For all you LUSHes out there!!

I've been meaning to write about a new addiction of mine. Some of you who talk to me frequently may already know what it is. I don't know what took me so long to try and fall in love with this store and their fresh-made products - maybe it's because their only store in Portland is on NW 23rd and being that I don't live over in that neighborhood anymore, I dread the thought of making my way over there due to the bad traffic and parking is a bitch!

LUSH makes all of their products by hand and from fresh, sometimes 100% Vegan ingredients. A girl that I work with had told me about them and how much she fell in love with their products so finally one lunch afternoon a few of us headed up there with her to check it out. She let me try some of her "Love Lettuce" face mask to see if I liked it. These Fresh Masks are made fresh weekly with all sorts of interesting ingredients that are supposed to cleanse, renew, and refresh. These masks in particular have expiration dates and must be kept refrigerated as a lot of them have actual food items in them - avocado, almonds, and spices amongst other things. Let me just say that I am now addicted (thanks Babs) and my skin has never looked better!

What intrigues me about LUSH is their unique approach to skin care, skin maintenance and even how they try new things with their bath products. I mean, whoever heard of a solid shampoo?!?! Now, I had tried their soap products a few years ago thanks to an ex that brought them back to me from a trip to Vancouver, BC and he thought it would be a unique gift idea until I told him that we had a store right up on 23rd (and this is when I lived in NW). It could also have taken me so long because there was a girl I know that used to manage that store who I know didn't like me so much (different ex's ex) and that could have deterred me from entering their very fragrant front doors (immature, I know, but those were very different and dramatic times). Well, what ever it WAS maybe I just wasn't ready for them until NOW.

What's so great about it too is that it has me really excited about skin care when of course who thinks that washing their face and applying moisturizer could be exciting?? It's not. It's one of those things that most people think, "Okay, it's time to go to bed - gotta go wash my face. Ugh." But when you get such GREAT results from very reasonable priced products that are made with care and are also Cruelty Free and NOT tested on animals, well, I'm totally sold!

What I love best about "finding" something new like this is being able to share with friends and family. It's also great because there are all sorts of gift ideas I've got running through my head and lots of birthdays coming up. You Lucky Leos!! :o)

So I recommend that if you are lucky enough to have a Lush store near you to go ahead, walk in, ignore the somewhat overpowering scent of all the bath products and walk on over to one of their Uber-friendly associates and ask them what face wash they recommend for your skin type. The world is such a serious place that we should be able to escape every once in a while (or every night) when you are slathering up that face mask ready to apply and think, man, my skin is going to look great when I'm done with this!

By the way, I just bought and tried a new mask, Brazened Honey. Wow - it has all sorts of spices in it and it is supposed to spice up your skin, make you sweat and bring out any impurities. I was in yoga class this morning and I could still smell it - it smelled like I had eaten a bunch of curry last night! It's fun! And that is what skin care should be!