Christina Alyce Beauty

Winter is a tough time for my feet. They’re constantly freezing, and dry as a bone. I knew I needed to be proactive this year and have all of the supplies I need to fend off my winter woes. In addition to foot scrubs and plenty of fluffy socks, a good foot lotion is a must, and that’s where Pink Peppermint comes in. 

More than just a moisturizer, Pink Peppermint contains some very smart ingredients that have many benefits on battered feet. The first function this foot lotion serves is to ease the pain of tired feet. Peppermint oil offers a cooling effect upon contact, but stimulates blood flow and warms up cold feet.. It even acts as a natural analgesic, relieving some pain from overworked feet. Peppermint and Spearmint are both refreshing and invigorating. Arnica infusion is a miracle ingredient when your feet have been overworked. it not only shares the same pain relieving property as peppermint, but also acts as an anti inflammatory and anti fungal, perfect for after the gym, or just being on your feet all day. And of course, a lotion isn’t a lotion without moisturizing ingredients. This one  contains beautifully light and hydrating almond butter to absorb easily into the skin, and silky and rich cocoa butter, and lanolin, to hydrate the most cracked winter feet.

I really love this lotion, everything from the bright pink color, to how smoothly it applies, and how fresh it smells. The beautiful sweet peppermint scent perks up both your feet and mind. While this is not the most hydrating lotion I’ve ever used (I do need to reapply before bed on really dry days) It quenches my dry skin and absorbs easily, without leaving a greasy layer behind. 

Rating: 4/5

Price: 

Status: Permanent

Vegan?: No, contains Lanolin

Would I repurchase?: Yes

Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Arnica Infusion, Fair Trade Almond Oil, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Glycerine, Stearic Acid, Triethanolamine, Spearmint Oil, Peppermint Oil, Tagetes Oil, Lanolin, Cetearyl Alcohol, *Limonene’ *Linalool, Perfume, Colour 17200, Methylparaben, Propylparaben

Full of Grace had been sitting on my wishlist for quite a while. When I first saw it in the catalog as a brand new Lushie, I was pretty intrigued. At the time, I was starting to incorporate a lot of natural oils into my skincare routine, so a bar that featured a plethora of gorgeous oils sounded like a dream to me. I let it sit on the back burner for months without purchasing because at first glance the price seems a bit steep for 20g of product, but I finally decided it was worth it and made the order. I’ve had this little serum bar in my possession for a week now, and in conjunction with my Coalface Soap, my skin certainly looks the best it has in months, if not years.

So many people tout this as a miracle for the skin- softening, reducing redness, scars, discoloration, even fine lines. While I don’t suddenly have skin as even and supple as an infant’s, I have absolutely noticed a difference. I apply this in the evening, as my moisturizer. So after cleansing and toning, I rub the bar either between my hands, or directly on my face (It’s all up to how I feel that day, both methods work equally well!) and smooth the melted oils into my skin. I love this before bed, because aside form having wonderful skincare benefits, the rose oil and chamomile blue oil are incredibly relaxing. I find the scent of this is quite similar to the Dreamtime Bath Melt, so it is definitely a calming scent, perfect for your evening routine. 

As I stated, I use this in the evening as my sole moisturizer, but you can use this underneath or on top of another moisturizer if you have incredibly dry skin, or only on certain pats of your face that need an extra boost in moisture. It really depends on your skin’s needs, and I may layer this with another moisturizer later in the winter if I notice increased dryness, and in the summer I may cut back my use. I think that this is a very versatile product, and though it was formulated for dry, sensitive skin, I think many people can benefit from it, even if you only use it as an occasional treat. One way I would not recommend using it is under a mask, which is one method Lush suggests on the website- this seems quite silly to me, from an esthetician’s standpoint. Not only are you wasting a product by washing it off with your mask after 10 minutes, when you would reap so much more benefit by leaving it on for an extended period, but the oils in the serum also create a barrier of sorts, that will prevent your mask from being absorbed fully into the skin, hindering it’s full effectiveness. I’m really not sure why they recommend using it this way, but you will notice many more benefits to your skin when keeping the two steps separate!

