Lush New Items and Valentine's Day Haul

Oh boy, it's almost been a month since my last post. I have lots of stuff to share and they are coming up! I have some reviews. I have to post my February use-it-ups. And here is my Lush haul from the UK:


Into Thin Air Massage Bar - This looks like Wiccy but it smells like old formula Therapy! It contains mung (green) beans instead of red. For any of you guys missing the old Therapy, get this! I haven't used it yet so I can't tell you whether it works the same though.

Mint Julips Lip Scrub - New item! I thought this scrub was going to be a bit watery but rather it's like packed sugar. When I first opened the jar to smell it, I didn't really like it because it smelled kind of artificial. After I used it though, the mint chocolate scent came out and it made my lips so soft. The directions say that you can eat it after scrubbing, but when I did this I already brushed my teeth so I just rinsed it off. Even if I hadn't brushed my teeth, I'm a bit disgusted by the idea of eating my dead skin cells. Think about scrubbing your body with a sugar scrub and then licking it clean xD

Magic Mushroom Bubble Bar - This is the Valentine's day limited edition item. It is so darn cute! When it arrived at my door, it came in two pieces: the stem and the hat. The top part is supposed to smell like Yummy Yummy Yummy and the stem is supposed to smell like vanilla. I can't wait to use this.

Happy Blooming Bath Melt - This is one of the new items, only available right now from the UK. Sometimes it smells like cherry candy and other times it smells like nail polish. This melt is good for 3 baths. Yay for a new melt (finally)!

Schnuggle - This is the 2nd bar I ordered because I really like how it feels. It's not too oily like the regular massage bars and it leaves my skin soft when I wake up in the morning. The first few times it put me to sleep with ease, but I'm not sure about now.

Love Soap - Another Valentine's Day item. I heard that last year's version smelled like apple, and I was really excited to try it this year until I heard that this year is Sex Bomb scented. There's nothing wrong with the Sex Bomb scent, I just wanted to try something different. I actually thought the whole soap was covered in glitter, but it's only the top.

Ex-factor Bath Bomb - Oh Em Gee, this smells sooo good. This smells like Butterball but it doesn't have the cocoa butter bits. This is called the ex-factor and shaped like a person because you're supposed to imagine that it's your ex and then dunk its head into the water. Hah! Take that!

I also got samples of:
Creme Anglaise - This is also a new item. It's a lotion that comes in a black pot. It's supposed to be very luxurious and even thicker than Sympathy for the Skin. It's supposed to smell like a vanilla creme dessert, but when I sniffed it I didn't think it smelled too good. It smells kind of weird. It did make my hands soft though, but which Lush moisturizer doesn't?

Temptation Soap - This is a retro soap. It's supposed to smell like apples, but it doesn't smell like apples. It smells a bit weird too, kind of floral, kind of fruity. Too perfumy. Maybe it'll smell better once I use it.

Cosmic Dreamcatcher - First time getting a sample of a Massage Bar! Yay for Lush UK! It's irange and the chunk they gave me looks like cheddar cheese! It smells kind of medicinal and incensey. I'm not so sure if I like it.

Ooh and it looks like I got 2 new followers since the last time I checked. Thanks guy for subscribing!

January Use it Ups!

I just organized and labeled all of my Lush products according to dates that I bought them. I will be using up the ones that I bought towards the beginning of 2009. The ones in the picture are from March, April, and May of 2009.


1/2 First Seal Bubble Bar
Karma Bath Melt
Magic Egg Bath Bomb
Prince Bubble Bar
Champayne Supernova Bath Bomb
Haagenbath Bath Bomb
Sex Bomb Bath Bomb
Happy Pill Bath Bomb
Karma Bath Bomb
Karma Bubble Bar
1/2 Ice Hotel Bubble Bar
Black Pearl Bath Bomb
Hollywood Bubble Bar
1/2 Bathos Bubble Bar
Aqua Mirabilis Bath Melt
Creamy Candy Bubble Bar
Humango Bath Bomb
H'suan Wen Hua Hair Mask sample
Yellow Easter Egg
Pink Easter Egg

I probably won't be able to use all of this up in January, and it'll go into February, but I will update the list when February comes. Wish me luck because there will be new items for Valentine's Day.

