LUSH Rose Jam Shower Gel review + photos

I usually don't make a habit of using up a product before snapping a photo, but I really couldn't resist Rose Jam!

         I have a 'gem of a jam' to share with you today on Cute and Mundane! Every holiday season, you can find me dabbling with LUSH's limited edition items, both on my own and courtesy of the fine folks at LUSH. Shower gels are among my favorite standalone products, as they're a practical way to perfume my everyday routine. This year, my must-must-must-have item from LUSH Holiday 2013 is LUSH Rose Jam shower gel!

          LUSH Rose Jam shower gel was inspired by an actual traditional rose jam recipe shared by LUSH's Turkish rose supplier. The fragrance combines Sicilian lemon oil and Turkish rose absolute to create a sweet, gummy (or should I say jammy?) combination. Rose lovers will enjoy the generous full-bodied dose of Rosa damascena infused within. Lemon is the perfect addition to add freshness to the otherwise stately flower. Vanilla pod infusion and goji berry juice add a 'very berry' sweetness to the mix.

         As someone who has tried quite a number of LUSH shower gels, I'd say LUSH Rose Jam is more moisturizing and less sudsy than most (although it will still foam up readily!), due to the inclusion of argan oil.

         LUSH Rose Jam Shower Gel (3.5 oz for $10.95) is a delightful, decadent, and delicious way to kick off the holiday season! This full bodied yet sweet, jammy rose is perfect for people like me, who love feminine florals. Now if only I could convince LUSH to offer Rose Jam shower gel year round ...

       Thanks for reading! Have you sniffed LUSH Rose Jam (the shower gel or bubbleroon)? What have you been eyeing from LUSH Holiday 2013? What are your favorite LUSH shower gels?
       
Love, Dovey.
Disclosure: This post contains product(s) sent to Cute and Mundane for consideration. The ideas and opinions in this post are genuine and my own.

LUSH Spring Tin review + photos (2013)

             Spring has sprung --- and with it, a whole new batch of fragrant goodies at LUSH Cosmetics! Today I'm sharing the LUSH Spring Tin, which I've been enjoying thanks to the folks at LUSH. If you've been following Cute and Mundane for some time, you might know that 1) I collect LUSH tins and 2) I love art! The LUSH Spring Tin is a wonderful amalgamation of those two things; the cover and sides are decorated with the artwork of German artist Roman Klonek. Klonek has a passion for woodcut printing and finds inspiration in old fashioned cartoons, especially Eastern European styles.

          Inside the LUSH Spring Tin, there's a collection of seven different items that channel the fresh cut grass and flowers of springtime. They include: The Brightside Bubble Bar, Sugar Scrub, Carrot Bubble Bar, Grass Shower Gel, Bohemian Soap, Avobath Bath Bomb, and Secret Garden Bath Bomb.

          LUSH The Brightside Bubble Bar is a big (7.0 oz!) and bright bubble bar that you can crumble under running water to create a heap of citrus scented bubbles. I think you could split this into at least 2 or 3 baths (but no-one's going to judge if you toss the whole thing in and go for a literal mountain of bubbles).

          LUSH Sugar Scrub is a classic LUSH item. It's a ginger and fennel scrub that's great for working away unwanted bumps and cellulite. LUSH Carrot Bubble Bar is LUSH's best smelling 'vegetable'. This reusable bubble bar isn't crumbled; if you hold it by the green tuft under running water, lemon and buchu scented bubbles will appear! One 'carrot' can be used for multiple baths.

          Grass Shower Gel is a fresh scented shower gel full of wheatgrass extract; it's almost like showering in a meadow! There's also a dash of uplifting neroli. LUSH shower gels get a lot of love in my household (even from the Mr.) so this gets a thumbs up. Bohemian Soap is a lemon-scented soap. It's full of real lemon oils to cleanse and tone the skin, as well as to stimulate the senses.

          Avobath Bath Bomb is one of my favorite bath bombs! It has a zesty lemongrass scent that's a perfect energizer after a long day. It's full of avocado and olive oils to moisturize. Secret Garden Bath Bomb is part of LUSH's limited edition spring collection and is also sold separately. It's full of rose absolute, sweet wild orange, and rosewood oil. You'll find that this bomb releases a number of real flower petals too, to decorate your bath (a secret garden indeed)!

          The LUSH Spring Tin ($56.95) is a fresh set, perfect for adding a sprinkle of spring to a shower or bath-time routine. Roman Klonek's artwork decorating the tin is awesome and and I like that most of the products can be used multiple times. Overall, two thumbs up --- a great gift for oneself or for moms on this Mother's day!

Thanks for reading! Have you ever tried LUSH tins? Which products from the LUSH Spring Tin stand out to you?

