Saturday Shopping & A Harrowing Lush Experience

My partner and I have been out and about in town today, as I was rapidly coming to the conclusion that my favourite pair of black skinny jeans were beginning to die a painful death, and I also needed to pick up a few items for an exciting new recipe I had been concocting.

Perhaps you may recall in the post I will link here, that I had mentioned I had never been into a Lush store or tried any of their products. Recently however, particularly since my positive experience with Bomb Cosmetics' similar products, and the trawling of several Lush hauls on Youtube, I've been finding myself increasingly interested in trying some of their things. 

I keep finding myself curious about Lush products, even though I've never been in a Lush store. I blame Bunny Meyer for this (see one of her Lush hauls here:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFdkn4zprMQ

As mentioned in the post linked above, I was a bit unsure about actually venturing into the shop in town, as I usually find the assault on the senses too much when I just walk past, but my partner (who, as a student, applied for a job at Lush and had his own small niggle of curiosity) encouraged me to go in. 

I was greeted immediately by a member of staff, which was fine, and attempted to make my way over to the makeup section; I had seen the Colour Supplements, which I was interested in, by the window; however, I now had a shop assistant virtually standing between me and the product I wanted to look at. 

She then immediately proceeded to ask me what I knew about Lush, their products, their ethos, and what I had come in to look for, all in rapid-fire. I'm generally not the kind of person that wants an intense customer service experience, as I like to be left to browse in my own time, and so I just gave some brief, but polite answers, and emphasised that I wasn't there for anything in particular; I just wanted to have a look around. 

Counter-intuitively for a store where everything is set out invitingly for you to play with, I was actively discouraged from browsing

This evidently was not the correct answer, and I was asked, again, for more precise information, and in particular, what sort of scents I liked. I tried to give an indifferent answer, but when pushed (and I was pushed) I admitted to favouring sweet scents, such as vanilla. 

This was apparently the cue that I now needed to try a product, and I was encouraged to the back of store, away from the product I'd been trying to look at. Trying to be polite, and also still, at this point, being a little curious about their other products if nothing else, I agreed to look at what the sales assistant was directing me to. 

Now, in the countless videos on Youtube which I've watched recently about Lush, I had been led to believe that Lush employees are not only knowledgeable about the product line, but they're trained and encouraged to select products that will suit an individual customer's needs. 

Bearing in mind that I had just been forced to confess I liked sweet scents, (in the same way one might also be coerced to confess a war crime at a UN tribunal), I think I was understandably disappointed when I was slathered in a scrub and a shower gel (the dubiously named "Rub Rub Rub" and "It's Raining Men" respectively), both of which were heavily citrus-scented, particularly with orange blossom, which I can't stand and certainly wouldn't describe as being "sweet" in the first instance. My hand was subsequently basted in a lotion named "Dream Cream", which, having been scented with rose and lavender, is more "floral" than "sweet", and, of course, blatantly not anything to do with "vanilla".

The "Rub Rub Rub" scrub, which was forced on me; which is scented with orange blossom 

The "It's Raining Men" shower gel was inflicted upon me next; it has a heavy honey texture and note in its scent, with more citrus-y orange blossom over top

It was only at this point, (after further questioning about what I knew about Lush products, how I had heard any of that information, and a lecture about Lush's current campaign relating to the upcoming election) that I was encouraged to "tell [her] about my skin"- I felt it was a bit late to be asking if I had any specific requirements at this point, but replied that I had psoriasis.

She immediately told me Dream Cream was marketed for psoriasis. I've since checked this information on the website, which was easy enough to do, since the "hand-picked items" the sales assistant chose for me are all currently featured products (no surprise), and whilst Dream Cream is recommended for eczema sufferers, there is no mention of psoriasis, and the two conditions are ostensibly not the same and are not always treated interchangeably.

I usually favour heavy body butters and lotions, but this took forever to sink in and feels extremely greasy

At this point, I felt like I had been held hostage for quite some time, and was quite relieved when she said she would sort me out with a sample of the Dream Cream to try at home. I immediately returned to the Colour Supplements with my partner, and managed to get a couple of quick swatches before she returned, only to have the Lush Gestapo immediately push her way into my conversation with my partner and interrogate me on how I had heard about the Colour Supplements.

