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| By Samantha
Fresh, handmade soaps, bath products, soaps, and more are a specialty of United Kingdom based company Lush. There are now 460 stores worldwide including Australia, Russia, United States, Sri Lanka, and so many more! Lush customers are encouraged to sample the products before they buy. I do have to warn you though, they really don't like people poking holes in the jellies even though it is oh-so-much fun.The Lush enviroment is very inviting. Their products are very eco-friendly. Most of their products are made solid so they can be packaged in paper or small bags. Fresh fruit, vegetables, and other plant products are used to make the best products possible. The ingrediants are listed in descending order of quantity used in making the product. Only 25% of products at Lush contain animal products like beeswax, honey, free range eggs and lanolin and 75% are vegan. The items that contain no animal products are marked as vegan in the catalogues and sometimes on the counters. All but one of their solid products contain no preservatives.
A Few of My Favorite Lush Products
I love, love, LOVE their Creamy Candy Bubble Bar. The scent sucked me in. Oh and the adorable bar itself. It smells like a vanilla scented cotton candy but not in a sickly, headache way. I found that if you hold the chunk of the bar right under the running water and swirl it up a bit you get more bubbles.
The Rock Star soap is also excellent. In case you couldn't tell, I'm big on the fruity, sweet scents. It has a tutti-fruityish scent. Yum yum yum.
Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter is not only for your cuticles but it works great on rough patches of skin. I like using it on my elbows and in between pedicures I like using it on the rough parts of my feet. It smells like lemonade. I'm usually not big on citrus scented products but I love this stuff!
Cruelty To Animals? NO WAY! Animal lovers of the world will love to hear that all Lush
products are CRUELTY FREE a.k.a no animal testing! According to Lush.com they "believe that there is no way to justify testing cosmetics or any of their ingredients on animals.They also say that "The only way to check that they are safe for humans is to test them on humans. So this is what we do. We will not buy any ingredient from any company which currently carries out any animal testing at all. Not a penny of our money - your money too - goes to any company which carries out animal testing". Lush also has many vegan friendly items. If you look online, you'll see a green "v" next to the titles if they are vegan. Also, if you check out the list of ingrediants for the products you'll notice that the black print means the igrediant is safe sythetic and the green means natural and/or organic.
How To Use
You might be wondering how you'd use some of their products so here are instructions.
Bubble Bars:
Crumble a chunk of the bar under running water as you fill the tub. Depending on how much you use per bath, the bar will usually be used about 4 times. To get the most out of your bubble bars, Lush.com tells you keep them in a cool, dry place. I like keeping mine in a ziploc baggie.
Shower Jellies:
Rub the jelly on your body for a gentle cleansing. They can also be used for hair but I don't like the way it makes mine feel. Another great way to use the jellies is freezing them! The jellies will not get solid in the freezer.It's a real pick-me-up.
Bath Bombs:
Fill tub with warm water, drop in the bath bomb. Some of the bath boms contain flower petals and other "surprises" so they recommend wrapping the bomb in nylon before you put the bomb in the water.
Bath Melts:
Drop half or a whole bath melt into the tub as it fills with water.Store them in a cool, dry place in a ziploc baggie.
To wrap things up I'd just like to say that even though the price tag on their products is a little much, they are completely worth it!
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| By: Samantha Masks:
Homemade face masks are a great way to pamper yourself without going broke. Why go to the salon for a $100 or more facial when you can just whip up some of these great DIY (do-it-yourself) masks!
The basic recipe for an Oatmeal Yogurt mask is very simple. Just take 1 cup of plain, natural, chilled yogurt and 1/2 cup of oatmeal. Mix the ingrediants together, apply to your face, let sit for 10 minutes then rinse with a warm washcloth. If you have oily skin, add a drop or two of lemon juice. Two tablespoons of honey is great for those of you with dry skin.
Shiny Hair:
What girl doesn't want beautiful, shiny hair? Two common household products can make your hair shine like it has never shined before. The Honey and Olive Oil mask is great for pampering your hair and it only takes 15 minutes. Mix 1/2 cup honey and 3 tablespoons olive oil in a small bowl. Then work a small amount at a time through hair until it is fully coated. Cover hair with a shower cap; leave on 15 minutes. It is best to rinse and repeat when shampooing after this mask. For added shine blowdry your head for about 5 minutes on the low setting, keeping the blowdryer around 6 inches from your head. 
If you aren't into DIY beauty, I really recommend you try Neutrogena's Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask. It's around $7 US at stores like CVS or Walgreens. It contains Olive, Meadowfoam Seed, and Sweet Almond to moisturize and boost the shine of your hair.
Pretty toes: 
My all-time favorite way to pamper myself is a pedicure, especially with the warm, summer weather soon. I like to start off by soaking my feet in a bucket of warm water filled with a couple drops of baby oil. After soaking for 10 or 15 minutes I use Freeman's Bare Foot Peppermint Plum pumice foot scrub ($6 US at Wal-Mart) to get my feet smooth and flip-flop ready. Pat them down with a towel. Using toe nail clippers, clip your toenails to a reasonable length. If you must do something with your cuticles, DO NOT clip them. It is best to moisturize them then push them back. Before applying nail polish be sure to swipe your toenails with some nail polish remover. Because of the oils in the scrub and foot soak it might cause the nail polish to bubble or peel if not wiped off. Apply a base coat, 1 or 2 coats of polish and a top coat. Allow toes to dry completely before putting on socks/shoes. To prevent smudging and to cut the drying time, dunk your feet into a bucket of cold water.
Ahhhhh:
Experts say that scents of lavander, chamomile, ylang ylang, clary sage, bergamot, frankincense, and sandalwood have the power to relax you. A great way to relax and de-stress from the hecticness of finals and just life in general is yoga. It teaches you breathing techniques that are very helpful. If you have Comcast Digital Cable, they have a great excersize section on On Demand that is very helpful. | | |
| SOCIALATTE SKIN CARE Article One By: Grace Fulnes Theme: GO GREEN Top 10 Natural Skin Care Products
10. Yes To Carrots Facial Mud Peeling Cleanser, Paraben Free; $9.99, Walgreens
 
9. Kiss My Face Early to Rise Shower Gel & Foaming Bath in Exhilartion/ Euphorie; $9.99, Target  8. Avalon Organics Vitamin C Moisture Plus Lotion SPF 15; $15.99, Walgreens  7. Boscia Purifying Cleansing Gel; $21, Sephora  6. Weleda Skin Food For Dry and Rough Skin; $16.99, Target  5. Giovanni Hot Chocolate Sugar Scrub For Body; $13.99, Target  4. Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Serum; $29, Sephora  3. Alba Pineapple Enzyme Facial Cleanser; $11.99, Target  2. Bare Escentuals bareVitamins Skin Rev-er Upper; $21, Sephora
 1. Burt's Bees Natural Sun Care Chemical-Free Sunscreen SPF 15; $12.99, Walgreens  | | |
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