LUSH soap products.

[blackfungi]

hey,

i was wondering if any of you forum members have used any LUSH soap products before? are the products really that good? i am thinking of getting a hand lotion for my hands and some solid shampoo for the hair and a face cleanser and a shower soap. some recommendations would be most welcome too.

thanks,

b.f..

[maverick]

hi blackfungi!

i was actually there last night. i think their products are fun, but i feel like the stuff i pick up at whole foods is more wholesome - with ingredients i can pronounce.

[blackfungi]

thanks mav for that info. i wonder if there is a whole foods in canada? i will investigate.

b.f..

[maverick]

thanks mav for that info. i wonder if there is a whole foods in canada? i will investigate.

b.f..

they do - in british columbia and ontario. have a look here.

i've shopped a few times at the one in toronto - it's a beautiful store!

[maverick]

by the way, lush has some lovely bubble bath for the holidays. there is a gingerbread cookie that you'll want to bite into, but really shouldn't. there is also a jasmine lavender one that is a deep blue with a yellow crescent moon that also smells wonderful.

[Moose]

hey,

i was wondering if any of you forum members have used any LUSH soap products before? are the products really that good? i am thinking of getting a hand lotion for my hands and some solid shampoo for the hair and a face cleanser and a shower soap. some recommendations would be most welcome too.

thanks,

b.f..

Hi blackfungi,
When I travel I take their Godiva shampoo bar with me. My hair is very thick and coarse. I love the smell (very flowery) and my hair feels a whole lot softer. The bars last a long time, which is a good thing as they are a bit pricy. This is the only one of the Lush products I have any experience with.
Happy travels,
Moose

[flitcraft]

The solid shampoos are actually a bargain--you get about 200 shampoos from a single bar. And no plastic bottle to dispose of, either.

The soaps I can do without, though my husband likes them a lot. I find them rather expensive and they don't last as long as French milled soap. (So I buy them for him for Christmas... and use my soaps the rest of the year!)

[aiethabell]

I've tried a lot of their products (the staff at both the Seattle and Bellevue WA stores know me by name )

Solid shampoo bars: the New (that's the name), Squeaky Green, Godiva. Godiva can melt on a hot day. Don't fly with it to a hot location (or change planes at one if you check it - the ramp is blazing hot enough to melt it). I forgot it was in my bag and it melted in the trunk of the rental car. It has cocoa butter chunks in it as a built-in conditioner.

New smells like cinnamon; it's my fave. Squeaky Green I like for its scent (kind of woodsy-grassy). Get the tin (free if you buy more than 1) and keep the bar dry. Lasts l o n g e r than any bottle - dry it off and keep it dry between uses.

Lush makes the only solid conditioner that I know of: Jungle. Smell the ACTUAL piece you are buying: sometimes the stores have pre-cut pieces that get a little old. It works VERY well; rub it between wet hands, rub hands in wet hair like you're still washing. Rinse well. Again, this melts if it gets hot, so baggie it before you pack it. Unless I'm traveling in blazing heat, I don't 3-1-1 it and it's never been a problem.

Jelly soaps: they don't last long and need to be in your 3-1-1. Cute but not worth it.

Bath bombs: some have glitter. Read the ingredients if you don't do glitter. Use one in a hotel and I'd demand a nice big tip if I was your housekeeper...

Soaps: Porridge smells like oatmeal and vanilla, I always pack it for desert trips and as a hand soap - it's very nice for dry skin.

Noubar: smells like nuts, nice for dry skin.

The rest you'll have to smell for yourself, 'cause I've tried them and they just don't smell good on me (not much does, my bad and not Lush's).

Angels on Bare Skin and Dark Angels: these two face cleansers go a long way and work. DA especially good for breakouts and traveling to smoggy cities,

The bubble bars are nice, don't leak. The melts are heaven on desert trips or after getting toasted on the beach.

And I can't say enough good things about the Coconut deodorant powder or the T For Toes powder. When I kick off my shoes I KNOW there's no way my feet will stink. I can raise my arms and stow my Aeronaut in the hottest Phoenix heat and not smell, either, save for lightly of coconut.

