(Review) Grass: Don't Fear the Reefer

If you look really closely, you can see my face in the bottle!

I have to say, that on this Earth Day, Mother Nature is one big tease.  While us in the Midwest have been practically buried in snow, limbs frozen in ice cold agony, and have dealt with many a bad driver on the icy roads, I think I speak for all of us when the sun finally arrived and we could do nothing but cry tears of joy...that didn't immediately freeze upon our pallid winter cheeks.  Oh yes...this past week has been nothing short of glorious!  Gone were the days of dirty slushy snow, of cloudy winter morns, and snow flying down your shirt because you forgot your scarf at home!  Now begin the days of clear blue skies, air conditioning, and all that other stuff you see on those white girl motivational posters on Facebook.  Hashtag something about being the best summer EVER!  So today, on this day where we celebrate Mother Earth (which should be every day in my opinion) do you think she graced her midwestern children with some comfortable temperatures and a healthy dose of vitamin D??  That would be one big fat NOPE!

Waking up this morning had me promptly pulling my covers right back over my bare arms.  Given the chill in my room, I had figured the past few sunny days to be nothing but a fever dream.  But the date was indeed in April and that was indeed snow falling outside my window.  Not nuclear fallout, not smoke ash leftover from 4/20, but snow.  Well...crap.  Might as well take a nice hot shower to warm up these chilly bones!

Enter Grass shower gel.  Because if I couldn't get my earthy spring fix outside, I was damn sure gonna get it in the shower.  Released on the auspicious date April 20th (or 4/20 or Laganja Estranja Day, whichever you prefer) Grass shower gel is one of the most unique products I've come across at Lush.  Of course it's a shower gel, what could be so revolutionary about that?  Does it glow in the dark?  Does it give you mutant powers?  Are the suds sentient and let out little screams of pain when they pop?!  Why of course not...remember Lush is cruelty free!  What makes this product so unique is its scent.  A combination of nourishing wheatgrass, earthy neroli, and moodlifting bergamot, Grass shower gel is unlike any beauty product I've ever sniffed before.  This was actually gifted to me by Bossman for doing a good job during one of my shifts!  Seeing as I probably wouldn't have bought this on my own, I was grateful for the chance to try it out!

When I first cracked open this little guy, I sniffed and immediately recoiled.  For years I'd associate the smell of grass and trees with crippling allergies.  Being someone who suffers from allergies so bad you have to get shots for them, I feel like this was a normal reaction for me.  But as I cautiously took a second sniff, I happily realized that my nose wasn't running, nor was I sneezing or coughing with a headache.  I could get the full effect of the outdoors without the mucusy side effects!  Yahoo!

When I squeezed some of the dark green gel onto my shower poof, I was immediately reminded of summers at home with my family, most of which I would spend inside brooding (I was a moody teen...oh the angst).  Papa Bear, being the medical professional he likes to think he is, opened up all of the windows in the house ("being outside will get rid of your outdoor allergies!" he would exclaim while trying and failing to shoo my brooding butt outside.  Yes Papa Bear, and peanut butter sandwiches cure nut allergies...) and mow the lawn.  I remember the scent of the fresh cut grass wafting in through the window, along with the grating sound of the lawnmower and Papa Bear's loud and boisterous sneezes being heard over the motor (I inherited my allergies from him...thanks Papa Bear).  However, many (but not that many) years later, I captured the same scent in the peace and serenity that is my shower.

Overall, I did enjoy Grass shower gel quite a bit more than I thought I would.  The scent was beautiful and unique and made me feel like I was in a grassy meadow when it was actually snowing outside.  It gently cleansed my skin and left it lightly fragranced and smooth.  One thing I did notice was that the color did darken a bit over time, and the grassy scent actually strengthened a bit since I came across this bottle.  But overall I really enjoyed this shower gel.  It's a perfect shower gel to use when it's cold and dreary out and you need a reminder that the cold weather won't be around forever!

...well, unless you're in Antarctica...

