I’ve had a lot of requests for a LUSH review recently so – migraine pills in hand – I delved into the thickly scented world of LUSH to try a few things out.

Read on to see how it went!

Firstly, the scent in that place? Geez! I have no idea how anyone in there is able to discern one scent from another – it all attacks you in one huge flowery wave. Not good.

The staff are friendly and eager to help, I asked for some of the popular LUSH products amongst men and was recommended these ones. Make sure to ask for samples as they do give them out and the skincare is slightly more miss than hit…

Cosmetic Lad Moisturiser

Moisturiser, after-sun, shaving balm and hair cream for men. And girls, if they’re so inclined.
What a relief it is that men are starting to regard moisturiser as something that will keep their skin in shape, not an evil potion that changes their gender. Including the ones who steal stuff from the women in their household, we reckon that there are millions of men who use our stuff. For the other millions, this is the product to convert them. It’s a calming moisturiser for after shaving; it also works as aftersun cream and hair cream. If they resist, wait until they are asleep and rub it all over their faces.

Sadly, this probably isn’t the product to convert them. Cosmetic Lad is a rather thick, citrus scented cream that strangely dries down to a non-moisturising matte finish. It’s a really odd product, maybe stick to using this one as a ‘hair cream’.

Tea Tree Water

Ah, tea tree: how do we love thee? Tea tree is extremely soothing and can work wonders on troubled or oily skin. We’ve also added juniper berry and grapefruit waters to refresh and gently tone with natural oils. Use this throughout the day to help tackle blemishes and lift your spirits.

This was great! A light mist of this will instantly refresh and calm your skin, I’m liking this as a post-shave product. It smells great too, excellent for a mid-afternoon pick me up when you’re slaving away at your laptop.

Dark Angels Face Scrub

Deep dark cleansing facial scrub for young, dark and oily skin. A lovely, black, squidgy scrub made with charcoal to absorb oils and exfoliate your skin. Nutritious avocado oil softens your skin, glycerine keeps the moisture in and black sugar softly scrubs; rhassoul mud is anti-microbial and cleanses deeply, while sandalwood and rosewood essential oils are soothing, giving you a feeling of smooth, clean freshness that is difficult to beat. It’s our new favourite, even if we aren’t very young. Just be a bit careful that you wash it off properly and clean the wash basin after you.

I sort-of like this one. This scrub comes housed in a plastic black tub. Inside is a huge blob of the face scrub that smells very spicy and earthy. All you do is break off a small chunk, massage it into damp hands and then use it to exfoliate your face. You can even leave this on for a few minutes as a clay mask. However, a few words of warning – this is messy. The first time I used this I ended up with black stains all over my skin which I then had to clean up – not exactly great but I now use this exclusively in the shower. Next, this is quite a grainy scrub – steer clear if you have sensitive skin or skin prone to redness! Finally, and the most annoying bit, Dark Angels leaves a black residue on your skin. In order to fully remove this stuff you either have to wash your face afterwards with a regular cleanser or use a cotton pad soaked in toner to take off the residue. This is a really nice face scrub, exfoliates thoroughly, smells great and leaves skin looking clear but it’s ruined by all the effort involved to use it.

Shave the Planet Shaving Cream

For a smooth, calm chin and a sustainable earth. Mark Constantine (our head perfumer) mentioned to Helen (product developer) that he was using our amazing Handy Gurugu’s hand cream as a shaving cream. So, Helen took the base and experimented, until she’d made a fantastic shaving cream. There’s soothing bamboo infusion, antioxidant açai juice, organic wheatgerm oil and sugar cane juice for the natural AHAs, vitamin rich pumpkin seed and rosehip oils, giving you smooth, soft skin. We’re using as many fair trade and organic ingredients as we can find. If you insist, you can use it as handcream, too.

Worst. Shaving cream. Ever. This is less of a shaving cream and more of a very very thick moisturiser. The first time I used it I applied the same amount of shaving cream I usually use and it was so thick and greasy that my razor was simply shaving off layers of cream rather than actually getting to the hair! Second time round I applied a thin layer of this to my face and it still ended up clogging my razor to the point where it was next to impossible to shave. Nice hand cream though.

So that was my brief foray into LUSH skincare and I wasn’t really impressed to be honest. I skipped the shower gels and soaps because frankly I didn’t know where to start and the smell was making me a bit nauseous. However I know that that’s where the strength of the brand lies so if you have any favourite LUSH products please do let me know and i’ll try them out!