December Let's-Use-It-Up Update

Now that it's January, it's time to update on what I have used up in December. I made a list of the things I wanted to use up, and here are the ones that I did:

Tval:
Pink Cotton Candy Shower Sundae sample
Strawberry Rhubarb Shower Sundae sample
Pumpkin Marshmallow Skin Smoothie sample
Banana Puddin' soap sample
Pumpkin Lavender soap sample
Coffee soap sample
Lavender Vanilla soap sample
Lavender Fig soap sample
Pink Cotton Candy Skin Smoothie sample
Gingerbread soap sample
Morning Dew soap sample
Neroli Cedarwood soap sample
Blueberry Verbena soap sample
Cranberry Biscotti Bath Treat
Shine Solid Shampoo Bar
Goatsmilk, Oat, and Molasses Cake Soap

Lush:
1/6 Blue Skies and Fluffy Clouds Bubble Bar
1/2 Temple of Truth Bubble Bar
Slice of Quinquereme soap
Bathos Bubble Bar 1/2 Left
1/2 First Swim Bubble Bar
Harvey Bath Bomb
Butterball Bath Bomb
1/6 Comforter Bubble Bar
Tiny sliver of Miranda soap
Slice of Snowcake soap
H'suan Wen Hua Hair Mask sample
American Cream Conditioner sample
Joy of Jelly Shower Jelly
Emperor of Ice Cream Buttercream
Therapy Massage Bar
1/3 Tub of Dreamwash
Pumpkin Soap
Small Piece of Milky Bar Soap

Pumpkin Soap, Milky Bar, and Tval's Goatsmilk Soap are currently on my soap dish and they are slowly diminishing. I'm thinking about using all the Tval soap samples as hand soap because I'm not really a big fan of using small slices of soap in the shower. I like to use the whole big chunk! Also, because I have so many big bars of soap! And shower gel! I've used the American Cream Conditioner twice already when I went on trips, and I only have a bit left so that should be pretty simple to finish up. I've also worked on the Dreamwash, but for some reason, I'm having a problem finishing that up. I've come to not like it much anymore as it feels very drying for my skin. I think the pot is pretty empty anyways, but I'm just too lazy to clean it out haha.

I'll also be posting my January use-it-up list soon!

Lush Boxing Day Sale Haul

I have been so busy (and lazy) during the holidays that I haven't really had time to post my most recent haul from the Christmas Sale at Lush! So here it is! I went to the stores on the 28th of December and most of the Xmas bath bombs were already so out! I so wanted more Cinders, So White, Jingle Spells, Christmas Party, and Snowshowers Jelly too!


People were staring at me when I walked out of the Lush store with two big ass bags, one in each hand.


These are the gifts I bought from the sale, which was buy 1 get 1 free.
Happy Christmas x2
Christmas Star x2
Christmas Party x2


Christmas items and soaps were all buy 1 get 2 free!
Here I have:
Snow Fairy Shower Gel x3
Mr. Butterball x6
Lil Lush Pud x3
Candy Cane Bubble Bar x3
Snowcake x3
Porridge x3
Angel's Delight
Figs n Leaves
Honey I Washed the Kids


Group shot!

I spent about $197 but I got $260 worth of free stuff! Pretty good huh?

Lush Haul Again

I admit, I've been lazy again. Why? Because school's over!! Yay!! I'm late to post these pictures since I received my packages last Thursday, but I have posted pictures on the Lush forums. So here they are!


I had 2 orders, one from the NA Fragrance chat party and one from a Lush store in Texas placed by phone order.


The one from Texas contained these goodies:
Almond Buttercream, Skinny Buttercream, and samples of: Coco Lotion, Snow Fairy Shower Gel, Alkmaar Soap, and Silky Underwear Dusting Powder! I order the two buttercreams because they are discontinued and I wanted to try them before they become nonexistent.


Samples were filled to the brim!

Guess what else I got?

A freakin' note from the SA I talked to on the phone named Sherry!

