(Review) African Paradise: It Means No Worries!

I don't know about you darling readers, but I am NOT a morning person.  There's nothing I dread more than hearing the shrill, incessant beeping of my alarm clock in the morning, going to turn it off but end up slamming my palm into my glasses, letting out a stream of curse words and praying that my glasses aren't broken, then five minutes later find said alarm clock and press snooze.  This practice usually repeats 2-4 times until I realize I'll be late for work, in which I pretty much ooze out of my warm, cozy bed and slither into the shower like the abnormally pale, night-dwelling creature I am. 

So by myself (and I'm guessing most of you, because I'm convinced morning people aren't human) not being a morning person, I like to keep my morning routine simple and not too complicated.  Because until I get that first taste of sweet heart palpitating caffeine, I'm pretty much comatose in the morning.  And because I'm not so much a morning person, sometimes I run late, which means I sometimes need to speed up my already simplistic morning routine.  Needless to say, African Paradise, LUSH's newest body conditioner has been a total game changer.

It kind of baffles me when people come into my shop and are completely confused as to what a body conditioner is.  Part of me kind of understands, but the other part is like "it says right there...on the...on the pot...right there."  For those of you that don't get what a body conditioner is, it's a conditioner for your body!  But for those who still don't understand it (and I do get some people who still don't get it after I've told them that, but that's okay, because I'm here to save the day!) I describe it as an in shower body lotion.  You wash with your soap or body wash of choice, then you smooth this on, do whatever you do in the shower (shave, wash your face, contemplate the meaning of life and existence as we know it) and rinse it off.  No need for lotion afterwards, because body conditioners do all the work that body lotion is supposed to!  And African Paradise is the newest to the body conditioner range, joining the classic Ro's Argan Body Conditioner (which smells DIVINE)!

LUSH staff box version of African Paradise

So when I bought my first full sized pot of African Paradise, I notice that it was a beautiful creamy cappuccino color as opposed to the slightly pastel white color of the one included in my staff box.  Still had the same scent though!  The scent is described as a "frangipani-scent"(which is a fancy word for Plumeria) and smells very light and powdery.  Honestly, it smells very similar to the new self preserving Charity Pot that should be out in September (which you can read all about here).  Among the frangipani (that's a fun word to say!  Just try it.  Say it out loud like, right now.  I'll know if you don't!) fragrance, there's also a smattering of fair trade, exotic ingredients from all over Africa!  For instance, the aloe, kalahari melon oil, and baobab oil included in African Paradise are from Kenya, completely fair trade, and very soothing if you had a long day out in the sun and have transformed into a human lobster hybrid.  Fair trade shea butter and fair trade moringa oil are both from Ghana and are super moisturizing.  It just blows my mind that everything in that little tub of goodness was once on a tree or harvested from somewhere in Africa.  Talk about an exotic bathing experience!  LUSH has also included fair trade vanilla into African Paradise, and we are the first company to EVER use fair trade vanilla!  But the best part about this new body conditioner.  It is totally and completely 100% self preserving, meaning no preservatives or parabens are included whatsoever.

Fun fact: LUSH includes hidden messages underneath the made by stickers!  Check some of yours out for a little message from the compounders!

So cut to a few days ago, to myself having my annual slapfest with my alarm clock's snooze button.  Realizing I hit it one too many times, I immediately rushed into the bathroom, obscenities streaming from my mouth like it was going out of style, leaving a trail of pajamas and underthings in my panic.  I hopped in the shower and furiously began scrubbing away, thankful that I'd washed my hair the night before.  In my sleep deprived haze, I remembered that I had bought my full sized tub not too long ago, and hastily rubbed every inch of skin down with the stuff.  I had previously used Ro's Argan and loved it, but I noticed how much lighter African Paradise felt on my skin than Ro's did (I still love Ro's though!).  After washing my face, I rinsed the conditioner off, patted myself dry, and marveled at how my skin felt, looked, and smelled.  The thing I still can't get over is how LIGHT it felt.  I was really surprised that something so light feeling could leave me so well moisturized.  And being that it was quite hot and humid out, the lightness was a welcome feeling as opposed to being sticky and gross.  I smelled very light and powdery, and my skin looked opalescent and even.  I was actually surprised I was awake enough to remember all of this!

Overall, I'm in love with African Paradise.  In my store amongst my coworkers, it's pretty much the universal favorite, and on the first day, we were selling it like CRAZY, and the customers are still coming back for more!  It's a fantastic product that feels so incredibly light, but moisturizing, and is made from quality, fair trade ingredients.  It's great if you don't like the feeling of lotion on your skin, or if you beat the snot out of your snooze button like I do.  I love demoing this on people and seeing their faces light up when they touch their arm.  It just makes me happy that I can love a product so much and show people why I love it, how it works, and why they'll love it too!

   
**This product is certified Vegan

**Pick up African Paradise at your local LUSH store, or buy it online HERE

(Review) Charity Pot: Something Old, Something New

As someone who has indulged in Mountain Dew for breakfast complimented by a Snickers, I can safely say that I have a slight sugar addiction.  Yeah...I'm not too proud of that.  Mind you, that was back in college, where sleep was a luxury and a meal besides ramen and Lean Cuisines was something whispered and spoken of in myth and legend.  Since then my eating habits have gotten substantially better, but I will still indulge in my favorite sugary treats...mainly Starbucks because it's right across from my shop.  Oh yes...the sweet, sugary slush of a vanilla bean frapp has me salivating, as does a piece of raspberry swirl pound cake.  Two things I've been eating a bit too much of as of late.  So I'm slowly starting to transition my way to sweet smelling things to quell my sugar addiction...one of these being Charity Pot.  One whiff of this stuff and it just makes my mouth water!

