(Review) Amandopondo: Player One Defeated

There are many things I picture when I hear the word "luxury."  Most of the time it's over-exuberant things like solid gold toilets and diamond encrusted napkin rings.  You know, absolutely useless things that probably cost more than half a years rent that the upper crust of society deems something they absolutely need.  Luxury these days (to me at least) has gotten pretty obnoxious, bordering on delusional.  While I'm not a champagne sucking, yacht toting, more tiny dogs than I can count la dee dah member of the rich and famous (yet), I like to keep my luxuries simple.  Hell, even keeping a roof over my head that I pay for out of my own pocket is a luxury in itself.  At this point in my life, luxury is having the time and ingredients to make a home cooked meal, keeping my apartment clean, and actually going out and socializing with people where my mouth does the talking and not my fingers flying across a keyboard.  My luxuries are simple, but at the end leave you feeling like a million bucks.  Cue segue into bubble bar review.

Ironically being a Lush employee, I'm not too big on bubble baths.  I wasn't big on baths in general before I started working at Lush either.  But once in a while, I'll get this mad hankering for a movie starlet-esque bath, overflowing with bubbles and candles in every corner of my bathroom.  So when one of these cravings set in, I found it a good time to bust out the soon to be discontinued Amandopondo.
 

Amandopondo has an interesting backstory, and is arguably one of the favorite product stories of my staff at my shop.  Meaning "forgiveness" or "defeat" in a language I believe is spoken in Africa (I'm not sure what exact language it is though), Amandopondo was inspired after a lawsuit against Lush accusing them of plagiarism by a rival company.  Well that rival company lost, and when asked what Lush wanted in return, co-founder Mark Constantine (ever a total BAMF in my eyes) requested a dozen of the finest red roses money could buy, and a simple apology, or admission of defeat.  The company obliged, and Amandopondo was born. 

Described as floral yet citrusy, Amandopondo packs lemon, orange, and rose oils into a tiny ivory bar.  A tiny pink rosebud is all that decorates this simple but effective bar!

I'll admit, due to its simple appearance, I wasn't necessarily drawn to Amandopondo.  As someone who loves color and dramatics, I felt like Amandopondo didn't really jive with my "bath personality."  But when I heard it was on the discontinued list, I decided to give it a shot. 

The floral yet citrusy scent is super subtle, but pleasant.  I'm not one for floral scents, but this one was light enough to where I didn't mind it, and I do enjoy citrus so the pair went together nicely!  And I have to say, for a bubble bar with a simple appearance, it' a prime example of why you should never judge a book by its covered.  When I held this baby under the running tap, the bubbles produced were huge!  Instead of being clear, the bath water underneath all that foam turned a milky white, and the scent was slightly amplified.  I sank into my bubble bath feeling like a Hollywood starlet, except replace the red lipstick with a face mask and the champagne with an ice cold water and an iPhone.

I'm both happy and sad to say that Amandopondo exceeded all of my expectations in the bubble bar department, and I'm quite sad to see it go.  The bubbles it produced was voluminous and over the top, while the scent was subtle and as soft as my skin felt after I was done soaking.  It's perfect for those moments where you want to indulge in a little luxury, and forget that the dinner you're about to eat afterwards is a bowl of ramen.

 **Amandopondo is certified Vegan

(Review) Golden Wonders: What's in the BOOOOOX?!

Wake up in the morning feeling like...going straight back to sleep.  And sleeping for forever snuggled in your fluffy comforter and your silky pjs in total bliss and silence with a perfectly fluffed pillow to cushion your head on the ride to dreamland.  If only, right?  If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know from previous entries I'm not the most...enthusiastic morning person.  And sometimes even coffee doesn't get the job done.  So one day, on one of my rare days off, I slept in as long as my body would allow, woke up, and found I was still exhausted.  Even after some highly caffeinated tea, I still couldn't shake the sleep out of my droopy lids.  On a day where I was supposed to be getting chores done, I found myself flopped in bed playing video games in my pjs.  I needed a pick me up...dirty laundry was beckoning, dishes were giving me that come hither stare...stuff needed to be done and I was too lethargic to do it.  So a quick, energizing citrus-charged bath was most definitely in order!