Closeups!


Almond Buttercream looks so gross here, haha. It looks like a piece of dung. It doesn't really smell that good to me at dry sniff. It just smells like soap.


I like the scent of Skinny Dip. It's spicy, and I can smell like a hint of a gingery undertone. I'm not even sure if there's any ginger in Skinny Dip. I can't wait to use this in the showa!


Oooh, the goodies from the chat party!


Here I have: Honey Lumps, Flying Saucers, Green Green Bath of Foam, Rainbow Worrier, Gold, Frankencense, and Beer Shower Jelly, Frothy the Snowman, Christmas Morning, Bon Bomb, Mr. Butterball (this was a replacement of Twinkle because Lush called me and told me they were out of stock!), Christmas Massage Bar, Chocolate Santa, Star Melt (this was from the stocking stuffer promotion)

Samples I got were:

Honey I Washed the Kids, Red Rooster, and Pineapple Grunt

I also requested a gift message this time just to see what it looked like.



Maybe next time I'll put a poem or something. Merry Christmas everyone!!

Lush Haul and A Gift Dewrapping!

Today my neighborhood Lush store had a party, and for some reason I could not resist. And there's a chat party tomorrow on the NA site! Now that I bought some stuff today, I don't think I'm going to be ordering anything from the chat party tomorrow because none of the items really intrigue me. And the Retro items are available from the UK whenever. Anyway, I think what intrigued me about going to this store party was that if you donated a food item, you would get a free Mr. Butterball. Also, you get to pick a prize from a box if you spend $45. These goodies and I thought if I spent over $50, I would get a medium-sized Snow Fairy Shower Gel. Oh, was I disappointed when I got there. They didn't have the Snow Fairy promotion anymore! Darn! I also smelled the Snow Fairy in the store, and decided that I didn't like it anyways. So here is what I got:

Floating Island
Ceridwen's Cauldron
Soft Couer
Each Peach
Sexy Boy
Sakura
Free Massage Bar Tin
The Mr. Butterball I got for free when I donated a can of Clam Chowder. My clam chowder was more expensive than the Mr. Butterball, but it's okay since it's for the hungry.
When I reached into the prize box, I was feeling around in there and I was deciding which one to get. I felt a black pot, some bombs in a bag, and a couple of small boxed giftsets. So I picked out a giftbox and got Blossom. Oh boy, I was disappointed again!! Because I just bought a Sakura!! Damn it! Yeah, I know..I should be grateful that I am even getting any freebies.

Then when I walked out of the store, I forgot to ask for samples!! Damn it again! I really wanted a sample of Coco Lotion :(

Okay, enough of the ranting. Two days ago, I finally decided to open my Hello Sailor gift that I got from the NA site when it was on sale because it was getting discontinued.








The gift came with a Too Drunk Emotibomb, a small Rub Rub Rub, a tattoo, and an EXPIRED 15% off coupon. Seriously, Lush it's not the end of 2009 and the coupons are already expired. Come on!! Anyway, I opened this gift because I wanted to use the Rub Rub Rub as a shampoo, and I am loving it so far. It's like using a blue colored Big :)

My Daily Face Routine

I know you guys have been waiting for me to post my face routine, so here it is! First of all, let me tell you a little about what type of skin I have. I have very sensitive skin. And I have acne. Usually by the end of the day, the areas around my nose are the oilest, so I either have to blot or retouch my makeup. Most of my acne live on my chin and I'll occasionally get them around my nose too. I also have a lot of dark spots on various locations on my face due to scarring from the pimples. I didn't really have any pimples when I was in high school, but since two years ago my face has erupted with volcano spots. You see, I get the huge under-the-skin ones that stay uninvited for weeks, sometimes even months. In high school I used Proactiv and it seemed to work, but for some reason I stopped using it. Maybe it stopped working. I don't really remember.

