Reviews by Buggheart

Buggheart says "The only thing missing is the spider." about LUSH Cobweb Bath Bomb

Buggheart — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:27:59 GMT

I'm not a huge bath bomb lover, but I was totally sucked into buying LUSH Cobweb Bath Bomb at a recent LUSH event and I am sure glad that I did.

I bought Cobweb without having any idea what it smelled like, just based solely on the fact that it's a Halloween product (I LOVE Halloween) and it has a cute spider web shape.

I had heard that it smells just like LUSH's Black Pearl bath bomb which a lot of people don't like. And that it, obviously, turns the water a dull grey color which is not very visually appealing.

Still, I had to give it a try, so I ordered it. And yesterday was its lucky day. I had spent the majority of the day outside and needed a hot bath to take away that chilled to the bone feeling. So I ran a hot bath, got in, and dropped Cobweb in with me. Well I don't know if it's because of it's disklike shape or whether Black Pearl does the same, but Cobweb fizzed like crazy! It fizzed and rolled around the tub for a few minutes before it completely dissolved, leaving the...

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Buggheart says "So tempted by the apple!" about LUSH So White Bath Bomb

Buggheart — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:17:00 GMT

Although I'm not a huge fan of bath bombs, I had to give So White Bath Bomb a try when I placed a recent LUSH order.

What tempted me so?

Well, the description on LUSH.com, of course. So White is described on the LUSH website as a frothy blanket of apple scented "snow" for your bath.... inspired by the tempting apple a certain wicked stepmother tricked her beautiful stepdaughter into eating. We assure you however, that this Bath Bomb is not full of poison to put you to sleep. It is made with an uplifting fragrance of refreshing oranges, apples and romantic rose and is meant to awake you if you've been under a spell (or are just feeling tired). This one is quite a frothy bath as we've grated in some bubble bar mixture, so you can bathe in apple scented snow and feel fairest of them all.

I LOVE apple scented products and anything that smells fruity, so I had to give this one a try. I was also drawn somewhat by the idea of a frothy blanket of apple scented "snow".

So today I spent a lot...

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Buggheart says "Finally a way color my hair without coloring my face too." about Repelle Skin Shield Wand

Buggheart — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:00:58 GMT

I've been coloring my hair for years. Back when I used to go blond, getting hair color on my skin wasn't a big deal. But since I switched to a darker color I found that it's really hard to not get any haircolor on my skin. No matter how careful I was, it always got on my skin.

Then one day when I was buying color at the beauty supply school I found a product called Repelle Skin Shield Wand. It's like a little ChapStick tube but more oval shaped than round. It can be used on all skin types to protect skin from being stained by haircolor.

Before I color my hair, I apply Repelle all around my hairline, ears, and neck, then apply the color. It creates an invisible barrier that is not greasy like lotion or Vaseline. When I've rinsed it out and all is said and done, I don't have any color stains on my skin. One think I like is that if I get a little Repelle on my hair, it doesn't prevent the haircolor from sinking in and it washes off of my skin very easily.

The Repelle package states...

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Buggheart says "Like trying to wash with a piece of liver." about LUSH Strawberry Santa Shower Jelly

Buggheart — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:07:53 GMT

OK so I don't know that it's EXACTLY like washing with a liver, but it's slippery, slimy, and icky like a liver so it's the first thing that popped into my mind.

I've never been a fan of LUSH Shower Jellies so you may be wondering why I even tried LUSH Strawberry Santa. Well, because I got it for free at a party at my local LUSH store. And thankfully it was free, because I would have been upset if I paid for this awful blob of goo.

For starters, Strawberry Santa doesn't even smell like strawberry. It smells like fruit but if it's called Strawberry Santa, it might be a good idea to make sure it smells like that berry rather than just fruit in general. So I wasn't crazy about the scent. Nothing wrong with it, it's just not strawberry.

Next, the consisteny was very stringy. With other jellies I have been able to reach into the container and squeeze a little blob of the jelly out of the container and wash with it or stick it on my shower pouf to make some lather. With this jelly,...

