Brand Overview: Lush

Lush is a beauty blogger favourite. A long-time girl favourite now being discovered by more and more guys. It's one of those things diverse people of varying political stances nod in sage agreement over - whether they care about animal testing, ingredients and ethics or not. Because aside from lots of great things like being cruelty free, entirely removed from sweatshop production models, interested in using more natural ingredients and trying to give back - Lush make damn good products that smell amazing, hit great price points and (best of all) actually work.

I cannot remember the first product I tried by the brand, try as I might. And now it seems that they have taken over my life and many of my daily routines from skincare, dental care to showering and bathing. When the fridge empties of food, masks and sprays line the barren shelves. Lush is just this big presence in my life now.

I thought, then, that it would only make sense to have them as my next brand overview. Admittedly, I have tried very little of their makeup and fragrance lines (neither have yet to really appeal to me) but I've used and habitually use a wide variety of their products.

Long-time staples for me are products that I use to target pesky hormonal breakouts. It's pretty frustrating to have perfect skin ruined by yet another cycle of the moon and Lush masks are a great way at treating this pre-emptively and after the fact. My two favourites are Catastrophe Cosmetic (a Fresh Face Mask) and Mask of Magnaminty (a Face and Body Mask which is good for targeting breakouts elsewhere, thankfully that's not a concern of mine). Both are quite soothing and cooling which makes them feel good on top of painful breakouts in particular. My toner has been the Tea Tree Water. Probably the most modest part of my daily skincare routine which is, admittedly, largely made up of luxury or high-end products, it utterly holds its own. It's refreshing and another dose of ingredients in the daily mix to fight acne.

Recently, I've added Grease Lightning, a spot treatment, as another layer of protection against acne. It's quite good at bringing down redness and size overnight. And unlike a lot of spot treatments, it doesn't sting yet offers results - always good! Probably better for those with sensitive skin than other treatments as its all about the tea tree and witch hazel rather than salicylic acid to combat acne more gently.

As I always have trouble with dead skin on my lips, I've been using the The Kiss Lip Scrub from the Valentine's range and, I have to say, I've been loving it. There is a ton of product so it's actually very good value and it tastes almost too good. The effects aren't miraculous but I think that has rather more to do with my lips and less the product.

The Toothy Tabs are something that intrigued. Basically they're small boxes of tablets that are bitten up between the front teeth and which foam when brought into contact with a wet toothbrush. It's an odd sensation that takes getting used to and it doesn't taste especially nice but the main selling-point is that the packaging is better for the environment than the traditional method. I use the Dirty Toothy Tabs from time to time but on a daily basis I miss the feeling of regular toothpaste. My conscience will probably eventually sway me to them entirely but I'm not quite ready yet.

My biggest hair hits are the Marilyn Hair Treatment, which smells great and helps take the brassy tones out of my hair while also leaving it feeling soft and smooth, and the Big Sea Salt Shampoo, which a great friend gifted me knowing that I fight for volume in my hair. Again, it smells lovely and while the salt can feel a little rough on my scalp, I love how my hair is subtly better and bigger the next day without the same kind of texture given by sea salt sprays - much as I love them.

Finally, let's talk bath bombs. Probably what Lush is most well-known for - especially given recent meme-ification on tumblr. I've tried a range, tending to go for seasonal, citrus or calming scents and really have no particular loyalties. Rather I prefer to try something new each time. And with seasonal collections, there's generally a really good selection and something to suit all tastes. Some are a wee bit extravagant for a single bath, in my mind. And while they supposedly can be reused in most cases or halved, I'm not really arsed with all that work. Bubble bars, in this regard, tend to make more economic sense as they are crumbled into the water rather than tossed in and can be more readily rationed. However, I suppose the point is a little bit of luxury rather than daily (or anything close to it) use. Most recently, I was given the Unicorn Horn bubble bar from the Valentine's Line by the lovely staff at Grafton Street (Note: You'll never be in a store with staff more passionate about the products or ready to answer your questions - really. Like. Ever.). I LOVED it. I mean, unicorns? Glitter? Lavender smells that are just right rather than overpowering? Yes. Please.

But, really, the only thing to do is go in and have a sniff. You shan't be disappointed.

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