Celebrate Chinese New Year with Lush… Red Dragon Soap!

That’s right, Monday is Chinese New Year and Lush came out with a special (and very limited) edition Red Dragon Soap. It is made with Lush’s signature Karma scent which is a blend of patchouli and lavender. I used this at night and it is very calming and relaxing after a long day of work. While it doesn’t lather up to reveal a thick foam, the lather it creates is slightly creamy which makes it easy to spread. The gold shimmer also washes off immediately after you put it under running water. The shape of it is very cute. I love the dragon as it is perfect for Chinese New Year and also my mother was born in the year of the dragon.

Red Dragon Soap is now available at Lush for $7.95CAD.

Review/Swatches: Lush Lip Tint in Celebrate, Snow Fairy and Chilli Tingle

Lush released a couple of Limited Edition Lip Tints for Holiday in Celebrate, Snow Fairy and Chilli Tingle.

• Celebrate is an opaque, light blue-based pink with lots of champagne shimmer. It smells very sweet, like candy.
• Snow Fairy is a light sheer pink that is very “my lips but better” on me. This smells like cotton candy, like usual with Lush Snow Fairy.
• Chilli Tingle is a sheer orange-red tint and it smells like chocolate.

Celebrate was very densely packed with the champagne shimmer, to the point that it looks like I foiled my lips. The shimmer would migrate to my lip lines, which didn’t help my lips look less dry. There are little bits of candy (I think it’s candy) sitting on top of the pot that I would recommend you dump out before you use this, otherwise you’re going to be left with bits of candy stuck to your lips. I would probably skip this one.

I found Snow Fairy to be the most moisturizing out of the three. It is very sheer, but it still helps to even out my lip colour to create a very healthy look. I can see myself wearing this out during the day for a bit of colour for my face. In general, I like!

Chilli Tingle smells very delicious and perfect for the holiday season. It is an orange-red tint that stains my lips for long-lasting colour. The one I received was particularly hard and had to be warmed up in my fingers for a while before I could get some colour out of it. I found this one to be less moisturizing than Snow Fairy, but more moisturizing then Celebrate. It applied a little unevenly so gloss can help even out the colour a little.

These are the first lip tints I’ve tried from Lush and I am a little bit on the fence about the formula. I think Snow Fairy is great but Celebrate and Chilli Tingle could have been a little better. In the case of Chilli Tingle, it could have been the original formulation or just that batch that didn’t go so well. If you happen to have your eyes on these, I would recommend popping in store to check them out in person just to test and swatch it out for yourself before you decide to purchase or not.

Snow Fairy:

Celebrate:

Chilli Tingle:

Scrubbing your lips with POP ROCKS: Lush Lip Scrub in Pow Wow

I professed my love for Lush Lip Scrub a while back and today I’m here to share my thoughts one of Lush’s newest holiday offerings, the Lip Scrub in Pow Wow. Now I’m just gonna say it: you NEED to get one of these. This lip scrub is something I have never seen before because it scrubs your lips with, wait for it, POP ROCKS. Remember those popping candies that we all used to love to eat when we were kids? Yeah. This is not sugar with some pop rocks, it’s ALL pop rocks.

Pop rocks aside, this lip scrub smells and tastes delicious, like lime or something fruity. I must admit most of it went into my mouth instead of on my lips, but that’s totally fine because these are edible. I just lick it off after every scrub. The essential oils in the scrub make my lips smooth and manageable, especially in this cold, dry Canadian winter.

Also I remember the scrub I tried before was super dry and basically flaked off. They seemed to have fixed the issue, this one is a lot more moist and adhere better to the lips.

Ingredients:

Popping Candy (Isomalt, Lycasin, Carbon Dioxide), Organic Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia chinensis), Organic Rose Hip Oil (Rosa canina), Argan Oil (Argania spinosa), Lime Oil (Citrus aurantifolia), Spinach Powder (Spinacia oleracea), Goji Berry Decoction (Lycium barbarum), Ginseng Root Powder (Panax ginseng), Caffeine Powder (Coffea arabica), *Citral, *Geraniol, *Linalool, Spring Green Edible Tint (Yellow No. 10, Blue No. 1).

Recommend? Well, yes. It’s not a necessity but it is a nice to have. I just really love the part about the pop rocks (in case you haven’t realized yet). This is available now at Lush Canada for $8.95.

P.S. Did you know the Lush factory for all of North America is in Vancouver! I actually drove by a Lush building last week, wasn’t sure if it was an office of the factory, but that’s super cool!

My hair care routine… all thanks to Lush!

I discovered Lush seriously for the first time when I was in the UK last year. There were Lush stores in Vancouver but it was all so mysterious to me because it looked like an apothecary inside with all the nice scents mixed in together. When I went to the UK, I packed very lightly and only brought a small travel set of shampoo and conditioner which quickly ran out. Then one weekend when we had a weekend outing to Oxford, I stumbled upon a Lush shop that was doing a super generous promotion: buy £20 of stuff and get a free Christmas set (that was left over from after Christmas). This is when I discovered my love for Lush hair care!

I use Lush Rehab shampoo whenever I wash my hair, which is twice a week (I have very colour-damaged hair, which is why I try to wash my hair as little as possible). I used Lush Coolaulin Conditioner last year (2010) from January to September, which is how long a 250mL bottle lasted me. I used Retread Conditoner this year (2011) from January to April, which is how long the 245g tub lasted me. I’m currently using American Cream conditioner.

