The Clunkster

lush usa

LUSH's Scrubee Body Butter and Exfoliant

Beauty, Beauty Review, Cruelty-FreeKristenComment

The first time I had heard about LUSH’s Scrubee was in the summer of 2016, while interning at a small publication called Latin Glam. My job was to write short articles about trending topics, and on that particular day, the Internet was abuzz (haha!) over LUSH bringing back its limited-edition Scrubee as a member of its permanent lineup. 

First introduced as a Mother’s Day special, the Scrubee is the cutest little bee that’s also an awesome body exfoliant. It’s the perfect balance of ingredients that buff the skin but also moisturize. The exfoliator stripes of the Scrubee are made of ground almonds and coconut shell, while the moisturizing stripes balance the roughness with honey, cocoa butter, and shea butter. The formula is designed to melt into the skin (and it definitely does. Don’t leave it in the sun! Sincerely, someone who should’ve known better). 

After reading about the apparent cult favorite, I added it to my Christmas list, and I’ve never turned back. I completely understand the hype, and actually think it’s a bit underrated! Using the Scrubee is truly luxurious. Like a bee, it’s small but mighty. It fits in the palm of your hand, but sloughs away all those dead skin cells and bad vibes. After a lot of injuries and bug bites, I’ve been paying special attention to healing my copious leg scars, and the Scrubee has been super helpful: gentle, but effective. My scars are already fading after about three months of using the Scrubbee consistently. 

But this wouldn’t be a Clunkster review without mentioning the smell: it’s amazing. Like a powder-y fresh mix of honey and mild coconut that makes using a little bee on my skin intentional and caring. You already know it’s already at the top of this year’s list.

lush's cookie dough shower scrub

Beauty, Beauty Review, Cruelty-FreeKristenComment

It’s review time! It’s felt like a thousand years since I posted a review, but I promise they’ll keep coming! I just placed a massive Sephora order and will probably have a lot to say. But today, I’m focusing on a gift I got for Christmas: LUSH’s Cookie Dough Shower Scrub. 

Since this is a seasonal item, it’s unfortunately not available at LUSH anymore, but I have a lot to say about it, so I figured I’d write this anyway. And if you wanna give it a try, you have something else to put on your holiday list! 

I have both good and bad things to say about this scrub. I’m usually instantly obsessed with LUSH’s products, but this one took a while for me to warm up to, and I’m still not completely sold on it.

First Impressions

This scrub smells so amazing I want to eat it every time I use it. I’m dead serious! It smells like fresh cookie dough you want to gobble up before it even goes in the oven (salmonella, who?). With that being said, the look of it is less than savory. 

Let’s be honest guys. It looks like poop. The color is unsettling, and the texture grosses me out a bit too, especially when I find clumps of it in my tub after I shower. I know LUSH does use some artificial coloring, and I wish they would’ve thrown some in this scrub. 

But Does It Work?

Kinda! 

Don’t get me wrong, this scrub does a great job exfoliating. Since I’ve been using this scrub, my skin has felt a lot softer. I particularly love using it when I shave. But I’ve found that I feel really sticky after I shower with this scrub. I usually have to use a body wash after, which kinda sucks because I wanna smell like cookie dough all the time, and because the jar claims to exfoliate and cleanse. You also really need to use a lot to get the desired effect. And again, it’s not exactly the pretties to apply.

The Verdict

Though I love the smell of this scrub, I don’t think I’d purchase it after I’m done with this jar. I know LUSH makes a Cookie Dough Lip Scrub, so I may invest in that, or try another one of their scrubs. But this one just fell short to me, and I’m disappointed.

Have you tried this scrub before? Let me know if you like it in the comments!

Lush Twilight Shower Gel

Cruelty-Free, Beauty, Beauty ReviewKristenComment

Hello, my loves! You all know that I’m a huge fan of self care. While self care is something that looks different for everyone, for me it’s a combination of things I love to do for myself and things that I need to do for myself. One of my favorite forms of self care is showering! I really love feeling the water on my skin and scrubbing off the dirt of the day. I’m a night showerer, so I process a lot of my day in the shower. And I sing and dance. A lot.

But what’s a shower without some good body wash? Before you get your hopes up about this review, I should tell you that this product is only available seasonally, unfortunately. Last summer, I got some really bad news while I was at the mall with my friends, so we wandered through the stores that had nice-smelling things, like Sabon, David’s Tea, and Lush, to calm down. Smelling things is another one of my favorite forms of self care.

While I was crying through Lush, a sales associate named Gabrielle asked me what was wrong, and we talked for a bit. She comforted me a lot and gave me this small bottle of Twilight Shower Gel left over from the wintertime. It was probably one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. It seriously meant so much more than she realized. In her honor, I use this shower gel whenever I need a little boost of self love.

This beauty smells like lavender and tonka, a combination I never knew I needed in my life, let alone my shower. According to Lush’s website, lavender absolute is used to “calm the mind, aid restful sleep, and promote relaxation.” For those of you who had never heard the word “tonka” used in a non-toy truck context until now, the tonka bean is commonly found in Brazil, Peru, and Costa Rica. It’s commonly used to reduce inflammation, which makes sense as to why it’s used in a comforting shower gel like Twilight. Tonka absolute is known for its “sweet, comforting aroma.” To be honest, I thought it was cinnamon until I wrote this post, so I guess it’s somewhat in that ballpark. I’m fully aware that cinnamon is not sweet, just go with it.

Basically, Lush assembled the perfect dream team for a shower gel designed to relax you to sleep. I loved using it at the end of a long day. Aside from the mental benefits of this shower gel, it made my skin super soft and smooth. I truly felt cleansed after I showered. I also loved using it to shave my legs! Literally the only downside of this shower gel is that it’s only available seasonally.

On the bright side, this shower gel is inspired by the Twilight Bath Bomb, which Lush’s website says is also made with lavender and tonka and smells very similar. If you’re not into bath bombs, they also have a Twilight Body Spray that’s also made to help you drift to sleep. Lastly, there’s the Sleepy Body Lotion, which is pretty self-explanatory. It’s also full of lavender and tonka, as well as almond oil and cocoa butter, so if you have a nut allergy, please use caution!

I feel like my experience with my Twilight Shower Gel encompasses how I feel about Lush. They’ve built a brand that assists with self love, from their sales associates to their processes to the ingredients in their products. I love popping into Lush whenever I pass one, sniffing through some of the new bath bombs, and having a chat with a really cool sales associate with a nose piercing. I always feel like I deserve the world when I leave. Thanks, Lush!

For more information about going cruelty-free, check out PETA’s Searchable Database or Cruelty-Free Kitty’s alphabetized list of cruelty-free brands.