Thursday 31 May 2012

ALL ABOUT: LUSH FACIAL CLEANSERS

I am pretty sure most of my readers are keen on cleaning their faces- it is an essential part of any beauty regime as it keeps your skin at its best. There are many different skin types, and one cleanser certainly doesn't suit all. For example, I have oily skin, whereas my sister has very dry skin. We wouldn't use the same cleanser, as one that might work for me would no doubt be drying and irritating to her.
LUSH makes a variety of facial cleansers. I love their take on facial care because they go packaging and preservative free! However, I have tried a good variety of LUSH facial cleansers, with little success. This saddens me, because I love LUSH as a company and I think their preservative free cleansers are amazing in concept, and in application for certain skin types.
This post is dedicated to LUSH facial cleansers so that if any of you at home are looking for your Holy Grail cleanser, you might find it with LUSH :)
The first cleanser I ever bought from LUSH was Fresh Farmacy. This is one of the two 'bar soap-like' cleansers that LUSH has. To use a bar soap cleanser by LUSH, you get a lather going in your hands by mixing the bar with warm water, then you apply the lather to your wet face. You can also rub the bar directly onto your wet face if you like, but I worry about bacterial growth from using it that way, personally. It smells like calamine, because it is primarily made up of it, alongside other great ingredients like tea tree oil, lavender oil and rose absolute. Fresh Farmacy is made for sensitive skin- the ingredients in this bar are meant to calm, soothe and clear up blemishes. It is marketed toward anyone who experiences red blotches, irritation or blemishes, as it is a super soothing, gentle cleanser that doesn't over-dry. At the time I was using this, I was experiencing very harsh break-outs, and this soothing cleanser wasn't enough to fight them. I decided to pick up a chunk of Coal Face.
Coal Face is meant for oily skin, as it is packed with charcoal to absorb excess sebum while exfoliating the skin at the same time. Coal Face also has rosewood and sandalwood oils which reduce redness and attack acne. It is advertised for those with blemish-prone, combination or oily skin. It smells like black licorice, as it has liquorice root in it! Apparently liquorice root is antibacterial, and helps clear up blemishes. I had high hopes for this cleanser, but it didn't clear up my skin. So I moved on..
LUSH Fresh Farmacy cleanser -- for sensitive skin with blotches, irritation or blemishes
LUSH Coal Face cleanser -- for blemish-prone, combination or oily skin 

I bought some Herbalism next. LUSH has three types of facial cleansers: bars, rolls and liquids. Herbalism is one of four cleanser rolls. These cleanser rolls have a short shelf-life, lasting only 3 months, so if you do buy some, do not buy in bulk! Like the bar soaps, they're preservative free, but they also contain an enormous amount of natural ingredients making them prone to eventually go off. To use one of the roll cleansers, you take a pinch, mix it with a little water, and massage directly onto the face.
Herbalism is meant for oily and blemished skin. Made with rosemary, nettle and chamomile to calm the skin, as well as rice bran for exfoliation and kaolin clay for deep cleansing, this cleanser is meant to get acne sufferers clear and balanced skin. LUSH says that Herbalism is their most effective cleanser for oily faces.It also has sage oil for antibacterial properties. This cleanser is supposed to clear acne, but for me it did the opposite. While using it, I broke out HUGE. It was terrible. I called the LUSH telephone line and spoke with a consultant who said that the kaolin clay will bring any impurities to the surface, which would cause an initial 'purge', but I already was using clay facial masks once a week so I don't think that was to blame. I stopped using this cleanser and ended up throwing some of it away.
I didn't want to give up on LUSH cleansers yet, so I went and got a sample of Angels on Bare Skin. One of my sisters uses this cleanser religiously and quite likes it. This cleanser is advertised to work for all skin types! It has a kaolin clay base for deep cleansing, tons of ground almonds to gently exfoliate, and rose and lavender to soothe and balance combination skin. This facial cleanser smells yummy! The scent is a mix of almonds and lavender. I was quite pleased with this cleanser- out of all four that I tried, it was my favourite. However, I found the application to be very messy. I ended up using this in the shower, where it was much easier to apply without making a big mess.    
LUSH Herbalism cleanser -- for oily and blemished skin
LUSH Angels on Bare Skin cleanser -- for all skin types
There are two other 'roll' cleansers from LUSH: Dark Angels is for acne-prone skin. It is said to be a hybrid of Coal Face and Angels on Bare Skin. It has black sugar and charcoal powder to exfoliate and cleanse away excess sebum, with rhassoul mud for deep cleansing, cold pressed organic avocado oil to soften and moisturize, and sandalwood and rosewood oils to calm and soothe. There is also Aqua Marina, which is the only LUSH roll cleanser that doesn't have an exfoliant in it. Coming wrapped in seaweed, this cleansing roll has tons of calamine to soothe inflammation and redness, alongside gentle aloe vera. This cleanser is meant for irritated and sensitive skin types. Roll cleansers are sold by the gram, so if you go in store, you can say 'I would like $5.00 worth of Herbalism' and they'll package it up for you to take home. If you order it online, it comes in 100g containers. That should be more than enough to last 3 months in my opinion, although some people use more or less.



