LUSH Caca Brun Henna Hair Color Tutorial

So after my first Henna review I received a lot of questions about it, mostly asking for just a little bit more of an in-depth description than what I offered up the first time around. So, instead of just writing another review to compliment my last one I'm giving you a whole step-by-step on the henna process along with pictures so I don't have to try to describe what this stuff looks like throughout the dye job. I did my second Henna dye to my hair last night ( My first time doing it was in November), here's my method & how it turned out :

1. Choose Your Henna

Once again, This is CACA BRUN. Lush henna also comes in CACA NOIR (black) and CACA ROGUE (red) & CACA MARRON (chestnut). The brick actually comes with 6 squares, but as I said before this is my second time using the henna so I only have 4 squares left.

2. Open Henna Instructions

The wrapped pictured above opens up and all of your instructions along with needed materials are listed. There are a few things on the material list that I think are unnecessary, so I'm only going to list the things you ABSOLUTELY NEED:

*Rubber Gloves *Double Boiler  *Saucepan *Coloring Brush *Hair clip(s) * Towels 

It also lists newspapers to cover the floor.... I guess if you think this little project is going to turn into a total trainwreck you might want to cover your floor with something. I never needed anything, but I've always had somebody do this to my hair for me. I guess if you're brave enough to try this alone I'll suggest the newspapers.

3. Prepare Double Boiler and Saucepan

So the instructions on the henna wrapper say you only need a double boiler OR a small saucepan inside of a larger saucepan, but I think my way is easier. Here I have a double boiler, which is where I will put my two squares of henna. I also have a saucepan next to the boiler, which has extra water I will pour into the double boiler little by little until the henna is the consistency I want it. 

4. Place Henna Into the Double Boiler

Break Two squares off of your brick and put them into the double boiler. If you have really long, thick hair you might want to go with three. I have hair that goes down to the middle of my back, and two squares coat all of my hair.

Let the henna squares sit in the double boiler for a couple minutes just to soften, NOT to melt.

5. Add Boiling Water On Top Of Henna

Pour the boiling water from your saucepan into your double boiler (on the henna). Add it in a little at a time and mix as you add it. When the consistency of your henna is similar to that of brownie batter its ready to be applied to your hair.

6. Apply Henna Into Hair

This is when you'll realize why I'm really stressing the use of rubber gloves! This part can get pretty messy, especially if  you're doing it yourself (you're insane). You can apply this on just using your hands, or the coloring brush (I think a mix of both works best). Either way, you need to separate your hair into layers, start from the bottom & work your way up, clipping up the parts you haven't reached yet.

When finished, your hair should be completely covered. Immediately after you finish applying, clip it up to make it stay in place while you wait. If you want a red tone to your new color: tightly cover your hair with saran wrap or a plastic bag.

7. Leave On At Least 2 Hours

Yeah I know, Is a LONG time. But hello, its natural dye...it takes time! I'd sit 12 hours with this in my hair before I ever used chemical dye. The package actually says 1-2 hours, so you can get away with one but I always go for 2 hr minimum. After a little while your Henna will start to harden, and I can't speak for any of the other colors but the Caca Brun looks green when it's hardened... GREEEEN. But the brick looks green when you buy it so I guess Its not surprising. 

If you compare the above pictures to the ones in step 6 you can see how my hair in these shows the signs of the henna hardening. 

8. Rinse Out Dye

Sorry, No picture for this one :). When you get in the shower start rinsing out the henna with warm water ( I usually use hot but warm will work too). Tip your head back so you don't get it in your eyes. After you have rinsed some of it out grab some shampoo and wash your hair normally. This will help get the remaining parts of the dye out. You may have to wash & rinse twice. Once the dye is all out condition your hair as usual. 

I love my Results from using Caca Brun. I let my hair air dry naturally & brushed it before I took the after picture. i had done the same thing in my before picture, and as you can see my hair is A LOT less frizzy after Henna. Henna doubles as a moisturizing treatment, there is a very noticeable difference in the texture of your hair once it dries, its extremely hydrated and healthy looking.

Before

After

This picture makes my hair look a little more red than it actually is. It's a really nice chocolate brown, when the sun hits I get a hint of deep red.  I absolutely love the color I get, I get much better results from this than chemical dyes & my hair comes out healthier too.

All Pictures in this post are my personal photos from my Instagram account. Ig name: @_jessakay

LUSH Karma Solid Perfume Review

I won't be doing my usual review for this one because we obviously know how perfume works and what it does. So i'll just keep it simple with a quick description and a few tips I picked up from using it.

