Lush Review #2 featuring Jersey Bounce and other Oxford Street Exclusives

So as you may or may not have heard Lush opened their biggest shop in the world fairly recently and a few weeks ago I had the chance to go visit and pick up some of the exclusive goodies they released for the opening. I am not an expert on Lush products and these are merely my own responses to the products described, if relevant I will describe my hair/skin type alongside the product.

Jersey Bounce

This shampoo is a mixture of sea salt, honey, and egg among other things and feels a lot like Big when applied, however the effect is much, much nicer. My hair is naturally thin and straight which can often lead to flat, dry, and boring, but when I was using Jersey Bounce my hair was always and I mean always soft to the touch and full of volume. I cannot stress how good this product was for my hair and the only issue ended up being that I didn’t buy a big enough tub and I have now officially run out. However, like I said, this product is very similar to Big and so that is another possibility to use, but Big does not make my hair as soft and bouncy as Jersey Bounce did – but it’s a close second. This is a must buy for me and I would recommend it to everyone.

Damaged

Damaged is a one-use hot oil treatment and costs £6.50 per treatment and so it is not for the thrifty-natured among us. The vanilla in it makes this a dream of a treatment for me, since vanilla is my favourite scent, however after application and after following all the instructions I found that this treatment made no difference to my hair whatsoever. I also found the process of changing the solid chunk into hot oil very tedious, taking far longer than the recommended five minutes, but also it remained rather lumpy. Overall I would not recommend this treatment and believe that Lush has many cheaper and more effective hair treatment products available such as Roots and Shine So Bright.

Razzle Dazzle (no Lush website link available)

And finally, lets end with something sparkly! Now what attracted me to the bath oil Razzle Dazzle was its gorgeous colour. However, after buying and placing it in my Lush paper bag I began to notice that it begun to spread and stain the bag and even some of the other products within the bag, almost like it was already melting before I’d even got home. This didn’t put me off though, so I went home and placed it in a warm bath and laid there for a while, enjoying the vibrant colour it changed the water. The raspberry and lime smell was also extremely delightful. Then, when I got out of the bath, I noticed the product had stained my arms pink! It took a lot of scrubbing to get the colour off – not cool Lush. Though it was a meagre £2.00 I would not be recommending this to anyone, unless they want to look like a pink Smurf.

It’s Official – I’m a Lushie

That’s right, I’m making a blog post about the wonderful stuff that is Lush cosmetics. If you’re already a hardcore Lush consumer it won’t be news to you that this company is English-based, refuses to test on animals, tries to use mostly natural ingredients in their products, and responsibly sources the ingredients (Fair Trade), as well as using 100% recycled containers. If that isn’t already enough to convince you, I’ll go into a bit of detail about my experience of Lush and cover some products that I personally frequently use. Here we go!

How I started my Lush adventure

A friend of mine introduced Lush to me directly, taking me to a store around two years ago and at first I was bewildered. There were colourful lumps stacked on one table and bland, black and white packaging stacked on the other. I found it really confusing attempting to discern one thing from another, read through what each cosmetic did, and how you could even use it. (Solid shampoo bars? What the Lush?) I bought myself a bath bomb and some soap for myself and my friend and speedily left, feeling a bit confused as to why I’d wasted almost £4 on a bath bomb for a single use.

When I next bathed, I dropped the bath bomb in and I knew I hadn’t wasted my money.

The scent was heavenly, and if that hadn’t been enough, it made the bath water vibrant, colourful and left my skin feeling extremely soft. After that for the next two years I randomly visited Lush, trying different products and exploring my way through the shop until I’d tried almost everything they could offer – buying it myself, using a sample or discussing it with a salesperson.

My Favourite Products

Roots Hair Treatment:

It would perhaps be more pertinent to call this one a ‘scalp treatment’ instead, because it works with your scalp to affect your hair! The idea is that this treatment stimulates your hair follicles, causing your hair to have more volume and helping your hair to grow. That’s right grow. As a huge fan of long hair and long-time sufferer of trichotillomania, this was extremely appealing to me and ever since I bought it (about five months ago now) I can really see the impact. Not only that, but the wonderful minty smell is gorgeous and feels cool on my head. Some may view this treatment as expensive, but since it’s only used on the scalp, you actually use very little of it for a maximum effect and after almost half a year I’ve gone through about half the tub! Very good value.

Oatifix Fresh Face Mask:

WARNING as this product contains very fresh ingredients it MUST be kept in the fridge and used (typically) within three weeks of purchase. At £6.50 a pop it is not for those thrifty shoppers and is definitely not for use on a regular basis – just when you really feel like treating yourself. The product itself smells gorgeous, but also cleanses your skin, making it super smooth for a long while afterward. It does have a very strange texture – it’s made from oats after all – and looks rather bizarre on your face, but it is worth it for the outcome!

New Shampoo Bar:

No other shampoo bar compares to this one. Personally I adore the smell – cinnamony and spicy – but it also has done absolute wonders for my hair! I’ve only been using it for just over a month and already I feel the difference – my hair is growing quicker and thicker. However, the only downfall of this product is that it dries your hair out a lot! If you already have dry/curly hair this can be a nightmare, but even straight, oily hair (like mine) can be affected quite a bit by it! To overcome this (since I love New so much) I’ve begun using R&B which I won’t be reviewing since I haven’t been using it for long enough, but it is definitely worth looking at and checking out on the Lush website.

Mask of Magnaminty Face and Body Mask:

The first thing I would tell you about this particular mask is that you can use it on your body, that means that this is the perfect treatment for anyone with body acne or someone who gets the occasional breakout on their back/other body part. This mask not only helps with breakouts and skin imperfections, but exfoliates and generally leaves skin feeling cleaner and fresher after use. The minty smell is gorgeous and makes my face absolutely glow! It’s also one of the cheaper and longer lasting of Lush’s face masks too. Bargain!

Retread Conditioner:

This is possibly the simplest product on this list, but don’t underestimate it’s power! This is another one of those items that – while it’s expensive – lasts a long period of time, because you don’t need to use much of it! This conditioner is perfect for anyone with damaged hair from colouring or heat-styling, and while it isn’t a magic fix, it will help you get your hair back to the condition that you want it to be. I have been using this one for about 4 months now and I love it! It isn’t the best smell in the world, but it isn’t disgusting either and leaves my hair feeling super soft.

There you have it! If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I might just review more Lush products as I use them!