Searching for a Lush store is quite simple. Lift your head, sniff the air and follow your nose. At least that’s how I used to do it in London. I used to pick up stuff for friends and I knew there was a store in Covent Garden but wasn’t sure where, so I just sniffed the air and voila! It brought me right to the steps of the store, before I start sneezing. Boy! Lush stores do smell strong!
I’m not sure if it works the same way in Singapore, which is the closest place for us to get Lush handmade cosmetics. In fact we don’t even have to leave the country, because the online Lush Singapore store ships internationally. Don’t all stampede over there now yes? At least finish reading my post first
I was recently sent a couple of Lush items to try, and also told about the international shipping thing. Like searching for the store, you will know when your Lush package is here. The distinctive scent emanating from within the box is all you need to know!
The last few times I was in London, I picked up some of the soap bars to try, but I eventually learnt that my favourite Lush item is the Happy Hippy shower gel. I never reviewed it did I? Darnit! Its good stuff! It smells gloriously of citrus and grapefruit and is such a happy scent. I used to buy the little 100ml bottles so I could carry them around with me. I can’t even stock it up because these things have little preservatives and will expire quite quickly. So, its good to know I can now get it closer to home So what did I end up with this time? 2 very interesting products – Karma Komba solid bar shampoo and Angels on Bare Skin.
Karma Komba Solid Shampoo – S$19.50/55g
Solid shampoo – how very fascinating!
Until I read the instructions on the label, I honestly thought this was a bar of soap! I somehow like that its green and there is a strong fresh orange and slightly musky patchouli smell to this. (Don’t worry, your hair does not turn green although it would be totally cool if it did!) Each Lush item is handmade, and so you can expect each item to look slightly different. Their soap bars are hacked off giant bars, depending on the weight you want (they are sold by weight) so its all very rough and ready and natural looking.
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to like this one very much. I tried a solid shampoo once that left my hair feeling like straw. Karma Komba however didn’t. I deliberately did not use a conditioner after shampooing, and my hair didn’t feel dry even after using it for about a week straight. That’s quite impressive.
Also its really easy to use. The instructions say to wet your hair and rub the bar 3 times around your head and lather. That’s so mystical – what if I rubbed 4 times? Maybe my hair will fall off. Whilst a cute idea, I opted not to do so, and just rub it in my hands and then rub the foam into my hair. It will lather up some more on your hair, and washes out nicely and cleanly. Hair and scalp feels clean and my hair did feel very nice.
If you don’t leave it in your shower, and store it properly it will dry out and like soap, it can last you quite a while. I seem to have gotten the hang of it, so I can see myself using this again. What I’d like to do the next time I travel, is to hack off a small bit and take it along with me. It takes up less space, doesn’t flout the airline carry on liquid requirements, and would be easy to pack, while smelling good. Winning all around!
Ingredients: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate), Cocamide DEA (Cocamide DEA), Perfume (Perfume), Patchouli Oil (Pogostemon cablin), Sweet Orange Oil (Citrus sinensis), Lavandin Oil (Lavandula hybrida), Pine Oil (Pinus syvestris), Lemongrass Oil (Cymbopogon citratus), Elemi Oil (Canarium commune), Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), Citral (Citral), Geraniol (Geraniol), Citronellol (Citronellol), *Limonene (*Limonene), *Linalool (*Linalool), Colour 42045 (Colour 42045), Roman Chamomile Flowers (Anthemis nobilis)
Angels on Bare Skin – S$21.50/100g
I must confess that I’d never heard of this bestselling Lush product. I must also confess that I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do with it as the tub had just a plain label on it with ingredients and nothing else. Was I supposed to use it to shower? As a body lotion? As a body scrub? Could I EAT it? Tell me it doesn’t look like oatmeal It even smelled yummy to me, smelling of orange peel. That was the one scent that struck my nose.
It turns out that Angels on Bare Skin is a FACE cleanser! Did you guess that? Could have fooled me! I had to resort to looking it up on the website to see what it was for LOL!
The other problem I had is that the website does not tell you how to use this product so I then resorted to the all-mighty Google and it was very simple.
- Scoop out a tiny amount. I just pick out an amount roughly the size of a small coin. I learnt that you do not need very much. It feels a bit like raw dough.
- Add some water and it will turn white and start to melt.
- Rub your hands together and it will turn into something approximating a lotion with bits in it
- Apply on skin and gently rub in circles.
- Rinse and be amazed.
