LUSH Bath Bombs

I don’t take a lot of baths. Like, maybe 5 a year. But when I do take a bath, I want it to be an EXPERIENCE. I set aside a full hour, get all my lotions and potions together, get a book and a glass of wine, and really devote myself to it. I got a LUSH bath bomb for Christmas one year–it was the first time I’d ever seen one–and knew it was going to be the perfect addition to my ritual.

LUSH bath bombs are spheres about 3.5 inches in diameter. They are made up of a packed chalky substance and come in a huge variety of colors and fragrances. I tried the Pink Bath Bomb, and it was sweet and indulgent. When you drop the bath bomb in your tub of hot water, it instantly fizzes and releases its scent and its moisturizers. The scent lasts plenty long for an hour-long soak. And when you drain the water, it generally doesn’t leave a residue (however, the LUSH website does warn you that some bath bombs have petals or other organic matter that will be left behind).

In addition to bath bombs, LUSH makes all kinds of awesome, cutting edge bath and body products that are natural and cruelty free. Here’s a quick introduction to some of my faves:

• “Toothy Tabs” (toothpaste in solid form that you chew!)
• “Solid Body Tints” (summer glow in a moisturizing bar!)
• “Shower Jellies” (shower wash in jelly form!)
• “Henna Hair Dyes” (natural hair dye!)

If you’re anything like me and love fun, different natural health and beauty products, you’ll be checking out LUSH’d website in 3, 2, 1…

Ulta 3-in-1 Beauty Smoothie

Ulta is beauty product heaven. For me, it is Mecca. I believe that the brick and mortar stores are only in the southeastern part of the U.S., but, luckily for the rest of you, it has a website (www.ulta.com) where you can buy most of the products it carries.

Ulta sells almost every brand you can think of, but it also is its own brand. It makes face and body products and cosmetics. The brand itself is not cruelty free; however, some of its products are. For me, that is usually good enough. For example, I know that L’Oreal tests most of their stuff on animals, but it does have some products that are not tested on animals. Some people might boycott the brand as a whole. I choose to only buy products that are cruelty free. As a consumer, my thinking is that the company will notice that its best sellers are cruelty free, and the company will get the message that consumers want cruelty-free products. If we buy nothing from the company, how can we reward them for taking the first step toward ending animal testing of its products?

Anyway, back to the fun stuff. Ulta’s 3-in-1 beauty smoothies are exactly what they sound like: creamy, delicious washes that do triple duty as a shampoo, body wash, and bubble bath. I have 5 of these washes in different scents (buttercream cupcake, dragonfruit frappe, creamy cocolada, yum yum yumberry, and apple envy), and, like children or pets, I love every one of them equally. The scents are powerful, and the bottles are big (24 oz), so you have to really like the scent. Luckily for us:

1. All of the ones I’ve smelled are fantastic.
2. Ulta is always adding new scents to the line (and getting rid of old ones, which is not always a plus if you fall in love with a scent. It’s not a problem for me because, like children and pets, I am ready to love them while I have them and set them free when they have to go :).
3. They sell travel-sized bottles so you can audition scents.

Full disclosure: I have not used the wash as a shampoo or bubble bath. I use it strictly as a body wash, and for that purpose it is a superstar. It lathers well, and the scent stays on the skin for a while after your shower. In addition to being cruelty free, the washes are free of parabens, phthalates, DEA, and gluten.

C.Booth Walnut Shell Scrub & Cleanser

This creamy body scrub is a must have in the shower. I’ve been using this stuff for years and often buy 3 or 4 bottles at a time because they sell out so frequently at my local Ulta.

Some important notes:

• This is a cream cleanser. As such, it does not lather like soap. Instead, it has a lotion consistency.
• This is a scrub. It’s not like those scrubs with tiny plastic microbeads (which, by the way, do not biodegrade and kill wildlife that eat them [read this article]). The “scrub” is actually made of walnut shells, so this is a serious scrub. I really like the exfoliating properties of this cleanser. I use it on my knees and elbows and, most importantly, on my underarms where it staves off ingrown hairs.

If you like those aspects, you will love this cleanser. It also has the added bonus of smelling incredible.