A Note About My Lush Stash

Many of my youtube subscribers have asked to see my updated Lush "stash/collection".  To be honest, I don't have as much as I used to.  I did accumulate tons of soap over the holiday sale when they were buy 1 get 2 free.  Most of the bath bombs and bubble bars, my family and I have used and are continuing to use up.  Needless to say I do love Lush (and may be slightly addicted LOL).  There will be parties at Lush that I will be attending in the future, but as I said, I will not be posting an updated Lush collection video.  When I was recently going through a bad anxiety spurt, I used up a lot of my bath products (bath bombs, bubble bars, lotions, and emotibombs).  I do have shower gels, but most of them are running low or are half full.  Their shampoos and conditioners I use just about every day, but I have been trying some new products recently as well.

I do get many comments about how lush expires, and how it's considered wastefull to have so much Lush, but as I stated previously, everyone in my household uses it.  The soaps often don't expire for over a year, and if well kept sometimes even longer.  I also often cocktail my Lush products, using more than one at a time.  I just wanted to address this repeated request from my youtube channel.  I didn't want anyone to think I was ignoring their comments.

Lush - Valentines Day & Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes

So, if many of you watched my last video on youtube, you saw the Valentines Day goodies I bought from Lush Cosmetics.  I love my Valentines Day products!  If many of you out there have not tried Lush, I suggest now is the time to do so.  Not only do they have new products for Valentines Day, but they also have a new kit out: Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.  The kit is $25 and is a great deal for the products you get inside.  It's also a great way to try out many of the products that Lush sells that are not bubble bars, shower gels, bath bomb, or soaps.  Included in this kit (here in the U.S. as it is slightly different in the UK) is:

1 Fresh Face Mask (of your choice)

1 Shampoo Puck (of your choice)

1 Sample of Handy Gurugu hand cream

1 Sample of Lemony Flutter cuticle butter

1 Sample of Fair Trade Foot Lotion

1 Vitamin C Toner Tab

1 Mini Sugar Scrub

1 Mini Each Peach Massage Bar

1 Moiturizer Sample (of your choice)

 I chose for my face mask Catastrophe Cosmetic.  I love this face mask. It was the first face mask I had ever bought from Lush and continues to be my favorite although I have tried almost all of them.  It contains fresh blueberries which are rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals to reduce inflammation and act as a mild antiseptic. It's also packed with soothing chamomile, Irish moss and almond oil that work with calamine to revive your skin.  For my moisturizer I chose Celestial.  This moisturizer is one that I have not tried before as I have tried many.  It is supposed to be great for dry, sensitive skin.  It contains vanilla water and almond milk to moisturize and soften the skin and give it a beautiful soft scent. Fresh dove orchid extract is included in the mixture as it is traditionally used to reduce inflammation.  For my shampoo puck, I chose my favorite! Seanik...this shampoo puck is great for my limp, lifeless hair.  I would highly reccommend this for anyone who has thin, fine hair.  Lush makes this shampoo full of fine sea salt for volume and Nori seaweed to soften and nourish your hair. It also contains lemon oil to cleanse the hair and make it shine. The scent to me smells of lemon and mimosa blossom...very much like the ocean - crisp and clean.  The other products in the kits are also really great products.  You should definitely check this out. It is well worth the price.

The Valentines Day products are really cute and smell delicious!  The first product I picked up was the "Love Soap".  This soap is in the shape of a heart and smells of the sex bomb bath bomb.  For those of you who have never tried Lush or don't know what that scent is, it's a slightly floral scent of jasmine, clary sage and ylang ylang.  This soap also has a little glitter in it and lathers really well.

The Ex Factor Bath Bomb is shaped like a gingerbread man, except he's BLUE!  And he wears his heart on his chest.  Very Cute!  He will turn your bathwater a beautiful blue color.  This bath bomb is scented just like Lush's Butterball Bath Bomb - vanilla musk and ylang ylang.  It's a sweet scent that I absolutely love.  I was slightly disappointed that this one doesn't contain cocoa butter to moisturize your skin as the Butterball does, but I'm a sucker for holiday themed anything, so I couldn't pass this up.

