Sunday, May 31, 2015

Lush Empties Review



Hey Glams and Geeks! I am so excited to be back on here sharing a new post with you guys! And I’m especially excited for what I’ll be sharing with everyone, as it’s all about one of my favorite skin care brands, Lush Cosmetics! Many of you may be familiar with the brand, but for those of you who aren’t, Lush is a brand that makes products using fresh ingredients and safe synthetics. I first discovered them about two years back, and have been in love with them ever since! As a result of my undying love for them, I’ve collected some recently finished products (from the past three months or so) and will be reviewing them for you today! I’ll be talking about some hits and misses, whether or not I’ll be rebuying these products, and offer a few tips on how I use them! Please note that I’ve included links for each of the products so that you may read about them in better depth at your convenience. :)

Let The Good Times Roll




What Is It: A polenta based cleanser that smells of caramel and leaves your skin feeling silky smooth!


Love It/Hate It: I cannot express how much LOVE I have for this cleanser! I first discovered it about two years ago and was so sad when I learned that it was a limited edition product. Shortly after, I found out that it was made a permanent item and thanked the heavens, as after my first time using this, I was completely obsessed. My skin was so soft and hydrated, while the product itself smells so good you just want to take a bite (which is not advised, but should you find yourself giving into temptation, opt for their Popcorn flavored lip scrub)!


Rebuy/Goodbye: This isn’t the first time that I run out of this stuff, and like every other time, I always have a back-up waiting at the ready as I can’t skip a day without this little pot of gold! So, it is safe to say that I shall be restocking my beloved Let The Good Times Roll.

What Is It: A balancing Lavender facial moisturizer, perfect for combination skin!

Love It/Hate It: I can’t say that I love this product, but I can’t say that I hate it either. I have mixed feelings for Imperialis, as there are a few things I did enjoy, while there were others that really put me off about it. First, I really love its refreshing scent! The orange blossom water is not overpowering, but it is present and smells wonderful when you apply Imperialis to your face. Second, I like the light weight texture of this moisturizer. I usually prefer thicker creams, as I feel they provide better moisture, but this light weight texture was very nice against the skin. Now, for my dislikes. I wasn’t fond of the feeling left behind by Imperialis once it settles on the skin. I found it to be somewhat slick, or residue-y, making my skin feel unclean. Along with that feeling came the rest of my disappointment. I felt that this moisturizer, while intended for combo skin, didn’t do much to provide moisture to the dryer parts of my face. While it works well to control the oiler parts (my t-zone), the other parts felt rather parched and tight. As a result, I’d have to pull out other moisturizers to get the job done.

Rebuy/Goodbye: Sadly, I’ll have to say Goodbye to this one. While I am not suggesting that it isn’t worth trying, I am saying that for my skin, it didn’t satisfy me. I worked through the entire pot of Imperialis before deciding that we needed to part ways, but am glad that I gave it a try!

What Is It: A preservative-free moisturizing bar that helps skin to retain moisture and elasticity!

Love It/Hate It: Love is not a strong enough word to describe how I feel about Full of Grace! I began using this a few months back and I cannot imagine letting my skin go without it ever again! As someone who has combo skin, it is hard for me to find a moisturizer that caters to both the oily and dry parts of my face, which this seems to do effortlessly! Full of Grace is made with moisturizing tropical butters, soothing chamomile, and antioxidizing mushroom extract, all of which combined work to keep my skin hydrated, glowing, and youthful! My favorite part about this product is that it’s preservative-free, meaning that it preserves or maintains itself, and doesn’t contain any synthetic ingredients to help it do so.

Rebuy/Goodbye: Whenever I buy this stuff, I usually buy it in two’s, as I never like to be without it! It’s part of my daily night time beauty regimen and I can’t skip a day without it!

 What Is It: A seawater based toner that contains nourishing carrageen (seaweed) extract, and a soothing blend of rose absolute and aloe vera.

Love It/Hate It: I really love this stuff! Plain and simple! I’ve tried quite a few toners, each from different brands, and this one has been quite rewarding for my skin. It’s very calming due to the aloe vera, which is great as I have rosacea that tends to make my skin very red and hot when using certain products. And, it doubles as a makeup setting spray! All the more reason to have won me over!

Rebuy/Goodbye: This is definitely something I’m willing to buy and use again, as it has really worked well with my combo skin and rosacea! I even plan to buy a smaller bottle to keep with me on the go to freshen up during the day!

What Is It: A shampoo bar intended to make your hair shine.