LUSH Dark Angels cleanser -- for acne prone skin
LUSH Aqua Marina cleanser -- for irritated and sensitive skin

Finally, there are two LUSH liquid/cream cleansers, Ultra Bland and 9-5. Ultrabland is a thick mixture of essential oils, honey and beeswax used to take off any makeup or dirt residue on the face. It leaves skin feeling soft and nourished, with soothing rosewater and iris flower extract. Ultrabland is suitable for all skin types as a cleanser and makeup remover, although to me it sounds much too heavy. 9-5 is made with almond oil, dove orchids and everlasting flower absolute to remove leftover makeup, dirt and grime at the end of a hard work day. It works for sensitive skin, as it is soft and gentle. This cleanser sounds nice to me, although it is a bit pricey for a liquid cleanser at $19.95 for 240g.
LUSH 9-5 cleanser
LUSH Ultrabland cleanser
Overall, my experience with LUSH cleansers was not a success. Fresh Farmacy and Coal Face didn't work to combat my acne, Herbalism broke me out worse than ever before, and Angels on Bare Skin was nice, but nothing special, nor worth the extra mess and time. I think I might like to try Dark Angels in the future, as it sounds like something that might work for my skin type.
Have any of you tried a LUSH cleanser? Tell me which are your favourites. If you want to try one or two LUSH cleansers for yourself, stop by a store- they'll give you a sample for FREE :)
--S

28 comments:

  1. What a great post! I LOVE IT!

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  2. Oh my, you've been on quite the cleanser journey! GREAT OVERVIEW of all the cleansers though! This post is getting filed for reference! This must have taken quite awhile to write and I appreciate all the effort you've put in!

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    1. I have literally tried so many cleansers, LUSH and not. and still not found one that is perfect for me. I do really like the tea tree cleanser from TBS, but right now I am trying Purity by Philosophy to see if I like it better.

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    2. I feel the same way! I have oily blemish prone skin, and I am literally on the quest to find the right cleanser! I have tried sooo many products, they either are a waste, or they work initially and then stop showing result after..it is super frustrating. Even right now I am starting to break out ( probably from the weather and excess oil) but I haven't done anything different with my routine. I wanted to get Herbalism so bad, but maybe before I jump for it I will get a sample of that and a couple of others. Many thanks for this AMAZING post!!! Soooo helpful :)

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    3. Sabina, definitely get a sample of Herbalism- it broke me out, my sister out, and another reader below said it broke her out! so don't invest in a full 100g pot of it! try it out first with a sample! they usually give pretty generous samples of the cleanser rolls, enough to last around 2 weeks if you use a pinch every time you cleanse.
      We have the same skin type- it sucks!! Try taking Cod Liver Oil capsules- since I've been taking them on a daily basis, my acne has subsided a lot.

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  3. Ultrabland is my godsend in a tub! I could never ever replace it :)

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    1. I've heard that the people who use it LOVE it, but to me it sounds pretty heavy- does it cause you to break out? what is your skin type?