Solid massage bars are good. They're addictive. So are the exfoliating ones. I use Running to the Embassy on my feet and Buffy on the rest of me.

If you don't like girly smells the first step into a Lush can knock you over. Go in anyway; some of the products go in my Aeronaut no matter where I'm going and will never leak. Long trip? They have stores worldwide. No store close? Their website has excellent service.

Just a FYI: Every year between Dec 26-Dec 31 Lush stores run a buy 1 get 2 free solid soap sale (and blow out the holiday gift sets) to clear old stock. I don't know for sure if they're still doing it this year. You can ask; if so, it's a great way to stock up!

[blackfungi]

I've tried a lot of their products (the staff at both the Seattle and Bellevue WA stores know me by name )

Solid shampoo bars: the New (that's the name), Squeaky Green, Godiva. Godiva can melt on a hot day. Don't fly with it to a hot location (or change planes at one if you check it - the ramp is blazing hot enough to melt it). I forgot it was in my bag and it melted in the trunk of the rental car. It has cocoa butter chunks in it as a built-in conditioner.

New smells like cinnamon; it's my fave. Squeaky Green I like for its scent (kind of woodsy-grassy). Get the tin (free if you buy more than 1) and keep the bar dry. Lasts l o n g e r than any bottle - dry it off and keep it dry between uses.

Lush makes the only solid conditioner that I know of: Jungle. Smell the ACTUAL piece you are buying: sometimes the stores have pre-cut pieces that get a little old. It works VERY well; rub it between wet hands, rub hands in wet hair like you're still washing. Rinse well. Again, this melts if it gets hot, so baggie it before you pack it. Unless I'm traveling in blazing heat, I don't 3-1-1 it and it's never been a problem.

Jelly soaps: they don't last long and need to be in your 3-1-1. Cute but not worth it.

Bath bombs: some have glitter. Read the ingredients if you don't do glitter. Use one in a hotel and I'd demand a nice big tip if I was your housekeeper...

Soaps: Porridge smells like oatmeal and vanilla, I always pack it for desert trips and as a hand soap - it's very nice for dry skin.

Noubar: smells like nuts, nice for dry skin.

The rest you'll have to smell for yourself, 'cause I've tried them and they just don't smell good on me (not much does, my bad and not Lush's).

Angels on Bare Skin and Dark Angels: these two face cleansers go a long way and work. DA especially good for breakouts and traveling to smoggy cities,

The bubble bars are nice, don't leak. The melts are heaven on desert trips or after getting toasted on the beach.

And I can't say enough good things about the Coconut deodorant powder or the T For Toes powder. When I kick off my shoes I KNOW there's no way my feet will stink. I can raise my arms and stow my Aeronaut in the hottest Phoenix heat and not smell, either, save for lightly of coconut.

Solid massage bars are good. They're addictive. So are the exfoliating ones. I use Running to the Embassy on my feet and Buffy on the rest of me.

If you don't like girly smells the first step into a Lush can knock you over. Go in anyway; some of the products go in my Aeronaut no matter where I'm going and will never leak. Long trip? They have stores worldwide. No store close? Their website has excellent service.

Just a FYI: Every year between Dec 26-Dec 31 Lush stores run a buy 1 get 2 free solid soap sale (and blow out the holiday gift sets) to clear old stock. I don't know for sure if they're still doing it this year. You can ask; if so, it's a great way to stock up!

thank you kindly for the detailed information on lush products.

i just found out that there is a store near where i live. i think that i really have to go into the store and take a whiff of everything and see if i agree with the smell i am smelling and i have a very keen sense of smell indeed.

i am definitely going to get something for my hair. i will not use the crap anymore that you buy from your local drugmart. i will get one of them solid shampoo bars for my hair. i will also get something for my body when i am in the shower. i do not take baths, a waste of water, so i am not going to be looking for those bath bombs. then something for my face to cleanse with and also something for my poor hands since i work outdoors a lot. so all in all, a total of four products out of lush that i am going to try.

what if you like like 4 different bars of soap for your hair? i guess 4 soap dishes?

