It's Raining Men!

Aka "Honey, I Washed The Kids" in concentrated, shower gel form!

A little something that I picked up from Lush Singapore in one of my visits down South, and when I smelled how similar it was to Honey, I Washed The Kids, I just had to get it! I love the Lush soaps, and since they are too natural to last in solid form for very long, this was the perfect solution. It's also a step better, since you can use this for hair AND body, though I admit that I've only used it as a shower gel thus far.

The shower gel is VERY thick, like melted caramel or toffee. The sweet honey scent is also very concentrated, I find that I don't have to use as much for my daily showers, and the scent still lingers on for quite a few hours. A comforting, moisturising shower is what I'm in for, and that's what I get with this shower gel. Really worth the money, and really considering this for a repurchase. Plus, the cute packaging always have me singing The Weather Girls during shower time! I just love how creative the folks behind Lush are!

So when the humidity's rising, and the barometer's getting low, the shower is the place to go with It's Raining Men! Filled with real honey, this shower gel is kind to sensitive skin and also contains medicinal and healing qualities that can soothe your skin troubles away. For me, I just love how moisturised and soft my skin is after the shower. Plus, it smells so good, I think it's suitable for use for the whole family! 

As usual, the shower gel comes in 3 sizes - 500ml, 250ml and 100ml. My current one is 250ml, and the prices are approximately RM77, RM45 and RM20 respectively. Oh, and one thing that I noticed about this shower gel is that this is the first time that I didn't use my shower gel fast enough and it is approaching dangerously close to the "best by" date. What I noticed is that there is some wax-like build-up at the bottom of the shower gel. Shaking it hard doesn't do anything about it (maybe because the shower gel is so thick, it's really hard to shake it!), nor does standing the bottle upside-down. =( Oh well, aside from this small matter, it's a REALLY good shower gel. Can't wait to re-stock!

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Lush Snow Fairy Shower Gel

My current shower gel - Lush's Snow Fairy shower gel. It is a special edition specially for Christmas, but I think you can still buy it online. I got it when I was in Singapore (where I seem to get all my Lush supplies nowadays!), and it was packaged into a buy 2 free 1 sale to move the stock quickly. Don't think you can get it anymore!

The bright pink shower gel would be great for pre-teen girls - if I had a daughter, I can imagine her going crazy for this stuff. It also smells very sweet and girly, much more suitable for someone younger than me! If you've used Lush products before, it is supposed to smell like The Godmother, which also smells like Rockstar. I personally feel it's more Rockstar than The Godmother. The Godmother is way more subtle! This smells like cotton candy, sweets and gum drops. Some might say it's sickly sweet, and some might even say it smells like children's medicine! To me, it definitely smells better in the shower, but still something I find more suitable for kids.

The shower gel comes in 3 sizes - 100ml, 250ml and 500ml. The one that I got was 250ml, and I think without the sale, it would be about RM50. It lasts about just a month, but if you love the scent, you will love how long lasting the smell is on your skin. Really lingers on you til the next shower! Lush also claims that there is little bits of glitter in the shower gel as well to make shower time that much more fun (glitter does not linger on the skin though, it washes off!), but it really doesn't seem that noticable to me at all... Cleaning power is just normal - what you would expect from a shower gel lah... and at least unlike some cheap brands that I used to use, it doesn't make me break out in rashes.

As always, I love the way their packaging and what they write on their labels. :-) It always puts a smile on my face. However, at the end of the day, NO repurchase for me, unless it is for my kids. :) This is just way too "youthful" for me.

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Karma Soap from Lush

Hello! Tried to update this yesterday, but Blogger was behaving wonkily. I only have a certain slot in my daily schedule to update, and if Blogger misbehaves.... well! There goes the opportunity! A pity, because I had the pictures all ready for uploading. Not like there's many pictures for this entry, hehe.

Lush is supposedly known as "that crazy soap company", but most of the time I'm not raving about their soaps. I guess I'm just so used to shower gels, and I really don't like using a soap dish. It seems like the best place for dirt to pile up. However, in my last trip to Singapore, I couldn't resist that HUGE table piled up with soap in the Lush store, and kept trying to find something that sounds nice, smells nice and that I've not tried before. I was once recommended "Karma" soap when I was in London, but it smelled too "oriental" to me. I don't know why, when I was in SG, I quite liked it! They don't have Karma shower gels, so I decided to treat myself to a slice of Karma. At nearly SGD20 for 150g, it's super pricy, but I was drawn in to the perfume emanating from the soap...

Sorry for the bad picture --- I should have taken a pic of the soap agaist a white background instead of my bright pink soap dish! Sadly, this is the only picture I have! It's a rather see-through soap in an orange-amber color. The creator says that he tried to create bottle the atmosphere of Kensington Market in the 60s in the Karma scent. I have no idea what that is, but it's one of Lush's signature scents. You can find Karma perfume, bath melts, solid shampoo bars and hand & body lotion.

The soap contains patchouli oil, lemongrass oil and sweet orange oil, that gives the earthy base scent a rather refreshing & tangy taste as well. I find it rather invigorating, though I do think that in heavier doses, it will start smelling like incense. The soap also tends to get clearer and clearer with each wash, and be careful not to rub the wet soap against anything.... it STAINS! At the moment, the bottom of my Cellnique face wash is tinged orange because flotsam from this soap somehow landed on it. -_-"

Which brings me to a point of contention with me about this soap --- IT MELTS SO EASILY! Seriously, I think this bar was gone in 2-3 weeks. Most unsatisfying. And it is really hard to dry. Instead, if the soap is the slightest bit wet, it seems to continue melting and melting away at the soap dish until there is a layer of scum. Ugh! Such a waste.

But still, when the soap is behaving itself, it is sooooo nice in the shower. The smell of Karma in the shower is like an aromatherapy session, and the scent really lingers for a long time on your skin! As I said, it smells invigorating (to me), and at the same time, towards the end of the day, it smells more homey, more warm and cosy. Seriously a good scent, but too bad it comes in a form that disperses so quickly! It's literally watching my money go down the drain. At those prices, I expected it to last me nearer to 2 months than a month!

It is definitely NOT a repurchase for me, sad to say. However, will check out the other Karma-fragranced stuff. I think the body lotion would be a great purchase in the future. And honestly, I find my other Lush soaps lasting longer. This one just seems like the odd one out.