Love, Dovey.
Disclosure: This post contains product(s) sent to Cute and Mundane for consideration. The ideas and opinions in this post are genuine and my own. 

LUSH '...had a very shiny nose' gift set (Holiday 2012) review + photos

          If you're still trying to 'wrap up' Christmas shopping for the men in your life, take a look at this reindeer inspired gift at LUSH. LUSH '....had a very shiny nose' gift set (Holiday 2012) is a shower set geared towards men, which is nice since men's gifts are considerably harder to come by. (And why not? Men take showers too). The fresh scented products include: Mr. Punch soap, The Olive Branch shower gel, and Sandy Santa.

        LUSH Mr. Punch looks just like punch full of floating fruit; it even has a few dried juniper berries mixed in. It's packed with fragrant and toning ingredients including juniper berry oil, blackcurrant absolute, lime oil, and gin. In hot water, the soap has a bright fruity blackcurrant scent with a touch of gin. I've developed a small obsession with Mr. Punch; after all, who couldn't use an extra shot of booze?

          LUSH The Olive Branch is a Mediterranean-inspired body cleanser that's full of olive oil to keep skin moisturized and soft. Like a martini, this body wash should be shaken before use so that all the oils emulsify. The Olive Branch also contains a vine leaf infusion, sea salt, and fresh mandarin juice. The scent is not a bright citrus scent like LUSH Happy Hippy; the strong vine contribution makes it unisex (if not masculine).

LUSH Sandy Santa sugar scrub

          LUSH Sandy Santa is a sugar and sand shower scrub that will buff away dry winter skin. (This limited edition holiday scrub was inspired by a life-sized 'Sandy Santa' seen at a sand-sculpture competition in Brazil!) It works as promised, and the orange, rosewood, and sandalwood scent is absolutely gorgeous.

          LUSH '....had a very shiny nose' gift set ($23.95) is full of crowd pleasing shower goodies that are easy-to-use. The unisex scents would suit a variety of people, including men and those not familiar with LUSH. The ready-to-go red-nosed wrapping is cute and and convenient too. Thanks for reading! Which of the three products above appeals to you most? Have you ever gifted shower goodies for the men in your life? What are your go-to men's gifts?

Love, Dovey.
Disclosure: This post contains product(s) sent to Cute and Mundane for consideration by PR. The ideas and opinions in this post are genuine and my own.

LUSH Festive Fiesta Gift (Holiday 2012) review + photos

           If I had to pick a favorite gift set from the LUSH Holiday 2012 collection, the LUSH Festive Fiesta gift would be it! I'm really loving the Mexican inspired theme found in LUSH stores this holiday season. The LUSH Festive Fiesta gift is stuffed full of eight citrusy and scrubby goodies packed in a reusable tin. I enjoy collecting LUSH tins; they're great for storing my LUSH collection, as well as Christmas ornaments. I'm thinking that this Mexican-inspired tin with its mariachi Santa, cacti, and chili garlands might be the highlight of my collection!

           LUSH Mr. Punch soap is a Holiday 2012 item. True to name, Mr. Punch looks like a pretty bowl of punch full of floating fruit. The soap is packed with toning and fragrant ingredients including juniper berry oil, blackcurrant absolute, lime oil, and a splash of gin.

           LUSH Sandstone soap is a year round item. It's LUSH's most scrubby soap and was inspired by the smooth bodies on Brazilian beaches. It contains real sand to exfoliate skin, as well as a strong citrusy scent from 'litsea oil.'

         LUSH Buffy body butter is a moisturizing and exfoliating massage bar that's available year-round. It's meant to be used on wet skin or in the shower. Buffy contains ground rice, almonds, and beans that act as exfoliants to decrease cellulite, lumps, and bumps. Cocoa and shea butters moisturize the skin.

           LUSH Each Peach (And Two's a Pair) massage bar is part of LUSH's year-round collection. This citrus scented massage bar contains avocado, mango kernel, cocoa, and shea butters to moisturize. It can be used to massage a partner, as well as a nice everyday moisturizer for self.

         LUSH Sandy Santa Shower Scrub is a Holiday 2012 item. This santa-molded scrub has sugar and sand exfoliants. It has a really nice orange, rosewood, and sandalwood oil scent. To use Sandy Santa, you pinch off a small piece and massage in the shower; the consistency is soft and crumbly as opposed to that of a firm bar. I'll probably be using this as a hand scrub before manicures.

         LUSH Ocean Salt cleanser is an exfoliating and toning facial cleanser best used on oily or combination skin. This citrus scented cleanser contains exfoliating sea salt, along with avocado, coconut, and vodka. Ocean salt is available year round.

