(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) Rose Bombshell: Bombs are the New Bouquets

There's nothing I love more than a pamper day.  Just a simple day off in your pajamas sipping tea, reading a book, and polishing and primping yourself from head to toe.  Back during the holidays and the "Bath Bomb Rush of 'Aught 14" (aka the "galaxy bomb" going viral on Twitter, which REALLY bumped up sales) a pamper day was all I could dream about.  I would sit my sleep deprived self in the back room on my lunch break, hunched up with my microwaved soup squished between mounds of boxes dreaming of my tub, warm and colorful and filled with bubbles, a mask on my face and a treatment in my hair.  I would have an ice cold drink, a snack, and a good book at my side, and oh it would be bliss!  Then one of my coworkers would fling open the back door, hitting either my knee or my back, frantically looking for a box of bath bombs that we most likely didn't have.  And my dream would be squashed and I would be rudely thrown back into my bathless reality.  Oh well, at least I had my soup!

Now that the holidays and the retail rush has passed, and people in the midwest are stumbling out of their houses after a long winter, business has slowed down.  My guess is they're too busy figuring out what the warm yellow ball in the sky is (spoiler alert: it's the sun).  And because business has slowed down, it means I get some down time to focus on me and relax!  So a few days ago, I planned the biggest, most luxurious pamper day in all of pamper-dome!  I'm talking hair treatments, painfully plucking my brows into a sassy arch, manis and pedis to make my hands sparkle and my feet look less atrocious, and of course, a bath.  Because duh...baths.

 

Rose Bombshell is a limited edition bath bomb released just for Mother's Day!  Seeing as Mama Llama doesn't favor baths, I'm keeping this guy all to myself!  The perfume included is a beautiful blend of rosewood, rose oil, and orange flower absolute.  The rose petals included in the middle are hand picked from fresh roses and dried in house, which is something I find pretty cool!  Normally I dislike "stuff" in my bath bombs, but hearing the raves about this bath bomb from my coworkers, I thought I'd give this one a shot.  The soy milk among the floral bouquet gives Rose Bombshell a soothing element while the scoop of sea salt gives it a nice cleansing element.

 

I have to admit that this bath bomb proved to me that opposites can, and will attract.  I'm not one for floral scents, my skin is sensitive to sea salt, I don't like "stuff" in my bath, and soy milk makes my stomach hurt (obviously I wouldn't be drinking it...but I just needed one more thing to add to my grudge list).  However, when I first gave this bomb a sniff, I was intrigued.  It wasn't overly floral and it definitely wasn't a strong scent.  It obviously had a touch of floral to it, but to me it smelled powdery...slightly woodsy too.  I feel like the orange flower absolute gave it more of an earthy tone and took away any strong floral scent.  When I popped this into my tub, it fizzed into a creamy white foam, until a raspberry colored froth appeared followed by a smart line of rose petals marching their way out.  The last time I used a bath bomb with flowers in it, it was one of the most skin crawling, uncomfortable experiences I've had as a bath taker (that's a review for another day though).  So in order to see if the texture was different, I picked up a petal and to my surprise, it was like velvet!  Turns out that the technique they use to dry these petals is meant to have them rehydrate once they hit the water.  It was like literal fresh rose petals were sprinkled in my bath!  I was relieved and now excited to start my bath, which I will say left me super soft and smelling woodsy and powder light.

Overall Rose Bombshell was a pleasant surprise in my bathtub.  From hesitantly opening my staff box and staring at it with unease, to soaking in a pink lemonade colored bath of rose petals with glee, my opinion on this bomb took a total 180 when my toe first hit the steaming hot water.  I'm glad I enjoyed my sprinkled petal soak, because I always tell my customers and anyone interested in Lush to come in with an open mind.  My hatred for jasmine scented products is scathing, but I still will sniff things with jasmine in it on the off chance that I might like it.  I mean most of the time I don't, but it's the principle of the matter.  Keep an open mind and an open sniffer, and you might find something you love that you never thought you'd even like!