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Singapore Haul 2013! :)

I didn't get any good pictures for Lipstick Sunday, so here's a VERY belated post! I went to Singapore some time in January this year, and I just realised that I didn't post up all the good stuff I managed to grab when I was down South! Anyway, here's the usual sharing post. :)

First day haul from Watsons. Craziness!  I bought the shampoo, conditioner and hair spray collection from Ma Cherie (after I bought it, then I heard it's available in Malaysia too, zzz), Garnier grapefruit kinda face wash that looked so nice and refreshing I just had to. A MyMelody mask (because of the cute packaging, lol), 2 1-Day Tattoo Eyeliner from K-Palette, because they were having a buy-one-free-one sale, and another packet of masks from some random brand. My husband really wanted to vomit blood when he saw my shopping...

Second day not-very-haul from Guardian. In fact, I only bought the two L'oreal Glam Shine lip glosses on your left because I thought it was a buy-one-free-one, but there was some mislabelling. Apparently the one that had that promotion was for another  lipgloss... this was buy-one and 20% off the second. NOT THAT GOOD A DEAL, but I had spent such a long time looking for the perfect shades that I boh pian, just paid for it. :( The other 3 items are free samples from the Guardian magazine...

Popped by Watsons again just to see if there's anything I missed out (felt like I didn't spend that much this round) and decided to get the Senka Perfect Whip cleansing foam and Neutrogena Deep Clean mulberry ultra foam cleanser as wel. Lol! So many face washes that I bought this round! Maybe cos I feel that in my collection of stuff, I really lack this. I have the most shower gels though... 

And of course, did not forget to stop by Lush at Wisma Atria to restock. Actually, looking for nice new stuff to get, but I feel like I tried most of them before and there wasn't any new soaps that I really wanted to try out. Instead, I bought American Cream again (IMHO the best conditioner ever, but I am starting to tire of it. Maybe my hair got immune to the wonders of American Cream already... *sob*), and bought Cynthia Sylvia Stout again too.... (again, I feel that it didn't work such wonders on me the 2nd time around. Or maybe the smell of stout was really too much for my sensitive nose). I got the Snow Fairy because they had a buy-2-free-1 promotion, and this was the "free" one I got. The only new item I bought is the "It's Raining Men" shower gel. Oh yea, I also got the "Dirty Springwash" shower gel for my husband, hence buy 2-free-1. :P 

And.. this was bought at the airport. Finally got Burberry Brit Sheer after thinking about it for so long (few years, actually!), Guerlain Meteorites and Clinique Chubby Sticks. FYI, all 3 items are still totally unopened cos I was thinking whether I should give them away as gifts. =p Cos I came back from the trip and I was still in my I-don't-feel-like-myself stupor, couldn't be arsed to even put on makeup to go to work some times, what more try out new beauty products. Not anymore! Vain me is back! :)

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Lush American Cream Conditioner

I've always raved about Lush's American Cream conditioner, but I don't think I've ever gotten a chance to review it on my beauty blog! Finally able to because I managed to get another bottle in Singapore recently! I think it's the one product from Lush that I've continuously bought. Got it first in America. Repurchased when I stumbled upon Lush in London. TRIED to get it in Hong Kong, but they were completely sold out (it really is their top selling product!).... and yahoo!! Found the biggest size bottles all in stock in Singapore! Gimme some!!

Pretty pricey for a conditioner, with a bottle of 500g going for more than RM70. But it's so worth it! It seriously is my most favorite conditioner --- ever! What's so good about this conditioner, I hear you ask...

First - I let the label speak for itself : "Bring all the boys to the yard with this strawberry vanilla milkshake conditioner. Double strength and extra creamy to leave your hair gorgeously soft and smelling sweetly." Yes, this is the most awesome conditioner that will leave your hair smelling more like your conditioner than your shampoo. ;) I just adore the vanilla scent that lingers on for DAYS in my hair. I did feel cheated over the "strawberry vanilla" because I don't detect any strawberry scent. Hmph! Then again, pure vanilla is pretty awesome on its own.

According to Lush, the vanilla pod infusion, vanilla absolute and clary sage is the scent that "leaves the scent last for hours in the hair".

Second item to love about Lush --- it looks like heavy clotting cream used in cooking, but my hair is left feeling super light, super soft and super .... nice! I feel like I have a ball of cotton candy on my head. A ball of manageable cotton candy. :P

The secret behind the conditioner? A yummy sounding combination of honey, lanolin, strawberries and fresh orange juice. I also love how they print the benefits of the products on the label. Fresh strawberries are calming on the scalp, strengthens the hair and helps to add shine. Meanwhile, lanolin helps to make the hair soft, manageable and easy to comb.

I'm not sure about the orange juice though. When I Googled it, it seems like it's a method for getting rid of lice. Lol!

As I'm typing this, I'm sniffing my awesome, freshly-conditioned hair. Do try this conditioner out, just a small bottle if you don't like vanilla. I didn't like it THAT much at first, but the scent really grows on me and of course, I love what it has done for my hair. Now, I'm so protective about my American Cream conditioner that I hate it when anyone else uses it. I nearly killed Ben when he callously just used the conditioner when we were in London. Plus, I hadn't even opened it yet! Grrr!

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Random Happy Buys From Singapore

So, couldn't resist blogging about new purchases... I think that's my favorite type of post to write. Haul posts! Must really restrain myself though because married life = new responsibilities. I have a budget to balance with the hubby! And one of us can't keep spending on things that will go down the drain (ie: soap suds).

Starting with a picture to depict what I bought in Watsons that garnered me a free Vanity Trove beauty box. The answer? Not much.

I was actually looking for things to use during my holiday because I stupidly forgot to pack a lot of beauty products from my house to my husband's new house. Hence, when we packed for the trip, I was missing a lot of stuff. I *did* think about buying stuff around his area to go on the trip, but I knew that I would probably be buying more beauty stuff in Singapore, so I might as well kill two birds with one stone. My husband was appalled at how much these few items cost me! One is the Biore Marshmallow whip face wash (that I actually bought before but still haven't used until now! **gulp**). This one is for dry skin though, which was what I had in SG! My skin was flaky and dry because of all the make-up the MUA piled on my face during the wedding. Grr...

