LUSH Aqua Mirabilis and Each Peach Reviews

I picked up Aqua Mirabilis and Each Peach today along with tons of other stuff in my black friday haul. One of the wonderful workers at the shop gave me a demo, and two of the products she used were these. I was immediately sold after the demo, I couldn't get these in my basket fast enough.

Aqua Mirabilis
*****

Aqua Mirabilis is an exfoliating bar/ body butter bar. It has ground almond shells that act as exfoliants, along with cocoa and almond butters that do some major moisturizing. This bar is faaantastic.
What It Does:
Exfoliates and moisturizes while it buffs out dry & dead skin cells, leaving skin bright and refreshed.
How To Use It:
I use this bar in the shower after I use my shower gel (I probably don't even have to use gel before this, but I love my LUSH shower gels so I do anyway). All you have to do is massage the bar onto wet skin, rub it in with your hands once you have enough on your skin, then rinse off. 
Tips&Tricks:
I recommend a LUSH tin for this one, letting it sit out in your shower will make it slimy and gross. Keep it in a tin to make sure it's clean and dry! I really like how this bar feels on my skin when I'm using it, and how my skin feels after. I actually prefer this bar to Ocean Salt when it comes to exfoliating because my skin is so sensitive. I do still stock up on Ocean Salt but I will be using Aqua Mirabilis regularly, and Ocean Salt just occasionally. I gave it 5 stars because its wonderful for my sensitive skin, it feels great and I don't even feel like I need to use lotion afterwards.

Each Peach
*****

The smell is AMAZING, the outcome of your skin after use is equally amazing. This was my favorite part of the demo I received, I cannot thank my Lush girls enough for using this on me! Each Peach is a moisturizing massage bar made with mango kernel butters, avocado, shea and cocoa butters. 
What It Does:
Melts into skin as you massage on, making skin bright and moisturized.
How to Use It:
This bar is similar to the Full Of Grace facial moisturizer in the way it is applied. It is a solid bar but melts onto your skin because of your body temp. I usually use this once I'm dried off after exfoliating in the shower with Buffy. Just hold the bar and slide it all over your skin. Easy!
Tips&Tricks:
This is another product that I keep in the fridge. You don't have to, but I like it that way. I would definitely get a tin for it so keep it clean, and so it doesn't accidentally melt if it happens to be around heat. Each Peach has a sweet citrus smell that I absolutely adore and your skin feels so nice after use. I gave it five stars for its effectiveness and lovely smell. If you don't think you need this, you are just soo wrong. I had no interest in the massage bars at first, but now I want to try them all! If you aren't sure about the massage bars you should go get a demo done at your local LUSH store. If you don't have a store near you, I guess you'll have to just take my word for it ;)


** All Images in this post are from LUSH, they are NOT my images! To see more product pictures, check out the LUSH website!**

LUSH Caca Brun Henna Hair Color Review

I never dye my hair, I hate how fried peoples hair looks after they've changed their color tons of times, so I steer clear. But I'm up for anything that's all natural (and weird), so obviously I jumped at the chance to try henna dye. I really really love the way my hair turned out from this, so if you're patient and up to try something new and different (and a little challenging), I seriously recommend.

First thing you need to know about Henna Dye is that it only comes in dark and red hues. You cannot dye your hair blonde with henna, but I suppose you could dye blonde hair darker with it. Caca Brun is advertised as the most subtle of Lush's henna dyes. My hair is brown and I wasn't looking for too drastic of a color change, which is why I went with Caca Brun instead of Caca Noir.

What It Does:

Henna is color that binds to your hair and adds to your original color. It's great if you have grays and it's also just an amazing hair treatment even if it doesn't change your color. It coats each individual hair so it deep conditions your hair making it smooth and tangle-less once its dry.

How To Use It:

Ok so this is where it gets a little complicated. This is NOT like a regualr dye job. Like I said before, you need to have patience to do this. The dye comes solid in bricks. It comes with six bricks, but you don't use all six. The package says two, but if you have a lot of hair you could go with three. My hair goes to the middle of my back and it's THICK- I used two bricks but I probably could have gone with three because I used every bit of the mixture from the two bricks.