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  4. Great post! I have first tried Coalface, and I quite liked it actually. I started using it in the winter and it did a great job of balancing out my combo/oily skin. But as the weather started to turn warmer, I started to get a shiny forehead and little red spots. So, I thought I'll try Herbalism instead. Wrong choice! It also broke me out and now I have blackheads in places I've never had on my face! I think I will go back to Coalface, and change the moisturizer rather. I use Gorgeous and while it was perfect for me in the winter, it feels a bit heavy in warm weather. I'd also like to try Dark Angels but it's discontinued in Turkey :(

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    1. Oh my gosh, it sounds like herbalism breaks a lot of people out! It also broke out my sister. how odd that LUSH says it is their best cleanser for acne-prone skin and yet it is wreaking havoc on a lot of peoples skin and causing MORE acne. Not good!
      I agree, Gorgeous is probably what was breaking you out- its a bit heavy for the summer time. Try Vanishing Cream? Or perhaps Imperialis.

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  5. Oh, by the way, I also have Ultrabland, but I only use it to remove my eye makeup as I'm afraid it's a bit too greasy for my skin type.

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  6. I was heading over to the Lush near my home this weekend. Thank you for such an informative review!

    Krista Morgan
    www.caveprincess.com

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    1. oh that works out perfectly! have fun at LUSH, try not to spend too much money ;)

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  7. A great post, so informative! Thank you for putting this all together!

    Sharleena xx

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    1. I know it was a little long, Sharleena :( When I start writing about LUSH I never stop, ai yi yi.

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  8. Thanks for the post! I have never tried any of the facial cleansers before.. I'm always scared to try new stuff for my face in result to break-outs. Right now I'm using Bert's Bees Sensitive Facial Cleanser.. I like it but I feel its not the best thing yet... when it runs out..I'm trying Aveeno Clear Complexion Cream Cleanser so we will see how that works out.

    www.blondeebrittany.blogspot.ca

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    1. so you have sensitive acne prone skin? if you were to try a LUSH cleanser I'd suggest Angels on Bare Skin or Fresh Farmacy! but like you, I've tried many cleansers over the past year and a bit (I use one consistently for a month minimum before changing though!) and I am still looking for my 'perfect' cleanser.

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  9. hi i was wondering if you already tried to clean your face with clarisonic mia because i have heard a lot of good reviews about it :) personally, i don't own one now but i might buy it soon:)

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    1. That is on my 'want' list. I told myself if I stop buying so much stuff in June I will purchase one. I want to try it really badly.

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  10. Great/thorough overview!!! Thanks so much for sharing - I always feel SO overwhelmed when I walk into a lush store! This is perfect!!! The herbalism and coal face sound great!
    xx

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    1. yes LUSH stores overwhelm me too. The scents, the often over-bearing SA's, the abundance of product in a usually small space- it is a lot to take in. I prefer to shop online, actually.

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  11. Great and thorough reviews. It's too bad they didn't work out. I've been using the same regime of cleansers (really boring..just the Neutrogena fresh foaming cleanser and Proactive..and I think I mentioned it before but I also now use the cheap charcoal mask from Daiso). I hope you find the holy grail of facial cleansers! You've put so much effort and $ into this :)

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    1. When you have bad skin at 25, you will spend whatever it takes to get your skin looking normal again! TRUST ME! lol. I have put way too much money into cleansers and nothing has helped, but retin-A and cod liver oil seem to actually be working *knock on wood*

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  12. Great informative post! I've used Coalface and Fresh Farmacy, I liked both but I didn't find them to be amazing. This was years ago, so maybe I would quite like them now!

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    1. perhaps its worth a try! I still have some Coal Face in my mini fridge in case I ever want to try it again.

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  13. It’s obvious you know your topic and you appear fervent about it. I’m developing a fresh blog plus I’m struggling to make it look good,
    Facial Cleanser for Sensitive Skin

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  14. Hello im using angel on bare skin this is the first time im using a lush cleanser i always like the feeling of my facr after using it but every morning every time i check my facr i can see small pimples and my old pimples that are healing or after i pop it the all camr back. do you think its normal ? Ive only been using the product for 3days thanks

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  15. Best I have ever used is Monsia

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