Karma is hands down one of my favorite scents from my perfume collection. However I think Karma is and acquired scent,  people love or absolutely hate it.  After I bought Karma Kream I was hooked on the smell so I jumped at the chance to get a perfume. If you've never tried any of the karma scented products, it's a blend of patchouli, lemongrass, and orange oils.  Sounds like a weird combo, but its actually nice and unique.

 The bottle is really small, about the height of a regular sized lipstick which makes it a perfect on-the-go product. The price ( around 20$) looks kind of high considering the small size, but this product is VERY concentrated. It's extremely potent so you do NOT need to use a lot of this or you'll literally leave a trail of patchouli lingering behind you wherever you go.

How To Use It:

The bottle is a push-up stick, and if you push too hard the whole thing will pop up and good luck getting that thing back down without getting orange gel everywhere. Push gently on the bottom, then apply a small amount on your skin. I usually just put some on my wrists then wipe from my wrists onto my neck. Once again, do not over do it, its very strong!

I like this product, but the push-up part is a big con. If it were a twist up stick I think I would like it a lot more. However the size is convenient and the perfume itself will last you a long time.  Overall I'll definitely be buying another Karma solid perfume once mine runs out, and I'll probably try a few more scents too. If only Lush would tweak the design of the tube a little bit....

All Pictures in this post are my personal photos from my Instagram account. Ig name: @_jessakay

LUSH Cupcake Fresh Face Mask Review

So I finally made my way back out to LUSH & picked up a few new things, one of which was the Cupcake fresh face mask. I had to review this first because this mask is AMAZING. I've gone through five pots of Cosmetic Warrior and was reluctant to break the cycle because it worked so well for me. But using the same things over and over doesn't really work well for the reviewing aspect so I took one of the Lush girl's advice and went for it. super glad I did, I'm really happy with this one!

Cupcake literally smells like brownie batter, its tempting to eat the stuff even though I'm sure it doesn't taste all that great.  It's a blend of cocoa, spearmint  for cooling, vanilla absolute to calm redness, and rhassoul mud to cleanse. 

What It Does:

Just like most of the fresh face masks, Cupcake soothes and cleans your skin. It pulls out any unwanted oil/ dirt and leaves your face feeling soo soft. Cupcake is for all skin types, but it's especially effective for oily and spotty skin.

How To Use It:

Just grab a clump of it and rub it all over your face. Like so :

Yes it looks totally weird. Keep it on for 5-10 minutes then rinse off with warm water.

Tips & Tricks:

One thing I noticed is that this mask is not as easy to spread as Cosmetic Warrior, so I either had to use a little more or a put a tiny bit of water on my face beforehand to moisten the mask and make it thinner. As usual keep it in the fridge.  I'm not even rating this one because I'm obviously giving it 5 stars and I think my 5-star rating for everything is getting a little redundant :) Anyway, I love it and i would actually recommend this over Cosmetic Warrior if you're sensitive to certain smells and you want something that smells good on your face as opposed to something that smells a little strange.

All Pictures in this post are my personal photos from my Instagram account. Ig name: @_jessakay

LUSH Buffy Review

*****

OMG Buffy. I was actually reluctant to buy Buffy because I had just picked up Aqua Mirabilis the week before. They look almost identical, so I figured there couldn't be too much of a difference in the products. Long story short, I was wrong. Buffy is amazing! Buffy is made with cocoa butter and shea butter for moisturizing. While using Buffy you'll also notice the small hard pieces in the product- these are ground almonds, rice, and beans, and they're actually excellent for exfoliation. 

What It Does:

Buffy deeply exfoliates skin, but also doubles as an amazing moisturizer.

How To Use It:

All you have to do it rub Buffy on your skin, concentrating on areas that are in need of some serious exfoliating/ moisturizing. ( roughtor dry spots). 

Tips&Tricks:

Buffy comes in two sizes, one is pictured above and the other is about double the size. When I first bought Buffy I went for the smaller square. I ended up loving the stuff and using it up within like 10 days. Obviously my shower could never be without Buffy again, so I went and bought the big square. The bigger square has lasted me about a month now, and I still have a ton left. Long story short- invest in the bigger Buffy. Also, when using the larger Buffy I like to stick it in half of a square Lush tin to make it easier to hold while using in the shower. All in all I love this product. I rate things as having 5 stars A LOT, but these are all the products I own myself and I really do absolutely love them! Buffy is definitely on my must- have list.