The Magic Mushroom Bubble Bar is my favorite of all of the Valentine's Day products at Lush. For those of you who don't know what a bubble bar is or how to use it. It's a solid bubble bath.  To use this, you just crumble a piece of it (as I do), or the whole thing, whatever you prefer, under running bath water.  The bubble that this specific bubble bar creates are so soft, moreso than any other bubble bar I've tried from Lush yet which was surprising to me.  The Magic Mushroom has two different scents.  The top of it is scented with Lush's famous Yummy Yummy Yummy shower gel scent, and the bottom smells of vanilla.  It a great combination strawberry, honey water, almond oil, and vanilla.  It smells so good!

There are also a lot of great specials going on at Lush at this time. Each store may have different promotions and specials so check with your local store.  The U.S. website http://www.lushusa.com/ still has a few holiday products at buy 1 get two free sale.  Take advantage of the sales when you can!

Mascaras - Which One Do You Use?

One of my favorite makeup items has always been mascara.  I feel as if it's the finishing touch to your makeup.  Even on those days when I don't feel like making up my whole face, or if I'm in a rush, I always put on mascara.  So this brings me to the question: Are higher priced mascaras really worth the money we pay for them?  In my experience, it depends on the brand of the higher price mascara.  With drug store mascaras, it has always been hit or miss for me. With that being said, I'll give you a run down of my favorite mascaras - high end and drug store.

My all time love of mascaras right now is the Yves Saint Laurent Volume Effet Faux Cils Mascara.  In my opinion this mascara does it all!  It achieves an intense, dramatic lash look with one stroke. Its uses a Triple-Film Complex: a film-coating for intensity, a conditioning film for curve, and a fixing film for long-lasting effectiveness.  The brush applicator combines nylon fibers of varying diameters for volume enhancement.  I love this mascara, and when shopping in Sephora one day, I picked it up.  I was sad that my wallet had to take a dent at the $28 price, but to me every penny was worth it.  This is the mascara that I pick up the most often as it does everything in one stroke.

My next choice for high end mascara is actually a combination of two items.  I really love Urban Decay's Eyelash Primer Potion used with DuWop's Lash Venom.  These two eyelash products work great together. The Urban Decay Eyelash Primer Potion is a lengthening, volumizing, and fortifying mascara base.  If you use this product before your favorite mascara your lashes will appear thicker, longer, and stronger.  It uses the conditioning, fortifying, and thickening formula of Silk Protein, Panthenol, and Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein. I love to pair this with DuWop's Lash Venom. I like the Lash Venom on it's own as it provides extreme length without clumping.  The formula also contains vitamin E and an acrylic polymer that prevents smudging and flaking. The brush is made to optimize both pick-up and delivery, ensuring consistent performance with every application. Lash Venom gives your lashes instant fullness and a glossy, jet-black finish.  In conjunction, these two products give you the effect of false lashes when you really aren't wearing them.

Of course there are many more high end mascara that I use and like. Buxom by Bare Essentiuals is a great mascara, as is the Bad Gal Lash by Benefit. However, the ones reviewed above are way worth the price if I had to choose. I've been wanting to try the Dior Show Extase Mascara, and may treat myself to it the next time I am at Sephora.

So I bring myself to drug-store brands.  I have only found 3 drug store brand mascaras that I would like and repurchase.  One is the Covergirl Lash Blast.  This mascara is really awesome for a drug store brand.  I was actually very surprised when I used it as I had never had a drug store brand give me the effect I wanted before this one.  It gives you instant volume and lift. It's smudge proof and smear proof, and it's also hypoallergenic (which is good for those who wear contacts).  I love this mascara and plan to try the other varieties of it that Covergirl is beginning to offer. 

Two other drug store mascaras I reach for are both made by Maybelline.  The first is the Intense XXL® Volume + Length Washable Microfiber Mascara.  This mascara works alot like the UD Eyelash Primer and my Duwop Lash Venom combination, however with a little more clumping...so if you can't afford the higher end combo, this would be a great mascara for you.  It creates up to 60% longer lashes and 11X the volume. I feel the only downfall of this mascara is that the microfiber side of the tube tends to clump my lashes, so an eyelash curler is a must when using this mascara.  Another mascara by Maybelline that I use is the Lash Stiletto. I must say the brush on this mascara is great.  It grasps each lash and coats from every angle, while the formula is filled with Pro-Vitamin B-5 that conditions and smoothes for black-patent shine.  I would reccommend this mascara to anyone who is looking for a great drug store brand.

On that note there are many other drug store mascaras I have yet to try and would like to.  So my questions for you are:
What is your favorite mascara?
Do you prefer high end mascaras to drug store brands?
Do you think that the price of high end mascaras is worth it?
What mascara would you reccommend to your friends?