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Buggheart says "Words cannot express how badly I wanted this one to work." about Patricia Wexler Acnescription Anti-Acne Starter Kit

Buggheart — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:37:43 GMT

I had such high hopes for the Patricia Wexler Acnescription skin regimen, but on this day I officially surrender. I tried this regimen but it did not work for me. In fact, I don't believe there's ANYTHING on the market that can heal my skin and keep it from breaking out so I give up. You win, skin!

Over the years I've tried everything short of Accutane. ProActiv and AcneFree worked great, but only for a few months and I started breaking out again. I've gone to dermatologists, had my hormones checked, you name it. Everything is normal yet I still continue to struggle with acne every day and it's maddening.

About 2 months ago I read an article suggesting products for people who have aging skin yet still break out. That's me. I'm rapidly approaching 40 yet I still break out as bad and as often as when I was 15 years old.

The product line that was suggested in the article is Patricia Wexler's Acnescription regimen which is available at Bath and Body Works. So I visited my local BBW...

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Buggheart says "I love my little Pumpkin." about LUSH The Great Pumpkin Soap

Buggheart — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:24:28 GMT

A few weeks back I participated in a chat party on LUSH.com and got the first look at some of their new products for Halloween & Christmas. I had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket and got so excited about the new Halloween stuff that I soon found myself placing an order even though most of the stuff is now available at my local LUSH store.

One of the items I bought was a bar of (The Great) Pumpkin Soap. Unlike a most LUSH soaps, Pumpkin is round in shape and has a jack o'lantern face so I could not resist him. I also read in the blurb on LUSH.com that he has the same scent as the recently discontinued Spice Curls soap that I liked so much which was another factor that caused me to order this soap.

Well I'm happy to report that Pumpkin is even better than Spice Curls. It has the same warm, spicy scent blend that screams fall and Halloween and is a joy to use. Pumpkin smells like ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and all those great pumpkin pie spices.

Pumpkin is made from the new palm-free...

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Buggheart says "Does this product really protect my hair? Who knows!" about TRESemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Protective Spray

Buggheart — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:58:00 GMT

A few weeks ago I had plans to go out with a friend and when I got to her house her hair looked awesome. It was all poofy and beautiful so of course I had to ask her how she did it. She said she got the volume with Velcro rollers and some Redken thermal spray. Well I couldn't find the Redken spray she had mentioned locally so I went to the drugstore and found TRESemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Protective Spray.

It sounded like the same thing as the Redken product but was a lot cheaper at only $4 for 8 ounces. Turns out it was a waste of $4 and I should have just kept looking for the Redken spray.

There were a number of thermal sprays at the drugstore from which to choose, but I selected Tresemme's as it had a nice trigger type spray nozzle rather than a pump.
This product is for protecting hair against the damage that can come from using heated styling tools like dryers, curling irons, and flat irons. The back of the bottle claims that this product protects against heat and friction...

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Buggheart says "The best thing about this product is the cute gift box." about TokyoMilk Sweet Cream Bon Bon Lip Balm 093

Buggheart — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:21:19 GMT

Sometimes my husband just really hits it out of the park, and buying me this lip balm was a home run in terms of great gifts. I only wish TokyoMilk Sweet Cream Bon Bon Lip Balm itself would have hit a home run instead of making it only to first base.

So about 2 months ago my husband was in Baltimore on business and found a cute little town full of antique shops, boutiques, and foofy places like that. Well bless his heart, he actually went into one of those stores and emerged with a wee giftie for his wife.

I tell you I was THRILLED when he presented me with the gift bag containing an adorable little box with glittery cupcakes all over it. Inside was a small glass pot of TokyoMilk Sweet Cream Bon Bon Lip Balm. He remembered that I love sweet cream and especially love lip balm. And he got me the matching candle too! Squeal!

And that's pretty much where the fun ended. This lip balm is just not good. I'd actually prefer ChapStick.

First off, it's in a pot. I don't like balms...