 

Golden Wonders bath bomb is a limited edition bath bomb for Lush Christmas.  Out for the 4th year in a row (!), Golden Wonders encompasses the same light, champagne-citrus smell of Celebrate lotion and First Snow dusting powder.  Every demo we did if this in the store was met with "oohs" and "aahs"...mostly from my coworkers and I.  We'd all gather around the pot as the illustrious package dissolved, whipping out our phones and snapping pictures until Bossman came around, waving his hands and clucking like a mother hen (which he kind of is to all of us...love you Bossman!) to scatter, saying we were a dark cloud of Lush aprons.  Still, when the store was slow, we'd slowly gravitate to the pot and swirl our hands around, watching the turquoise and gold shimmer swirl around like a liquid mood ring.

 

Since I can never bathe in Mermaid Water (I'm sadly allergic to Big Blue), Golden Wonders is the closest I can get (and the turnout is pretty much identical).  When I dropped this guy in I dared not blink.  Golden Wonders is a fast fizzer, blink and you'll most definitely miss it!  Watching it reminded me of a fireworks finale...all that pop and sizzle in 30 seconds or less and then the silence and smoke while people applauded (or in my younger sister's case, scream bloody murder because of all the fishflies flying around that hot summer evening).  In a quick but memorable moment, the white and yellow dissolved to gold and blue, with stars shooting out in all directions accompanied by comet tails of golden shimmer dust, and then poof! it was over! 

 

I run my bath water notoriously hot, so I gave it time to cool and finally sunk in.  The shimmer wasn't as concentrated as it was in the store (which I expected since we demo in a cooking pot rather than a tub) but it was still just as beautiful.  But like I experienced with Dashing Santa, I couldn't smell that much!  The smell was stronger than it was with dear ol' Saint Nick, but still quite faint.  I can smell Celebrate lotion just fine on my skin, but put it in bath bomb form and apparently I become immune to its citrusy power!  I lifted up a damp arm to sniff and could smell it on my skin, which brought me some relief but still...I like a bath bomb that gets all up in my nostrils.  Like, ALL up in there.  So I sat and soaked, hoping that sweet orange and lime oil would refresh me enough and give me the energy to do the intimidating pile of dishes in the sink.  And when I got out I had plenty of energy...to plop back into bed and beat the absolute crap out of the darkspawn ogre invading the tower!  Take THAT forces of evil! 

...well it was something...wasn't it?

 

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed Golden Wonders.  Despite my ability to not smell it so clearly, it was visually stunning and a true holiday treat for anyone in need of some sparkle, glitz, and a reminder that winter does indeed end.  There's a reason they've been bringing it out for the past four years and I can definitely see why!  Definitely a must have bath bomb for the holiday season!

**Golden Wonders bath bomb is certified Vegan
***Pick up Golden Wonders bath bomb at your local LUSH store, or online here    

(Review) Dashing Santa: Run Fat Boy Run!

And so there it was.  Sitting in front of me.  In all of its brown, box-like glory.  A plain brown box with my name and a hashtag written below it.  A list of all included stuck to the side.  A plain thing with sharpie written all over it, but by Odin's eye it was a thing of beauty.  I'm talking about my staff box.  My Christmas gift from Lush to myself and the rest of my coworkers. 

It's no secret that Lush employees occasionally receive boxes of product from the big guys, and this would be my first Christmas at Lush as an employee and as a very dedicated Lushie.  Needless to say I was beyond ecstatic.  Bossman handed it to me after my shift and I quickly scuttled to my car, leadfooted it home, plopped it on my bed, and spent a good ten minutes just staring at it in glee.  But I finally snapped out of my stupor and opened the box, eager to see the contents inside.  Amidst a cloud of glitter and bath bomb dust, the Dashing Santa bath bomb was the first thing I saw.

