5 Reasons Why Lush is The Bomb Dot Com

Image via http://theberry.com/2014/07/27/sunday-brunch-50-photos-66/#.

5. You walk in and it all smells amazing.

I will never be able to describe the Lush smell, but it's just.... luscious (see what I did there). Something about that smell makes me willing to spend a ridiculous amount of money on bath bombs (though I never take baths) and other fresh, handmade goodies.

4. The employees are super nice!

From the second I walked in all four employees were discussing various products with me (the store is probably the size of my living room) and offering to demo their recommendations for me. The employees were definitely some of the most educated sales reps I've met in a long while. Nothing is more off putting than people who are spouting the same script of facts. It was obvious that they actually cared about their products and what they were doing. 

While I was doing my shopping, my little sister was doing her window shopping, and she was off talking to a really nice girl who talked about hair care with her. During my checkout the girl got her a few samples and when we got home I was pretty shocked to look at this sample. This is a hair balm that's supposed to help with the ends of her hair, and it was full to the brim. She's used this sample at least 8 times so far, it's still pretty full. This is amazing. 

A lot of people may call me cheap or fishing for free stuff because a decent sized sample makes me happy, but when I have a sample that lasts one use, especially if it's a pricey item, I can't get a good feel for how I would incorporate that item into my everyday use. 

3. The prices aren't even that crazy. 

It seems like a lot at first. 6 dollars for a bath bomb or face mask? When you go through the math your investiment isn't truly that large. I've seen the large bath bombs be used up to 4 times. And compared to the Sephora face masks, which last one use, the moisturizing mask that Lush sells is much more natural and lasts as many uses as you can get out of it before it goes bad in it's month long shelf life.

When you have a high end product, you tend to have to use less, making the money spent on the product worth it. 

Another plus is that if you return 5 empty Lush black pots, you get a free Fresh Face Mask.

2. The products are all natural.

Next time you're in a lush, pick up an item and look at the back. I promise you will recognize 80 percent of the words. While Lush does use preservatives and frangrances in some of their items, they're pretty far down on the product list, meaning that it is the least used ingredient in the product.

Most of their items are vegan, and those that aren't use honey and beeswax (which some vegans make the choice to use). And they're all cruelty free (yay leaping bunny approved).

1. The products are actually amazing.

I own two products from Lush and I think both are amazing holy grail worthy items. I have the Oatifix mask and the Eau Roma toner. I think both are amazing and I swore I wouldn't spend a lot of money on toner because my Target brand toner was working so well, but for 10 dollars, this item is absolutely worth it. I chose to go with the smaller container just in case and oh my gosh. 

I'm quite addicted to my fresh face mask. When I put it on I smell like baked goods and it's a perfect gentle exfoliator and moisturizer for my extremely dry, flaky skin. I love that it's made from natural items, unlike other masks I've tried that has a crazy type of chemicals and irritants in it. The only thing I don't love is that it has fragrances in it, but it hasn't irritated my skin, which is great.

Disclaimer: Lush doesn't know me. Unless we count that one time they favorited one of my tweets on Twitter. I mean... this isn't sponsored though. I just had an amazing experience.

A Beauty Blogger's MUST List

Holy grail videos and posts are a sort of tradition in the Beauty Blogger community. Every blogger has products that just WORK for her. These products can be high end, drug store, or even home made. So, after three months of blogging and building upon my beauty product collection, I've decided it's my turn. 

Brushes

The Large Fan Brush: I use two different sizes of these brushes. When I first started playing with makeup I had absolutely no idea why I received not only one but TWO of these ridiculous and useless brushes. So the research began. I found that I can use the large fluffy fan brush for brushing away powder. Ever done your eye shadow and gotten fallout all under your eyes? Rather than swiping at it with your fingers and smudging it all over, you can use a large fan brush to brush away the excess powder and keep everything neat and clean.

The Small Fan Brush: Perfect for highlighting/contouring and blush application. I find the size and shape to be perfect for getting the perfect amount of product on my face without overloading it and having to blend like crazy. I got the two brushes in the picture in a generic set from Amazon. But many different brands make them.

e.l.f. Blending Brush: While the other two brushes were very generic in my love for them, the last brush holds a very specific place in my heart. The e.l.f. Essential Eye Crease Brush is exactly what the name suggests; essential. Never has a brush helped me so much in creating so many eye looks. I'm fairly certain if I were only allowed to have one makeup application tool I'd choose this one. Not only is it perfect for putting product on the eye and blending it out, but it's also a really good brush for contouring the nose. I love this brush so much that when e.l.f had their 50% off after Christmas sale, I bought 3! If you're not looking to shop online (some people are very finicky about those things) you can find the e.l.f. products and brushes at Target.