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Buggheart says "Soap fit for a funeral." about LUSH Father Frost Soap

Buggheart — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:41:35 GMT

A few weeks back I participated in a chat party on LUSH.com and got the first look at some of their new products for Halloween & Christmas. Some of the products were limited editions or only available online so I became all retail frenzied and soon found myself placing an order.

One of the items I bought was a chunk of Father Frost soap. And what a mistake that was! I saw a picture of this soap on the LUSH Forums and it was beautiful! A huge cobalte blue soap chunk from which little chunks are cut. On the front was a sculpted Father Frost face. If ever a soap could be described as beautiful, it would be this soap.

So I looked up the description of Father Frost on LUSH.com to make sure the scent is something I'd like, and this is what I read: A beautiful, indigo blue hand and body soap for good girls and boys. This is a stunning new soap which looks like midnight and smells like a garden. If you've been good all year round, you may just be rewarded with a large piece of this...

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Buggheart says "This soap is just right. " about LUSH Porridge Soap

Buggheart — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:18:19 GMT

On a recent trip to my local LUSH store, I picked up a bar of their Porridge Soap. I am trying to save money and not buy their expensive soaps, but something about the scent and appearance of this soap just really intrigued me so I had to try a small bar and check it out for myself.

LUSH.com describes Porridge Soap as stuffed with real oats for an exfoliating scrub and fresh orange juice to invigorate sleepy heads, this sweet treat smells like molasses and makes skin deliciously soft. Ideal for sensitive skin; irresistible to everyone else, including bears.

The oats are the first thing that caught my eye when I noticed Porridge Soap. It is truly stuffed with what oats. Not the flat kind that turn all mooshy when they get wet, but steel cut oats that have a nutty scent to them. The other thing I noticed was the scent. It had a light, slightly sweet and creamy scent that I thought would be nice in the morning.

When I used my bar of Porridge, I simply unwrapped it and brought the whole...

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Buggheart says "This is what is must smell like in heaven." about Paul Mitchell Lemon Sage Thickening Conditioner

Buggheart — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:50:21 GMT

I recently picked up a bottle of Paul Mitchell's Lemon Sage Thickening Shampoo and had to also get the Paul Mitchell Lemon Sage Thickening Conditioner to go along with it. I have fine hair so I'm always on the lookout for a good product line to help increase the thickness and volume of my hair and hoped that this line would live up to its claim.

It was a good thing that I bought the conditioner to go with the shampoo because the shampoo left my hair so squeaky clean that it was tangly and there would be no way to get a comb thru my wet hair without conditioning.

This is a really nice conditioner. It's thick, rich, smells absolutely fantastic, and left my hair soft, shiny and manageable, however it did nothing to increase the volume or thickness of my hair. And I'm a little disappointed that the wonderful scent doesn't linger in my hair. Still, it's a good product and I like it so I recommend it.

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Buggheart says "This shampoo smells AMAZING!" about Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Lemon Sage Thickening Shampoo

Buggheart — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:05:12 GMT

I stumbled upon Paul Mitchell's Lemon Sage Thickening Shampoo while wandering around Ulta waiting for a friend who was getting her hair done. One sniff is all it took for this wonderfully scented shampoo (and it's matching conditioner) to make their way into my basket.

The price was surprisingly not completely outrageous either so that was a deciding factor. In addition to the awesome lemon scent, this product appealed to me because I'd like my hair to be thicker (or at least appear to be thicker).

So I bought this Paul Mitchell Lemon Sage Thickening Shampoo and gave it a try. While I like it, it did nothing to thicken my hair. Still, I liked the way it cleansed my hair, the aromatherapy benefit of it's amazing citrus scent, and that it left my hair clean and shiny. The shampoo is very thick and concentrated so a little goes a long way and I never end up with excess shampoo running out of the palm of my hand and down the drain.