Love It/Hate It: I will be straightforward in telling you that I’m not a fan of this shampoo bar, at least not for my hair. When I first used this, I had high hopes in achieving shiny, lovely smelling hair. After washing and rinsing, followed by styling, I noticed that my fine hair felt rather dehydrated despite its intense shine. As a result, my scalp felt uncomfortable and dry as it wasn’t the most moisturizing shampoo. All in all, I discontinued using Ultimate Shine as my shampoo and ended up using it as my brush cleanser, instead. Now is when I can rave about this: best brush cleanser ever! My brushes have never felt so soft or looked so shiny before! I’ve even noticed that they’ve been shedding less since I no longer have to dip them in liquid shampoo. I just simply pass the wet bristles over the bar and gently rub in the suds, and voila! Shiny, great smelling brushes!

Rebuy/Goodbye: As a shampoo, I would not consider rebuying Ultimate Shine. However, as a brush cleanser, I definitely will continue to use this stuff! I’ve gotten a good 40-50 washes worth of brush cleansing from one bar, which for me is a great value as I wash my brushes weekly!

What Is It: A hair treatment that delivers intense nutrition to your scalp and hair.

Love It/Hate It: I’ve used many hair masks throughout my life, but haven’t felt my hair as healthy and as nourished as I did when I first used this. My hair felt super soft and had such a brilliant shine to it, it was as if I’d never dyed it, ever! I had just done an ombre to my hair when I first used this hair treatment, and the bleach really did a number on my ends. But after leaving this on overnight, my hair felt brand new! Now, for those of you who’ve never used this before, let me prepare you, this does have a rather funny scent to it, due to the Balsamic vinegar that’s in it. The vinegar helps to boost the hair’s shine, while the other ingredients such as mashed bananas, eggs, avocados, and olive oil work to restore the hairs texture, elasticity, and overall health. As a result, the hair is left looking incredible, but beware, your hair may feel a bit slick or have a residue-y feel right after rinsing. After washing and drying your hair, get ready to see that your hair has bounced back from whatever damage or dehydration it may have experienced before!

Rebuy/Goodbye: Definitely! While this is a pricey hair treatment, I recommend that you get the most out of your 7.9 ounces and apply this to your hair while wet! I know the instructions advise to apply this to dry hair, but after applying to both wet and dry hair, I found it to be easier and more effective when applied to wet hair. When applied wet, H’Suan Wen Hua made my hair shinier, softer, and easier to manage post shower (less tangles and knots!). This wet method stretched my treatment to a full 5 uses!

What Is It: A nourishing beeswax facial cleanser.

Love It/Hate It: On my list of favorites, Ultrabland comes up number two, right beneath Let The Good Times Roll! Ultrabland was one of the first cleansers I tried from Lush as I was looking for a natural alternative to makeup remover, and this was suggested. I was skeptical at first, as the texture felt unlike anything I’ve ever felt before in a cleanser. It’s slick and balmy, and didn’t feel like something I would like at all! But, after getting a demo done and feeling how soft and smooth my skin was, I caved in and decided to give it a go. After trying it at home, I was immediately hooked! I’ve even found ways to include it into other skin care routines, like slathering some on my face and neck before applying a mask (which btw gives you the most incredible glow!). And so, my love affair with Ultrabland began.

Rebuy/Goodbye: With as many ways this stuff has incorporated itself into my beauty routine, there is no going back now! Can’t wait to rebuy!

What Is It: A deep cleansing face and body mask

Love It/Hate It: This stuff is literally a God send! I love that it is really nourishing and doesn’t dry out the skin the way some masks tend to do. It gets deep into my pores to cleanse any impurities and gently exfoliates the skin while providing moisture all at once! It’s definitely a triple functioning mask, which is perfect in my book as I love multifunctional products that help to eliminate extra steps in my routine! On any given Sunday, you’ll catch me with a full face of Mask of Magnaminty to help me get my skin ready for the week ahead!

Rebuy/Goodbye: I can’t imagine my skin care routine without my Mask of Magnaminty, so I’ll definitely be restocking this stuff!

DISCLAIMER: All products mentioned in this post were purchased by me using my own money. I was not paid or asked to review these products. All opinions are my own and were not influenced by anyone other than myself. I genuinely enjoy Lush Cosmetics products and wanted to share with you what my favorite products are, which ones were a miss for me, and what I plan to continue buying from this brand. All photos were used from LushUSA.com.

Thank you for reading my Lush Empties post! Please bear in mind that everyone’s skin is different, and what may or may not work well for me, may work differently for someone else. I encourage everyone to give products a try based on their own needs, wants, and desires, as everyone’s skin care preferences differ. My hope is to simply share my favorite products with everyone, possibly introduce you to a new brand, or new product from Lush!
Be sure to keep up with me on Instagram to find out about upcoming posts, product reviews, swatch photos, and more! @TheGlamGeekConfessional


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