I must admit that the first time I tried it, I wasn’t super thrilled when I applied it to my skin. It felt a bit odd. It wasn’t slippery the way a face cleanser usually is, it doesn’t lather up and didn’t feel like it was making my skin very clean. But persevere because I promise you, the results are worth it.
When I rinsed off the product, I could not help touching my skin over and over because it felt baby smooth. Look in the mirror and your skin looks clearer, as if you had just taken an exfoliator to it, except that it feels lovely and dewy and moisturised and not dry. It feels like an angel’s kiss on bare skin. Seriously impressive.
The clean feeling can, I suppose be attributed to the Kaolin clay, and I don’t know why I smell orange peel because it isn’t in the list of ingredients. Lavender and Rose Oil is, but I don’t smell them. The bits in the product are dried Lavender flowers and I believe it performs an exfoliating function hence the super clean and smooth feel to skin.
I think this will travel well too. Just grab a little bit of it, stick it in a little baggie and you’re good for a few days. I was a little worried about using it daily because of the exfoliating properties, but I tried it anyway. I don’t use it in the morning because it does feel like a bit more work, so I use it in the evening as part of my double cleansing routine.
Personally, I don’t think this does that great a job if you do not first remove all your makeup. It is not a makeup remover. However, as part of a double cleansing routine, it feels lovely and although used everyday, not drying at all!
Ingredients: Ground Almonds (Prunus dulcis), Glycerine (Glycerine), Kaolin (Kaolin), Water (Aqua), Lavender Oil ((Lavandula angustifolia)), Rose Absolute (Rosa damascena), Chamomile Blue Oil (Matricaria chamomilla), Tagetes Oil (Tagetes minuta), Benzoin Resinoid (Styrax tonkinensis pierre), Lavender Flowers (Lavandula angustifolia), *Limonene (*Limonene), *Linalool (*Linalool)
In a nutshell
Lush is a brand of fresh handmade cosmetics from the UK. They are famous for their handmade soaps and bath bombs, and also their Gorilla perfume. My personal favourite is the Happy Hippy shower gel. Of the 2 items I tried recently – Karma Komba and Angels on Bare Skin, I would be more likely to repurchase Angels on Bare Skin simply because I think its absolutely lovely to use, and my skin seems happy with it. I quite like the Karma Komba solid shampoo but it takes some getting used to and although I think it very useful for travel, I don’t quite travel enough these days. Otherwise, this was quite a brilliant reintroduction to Lush.
Pros: Karma Komba solid shampoo did not dry out hair or scalp and left hair feeling clean, Angels on Bare Skin face cleanser left skin feeling like a baby’s bottom!
Cons: Karma Komba solid shampoo can be fiddly if you aren’t used to it, Angels on Bare Skin face cleanser can be hard to get the hang of initially and is a bit messy to use because of the bits, Shipping is rather pricey
Who will like this: Angels on Bare Skin for anyone who wants to try a face wash that cleanses and exfoliates without leaving skin dry, Karma Komba for anyone who wants to try a shampoo that doesn’t dry out hair or scalp and is very travel friendly
There is so much at Lush now that’s new. I used to remember only their soap bars and bath bombs being very popular. I tried a Porridge soap that I liked on my skin, but which I think didn’t do well in our warm weather. Generally, most of the products are quite strongly scented and if you like sweet scents, there is a veritable storeful of products to choose from. If you aren’t quite a fan of strong sweet food scents (and I’m not) there is also a selection available, just a little smaller. It will please you then to know that neither of the products I have featured here have strong sweet food scents Shopping online has its benefits, provided you know what you want. Sometimes the smell in store can be quite overwhelming. The basement of the Covent Garden store floors me everytime
Have you tried either Karma Komba or Angels on Bare Skin? Do you have a favourite item from Lush?
Mine is, as I’ve said over and over, Happy Hippy shower gel. If you like citrus scents you will love it. As I mentioned right at the top, the Lush Singapore online store ships to Malaysia and internationally. They use UPS so shipping is pretty pricey – ouch! Shipping is based on weight so naturally, the more and heavier the items you order, the pricier it gets. The upside is that it gets to you quickly. Looks like my Happy Hippy purchase will have to wait. However, until 31 October 2012, there is free international shipping for purchases of S$200 and up so erm… get some friends together and make the most of it!
Lush Cosmetics Karma Komba Price: S$19.50/55g Angels on Bare Skin Price: S$23.50/100g Availability: Lushsg.com ships to Malaysia and internationally