So, what is it exactly that makes Full of Grace so wonderful for the skin? Aside from leaving out preservatives and filler ingredients, this serum is packed full of beneficial oils. Almond oil mimics the skins own natural oils, so it won’t clog your pores, and absorbs easily. Murumuru butter is known as a miracle butter. It’s highly emollient and hydrating, and it is wonderful for acne prone skin, as it is naturally antibacterial and anti inflammatory, and also boasts many antioxidants and fatty acids. Portobello mushroom is also incredibly antioxidant rich, and contains B and C vitamins, potassium, vitamin D and ergothioneine all of which show this is a good candidate for protecting the skin from damage  Ingredients such as almond oil and murumuru butter broaden the market for Full of Grace, because while it is gentle and highly moisturizing, it has the potential to work well with oilier and acne prone conditions, as well as for anyone who is looking to protect their skin from environmental damage. I have not had any breakouts since using Full of Grace, and my skin is normally very acne prone.

Calamine powder, rose oil and infusion, and chamomile blue oil are all very soothing on the skin and should help with redness. I currently have a lot of acne in the healing stage, so my face is quite sensitive and I have a smattering of red along my jawline and temples. Since I started using this serum, I have noticed the healing process seems to be going much faster than usual and my redness is fading quickly. 

I am completely enamored with Full of Grace so far, and though I have only been using it for a short time, my skin is softer, more hydrated, and feels wonderfully soothed. I would recommend this to all skin types, and it is totally worth the price!

Rating: 5/5

Price: 

Status: Permanant

Vegan?: Yes

Would I repurchase?: Yes

Ingredients: Murumuru Butter, Calamine Powder, Cupuacu Butter, Fresh Rose Petal Infusion, Organic Almond Oil, Perfume, Fresh Portobello Mushrooms, Chamomile Blue Oil, Rose Oil, Tagetes Oil, Eugenol, Geraniol, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl, Cinnamate, Citronellol, Farnesol, Limonene, Linalool

The original Karma bubble bar was one of the first bubble bars I ever tried from Lush, and when I first heard that they changed the look of it so drastically, I was a little upset. I really enjoyed the old version, and while it didn’t offer much color, it was a very nice product all around, so why fix what isn’t broken? Well, I decided to just order the new one to give it a try while it was still a UK exclusive, and I was a little sad to see that when it arrived, most of the glitter at the top had worn off, and most of the orange band had crumbled away. I blame this on the UK’s naked shipping method, because while environmentally friendly, it does tend to cause your products to arrive a bit worse for wear.. most of the items from this order ended up with a lot of color transfer. But, of course, there shouldn’t be any issues with product performance even after a bumpy journey, and I’m glad to say that this bubble bar worked beautifully.

I decided to use the entire bar, as I normally do when trying out a smaller bubble bar for the first time. Within moments, my bath was transformed into dark amethyst waters topped with mounds of fluffy bubbles. I really am not exaggerating when I say this is the most richly colored bath product I have ever used from lush, and it’s a very big improvement from the weak orange waters of the old formula. I couldn’t even see my hand when I touched the bottom of the tub, it was that deeply colored. The rich color mixed with the generous amount of bubbles means that this bar could easily be split across two or even more baths,and still leave you with vibrant purple waters and plenty of bubbles. My only complaint, was that the bubbles did disperse fairly quickly.

Another aspect that I found to have improved over the old formula is the scent. While it still smells identical to the classic patchouli Karma fragrance, I did find this to be much stronger than the original bubble bar. I really enjoy the sweet, musky scent of Karma, and the soap is a staple in my stash, so having an even stronger scent in the bath is always a treat.