Also bought a 3 pc set of color eyeliner, gel eyeliner and mascara from Clio. Apparently a best-selling brand in Singapore (as voted by Cleo Singapore users). I was actually more curious about the color eyeliner and the gel eyeliner (in pencil form!), but there was a special offer for this pack of 3, so I just grabbed it. Also bought a smallllllll Canmake peach blusher because I can't do without blusher! Also can't do without body moisturiser, and the most enticing product on the shelves was Body America body butter in a green apple scent. Not bad product, will be reviewing after this. ;)

The ribena is just there to push my total purchases into the SGD$80 range to get the free Vanity Trove. Yes, that's how much I spent on my first day in Singapore. Sigh... carelessness never pays! (Honestly, if I remembered to bring my stuff, I probably would not have bought the Biore, the Canmake blusher and the Body America body butter cos that's really pricey! However, all 3 are pretty good products, so at least no buyer-regret.)

Later that evening, bought these two bottles of Dial from Carrefour in Suntec City. We usually frequent that place because that's where NCC is! Loving all these new different types of shower gel "flavor". :P (I always say flavor cos it looks good enough to eat! :P)

Got 3 fruity lovelies from Freeman, cos they were going cheap in Guardian. Plus, I've always wanted to try stuff from the brand. I usually don't get it because they use "spread masks" instead of sheet masks, but a lot of people are hyping spread masks more cos it's more economical. I definitely agree to that statement, but it's also so boring! Hahaha. For the price I paid for a Freeman tube of facial masks, I could probably only get 2-3 sheet masks! And I'm guessing the Freeman one would probably last for months!

To emphasize my point, I also bought this Kiki Lala 2-step mask from Guardian. The price of the mask is probably 70% the cost of one of my Freeman masks. :$ 

Also bought the Guardian magazine. Yes, Guardian also has an in-house magazine like Watsons! I don't know how long it's been circulating, only noticed it during this trip. Lots of freebies, I like! From Ginvera BB cream to Colgate mouthwash and toothpaste, a packet of Goat's milk powder (random!) and hair loss shampoo for people with greasy hair! Lol, so specific!

Happiest haul time of all ~~~ finding Lush!! It's located at Wisma Atria and I seriously followed my nose to the shop! Personally do not find the assistants as helpful as the ones in US / HK... they only started treating me nicely when they saw that I was already going to buy a few items. And they didn't give my husband free soap sample (like in HK! Hahaha...). I repurchased Dream Cream as I had been planning to, got Celestial (face moisturiser) - they didn't have Creme Anglaise, but I doubt I would've bought something so pricey anyway! Got a huge bottle of American Cream - my most favorite conditioner ever ever!! So so happy with this! HK didn't have it cos they sold out!

Got a slice of Karma soap, another bottle of Dirty Springwash for my husband and was recommended Eau Roma Water by the SA. I don't usually use toner, but she said it would help Celestial absorb better, so I bought it. It's not too pricey anyway...

In short, this was more of a repurchasing of oldies but goldies instead of a haul of completely new products. I don't really mind because I didn't see many new things that I haven't tried before there. Hahaha. My husband liked the Grass shower gel though. I was so adamant that he does NOT get it. It really smells like someone had just mowed the lawn and you roll around in the grass clippings. NOT my thing!

On my 2nd last day in Sg, I popped by Robinsons and out came my wallet again. Bought Spring Water shower gel from Dial (this is the one I used in US last time and liked so much. Still like the scent!), two bottles of Theramed (don't diss this toothpaste til you've tried it!) and the OPI New York City Ballet nail polish. I don't usually wear nail polish (I think I keep mentioning this!) and I've got tons of new nail polish thanks to Yuberactive... however, I wanted something that looks more subtle and polish. I've noticed the NYC Ballet set some time ago, but never felt inclined to buy it. I think it was the holiday shopping spirit that overcame me...

I was literally SHATTERED to see the glitter polish was actually, well, shattered too. I only found out when I tried to slide the bottles out and polish my nails ASAP. It was so difficult to remove, and I realised that there was a strong smell of acetone. It was only when I ripped the box out from the other side that I saw that the bottle was a goner.

Was so sad cos it's not a cheap purchase! If it was a cheapie box set, I might've just said what the heck... cos I hate going through customer service. My husband kept motivating me to just do it, so I got it exchanged. It was NO PROBLEM AT ALL! The staff at Robinsons was really helpful. :) And when I got my new set of nail polish, I really pried open the box then and there to ensure that everything was intact.

Woo... now my shopping hunger has been satiated... now to just wait for the credit card bills. Gulp!

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Lush Noubar Soap

A sample slice of Noubar from Lush courtesy of a lovely sales lady in Hong Kong! I'm a little bit desperate for a last bit of Lush in my shower, having emptied Happy Hippy and all my other soaps. Was so happy when I remembered that I still have this sample. See how small it is? My soap dish looks humongous in comparison. :O

 

The soap isn't the best smelling thing on earth. I definitely won't buy this soap based on the scent. However, it's a really interesting soap and I'm glad that I got this as a free sample. The soap feels creamy against my skin and really moisturising. It doesn't rinse off with a squeaky clean feeling (my fave), but with the kind of oily, moisturised feeling. The same feeling one would get after using an oil-based cleanser, I guess. I suppose it's because of all the chunks of nuts inside this soap, lots of nut oil or something, hahaha.

In case you think the chopped nuts are really great for exfoliation, it's more like a gentle scrub, a very light massage. You won't feel like there's lots of dead skin being sloughed off. The bits of nuts drop off after a mere two sessions in the shower. It makes me feel like there's huge chunks of soap are being used with each shower. What a waste! :(

The scent that lingers behind on my skin takes a little bit of getting used to, but after a while, I am starting to like it. It's a posh scent that reminds me of green tea actually, but it's really vetivert and rose.

The nuts in the soap? Peanuts, walnuts and pistachios. Pistachio oil is excellent for the skin - it nourishes, softens and hydrates the skin thanks to the vitamins it contains. Used in massage, it is easily absorbed by the skin and gives it a supple and soft nature. As for walnut & peanut oil, can't really find anything of use for it for cosmetic reasons, but apparently it's used for healing certain skin conditions.

