Lush Coal Face & Fresh Farmacy

(this is yet another one of those “OMG I wrote this FOREVERago…” and was just too lazy to post it up…)

Worlds laziest blogger? *Right Here!*

So after my disastrous experience with TBS tea tree lotion, I wanted to find a way to restore my skin.  Seeing as I have been intrigued with the Lush reviews of Dark Angel, I figured that was what I should pick up. (Unfortunately when I got to the store, I forgot the name Dark Angel, and when asked about the popular one, I was told it was Coal Face, it was black too, so I thought it was that one…lol my stupid memory :T But alas! it turned out alright in the end…)

Oh I should mention my mini experience with the SA when I went XD

Well I don’t like going ANYWHERE near Lush stores because of the overpowering scents. It gives me a headache :T Anyway so I tried to make my encounter with the store as brief as possible. Which wasn’t really possible when I had to explain to the SA what I used on my face on a day-to-day basis.

SA: What type of skin do you have?

M: Oily sensitive and I guess acne prone skin?

SA: are you sure you have sensitive skin? Some people THINK that they do, but really their skin is WEATHER sensitive, not sensitive in general.

M: Um, yeah, it is sensitive, not due to weather

SA: but you look a little red around the cheeks, perhaps that’s from the wind outdoors?

M: I took the subway here, so that is highly unlikely.

SA: So what do you wash your face with now? (I had just told her before the sensitive thing, that I was using TBS tea tree lotion that broke me out INSANELY)

M: I’m back to using regular Dove soap until my face settles down again.

(SA is now HORRIFIED that I am using Dove Soap as my face wash.)

SA: You are using regular hand soap for washing your face?! That is VERY bad for your skin!

(At this point I wanted to come back snappy at her with…”Well are you a dermatologist my dear? Cause I’m sure you could use a bar to detox your skin as well!”) But instead…

M: Well a few of my friends have been recommended by their dermatologists to use only Dove for as long as they can, to purge and detoxify their skin from makeup and other stuff we put on our skin. Besides, its not like I’m using Ivory on my skin (ps I hate Ivory cause of the film it leaves on my hands…GROSS!)

SA:…oh…

M: You know what, I really can’t tolerate the smell very well, so I think I’m going to just get the one I originally came here to get, and add a sliver of FF as well.

For both of them, I got small slices, the smallest the SA could give me, so it cost me roughly $5 for the CF, and $4 for the FF. Apparently you can ask for samples, but when I was talking about samples, I was offered any, so I didn’t know that there were even such things!

Straight from the Canadian WEBSITE…Coal Face – Vegan

Removes impurities and tones combination skin

Who would have thought charcoal and liquorice could get along? One is tough and gritty, the other sweet and syrupy. But charcoal and liquorice could just be the odd couple of skin care, teaming up to fight oily, troubled skin in our Coalface cleanser. Powdered charcoal removes impurities and mildly exfoliates while liquorice heals naturally. Sandalwood oil tones the skin (and mediates should charcoal and liquorice disagree about anything).

Ingrediants:

Black = Safe Synthetic
Green = Natural and/or Organic

Liquorice Root Decoction (Glycyrrhiza glabra), Propylene Glycol, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Stearate, Rosewood Oil (Aniba rosaeordora), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Powdered Charcoal, Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album), Glycerine, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, *Linalool, Perfume, Silver Edible Lustre (Potassium aluminum silicate, Titanium dioxide, Iron oxides and hydroxides).*Naturally occurs in essential oils

How To Use:

Moisten the cleansing bar with water and rub in your hands to create a lather. Apply to your face in a gentle, circular motion, rinse thoroughly, pat dry. For best results follow with the LUSH toner and moisturizer that best suit your skin type

I didn’t actually put these guys to use as soon as I got home. Actually it remained forgotten for about 2 weeks, under piles of paper on my desk. When I finally rediscovered them, I found that both the Lush Packages of Soap felt…weird. Like their were a little damp or something. Then I remembered someone mentioning that because of the ingredients, there is a small time sensitive thing, on when to use the soaps by.