Eyes

Scotch Tape: Let's start with the weirdest thing on the list. Scotch tape is something I included in my makeup bag long before I was really passionate about makeup. I first saw the idea on Pinterest to use scotch tape as a way to perfect your winged eyeliner. I tried it once and haven't turned back ever since. Many makeup artists and beauty bloggers pride themselves in being able to freehand the perfect line, but where's the point in that? Why spend half an hour every time you wing your eyeliner when you could spend five minutes on it and the rest of the time doing something else?

e.l.f Cream Eyeliner in Black: Speaking of winged eyeliner, this is what I use to draw that (oddly) confidence inducing line on my lids. It's a perfect matte black (I don't like the shiny liquid look) and gives really good control over whether you want a thick or thin line. Another plus is that it's waterproof, and when I say waterproof, I mean it. Trust me, a baby wipe isn't going to be enough to get this off. Better stick with a good eye makeup remover.

e.l.f. Essential Eyelid Primer in Sheer: The first time I bought this product I bought it in pearl (which is a white pearlescent base) and was ready to write bad review upon bad review. I wasn't aware that e.l.f made their primers in multiple colors until I went back to Target and found this baby in Sheer. Ever since then I've been using it as the base for my eye looks. Unlike the popular Urban Decay Primer Potion, this product doesn't intensify the color of shadows, it just helps it stay on throughout the day.

Urban Decay Naked Pallet: This one is probably a bit obvious. Ever since the Urban Decay Naked line came out people have been going crazy over it. And it's no wonder why! This pallet has the perfect mixture of colors for a very simple classic, natural, or even luxe look. Considering my slight Urban Decay obsession, this is definitely a contender for a "desert island" product for me.

Covergirl LashBlash Volume: I've tried probably a million and one mascaras but this is one that I've repurchased three times currently. I love the brush, I love the formula. I love the look. Though when I run out of this, I'll probably permanently switch over to the Covergirl Full Lash Bloom (see my review for that here), this will always be one of the products I recommend. 

e.l.f Studio Eyebrow Kit: Anybody who knows me knows my odd obsession with eyebrows, They're very important to me. This kit comes with a wax and powder. The wax works well to create the perfect shape, then the powder (which is slightly lighter) fills in the brow. You can decide what products you use and how depending on how bold of a brow you want!

Lips

e.l.f. Lip Exfoliator: I've seen lots of really mixed reviews for this, but I love it. I've tried "loose" lip exfoliators, where you pull them out of their pot and scrub your lips with your finger. The problem with those is I get sugar everywhere and it's a gross mess. The e.l.f exfoliator sort of resembles a lipstick, and you scrub your lips with it in similar motions to applying lipstick. 

Cocoa Butter Vaseline: I find this to be a better base for my lipsticks than chapsticks. It absorbs into my lips and never makes them feel greasy or slippery.

e.l.f. Essential Lipstick: These lipsticks are amazing. Not just for a dollar but for any lipstick. I find them to perform just as well as some of the high end brands. The color that I first bought of this product actually reminds me a lot of Cosmopop from Limecrime (I don't own the Limecrime for comparison but I don't think I could be the only person to draw this conclusion). The lipsticks aren't drying yet last quite a long while. They have an almost glossy finish but I've used baby powder to make it completely matte. 

Side note: I just bought all except one of the e.l.f. lipsticks, if you want swatches and a full blown impression on each one, leave me a comment.

Face

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Translucent: So far, this is my only true holy grail face product. I normally use it with my Revlon ColorStay liquid foundation, and find it does the perfect job at setting my makeup and giving me the perfect flawless finish. For those who like a dewy complexion, you can still use this and some sort of highlighter (I've heard good things about Benefit's High Beam) to give your face the illusion of youthful hydrated glowy-ness. 

Misc.

OGX Argan Oil of Morocco Lotion: I found this in my local Ulta sometime over Thanksgiving break. I have extraordinarily dry skin, and though this product isn't specifically targeted for your face, that's how I've been using it and am happy to report healthy, hydrated, happy skin (a+ for that alliteration)! 

OGX Argan Oil of Morocco Penetrating Oil: Does what you think it would, goes in my hair, helps to protect it from heat and avoid the poofy monster my hair can be when it's winter. I absolutely love this stuff and for less than 10 dollars I recommend you all try it.

If you don't like Pitch Perfect we can't be friends....

Now that I've (hopefully) made you laugh leave me a comment below with whether you'd rather see a Christmas Haul post or an e.l.f. Products Hits and Misses post.

Disclaimer: I bought and/or was gifted with these products. This post is not endorsed.