[falconea]

I use Lush shampoo. Godiva works beautifully in my hair but I find the smell unbearably strong - the entire house stinks of it when I use it! So I use Seanik which has a much less strong smell and works well in my hair. I find that instead of having to wash my hair every second day I can wash my hair every 5 - 7 days using Seanik - I used to use very expensive Biolage shampoo and a separate conditioner on my extra fine, oily hair every second day, but Seanik has enough conditioning and doesn't seem to leave residue that attracts dirt. It's amazing and I love it for that reason.

My husband uses New and occasionally Squeaky Green on his very oily and dandruffy hair.

They're fantastic for travel.

I really, really hate going to the shop. The smell is so overwhelming to my sensitive nose that it took me some time to get around to actually walking in to buy a test bar!

I've been using Seanik for more than 2.5 years now.

Audrey

Audrey

[flitcraft]

This may be a bit far afield, but their Skin's Shangrila is an awesome moisturizer for mature skin. It's not cheap, but it's a lot less than Creme de la Mer or Valmont and it's vastly better. Also, their lemon cuticle cream, Lemony Flutter, is halfway between a wax and a cream and works great on elbows, feet, and knees as well as on cuticles. Mixed half and half with Ocean Salt (a creamy salt scrub), a dab of Lemony Flutter makes a great hand treatment--just rub your hands together like you're worrying or anticipating something, rinse off, and your hands will be soft, smooth, and refreshed. It's my go-to treatment when I've been gardening without gloves.

All of these, of course, need to be decanted into little jars into the 3-1-1 baggie. So only tangentially about travel, I suppose.

PS. Bring a little jar of ground coffee with you to the store to sniff when the overwhelming Lush scents get to you or you get olfactory fatigue. I learned this when visiting the Yankee Candle factory!

[blackfungi]

the smell out of the lush store is what put me off from buying anything from lush in the past. i have known about lush for ages but always thought that the colours seen inside the bars of soap and whatnot was just overkill and full of chemicals.

i can't wait to use that ginger soap thing for the body. ginger is amazing for colds etc....

[aiethabell]

My husband uses New and occasionally Squeaky Green on his very oily and dandruffy hair.

Oh, my. I've been using them on my fine, flyaway, straight-as-a-board more dry than normal hair!

Maybe my salesperson years ago made the wrong recommendation? As long as I use Jungle I'm fine...

Godiva does reek quite powerfully, which is why I rarely use it. But it really keeps your hair soft in the summer heat and tames the flyaways. BTW, forget about unscented things at Lush. I think it's against their religion. If they had unscented stuff I'd be a LOT happier!

As for Whole Foods, good luck with avoiding bad ingredients. Most of the Seattle Westlake store's shampoos and showergels had the same crappy ingredients as the mass-market stuff at Walgreen's and Fred Meyers. All they do is change the chemical 'name' slightly by using a derivative of the same 'ol stuff. Lush may use SLS in their shampoo bars but they're 'cleaner' than most.

Lush does use parabens and Tetrasodium EDTA in some of their products. Their monthly flyer lists ingredients, so does their website. I just avoid those items and use my stock promptly.

[cinnagirl]

I love the solid shampoos! I use Godiva, yes the smell can be overwhelming at first, but it doesn't really bother me. You can also wrap the bar in some paper towel to soak up some of the oils from the surface of the bar - you won't get as much of the smell. Hands down their best product is Dream Cream - I can't live without it! (In fact, I will have to brave the Eaton Centre tomorrow to pick some up) The staff are really knowledgable and helpful, and are happy to give you a sample or two with your purchase.

[Jaffa]

Ive used various solid shampoo bars, which take some getting used to at first.1 tip I got from the staff in the store, was to put a piece of greaseproof paper in the bottom of the tin first which makes it easiler to get the bar out.
Also got a free sample of the Jungle conditioner, which I have to try out. Another staff tip was to add some hot water to it, which will soften/liguidfy it(cant spell. Before you apply it to your hair, then tip the water out after use.It might help make the transition from normal conditioner to solid conditioner easiler to make. As this is the only 'non liguid' conditioner Ive found so far for travelling.
Hope this helps.