Charity Pot is a fantastic hand and body lotion chalk full of fairtrade certified organic cocoa butter, and smells nice and chocolately!  None of that fake chemical chocolate smell...it smells beautiful and natural, because it IS beautiful and natural!  Charity Pot was started in 2007, and every penny you spend on this silky sweet lotion goes to charity! *(minus taxes).  The charities in question are always on the lid of the product, and are grassroots charities that help animals, the environment, and of course, people.  Since its launch in 2007, Charity Pot has raised over $4.8 million dollars for these grassroots charities!  Pretty amazing right?  And starting in September of this year, Charity Pot is being reformulated into a beautiful new floral scent that is self preserving and will better aide LUSH's charitable efforts!  This entry will be comparing the two.

Original formula Charity Pot

The first time I tried Charity Pot, I pulled it out of my stocking at Christmas.  A nice little stocking stuffer from Ol' Saint Nick (a.k.a my mother).  I will admit, I didn't quite love it at first whiff.  The smell was something I found to be a bit odd, seeing as I was so used to heavily perfumed floral and fruity body lotions.  Usually anything that had some type of a food scent was an automatic no for me.  But while this smelled similar to chocolate...it was different somehow.  It didn't have that chemical overlay a lot of baked good scented products have, which was refreshing.  Over time, the scent grew on me, and I decided to put this lotion to good use! 

Fast forward a year or so later, and the news that Charity Pot is being reformulated surfaces.  Being a LUSH employee, I'm fortunate enough to be able to try things out before they are released to the public (a great example of how LUSH gives back to their employees!).  I had an original formula Charity Pot, a new formula Charity Pot, and a LUSH blog that desperately needed a comparison of these two fantastic lotions! 

New self-preserving Charity Pot

Original Charity Pot:  I mainly apply Charity Pot as a nighttime moisturizer, as I find it's a bit too heavy for day wear, especially in the summer where my town gets all muggy and humid.  So after one of my many late night baths, I applied my Charity Pot lotion to my entire body.  While I do love the scent, I find it to be a bit strong at times, and before this little experiment, mainly used it as a hand lotion.  But I was pleased at how the scent toned itself down after sinking in, leaving a pleasant cocoa scent with a hint of coffee on my skin.  It softened me up to the point where I didn't even need lotion the next morning after my shower!  This stuff really sinks in and softens you into a walking stick of butter!

Original Charity Pot contains not only fair trade organic cocoa butter, but almond oil, as well as ylang ylang, geranium, and tagetes oils that give a slight floral note.  I couldn't really pick up on it, but my roommate could.  Overall I was pleased at how Charity Pot held up as a body lotion.  I felt nice and soft all day and the cocoa/coffee scent smelled beautiful! 

New Self Preserving Charity Pot:  Upon cracking open the new Charity Pot, I instantly noticed how much thicker it is than the original formula.  I found the original formula to have a bit of a thinner consistency, and if I turned the pot upside down, it would splat to the floor.  New formula doesn't do that at all.  While the original has a chocolatey smell, the new formula has a beautiful floral smell that isn't stuffy or old ladyish.  It has a sugary sweet note buried beneath it as well that smells so wonderfully decadent I just want to lap it up like buttercream frosting.  But I won't...because it probably wouldn't taste too nice.  Once I slathered this on, I noticed that it felt much lighter than the original Charity Pot.  The cocoa butter in this formula is still there, but there isn't as much of it as the original formula.  Instead, this Charity Pot contains other butters and oils such as fair trade olive oil, organic jojoba oil, moringa oil, fair trade shea butter, and geranium, rosewood, and ylang ylang oils.  The touch of vanilla absolute gives it a hint of sweetness, and the aloe gel contained gives it a nice soothing sensation.  While Charity Pot in both forms is very rich, I found this sunk into my skin much faster than the original Charity Pot did.  The scent became a bit more sweet on my skin (essential oils change with your body chemistry) and left me feeling nice and soft without feeling greasy.  I still found it a bit too heavy for day wear though.  Also, because Charity Pot is self preserving, there are no parabens or preservatives in it whatsoever.  Original Charity Pot has them, but at such a low amount (less than 3%) that legally they don't have to be included on the label.

Overall, I have to say I love both Charity Pots.  But if I had to choose, I would choose the new formula.  I find I'm more drawn to the scent (even though I love both, I like the lighter, fresher scent this one provides) and I find it absorbs better and faster than the original.  I find the new Charity Pot to be a great new spin on an original bestselling lotion.  It takes all of the positives about the original and improves them drastically.  I often tell my customers that buying a pot of this lovely lotion is good for the mind, body, and soul.  You buy a pot of beautiful, natural lotion, you help charities and small businesses, you feel good about helping others, AND your skin is as soft as flower petals.  What more could you want?!



 * Both Charity Pots are certified Vegan
* Pick up the original Charity Pot at your local LUSH store, or purchase online here 
* New Self Preserving Charity Pot will be available worldwide September 2014