**Grass shower gel is certified Vegan

(Review) Inhale Exhale: A Guide on Breathing

"Keep your head above water, but don't forget to breathe" - Alexi Murdoch

 

There's nothing I love more than a Sunday.  Waking up without an alarm clock blasting you deaf, the promise of a new week ahead, it's the perfect day to just sit back, relax, and decompress.  There's something sacred about a Sunday.  With society's whole "I needed this done yesterday, rush rush, busy busy busy" attitude, a day off is something that's become a foreign concept to us.  However, there are those of us that keep the traditional alive.  Some find solace in Sunday mass, some choose the meditative monotony of cleaning relaxing.  But for me?  It's my weekly Sunday soak.  I can't start my week without a nice, long, 3 hour soak in my tub.  Complete with a bath bomb from Lush of course!

I can never get flash to work properly...

Enter Inhale Exhale.  A dual colored reminder to take time for ourselves now and then.  Limited edition for Mother's Day, Inhale Exhale is not only dual colored, but dual scented as well.  The pink side is scented with Inhale, a bright, fresh melon scented perfume, while the blue side is scented with sandalwood and amber, giving off a peppery, incense vibe.  These two perfumes combined make up the Breath of God fragrance Lush currently sells.  For me this was love at first sniff.  I'm an avid incense burner, never going a day without lighting at least one smokey stick of Dragon's Blood, so this was right up my alley as far as scents were concerned.  This was inspired by Tibetan incense after all, so the heady, smokey notes make sense.  So let's test this baby out, shall we?

Poor little guy is camera shy...

Upon dropping this into the tub, I noticed the pink side fizzed away within seconds, filling the bathroom with this fresh and slightly floral aroma, while the more heady, spicy blue side took its sweet time.

The pink had fully dissolved within literally a minute, leaving in its wake a warm lavender color and a creamy, bubbly coating that felt soft and fluffy when touched.

Braaaaaains.  Fizzy, sweet smelling BRAAAAAAAAINS

 

 Inhale Exhale not only contains sandalwood (which, in my opinion, is the sexiest scent on a man) but neroli as well.  What do these two oils have in common?  They're both soothing!  Neroli and Sandalwood oils help sooth and calm any inflamed, red, and sore skin.  I chose this one specifically because I had an allergic reaction a week before to a product I had used (a blog entry soon to come about that) which caused a rash to spread across my chest and down my ribcage.  Inhale Exhale also contains cade oil, which is that smoky smelling oil used in the Soak & Float shampoo bar.  Cade oil works as a stimulant to help improve circulation in the body and remove any debris in the body.  I hate the word "detoxify" because it's a hot button word tossed around like a rodeo clown, but that's precisely what it does.  Upon getting out of the tub, I did notice that my chest felt better.  The redness was toned down and it wasn't tight or itchy.  Which was nice, since scratching your boob in public isn't the classiest of moves.

Wait...what's that?  In the top right corner...do you see that?

It's a note!

A little affirmation pops out of the bomb when it's dissolved enough.  A nice little reminder that we all need to take five minutes and just breathe once in a while

Once the bomb had fully dissolved, the water turned a beautiful cool lilac color, reminding me of my great-grandma's favorite flower.  And when I sunk into the nice, warm water, I felt like I had wrapped myself in a fluffy down comforter in a warm, incense filled room.  I laid back, stared at the remnants of Essie's Aruba Blue on my toenails and contemplated the meaning of life for a good 30 minutes.  And by the meaning of life, I mean how the hell I was gonna get the rest of that polish off of my toes (seriously, it won't budge!).  I breathed in the spicy smokey aroma and marinated for about 2 hours before I dried off, slapped on a face mask, and started this entry.

Overall, this was a fantastic bath bomb.  A not too strong heady, herbal smell with water the color of sugared violets.  My skin was soft, the rash on my chest looked worlds better, and it inspired me to just stop and breathe, and take in everything around me, whether I have 5 minutes or 5 hours.  In this hustle bustle world, filled with caffeine and deadlines and unnecessary stress, whenever you feel overloaded and on the verge of exploding, just keep one word in mind.

BREATHE