Mixed Feelings for Lush Sea Vegetable

The Claim: This sea green soap is beloved by girls and boys alike. The reassuring scent of lavender and lime banish the blues and get you squeaky clean. For an exfoliating polish, flip the soap around and rub in the scrubby sea salt and seaweed top. Plant it in your shower and the man who doesn't know he should exfoliate will be scrubbing that dead skin off in no time. This soap makes you feel as though you've taken a dip in the ocean; you'll emerge fresh as the sea breeze.

Price: $7.80


Right off the bat, I'll say this is pretty expensive for a bar soap. But even that is permissible if the soap is outstanding. Unfortunately, this is one Lush product that is firmly in the "Meh" category for me. Why you ask? Here's why:

1. After a mere 5 days of use, the size of the soap has visibly shrunk more than your average bar soap. It was the same size as the picture above when I bought it, and look how much smaller it is now. I guess it irks me because this soap is quite pricey, and yet it shrinks faster than drugstore bar soaps!

2. Not much lather: if you use the bar without a loofah, the lather is negligible. If you use it with a loofah, there is lather, but but even then, you dont feel like you're luxuriously (or should I say, Lushly) enveloped in lathery goodness.

3. The seaweed side is a unique exfoliating experience, because it feels like you're washing up with a wet terry cloth. However, the bits of sea weed tend to fall out with each showering session, and its kind of gross to see your tub sprayed with random bits of brown sea weed. Not a huge negative, but I've used better exfoliating bar soaps in hotels that provided rolled-oats soaps.


4. The scent is nothing to write home about. It's a unisex smell that reminds me of an ocean spray or even an Old Spice deodorant stick. Its not the typical feminine scents that Lush is so famous for. I don't mind the scent, but I am not really loving it either.

All in all, I'm disappointed in this soap because it was from Lush. I expected so much out of it because of the brand and hype. But at the end of the day, it's just a normal glycerin soap that melts fast and has a run-of-the-mill scent. Not something I'd spent nearly $8 on again. Maybe if Lush dropped the prices, I'd purchase more bar soaps from them, but for now, I'm gonna stick to their skin care products, and try out their shower gels.

What are your Lush favorites and disappointments?

November Favorites +1 Regret

Part of why I'm so late on posting my November favorites was because I felt like I'd be harping on and on about products I'd already raved about. But honestly, I do love these products, and they have stood the test of time and have been favorites month after month:

Revlon Colorstay Foundation. I don't think I'll bother paying for MUFE HD or Nars. Why should I when I have this drugstore gem? Although it does break me out if I use it daily, so I save it for weekends.

Merle Norman Super Lube: I've had this one jar of lip balm for nearly 10 years. I've hit pan recently, but there's still plenty left on the sides, which I take out with a lip brush. It's like vaseline, but a little richer. My next purchase will probably be the MAC Honey lip balm tin (I'm hoping Ebay will come to the rescue!).

Kat von D Ludwig Pallete--middle two highlight colors (Clay and Tequila). I use the more nude color all over my browbone, and then dot the really bright white right under my brow's arch.

Maybelline Define-a-Lash: This mascara is perfect if you already have nice lashes, but need a little more length and definition. You get that sun-ray effect where each lash is separated. It also holds a mean curl all day long.


Coastal Scents Blending Fluff: perfect for an all over color on the lid.

MAC 252 (from a holiday set from CCO): perfect for crease work and putting a dot of highlighter under the arch of my brow.

1 Regret: Burt's Bees Day Cream: although raved about this earlier, as I hit pan on the sample, the moisturizer separated into oil and lotion. When I put it on, my skin looked so oily that I couldn't wait to get home and scrape the greasy feeling off my skin. What the heck? Overall, I regret buying the Burt's Bees Radiance Face Sample Kit. It has so not been worth it. Yes, I did like some of the products, but none of them won me over to the point that I'd purchase a full size, and that was the whole point of buying the samples. Do you guys have any BB products you really really love? I don't want to turn my back on it just yet...

 What are your favorites and regrets for this month?

Products I Regret Buying

The best thing about being a makeup blogger is that even my duds get some use. Here are the products I regret buying. I've chosen them based on poor/wierd consistency and quality rather than things like products that broke me out, because that can be very subjective.

Face

MAC (gasp I know) Mineralize Satinfinish: the thick, gel-like consistency makes my skin feel suffocated and I always look mask-like, no matter how little I apply.

BareVitamins Prime Time primer (from Sephora): This feels very silicone-y, and made my skin feel suffocated. It didn't really help my foundation last longer anyway.

Maybelline Dream Mousse Bronzer: Although I love my Dream Mousse blush, the bronzer does nothing for me. Its just bits of golden shimmer, not much pigmentation. Maybe it matches my tan skin too much, but its not really a bronzer. More like a shimmer-er.

Lips 

Coastal Scents Lip Smacks: at $2.95, I was tempted to amass tons of glosses. However, there isn't a lot of pigmentation, and its UBER shiny, so I find myself putting it on only to dab it off with a paper napkin. If you must purchase, avoid the shimmery ones because after a while, your lips end up with random bits of silver glitter and no color or shine. Not sexy. Lancome Pink to the Club: Got this as a gift for buying a perfume. This is too sheer for a lipstick, is not very moisturizing, and chunky glittery bits. 

Elf Super Glossy Lip Shine SPF 15: lame color, sucks the moisture outta my lips, and chunky glitter bits.

Eyes

 

Lancome Color Design Quad: I got this as part of a gift for buying Miracle. There is very little color payoff, just makes my eyes look kind of shimmery with not much color.

Mary Kay Signature Liquid Eyeliner in Black: the nib is not at all flexible, which makes for sloppy lining. The consistency is watery, and there is no staying power.

Hope this helps you guys. Hey, a penny saved is a penny earned right?

Review: Egyptian Magic

Egyptian Magic has taken the world by storm. It claims to moisturizes the face, lips, and any part of the body. Its also supposed to remedy pimples, eczema, and psoriasis. At $40 a jar, it better be a multitasker!

I got a free sample of this stuff at my local Whole Foods Market. After using it for a few weeks now, I don't know if I'm such a big fan. I put it on my face only once, and next thing morning, I had multiple zits! I should've known because while putting this stuff on my face, I just felt...wrong. A lot of YouTubers swear that this stuff sinks right into your skin after a few minutes, but I felt this stuff on my face for a long time. So yeah, I'm definitely not using this on my face anymore for fear it may break me out again.

On the plus side, this is one amazing lip balm. I put it on a couple of times throughout the day, and it really stays put, and prevents my lips from being flaky. But I don't think a glorified lip balm justifies buying the full size.

Overall, I reluctantly give this product a thumbs down. Why? 1) $40?! Really?! I mean that's one expensive chapstick. 2) The smell is yucky and takes a bit of getting used to. 3) The packaging sucks. I mean if this product has such a big cult following, why can't the jar look a little more luxurious?