My first trip to Lush...

As if getting married wasn't the highlight of my trip, I finally got to go to LUSH! I went to the one in Portland in the super hip and cool area of NW 23rd Ave. Here's the stuff I bought ...

Trichomania - Solid Shampoo

LUSH WEBSITE LISTED FEATURES:

· Encourage better behavior: Perfect for gaining control of dry, curly, and frizzy hair once again. 

· Coconut crazy: We love the way that creamed coconut gives moisture to dry, out of condition hair. 

· Calming vetivert: Your frazzled hair and mind will thank you for using our solid shampoo made with vetivert oil.

SHIA'S THOUGHTS:

Let me first say that this and the solid conditioner were the two items I was super excited to try, also, knowing that I was visiting Lush early on in our trip, I packed minimal shampoo and conditioner.  With that said, I just have to be honest.  This stuff is HORRIBLE!  Luckily I didn't use this until AFTER the wedding.  It doesn't really soap up.  When I was done, I literally had a rat's nest of tangles from 1 cm down from my scalp all the way to my ends.  My hair was pretty long (cut it all off after wedding) and my arm ACHED when I was done brushing and the amount of hair in my brush afterwards was down right scary.  The build up from the shampoo was horrible as well.  My hair felt thick and greasy.  It does smell nice but it definitely doesn't do anything positive for curly, dry and frizzy hair like it boasts.  It makes your hair manageable alright - you either pull it all out brushing it afterwards or cut it off.  Okay to be fair I didn't cut my hair because of it.  Well not the ONLY reason.

Jungle - Solid Conditioner

LUSH WEBSITE LISTED FEATURES:

· Vitamin K: Kumquats are rich in calcium and vitamins, including vitamin C, which has antioxidant properties. 

· Made by hand: Fresh bananas and avocados are mashed into every batch to condition the hair.

· Dual purpose: Our preservative and packaging-free solid conditioner also doubles as a shaving cream for your legs.

SHIA'S THOUGHTS:

So again, I had the HIGHEST hopes for this stuff and well ... it is HORRIBLE.  It is like rubbing a rock on your head expecting magic to happen.  I don't really know which one is worse ... the shampoo or the conditioner.  Actually, I would say the conditioner, at least your hair gets greasy from the shampoo so you know SOMETHING happened.  Also, when preparing for this post, I saw where Lush says you can use it as shaving cream.  So last night, I gave that a go.  Well the scent of this product is really strong and even after my shower, Paul kept saying ... wow that stuff is powerful.  My nose itched all night from the scent overload - it was horrible.  It isn't even really a pleasant scent so that makes it even worse with the overpowering smell.

Curly Wurly - Shampoo SAMPLE

LUSH WEBSITE LISTED FEATURES:

· High wattage: Loads of coconut, richly moisturizing cocoa butter and lemon juice add massive shine.
· Nuts for coco: Extra virgin coconut oil is deeply hydrating for the scalp and conditions the hair follicles from root to tip.
· Hair food: Avocado Butter is highly nutritious and protein-rich for hair in need of a overhaul.

SHIA'S THOUGHTS:

Goop - that is all I can say.  It just feels like a big blob of goop when you put it in your hair ~ it doesn't distribute like shampoo and doesn't work.

Twilight - Bath Bomb

LUSH WEBSITE LISTED FEATURES:

· Herbal tonic: Lavender acts as nature’s melatonin to relax your mind for a more restful sleep. 

· Bedtime story: Take the bitter edge off of sleeplessness with sweet tonka absolute, vanilla’s saucier cousin.
· Comforting and relaxing: Ovaltine is added for soothing, creamy bath water; our version of a warm glass of milk before bed.

SHIA'S THOUGHTS:

I absolutely love this!  It smells great and I love how it changes different colors.  It does have glitter in it but it didn't seem to be a problem after the bath ... you know like showing up on everything.  I split it between two baths but you have to be careful when doing so because it just melts under the tap.  As for relaxing ... it definitely is.  I used it the first time after hiking and it soothed my sore muscles.  The second time was after a long day of driving.  I literally felt like a monkey in a cage and the second we got to the hotel - I soaked in the bath and it was HEAVENLY!  My grumpy mood ... GONE!  I felt so relaxed and at peace.

