LUSH Vanilla Jam Shower Gel just in time for Christmas...

At this time of year going in a LUSH store you may wonder, is this a cosmetics or a candy shop?

Nose will say cosmetics but eyes will be totally confused, really!

See what I mean?

The reason I went in was for this shower gel below called Rose Jam (Confiture de Rose)! Vanilla and rose scented, I just had to try it! 

Lovely! Positively lovely! The fragrance is exactly what I was expecting and a pleasure to use. The gel is not too thick, not to thin, just perfect and lathers nicely.

Made with a vanilla pod infusion, goji berry juice and argan oil, it's a very nice, mild formula. Now does it make my skin softer? Not really. I got it for the smell and I'm glad it's not overly drying. I still need to use either an oil or body lotion afterward.

As much a I enjoy it, I find it's a little expensive for a shower gel. This size here, 250 ml goes for $19.95 CAD. At least I know it'll last a while since at the moment I already have five different ones that I alternate.

What can I say, I like variety!

I have to say, I've never been much of a LUSH fan, I find their shops a bit messy looking and so prefer The Body Shop but when Catherine was little and took baths, I used to buy some of their offerings for she loved the smells and there was one that made the bath water pink! My not so girly girl liked that one the most. :)

If you have someone on your Christmas list who's a bath lover definitely make a stop by LUSH. The bath bombs, as shown above, are just too cute for word and will put a smile on the recipient's face for sure.

Rose Jam is here only for Christmas time so if you want to indulge you better act fast or wait till next year.


Do you keep only one or like to alternate shower gels?

Makeup Empties, What Has To Go!

Spring cleaning comes with the realisation that some stuff just has to go! I do believe I have the soul of a hoarder and that has to stop! I rarely throw away stuff, I still have some old Dior eyeshadow quads, lots of old Estée Lauder, some Lancôme and who knows what else. I guess I'll have to do some sort of "retro" entry eventually to show you.

For now let's see what I've discarded. These items where still in my every day makeup bag or should I say on the table where I do my makeup in the morning, mixed in with what I really use. All except two, have been reviewed already.

Clinique Blended Face Powder in Transparency 2

As you can see, this one is old! I've had it for years and can't even remember when I purchased it. A good everyday powder, these days it sells for $27.00. The reason I'm not replacing it is simply because of this blog. I need to try new ones in order to bring you reviews. For some reason I've reviewed Clinique's Stay-Matte Sheer Pressed Powder but not this loose version. Nothing fancy, it gives a nice light sheer finish that is quite natural and yes, I would recommend it.

Rimmel Natural Bronzer in 021 Sunlight

At under $10.00 this product is surprisingly excellent! I will probably repurchase to keep in an emergency bag for the office, once I have one to go to. :) 

LUSH Eyes Right Mascara

An excellent formula that I was quite impressed with, I simply got tired of the small wand. The presentation is cute but clearly must be revisited by LUSH.

Estée Lauder Sumptuous Bold Volume Lifting Mascara

For the past 2 years or so, a favorite. I'm not saying I will not repurchase but again, I need to try new ones for this here blog. At $25.00, it's an excellent buy. Just keep in mind that the brush is a bit big, something not for everyone.

M.A.C. Select Cover Concealer

This I will not repurchase. Although the color was perfect, NW15 Light, it performed poorly. Too sheer, too thin, it was a disappointment.

Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Concealer

This concealer ended up looking cakey and dried up my under eye area. Not what I was going for. 

M.A.C. Fluidline Eyeliner Gel in Dipdown

Performed poorly on me and dried up in no time.

M.A.C. Eyeshadow in Putty

This I will keep with the hope that it will come back, one day... *Sniff*

Cargo 3 Triple Action Mascara

This I got in a kit at Winners for less than the price of the mascara which usually goes for $20.00. It did ok by keeping the curl for a little over 5 hours but was not what I would consider an outstanding product. I will not repurchase. 

