Lush It Started With A Kiss Lip Tint

Lip tints and stains aren't usually my thing because they're too drying  and tend to enhance imperfections. Most of them are more focused on staying power than on being kind to one's lips and it shows. Lush is attempting to revolutionize this with their It Started With A Kiss red lip tint. The element that sold me on this was the use of shea butter and coconut oil- this meant that Kiss would not be too drying, and indeed, the texture right of the tin is quite waxy. It melts on touch (hence the recommendation not to order it online during the hot months) and spreads easily giving the lips a coat of color.

The reddish color stays put nicely. It survives drinks and a snack and some of the stain is even dinner resistant though I'd rather reapply. I'm not very fond of the plumping tingle courtesy of cinnamon oil, and I know some people are especially sensitive to it, so take it into account. Thankfully it passes quickly. While I wouldn't say Kiss is as moisturizing as a lip treatment or a good balm, it is kind on the lips and doesn't dry them at all. As long as one's skin is in good condition, i.e. exfoliated and moisturized, the results are quite good.

The pinkish red shade (more cerise than apple) is not really my color. It would look better against fair skin. I use it under darker glosses with plum hues, so I get both the nice finish and adjust the color to suit me better. The scent, by the way, is a lot nicer than I expected (several Lush fragrant products make me jump out of my skin). It's on the yummy side, naturally, with white chocolate, cinnamon and apple. I'm not always in the mood for a big fat dessert on my lips, but I have to admit it's fun and has been growing on me with use.

More colors and a stick version (so one doesn't need to stick her finger in the tin) would have made it a favorite.

Bottom Line: Not really for me but very cute.

Lush It Started With A Kiss Lip Tint ($6.95) is available from Lush boutiques all over the world and online. A press sample was sent to me by the company.

All photos are mine.

Lush Full Of Grace Serum

In which I get creative.

I have a complicated relationship with Lush. There are a handful of products I love enough to tolerate their god-awful scent. The rest-  I could easily live without, especially since I find the smell of their stores mighty unpleasant. I was  pursuing Lush website as I needed to restock a couple of summer essentials (Dream Cream and Silky Underwear powder) and got curious about their solid serum bars. Not that I need another serum or that I had any intention to put this stuff on my face, but I was thinking it might be a very interesting hand product.

Which it is.

Full Of Grace (I love the name) is a smallish bar (about third the size of their body massage/lotion ones) that fits easily in your palm and melts as you touch it. It can get messy, but all you need is a quick rub between your hands to spread the product and coat your skin from cuticles to wrists. The serum feels very rich but sinks in immediately without any greasy residue. It softens the skin right away, including the rougher spots (mine are from typing). The back of my hands which I treat religiously with creams and lotions get a bit waxy for a while, but very soft. It's a nice feeling, overall.

The scent is that typical lush essential oil mess with a side of cheap soap, but it's not too strong or too bad and  I'm willing to deal with it because of the fabulous performance. I wouldn't want it on my face, though. I ordered this serum a couple of weeks ago when the weather was cooler and there was already some minor melting in the package. This is not something you can safely order during the hot months, so a trip to the smelly Lush store is recommended if you want to check it out.

Bottom line: Scent aside, even better than I expected.

Lush Full Of Grace Serum ($13.95, 0.7oz) is available from Lush stores and online (see my warning above).

Photo of my Gracie, just because.

Lush Dream Cream

It's not exactly a secret I have issues with the scent of many (most?) Lush products. Dream Cream isn't different in this regard and is probably one of the worst, scent-wise, but it performs so wonderfully I must talk about it.

Dream Cream is more of a lotion than a cream in the texture department, and absorbs quickly enough. It moisturizers with the best of them- just as good as my favorite L'Occitane shea butter cream, only much lighter. I didn't expect it to have a lingering effect, but it does and keeps skin calm and soft all day. It even helps tremendously with the horrible winter itch.

The scent, however, is horrible. It smells like a household detergent, and not an expensive one. I don't know which of the many essential oils in the ingredient list is responsible for the stench, but I can only describe this as a demented lavender. And it's strong enough that I have to wait at least 20-30 minutes before I can wear perfume. And even then, I'd recommend going with a green or herbal fragrance, preferably a masculine (Coriolan is a good choice here). I don't want to think about Dream Cream mixing with anything vanilla.