 

Dashing Santa was inspired by the Santa Dash in Liverpool, a race where runners dressed as Santa race around town, and its design was based off of the old Cosmetics to Go logo (of which I cannot find a picture of).  Scented with mandarin oranges, bergamot, and orange flower absolute, Dashing Santa smells almost exactly like the Celebrate fragrances (which I love!) and contains snowflake lustre for a touch of sparkle.  The more I read about this in my training manual, the more I fell in love with it and the more excited I became to use it.  I love my citrus and I love my bergamot, and the bomb itself was adorable.  So I quickly decided that this would be the first bath bomb of the Christmas season that I would use!

 

To me, Dashing Santa smelled almost like Pez candy, a sweet that always brings me back to my childhood.  I can't remember a time where I didn't have a Pez dispenser in my back pocket, popping the sweet chalky candies like a nervous date does breath mints.  His appearance reminded me of our favorite mustachioed plumber, as he appeared back in the old days of tube TV and Mama Llama's outrageously big hair (that she didn't get rid of until the early 2000s at the behest of Papa Bear finally convincing her that the 80s were over and done with and took the economy with it).

 

When I plunked Jolly Ol' Saint Nick in the tub, he immediately foamed up and released a pretty pink tint into the water.  His facial features and body were slowly melted away by a layer of foam, coloring the pink atop it with a steamed milk texture and a scant shimmer I could barely make out.  Honestly, I could feel my excitement draining as the bomb dissolved.  It was a slow fizzing bath bomb so I sat and watched.  And watched.  And then turned around to watch the movie "Gladiator" playing on my TV (and yes, Russell Crowe, I wasn't entertained.  Well, by the bath bomb at least).  When it was fully dissolved my bath water was the color of pink champagne with nary a bit of shimmer in sight.  I reluctantly sank in and realized something strange.  I couldn't smell a thing!  I sniffed and sniffed like my dog does when I hide her treats (which is frantic and panicked until she sneezes on your face and you're forced to give her the treat because she'll do it again in five seconds...) but nothing!  That slightly tart citrusy scent was gone!  It was the strangest thing, and very disappointing.  My Dashing Santa bath was quite short.

 

Overall I wasn't too pleased with this bath bomb, and it was a bit of a disappointing kickoff to my first holiday season at Lush.  Many of my coworkers loved it, so perhaps I got a bad one or my nose is becoming immune to citrus (oh god that'd be awful!  I love citrus!).  This though would be perfect for kids, since it's a smaller bomb and kids don't use much water in the tub.  But overall, great design, not so fantastic execution.  But there's plenty more bath bombs where that came from, so stay tuned for more Christmas reviews!

**Dashing Santa is certified Vegan
***Purchase Dashing Santa at your local LUSH store or online herel       

2014 Summer Collection: First Impressions!

From top left to bottom right:  Granny Takes a Dip bath bomb, D-Fluff strawberry shaving soap, New Charity Pop hand and body lotion, Zeste medium to strong hair gelly, African Paradise body conditioner, Parsley Porridge face & body soap, Mangnificent bar soap

There it was.  Taunting me.  Giving me that come hither stare.  I wanted it.  I knew it was wrong, but oh my goodness would it be so right.  To take it in my arms and sniff everything. 

Because my boss put a "do not touch" sign on all of the staff boxes, so I was left staring and wanting like a dog stares at his owner's meal.  But when I was about to leave after my shift today, and my boss tossed me a staff box, I was overjoyed and beyond happy!  I'd been seeing so many pictures of the new summer items, and was impatient to receive mine.  My darling readers, that day has finally come!  Seeing as I only got this box hours ago, I haven't tried anything yet, but will be giving you info on the products and my first impressions!

Granny Takes a Dip:  Inspired by the 1960s in a nutshell, Granny Takes a Dip is a flat, disc of a bath bomb whose inner core reminds me of the swirls in an oversized jawbreaker.  The outer pink layer has a bubble mix inside while the inner layers are fast fizzing, creating a kaleidoscope effect in your bath water.  The smell is described as spicy citrus, with plenty of ginger and black pepper to boot.  Upon first whiff I can definitely pick up the black pepper, and a spicy number of what I'm assuming is ginger.  These are the base scents of the Hottie massage bar, so this is great for pepping you up and soothing any sore achey muscles.  Lemon oil also gives the bomb a citrusy bite as well.  Definitely looking forward to this one!  This product is Vegan

