first look at Lush with dry skin

My skincare routine and the products that I buy used to be very minimal and boring. My severe eczema is triggered by simple things like dust or the wrong kind of laundry detergent, so experimenting with different creams and lotions just wasn’t worth the face-disfiguring flare-ups. Because of that, for years I only used the same couple of aqueous creams and not much else, hoping that my 'good behaviour' would keep my eczema at bay.

Last November I braved a recommendation and tried The Body Shop’s Hemp Body Butter (I wrote a whole review here!) and I haven’t had a single flare up since.

Since I was surprised by the lockdown in Ireland- I was just supposed to be at my parents’ for the weekend to pick up the rest of my things- I didn’t have much skincare with me. Desperate, my lovely sister let me borrow her Lush Cup O Coffee face mask and Vanishing Cream moisturiser to try out and I wanted to give you guys a little review!

Cup O Coffee face & body mask

I’ve never tried a Lush product before- yes, really! The overpowering floral scent that emanates from the store is enough to make me run for the hills- fragrance is notoriously bad for sensitive skin.

The Cup O Coffee face and body scrub is very fragrant, but I think that it’s down to the actual coffee itself that’s used.

It’s my first time using a face mask, and I’m actually not totally averse to it! Rinsing my face with warm (but not too hot!) water, I take a little swipe of the coffee scrub and very gently massage it onto my face. Since I have sensitive skin I’m very careful with face scrubs that are too abrasive- and the Cup O Coffee mask could really do some damage if I’m too rough. Once applied, I leave it on for ten minutes before I wash it off. Normally I hate the idea of wet, unmoisturised skin, and I can’t stand the feeling of my face going stiff from dryness, but by the time the ten minutes are up I don’t feel uncomfortable at all. It does take a bit of perseverance to wash it off my face- thank goodness my eyebrows are plucked within an inch of their life!- but the result is worth it.

My face is so incredibly smooth after the Cup O Coffee mask, far more than just my usual scrub. The biggest difference is when I apply foundation and powder; I can actually see as well as feel how exfoliated my face is. However, because it is so abrasive I wouldn’t recommend using it more than twice a week at most, and I’d avoid this mask altogether if I have any flare-ups or damage to my skin, as I can only imagine it would do more harm. I’ve used this once a week for the last three weeks of isolation and I haven’t had any kind of reaction or flare-up, so I wouldn’t be afraid to purchase my own pot (£9 for 150g or £16 for the larger 325g pot, I can’t find the euro equivalent at the moment but I’ll update when I get into the store!) when the whole Covid 19 pandemic is over and I have a better idea of where I am financially.

Vanishing Cream moisturiser

The Lush Vanishing Cream moisturiser is supposed to be a hydrating cream suitable for dry skin. It contains lavender honey water for soothing and moisturising while calming the skin, and rose water for balancing and nourishing.

I applied it when I took my makeup off before dinner or just before bed for a few days to see how my skin reacted. It’s called ‘Vanishing’ for a reason- it didn’t take much for it to soak into the skin. I was a bit weary of how fragrant the cream is- as much as I love the smell of lavender, it’s so potent that I was afraid of getting immediate dry, grumpy patches. Interestingly enough, my skin didn’t react at all, though that may be because I had a rotation of the Hemp Cream and my trusty aqueous cream to keep my skin as happy as possible.

I didn’t find it as moisturising as my usual moisturiser or the hemp cream from The Body Shop. It wasn’t awful when I applied it before dinner, but it certainly wouldn’t be moisturising enough to apply just before bed and expect my face to still be soft and hydrated when I wake up. I’d have it in my skincare collection as a luxury treat every so often; I really enjoy the lavender scent and the thrill of using something other than my boring moisturiser, but I couldn’t possibly use it as an everyday cream.

It’s fairly expensive for a moisturiser- at £21 for only 45g of product, which is a lot considering how often I moisturise my poor face. I probably will treat myself to a small pot of it every once in a while (I tend to go overboard on my birthday week, there’s a thought), again once the pandemic is over.

In essence, I’m pretty pleased with my first Lush experience. Everything smells amazing and luxurious, but nothing caused my face to flare up- which is something I’d like to avoid doing when I have so many photos to take for my blog! I’m quite excited to go in and try a few more lotions and potions (with some research behind it of course, I still have to be careful) from Lush in the future! And of course, Lush is vegetarian and cruelty free, so I’m happy to financially support the brand and its ethics too! What’s your favourite Lush product, and what should I absolutely try next?

Thank you so much for reading my little review, I hope you found it helpful and informative and it convinces you to at least try the Cup O Coffee face mask! If you want, subscribe to my blog, or follow me on Instagram @lapetitemis for more fashion, beauty and skincare posts!