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Buggheart says "Vanilla Fountain - nice but nothing to write home about." about LUSH Vanilla Fountain Bath Bomb

Buggheart — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:10:42 GMT

A few weeks ago I won a free Vanilla Fountain Bath Bomb from a party I attended at my local LUSH shop. Although I love long soaks in the tub, I'm not a huge bath bomb fan as they are pricey and very few of them do much of anything but smell good and change the water color.

But free is free and that's a good thing, because I wasn't too crazy about Vanilla Fountain Bath Bomb. It's been sitting out on the counter in my bathroom for about 2 weeks, perfuming the air nicely. I enjoyed the sweet scents of caramel and vanilla, and the more musky sandalwood scent every time I walked in there.

With the weather cooling down here, today felt like a good day to warm up with a nice soak in the tub. So I filled 'er up with hot water, jumped in, and dropped my Vanilla Fountain Bath Bomb in the water and let it do its thing.

As the bomb rolled around and fizzed in the water, it immediately released it's lovely scent into the air. And turned my bathwater a freaky yellow color. At first I thought it...

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Buggheart says "I don't know why I resisted Big Shampoo for so long! " about LUSH Big Shampoo

Buggheart — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:33:27 GMT

As I mentioned in a previous review, I'm addicted to LUSH and am on a personal mission to try every LUSH product that even somewhat appeals to me. Big Shampoo is one of those products that has appealed to me but I was afraid to use it. Fortunately the sales associates at my local LUSH know me well and were sure I'd love it so they gave me a huge sample of Big Shampoo to try. The day after trying my sample I drove straight back to the shop to buy a full size container. I love it!

So what was I afraid of? Well, the salt. This shampoo is loaded with chunks of coarse sea salt. Great big hunks that are many times larger than coarse Kosher salt. It just doesn't seem like the kind of thing I'd want in my hair. I was sure it would get stuck, but after using Big Shampoo many times, I can assure you that it does not (not in my straight hair anyway, your mileage may vary if you've got thick or curly hair).

LUSH describes Big as a lemon lime margarita shampoo that adds body and shine...

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Buggheart says "My hair looks & feels great, but I don't like the scent!" about LUSH I Love Juicy Shampoo

Buggheart — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:11:40 GMT

I'm sort of on a quest to try every LUSH product. I can't resist LUSH so I'm trying at least a sample or small size of everything that even remotely appeals to me to see what I love and what I don't. So last time I was in my local LUSH shop, I bought a small bottle of I Love Juicy Shampoo to give it a try. I hadn't intended to buy it at all the but sales associate, who knows I've tried darn near everything there, suggested it to bump my total up a bit higher so I'd receive a free product.

So I tried the I Love Juicy and it is very nice. The shampoo is expensive but a tiny bit goes a long way so even the smallest bottle available (3.3 ounces) has lasted a very long time. It lathers like crazy and actually leaves my hair feeling somewhat conditioned even when I don't follow up with a conditioner. My hair is as healthy as it can be so your mileage may vary. But it does leave my hair looking healthy and shiny even when I don't condition.

The only issue I have with I Love Juicy...

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Buggheart says "Could be nice if it didn't smell like toilet water. " about LUSH Rub Rub Rub Shower Gel

Buggheart — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:41:27 GMT

A few months ago I bought a small bottle of LUSH's Rub Rub Rub shower gel. I didn't really need it but I liked the bright teal color and the tester at the store smelled kind of nice. Thankfully I bought the smallest size available as I really disliked this gel.

The gel smelled pretty good in the store. Sort of a clean laundry scent with a touch of something else. Well maybe the tester was old or the scent changes somehow when exposed to water because when I used the gel in my shower it smelled like those toilet cake things. I don't even know if those are still made, but I'm thinking of those blobs of blue stuff on a white plastic thing that people used to hook onto the inside of their toilets to clean them or something. If you remember those, that's exactly what Rub Rub Rub smells like. To me anyway.

Other than that Rub Rub Rub works pretty well. It has a pretty teal color, it lathers great, a little goes a long way. It seemed a bit thin and runny compared to other shower...