This version of the bar also improved the condition of the water a great deal, something that I didn’t notice all that much with the old version. I don’t know what ingredients the old bar contained, but the updated bar is filled with moisturizing ingredients like olive oil, cocoa butter, and mango butter. It also contains lemongrass oil which not only tones the skin, but has uplifting and anti-depressive properties. Elemi oil is a product I had never heard of before, but it tones the skin, balances sebum production, and acts as a natural painkiller. Patchouli, pine, lavender, and orange oil combine for an uplifting and soothing aromatic experience.

This was a beautiful bubble bar, much improved from it’s predecessor. It offered water in an unbelievable hue, generous bubbles, and a fragrant, moisturizing soak. The only way I could hope to see this improved would to be a little dash of luster next time, since mine was all but rubbed off.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Price: 

Status: Permanent

Vegan?: Yes

Would I repurchase? Yes

Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar (Potassium bitartrate), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lauryl Betaine, Corn Starch (Zea Mays), Mango Butter (Mangifera indica), Fragrance, Citric Acid, Patchouli Oil (Pogostemon cablin), Sweet Orange Oil (Citrus sinensis), Lavandin Oil (Lavandula Hybrida), Pine Oil (Pinus sylvestris), Lemongrass Oil (Cymbopogon citratus), Elemi Oil (Canarium commune), Deep Purple Lustre (Red 28, Blue 1, Aluminium Potassium Silicate, Titanium Dioxide), Glycerine, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter (Theobroma Cacao), Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Olea europaea), Laureth 4, *Citral, Hydroxycitronellal, *Limonene, *Linalool, Copper Sheen and Radiant Gold Lustre (Potassium Aluminium Silicate, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides), Gold Glimmer Lustre (Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Iron Oxides, Silica), Yellow 6 Lake. *Occurs naturally in essential oils

Received Cosmetic Lad as a sample from my local store. I had gone in wanting to try Enzymion, but they were all out, so the salesgirl suggested I try Cosmetic Lad instead. This is not a moisturizer I would have chosen for my skin type, and I don’t think I would ever purchase it. I had told the girl that I have dry skin that is prone to breakouts, and I realize now that I should have emphasized my issues with acne a little more clearly, because this really isn’t a first choice for those who struggle with acne. 

I found this to be very greasy, and though I often wake up each morning with a few new breakouts no matter what product I use, I noticed my acne was substantially increased after using this moisturizer, and I had not changed any other aspect of my routine. I believe it was primarily the shea butter and cocoa butter in this product that caused the breakouts, because although these are very hydrating and nourishing ingredients for dry skin, they should be avoided by people with acne prone skin  as they are comedogenic. 

Cosmetic Lad is marketed as a good choice for those who need a product to soothe skin, especially men who suffer from post-shave irritation. There are many ingredients in here that support this claim, such as lavender, honey, aloe vera, linseed, chamomile, and marigold oil. And while it didn’t work for me, I can agree that it was extremely hydrating, not only from the she and cocoa butters, but also almond oil. It boasts antioxidant properties from wheatgrass as well.

Overall, this moisturizer is incredibly luxurious feeling and smooth, and though it feels a touch greasy and can be comedogenic, it has many soothing and healing properties that would make this a great choice for those with sensitive and dry skin. Not to mention, it smells faintly of tangerine ice cream!

Rating: 3 out of 5 Nice, but not for my skin type.

Price: 

Status: Permanent 

Vegan?: No, Contains honey

Would I repurchase? No

Ingredients: Lavender Honey Water, Linseed Mucilage, Fair Trade Organic Aloe Vera Gel, Chickweed, Chamomile and Marigold Petal Extract, Organic Cold Pressed Almond Oil, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Fresh Wheatgrass Juice, Stearic Acid, Glycerine, Cetearyl Alcohol, Shea Butter, African Marigold Oil, Tangerine Oil, Sandalwood Oil, Triethanolamine*, Limonene*, Linalool, Perfume, Methylparaben, Propylparaben