Disgusted with the waste created by large bottles of shampoo, I sought out a low-package, natural solution. A friend pointed me to Lush’s website. I nearly immediately went on an unfettered shopping spree, and I purchased the following products through the online store:
Squeaky Green SKU: 02736 1 $7.95 $7.95 The Blonde SKU: 00614 1 $14.95 $14.95 Shampoo Bar Tin SKU: 10991 1 $0.00 $0.00 Godiva SKU: 02392 1 $9.25 $9.25 Jungle SKU: 00220 1 $9.95 $9.95 Coalface SKU: 00233 1 $10.95 $10.95 Quinquereme Of Nineveh SKU: 00817 1 $6.95 $6.95 Porridge SKU: 02795 1 $5.95 $5.95
The Blonde Shampoo (link)
By far my favorite product I’ve tried, this yellow block of shampoo soap is topped with herbs. My first reaction was confusion as to how I was supposed to transform a herby block of soap into a manageable substance for my hair. The solution quickly presented itself. I left the herbs on top alone. By scrubbing the bottom of the bar into my palm, I quickly worked up a lather that I wipe off into my hair. It takes a few rounds of palm scrubbing to get enough lather to soap up my hair adequately. It leaves my hair feeling clean, and I have little fear of chemical residues being left in my hair.
This soap reportedly is supposed to lighten your hair as you use it. The verdict is still out on that one. But the effectiveness / simplicity ratio of the soap is reason enough to ditch the big plastic bottles of water & chemicals for your hair. Even at $15/bar, the bar seems to have enough longetivy to rival a costco sized bottle.
Porridge Body Bar (link)
If you ever had the desire to bathe in milk and oats, this is your big chance. This small white bar has a rough, lumpy consistency, smells sweetly of milky desserts, and looks nothing like the picture on the website. When scrubbing, it will not work up a lather at all; rather, it just dissolves into milk. In the end, I just scrubbed my skin with the bar, hoping the hard oat bits in the soap would somehow clean my skin. After 2 weeks of washing, the bar was reduced to a sliver. While I enjoyed the smell of the soap, I am not sure I need to be cleansing with my breakfast food.
Quinquereme of Ninevah Body Bar (link)
If that bathing with food idea disturbed you at all, this soap is even worse. It smells absolutely delicious — some sort of malt-chocolate delight. Again it looks nothing like the photo on the website, and if it is supposed to be vanilla-based, you would never guess it. It has what looks like little flax seed pods / pebbles? in it, again creating friction. The softer malt substance melts in the shower. This bar has a short life span as well.
I am not thinking too highly of the body bars yet.
Coalface cleanser (link)
With a smell reminiscent of train tracks on a rainy day, this rough black coal and liquorice facial cleanser works as a very effective exfoliator and leaves my skin feeling fresh. It is easy enough to work up a light lather, even with the tiny bits of coal. The bar seems to have good longevity as well. After a week of use though, I found I needed to return to a normal cleanser and lay off the exfoliation for a while. A bit too rough on the skin. But most beauty gals will know that already.
The other Lush items are waiting their turn. I will post updates as I try the next round of products.
Tags: consumer, environment, product, review, soap
May 30, 2009 at 7:08 am |
yay, Lush!!
there’s one at Fashion Square. next time you need to stock up, let me know and i’ll go with you.
June 5, 2009 at 3:02 am |
I love Lush. The first time I found it was in Spain. I was super excited when I found them again. I love the coalface soap. Also, the pink one is super good.