March Favorites and Not So Favorite

There are some products that I reach for over and over again.  There are other products that I use to excess and then I get bored with them. Unfortunately there are products that are duds from the get go.  Some things are so great I want to share with you, but I don't have enough experience with them to warrant a whole blog post.  Each month I want to share with you my favorites and not so favorites.  Some I may have already shared with you and others may be new.

The nail polish color that has been my go to color this month has actually been a combination of two colors; OPI's Last Friday Night layered over OPI's Teal the Cows Come Home.  A fun blue combination that literally will blow your socks off in the sun.

  Last Friday Night is part of the Katy Perry collection that OPI released earlier this year.  It a transcluscent blue gel with beautiful blue, teal and silver glitter. I most appreciate the fact that the polish has a sophisticated edge to it.  It doesn't scream, "craft store accident".  Last Friday Night is the perfect "fix it" polish.  Any time I have a polish that just isn't working for me, I can slap a coat of Last Friday Night on, and what was once boring is transformed into something amazing.  If you like glitter polishes, Last Friday Night is an absolute MUST HAVE!

I'm still searching for my HG Drugstore Mascara.  I may have found it this month, and I'll let you know after further testing and wear.  Hate to tease you with that, but...

Lately my 10 year old daughter has been asking me to straighten her hair.  Not wanting to fry her hair I have been looking for a protectant spray that works well in her wavy hair AND my own defy the rules of gravity locks.  got2b Guardian Angel Protect 'N Flatten has worked really well for us.  It protects your hair up to 420 degrees and after running the flat iron through, you are left with a lustrous shine, no crunchies.  It does have a rather strong fragrance, but that rapidly dissipates and doesn't bother me at all.  For $6.99 a bottle, I don't see any reason to look further.  got2b makes a spray for use with a curling iron and I'm not really sure what the difference is, but I may give it a try after I break down and buy a clampless curling iron.

Perhaps my biggest disappointment this month has been my MAC Viva Glam Gaga II lipglass and lipstick.  I was really looking forward to this release as the promotional shots are gorgeous.  Granted I'm no Lady Gaga, but goodness these are hard colors to wear.  They are nude, not just R rated nude, more like XXX.  I don't regret the purchased though as 100% of the $14.50 purchase price goes to the MAC AIDS Fund.

As much a I love Lush, not everything they make is wonderful.  Turkish Delight Body Polish is a complete dud in my opinion.  The fragrance is what lured me in.  A beautiful rosy scent that literally draws my mind to a field of dew dropped rose petals.  Turkish Delight is the most expensive of the Body Smoothies that Lush produces, and at $29.50 for 7 oz I really hesitated purchasing it. Now I really wish I hadn't.  It leaves a film on your skin that is NOT moisturizing and in fact makes you feel dirty (not in a good way).  I still love the fragrance, but that doesn't even have the courtesy to linger on your skin.

Did you have any great finds in March?  Did any products disappoint you?  Tell me about them.

Lush Love-Part Deux

The love keeps going.  I've told you about the Bubble Bars, and those aren't even my favorite Lush products.  What girl or guy doesn't love a scented bubble bath?  Sometimes though, that's not enough.  You may need a little stimulation/refreshment or even just a soothing soak that leaves your skin feeling like silk. Those are the times that I reach for the bath bombs or the Bath Melts.

The bath bombs which Lush is so known for, are perhaps my least favorite item.  I do love the drama of them bubbling and fizzing away in my tub, but most of them dry out my skin. Some of the bath bombs are filled with flowers, glitter and other surprises that quite honestly make cleaning the tub afterwards a pain.  I do like the Butterball bath bomb.  It's a vanilla scented bomb loaded with chunks of cocoa butter that melt in your tub keeping your skin soft.  It lightly scents your skin and you can even skip the body lotion after your bath.  Perfect for how lazy I feel after a nice relaxing soak.

Sex Bomb intrigued me, not just because of it's name, but for the paper flower that was supposed to float in the tub after the bomb did its thing. I was picturing a pink tub with a beautiful rose floating around.  Sex Bomb was a complete bomb (come on you knew that was coming!).  The flower dissolved into mushy chunks, that reminded me of mucous. Nasty.  Of all the bombs this is the one that really left my skin dry and itchy.  It did offer dramatic sizzle and fizz as it dissolved, but that show was over in minutes.  All show and no substance.

 For an invigorating bath the Avobath fits the bill.  It's made with lemongrass oil and avocado.  The scent may be overwhelming to some, but I really enjoy the zippy citrus scent of lemongrass.  The avocado is supposed to moisturize your skin, but not in any way that I noticed.  It tints the bath a pretty green shade.

Dragons Egg is perhaps the most fun of the bunch.  It makes all kinds of crackling, fizzy sounds as it dissolves and changes colors.  Its starts off as a mottled white, turning into a bright tangerine foam that gives way to a glittery golden sheen.  The bomb releases confetti into the tub.  The confetti is made out of the same unpleasant material as the Sexbomb rose. The scent is that of an orange creamsicle, but not overwhelmingly so.  Be warned, ultra fine glitter all over the textured bottom of a tub is VERY difficult to clean.  This one makes a nice gift-someone else can do the cleaning.

Frog Prince is a Valentines special, which really isn't all that special.  Its a green frog, with red cocoa butter lips that quickly dissolve into your tub.  It promises to dissolve into a prince and it does...kinda.  Floating in your tub, you'll find a little piece of paper with a cartoon prince on it.  Whatever...

