Back To Basics :: A Skin Refresher

So last friday I decided to drag my sister to the mall for what I thought was going to be a quick trip into Woodfield Mall's Lush to pick up a bath bomb and then spend the night with a luxurious soak in the tube.... Well if you've ever been in to a Lush store you know it is never an In-&-Out experience.

This being my sisters first time in to a Lush, she was all types of curious on all the products. She always has a hard time finding products wither it be: shampoo, body wash, face wash, bath gels etc. because she has a really bad Sulfate allergy which is no fun to deal with. One of Lush's many qualities is they are an all natural line as well as a lot of their products are vegan friendly too!

I started with introducing here to the bath bombs. Explaining how fun and wonderful they were. We then set out on a hunt for a sulfate free bath bomb. This is about the time Athena came over to ask if we needed help with anything. Stephanie (my sister) asked if there were any sulfate free products she could use. Athena said she'd be happy to go see what she could dig up and asked for us to just exploring the store. This is where the real fun began.

Like most people my skin isn't perfect and I suffer from acne. I'm always on the hunt to find a regiment that will be my miracle cure but just haven't seemed to find it yet. While exploring I came across Coalface,  a charcoal infused face bar. I've heard really good things about coal for skin so when Athena came back with some sulfate free ingredients for my sister (I'm sorry I don't remember which products specifically) I asked her about the bar and if she had any recommendations to help me with my skin. She gave me a solemn look and said "Okay bare with me I'm going to ask you a few questions before I answer that" so after asking me various questions about my skin like my type (oily or dry), where my break outs usually occur, what am I using now, do I exfoliate etc. She said she had an idea....

Now I'll be the first to admit I can be a little ... uh how do you say.... CRAZY when it comes to my skin. I desperately want clear skin to the point of insanity that I tend to over do it on the matter. After explaining my daily skin care routine to her, Athena said it be best to take it back to the basics. You see with everything I was doing to my skin I was pretty much just making it as crazy as I was. (Haha!)

These were the products she suggested...

Ultrabland - a non-irritating bees wax cleaner

Tea Tree Water - A non-alcohol toner that gently cleanses skin 

Enzymion (sample) - a mattifying fruity moisturizer

Grease Lighting (sample) - a gentle spot treatment for acne

Now she didn't just say here use this now be on your way. That's just not how Lush works! She started by explaining to me you wash you hand what a couple billion times a day right? (Who you kidding I'm the hand sanitizer queen!) Well let me show you the amazing-ness that is Ultra Bland. She put a nice layer of it on my hand it was almost like a body butter that the more she rubbed on my hand the creamier and smoother the product became. The beauty of this product is it puts moisture where it needs to be and not where you don't. She then followed up by taking a cotton pad and spraying some Tea Tree Water onto my hand and wipping my hand off. I could not believe all the dirt it took off my hand... It was kind of gross but amazing at the same time.

The beauty of these two products are its simple, gentle and helps my skin regain a balance. Because of all the products and frequency in routine my skin just didn't know what was going on. Now that I have two products to work with the Ultra Bland & Tea Tree Water that I am only using at night (talk about saving myself SO much time in the mornings). Athena gave me samples of Enzymion (in case my skin had some dry spots) and a sample of Grease Lighting (in case I had some scary breakouts). She said give it a month and lets see where we are then. So with renewed faith in my skin and even more love for Lush and their helpful employees I gladly made my purchase.

Currently I am 6 days into my new routine and while I do have a few new breakouts they're nothing like my normal ones. You can tell that that it's from my skin starting to balance out. I am so thrilled with  my new routine and can't wait to see the changes a month will bring. Of course I'll be sure to keep you posted on the results!