review: "cupcake" facemask by lush

When I'm PMSing, I may as well be hooked up to a drip of liquid chocolate.  Apart from stuffing my face full of all of the beige food I can find (custard cream biscuits, mashed potato, crisps, fudge, peanuts, cheese, bread - or if I'm feeling extra fat, a mashed potato sandwich), chocolate is without a doubt my go-to food when my monthly friend pays a visit.  I say friend, it's anything but my friend.  It leaves me fat, spotty and miserable.

So you can only imagine my delight, when my sister brought me home a pot of Lush's chocolate "Cupcake" face mask.  Why just eat chocolate, when you can smother it all over your face too?!  This is brilliant.  Why didn't I think of this before?  

For £5.75 for a 75g pot of FRESH face mask (free of preservatives and chemical nasties), Cupcake is by far one of my favourite items from the skin care range Lush has to offer.  


I first bought it a few years ago when suffering quite badly from troublesome teenage skin, and was amazed by how much it soothed the angry red lumps and bumps.  I always liked to think that my "teenage" acne would piss off, ideally the day I turned 20.  I dreamt of the day I'd wake up with flawless dewy skin, but it's yet to happen.  In fact, it's only the other day my sister described my face as looking like a "greasy potato".  Aren't sisters great?  But no, at nearly 21 and a half years old, I am STILL suffering and work very hard to keep my skin under control.

Crammed full of ingredients which work to purify (rhassoul mud), soothe (linseed infusion), cleanse and tone  (fresh mint, spearmint oil) and moisturise (cocoa butter) all at once, Cupcake is a must have for oily skin types prone to breakouts.  


It left my skin feeling smoother and my pores looked visibly smaller, all whilst delivering a much needed moisture kick to patches on my skin which have been dried out by acne treatments.  And for a product which looks and smells like chocolate, you can indulge in it as much as you like without worrying about calorie counting!

Pros

:)  Easy to apply

:)  Soothes inflamed skin and reduces painful swelling 

:)  Great value for money!  A little goes a very long way

:)  Purifies, soothes, cleanses, tones and moisturises in one easy step

:)  IT'S MADE FROM CHOCOLATE

:)  IT SMELLS OF CHOCOLATE

:)  I LOVE CHOCOLATE

Cons

:(  Can be very messy!  Needs to be washed off as soon as it starts drying, otherwise you end up with crumbly brown bits EVERYWHERE

:(  The moisturising cocoa butter should be blended into the mixture more, instead of appearing like little chunks!  As the fresh face masks should be kept in the fridge, the lumps of cocoa butter don't melt when the mask is so cold

Who would I recommend this product to?

Girls (and boys!) with oily skin who suffer from breakouts of underlying painful boils and spots.  This product is amazing at soothing acne prone skin, especially when applied straight from the fridge, and removed by gently wiping away with a cold flannel.

Rating

5/5 (no, really, I love it that much)

Disclaimer:  The views and opinions expressed on this blog are my own.  I have not been paid to advertise products- it is something I do for fun in my spare time, however endeavour to deliver honest reviews.  If you would like to use any of my original photography featured on the blog, feel free, but please link back to me and give credit where due.

review: "the sacred truth" facemask by lush

As all my family and friends know I am a HUGE Lush fan.  I have transformed the bathroom into a miniature Lush shop, with more bath bombs, bubblebars, soaps and other goodies than a girl could ever want and need, to smell good enough to eat.

My most recent purchase from Lush was The Sacred Truth facemask.  This facemask belongs to an extensive range of facemasks by Lush- each one with a different purpose and intended for a particular skin type. 

The Sacred Truth pledges to protect skin from the effects of ageing, and aims to 'enhance and revive' your complexion. 

The recipe is jam packed with friendly anti-oxidant Wheatgrass, Ginseng and Green Tea, as well as Papaya fruit enzymes.  There is  a whole host of other ingredients including honey, shea butter and a powerful cocktail of fruit and plant oils, working to soothe and soften skin in need of TLC.

A 75g pot of The Sacred Truth costs £5.75.  Yes, it is more expensive than a regular facemask, but the price can be justified. 

The facemasks in Lush use fresh, natural ingredients, so there's no nasty harsh chemicals and preservatives.  You are advised to keep the mask chilled in the fridge to ensure the ingredients don't go off - however the product has a short shelf-life of around 1 month. 

I have oily skin prone to acne, which means I constantly use products such as Freederm and Oxy in order to regulate my complexion.  However, these can be quite drying, which is why the moisturising properties of The Sacred Truth attracted me.

Upon first glance, the greeny beige colour of The Sacred Truth doesn't look very appealing.  However, the product does smell better than it looks. 

For those used to the usual uber-sweet girly scents of Lush, the smell of The Sacred Truth may be a bit off-putting, as it smells quite...hmmm, I don't know how to describe this.  It's not unpleasant by any means - it smells a bit grassy, with only a hint of honey sweetness. 

Application of the product was easy-peasy.  The facemask is relatively lump-free and spread easily onto my face.

A little really does go a long way, especially if you mix the mask into a runny paste with a touch of warm water.  If you used a grape size amount each time you used it, you could easily get 10 or more uses out of the product.  That would work out approximately 58p per application.

When The Sacred Truth was drying, it didn't make my face feel tight, like some other facemasks do.  It felt instantly cooling and soothing on the sore patches which are prone to inflammed underlying spots. 

After the recommended 10 minutes, I washed off the mask with warm water, patted dry with a soft towel, and was pleasantly surprised how soft and smooth my skin felt.  My makeup went on great too, with no dry patches standing out when I applied my foundation.

Pros

:)  easy to apply

:)  leaves skin feeling soft

:)  great value for money

:)  good shelf-life considering it's made from all natural ingredients

Cons

:(  smell is not as sweet as other Lush products

:(  the colour may be off-putting to some

Who would I recommend this product to?

Ideal for those who suffer from dryness of the skin, and also those who suffer from spots to remedy the drying action of acne creams/face washes.

Rating

4/5

Disclaimer:  The views and opinions expressed on this blog are my own.  I have not been paid to advertise products- it is something I do for fun in my spare time, however endeavour to deliver honest reviews.  If you would like to use any of my original photography featured on the blog, feel free, but please link back to me and give credit where due.