About a month ago, I was introduced LUSH: Fresh Handmade Cosmetics by two of my best friends, Nikki and Ryann. I asked them to share their experience with the brand as well as some recommendations for products that may be suitable for specific skin types. Over the next two weeks, they’ll be sharing their skincare experience as well as recommendations for what to try from Lush. And, without further ado, this post is from Nikki!
I thought I was destined to have bad skin. It began in grade school, with trips to the dermatologist, who took Polaroid pictures of my broken out face. I washed with Neutrogena, just Jennifer Love Hewitt did, but I still had pimples. I choked down huge black and yellow tetracycline pills in between my seventh grade classes, wondering if there would ever come a time when I would have normal skin. Things got slightly better as I got older, with less breakouts in high school and even less in college, but they were always there in some capacity.
Then, after college, when acne is supposed to be a distant memory and you are supposed to start worrying about getting wrinkles, I started breaking out again, in a different way than ever before. I developed blackheads on my nose and dry, scaly skin around my nose, on my chin, and on my forehead, in addition to normal breakouts around my hairline. I tried everything under the sun to control it, including drug store face washes, expensive cleansers from Sephora, make-up intended to treat and cover up, and I began seeing a dermatologist again, who diagnosed me with acne and dermatitis and prescribed me topical medications.
Nothing worked. It was frustrating, demoralizing, and soul-crushing. Struggling with your skin is something that’s expected when you’re an adolescent and a teenager, but what about when you’re an adult? What about when you’ve tried everything under the sun and spent a fortune on product after product that does nothing to help your skin? When lamenting about this one day this past February, my best friend Ryann recommended Lush, an all-natural skincare line, which I had heard of, but never seriously considered. In April, when visiting Courtney in Boston, we decided to stop into the Harvard Square Lush store, as per Ryann’s recommendation, and I am so glad I did.
Maybe the mistake I have been making all of these years was putting chemicals and artificial ingredients onto my skin, because ever since trying Lush’s all natural products, my skin has made a complete turn around. The condition of my skin has improved so much and so quickly. Immediately I began seeing the kind of results I had only dreamed of, the kind of outcomes the other more expensive and even prescription products had never even come close to. I never once thought that I would be someone who would feel confident leaving my house without makeup, but thanks to Lush, I have no reservations about wearing minimal or no makeup; and, when I do wear makeup, it goes on smoothly and looks great, instead of flaking off, like it would before.
On Thursday, Nikki will be sharing her recommendations for products at Lush, so be sure to check back to see what products you should be checking out at your local Lush! Have you ever tried Lush? What are some of your favorite products? Share your experiencing by commenting!
Neither Nikki, Ryann nor I are employeed by Lush. We are not being paid to talk about the brand. Lush has no idea we’re doing this series. We are seriously just that obsessed.
I was introduced to Lush about a year ago by a colleague.
I’ve had horrible skin all my life. From acne to white heads and occasional peeling skin.
I’d tried almost every product available. I’d even order products from other countries if they were highly recommended. Nothing worked. I’d taken pills, smeared my face with ointments. Went the natural way, used fillers earth, sandalwood, etc. I tried Lush and it took me less than a week to have normal skin again.
Over time I’ve tried many of their products. Exhorbitant for Indian standards, but totally worth it. I’m sure I’ll be using Lush for a very long time.
I’m so glad you had such a great experience with the brand. I always think it’s amazing when you FINALLY find something that works especially with problem skin.
Which products are your favorites?
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Courtney I encourage you to read this – from a friend and now ethical make up artist who worked for the company – they aren’t really the good two shoes they make themselves out to be:
http://sarahfrascamakeup.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/good-bad-and-ugly-lush-cosmetics.html
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Oh yes! I remember Sarah’s blog from last year when I was following.
I’ll definitely read through it as there is room for discussion on all sides of any brand. I, myself, also would not call Lush an all natural brand, though someone else, like Nikki, may. I think they get around the all natural label by saying “fresh” and “handmade,” but if you look at their ingredients list, products do contain parabens as well as fragrance. I think the visade that Lush has created as a natural company is exactly that–a visade.
That being said, if their products work better than other non-natural drugstore companies, and if you don’t mind that it’s not all-natural, then I say shop there all you want. But you and Sarah are definitely right–there image is a bit entangled in dancing around the truth that it’s not all natural.
If you are looking for something more ‘natural’ have you tried Burts Bees and Yes To Carrots? I believe you can get them at Ulta or Walmart.
To be honest, when it comes to skincare and makeup I’m not as “all natural” as I should be. I’ve had such problems with my skin throughout my entire life, that solving my acne has come first and natural has come second. Plus, I put retinol on my skin every night, so honestly it’s just pointless for me to care about “all natural,” though I know it is important to many women.
