Christina Alyce Beauty

Looking through the jar of Lip scrubs that my local Lush currently offers, I was disappointed to find that it was monopolized by the Bubblegum and Popcorn flavors, and not a Mint Julips in sight. I have nothing against popcorn or bubblegum, I just really didn’t like the sound of them as lip products. I had tried Bubblegum before, grudgingly, when a friend insisted, but it wasn’t for me. I loved the feeling and results of the scrub, so I set out to find Mint Julips, the one flavor that sounded truly delicious. I stood there digging through the jar at lush, and almost gave up hope before I saw the last little jar of minty glory that remained. I grabbed it, made my purchases, and almost ran to the car because I was so eager to try it. 

Now, I highly recommend that you wash your hands before using this, or any other product that requires you to dip your finger into a tub. In my excitement I disregarded all I knew about product sanitation, dug in, and smeared the scrub all over my lips with my grimy finger, tarnished with a days worth of mall crawling. Stupid in hind sight, but we all have our moments. Either way, unhygienic or not, I was instantly convinced this was the most magnificent lip scrub I had ever and will ever try. 

As with all of lush’s lip scrubs, this one is 100% edible. Made almost entirely of ingredients you would find in your kitchen, it contains just 7 ingredients - caster sugar, jojoba oil, vanilla extract, tagetes oil, peppermint oil, limonene, and flavor. We are all familiar with the flavor and uses for peppermint and vanilla in cooking, but did you know tagetes oil has been used as a seasoning since the ancient Inca? It as a minty flavor, and like peppermint, it is antimicrobial which helps to preserve your product naturally. vanilla is significant here because it contains antioxidants and also has humectant properties, which means it traps in moisture to keep your lips hydrated. Jojoba oil (pronounced like “ho-ho-ba”) also aids in keeping lips moisturized. And of course, caster sugar is what gives this scrub it’s sweet and scrubby properties.

I found this scrub to do a fantastic job at exfoliating my lips, especially because I was just getting over a cold at the time, so my lips were extra chapped. All you do is scoop out a small amount, and put it on your lips. You can then either rub the product in with your finger, or by rubbing your lips together. Remove the scrub by wiping it off, or (my preferred method) lick it off! You might find, especially if you choose to remove the product by licking, that your lips still feel a little dehydrated afterwards. I recommend following this product with a lip balm, I find that chocolatey Whipstick Lip Balm pairs very nicely with the mint. I find that I only need to use this a few times a week, so I imagine this tiny jar will last me a very long time

Rating: 5 out of 5

Price: 

Status: Permanent

Vegan?: Yes

Would I repurchase?: Yes

Ingredients:  Castor Sugar, Cold Pressed Organic Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia Chinensis), Vanilla Extract (Vanilla planifolia), Tagetes Oil (Tagetes minuta), Peppermint Oil (Mentha piperita), *Limonene, Flavor.*Occurs naturally in essential oils

I had received this soap as a sample in my very first Lush order, over a year ago. At the time, I wasn’t too interested in anything other than bath bombs and bubble bars (as it happens with most new Lushies), and I certainly wasn’t an avid user of bar soap. Consequently, I took a sniff, thought it was ok, and stashed it in a drawer, not to be acknowledged again until a year later. While organizing my stash, I rediscovered this little sliver of minty soap and decided to give it a try. After trying Karma from a gift set and ordering Miranda on a whim, I now consider myself a true fan of Lush’s bar soaps and jump on the chance to try anything new.

While (to my dismay) the bar soap is no longer available, there are many other products that share it’s scent- a perfume available in 3 formats, a shower gel (a favorite of my boyfriend’s), shaving cream, styling cream, and quite a few others. It’s a fresh minty fragrance, that does a beautiful job at waking you up in the morning. I found this to be a softer mint scent, while it was undeniably fresh and minty and gave you a slight cooling sensation on the skin, it is a little sweeter, and a touch herbal. I believe the softness comes from the coconut oil, and the herbalness stems from the thyme, though it is very gentle and can easily go unnoticed. It is a very beautiful fragrance that seemed very unisex to me. 

This soap created a velvety lather, with a large amount of very tiny bubbles, making it feel moisturising and luxurious. The coconut and rapeseed oils both contribute to a more moisturizing cleanse. I found that after a shower with this soap, my skin was slightly less stripped feeling than with other bar soaps.

I really enjoyed this soap, and I’m very disappointed it has been discontinued. I hope it makes an appearance in the Kitchen sometime soon, but until then I’l be savoring my lovely little sample.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Would I repurchase?: Yes

Status: Discontinued

Vegan?: Yes.

Price: £4.10 for 100g

Scent Family:

Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Propylene Glycol, Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Sodium Stearate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Perfume, Glycerine, Spearmint Oil, Thyme Oil, Menthol Crystals, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Limonene, Linalool, Methyl Ionone, Colour 77499, Colour 61570, Colour 77019, Colour 77891.