I unwrapped the package, sliced a little chunk of it (I remembered reading somewhere that it was best to use stuff like soap in smaller chunks so it doesn’t ‘melt’ away each time you use it. Smart idea for the cost of the soap!) and threw it into the freezer.

Then off I went to the bathroom to wash my face.

First off…OMG! The SMELL! >_<
I desperately wanted to chuck this bar out the window. But seeing as I couldn’t, I started lathering it up, and opened a window to allow for ventilation (Otherwise suffocation was possible…lol! No I’m just really sensitive to smells. Going camping is HELL for me, especially when its the ‘Hole in the ground’ type of camping…)

Though I noticed a tiny bit of lather, it wasn’t like foaming plush goodness all over the place. But enough to feel like soap :)

Immediately after the initial wash, the skin felt nice. No film on my skin, and didn’t look irritated like I get with come cleansers (my face looks reddish after a wash with certain soaps).

One complaint for some is that it dries them out too much, and I did definitely notice that within 5 minutes of washing my face. But I usually moisturize after washing, so it wasn’t a big deal after slapping on some cream (also my evening moisturizer is quite thick).

I did notice that the next morning, I wasn’t as oily. (Which worried me a tad, cause I thought maybe I would break out like TBS tea tree lotion, but I was homesafe!)

Straight from the WEBSITE Fresh Farmacy

If your skin is troubled, sensitive and reacts to nearly everything you put on it, lather up with this nightly. It’s pink because it’s packed with calamine, the stuff your mom put on your mosquito bites to calm down your skin and stop it from itching. We also add chamomile and rose to soothe, and a bit of tea tree oil to help cleanse for blemish-free skin. It’s soft, creamy and delightfully effective so give it a try, rub the pink frothy foam all over.

Quantitative Ingredients

Calamine Powder, Chamomile Decoction (Anthemis nobilis), Elderflower Decoction (Sambucus nigra), Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Stearate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Glycerine, Lavender Oil (Lavandula hybrida), Chamomile Oil (Anthemis nobilis), Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca alternifolia), Rose Absolute (Rosa centifolia), Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, Marigold Flowers (Calendula officinalis).

This one was a tad bit more of a pain to use.

First it melts and crumbles immediately when it came in contact with water. It made me ‘waste’ the product :( And at that price, its not something you want to waste. I tried to wipe it down like I did with Coal Face, but it just kept melting, and melting when I put it in the soap dish (mine has an opening at the bottom to allow water to drip through…and in the morning…it would be all pink underneath the dish.)

Second it did leave a film after the wash (though it wasn’t very unpleasant and uncomfortable), but that is expected kinda cause of the calamine powder.

It did feel like my skin was ‘soothed’ when I used this with irritations around my nose, though in my case, I think the film that it left behind wasn’t all that great for my large pores.

The slices I got lasted me a good two months (As I didn’t use them together all the time, just rotated them), though the FF didn’t last as long as the CF (because of the melting issue). I think if I were to buy it again, I would crush it up, and then dip my finger into the powder to get the amount I need to wash my face. Simpler that way, and I don’t lose as much XD

But for the time being the only one I will rebuy soon is the Coal Face.

I know that others have experienced their skin breaking out with these products, so just like I did, ask for a small piece of the product to try out. Or just a sliver, cut it up even further, and distribute it amongst friends so you guys only ‘waste’ $1 each.

I think it would be nice to have mini ‘try me’ packages of some of their soaps.

Lush announced on twitter that they have a pack out.

TheNotice has a bit more info on that.

Anyway…Have a lovely weekend ladies~

I am going to a dinner on the weekend which I am being treated to, by a good long time friend. She’s a mama, and despite our age difference, she has been a wonderful friend. So I am quite excited for that :)

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