I now felt under a considerable obligation to buy something, as I'd been in the shop for what felt like an eternity, but so far, I hadn't seen anything I felt like I wanted to leave with (particularly as I hadn't been permitted to browse anything). I remembered I had been interested in trying the toning Steamer Tabs, which I thought would be a quick, cheap, guilt purchase, but I couldn't find these, and at that point, daren't ask a question and risk being detained further. 

And so I took my sample of Dream Cream and ran, under the mournful, puppy-dog gaze of a sales assistant that had failed to inspire a purchase.

To add insult to injury, the Dream Cream on my hand, in addition to smelling quite unpleasant to both myself and my partner, was extremely greasy and did not sink in well. As some of the slime transferred onto my partner's hand (who it should be noted is an eczema sufferer), he immediately broke out in an allergic reaction to it. The whole process' effect on my lizard-skin knuckles was negligible at best, particularly compared to other, cheaper products I normally use.

Funnily enough, the heavy residue of this product on my hand transferred to my partner, and it immediately irritated his skin

I can't honestly convey in accurate terms how disappointed I was by the whole experience; I was pressured to try a product I wasn't interested in (and was equally disappointed in), whilst being actively discouraged to do what I had specifically gone into the store to do, which was to test and swatch items I had actually been interested in, and to just plain see what there was. This behaviour was, by no means, limited to just the sales assistant that targeted me, as I noticed all the other sales assistants were behaving in the same way towards other customers.

I wouldn't describe myself as someone who suffers from 'anxiety issues', but I can genuinely say it took me half the day to calm down from this high-pressured sales situation. I actually made my partner cross the shopping centre back to the car park on the opposite side to the Lush store, as I daren't even walk past it again.

The sample, which apparently was so important that I couldn't browse the items I might have wanted to buy

I don't understand what the point of preventing someone to browse actually it. I can only assume there are some people who enjoy this level of intensity, or at least some sort of perceived personal service. For me, it convinced me never to set foot in a Lush again. If I do decide I want to try something, I'll order online, but I can't help but think it'll be a while before I'm prepared to forgive what was a very uncomfortable and intimidating experience.

To Boldly Go... (even if it's just to work...)

My partner and I have been seriously enjoying relaxing in front of the TV lately. We’re usually both very much into our video gaming and other hobbies, but after a stressful time, it’s been nice for both of us just to sit in front of Netflix and relax.

In particular, we’ve been enjoying some Star Trek. I’m a bit of a Trekkie in general, and so I’ve really been enjoying going back through the original “Kirk Era” 1960s Star Trek. When you’ve not seen something for a while, you sometimes forget how good it is.

I’ve been taking some inspiration from some of the female characters for my work makeup over the past week or two as a way to change things up a little.

Lt. Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols)

 Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Uhura- her makeup was usually neutral in colour but dramatic in shape

I noticed Uhura’s makeup probably varied the least of any of the regular female characters; she generally sported a neutral cut crease, which was sometimes dramatic and sometimes a little more subtle. Me being me, I chose a more dramatic look.

In the episode "Mirror Mirror", with a bolder cut crease

I used the darkest cool-toned brown from my Lunatick Cosmetic Labs Cool Contour palette on a fine angled brush to cut the crease and gently blended this up with a slightly lighter shade from the same palette. I usually “close” my cut creases by joining them with my eyeliner, but I noticed Uhura never had this, so I left mine open. I used a matte white eyeshadow from Sleek on another angled brush to fill in my eyelid. I didn’t go for opaque coverage with this, but I also drew it out under the open end of my cut crease to highlight it.

My look, inspired by Lt. Uhura

I think it’s quite a classic 1960s cut crease look. If it’s good enough for the bridge of the Enterprise, it’s also good enough for work. I teamed this with a brown lipgloss from Rimmel on my lips, in deference to the original.

Nurse Christine Chapel (Majel Barrett-Roddenberry)

Nurse Chapel’s makeup varies quite a lot throughout the series, but is probably some of the most natural makeup overall; I noticed a lot of soft beiges and warm browns kept close to the lash line, comparatively subtle eyeliner (versus most of the Trek ladies) and some serious false lashes (which I don’t use).

Majel Barrett-Roddenberry (The First Lady of Trek) as Nurse Christine Chapel

Gorgeous as I think the late Majel Barrett-Roddenberry looked, I struggled to find inspiration for the sort of thing I like to wear until we watched the episode “Return to Tomorrow”. I noticed in this episode, Nurse Chapel seemed to sport a “halo eye” look with her trademark warm browns higher in the crease and a central “glowing” spot in the centre of the lid in a matte pale blue.

