Lil' LUSH Haul!

It has been forEVER since my last LUSH purchase! I was so excited when I stepped into my store in Washington Square yesterday that I nearly had a spaz attack! If I had it my way, I'd be in there every day stocking up on all of the lovely bath and body care products, but alas... I have not the fundage. I'm a little bummed that I wasn't able to grab a few dozen bath products, but between moving and apartments costs I've been totally broke so I could only pick up the essentials. Oh well...

Come take a peek at what I got:

• Sweet Lips lip scrub ($9.95): Oh. Sweet. Lord. I love Sweet Lips! It's a great lip exfoliator with conditioning oils/butters AND it smells and tastes like a chocolate and vanilla blend. In heaven over here! Unfortunately this product is getting the axe, so if this is a staple in your collection or even if you just want to try it I suggest getting it NOW. My roommate Rachel also gifted this to me because she's a total sweet heart. :3
• Cosmetic Warrior fresh face mask ($6.95): I'm slowly making my way through the LUSH fresh face mask arsenal and I decided to go with the Cosmetic Warrior one this time around because my skin has been going absolutely nuts lately. This one has a bunch of tea tree oil, kaolin, and garlic in it to help with breakouts and finicky skin, so I'm really helping that it can sooth my skin's current tantrum. I was a bit weary when I saw that garlic was one of the main ingredients, but thankfully this smells like toned down tea tree. 

I also got two samples of skincare products because I REALLY need to whip my complexion back into shape. I was actually really surprised that I got such generous samples! I mean, I've never had an issue with a LUSH employee being stingy in the sample department, but these are pretty much packed full! Thank you, Emma! <3

• Grease Lightning ($13.95): This is supposedly a spot treatment, but I've heard from others that they've used it as an all over oil control product and even a moisturizer! Grease Lightning has a really interesting consistency. It's a bit jiggly like half-solidified jell-o, but that is probably due to the fact that there is a butt ton of aloe in here. I really like that it sinks in quickly and doesn't leave a somewhat tacky feeling to the skin when it dries down, which is something that I'm used to when it comes to acne treatments.  I'm super stoked to try this out and I'm probably going to purchase this in the future. 
• Dark Angels facial cleanser ($12.95-$28.95): I've actually used Dark Angels in the past as a facial scrub and I really liked the way it worked! I just wanted to make sure that it got along with my current skin issues right now before shelling out the $13 for a tub. This stuff can get a bit messy though... 

I also managed to get my roomie a little sucked into LUSH products as well. MUAHAHAHA! >:) She bought herself her first product:

Hooray for Rachel!

Like always I had a marvelous time at the Washington Square LUSH store! I got to spend some quality time with Emma the worker and she was quite a lovely and helpful. 

Product Review: BA Star Eyeshadow Palette in Natural (press sample)

I had never heard of this brand prior to being paired with them via BrandBacker, even though BA Star claims to be the number one cosmetics brand when it comes to dance, cheer, and other competitive activities.

To be completely honest, I did not have high hopes for this palette. The packaging is cheaply constructed and looks strikingly similar to the NYX Glitter Creme palettes, the dual-ended applicator is quite flimsy and pretty much worthless, and the fact that there are two glitter cream pans in here made me cringe seeing as how all of my experiences with lower end glitter creams have been quite negative (i.e. stiff, waxy "creme" base and only a sprinkling of glitter on the top with absolutely zero payoff).

But did my predictions about the quality of this product stay relevant after testing?

Find out after the jump!

Product Review: N.Y.C Liquid Lipshine in Nude York City (press sample)

I got this lipgloss WAAAAY back from Influenster, but for some reason I never got around to reviewing it, and thusly it got lost in the shuffle of my makeup stash. 

I recently rediscovered it after I started packing up my belongings earlier this month in preparation for my upcoming move. After putting two and two together, I figured out that I had previously tried this product and I did NOT like it. Of course, that was a few years ago and it had been reformulated since then. Here is a little visual aid to jog your memory of what these used to look like prior to around 2011:

photo cred

If my memory serves me correctly, these weren't all that pleasant. They had a bit of a strange tacky laquer consistency to them, the ones with shimmer felt quite gritty, the scent was a strange chemical-y perfume-y nonsense (with a matching taste), and the doefoot was a bit scratchy.

Would I call the new formula an improvement? Heck. Yes. Oh, sweet baby Jesus, yes. Read on after the jump!