How Lush saved my skin!

Good morning everyone!

This post is dedicated to a little Haul from Lush on the weekend, as well as a Lush based skincare routine for anyone else who has problem skin (think face demons, sensitivity and redness). 

I am the kind of person who had perfect skin through high school, and thought I'd skipped the awful acne stage that everyone seems to go through.... and then wham! As soon as I hit my early twenties, it was like my face exploded. From baby smooth skin, to cystic acne.... and my skin has never been the same again, despite trying just about everything! 

After trying everything, from gentle cleansers, to harsh products like ProActiv! I could get the active acne to clear up for short periods, but found that the scarring and discolouration was a lot harder to hide (further on my new skin routine at the end of this post)..

My fellow Paper&Blush writer and all-round-bestie, Courtney, finally convinced me to give Lush's "Fresh Pharmacy" a go - with tales of how wonderful it has been for her sister who had similar skin issues... While we were in Melbourne on the weekend, we found a Lush store, and goodies were purchased!

Living in a small(ish) town, I don't have easy access to Lush, other than their online store.... but half the fun shopping at Lush is the overwhelming scent that seeps from the storefront. So I made the trip worthwhile... My purchases included:

Angels on Bare Skin - Fresh Facial Cleanser - $16.95 / 100g.

Events out skin tone, reduces redness and improves the health and appearance of y our skin, giving it a natural healthy glow. Recommended for use daily, to one or twice a week as a scrub – depending on your skin type.
 

Full of Grace - Facial Serum - $14.95 / 20g.

A solid serum to calm sensitive skin, with fresh rose ptals, Portobello mushrooms and soothing rainforest butters. Can be used under a mask, for increased intensity, or nightly as a face serum. This is said to encourage skin repair. Can be used daily.

Fresh Farmacy Cleanser - $15.95 / 100g.

Firstly, yes, that’s how they spell Farmacy! It is not a typo… it contains cleansing chamomile and calamine bar for troublesome skin. Fresh Farmacy is the soothing, cleansing bar to reach for whenever you see a spot rearing its ugly head. It makes a tiny bit of froth to clean your face gently, and because it’s made with masses of calamine and chamomile, it’s one of the most calming cleansers known to humankind. We add rose, tea tree and lavender essential oils for their powerful, skin-calming properties. It doesn't only deal with spots; it soothes and eases other skin troubles, too. Just break of a small chunk, store it in a soap container, and use as required.

& lastly, a bit of a treat for me to hide in the bathroom for those days where I just want to have a relaxing hot bath!

Honey Farm Gift Pack - $38.50 / 400g (5 items)

(Includes: Honey Bee Bomb, Butterball Bath Bomb, 100g Honey I Washed the Kids Soap, 100g Honey I Washed the Kids Shower Gel, Soft Coeur Massage Bar)

My daily routine:

Now that I have these goodies, I intend on using them exclusively in order to see what works, and to be able to provide feedback and recommendations to you guys! I took some ‘before’ photos of my skin (without any makeup, so excuse the dark eye circles) in order to give you an idea of how angry & unhappy my skin looks at the moment… 

Using these products, my current routine is as follows:

Morning: Angels on Bare Skin scrub, followed by washing with Fresh Farmacy.

Night: Wash with Fresh Farmacy, followed by a thin layer of Full of Grace.

I started using these products on Sunday 3^rd August, and already I can see a huge improvement - there is less redness, and reduced acne! Woohoo!... I’ll continue for the next few weeks, and do a follow up post so you can all see for yourself how it’s going.

Until next time, we'd love to hear your thoughts or suggestions for problem skin, so please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

~ Jo