LUSH Curly Wurly Review

*****

I have been so in love with LUSH's shampoo bars, that I really didn't even give any of their other shampoo products a second glance. However, last time I was in LUSH, I had no idea what to get. I'd just been there for black Friday the week before, and I had already bought everything I had my eye on. So I wandered around for a little while until Curly Wurly popped out at me. I have curly hair and I'm somewhat neglectful to it. I've spent so many years straightening it that a lot of my curl has gone away :( . This product is advertised as restoring your curls, and mine definitely needed a little TLC, so I went for it.

Aaaand I am really glad I did it! This shampoo is paraben free & was an excellent moisturizer for my hair. Curly Wurly has a knockout ingredient list including creamed coconut, coconut oil, and mashed avocado butter. If you haven't read about all of the uses for virgin coconut oil, you need to! I've been a solid believer in coconut oil's effects for a looong time, so when I saw that this shampoo was full of coconut goodness it totally sold me on the product.  

What it does:

Curly Wurly moisturizes hair while calming frizz and restoring natural curls.

How To Use It:

This shampoo is in a tub. Its sort of a liquid, but its really thick. The thickness comes from the coconut oil, it makes it much easier to get out of the tub with your fingers. I just take two fingers and scoop out as needed. You can start to lather it in your hands, or just sludge it on your hair and lather. After rinsing, condition like you regularly would. The pic below can give you an idea of the thickness, and you can also see the actual coconut flakes in the shampoo.

Tips & Tricks:

One thing I can tell you about this shampoo is that you need to spend some time rinsing it out to make sure you get all of the coconut flakes out. I also like to let this sit in my hair for a little bit instead of rinsing it right out.  After I use this shampoo I don't use a conditioning treatment like I normally would after using the shampoo bars. You get a lot of moisturizing from this, so additional moisturizing treatments aren't needed, they may make your hair look greasy. I adore this shampoo, but I don't use it every night. I usually switch it up between this and Jumping Juniper or Godiva. I gave Curly Wurly 5 stars because it does exactly what it says it does. My hair feels great afterwards, and I love the ingredients in it.

All Pictures in this post are my personal photos from my Instagram account. Ig name: @_jessakay

LUSH Bath Bomb Reviews

If you haven't tried LUSH's Bath bombs yet, you need to get on it ASAP! The bath bombs are usually the first thing people try when they go into the store, but they were actually one of the last things I was interested in (shame on me).  After going nuts with skincare and hair products, I finally decided to try a bath bomb, and it was a slippery slope after my first experience. I want to try every bath bomb EVER. These things are SO cool, it's like a giant alka-seltzer for your tub. I've only tried four so far, but I'm planning on grabbing some more in my next LUSH haul. The bombs I've tried are in order according to my most favorite and least favorite (even though they were all amazing). 

#4 BOMBARDINO

Bombardino is a holiday bomb from LUSH which means it's only available for a limited time! This guy is super cute and smells like fresh whipped cream (seriously amaaazing scent when it's still solid). This bomb scent is inspired by a hot drink served in the Italian Alps. Its made with Sicilian lemon oil and absolute along with bits of cocoa butter that moisturize your skin. 

When you drop it in the tub....

You feel like you're literally soaking in a cocktail. Now I don't drink much, so this wasn't my favorite scent once it was in the tub. I liked the way the bomb smelled better BEFORE I dropped it in, but I have a weird thing with alcohol, so I'm sure you'll like it more than me :) This bomb fizzed a lot and turned the bathwater golden yellow once it was done. Not really the prettiest water..my boyfriend asked me if I peed in the tub when he saw it, but forget him...he's an ass. Still, this bomb is very nice.

#3 SEX BOMB

Sexbomb is a pretty little bath bomb made with jasmine, sage, soya milk, and ylang ylang. This bomb is known from the ylang ylang -an aphrodisiac, which is where the bomb gets its name. Jasmine is my favorite scent so I adored the way this smelled.

When you drop it in the tub...

Sex Bomb turns your water a beautiful light pink, smells awesome AND the little flower in the middle of the bomb expands & floats around your tub. This bomb fizzes up quickly, and eventually the petals break off of the flower and continue to float while you soak. So relaxing! You skin also feels great after this thanks to the soya milk, and your skin smells like jasmine. I loved the smell of this before and after it fizzed.  I definitely recommend this one, and it's not a holiday bomb (thank god) so it's always available, assuming they haven't sold out of their current stock!

#2 LUXURY LUSH PUD

LOOOVE this one! One of my LUSH girls recommended this to me in the store (thanks Sheree!), & she was spot on with her description/ positive opinion of it. The Luxury Pud is also a holiday bomb, if you couldn't already tell by the holly design in the middle of it. It's made with lavender oil, benzoin and tonka absolute. It smells great and the bomb itself is so adorable. Plus the little polka dot colors do something reallllly cool once it fizzes up...