           LUSH Slammer shower gel is a part of the LUSH Retro Christmas collection, available exclusively online. This shower gel is full of lime; it has lime juice, lime peel, and lime oil. (It smells like lime gummy candy).  Slammer a very potent wake up call when used in the shower! The consistency is on the thinner and less bubbly end of LUSH shower gels.

          LUSH Ponche is a star product from the LUSH Holiday 2012 lineup. Ponche is inspired by the traditional Mexican holiday punch of the same name. It smells like a combination of orange juice and tequila.  This bright and boozy fragrance makes for a really fun and different shower experience. The alcoholic fragrance comes from Buchu oil, however there's also a shot of tequila mixed in to tone skin. The consistency is a typical of a very bubbly LUSH shower gel.

          The LUSH Festive Fiesta Gift ($74.95) is full of citrus, scrubs, and spirits that are sure to rouse tired skin from a winter slumber. Plus, the Mexican Santa tin adds extra festivity to the fiesta. Finding this under your Christmas tree would make for a very Feliz Navidad, indeed. Thanks for reading! What do you think of the Mexican Christmas theme? Which item from this set stands out to you? Have you tried anything from LUSH Holiday 2012?

Love, Dovey.
Disclosure: This post contains product(s) sent to Cute and Mundane for consideration by PR. The ideas and opinions in this post are genuine and my own.

LUSH Halloween 2012 collection review

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          LUSH has a spook-tacular lineup of items for Halloween 2012 that I’m so excited to share with you today. These fizzy, bubbly, sparkly, and jiggly bath products are bound to bring out the trick-or-treat spirit in both young and old spirits alike. The in-store Halloween collection consists of LUSH Twilight Shower Gel, LUSH Calacas Shower Jelly, LUSH Enchanter Bath Bomb, and LUSH Pumpkin soap.

          LUSH Twilight Shower Gel is lavender scented shimmery purple shower gel. The sparkly purple seems to reflect the dimmed color of dusk when twinkling stars start to make themselves known. LUSH Shower gels are very sudsy with natural scents that are amplified upon use in hot water. LUSH Twilight has a full-on herbal lavender scent that is supplemented with a slight sweetness from Tonka. It's is a relaxing scent that is perfect for bedtime showers. LUSH Twilight is a nice addition to the lush lineup, which already has a sweet vanilla and heady jasmine. I'm happy to add it to the five other LUSH shower gels that already populate my shower! Unlike last Halloween’s single size Ghost shower gel, Twilight will be available in three different sizes. Twilight is a part of both the Halloween and Holiday 2012 collections and is the only item here that will be available throughout the winter season.

          While Twilight may be the perfect sleepytime scent, LUSH Calacas Shower Jelly is the perfect pick-me-upper for cold winter mornings. LUSH Calacas is a green jiggly jelly soap molded into the shape of a Day of the Dead sugar skull ('calacas' means skeleton in Spanish).  This shower jelly has a zingy lime gummy candy scent. Though I’m a serious LUSHie, this is the first time I’ve tried a shower jelly. They're essentially bars of soap in jello form. Like most LUSH shower products, they’re quite sudsy. You can also freeze these jellies for a really cool hot-cold experience in the shower.

           If you love the lime scent of LUSH Calacas, LUSH Enchanter Bath Bomb might be up your alley as well. It’s a festive bath bomb with a citrusy lime scent that mirrors that of LUSH Calacas. When in water, the bath bomb fizzes into a citrus orange, followed by bursts of bright pink. The Lime and Neroli oil are toning and brightening for skin, not to mention uplifting for tired spirits.

          LUSH Pumpkin Soap is a molded Jack-O-Lantern shaped soap from Halloweens past. This creamy limited edition soap smells like an aromatic slice of pumpkin pie. The cinnamon, clove, cardamom, spearmint, and fresh pumpkin scent epitomizes the season and adds fragrance to your bathroom as well as your hands. The size is slightly larger than my palm and roughly equivalent to your typical bar soap. LUSH Pumpkin Soap looks fun, smells delicious, and is a practical to boot.

           LUSH Twilight Shower Gel ($9.95 - $27.95 for 3.3oz - 16.1 oz.), LUSH Pumpkin Soap ($6.95), LUSH Calacas Shower Jelly ($4.95 for 3.5oz.), and LUSH Enchanter Bath Bomb ($4.95) have just become available in LUSH stores. The bright colors and delicious scents are fun pick-me-ups for the fall season. Be sure to scoop up these spooks soon; they’ll be gone in a ‘bat’ an eyelash! Thanks for reading! Have you seen LUSH Halloween in stores? Which product sounds the most up your alley? How are you getting ready for Halloween?

Love, Dovey.

Disclosure: This post contains product(s) sent to Cute and Mundane for consideration by PR. The ideas and opinions in this post are genuine and my own.