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Buggheart says "Great tasting water without all the plastic waste. " about Brita Grand Pitcher

Buggheart — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 05:59:25 GMT

My husband and I went thru a phase where we were buying a lot of bottled water. But all the while I felt terrible for all of the waste we were creating with all those plastic bottles. Sure, we recycle like crazy, but I still felt bad about the impact on the Earth from creating the bottles and transporting all that heavy water.

So I went to Target and picked up the Brita Grand water pitcher to solve that problem. It filters out most of the bad stuff like lead, copper, and mercury and also things like chlorine that make the water smell and taste bad. So it's all the good stuff about bottled water without the bad stuff all those bottles do to the environment. Plus we're saving lots of money by just filtering our tap water.

This pitcher is available everywhere in white, but Target had some exclusive colors so I got the orange one as the bright color was so cheerful.

The pitcher is large and holds 80 ounces of water so I don't have to refill it very often. In fact, I like to...

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Buggheart says "Ruined my hairstyle & then held that hideous style all day long." about Garnier Fructis Full Control Hair Spray, Non-Aerosol, Extra Strong

Buggheart — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 05:16:56 GMT

A few weeks ago I was visiting a friend and she asked me if I use Garnier Fructis hair spray. She knows that I use a lot of hair products and that I like to review things so she gave me a bottle of Garnier Fructis Style Full Control Non-Aerosol Hairspray to try out. She bought 2 bottles of the spray and didn't like it so she gave me the 2nd bottle to test and review.

All I can say is that I'm glad I didn't pay for this hairspray as I would have been disappointed that I wasted money on it.

This spray is touted as being ultra strong and ultra firm and it is. Unfortunately the spray is very wet so the ultra strong and firm style I got was not the one I started with. I tried this spray every day for a week and suffered thru bad hair day after bad hair day.

Not sure if there was something wrong with the bottle too, but there is definitely something wrong with the spray. I carefully styled my hair with my hair dryer and spritzed some spray lightly all over to hold the style. It seemed...

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Buggheart says "Meh. LUSH Grease Lightning didn't do much for me." about LUSH Grease Lightning Cleanser

Buggheart — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 05:03:27 GMT

I'm not really sure why I bought LUSH's Grease Lightning spot cleanser. It must be 1. because I'm desperate to clear up my skin; and 2. because I've tried darn near everything LUSH sells so this was just one more thing to try.

At any rate, it didn't do much for me. Here I sit on the edge of 40 and I still break out like I did when I was 15. I go for a few weeks with relatively clear skin, then some hormonal thing hits me and BAM I'm all nasty looking again. It sucks. Big time.

So on a recent LUSH spree I let the sales associate talk me into geting a bottle of Grease Lightning. It's marketed as a "spot cleanser" (whatever that means) but it's really more of a spot treatment as it stays on the skin. Grease Lightning contains tea tree oil, rosemary, and witch hazel and is in a gel form. It also contains aloe vera gel.

To use Grease Lightning, just dab a small amount right onto trouble spots and it's supposed to "shrivel up and retire" according to LUSH.com. Well I had plenty of...

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Buggheart says "Special K Chocolately Delight is delicious but high maintenance." about Kellogg's Special K Chocolatey Delight Cereal

Buggheart — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 03:03:42 GMT

I have always loved Special K cereal. Yeah, it's kind of boring but I really like the taste and that it's not horrible for me. Then a few months ago I noticed that Special K came out with a bunch of new cereals with flavors like blueberry, vanilla almond, and Special K Chocolately Delight. Being a chocolate lover, I had to give that one a try. And now I'm hooked.

Chocolatey Delight seems to be the same old Special K flakes but a bit more toasted and with added sugar. It also contains small pieces of chocolate that are rectangular in shape and look like tiny Hershey bars.

The first few bowls of Chocolatey Delight were a bit disappointing as I didn't seem to get much chocolate. When I pulled the plastic bag out of the cereal box I noticed that most of the chocolate pieces settled to the bottom of the bag, so a quick shake of the bag combined the flakes and the chocolate pieces better for more even distribution. In subsequent boxes I actually took the bag out and opened it...

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