• Put your henna bricks in a double boiler or a pot on the stove. Boil water separately in another pot
• Add the boiling water to your henna and mix until it's the consistency of brownie batter
• Apply the henna dye to your hair starting at roots and working out to your ends- cover your whole head
• Once the henna is applied let it sit for at LEAST an hour. I left it on for two, but you can leave it on as long as you want (next time I'm leaving it on for 3-4 hours) The henna will harden on your hair and look really weird and kind of gross( caca means poo in french...)
• *If you want your hair to have a reddish hue to the dark brown it will be, cover your head in saran wrap.
• Rinse the dye out- this may take awhile. I was in the shower for almost an hour. I washed it out with my Jumping Juniper shampoo bar and conditioned it with my Jungle conditioning bar (you will have to wash and repeat a couple of times)
• Let your hair air dry & love the results! You can henna again in a week if you want to deepen the color.

Tips&Tricks:

You need gloves to do this, unless you want your hands to be caca brun-ed for weeks. I also used a bowl and an application brush thats normally used for chemical dye. Keep and open mind when doing this, because at times I was like "WTF am I doing to my hair right now, wtf is this stuff", but it turned out great and I'm so glad I did it. Your color will set over the following few days after the treatment. I gave Caca Brun 5 stars because I just thought the whole process was really unique and cool, and I love the way my hair looks and feels. This isn't for everyone, and if you're used to going to the salon or dying your hair the regular chemical way all the time, you might not like it. I like weird herbal remedies and funky all natural stuff so this was right up my alley. If you try this- good luck! I hope you love it as much as I do!

** All Images in this post are from LUSH, they are NOT my images! To see more product pictures, check out the LUSH website!**

LUSH It's Raining Men and Rose Jam Reviews

I love LUSH's soaps, but I go through them so fast that I'd probably have to buy a pound of soap it I wanted it to last me longer than two weeks. So I decided to try out the shower gels hoping that they would last me longer. The gels are totally awesome and they do last longer if you use a small amount in a loofah each use.These are two of my favorite smelling shower gels I've come across at LUSH (so far). 

Its Raining Men

*****

Oh God I love this smell. This was the first gel I purchased after I went through a huge hunk of Honey I Washed The Kids in a week. This gel smells almost exactly like Honey I Washed The Kids, except the toffee smell in it is a little stronger. Its Raining Men is made with lotus flower, honey, rosehip, orange and bergamot oils, and tigerlily. Its a must have scent & if you don't like it I think you're insane.

What It Does:

Cleanses your skin and the honey in it makes it a major moisturizer. Your skin will thank you after this one.

How To Use It:

Squeeze it out, rub it on & rinse it off!

Tips&Tricks:

I use this with a loofah & I only squeeze out a little bit. It suds up a lot and a little should cover your whole body. I love this gel so much sometimes I re-wash myself two or three times with it during one shower. I gave it five stars because it moisturizes my skin to the point where I don't even have to use lotion after my shower, and because it smells like heaven. I love this gel so much, my shower will never be without it again :)

Rose Jam

*****

Rose Jam is the only scent that will ever even come close to my love for It's Raining Men. I love this one equally, and the fact that it's only available during the holidays makes me cry. This is a floral scent, a lot different from It's Raining Men. Rose Jam is made of goji berries, argan oil, vanilla infusion, rose, and lemon. It smells very strong and sweet, but its not overpowering. It's just a very nice smell in general.

What It Does:

Rose jam cleans and hydrates your skin

How To Use It:

Squeeze it out, rub it on & rinse it off

Tips&Tricks:

I use this the same way I use It's Raining Men (small amount with a loofah). I gave this five stars because I'm obsessed with the smell, and the ingredients are amazing. I love the effects argan oil has on my skin and I love it even more in this shower gel. I highly recommend this if you like floral scents! This is another one I can't live without, I'll be stocking up so I'll have enough to last me until next holiday season.

** All Images in this post are from LUSH, they are NOT my images! To see more product pictures, check out the LUSH website!**

LUSH Ocean Salt Review

****

Lush's Ocean Salt is currently the store's top selling product, and at first I wasn't really sure what all the hype was about. Ocean Salt is made with sea salt, avocado, coconut, lime and vodka. It seriously smells like an awesome cocktail. Definitely worth a try.

What it does:

Ocean salt removes all the dead skin and dirt from your body and face, exfoliates and leaves your skin feeling sooo smooth.

How To Use It:

When you first open your ocean salt you'll see that all of the salt in it is all at the top. You need to mix it up (get a wooden mixer in the store before you leave) or your skin will hate you for it. After mixing you just take a scoop with your fingers and massage it on to wet skin on your face or body. Then rinse and pat skin dry with a clean towel.