So far my absolute fave have been the Bath Melts.  Think bath oil in solid form, again saving on the packaging.  Ceridwens Cauldron is the one that I have bought repeatedly.  Lush describes it as, "an enchanting potion of oats, lavender and sandalwood".  Supposedly if you spit in the water 3 times your wish will come true.  Haven't tried that yet, let me know if it works for you.

One of the things I really like about Ceridwens Cauldron is that it comes wrapped in muslin.  So once the actual bar melts, you're left with a little bag filled with oats and flower petals that do a lovely job exfoliating the skin. The scent is mild, so if strong fragrances bother you, this might be the one for you to try. Like a lot of other Lush products, this one is Vegan.

MMM Melting Marshmallow Moment is a sweet smelling Bath Melt, not unlike the Creamy Candy Bubble Bar without the bubbles. The 2 of them together would make for a really nice bath, albeit a rather expensive one.  I easily can get 2 baths out of a single MMM Melting Marshmallow Moment.

The Dreamtime Bath Melt has a warm cozy scent.  It's perfect for those candle lit baths with a glass of wine.  While I can get 2 baths out of it, I prefer the feel of an entire melt in the tub.  Pure Luxury.

Cocoa butter, mango butter and avocado butter make up You've Been Mangoed, probably the most cheerful of the bunch.  This is the Bath Melt to reach for when you want to bring a smile to your face.  I haven't tried it yet, but I have heard that if you cut it into thin slices,  it makes a great body butter rubbed into your skin.

The Bath Melt that I really wanted to like was Happy Blooming.  Its segmented into 3 sections that you can snap off easily.  Three baths out of 1 melt and the sweet smell of cherries, what's not to like?  Well, the 1 wedge wasn't enough for my tub, the smell was rather artificial and the actual melt never completely dissolved in the tub.  It left a pinkish film clinging to bottom of the bath.  That might of been the calamine powder, but it was annoying none the less.  I'm thinking this would be a good one to keep on hand for skin irritations, but otherwise I just wasn't impressed. Kids might enjoy this one though, it turns the water a bright pink.

Last time I was in Lush I picked up a couple of their other products and I'll let you know about them after I've played with them for a bit.  I've got a fresh face mask sitting in the refrigerator, a shower gel hiding in the medicine cabinet (can't let the hubby use it all) and a luscious rose scented body smoothie waiting to be lathered on.  Wish me luck!

Lush Love-Part One

I've seen the stores for years and have resisted the urge to go in. The bins full of bath bombs and logs of soaps just did nothing to intrigue me.  I mean really, an entire store that only sells bath bombs and bars of soap?  I figured they'd be out of business in a blink of an eye.  Well a decade later, I finally wandered into my first Lush store.  I'm thinking now it was probably a good thing I waited so long.

For those of you who are fragrance sensitive, this is not the place for you.  The smells in the store can be overwhelming and this is not a company that is interested in doing fragrance free. In fact, just being in the shop can be frustrating, since so many of their products are things that aren't familiar to the average person.

Sure, most of us know what bath bombs are and bars of soap are pretty self explanatory. Bath Melts, Massage Bars, Shower Jellies and Solid Shampoos are not something I'm real familiar with.  Even the bath bombs intimidated me. According to the web site, they make at least 42 different bath bombs, and I'm pretty sure my local Lush store had most of them.  One entire wall was covered in baskets of them stacked 3 deep! 

Have no fear though, Lush hires some of the most helpful sales people out there (think Nordstroms ten years ago). Friendly but not pushy, they helped me pick out a few bath bombs (bath ballistics to those in the know) suggested I try a few Bubble Bars (they make more then 30!) and Bath Melts.  Of course with Sierra there, it wasn't possible to leave without letting her pick out something for her bath. 

Now a month later and two return visits, I'm an addict. The Bubble Bars are crazy fun.  They tint your bath a lushious (sorry, couldn't resist) color and give you amazing long lasting bubbles.  The scents are divine and it's just a matter of finding your favorite one.  Bubble Bars are simply bubble bath in solid form.  By making the bubble bath solid they are able to eliminate the use of preservatives and packaging.  The Bubble Bars are filled with soothing oils that keep your skin from drying out like it can with so many other bath products.

The biggest draw back to the Bubble Bars is that they are rather expensive.  At best you might get 4 baths out of a bar and more likely 2 or 3 depending on the bar and the size of your tub.  They are a luxury, but then again so are baths,  shouldn't we make them as special as possible?

To get the most out of my bars, I cut them into several pieces.  I crumble them under the running water while I fill my tub.  You can get more bubbles out of your bar by placing it in a clean stocking and holding that under the running water. More bubbles are good, right?

 I really like the Magic Mushroom, but unfortunately it's only available around Valentines Day.  The top of the mushroom is strawberry and the stem is cream.  Soaking in a tub of strawberries and cream, pretty sweet!

The Comforter is a fun bar.  Its scented with cassis (black currant) and tints the tub a pretty berry shade. It's the largest of the Bubble Bars that I've tried.  I can easily get 4 baths out of it and the bubbles last longer then the water stays warm.

Amandopondo is a pretty little bar, with a dried rosebud nestled on top.  I only got 2 baths out of it and the scent (rose with lemon and orange oils) was extremely delicate. It was an enjoyable bath, but not a bar that I will buy again.

Creamy Candy Bubble Bar was sweet and the perfect girly bath.  The scent is creamy, I don't know how else to describe it.  Using a stocking I easily got 3 baths out of it.  I just love the candy flower on the top.

Using Lush products is something you can feel good about. They use only ingredients not tested on animals, use little to no packaging, use fresh and organic ingredients and ethically source their ingredients.  If you haven't succumbed to the lure of Lush, now may be the time.  The Bubble Bars are just the treat you deserve.