Not a repurchase for me in the future though, interesting experiment but not something I would enjoy long term.

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Lush Happy Hippy Shower Gel

Bought this shower gel in Hong Kong last year, and it's seriously the BEST shower gel to wake yourself up with in the morning! The "Happy Hippy" shower gel by Lush is suitable to be used for body or for hair, and it's strong invigorating citrus scent will leave a wonderfully refreshing scent lingering in the bathroom long after the shower has been turned off.

Hippies are often associated as "unwashed, counter-culture youth", but I suppose this shower gel is so awesome that it will be able to coax them from being "unwashed"? ;) Lush says that it is a shower gel made by happy hippies for Happy Hippies.

The main ingredient used in Happy Hippy is pink grapefruit, which explains the overwhelming citrus scent. Honestly, I'm surprised there's not more goodies inside it because Lush usually throws in the entire fruit basket. It sorta kinda reminds me of I Love Juicy, their shampoo that contains papaya, kiwi, orange, pineapple and mango. It sounds a lot fruitier than  Happy Hippy, but I like Happy Hippy more! Sure, you can't directly compare a shampoo and a shower gel, but just scent-wise, Happy Hippy is so much better.

Yes, you can use Happy Hippy on your hair too, but I didn't have such  good run with I Love Juicy - it dried my hair out! So, I've just been solely concentrating on using Happy Hippy as a shower gel. My 250g bottle is already in the last 15%!! Aside from Cynthia Sylvia Stout and Rehab, I doubt I will try anymore shampoo from Lush. Even then, Rehab kinda dried my hair out too. :\

A complete and resoumding "YES" from me for a repurchase! I remember paying about RM50 for my 250g bottle, but from the website, it seems like I can get it for RM30! Hmmm... *scratch my head*

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The Grossest Product Ever

This is probably going to be the most nauseating picture that I'm going to post on Drug Store Beauty, but my disgust + fascination with what transpired is urging me to share it with all and sundry. You have been forewarned! There will be a really disgusting photo at the end of the post.

Okie, first of all, I've always been a fan of Lush products, right? But there's one particular item that I bought that I really, really, really regret. It is the Coalface facewash. On the site, it looks quite pretty, like this :

Why did I buy the Coalface soap? Well, charcoal is apparently VERY good for oily skin, and since I was on my WarOnBlackheads moment, I reckoned that my skin was more to OILY than normal. I would have none of that! I thought the Coalface soap would eradicate all traces of oil from my skin, hence, less clogged pores. -___- Also, I felt that it was something rather novel, and was interested to see how "dirty" my face would look with coal dust all over it. :)

It was actually a pretty disappointing affair with this soap. Firstly, since Lush is very "all natural", I left the soap by itself for a wee bit too long before unwrapping and using it. By the time I unwrapped it, the soap looked so shrivelled that it looks NOTHING like the picture above, but more like a real piece of coal! Strike one.

Using it on my face was TOO drying, as my face is REALLY more to normal-combination than totally oily. Wrong product for skin type - strike two. It was also not as "dirty" as Lush forewarned. The suds were a little grey, but it wasn't like there was a huge mess of charcoal bits everywhere. :)

I then decided to just use the soap as a hand soap until it finished. No way would I continue using something that is just not meant for my skin type. However, it took REALLY long to finish, and recently, I spilled over the soap dish and I thought I smelled something like sour milk when the charcoal soap tumbled out. I was so grossed out... I just had to junk the whole thing out. So I guess Lush products really are made with natural ingredients, cos I reckon if it's all just chemicals, it would never go bad. Trust me --- this soap went "bad".

And here's the gross picture I promised:

Ok, I will resume with pretty pictures tomorrow. Promise!!

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Lush Dream Cream

When I talk about Lush products, I'm reminded of my newest day moisturiser (finally finished my Vaseline one). I'm always rushing to finish my Lush stuff because they have a shorter life span compared to other products. I know this sounds like it's a negative point, but at least you know they don't add in a lot of other crap to "preserve" the product.

Anyway, I'm currently loving the Dream Cream hand & body lotion from Lush! It's actually pretty pricey. I remember that I paid around RM80 for a 240g tub. However, it had gotten so many rave reviews on the website that I *had* to see what the hype was about. Plus, I had quite a good time with Vanilla Dee-lite, another one of their moisturisers, so I knew it would be an alright product (if not great).

I have ZERO complaints about the product, and it is a most definite REPURCHASE for me. Why? Well, everything about it is perfection in a tub.
I love the calming lavender scent, which leaves me relaxed and happy in the morning (right before I leave for work!).
I love the cooling sensation that this cream leaves on my skin. I have no idea what goodies they dump inside here that can actually leave my skin feeling so soothed. And mind you, it's not a "cooling" sensation like if it's minty and tingly. No! It just makes your skin feel as if you're at the perfect temperature - which is a total blessing in hot hot hot Malaysia!
I love how moisturised my skin feels, even when I've had this cream on for more than 5 hours! And I can see some marked improvements in areas of my skin that are usually quite dry.

If you have sensitive skin, this is definitely the product for you. Though not by my own testimony, Lush says that customers who have eczema and other more severe skin conditions swear by this product. As a person with generally normal skin, it's amazing to see how my skin can actually can be better. "The best that it can be", so to speak. :P

For those who want to know - this product is completely vegan too. So if that's something you care deeply about --- another good reason to pick this up.


Now to quote Lush : "Invented in 1996, Dream Cream has been our global best seller since its launch. If we had to pick a "staple" Lush product, Dream Cream would be it! A calming emulsion of oat milk, olive oil and cocoa butter.

For something that sounds so simple - why is it so loved?

Besides being incredibly soothing for dry or chapped skin thanks to lavender, rose and chamomile blue oils, Dream Cream is gentle enough to use on even the most sensitive skin types. Mild yet effective, Dream Cream is for those who have been dreaming of problem-free skin!"

Oh, and I was just browsing the website and have now been distracted by Creme Anglaise - the most luxurious (and expensive!) body cream in their range. Color me intrigued! I will definitely check that out the next time I pass by a Lush store...

Of course, I would be getting another tub of Dream Cream as well. ;)

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New Stuff At Lush...

