you! All of Lush's bubble bars are awesome, and make really thick, foamy, amazingly scented (did it again) bubbles that stay for the entirety of bathtime!
I then use "Twilight":
...which is another limited edition product, which I am DEVASTATED about because I really think it might be my favorite shower gel ever ever ever. EVER. I found the above image on google rather than using the Lush website, because the gel is peppered with tiny glittery pigments to emulate the stars in the night sky. This, coupled with a gorgeous malt-lavender fragrance really does create the perfect shower gel. I LOVE it, and I am SO SAD I won't be able to get this year-round!
...but all is not lost!! Twilight also comes in a bath bomb, which goes from pink, to purple, to deep blue, just like the night sky. It's also an incredibly slow-fizzing bath bomb which is great- you get a good 15 minutes of fizzy goodness before being left in a bath of deep blue-purple water. I always feel so jammy when using the bath bomb as well, but I really do love this fragrance and it is so nice after a long day. I struggle quite a lot with sleep but I find the "Twilight" range really calms and relaxes me, and sets me up for a really good night. The lavender smell isn't overpowering or too "old-fashioned", the sweet malty notes give it a really unique scent....if you choose to try one thing featured in this blog post, I would recommend Twilight!
Last but not least (before another dose of toning and moisturising before bed), my night-time cleanser is "Dark Angels":
I think a lot of people are initially put off my this one because, as it's jet black, it doesn't look like much of a cleanser. HOWEVER! The colour of this product is due to the ingredients which include rhassoul mud, charcoal and black sugar, which come together to create an extremely refreshing and exfoliating cleanser- which I find perfect to scrub off all the dirt of the day. It also contains a lot of antiseptic qualities, which is great for those with problem skin, and avocado oil means it's not overly harsh. This may not be one you are immediately drawn to, but give it a shot- it really does work!!
I'd love to know if any of my readers use any Lush products and have any recommendations for me to try!! Do you use any of the products mentioned here, if so how do you find them?
I will be updating Alas much more regularly now, and have some posts lined up which I am really excited to start writing and working on. So please check back soon!! Lots of love, Sian xxxx
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