D-Fluff Strawberry Shaving Soap:  Strawberries, egg whites, syrup, and cocoa butter.  Sounds like a recipe for Saturday morning pancakes, but it's all in this marshmallow fluff-esque shaving soap!  Palm free and self preserving, D-Fluff reminds me of the marshmallow fluff my mom would eat out of the jar with a spoon when I was younger.  Upon first whiff, I definitely got strawberries, but also a floral note due to the rosehip oil included, so it's not sugary sweet.  This product is Vegetarian

New Charity Pot Hand & Body Lotion:  In my experience, people either love or hate Charity Pot.  That I can understand, because sweet scents like chocolate are an acquired taste (pun not intended).  This new Charity Pot has totally won me over.  The proceeds still go to grassroots charities so that part hasn't changed, but the scent is barely recognizable!  Another self preserving formula, new Charity Pot has a powdery floral scent that reminds me of baby shampoo.  It's gentle and silky and with the inclusion of rosewood and ylang ylang oils, smells divine!  This product is Vegan

Zeste Hair Gelly:  Inspired by punk rockers who used sugar to create their rebellious spiky 'dos, Zeste (the "E" is silent, so it's pronounced "Zest") relies on the natural sugars in orange juice to hold hair in place.  Zeste was also inspired by the shower jellies, hence the jello-esque texture.  Upon first whiff, I definitely could smell the oranges, but there was also a heavier floral aroma behind the citrus that made it deeper and woodsier somehow.  The texture does resemble a shower jelly, but is a bit heavier and thicker.  I'm eager to see how this will work on my mid-back length hair.  This product is Vegan

African Paradise Body Conditioner:  As one who LOVES Ro's Argan, I was super excited to see another body conditioner coming out!  African Paradise is chalk full of ingredients from Africa (hence the name) and was inspired by frangipani flowers.  The scent is described as a spicy carnation, with the inclusions of moringa, ylang ylang, sandalwood, and clove bud oils, as well as fair trade shea butter & aloe vera with baobab oil and kalahari melon.  The smell reminds me of the flowers my dad would give me after my dance recitals as a child, beautiful and floral, but subtle in the best possible way.  VERY eager to use this one.  This product is Vegetarian

Parsley Porridge Face & Body Soap:  Made to replace 13 Unlucky for Dirt, Parsley Porridge soap is a great green bar of antioxidants and antibacterials.  Packed with tea tree oil, parsley, and fine ground oats, Parsley Porridge is great for any troubled or out of whack skin, helping cleanse deeply, as well as provide gentle exfoliation with oats, and soothing properties from the parsley.  I'm not one for parsley (thought most people argue it tastes like nothing, it has a taste and it's gross!) I do love the scent of tea tree oil, and plan on using this in the summer when Michigan summers get too humid and mucky.  This product is Vegan.

Mangnificent Soap:  Mangnificent soap is modeled after Bohemian, the zesty lumpy lemon bar we all know and love.  Modeled with the same look and feel, Mangnificent has a high glycerine content, as well as rapeseed and coconut oils so you won't lose any of that moisture.  The citrusy aroma smells heavenly, and is a great pick me up for when it's too hot to function.  This product is Vegan

 
Overall I'm impressed!  This summer's products seem to be promising indeed!  Lots of fresh, natural ingredients are brought out and shining bright, showing off that Lush does indeed get their ingredients from fair trade, organic (when possible!) small businesses that have an extremely high standard when it comes to quality.  I look forward to using this products in the summer, and I hope you do too!  Keep a lookout for these products, as they will be hitting the store shelves and website soon!

So tell me readers...what summer product are YOU most intrigued by?  Let me know in the comments below!!

(Review) Avobath: Do Re Mi Fa So La Si Fruit

I will readily admit I've been a bit of a grump this week.  Just one of those moods where every little thing annoys you.  That coupled with bad allergies made for a rather pissy week.  Also as of this blog entry, season 2 of Orange is the New Black isn't out yet, and my patience is wearing thin (what will become of our beloved blonde WASP?!).  Nonetheless, my fiery temper was cooled when Sunday approached, and the promise of a new week filled with new opportunities, antihistamines, and my favorite jailhouse dark comedy had me hopeful.  So why not treat yourself with a bath while at it?

