Lush Angels on Bare Skin

Being fairly new to facial scrubs, and only ever trying the Naturals line by Avon, I decided I wanted something a little more friendly and made of real natural ingredients.

I thought of the Lush company. I didn't know a lot about them apart from the fact that they use all natural ingredients and are against animal testing. So I decided to pop into my local shop to see if they had anything I could use!

On first impressions of the shop I was greeted by a Sales Assistant who asked if I needed any help. I asked if they had any facial scrubs that would be suitable for sensitive skin and I was recommended Angels On Bare Skin. An interesting looking product I must say on first inspection. A sort of brown-y medieval looking concoction, with tiny lavendar flowerheads poking out here and there. It has quite a firm texture, like a very thick paste and it is extremely fragrant, the main fragrance being the Lavendar Oil.

Ingredients: (taken from the Lush UK website)
Ground Almonds (Prunus dulcis), Glycerine, Kaolin, Water (Aqua), Lavender Oil (Lavandula hybrida), Rose Absolute (Rosa centifolia), Lavender Flowers (Lavandula hybrida), *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume.
*Occurs naturally in essential oils

Having never tried something with so many natural ingredients, I thought I'd give it a go and it smelled so nice! At the time of buying in 2006 I paid £4.25 for a 100g pot. Right now the prices are £4.50 for 100g and £8.50 for 200g. It comes in a circular see-through plastic container with a press-down lid which has a sticker stating the product name, ingredients and anoter sticker stating who made your product, when, and when it should be used by.

As recommended to me, Angels On Bare Skin should be used no more than 2 times a week as a cleanser/scrub.

So when I got home I was eager to try it to see what it was like. To use just pinch off a pea sized blob and mix with a little water in the palm of your hand to make a thinner paste. Apply it to your face, massaging gently as you go. I did exactly this and it was quite a gentle scrub. I have to admit that I wasn't too keen on having lavendar flower bits on my face and it seemed to be a bit irritating.

After rinsing it off well and drying my face with a towel, my face felt so refreshed and clean - and incredibly soft!

However..... after about 10 minutes my face started itching. Not good. So I washed my face in cool water and this seemed to help a little. The next day I had quite an outbreak of spots and did not go near the AOBS for a week!

This did seem a pity as I coudn't use it on my face, but in the shower it worked fantastically as a body scrub - no problems at all! And it made my legs very soft after shaving! So although it didn't work as intended for it's original purpose (as a face scrub/cleanser) it did work for something else!

I have since figured that if you ever use any facial products, make sure you check out the ingredients carefully, because certain essential oils are very strong and can cause an allergic reaction, especially on your face as the skin is more sensitive. Since using AOBS and other natural facial products I have learned that my facial skin is very sensitive to Lavendar Oil, but strangely enough not on my body!

So this product may work for some people and not for others, or it may work for you in a different way! One thing to note is that it smells VERY strongly of Lavendar, so it might be a good idea to smell it first before you buy!