I think you all are aware by now that I'm a huge Lush-a-holic. Been scoping out their website, and found something new in their range now. I'm not sure that I would buy it (mainly because I don't own a bath tub!), but it really sounds cool.

It's the Reusable Bubble Wand!



How does it work? Simply run your bath as normal, and "swish" the wand in the water until you get the amount of bubbles you desire. Then, pop the wand in some place safe (like a vase) for future usage. It will harden by itself, and seeing how pretty these wands look, it will be a nice little decoration for your toilet too!

I also like how these wands come with SEEDS embededed IN their tag - they encourage us consumers to dump the whole tag into a hole in the garden and water it with your old bathwater. Enjoy the wildflowers that will be coloring your garden later! Too cute for words!

The wands currently come in :
- Madame Butterfly ( a sophisticated Turkish fragrance of rose and lemons)
- Tulip (chocolate orange yuzu and cocoa)
- The Mum (a zesty fragrance containing orange and juniper berry)
- Washing Up Fairy (lemon)

The wands cost £4.95 each, except for the Washing Up Fairy which is £3.75.

All this in conjunction with Mother's Day! Thank you, Lush for reminding me that this day is 3 months away! Hahaha, never too early to get ready, I suppose? They also have 3 luscious gift sets available, so if you could get your hands on one, I'm sure your mom would appreciate it. Again, my personal pet peeve is that most of the gift sets contain their best selling bath bombs (cannot blame them - it's what makes them unique), but I prefer their other stuff - soaps, moisturisers, shower gels, etc.

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The Godmother Soap

This is my third and last piece of soap that I got from Lush while I was in Hong Kong. I'm hating how fast I seem to use up the soaps, but since they are made from all-natural ingredients, it's not a good idea to keep them for too long anyway. This is "The Godmother" - for hands that do more than just wishes. It is one of the most popular and yet, cheapest, soaps in the Lush range!

I was attracted by the sweet, candy-like scent that was strong, but not overpowering like the other soaps in their range (the one that comes to mind is the Rockstar). This reminds me of hard boiled candy, and it is a joy to shower with! It is totally gentle on the skin, yet leaves your skin feeling squeaky clean. That's what I like - gentle on skin, but harsh on dirt!

I can't really think about anything else to talk about it - some people say they find it very moisturising, but I don't think it's particularly so. I just think it's fun in the shower, and will be a definite repurchase for me. Love the scent too much!

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Lush Miranda Soap

I had wanted to try the Miranda soap ever since I saw the lovely pictures of it on the Lush website. It also fits my favorite types of soap - refreshing, fruity and it looks really pretty! :) This was one of the 3 soaps when I bought in Hong Kong. However, kinda regret buying it --- could've used the luggage space for another soap. :(


This is how it looks like from the website. It further attracted me with statements like : "If you’re the fruity sort, then this is the soap for you! Blended into our Miranda soap are whole fresh kiwi fruits, with exotic fruit and flower essential oils; so you, you, you, you, you, you'll like this very much!

This soap was inspired by Carmen Miranda, who used to have a huge hat of fruit. Our soap used to look like that too, but these days we’ve reshaped it and hidden the fruit-shaped pieces inside. First we make two bananas, two oranges and six cherries out of soap – then we hide them inside the block. Keep an eye, eye, eye, eye, eye out to see which ones end up in your slice! "

Anddddd... this is how it looks like on my soap plate :

It's like a super far cry from the first picture, right? It also doesn't smell as fruity as I thought it would be. Maybe it was more concentrated when I bought it at the Lush store, but it couldn't make it by its lonesome self. I don't know why my Honey, I Washed the Kids soap had such a strong, lasting scent, but this one just pales in comparison.

Visually, I like the little "cubes" of what is supposed to be fruit in the soap, but it is not as aesthetically pleasing as the first picture. By the way, it doesn't play any special part - it's just lighter colored cubes. :(

In the shower, you can get a light, fresh scent that can be rather refreshing. It tends to leave the skin feeling a bit TOO squeaky clean - the type people say you get when you've stripped off all natural oils on your skin. Personally - I like that feeling on my face, but not over my whole body. And just like my Honey, I Washed the Kids soap, it finishes very quickly. Lush soaps don't last long - 1 month tops, and that's only using it once a day (for morning shower).

Can't smell any kiwi scent at all, or any specific fruit, to be honest. A definite NO for a repurchase. There's many other nice Lush soaps that I would rather try.

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Lush in Singapore?! Since when!!

OMG! I just found out that Lush had opened in Singapore since December 2011. I was there!!! Why didn't I go to Wisma Atria and check the place out?! I am so, so, so, so disappointed!

That means the nearest Lush to me is in Singapore and not Hong Kong anymore! I cannot imagine how crazy I will get. American Cream just a 3 hour drive away? Able to try MORE of their soaps? Able to get Tron his own bottle of Dirty Springwash? The possibilities are endless...

Now when is the next trip down South?

For more information on Lush Singapore, this is their Facebook page...

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Honey, I Washed The Kids Soap

I decided to use the Honey, I Washed the Kids soap from Lush even though I have a few shower gels in my toilet already! My friends know I love soap so much that they even buy it for me as a present on my birthday!

So, this is one of the biggest best seller at Lush, and it's easy to see why. Was so eager to start using my soaps that I bought a brand new soap dish. Here's my stuff, ready to be transported into the toilet.... *jeng jeng jeng*

I have such a huge chunk of soap that I can't close the soap dish, hehe!

This soap smells almost sickeningly sweet when it was still in the wrapper. A bit of an overkill, although it perfumed my room pretty well. :) However, it is not that strong in the shower, and leaves a very nice, sweet scent lingering on your skin when the shower's done. This soap is made with honey water & caramel, so that explains the extremely sweet scent. Lush also proudly advertises that the soap is made with 4 different types of honey. And REAL honey, not some fake synthetic stuff. This is the Real Deal right here, yo.

I really do enjoy using this soap because it lathers well, it smells great in the shower, and the honey is veryyyy good for sensitive skin like mine. Whenever I feel like I'm about to break out in a rash, a good time in the shower with Honey, I Washed The Kids will leave my skin soothed and happy again. Any red rashy-ness that had threatened to appear will be gone without~a~trace. Amazing!

