3 Stars for Rub Rub Rub – LUSH Oxford St. Exclusive

Rub Rub Rub Bar was one of the 14 exclusive products I purchased at LUSH Oxford St. (and not gonna lie, I wanted this product the MOST). The lovely pastel shades of the brazen sea salt and delicate flowers caught my eye immediately. Plus – pastels are IN! Just peek into any fashion magazine and see for yourself, like Vogue and InStyle. LUSH was right on target.

Ok, so now for the review – This over-discussed Solid Body Scrub was a bit of a disappointment compared to other LUSH Solid Scrubs. Even though this product still has the classic Rub Rub Rub qualities, like the citrus tang, it lacks easy usage. My bar does not break apart or scrub into my skin effortlessly without applying extreme measures (aka – breaking the bar with my hands, then smashing it to form a scrub). Don’t get me wrong – the product still smells and works lovely! I guess the idea in my head was a dopplegänger of Buffy Body Butter, but in Rub Rub Rub form!

P.S. – LUSH Kitchen is offering Rub Rub Rub Body Scrub now! What do you think of it?

LUSH Kitchen Haul

The LUSH Kitchen is the holy grail for LUSHies. They make exclusive, retro, and sometimes pre-release LUSH goodies. It is hard to not purchase each week. I am proud of myself for holding back…. but, I did splurge for my birthday! Here is what I got:

• Million Dollar Moisturizer – The new LUSH sun care line is available in parts of Europe. Unfortunately, North America is behind! I wanted to give this range a try before the summer disappeared! Million Dollar Moisturizer is a sweet, dewey product that makes your skin radiant!
• Sesame Suntan Lotion – This is another product from the sun care line. I was eager to try a simple suntan lotion that had low protection. I rub Sesame Suntan all over for a delicious aroma and light protection!
• Lemon Melt Shower Jelly – This is one of the first products LUSH Kitchen created. I read tons of reviews about this lemon-y wonderland! I had to give it a try since Back for Breakfast is my favorite shower gel ( a Retro, lemon-citrus combo).
• Violet Nights Bath Oil – After reading Danger: Cosmetics-To-Go! I had to go for the Violet Nights. This is a lovely oil that creates a luxurious bath – originally from Cosmetics-To-Go. Perfect for relaxing and enjoying yourself! Plus, it makes your skin super super soft!

LUSH Kitchen boxes are filled with unique samples, a LUSH Kitchen goodie bag (filled with your order), and polaroids of the #LUSHKitchen staff! You can only order products from the Kitchen in the UK. Therefore, everything is sent Royal Post and in pounds. But let me tell ya… it is worth the conversion rate and splurge!

P.S. – Did you enter my giveaway yet?! Check out the instructions in my last blog post.

#finfree GIVEAWAY!

In honor of the #finfree movement and Shark Week, I decided to do my very first giveaway! The lucky winner will receive a fresh Shark Fin Soap from LUSH Cosmetics and samples from the LUSH Kitchen and products that are not available in LUSH North America.

This is all you have to do to qualify:

1. Answer the question “Can you sell smell?” in the comments
2. Tweet me your favorite LUSH Cosmetics Soap at @AndreaPuskar
3. Sign the petition for the #finfree movement 

The giveaway is international.

LUSH Kitchen – UK Style

The LUSH Kitchen in UK is a few months old now. They make small batches of exclusive LUSH products – retired and new inventions. The list ranges from Lemon Melt to Baby Face Cleanser. Any LUSHie would die to get their hands on these unique, rare goodies!

I collect all social media that revolves around the Kitchen. Some of the above posts are directly from the LUSH Kitchen while others are from bloggers or regional LUSH Cosmetic stores.

PROS – You get to discover LUSH products you never, ever heard of. A guilty pleasure of mine is to check the Kitchen menu. I need to see what they are making and then research the products! Some of the inventions are very innovative, creative, magical, rare, and much more!

CONS – The LUSH Kitchen is only operating in the UK at this moment. All North American LUSHies are out of the loop! Fortunately, you can still order from UK but it is difficult to get exclusive items when they only make a limited quality (and they always seem to be “Currently Unavailable”). Rumors are spreading like wild fire though… apparently LUSH Kitchen will be coming to Canada SOON, hopefully!

I have not yet splurged on any of the LUSH Kitchen items. It has been hard… but the exchange rate between USD and Pounds is ridiculous. Have you ordered from the LUSH Kitchen yet? Share below!

P.S. – I will not be posting for a while… I am going to Kauai! Feel free to email me if you have any questions about my posts!

France Haul – Sephora & Pharmacie

I normally do not post non-LUSH hauls. But this one is appropriate since most of these products are from France and awesome!

• Formula X in Glitter Rocket – Surprisingly, the Sephora’s in France do not have the full Formula X range. They just have a few selected style and colors. This champagne, light purple color caught my eye.
• Sephora Eyeshadow in Flirting Game #46 – I was on the look out for a darker, smokier color. Extravagant eyes are not my forte. I enjoy a natural eye look with a bit of shimmer and full lashes.
• Nail Buffer Block – I have always wanted to purchase a nail buffer block from Sephora. I decided while in France, finally purchase the darn block! I love it! My nails never felt so smooth and healthy.
• Essie in Lilacism – My friend is obsessed with this Essie color… and I always complement her on it! It was time for me to purchase my own. I love the light purple. In fact, this was the color I wore the entire time in France!
• Bioderma – While strolling through the Pharmacie in Paris, I spotted the Bioderma section and immediately knew I had to try it! Beauty bloggers have been raving about this product for months and years now.
• Nail Varnish Remover Pads – The entire packaging is in French. I love how these pads are not alcohol based but rather oil based. It feels moisturizing, healthy, clean, and not chemically.