A French Kiss - A Bubble Bar

LUSH WEBSITE LISTED FEATURES:

· One way ticket: Escape to the rolling hills of Provence in mounds of fluffy bubbles.
· Sleep tight: A relaxing soak to get you round the bases and drift off into sweet dreams.
· Herbal tonic: Lavender is often used to relax and calm the mind, and aids in restful sleep.

SHIA'S THOUGHTS:

Again, I absolutely love this stuff.  The lavender smell is heavenly.  The little lavender sprig floating around in the tub is a little weird but I just picked it out and tossed it in the trash.  The bubbles weren't too much and actually faded away in a decent amount of time.  I split this one between too baths as well.  It's a little less messy than the twilight and I think the scent stays on your skin a bit longer than twilight as well.

Buffy - Body Butter

LUSH WEBSITE LISTED FEATURES:

· For your buffing pleasure: Our best-selling body butter is so popular we make in two sizes. 

· Rough stuff: Slay your bum, thighs, legs and anywhere you want to smooth. 

· Smooth like butter: Shea butter is moisturizing, emollient and incredibly softening on skin.

SHIA'S THOUGHTS:

LOVE IT!  When I found this stuff I was super excited.  Before the wedding I had started applying shea butter to my arms after every shower because my arms get a red dry and little bumps.  The shea butter was eliminating that and helping my super dry elbows.  This product is an exfoliator and shea butter in one.  It also as a nice hydrating oil in it as will.  I used it before my wedding and my arms were SUPER smooth.  It works well on your entire body for smooth skin.  It is a definite must for anyone with dry areas.  It smells nice as well.  Funny but a little disturbing story from our trip - so we were traveling the Oregon Coast and the towns along the way are quite small and hotel options are slim.  So we stayed at a Best Western and I took a shower ... using my fab Buffy stuff.  The next morning ... the entire shower was full of black ants that were piled high on the remnants of the product on the floor of the shower.  We ended up getting a sizable discount on that room and I did feel a tad guilty like I lured them to their deaths.

Therapy - Butter Bar

LUSH WEBSITE LISTED FEATURES:

· Naturally effective: Naturally Therapy with natural, organic butters and oils to make you feel good again. 

· Naturally Butter up: Naturally The Fair Trade, organic cocoa butter sinks in and moisturizes while giving your skin glide. 

· Naturally Strong scents: Naturally Neroli and lavender are reputed to have a strengthening effect on the elasticity of the skin.

SHIA'S THOUGHTS:

Okay in all honesty - I haven't tried this yet and I keep forgetting I have it.  The buffy stuff works so well that you don't need anything after you shower.  I bought this because I hate lotion.  I hate the gooey feeling you get between your fingers ... the greasy feeling afterwards ... everything about lotion ... I hate.  I've tried countless lotions and I've always thought ... why don't they make it in a spray like sunscreen or in a bar that I just rub on.  Well TADA!  The one thing I can relay about this is that the bar smells lovely.  I am absolutely in love with lavender if you haven't noticed and I can never get enough.  I'll make you a deal ... I will use this soon and report back ... until then ... if you have used this ... let us know what you think!

Tins - for shampoo, conditioner, buffy & therapy - $3.95 for each!

LUSH WEBSITE LISTED FEATURES:

NO MORE MELTY BARS

Keeping your body butters right in the shower can turn out a little, well, melty. After all, they’re made of cocoa and shea butters (which do keep your skin really lovely) that will melt under heat and water. Keep your bars in these tins (and away from the shower spray) to ensure they don't melt down the drain.

SHIA'S THOUGHTS:

Complete waste of money ... as you can see I bought FOUR of them - so on top of pricey prices for all my finds I tacked on another $4 per item.  You don't need it.  Just use the wax paper bags the products some in and don't store them in the shower.  The products will dry back to a solid and store fine without the tins.  The tins are actually hard to open and you have to leave them open for days to let the product dry because moisture gets trapped.  Also, Lush prides itself on stating that they are made from recycled aluminum but I noticed after purchasing that they had little stickers on the back that stated "Made in China".  That was a little disheartening.  A company that prides itself on so many things like Free Trade, no animal testing, all natural, recycled, etc. then uses mass production in China?  I mean we've all heard about the horrible work conditions over there ... ahem ... Apple.  Not you too Lush :-(

All in all - the trip was great.  I loved being in there smelling, touching and sampling everything!  I am buying more soon!  Also, I took pics of products I want to try but didn't want to break the bank on my first trip to Lush - so more reviews soon.

Do you use any of these?

What do you think?

What's your fave Lush product?