It is also supposed to be super moisturising for your skin, but I have not particularly felt that. All I know is that this comforting fragrance is wonderful for showers when I've just come home after a long day at work. It feels so warm and fuzzy, totally lovely. However, this also means that it's more suitable to be used at night than in the morning. In the morning, I want total perk-me-up shower gels! Stuff with ingredients that contain citrus oils, mint, etc!

My main hang-up about this soap is that bright yellow thing you see on the soap itself. I just found out that it's beeswax and is supposed to increase the visual appeal of the soap. I don't know if I'm supposed to peel it off or not. It's difficult to scrape off and unlike Demon in the Dark, whereby it is also covered with dark wax, it was practically a must to scrape it off as nothing gets done with the wax covering it, lol. But it was easy to peel off for that soap! This one is pretty hard, and though it is annoying, it doesn't bother me too much. The worst part is just that it leaves my skin feeling "squeaky clean". Like I can see water droplets resting on my skin... hahha..

In case you are wondering, the natural and wonderful effects of honey for your skin are as follow:
a. Honey’'s ability to absorb and retain moisture helps keep skin hydrated and fresh and prevents drying.
b. Honey's natural antioxidant and anti-microbial properties help to protect the skin from the damage of the sun's rays, supports the skin's ability to rejuvenate and refresh depleted skin, leaving it feeling silky soft and supple.
c. Honey absorbs impurities from the pores on the skin, making it an ideal cleansing agent.
(Thanks to this webby for the details!)

No wonder Cleopatra always bathed with milk & honey!

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Have Yourself A Lovely Lush-Filled Christmas

I just love browsing through the Christmas specials that my favorite brands have during this festive season. You might say it's a way to wring us dry during the holidays, but I think all the limited edition stuff that they come up with are so irresistably cute, so worth the price, has both function and form... and I like buying myself Xmas presents anyway. =)

Plus, Lush is having a very exciting "Willy Wonka-esque" experience this Christmas! Whenever you buy one of their Xmas giftsets, you will see get a code (scratched from some barcode thingy inside the gift). You log in to their website and you get to see what you've won! The grand prize is really something like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory --- a Golden Ticket to the Lush Factory in Vancouver! There are 10 Golden Tickets to be given away! If you don't get it, fret not as there are 500 other "instant prizes" to be won. Oh my, I wish I had a Lush store just next door, I would be buying and scratching the codes throughout November and December! You can find out more details here.

As this is not happening, I will content myself with lusting over the Lush Christmas innovations for 2011. Keep in mind that most of these gifts are only good for friends who love to take a soak in the bathtub. If they don't own one, it's pretty darn useless. :( I wish they had more soap sets and less bubble bar / bath bomb sets!!

1) 12 Days of Christmas - USD79.95
A Christmas bonanza for sure! "Inside this bountiful box is ten of our limited-edition bath treats and two of our seasonal soaps. We included three of our latest inventions, Superstars Bubble Bar, which produces mass amounts of strawberry-scented bubbles, The Melting Snowman Luxury Bath Melt (he has the same almond-icing fragrance as our Snowcake Soap) and Golden Wonder Bath Bomb, which is full of surprises. If you know someone who loves to bathe, get them this one! Enough bath treats to get you through the holidays and into the new year. Golden Wonders Bath Bomb is a gift in itself; a shiny gold bomb with a present inside."

This insane gift contains : Cinders bath bomb, So White bath bomb, Christmas Eve bubble bar, Satsumo Santa bath bomb, Snow Globe soap, Candy Mountain Bubble Bar, Golden Wonder Bath Bomb, Li'l LUSH Pud bath bomb, The Melting Snowman Bath Melt, Superstars Bubble Bar and Candy Cane soap.

2) The Golden Collection - USD$59.95
I love the classy gold and black tin that is part of this gift set! The fact that the box is golden and the contents are also similarly colored makes it a visual treat. :) It contains "eight shining, gold products to delight friends and families alike. We put in three Bath Bombs and three Bubble Bars, a bar of our almond-scented Snowcake Soap and the Ultimate Shine shampoo bar so you'll be sparkly clean from hair to toe."

Contains : Three Gold Rings Bubble Bar, Cinders bath bomb, Dragon's Egg Bath Bomb, Golden Wonder Bath Bomb, Snowcake Soap, Sunny Side Bubble Bar, Superstars Bubble Bar and Ultimate Shine Solid Shampoo.

3) Billy Bonkers Bathtime Favorites - USD59.95
This one contains sweet-sounding favorites like Candy Cane soap, Candy Mountain Bubble Bar, Gingerbread House bubble bar, Li'l LUSH Pud bath bomb, Ma Bar Bubble Bar, MMM Melting Marshmallow Moment Bath Melt and is also one of the few giftsets to contain the Magic Wand re-usable Bubble Bar. The tin is also kooky, cartoony and most Willy Wonka-ish of them all! So sweet it could give you diabetes!

4) Christmas Bathtime Favorites - USD49.95This one is for the bath bomb lovers! "Three of our year-round favourites are paired up with six limited-edition, seasonal Bombs so you've a bath for every mood." The bath bombs, in no particular order, are : Avobath, Big Blue Bath Bomb, Cinders, Golden Wonder Bath Bomb, Honey Bee Bath Bomb, Li'l LUSH Pud bath bomb, Rocketeer Bath Bomb, Satsumo Santa bath bomb and the So White bath bomb.

Personally, one of the most meh gifts on the list because I don't think the tin is interesting enough either, haha. Oh gosh, packaging really *is* everything, innit?

5) Happy Christmas - USD$44.95
Contains both bath bombs and bubble bars for a fizzly good time. Instead of a tin, it comes in a shiny, reusable box. (IMHO - meh!) Contains Christmas Eve bubble bar, Cinders bath bomb, Candy Cane soap, Golden Wonder Bath Bomb, Three Gold Rings Bubble Bar and Snowcake Soap.

6) Christmas Star - USD$39.95
If you're thinking of getting Lush sets, I really do recommend you get the ones in a tin. It just looks so much better, and is definitely more reusable than the cardboard boxes one. No doubt it still looks lovely, but I think for a few dollars difference --- just get the cute limited edition Christmas tins! "Six bathing beauties are to be found inside this gorgeous, re-usable gold box. Christmas Star is a gift we've had for many Christmases here at LUSH, but it's always so popular that we keep bringing it back! This year's incarnation contains three of our returning Christmas favourites, and three of our newest inventions. It's sure to brighten up the holidays for the shining star on your gift list. "

Contains : Cinders bath bomb, So White bath bomb, Li'l LUSH Pud bath bomb, Candy Mountain Bubble Bar, The Melting Snowman Bath Melt and Superstars Bubble Bar.

