With school starting, I decided that it was time to up my skincare game, and ask different stores to recommend me a routine to try for a month. And bringing my favourites together to form my “Perfect” skincare routine. I decided to start off this whirlwind of an adventure with Lush cosmetics for a couple of different reasons. First of all, I’ve been very curious about their products for a while. Whenever I walked by a lush store, my friends and I always have to go in due to it’s alluring and sweet aroma. Secondly, it is affordable and environmental friendly, and they also frequently create ethical campaigns against animal testing and the usage of fresh products.
Before we begin, I would like to give a quick background on my skin. I have combination skin, meaning it is oily on the T-zone (forehead and nose) while dry on the U-zone (cheeks and chin). I do get an occasional pimple from time to time, but I was quite lucky, never having to deal with the “crazy” breakouts. And because of that, I’ve never been EXTREMELY self-conscious, just a little insecurity here and there when I have that big one. I’ve been using the La-Roche Posay Effclar Gel Cleanser as well as an Asian brand moisturizer, Cosrx Oil-Free Ultra-Moisturizing Lotion, with Birch Sap.
The items I was recommended:
Cleanser: Angels on Bare Skin
Toner: Eau Roma Water
Moisturizer: Vanishing Cream
Spot Treatment: Grease Lightning
Face Mask: Mask of Magnaminty
First I started off with the cleanser, Angels on Bare Skin, which is a clay-based cleanser. It was my first time trying out a clay-based cleanser, and I have to say it was pretty fascinating. In the beginning, it was a bit difficult to get used to as I had to kind of prep the clay in my palms before I put it on my face. There were also little bits of real lavender in the cleanser which was intriguing. Lavender is considered quite a controversial ingredient. Some believe it a natural irritant, while others swear by it. I’m excited to see how that will affect my skin.
I don’t have much to say about the toner, it comes out with a spray, smells terrific and feels refreshing. I enjoyed using it.
When the employee at lush recommended the Vanishing Cream to me, he told me that “A little goes a long way” and I have to agree with him on that. This moisturizer is the “lightest” moisturizer they had, and it still felt very rich and creamy on my skin and truly lived up to its name Vanishing Cream as it didn’t take long to soak into my skin.
I was recommended to use the spot treatment all over my face to help both heal pimples and prevent them at the same time. So that is precisely what I did. When I first used it, I was really surprised by how cold it was upon application. It also dried down to a pretty strangely comfortable texture, which was interesting.
Finally was the Mask of Magnaminty. As my skin can get quite sensitive at times, I only used it about once a week. The mask was refreshing, it had a muddy texture and was extremely cooling, even smelling like toothpaste I’d say. Though I have to admit, taking it off did cause a massive mess in my sink.
-Week 1-
As you can see in this photo, my pimples actually cleared up pretty quickly in one week. There is still a few around my nose and on my forehead, but my skin tone does look evener. I think around the fifth day of use, I did start finding the cleanser more and more of a drag to use. You really needed to prep the clay before using it and had to be careful using it around your eyes. Of course, it is never good to put products meant for the skin near your eyes. I found it really easy to accidentally get little grains of clay on your eyelid and such, leaving it a bit itchy and uncomfortable.
-Week 2-
During this week, my skin was looking great. It felt clear, soft and smooth. I did have a few scattered on the bridge of my nose and my forehead, however, it was barely noticeable. The only thing I noticed was once again, about the cleanser. I was already running low. I didn’t know if I was using too much, or if I was possibly using it incorrectly, but I went to go pick up another tub nonetheless.
-Week 3-
It was around this point that my skin began to act out. While you cannot tell in this photo, almost immediately the next day, a giant zit formed on my nose which was not uncommon for my skin as it soon cleared up in about two days. During this week, I was starting to find the moisturizer, despite being the lightest one, a little too heavy on my skin. Of course, it wasn’t a huge deal, but I was finding it a little uncomfortable.
-Week 4-
Last week! At this point, there were once again a lot of small bumps on my forehead and another large one next to my nose. The redness and irritable did grow quite a bit, and the area around my nose looks particularly angry. I tried to apply an extra thick layer of the spot treatment for days straight, but it really didn’t feel like it was helping.
What would I rebuy:
Out of the whole list of items I purchased, I think I would personally really keep and repurchase 2 of them. The first being the Mask of Magnaminty. I liked the texture and sensation of the mask, and even though it does cause quite a mess at times, it is quite common among masks like these so I don’t think it is particularly the product’s fault.
The other thing I would probably repurchase is the Eau Roma Water toner. I really enjoyed spraying the mist on my skin every morning and night. It was extremely relaxing and smelt amazing. I do also think it really helped with balancing out my skin tone.
Why wouldn’t I repurchase some of the items?
The Angels on Bare Skin Cleanser as I mentioned, it just runs out too fast and is a major hassle, as well as causing a mess in my sink with the leftover lavender pieces and pellets. I prefer product items that don’t take long to apply and require as little prep work as possible and I found the cleanser just wasn’t able to live up to that.
The Vanishing Cream, as I mentioned was a bit too heavy on my skin despite being the lightest option Lush has to offer. I also found the tub system of the cream a little bit unsanitary. Of course, one could always choose to use a spatula. But once again, I prefer products that are quick to apply and effective.
The Grease Lightning was the only product I found a bit ineffective. It felt great and soothing, but I don’t personally feel like it did anything for my skin. However I do know people such as a friend of mine who swears by that spot treatment, but I think I’ll continue looking.
The world of skincare is filled with trial and error, testing out different products as everyone has different skin types, needs and conditions. A product may have worked for me, but might have completely different results on yours. That being said, I am glad that I chose to test out the products of Lush, as I did come out with two items I like. Now, onward to the next series!