Nurse Chapel's makeup was generally very neutral, but sometimes a little more colourful than others

I tried to recreate the look, again using my Lunatick Cool Contour palette for the browns as cooler shades suit me better. I applied a wash over the crease in a lighter shade, and then defined this with a darker shade afterwards. For the centre, I used Sigma’s Blue Chocolat from my Crème de Couture palette, over a little Lunatick Cosmetic Labs Primetime white base. I couldn’t resist my usual wing over the top. I decided to wear a Barry M lipstick which I got recently, in a corally orange shade (429, I think), which, quite honestly, could not be more fitting for the 1960s. It’s a little brassier than Nurse Chapel’s standard lip, but it’s definitely a similar colour.

My look inspired by Nurse Chapel- it was hard for me to embrace the neutrals 

This Barry M lip colour (no 429) is definitely a serious departure from the norm for me

Overall, I like how it turned out- a very 1960s colour combination.

Yeoman Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney)

Out of the main female characters, I think Yeoman Rand had the most variety in the shortest amount of screen time. She generally sported a slightly messy, rounded smoky eye, with a thin line of barely-winged eyeliner, and a bolder version of the same coral-orange lip which I later saw on Nurse Chapel. I noticed several colours used for her eyes, particularly blues and greys. I was particularly attracted to one look, in which the colours used were pink and grey.

Grace Lee Whitney as Yeoman Janice Rand- you can't help but love that hair

I wouldn't say this would necessarily the kind of look that sprang to mind when thinking about 1960s makeup. Compared to the previous styles, Yeoman Rand's makeup is all about clashing colours rather than neutrals. Although I probably could've gone for a charcoal or navy smoky eye, I really liked the pink undertone peaking through.

Yeoman Rand generally sported the most colour combinations in her day-to-day "bridge" makeup

I thought, initially, that this would be a very difficult to pull off, particularly in the time I had before work in the morning, but it was actually very simple. I used Sugarpill's Dollipop on a fluffy brush to build up the pink in the crease and on the brow bone. Although Dollipop is a pretty extreme colour, it is possible to use it sparingly and build up a wash of colour, which was exactly what I wanted. Once I had laid down the pink, I took a shimmery grey colour from my 88 palette and applied this to the lid and working it into the crease; and then it was done! Another application of the Barry M 429 lipstick and a little orange gloss, and I was out the door.

My look inspired by Yeoman Rand- much quicker and easier than I expected

Out of all the looks I tried, this was the quickest and easiest. I'm surprised how much I actually liked the final look; I can see myself wearing it again, particularly for work (I did actually wear it twice in the week, but with a lilac lip colour second time around)

I find it quite hard to do what most people probably think of as an "everyday" or "work-appropriate" look, so I enjoyed brightening up my morning by setting myself a little challenge in the mornings.

Speedy Inspiration

So, I just have time for a speedy update...

I've been having a real Iron Maiden phase in my car for the daily commute at the moment. Iron Maiden are probably my favourite band in general, but I tend to go through phases with different bands, and different albums etc. I've currently been listening to Iron Maiden's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son album in particular, and a while back, I bought myself an awesome t-shirt with the album cover design on.

The album cover for "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" by Iron Maiden. I was a toddler when this album came out, but I love it anyway.

With this being quite a blue t-shirt, I knew I wanted to use blues when I wore it. I remembered seeing ages ago a tutorial on Youtube from Biohazardhous Beauty, using the Sugarpill Heartbreaker palette (which I will link below) and I thought this would be something quick, but also bright and colourful to go with the t-shirt.

My recreation of Victoria's "Heartbreaker" tutorial- check out the original from Biohazardous Beauty here:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQqfYu4wwvs

I followed Victoria's tutorial quite closely, although I did use my Lunatick Cosmetic Labs Primetime primer to give me a white base. I also skipped the green waterline as my eyes were a bit sensitive on the day.

Bright and colourful- please excuse the scabby psoriasis eyelids

I couldn't decide whether I wanted to pair this with a blue or purple lip, so I ended up doing a bit of both; using all Lunatick Labs Apocalipslicks (which yes, I am obsessed with- no shame!), I lined my lips with purple in Grave Heart Shift and filled in the sides with blue in London Bridge. I added a spot of Coven Cream in the centre to make a paler, greyish centre, just because I felt like it.

I love "Grave Heart Shift" and "London Bridge" so much that I couldn't choose between them

I like how it all turned it out, and with the tutorial to follow, it was quick and easy to throw together.