You can check out the rest of the stuff here, but I really have no idea how long they'll keep them in stock! Probably going to yank them off the shelves once Xmas is gone! *negative nancy*

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Dirty Springwash Shower Gel

I took my DIRTY Springwash Shower Gel from Lush along with me to Singapore recently, and it was a really good choice for a travel companion. For one thing --- the DIRTY Springwash Shower Gel is actually both a shower gel AND a shampoo! Yay for travelling light! Plus, the minty fresh shower gel appeals to both men and women - yes, my boyfriend finally indulged in a Lush goodie! (He still hasn't used the free soap the Lush lady gave him!)

The only thing he complained about was why I bought something that is called "Gorilla Perfume". So unappealing, he says. Haha!

The main ingredient in this shower gel is SPEARMINT OIL. Spearmint is refreshing and cooling on the skin, and is used in the product to cleanse and naturally deodorize. That tingly sensation in your toothpaste or when you're chewing gum? Well, imagine it all over your body!

Personally, I didn't like this as a shower gel as much as my boyfriend did. He used words like Refreshing! Rejuvenating! Squeaky Clean! But for me, it really felt too much like rubbing toothpaste all over myself. It was disturbing and though I did have a refreshed, clean feeling at the end of the day, I still felt odd. Thankfully, the spearmint fragrance fades off to a very subtle hint after the shower, otherwise I would feel like a walking toothpaste commercial.

On the other hand, I think that this product performs WONDERFULLY as a shampoo! The sensation of spearmint on your scalp --- oh God... it's so orgasmic! It really feels like you are lifting up every single bit of dirt from your scalp and it can finally BREATHE again. You feel like singing, "A WHOLE NEW WORLD"... so wonderful is the feeling! Plus, when your hair is dried, I feel that it gave my hair more "weight" than usual. Definitely did more for me than "Strong & Weighty" shampoo from Clairol Herbal Essences!

I think this shower gel would be a lovely gift for your man --- you know how "practical" they are, wanting to double up their shower gel and shampoos. ;) Plus, if your man is like Tron, he will definitely love it. Tron said he would get this the next time he sees a Lush store, as it is more worth it than a similar two-in-one product that he saw in Kiehls. Lush sells the 250ml bottle for about RM50, which I too think is a good deal. The Kiehls one was more than RM100!

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Lush Cynthia Sylvia Stout Shampoo

Guess what this is?

You wouldn't expect me to say that this is SHAMPOO right? It's not as creamy as your usual shampoos and it is BROWN! How many people have shampoo like that? Hahaha. Anyway, this is the Cynthia Sylvia Stout shampoo from Lush, a company that is known for not very conventional products.


The first time I sniffed Cynthia Sylvia Stout, I thought it was horrible... but I've grown to like the slightly alcoholic smell mixed with an amazing amount of lemongrass. My scalp feels soooooo refreshed using this, and everything just feels so amazingly CLEAN. I checked the ingredient list on Lush, and apparently there's no lemongrass, but there are lemons in it. Hmm... anyway, it's a really lovely citrusy fragrance.

It takes quite a fair bit to get really foamy, and what I have on my palm is definitely not enough to wash my entire head of hair. Sigh, a pity because that means I'll probably end up using the entire bottle pretty quickly as this was just a free gift bottle from Lush HK, so it's only 100ml.

I had a choice between choosing American Cream or this shampoo, and I decided to go out of the norm and select this as the free gift instead (though I love American Cream!) because.... I actually wanted to try out whether there's any truth in beer / brandy promoting hair growth. I guess I'm concerned with this because I felt like my hair is dropping more after I did so much rebounding. What a weird position to be in - worried about not having enough hair - when I used to think that I have a lion's mane.

Anyway, it's still way too soon for me to judge whether it works or not, but Lush did say that the secret to the hair growing is in the YEAST in the beer. Apparently yeast improves the health of the hair and scalp and encourages the growth of new hair. Beer also contains protein to give your hair weight, smoothness and gloss. It's excellent for hair that tends to go frizzy in damp or humid environments. Perfect for me!

All in all, an excellent shampoo. I put it on par with Rehab for my fave shampoos from Lush! But do take note --- the smell does take getting use to, and now I love me some Cynthia!

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Lush Haul 2011

Came back from HK and the first thing I wanna show off to you (among all the beauty products that I bought..!) is my Lush haul! To be honest, it's not much of a haul because the Lush store in Langham Place is not as big as any random store I went to in London, but I'm definitely NOT complaining because I've been so deprived of Lush goodies for so long! A lot of my favorite products seemed to have been discontinued - e.g: Mirror Mirror, but there's also a lot of new stuff to try!

The Langham Place store is considered one of the biggest on HK Island already (if I'm not mistaken) as the rest are just kiosks. This one is located inside Seiibu in Langham Place. Just follow your nose and you will get there. The salesgirls are friendly and nice, and despite some slight communication problems (I'm not that good in cantonese, she's not that good in english), it was allllll good. The place mainly stocks up on soaps, bath fizzies and bath bombs. Just two mini shelves for the shampoos and shower gels (sacrilege) and another mini shelf with the skincare stuff. There was really not much choices for shower gels and shampoos - they only stock the really really best of the best bestsellers. So this is what I wound up with :

A lot of soaps this time around! All in all, I bought :
a. Happy Hippy shower gel
b. Dirty Springwash shower gel
c. Dream Cream moisturiser
d. The Godmother soap
e. Honey, I Washed the Kids soap
f. Miranda soap

... and got a free bottle of Cynthia Sylvia Stout shampoo and two soap samples - Demon in the Dark and Noubar (I think it's Noubar? I don't know the name since the girl said it in cantonese, but this is the only soap that matches anything else on the website). Actually, the Demon in the Dark soap is for my boyfriend. He kept sniffing at it, but refused to buy some, even though I said it was nice (tried it before!) AND offered to pay for him. So the salesgirl gave him a slice. He was so happy, and shy. :) Hahahhaa.