When you drop it in the tub...

It fizzes quickly and turns your tub purple, pink, and blue hues. As promised- the polka dots stick around after the fizz is gone. They float around the tub and just look amazing. It seriously is so pretty, my mom was here when I dropped this one in and she was literally screeching because of how cool it looked (" WHATS IT DOING!?! WHAT IS THAT?! ITS MAGIC!"). This bomb is what really got me hooked on LUSH's bath bombs, you CANNOT find something this great for your bath time routine anywhere else. The luxury Pud is a bomb you need to try if you're just getting into the bombs, I guarantee you'll love it.. and you might even flip out about it like my crazy mother did :)

#1 SHOOT FOR THE STARS

Okay so It was so hard choosing my #1 between this or the Luxury Pud...but I finally decided on this one. Shoot For The Stars is another holiday bomb, and thats seriously a damn shame because I would be buying this all year round! This bomb is scented like my personal favorite Honey I Washed The Kids soap. Incase you didn't read my soap review, Honey I Washed The Kids basically smells like a mixture of toffee, honey, and creme brulee. It is FANTASTIC. This bomb also has some shimmer in it to make your tub/ your skin look even prettier.

When you drop it in the tub...

It looks like your bathwater is a galaxy, you can clearly see where the name comes from. This bomb doesn't fizz as fast as the rest, it kind of froths and floats around. However, since it froths, the colors seep out slowly so you will get some really nice color combos/ swirls in your tub along with the shimmer I mentioned above. I wanted to soak in this bomb FOREVER! Plus, you smell like Honey I Washed The Kids once you're out of the tub. This is definitely another must have along with the Luxury Pud.

All Pictures in this post are my personal photos from my Instagram account. Ig name: @_jessakay

LUSH Top Soap Picks

I <3 LUSH soap, & I go through them like crazy. I love the way they're sold (chopped off of big chunks and weighed), and I love the way they leave my skin. While I haven't tried every soap, I've smelled & tried ENOUGH to facilitate a top 5 list. I'm not going to rate these on a star scale, because every one of them would receive 5 stars (duhh they're my faves). If you don't know where to start with LUSH soaps, start with one of these!

5. The Godmother

The Godmother is the scent of bubblegum and candy floss. This isn't usually the scent I look for when purchasing body products, but I wanted to throw something different in here. Although it's not my usual pick, I thought The Godmother smelled delightfully sweet, and I love that about it.

4. Snowglobe

Snowglobe is the scent of grapefruit and lemon. Its a lovely citrus smell that leaves you feeling clean, fresh, and renewed. This soap is a great pick me up for your morning shower, and I love the color. Snowglobe is only available during the holiday season, so if you try it and like it- stock up while you can!

3. Karma

I looove this scent! I use my Karma Kream religiously & I adore the solid perfume, so naturally this soap made my top picks. Karma is made with patchouli, lemongrass, orange oil, and pine oil to create an earthy and luscious scent. Karma is a "classic" scent by lush and if you haven't had the chance to smell it you definitely need to check it out. P.S. My boyfriend hates patchouli, but he loves this scent on me. So if the ingredient list is throwing you off, don't let it. Go smell it for yourself, then decide if you like it.

2. Honey I Washed The Kids

Not surprisingly, Honey I Washed the Kids is on my list. Also not surprisingly, its high up on the list. However, it may be surprising to some that it ISN'T number one. I truly love this soap. I love the scent, and I love the texture... I love everything about it. Honey I Washed The Kids is a toffee, honey, caramel scent that really is just amazing. This was the first LUSH soap I tried, and I will forever be buying it. The only reason I knocked it down to the #2 spot is because I judged it on everyday use. It was between this soap and my #1 pick, and I simply decided I would use my #1 pick more often. Seriously, one of the hardest decisions I've made all week :)

1. Alkmaar

I was so surprised that I did not see this on ONE Lush top soaps list throughout all of the blogs I read. I don't get it! This soap is OUTSTANDING. The smell is so sultry and feminine, and the soap itself is creamy and wonderful. Alkmaar is made with jasmine, honeysuckle, and vetivert, which in my opinion is a knockout combo. I had a really REALLY hard time deciding whether this would be my number one or not, and I finally came to the conclusion that this soap deserved some recognition, so I went for it. Honey I washed the kid's is almost everyone's number one, and I love it too, but when it comes down to it I'd rather smell like a sexy flower than a dessert. Enough said.



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