This week, I chose to take a walk down memory lane (which actually wasn't too long ago) with my very first bath bomb, Avobath.  Not only is it one of the first ones I used, but it's one of my favorites.  It's citrusy and fruity smelling AND green just so happens to be my favorite color.  So on a bad day, where my normal cheerful demeanor just isn't there and my brain's all fogged over with allergies and bad thoughts, I like to chuck this in my tub and bathe in the clean green goodness.

So let's get this show on the road!

Avobath was inspired by fruit (derr).  Its scent is described as "fruit upon fruit upon fruit," like a big ol' fruit salad in bath bomb form.  It's quite simple in form...a nice pale green ball that smells strangely like fruit loops.  That's one of the ways I get younger kids intrigued by Avobath...I tell them it smells like fruit loops and their eyes light up when they realize it's true.  It's a very cute thing to see. 

So when you drop Avobath in, it sinks right to the bottom and foams up like a geyser about to explode.  Thankfully that doesn't happen (my recently cleaned top to bottom bathroom thanks you for that) and your bath water immediately turns a pale shade of green that grows deeper and brighter the more it dissolves.

Avobath is one of Lush's most moisture intensive bath bombs.  The mashed avocado give Avobath its green color (and name) and avocado is known for its moisturizing properties and ability to make fantastic guacamole.  The inclusion of extra virgin olive oil also adds to the moisture list, most likely adding to the green color a bit since EVOO tends to be greener in color.  Among the scents are lemongrass, bergamot, and rosewood oils.  All three of these oils smell fantastic, and all three are known mood lifters.  Seeing as I've been having a bad case of the summer cranks lately, I was in desperate need of a pick me up.  Plus lemongrass and bergamot are two of my favorite scents in all of Scent-dom, so a bath bomb with my favorite scents AND color was bound to give me a pick me up!

Kinda looks like a booger...but look at how great my nails look!

I would say Avobath is a pretty fast fizzer.  Not as fast as Big Blue (which made like Nicholas Cage and was gone in 60 seconds) but not as slow as Dragon's Egg or Twilight.  It was nice to sit there and watch it fizz up like an emerald green geyser, the scent of lemongrass and citrus wafting through my closet of a bathroom and clearing the air (and my sinuses).

The last remnants of Avobath slowly bubbling away

When Avobath was done dissolving, my cranky butt slid into the warm, fruity green water, grumbling about these darn kids and their rock 'n roll 8 track tapes.  But as I sat and soaked, my mind was soothed, my sinuses cleared, and my bath water the color of the Chicago river at St. Patty's day.  It was a clear as glass green and it smelled just heavenly.  I felt like I was bathing in Sprite!  I noticed there were small speckles of glitter so fine I could barely see them, but they were there and they gave my bath water a very subtle, but noticeable shine.  So not only is Avobath simple in appearance, but also in execution.  No huge fancy frills, no popping candy, no little notes, just a simple green bath to soothe a cloudy mind.  Don't get me wrong, I love the frills, but sometimes simplicity is nice.  I laid back, cracked open my copy of Dangerous Liaisons (one of my favorite pieces of classical literature) and soaked for a good 2 hours.  My skin was so well moisturized that I didn't even need lotion afterwards!

Overall, Avobath was a great bath experience, and the first bath bomb I ever used.  I snagged it during training (this has been hinted at, but I will now confirm that I'm a Lush employee, and have been a devoted customer of Lush years before I was hired) and consider it my "gateway drug" into the world of bath bombs.  It's great for clearing a cloudy mind and soothing a tempered soul.  So calm down and...avo...bath!

...again, ending with an awful joke.  I'm so not sorry!  But I also want to point out that I started a tumblr blog for quick snapshots into my life as a Lushie and a Lush employee.  I urge you to check it out here, and remember to follow me on both sites!  I thank you for your support and for reading my humble little Lush blog!

So tell me readers...what was YOUR first Lush bath bomb?  And how did you like it?  Let me know in the comments!!

**This bath bomb is certified Vegan

**Purchase Avobath at your local LUSH store, or buy it online here