Tips&Tricks:

So ocean salt is supposedly for your body AND face, but I think its way too abrasive for my face. I used it once and didn't have any problems with it but i just think it's too harsh for my skin. I've also read some reviews that it made users break out badly afterward. I'll probably use it on my face sometime again, but not regularly. As for use as a body wash I LOVE it. It smells so so soo good and my skin feels awesome from it. I gave it four stars mainly because it is listed as a body and face wash & I don't love it for my face. But if this were strictly a body wash I would have definitely given 5 stars!

** All Images in this post are from LUSH, they are NOT my images! To see more product pictures, check out the LUSH website!**

LUSH Jumping Juniper & Jungle Reviews

These weird bars are surprisingly effective! I have only had the pleasure of using one type of shampoo bar & one type of conditioning bar so far, but they had such an effect on my hair that I had to review them ASAP! So here they are! 

Jumping Juniper 
*****

Jumping Juniper is made with juniperberry oil, lemon, lime, lavender and rosemary. The smell is nice and not too strong. This bar leaves your hair feeling fresh and clean, stripped of dirt and oils.

What It Does:

Clearly, this is shampoo...so it don't really have to state what it does :). I will say that this bar is much more effective at its job than any liquid shampoo I've ever used.

How To Use:

You can either rub the bar in your hands, then rub the lather in your hair or just rub the bar right on your head. This lathers up very quickly in your hair, and you do not need to use very much- a little goes a long way. Once you've massaged it in, rinse it out. (duh)

Tips&Tricks:

I definitely recommend a Lush tin for this one because if you let it sit in your shower it will keep seeping shampoo and you wont get as many uses out of it. I also found that once I rinsed it out my hair felt like it was hard to run my fingers through, but I'm assuming that's because the shampoo had stripped all of the grease and oil out of my hair. I gave it 5 stars because application was easy & it cleaned my hair like crazy! <3 It!!

Jungle
****

Jungle is a conditioning bar. It's made with fresh fruit and cocoa butter. The cocoa butter is what really makes a difference in your hair, the fruitiness seems like it's mostly for scent. This leaves your hair feeling like silk and smelling like a garden.

What It Does:

Jungle detangles and hydrates your hair. You can really feel a difference in your hair, especially once it dries.

How To Use:

You use this bar the same way as Jumping Juniper. I prefer to rub this one right on my scalp and hair rather than rub on my hands to apply.

Tips&Tricks:

One thing I noticed about this product is that applying is a little difficult. You don't feel like you're getting a lot from it especially when you're rubbing it on your hands. This is why I just put the whole bar on my head and work it through my hair. I also like to let it sit in my hair for 5 minutes before rinsing it out. The application is a little strange but once your hair dries it really does feel and smell amazing. I recommend a Lush tin for this one too for longevity so you have maximum amount of washes from it. I gave it 4 stars, but if the application was a little less annoying I would have given it 5! Still love it though :)

** All Images in this post are from LUSH, they are NOT my images! To see more product pictures, check out the LUSH website!**

LUSH Skincare Top Picks

So for my first post I figured I would talk about what got me so obsessed with Lush in the first place- My "holy grail" skincare items. This is my skincare routine I use every night, and all of these are rated 5 stars in my book. I have somewhat normal skin with an oily t-zone. I had been breaking out badly in that area and this stuff turned my face around after one week of use-ONE WEEEEK guys! I've tried almost all of the "high end" products out there and none of them ever did the trick, so trust me these are definitely worth checking out. The products are in order of how I use them. My nightly routine is Ultrabland, Cosmetic Warrior, Tea Tree Water, and Full of Grace. In the morning I use Tea Tree Water and Full of Grace. Enjoy!

 Ultra Bland

*****

UltraBland is a cleanser- sort of like a cold cream and is ahhhmazing. It's suitable for all skintypes. It's a thick cream made of essential oils, honey, beeswax, rosewater, and iris flower extract. It really does get EVERYTHING off of your face, including stubborn eye makeup.

What It Does:

Pulls all of the oil, dirt and makeup off of your face, leaving it sooo smooth and fresh!

How To Use:

UltraBland can be applied right on you face- with makeup on and all. This seems weird, but trust me, it works! Massage the ultraBland into your face after application. After you have massaged it in all you do is remove it with a wet wash cloth or cotton ball and ta daaa! Cleanest face ever!

Tips&Tricks:
You don't have to, but I like to keep my UltraBland in the fridge, I like the consistency better and the coolness feels so good on my face. I also recommend using a wet wash cloth with warm water instead of a cotton ball. You will literally end up using about 7 cotton balls to get it all off, and the wash cloth just feels better on your face. I gave this 5 stars because I have never had a cleanser work so well on my face without any breakouts or drying afterward. I love everything about it, and the fact that it removes my eye makeup so easily too is a huge plus!