Then one day, I was looking up on Youtube for acne solutions, when I came across a brand called Lush. People raved about their facial products and the wonders it did for their acne, so I immediately went to Lush's website to see if they had any stores around me. And yes, there it was, in San Francisco. I went to the store the same day and grabbed Fresh Farmacy, Tea Tree Water Toner, Vanishing Cream, Sweet Japanese Girl, and Mask of Magnaminty. I used these products for about two months, but I could not continue using Fresh Farmacy as it burned my face. Then I resorted to Coalface, but it seemed to dry out my skin too much and caused my pimples to get worse. Ahh, and then there was Herbalism. Which did not work either.

I then resorted to the dermatologist, who prescribed me with Tretinoin topical and an antibiotic called Doxycycline Hyclate. After the second week on the Doxycycline, I got so sick. The first time I got nauseous, I threw up in class! After that I would get nauseous every time I took the pill, so I just couldn't take it anymore and stopped taking it completely. I really haven't felt the same since.

Then another day, I was looking in the Lush forums in the "Other Companies You Love" section, when I found Tval's skincare. My first order from Tval were mostly bath products, but I decided to order some samples of their skincare products. I got samples of the Deep Cleansing Oil, the Oil free Lotion w/ Strawberries and Salicylic Acid, the Raspberry Exfoliating Toner, and the Sweet Cheeks Face Mask.

Boy, did I see some improvements on my face! So I ordered full sized products, including the Cleansing Milk with Geranium.

This is everything I use in a day.

In the mornings I use:

Step 1. Deep Cleansing Oil with Mandarin and Cedar
I pump the oil in the palm of my hand and apply the oil to a dry face with my fingertips. I massage the oil all over my face, and then I rinse it off with warm to hot water in the shower. After showering, I splash my face with cold water. I think this step is very important because it helps close your pores and it tones your skin at the same time. Ever since I've been doing this last step, my acne has improved as well.

Step 2. Raspberry Exfoliating Toner
I pour some toner (only a squirt, a little goes a long way) onto a cotton pad and wipe it all over my face, concentrating on the areas that have more acne.

Step 3. Olay Total Effects Eye Transforming Cream
I take a dab of cream from the jar with my pinky finger and dab it on my upper lids and around my eyes.

Step 4. Oil free Lotion with Strawberries and Salicylic Acid
In the above picture, I show the full sized product, but the first time I only ordered the travel size with the pump. Since I find the pump more convenient, I transferred the lotion from the full size to the travel size container. I only use one pump and it's enough to moisturize my whole face.

Step 5. Makeup
I normally use the Bare Minerals foundation, but just a few days ago, I have decided to switch to the drug store brand that I used in high school. Since I didn't have any acne in high school, I am trying to see if this foundation will work again. It's the Neutrogena Microclear Foundation. It's supposed to prevent and treat existing acne, and so far so good.


At nighttime before bed:

Step 1. Neutrogena Eye Makeup Remover
I use this to remove my eyeliner first before using a cleanser.

Step 2. Cleansing Milk with Geranium
The directions do not tell you to use it on a damp or dry face, but like the deep cleansing oil, I use it on a dry face. I use one full pump and massage it all over my face. I rinse with warm water, either in the sink if I am taking a bath or in the shower if I am showering.

Step 3. Sweet Cheeks Face Mask
I don't use this mask as a full face mask. Rather, I use it as a spot treatment. After showering/bathing I dab this clay mask on all my spots. Actually I just cover my whole chin and my nose. I keep the mask on while I am putting on body lotion and then rinse it off in the sink with warm water. After rinsing, I immediately splash my face with cold water. This mask either helps my pimples come to a head the next day or it completely stops the pimple from growing/forming. It takes a few days for the stubborn ones to go away, but with Sweet Cheeks, it definitely speeds up the process.

Step 4. Olay Eye Transforming Cream

Step 5. Oil free Lotion with Strawberries and Salicylic Acid

The last 2 steps in my nighttime routine are the same as the ones of my morning routine. Ever since using Tval's skincare products, my face has cleared tremendously and even keeps it glowing. My mom used to always complain about my acne, and she's been complimenting me on how much better my skin looks. When your face is clear and smooth, your makeup even goes on smoother. If you use concealer it's even better as it doesn't leave that dry, flaky residue on top of your pimple.