Post-Birthday Purchases- Mini Review

So yes, things have been quite hectic of late, and I've not had a lot of time or energy to look at updating. Still, I have been able to buy a number of new toys to play with recently, as I still has some birthday money to spend. I was also fortunate enough that my lovely work colleagues got me a voucher for Boots as part of my birthday present, so there was plenty of scope for new makeup purchases.

My post-birthday splurge goodies

I knew that as part of my post-birthday splurge, I had had my eye on a couple of items from Lunatick Cosmetics Labs that I wanted to try, namely the Cool Contour face palette and the Finish Her HD Finishing powder. I recently discovered Lunatick Cosmetic Labs have a UK vendor available at Cute Cosmetics, so I made my purchase from there.

I don't plan to go into too much depth about either of these products in this post, as it's my intention to do a more in-depth review on Lunatick Cosmetic Labs in the future.

My Lunatick Cosmetic Labs "Cool Contour" face palette- these powders are the softest I've ever used, which is a double-edged sword

Check out Lunatick Cosmetics here:- http://www.lunaticklabs.com/

I made my purchase from Cute Cosmetics, who can be found here:- http://www.cutecosmetics.co.uk/

I will say that I do have slightly mixed feelings towards my Cool Contour palette. I don't regret getting it, and I am, generally quite pleased with the finished look it gives me (and who can help but love that packaging?). Still, as the picture shows, these powders are soft to the point of ridiculousness, which, whilst easier to blend, does make them difficult to use sparingly and also quite messy. 

My Finish Her HD Powder- I love this!

Regarding the Finish Her HD Powder, I have much clearer feelings about this, in that I absolutely love it. I've never tried a finishing powder before, but I really do find this completes a full face of makeup without feeling heavy or caked on. I am slightly dubious about the faint herbal scent it leaves on your face for a while after application, but I just can't argue with the results.

I've really been enjoying this blush palette- you can't argue with £5 for 10 shades/finishes either

One of my slightly more random purchases was to buy this no-name blush palette from a trusted makeup vendor on eBay- I say "trusted" in that it's the same seller I got my 88 palette from. The seller is based in the UK, and their products come with a complete ingredients list.

I decided to buy this as I've pretty much been using the same coral coloured blush for the past 18 months, and I decided I wanted to have some more flexibility without spending too much money. This palette, for under £5, gives a variety of colours and finishes that will probably cover just about any blush look I'll ever wish to go for. I've been using it for some time now, and find all the blushes to be highly pigmented, nicely blendable, and hard wearing.

This has been a "change your life" kind of product for me- great over just concealer or to set foundation

One of the real stars of my purchases as to be the Seventeen Stay Time pressed powder, which I got from Boots. I've been looking for a new powder, but rather than just something mattifying, I wanted something with a bit more coverage. The powders I've been window-shopping have been around the £10 and up mark, but this was around half that.

I didn't expect to like this as much as I do- I think it'll be perfect in the summer when I really can't be bothered with liquid foundation

Not only does this powder keep me matte for nigh-on most of the working day, but I've actually been wearing this as an alternative to foundation in general, over a little primer and concealer, and it does a great job, giving natural coverage with next to no effort.

The texture is soft and creamy and very easy to apply with a kabuki brush. The powder has far exceeded my expectations, and compared to some of the more expensive powders I've swatched, this is by far superior.

I also bought a few eyeliners; I've had Glam Crystals glitter eyeliners before and loved them, and I was also in dire need of a new white eyeliner, so I purchased a basic one from Rimmel.

"Dollipop" from Sugarpill in the crease and brow bone; the purple in the deep crease is Poison Plum and the lid colour is Mochi, both also from Sugarpill.

Check out Sugarpill here:- http://www.sugarpillshop.com/

I bought my Dollipop single from Cute Cosmetics (linked above)

Not pictured in the main picture (since I forgot) is that I also finally bought my Sugarpill eyeshadow in Dollipop. As mentioned in my Sugarpill review, I decided against buying the full Sweetheart quad, as I just did not think I would get the use out of it that I have had from my Heartbreaker or Burning Heart palettes. 

As you can see above, I've been playing with Dollipop, and have been enjoying it a lot. It's certainly true to my high expectations of Sugarpill colours.

I still have a little bit of birthday money to spend on my Boots voucher, so there will be more goodies to come. There's nothing like a splurge on new things as a pick-me-up.