Cosmetic Warrior
*****

Cosmetic Warrior is one of Lush's many spectacular fresh face masks.  It's for breakout prone skin & it really does the job pretty quickly. This mask has many acne fighting ingredients, such as kaolin, fresh garlic, fresh green grapes, egg whites, honey and tea tree oil. Warning: it smells a little funky (but its worth it!)

What It Does:

This mask fights breakouts while it smooths and tightens pores, in my opinion a miracle worker!

How To Use:

After cleansing your face (UltraBland), dry your face and rub this on. You can use a little and spread it out as much as possible, but since lush's masks expire quicker than their other products, and I like my masks this, I use quite a bit. I coat my face with about two scoops with my fingers. Leave the mask on for 10 minutes, then wash it off.....and stare at your beauutiful skin.

Tips&Tricks:

Okay first of all, I have to say it again...some of you may not like the smell of this mask...at ALL. Personally it doesn't bother me one bit, but I've read some rants online about the smell. This is a fresh mask with eggs and garlic in it so don't expect it to smell like strawberries, people! Also, don't let the mask dry all the way...I know its tempting, but don't! 10 minutes is plenty of time for it to be on your face! Even if the smell DID bother me I still would have given this mask 5 stars. My face is glowing after this mask and it totally dries out any zits. I use it every night but you don't have to, every other night or a couple times a week is fine.

*As with all of Lush's face masks...Don't forget you need to refrigerate this!

Tea Tree Water

*****

Lush's Tea tree water is a toner water that brightens and freshens your skin after just a few spritzes. This toner water is made with antibacterial tea tree, juniperberry, and grapefruit. It fights blemishes and just makes your face feel so much cleaner after use.

What It Does:

Fights blemishes and clears excess oil for your skin, but doesn't dry you out in the process.

How To Use:

After cleansing, spray this on and wipe off with a cotton ball. If you want it to tighten your pores let it air dry.

Tips&Tricks:

I don't really have any tips for this one, it's pretty straight forward! Just spray it on and wipe off, you'll see on the cotton ball that it removes excess dirt and oil that you didn't even know what there! I like to use this after Cosmetic Warrior to make sure I got everything off of my face. Your face feels like it's breathing after use- I love this stuff! I use it in the morning when I wake up and at night after my mask. I gave it 5 stars because it really delivers, like all of my other top skincare picks. You can feel and see a difference in your face!

Full of Grace

*****

Oh how I looove this little bar! It may look like soap but Full of grace is actually a moisturizer, and a good one! It's made of tropical butters, chamomile and portobello mushrooms! Yes, MUSHROOMS. I know that looks really strange, but mushrooms are actually great for your skin. It smells fresh and works wonders for your face.

What It Does:

Moisturizes and soothes your skin while maintaining skin elasticity. 

How To Use:

I use this after wiping off my toner water. Simply take the bar and rub it on your face, the bar will melt on your face due to your body temp. 

Tips&Tricks:

I prefer to keep Full of Grace in the refrigerator, I like the feel of it when its cold and I don't have to worry about it accidentally melting. I recommend that you get a tin to keep it in, and when you're rubbing it on a little goes a long way! One bar should last you about 3 months (depending on how much you use it). I use this morning and night. I gave it 5 stars because it makes my face look healthy & renewed.....and because its just freakin awesome :)

Agree or Disagree on my top picks? I'd love to know your Lush skin routines! 

xo Jessa

** All Images in this post are from LUSH, they are NOT my images! To see more product pictures, check out the LUSH website!**

Catastrophe Cosmetic Blog - First Post

Welcome to Catastrophe Cosmetic- A Lush cosmetics Blog! If you've never used any Lush products and you're thinking about trying them out, there are so many options that the store can seem REALLY overwhelming. I'm hoping with this blog I can offer some good advice and direction on what the store has to offer.  But before I post any reviews you need to know my three golden rules on Lush:

• Lush products are made fresh with natural ingredients, which means they do expire. ALWAYS check the expiration dates on everything!
• Most things are not as expensive as they seem. A little goes a long way with these products so you are definitely getting your money's worth. 
• Don't judge the product by how it looks.... A lot of this stuff is unique and different, but TRUST ME- it works wonders! Try it before you judge it!

For each review I'll post pros, cons, and any special tips or advice I have for that particular product. I'll also be rating the product on a 1-5 star scale.  My goal is to convert you alllll into LUSHERS :) 

xoxo Jessa