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F.Y.I – have you checked out the LUSH sun protection range from the LUSH Kitchen?! I am dying to get my hands on some for the summer sun! They have quite a few products:

• The Sunblock – Solid SunScreen Wash SPF 30
• Million Dollar Moisturizer – SPF 30
• Sesame Suntan Lotion – SPF 10

HUGE LUSH Haul – Summer 2014

As I promised at the end of my last post, I will show y’all what I got from the LUSH store in La Havre. I spotted all of the new products within seconds and decided to purchase the entire new LUSH Summer 2014 range. It has already debuted in parts of Europe and is on its way to North America! Most of the products had a pre-release in the LUSH Kitchen, so they might sound a bit familiar.

• LUSH Fizz Tank Bath Bomb Storage – I have been wanting this for a WHILE! I was so excited the store I went to had some of these. Surprisingly, they are not available in North America.
• D’Fluff Strawberry Shaving Soap – I am very excited to use this product because I have never used a “shaving soap” from LUSH. I have tried the Ambrosia shaving cream and loved it! Plus, who cannot pass up a lovely strawberry cream?
• Zest Styling Gelly – This gel has a very strong citrus scent and is a yellow-marigold color. Like D’Fluff, I have never used a “styling belly” from LUSH. This will also be a new experience!
• African Paradise Body Conditioner – The aroma of this conditioner is phenomenal because it is simple soothing, and relaxing. I look forward to trying out this unique product in a steamy shower!
• Granny Takes a Dip Bath Bomb – I was very happy to see this bath bomb in the store! I have wanted to try this ever since I spotted it in the LUSH Kitchen. The aroma is even better than I thought. Granny Takes a Dip smells exactly like SweetTarts candy!
• Ice Blue Soap – This has been a clean, fresh soap I have been dying to try!
• Parsley Porridge Soap – When I saw this in the LUSH Kitchen, I was very curious on how this product would smell and the texture of it. I am accusing it is similar to the Porridge Soap (texture wise). The aroma is very fresh and organic.
• Mangnificent Soap – This is a very fruity, sweet soap. It reminds me of other LUSH smells that contain citrus ingredients.
• BIG Solid Conditioner – This was a repurchase. I feel in love with this product about a year ago and have been waiting for the day to use it again!
• Whoosh Shower Jelly – This was actually a sample the generous sales lady gave me. I have never tried Whoosh and am excited to finally review it!
• Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner – This was also another sample the sales lady surprised me with. I have had a few black pots of this body conditioner!
• Trichomania Solid Shampoo – I have never tried this product and I have no idea why. The smell is phenomenal!
• None of Your Beeswax Lip Balm – This is the only lip balm from LUSH I have not tried yet. I also wanted to pick this product up in France to try out the twist style tins! North America has a different product design.
• New Charity Pot Hand & Body Lotion – I am very excited to try the new formula for Charity Pot. This formula contains less safe synthetics and more natural ingredients! There will be a new post about some of the reinvented LUSH favorites.

Wow… that is a lot of cool LUSH products! This was actually two hauls combined. One from LUSH Lexington Ave. in NYC and the other from La Havre in France. If you look closely, you can tell which are the French products by the labels.

After splurging in the French store, I discovered that the new LUSH product I got are in face the LUSH Summer 2014 collection! A Facebook post from LUSH Willowbrook Mall informed me!

The new LUSH Summer 2014 Collection consists of:

• Granny Takes a Dip Bath Bomb
• Parsley Porridge Soap
• Mangnificent Soap
• New Charity Pot Lotion
• African Paradise Body Conditioner
• D’Fluff Strawberry Shaving Soap
• Zest Styling Gelly

What product are you most excited for?!

A LUSH Necessity – The Olive Branch

These next few weeks are going to be CRAZY for me! I will try to blog as much as I can. I have finals, internship work, guests coming to visit, and I am going to FRANCE! I am so excited to go to Europe since I have never been! Anyways, I just finished up a bottle of the LUSH shower gel, The Olive Branch and fell in love all over again.

 

AROMA: Olive Branch is one of my favorite LUSH smells. I enjoy the mandarin base with an olive twist! LUSH claims the smell embodies the Mediterranean ocean since it also has a pinch of sea salt in it. I have to agree! This is the perfect shower gel to try if you are in love with citrus infused, natural scents and longing for the beach breeze.

DRY SKIN: This product does well on my dry skin. It does not irritate it or make it drier (which some LUSH soaps can do). I just squirt some on my loofa and enjoy my steamy shower!

SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE: The only downfall about Olive Branch is the consistency. It is pretty runny. The olive oil and the soap get separated. Therefore, it is a good idea to shake up the bottle before use. The picture above is shaken up! Normally, one can see a definite line between the ingredients.

INGREDIENTS: This shower gel has quite a bit of natural ingredients. Some of them are vine leaf infusion, fresh mandarin juice, Fair for Life olive oil, lemon oil, mandarin oil, fine sea salt, and much more! This product is also vegan and is available in three sizes (mine is the 8.4 fl. oz.).

Overall, this is one of my favorite LUSH shower gels! I never get tired of the fabulous smell. I never stop using it when i have a bottle in my shower. I never will stop loving it! I highly recommend this LUSH product.

P.S. – have you heard about the LUSH Kitchen?! You can vote for retired products for them to make on their Facebook page. Check it out here! The only downfall – it is not available in North America. Oh and they also had an Olive Branch Body Lotion! Wish I heard about it in time before they were sold out!