Lush Rehab Shampoo

• Texture & Scent: Runny liquid, kind of a jelly consistency but very runny. Smells minty
• Price: £15.50 for 500mL in UK, $39.95 for 500mL in Canada
• Effect: Cleans very very well, scalp feel refreshed and cleaned, no residue left over. Lathers very well!
• Overall: My absolute HG shampoo! This gets rid of every last big of dirt, grease and grim in the hair, leaving my hair and scalp feeling clean and refreshed. I’ve gone through one 250mL bottle and am 2/3 done another 500mL bottle. You don’t need very much to get a thick lather and the bubbles will stay bubbly for a long time (500mL will last you a year!). Completely and 100% recommend!

Ingredients: Sodium Alkyl Sulfate, Carrageenan Extract, Water, Ammonium Laureth Sulphate, Cocamide MEA, Perfume, Freshly Juiced Papaya, Propylene Glycol,Fresh Pineapple Juice, Fine Sea Salt, Fresh Kiwi Juice, Fresh Mango Juice,Organic Cold Pressed Jojoba Oil , Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Almond Oil,Lavender Oil, Peppermint Oil, Rosemary Oil, Juniperberry Oil, *Limonene,*Linalool, Benzyl Alcohol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben

Lush Coolaulin Conditioner (discontinued… sadly)

• Texture & Scent: Runny milky lotion, smells like coconuts
• Price: £11.70 for 500mL in UK, $29.95 for 500mL in Canada
• Effect: Keeps hair moisturized but light without residue
• Overall: I love this conditioner, which is why I was so sad when it got discontinued last year. This is very light, I believe one of the lightest of Lush’s conditioners. Because it is so light and runny, it completely absorbs into my hair, leaving it smooth and manageable, without feeling heavy or leaving residue. This is now available for a very limited time under Lush Retro! Get it NOW if you are looking for it!

Ingredients: Fresh Coconut Decoction, Water, Fresh Coconut Milk, Cetearyl Alcohol & Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Propylene Glycol, Lanolin, Fresh Organic Lemon Juice,Vetivert Oil, Benzoin Resinoid, Styrax Resinoid, Perfume, Cetrimonium Bromide

Lush American Cream Conditioner 

• Texture & Scent: Light whipped cream texture, becomes watery once in contact with hair, smells like synthetic cream with a hint of coconut
• Price: £13.50 for 500mL in the UK, $29.95 for 500mL in Canada
• Effect: Keeps hair smooth and manageable without residue
• Overall: This is one level up in terms of heaviness compared to Coolaulin. It is thicker in texture than Coolaulin, but still absorbs almost instantly into the hair. At first I didn’t like this as much because it felt heavier and the scent was really overwhelming, but it’s growing on me. I love how it doesn’t have any silicones in it so my hair is not weighed down and there is no residue. A second choice for me in terms of conditioners from Lush (after Coolaulin).

Ingredients: Honey Water, Vanilla Pod Infusion, Propylene Glycol, Fresh Organic Oranges,Cetearyl Alcohol & Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Fresh Strawberries, Perfume,Lanolin, Cetrimonium Bromide, Cetearyl Alcohol, Vanilla Absolute, Clary Sage Oil, Lavender Oil, Benzoin Resinoid, *Linalool, Coumarin

Lush Retread Conditioner

• Texture & Scent: Thick cream, smells like… cream. I don’t know how else to describe it
• Price: £9.50 for 245g in the UK, $27.95 for 245g in Canada
• Effect: Creamy, moisturizing, but too heavy
• Overall: I used this in the dead of winter in Ontario, which is when my hair needs the most moisture. I liked how it kept my hair static free all winter, but that was pretty much it. It is moisturizing, but way too heavy and made my hair grease up more easily compared to other conditioners I’ve used (not including the drugstore stuff). I like it, but this is definitely more of a once in a while treatment compared to a regular conditioner.

Ingredients: Agar Agar Gel, Propylene Glycol, Soya Milk, Cetearyl Alcohol & Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Fresh Cantaloupe Melon, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Perfume,Organic Yoghurt, Avocado Oil, Lanolin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetrimonium Bromide, Organic Jojoba Oil, Synthetic Musk, Violet Leaf Absolute, Orange Flower Absolute, Neroli Oil, Methyl Ionone, Methylparaben, Propylparaben

Overall I really enjoy using Lush hair care. I find that my hair is smoother and more manageable when I use this, compared to when I use other brands of shampoo/conditioner. I find that comparing this regime with my previous HG which was Shiseido Tsubaki Golden Repair, I still prefer Lush. The only problem I have with it is the extreme price discrepancy between the prices here and in the UK. I’m lucky that I have a cousin who helps me buy these in the UK and then bring them over for me when she visits each year, but for others it’s really inconvenient. Other than that… I LOVE LUSH!!

Sharks are FRIENDS! Not food =(

Being Asian, shark fin soup is an expensive delicacy that is a symbol of upper-class status. However, did you know how they get shark fin? Did you know that fishermen cut off the fin and then throw the whole shark, still alive, back into the water for it to suffocate itself to death because it cannot swim upright without its fin. There have been a couple of cities in North America that have already banned the sale of shark fin, for a good reason. Also because of the demand for this delicacy, it is estimated that the population of sharks over the next few decades is estimated to decrease by over 90%!

Lush Cosmetics is doing its part for this cause by selling Shark Fin Soap with 100% of the proceeds going to Shark Savers’ work to raise awareness for the conservation of sharks.

The soap is packed with seaweed extracts and sea salts, making your skin smooth and healthy. It also has a decorative paper shark fin to signify its cause. Shark Fin Soap is priced at $5.95 and is available for sale on the Lush website (USA, Canada) and in Lush locations across North America for as long as supplies last (AKA it is limited edition).

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