I've been using Dream Cream since last summer and lately have been finding myself reaching for it several times a week. I'll have to replenish soon, but the Lush website says it's out of stock at the moment. If you've seen the cream at your local Lush store please say so in a comment.

Lush Dream Cream ($22.55) should be available at Lush boutiques and normally it's online. Mine was a gift from my sister who shares my opinions about the high performance and stinkiness.

Insert Lemon Jokes Here- Lush Lemony Flutter

The best thing about Lush Lemony Flutter is the name. It sounds light and airy, and makes you think about fluffy things, like lemon meringue pie. You'll need to adjust your expectation before trying it, because this thick buttery cream smells more like a lemony shoe shine (I'm always amazed by Lush fanatics who claim the products smell "yummy". From my experience, the best I can hope for is pleasant).

It comes in a little pot you need to dip your fingers (germaphobes will shudder), and you only need very little to grease your scales. I'm unconvinced of its merit as a hand cream, because it takes too long to stop leaving prints on my keyboard (and it makes cat hair stick to my hands). It feels nice when the grease is gone, though.

I can see why you'd want to use in on calluses and anywhere that needs to be seriously buttered, so it's good to have around. It's just not a fun product and doesn't feel lush and luxirious. The small packaging is convenient, but I much prefer the travel size tubes from L'Occitane.

Lush products are available online and from their stores, the latter is where I bought mine ($13.25).

Lush Therapy Massage Bar

This chunk of solid body butter has recently become my favorite pelt softening item (for now. One doesn't become a beauty blogger without being promiscuous when it comes to products). Basically, this is cocoa butter with lavender and neroli oil, which means that the bar does a wonderful job moisturizing while smelling better than most Lush products I've ever tried.

They claim that it's good for scars and stretch marks, which is an attribute of cocoa butter, but I don't have any of the latter to test it, and my scars are still very much there after several weeks of use, so that's not why I'm so in love with this little bar. It's the way my legs and arms look and feel: like those of a normal person who has never resembled an exotic handbag in her life.

Since this is summer and a buttery feeling is not what I'm after when crossing my legs, I use a generous dose of Silky Underwear powder, which also helps with feeling smooth. I keep my bar in the little tin Lush offer (it's free if you buy two bars), so it stays clean and doesn't disintegrate prematurely. It's also very travel friendly.

I tried (in store) several of the other bars, but this is the one that smelled best, not that the scent lingers enough to matter. The one bar I'd recommend you avoid (unless you're 16 or under) is the one with the shimmer. It's just too much.

Lush products are available online and in their stores, which is where I bought my bars. The tin was a GWP.

Summer Days- Lush Silky Underwear Body Powder

The heatwave we had here in the Northeast the last few days was bordering on hellish. Between hot, hot and hazy and overdosing on the a/c, my skin was ready to rebel. the challenge to keep my legs and arms moisturized but not sticky has called for an old stand-by product, Lush Silky Underwear.

Lush products are a hit-or-miss for me. Some are great, others are disastrous (whoever invented their foot creams should be fired). Tom has written an amusing review of their messy bath bombs (though their plain ones are pretty nice), and my hair was unimpressed with their shampoos and conditioners (but that was years ago, before I started blogging, so maybe I should give them another chance). In any case, Silky Underwear is their one product I make sure never to be without.

The concept is clever: a cornstarch-based powder that keeps you fresh, but it also contains grains of cocoa butter that moisturize the skin and keep it soft under the powder's clean veil. Depending on your needs, you can use it alone, or do what a sales assistant has shown me once: use a good lotion and then lightly powder yourself all over it. This way even the driest skin remains happy, but your legs won't stick to each other when you cross them. Some days that's the greatest achievements.

When it comes to scent, it's supposed to be a mix of jasmine and vetiver, but I wouldn't bet my life on it. What I get is a light woody...something. Despite the name, the powder doesn't smell overly feminine and thankfully it lacks the hippie signature of many lush products. My skin, the scent-eater, devours the fragrance even before the powder has fully settled in. A good thing for someone who prefers real perfume.

Lush Silky Underwear is available ($11.25 for 3.5 oz) from the company's website and in Lush stores all over the world. I bought my first one in store, but prefer to shop online and avoid dealing with the overwhelming mix of scents in the boutique.

Image: Golden Summer Rays by JalinePol, from Vinings Gallery.