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| Kieran O'Neill |
Welcome back you bunch of sexy people!
Today I have a range of men's products available at Lush to review for Style & Sound...
Ocean Salt Facial Scrub, £6.95
When I opened this tub I expected to be slapped in the face by a fish and have a bucket of cold water throw over me.
Thankfully I didn't get that.
What I did get however was a blue-green cream with a very subtle slightly salty smell. This product isn't like most others on the market which consist of soft smooth creams with occasional little granules, which are usually quite useless at exfoliating skin.
Ocean Salt Facial Scrub is thick and gritty and full of sea salt. There is a small amount of soothing cream containing avocado butter which aims to soften the skin whilst exfoliating, but you are given the feeling that it is only there to bind the salt together.
when you apply it you are left with a lot of salt bits to exfoliate with. As always, how much you want to exfoliate depends on how strenuous you want to scrub with. Personally I like to scrub vigorously as if attempting to exfoliate down to my skull (I find that the amount I like to scrub is directly proportional to my level of self loathing).
Results: Honestly, amazing. You never realise just how much dead skin and other krud is on your face, regardless of how often you wash it, until it's all gone. My skin felt fresh and invigorated and smoother than Marvin Gaye's voice.
One thing I would say though, is that due to the amount of salt in the scrub, it will really dry out your face, so using a moisturiser after is a MUST, which is handy, because the next product I'm reviewing is just that.
Cosmetic Lad Facial Moisturiser, £11.50
This guy's moisturiser contains Lavender, Wheatgrass and Marigold and is pleasantly scented, although it is mild enough that you can still wear aftershave afterwards.
This product goes perfectly with the facial scrub, as it is intensely moisturising. It isn't as light or as fast absorbing as other creams on the market, but you can forgive this, because of the level to which it re-hydrates your skin, and the fact that you need very little of it to do the job.
Results: After a few minutes it will have completely absorbed and you'll get the benefits from it. My skin felt soft and smooth but still well-soothed. Lush state that the moisturiser can also be used as a shaving cream, which is great in a pinch.
Dirty Shaving Cream, £5.25
I only shave every few days, and so when I do there is always a healthy amount of stubble on my general face area.
I only shave every few days because I have very sensitive skin and shaving always inflames it, so when it comes time I must have a product which will soften the bristles, and soothe the skin as much as possible. That's why I was looking forward to reviewing Lush's Dirty Shaving Cream, because I need to have extremely high standards in shaving products.
The product itself looks just like a moisturiser, a whitish pleasant smelling cream. Applying the cream caused it to sink deep into the bristles and my skin, leaving a translucent oily skin coating. Only a little is needed, although the first time I reapplied a second coat because I incorrectly thought I hadn't applied enough.
During use: I was massively impressed, as it softened not only my skin, but especially the stubble, making the razor's job so much easier. As a result I got a much smoother and closer shave, with less tugging on the razor.
Results: I was definitely impressed with the results, as my face was left soft, smooth and not irritated in the slightest, which is incredibly rare for me. Overall, top marks for the shaving cream!
Devil's Nightcap, £35
The final product to review is Lush's very own men's fragrance, named Devil's Nightcap from their Gorilla Perfumes range of his and her's smelly stuff.
This is a true aromatherapist's fragrance, as it is made almost entirely of pure essential oils blended together. I love the packaging, because it comes in a square glass bottle with a metal screw cap and ye olde print "Devil's Nightcap" (It is inspired by the ancient Agglestone, a megalithic rock in England which is known as the devil's nightcap).
It looks more like a bottle of moonshine than aftershave, thanks not only to the glass bottle, but also the fragrance's dark brown hue. The ingredients are Oakwood, Oakmoss, Orange Flower and Citronellol. The results are a heavy and musky fragrance which is probably best worn at night.
When applied it is very strong and gradually dies down, but is still very noticable for many hours afterwards. Because it is so strong you need only use the slightest dab to get the same benefits from a few sprays of a contemporary fragrance.
I absolutely love this fragrance because it suited me perfectly. The best advice I would give is that you MUST try it on your skin, because when sniffed straight from the bottle, or even on tester card it doesn't smell particularly pleasant or anything special, but as with all essential oil based fragrances, on the skin is when it develops and you get a true sense of the fragrance and if it will suit you, so go into a Lush store and ask to try for yourself.
So there you have it. A little overview of some men's products at Lush. After trying all these products my skin looked much softer, smoother and younger. It was like many years had been taken off my face. If only it could do the same for the haunted, soulless look in my eyes.
The Missus was startled at my new complexion, as I made her look like a craggy-faced, centuries-old, weather-beaten grotesque in comparison (note to self: Never let the Missus read this review. Ever.) so bravo Lush. The unfortunate thing about Lush is that it is generally thought of by men as a "girl's shop where you buy girly things like bath bombs etc", where only the most metrosexual guys dare to tread. This is really unfair, because they have an excellent mens range which may be going unnoticed by guys like me looking for good products who walk right past Lush in the high street.
Perhaps if Lush were to advertise their men's section more, they would reap the rewards their products deserve.
Kieran x