Personnelle Magic Potion

This could have been a nice inexpensive option as a activator. It's made to transform any powder eyeshadow into a stay put eyeliner. The problems, the little tiny wand with the rough tiny sponge applicator at the end and the opening is too small to insert any type of brush. I was able to work with it by shaking the container to get a drop of it. I mixed it with my The Body Shop cake eyeliner and it did make the color darker than with plain water but it did not make it last much longer. Even if this product sells for less than $5.00, it was not worth it. For those who don't know Personnelle (yes the spelling is right), it's a drugstore brand of inexpensive products. The only other product I've purchased is a lip gloss (for less than $4.00) that wasn't all that so I don't think I will try any of their other offerings. 

I will likely have more... I'm not done with Spring cleaning!

Estée Lauder Sumptuous Bold Volume Lifting Mascara / Review

I'm not sure but I think the very first time I ever wore mascara it was probably one from Estée Lauder. It was my mom's and it was a beautiful gold tube with an applicator that looked like a metal screw not a brush. Brown was the color. It was quite a revelation and when I discovered what an eye lash curler could do... Boom! I was all set!

LUSH Eyes Right Mascara is a Winner!

 I wasn't expecting to post again about this mascara so soon but it was a must after the day I just had!

We went to visit some family this afternoon and so I figured, let's give this mascara a try. Outside, with the humidity factor the temperature felt like 44^o C. and by 5:00 pm it still felt like 39^o C.! It's a good thing I don't wear foundation, in fact I rarely do. It would have totally melted! Sweat was practically coming down on the sides of my face! Yuck!

So, I applied 3 coats total of the Eyes Right Mascara, waiting for it to dry between each. It went on smoothly with no clumps. The only thing that annoyed me was the brush which I find a bit short. Once the mascara was set, I proceeded to my torture chamber to curl my lashes. No I don't have a special room for this, it's just my bathroom.

In order for my lashes to stay curled, I have to not only use a lash curler but have to heat it with the blow dryer. If I don't, they end up pointing downwards after just few minutes. Sad but hey are very stubborn!

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Curled lashes

Ok now my lashes didn't exactly end up looking like this but, they kept the curl a good 7 hours in crazy hot humid temperature and a horrible dinner at a buffet like restaurant! Who cares about the bad food, my lashes stayed curled and for me it's just fantastic! No melting, it stayed put! I used a mild foam tonight to cleanse my face and the mascara came off easily. Nice that I didn't have to go for my micellar water to remove any residue.

Do I recommend it? Oh yes! More expensive than drugstores options, I must say that none I've tried so far ever did a good job, it's in the low range of department stores and the price not so bad. At $18.95 I find it a fair price for what it does for me. Dark black, no clump, keeps the curl and comes off easily! 

I can't ask for more except maybe for some antacids to help digest the oily calamari and unrecognisable fried  food I had to sample tonight. My stomach is not happy! :(

Good thing I have some of those!

LUSH Emotional Brilliance Makeup

Oh my word! LUSH makeup! Really?

I never thought my first makeup post would be about LUSH but I was quite surprised to learn that they now offer a few makeup items. I just had to know more the main reason being that they're cruelty free.

LUSH Natural Brilliance Color Wheel

Personally I'm not a fan of this brand for skin care. To many highly irritating ingredients along with lots of essential oils but, my daughter just loves their bath products. It's one of her guilty pleasures that she gets to indulge in when she does something great, as a reward. On those occasions we go in the LUSH store at our local Mall and I let her chose a few things.

Cruelty free! Yay! We don't have many options in my area. I'm not a super green person but animal testing really annoys me especially for cosmetic purposes. Try to find one these days, it's harder and harder. Every company wants to expand and to do so, several have chosen to export their products to China. The downside to this is that China does tests on animals! Seems like what's good for the rest of the world isn't good enough for them. This situation is so sad, it's like going back 40 years in time and rare are the companies who don't wish to enter the Chinese market. There's just too much money to be made to pass.

So, kudos to LUSH for holding it's grounds, for now at least.