I was especially upset that they didn't have American Cream - my favorite strawberries and cream conditioner. Apparently it completely sold out in HK. Arghh! I was also looking forward to trying Gorgeous / Imperialis / Celestial (you can check out my old lust list here), but they didn't have it. Don't know if the store is small, or if it's also another old and discontinued range. What I was REALLY happy with was the huge range of soaps on display and the salesgirl was happy to let me sniff as much as I want.

I wound up getting The Godmother because it's got a really sweet yet fruity scent that isn't overpowering, but memorable. In contrast, Rockstar is like The Godmother on steroids... it's soooo overwhelming. Cannot take it. I got Honey I Washed The Kids because I've been lusting for it for soooooo long. Got a huge mutha chunk of it! Can't wait to use it. And I got Miranda as well because I like the fruitiness of it, though to be honest, it's not very strong smelling or memorable, so I'm kind of regretting it now. *Oops*

I didn't get Sultana of Soap after all because it didn't smell as good as I remember it to be. On the contrary, Karma, which is one of the bestsellers (and I never knew why - cos I hate the smell!!) is suddenly growing on me! I suddenly quite like the scent (on the soap), and I'm tempted to get it. However, all this while I've NEVER liked it. So I think I'll withhold for the moment. Anyway, 3 huge bars of soap will take me some time to go through. :P

Ooh, was also super tempted with the Ice Blue soap! It really does smell super minty and refreshing and tingly! However, since I got the Dirty Springwash shower gel, I thought that I shouldn't overload on the minty feeling. Besides, minty feeling duplicates are easy to get from other brands, but I don't think you can duplicate the luscious scents of The Godmother and Honey I Washed the Kids so easily. :)

Was disappointed in their latest shower gel though - Grass. It really smells TOO much like grass! It made me think of the ((insert race)) gardener trimming the cow grass for my neighbour... bleh. Overload! Do not want! Forgot to sniff at the Flying Fox though. And I thought that I didn't like the way Happy Hippy smelled the last time I was in Lush... but now I love it!! How could I not love it?? It smells so fruity and yummy! And look at that oozing golden liquid! Can't wait til I jump into the shower stall with it. :)

I think I got quite a sizable amount of stuff to try out, so no major bitchfitz about the place being poorly stocked up. Besides, my boyfriend loves Hong Kong so much that he wants to make this an annual thing, so it probably won't be long til I'm back to restock. Hee hee! :) *heart*

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Scrub Scrub Scrub!!

Aside from body scrubs, there are 3 other areas that require "special scrubbing" from me! Get your mind out of the gutter--- they are my lips, feet and hands! Each of these body parts require a special product to cater to their problems. For lips --- a really gentle scrub. For feet, I'm going to need some heavy duty scrub and really go to town with them. For my hands, something gentle and soothing, not too harsh.

These are the 3 products that I'm currently using :

(1) Lipscription
I've written about them before under my Friends with Benefit series, but here's a more detailed look on this product (currently discontinued from Benefit - I think). When I first used it, I thought it's not a necessity... until one day when I was using the scrub and I found out that even when I THOUGHT I had removed my lipstick, when I scrubbed with Lipscription, I saw the bits of skin that got exfoliated was slightly tinged with pink! No.. it wasn't blood! It's just that for SOME lipsticks, even when we thought we have removed it, there will still be some traces that require more thorough removal.


Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that you need a lip scrub to take off your make-up. But I think that the lip scrub is a something good to incorporate with your usual skincare routine. Especially for someone like me --- I have really dry lips! I know you people think I should be drinking more water, but I don't know why.. it doesn't really help? Maybe it's because I have this really bad habit of licking my lips... apparently it's very bad! It makes your lips even drier.


Start off with the buffing lip beads. The solution looks a little like this. You can't really see the buffing beads because it's really small so that it can be as gentle as possible on your lips. By the way, the product has no significant or noticable smell... I think it'd be cool if there was something minty... I like minty stuff!


This is really not such a good look for me :
Anyway, it's quite idiot-proof. You just keep scrubbing and scrubbing way at your lips until you feel all the dead skin cells have been exfoliated. After that, you will see the residue on your fingers. Just gently wash and wipe away any remainders after you are done.

Icky residue! At least this time there's no lipstick remnants...

My lips after the buffing beads have been used. You can see it's not as dry as the first picture.

Follow up with the silky lip balm which has a really "waxy" kind of consistency. This is how it looks like :

And then we are all finished! Really much better than the 1st pic, don't you agree?

(2) Foot Scrub
This is my awesome "Running to the Embassy" foot scrub from Lush :
I am ashamed to say that the product, that initially looked like this :

Has now melted into this hot mess :

But no worries... it's still extremely usable. Just spread some green goop over your leg, and then scrub scrub scrub til all the grains have disappeared! Your feet will feel instantly smoother, though I think you can't expect miracles --- you might still need a pumice stone for those really problematic areas... What I like about this scrub is that it has a really cooling sensation. Must be the spearmint and peppermint. Your feet feel like they've been totally rejuvenated after this scrub. I think I've mentioned before that there was one time that I used it after walking around A LOT in Hong Kong (where I bought this). After one scrub, I was ready for another day of being a tourist around that island! But let's be honest --- after a few hours of walking the next day, I was really, really tired. Lol! It makes you feel better, but it doesn't physically strengthen you or anything after all.


(3) Hand Scrub
Thanks to my boyfriend for getting me the 60 Second Fix from Crabtree & Evelyn. I didn't ask him to, it was a random surprise sweet gift. :)

Start with the La Source Hand Recovery Treatment...

You only need a little bit of the solution. As with Lipscription, you can't really see the buffing beads in the solution, but as you keep rubbing your hands together with the solution, you start to see the "grains" forming. Keep rubbing them until the beads have disappeared. While you are rubbing your hands together, the grains seem to be excreting some kinda oil, because I can already feel my hands feeling softer already! Also, as with Lipscription, this product also seems to be fragrance-free.

Finally, finish off with the Hand Therapy tube. It's just like moisturising cream... But guarantees silky smooth hands that last quite a while. :)

Are there any good scrub products that you are using? Care to recommend any?

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