That being said, I have some some research on Burts Bees and I think you may be surprised to learn they’re not all natural either.
The thing with all natural is that until the FDA makes guidelines for what it ACTUALLY means, consumers are left to their own devices to research and make their own decisions. You should check out this site: ewg.org
I know exactly what you mean! I used by really diligent about making sure that my skincare was ‘natural’, but in the end you have to go for what is best for you skin, and, like you, I enjoy the wonderful world of adult acne.
Thanks for the heads up about Burts Bees, will definitely do some reading on that.
Yes, definitely. A lot of what is labelled ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ is far far from it. I always stress to my friends the most important part is just reading what the ingredients are, and finding out for yourself what works for you, and what doesn’t. ewg.org is definitely one of my most visited sites
It’s definitely not all Burts Bees products, but when I looked into it on Skin Deep, I was surprised to learn it wasn’t exactly “all natural.” I posted on this topic a long time ago (about a year and a half ago), but I’ll make sure to cover it again soon because it’s something that’s important!
Veshoevius…You make some valid points but I find it interesting that on your blog you obviously have no problem using MAC and Illamasqua. Both companies who freely use all the ingredients you chastise Lush for using.
Actually JessT… it’s not my blog (if you’d read the comment properly you’d appreciate that and I question whether you gave the blog in question due attention) – I have never used Illamasqua. I do however use MAC and Lush freely as I like their products and I personally don’t have an issue with using non natural ingredients on my skin, but I appreciate that others do either for ethical reasons or health concerns. I do however have an issue with seeing people swallow marketing lines hook, line and sinker and buying products they would otherwise actually be opposed because they have been misled by an advertising campaign.
I have not seen any campaign to date by either MAC or Illamasqua that give the impression that they are all natural products but Lush are very effective at giving this impression – it is even stated by the author of this blog post that she believes the products are all natural.
On the other hand Sarah Frasca, who is the blogger who wrote the post to which I linked to, worked at Lush. She has pointed out that in fact they are not an all natural brand,(despite taking pains to give this impression) because they do use chemicals that are in fact NOT NATURAL and CUMULATIVELY TOXIC. So her point is that even if Lush are arguing that the amounts they have are so small, use over time will result accumulated exposure. This is surely be worth pointing out to those who go to Lush products in the hope of escaping toxic buildup in their systems or to alleviate allergies to certain ingredients.
The difference is that MAC and Illamasqua are pretty much what they say on the tin, they produce make-up without some hippy dippy all natural label pretending it is something it is not. After reading the above post I felt that not pointing out this insider information to the author and Courtney’s readers would be like watching a table of vegetarians eat a meal they’d been sold as vegetarian when you know full well it contains traces of meat.
Lastly Sarah Frasca is a professional make up artist who is also dedicated to finding cruelty free products – knowing her personally she has taken on a massive challenge in that all natural or truly cruelty free products are nigh on impossible to find – but she has a dedication in sniffing out the possible problems with each ingredient with an obsession that goes beyond most people’s reading of the ingredient list. She treats reviews of products pretty fairly and thoroughly as a result. And in the end she has to use make up as the tools of her trade and tries as much as possible to ensure that these are cruelty-free (note – quite a different claim to being all natural), and if you’d read the blog in any depth you’d see that she even switched over to Illamasqua as their cruelty free record was better than MAC’s.
Now if you know of any ingredient that Illamasqua uses that might be tested on animals I’m sure Sarah would love to hear from you, but you’d better do your research properly because I know she is very thorough in this respect.
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I’ll be weighing in on the faux-naturalness of Lush next week. I have a post and research cooking.
Overall, and in short, I have to agree with V on this one. I think Lush’s fatal flaw is in the fact that they dance arounds this idea of being “natural” when they are not. I took a look at their moisturizers and not one was paraben free (ok, maybe one–more research needed).
The things is, if you don’t care about natural products, then buy whatever you want. But I agree that something is fundamentally wrong with a company that poses itself as all natural and uses parabens and fragrance in their products.
More on this next week!
I’ve dabbled in a few Lush products & have always liked them enough, but not enough to continue buying for the price. I absolutely *cannot* wait to hear Nikki’s recommendations though, because our skin sounds so similar!
I definitely understand where you are coming from! I can afford their smaller quantities, but not the large ones. BUT I do love that they sample and take returns. I’ve tried so many products and was really able to figure out what I liked and what I didn’t before purchasing. Not everything works for everyone, which is why the samples are so great!
–Courtney
This is SO crazy because I received my first four products from Lush last week and am SO excited to try them (they’re mainly hair products however).
I can’t wait to hear what you all use and how it works for each of your skin types!
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I think Nikki has tried some hair products. We’re going to do a bath/body/hair review in the next two weeks, so keep an eye out for it! Next post is on Thursday for skincare
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