***Rose Bombshell is certified Vegan

(Review) Dorothy: In the Merry Old Land of My Bathroom

A miracle happened this week.  I had to check my email multiple times to make sure it was accurate.  When checking my work schedule for the week, I found that I not only had one, not two, but THREE days off.  Three in a row!  In retail, that's pretty much unheard of.  Much more rare than no work on the day called Saturday, which is whispered about in myth and legend in the retail world (also like the mythical word "weekend."  I know not what it means anymore).  Needless to say my heart swelled with a happy song fit for a doe eyed Disney princess, the world seemed a little brighter, and everyone had a smile on their face.

...well not really.  I love my job very much, but I was looking forward to three days of not wearing pants.  Because pants are for squares.  And I celebrated this fact by drawing myself a nice, soothing bubble bath!

Enter Dorothy, whom I'm now deeming one of LUSH's most underrated bubble bars.  Dorothy initially had me worried, being a beautiful cerulean blue with a fiery rainbow atop it.  Being an art major, I knew right away these colors would not match up very well, as blue and orange are opposites and tend to "brown out" (aka turn brown when mixed...duh) so I was expecting kind of cruddy looking bath water.  But despite the color combo, this had me at first whiff. 

 

If you like LUSH's Figs and Leaves soap, you'll love this bubble bar, as they share the same scent.  It's full of orange blossom absolute, a very thick oil that ironically smells highly floral rather than citrusy as the name "orange" would suggest.  Gardenia and ylang ylang oils also help to balance out the scent.  To me it smells beautiful and powdery, very very light and perfect for someone who's sensitive to perfumes or scents in general.

So when I first bought this, it was a deep, ocean blue.  I love deep blue colors (think heart of the ocean-esque blue, tucked safely away in my bathroom and not thrown into the ocean by an old Kate Winslet).  After having for about a week or so, it started to gradually fade into a light, pastel powder blue.  I was kind of disappointed that the blue faded so quickly so that kind of stunk, but life goes on and I used it anyways.

 

When I use bubble bars, I always use half.  So I cracked this baby in half and crumbled it under my running tap water.  I strangely love the feeling of crumbling bubble bars.  It just feels so nice and melty, like a cake or sweet melting in the palm of your hand.  Immediately the bubbles began to form and I swished my hands around in the water to give the water more bubble fluff.  The bubbles I felt were light and silky, literally feeling creamy smooth in the palms of my hands.  The bubbles didn't look like a bunch of tiny bubbles wedged together like a lot of bubble baths do, but more of a creamy froth you get on top of a cappuccino.  I let the tub fill and parted the bubble sea to see what color the water was underneath.  To my surprise, it was a beautiful stormcloud gray that smelled like powder with an ever so slightly floral note.

I sank into the tub and immediately my limbs turned to jelly.  I was so unbelievably relaxed I just melted in, finding it hard to concentrate on my book and music and just lay there in my bubbly heaven.  The smell was amplified a lot in the bath, but not cloyingly so.  It was just a nice light fragrance perfect for a late, summer night bath.  When I got out of the tub, the fragrance lingered on my skin quite nicely and I felt super soft and moisturized.

Beautiful, stormy gray bathwater

Dorothy has to be one of my favorite bubble bars, taking second place behind my beloved Brightside.  I was pleasantly surprised by this bubble bar.  I bought it thinking I wouldn't like it because of the opposite colors and the fact that I wasn't the biggest Wizard of Oz fan (but I LOVE Wicked!) but I'm so glad I was mistaken!  Dorothy is a fantastic bubble bar with a light scent, great moisturizing properties, and will relax you to the point of zombification (seriously I got out of the bath not too long ago and I'm struggling to stay awake as I type this).  Highly recommended, fantastic product, verified by the Lollipop Guild, ruby slippers not included.

**This bubble bar is certified Vegan
***Purchase Dorothy at your local LUSH store or buy it online HERE

(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