Another Lush Rush

Let me preface this by saying that I have overly sensitive olfactory receptors, meaning I have a nose like a Blood Hound.  I can sniff out the faintest ingredients in just about anything (including bloodthirsty people), so when I take home a new bath gel from Lush, my nose goes into aromatic overdrive.  So far, I have indulged in five Lush-ious bath gels...each one having its own unique sensory personality.  

The Olive Branch:  The Lush girl at the Ala Moana store convinced me to buy the largest, 16.9 ounce bottle with a promise that I would feel as pampered as a rich chick at an expensive day spa.  At home that evening, with the shower running as hot as I could take it, I put The Olive Branch to the spa test.  The first scent that I encountered was along the lines of Seville orange with a delicate hint of sea salt.  With a subtle touch of olive oil, this gel doesn't give up much lather, but it cleanses gently and with a genuine moisturizing quality.  After drying off, I noticed a healthy sheen on my skin, as well as a lingering Mediterranean fragrance that, as promised by my faithful Lush girl, did indeed leave me feeling like a spa-pampered rich chick.

Flying Fox:  Now this little vixen of a bath gel floats my proverbial boat.  From the bottle, I get a pleasant jasmine rush, followed by a hint of honey, but in a steamy shower...POW!  It actually makes my head swirl as I take in the transition of fragrances.  Intoxicating, pure romance in a bottle sums it up.  I even rinse a bit into my hair, which makes the scent linger for the whole day.

Dirty:  The ironic twist in this gel is that Dirty gets you really clean.  It's ocean meets mint.  You'll get a fresh wake-up feeling, even at midnight.

Twilight:  Speaking of midnight...this is it.  Warmth exudes from this mysterious bottle of lavender and vanilla fusion.  It even sparkles!  The problem with this gem, however, is that it's seasonally offered during Christmas only.  Bah humbug!

Ponche:  And speaking of seasonal, here's Ponche.  It's supposed to take on a Mexican fruity Tequila punch, but to me it smells more like the syrupy fruit punch you find at a kid's birthday party. Not that I really want to leave the shower smelling like a Tequila Sunrise, but I also don't want to draw a playground full of sugar-honing kids to my side either.  Perhaps since Lush products are mixed and prepared by individual people, maybe my batch was mixed by a lightweight shower gelista.  Sorry Ponche, I'm not sure I'll be giving you a second chance this Christmas.

So here I am, ready to get back to Lush for some new gels.  Am I completely out of the ones I already have?  Of course not!  But in order to keep on blogging about Lush, it is my official duty to go there and allow my curious nose to sniff itself silly.

Gushing All Over LUSH!

Tonight's LUSHiious purchase

I probably would have never discovered LUSH products if it weren’t for a student I once taught in the 8^th grade.  She was actually working at Nordstrom that day, but when I told her I was looking for a gift for my teenage niece, she told me to go straight to LUSH.  I had never heard of the place, but she assured me that I would be pleasantly surprised. 

I was.

When I entered the shop, a genuinely pleasant employee greeted me and asked if this was my first time to the store.  I told her it was and that I was looking for a gift suitable for a teenage girl.  She took me straight to the open bins of bath bombs and told me about them as I picked up and sniffed each one.  I wanted to buy them all, almost forgetting that I was not there for my own indulgence and that I didn’t have access to a bathtub at home anyway.  With obvious pride in her company, she explained to me how LUSH products are famous for their minimal use of packaging and how they make their products from fresh fruit and vegetables, the finest essential oils, and safe synthetics.  I wound up buying two bath bombs for my niece:  Blackberry and Sakura.  Each bomb cost $6.45, and the friendly Lush girl told me they could be broken in half to last longer.  I bought two more for myself—Space Girl and The Enchanter—figuring I could take them on my upcoming trip to the mainland and soak myself silly in someone else’s tub.

But it didn’t end there.  No, LUSH girl encouraged me to explore the rest of the shop, and explore I did.  Starting with the hair products, I found an impressive array of shampoo bars, of which she promptly asked me if I’d like to sample.  She filled a bowl of warm water and lathered up a fragrant 2-in-1 bar called Godiva and proceeded to shampoo and condition the hairs on my forearm (proud to be half Portuguese!).  Assuring me the bar would last at least three months (which it did), she convinced me to give it a try for a reasonable $10.95.  I also bought a warming scalp treatment bar, curiously named Snake Oil, at $8.95.      

Since that first LUSHious experience, I have returned religiously, trying something new each time.  I even went there tonight and was treated, as always, like I was the most important customer in the world by a yet another very impressive LUSH girl named Colleen.  So start saving your LUSH money and stay tuned for more deLUSHious blogs.