LUSH haul and Gift-With-Purchase event

Yes, Baby Bird somehow snuck into the background of the shot

Oh happy day! My local LUSH had one of those rare gift-with-purchase events that I've been hoping for. They're quite hard to come by, and I've been waiting for quite some time now. But, it was worth the wait, and that mental list of products I've been compiling finally got put to use. Have I ever mentioned how much I love LUSH (I know I have)? I'm a smell person, and their things smell divine. Not to mention, their stringent animal testing policy and socially responsible campaigns are a major plus in my book.

Without further ado, here are the goods. I'll make further comments below.

Things I bought include: 
1. Fresh Farmacy Face Soap
2. Tea Tree Toner
3. Ocean Salt Cleanser
4. Jungle Conditioner
5. Rub Rub Rub

The gifts included:
Free, just for RSVP-ing in advance:
     1. Karma Komba Shampoo Bar 
With $65 purchase:
     2. Sugar Scrub
     3. Happy Hippy Shower Gel (3.3oz)
     4. Almond and Coconut shower smoothie
     5. Fair Trade Foot Lotion
With $75 purchase, you roll dice and get an extra item, corresponding to the number:
     6. Flying Fox Shower Gel

LUSH Jungle Conditioner, Karma Komba Shampoo bar, Sugar Scrub

I'm running out of my LUSH Jungle solid conditioner, and was thinking of investing in a new liquid version, because the solid probably lasts me 1-2 mo. for $6. For some reason, I thought liquid would be a better deal. However a LUSH sales associate (who, btw are usually quite pleasant and more than eager to talk about products) convinced me to go with Jungle again. I was surprised to hear that Jungle is actually their strongest conditioner, on par with Retread. No wonder it worked so well on my wavy hair. And compared to $25 for Retread or other liquid conditioners, a $6 Jungle is a go!

I was feeling extra grubby after camping and in need of major exfoliation and cleanliness so I decided to check out Rub Rub Rub (below) which is a body wash/ exfoliater that smells like beautiful mimosa (the same scent as Sakura bath bomb) and exfoliates with salt. A different SA (if you stay long enough, all the SA's will eventually talk to you if you let them), gave me an exfoliation treatment on my arms, comparing Rub Rub Rub (below) with Sugar Scrub. She taught me a tip: you can mix sugar scrub with Happy Hippy (or another shower gel) to give a similar effect to Rub Rub Rub. Both were nice, but I went with Rub Rub Rub since I don't have to mix anything. However, I did get both shower gels and a sugar scrub in my GWP so I'll be sure to try them out as well.

LUSH Happy Hippy Shower gel, Tea Tree Water toner, Flying Fox shower gel

LUSH Tea Tree Water is a spritz-on toner I've heard good things about, including on Musings of a Muse, so I thought I'd give it a try. Of the products I bought, this is the gamble since my opinion is that most toners (main ingredient alcohol) work just fine. Tea Tree is for normal to oily skin that may be acne prone. I'm not sure if it will control my breakouts better than the Jumbo bottle of Clinique Toner I have, but it's worth a try. I've used it quite often already and I love the fresh herbal smell, and the spritzing feels nice on a freshly washed face. Again, I'm not sure it does anything yet, but it makes me happy, if only for those reasons.  In a conversation with yet another LUSH SA, I learned you can spray throughout the day if you feel like you need freshening up. (I suppose in a similar way to the Evian spray).

Happy Hippy is a grapefruit/citrus scented shower gel that I've wanted forever (but didn't want to shell out for). Flying Fox  is a jasmine and honey scented shower gel that I've also been curious about. I'm so glad I got both as gifts, since they're both products I'm excited about. I just tried Flying Fox this morning, and it smelled gorgeous. It's more of a sexy scent (vs fresh for Happy Hippy). Also, a little goes a long way. Some shower gels don't bubble well and you end up using too much, however even a little does the trick. This is good if I ever decide to purchase in the future. But for now,  I can't wait to wake up to Flying Fox tomorrow morning.!

LUSH Rub Rub Rub, Ocean Salt, Fair Trade Foot Lotion, Almond and Coconut smoothie

Finally, LUSH Ocean Salt! Everyone loves this stuff. It smells like margaritas and is full of scrubby exfoliating sea salt and citrus for brightening. As you can tell, I couldn't help but dip my fingers into it and try some before taking my pictures. I've used it a couple days now, and love it so far. For those not used to exfoliation, this might seem harsh, however I prefer this to a weaker exfoliant (like my Clinique 7-day scrub). If you're ever in LUSH and looking at Ocean Salt, the SA's will likely offer to give you a hand treatment (which by the way, I highly recommend accepting). It's like a hand massage, almost. First they put on the lemon cuticle cream, then exfoliate with ocean salt, then apply dream cream (I think). It feels so good, and it's free! The only downside is that it's for one hand only, so you can compare the difference. So, you'll end up with one beautiful hand and one normal hand. But don't worry, if you stay long enough, you might get something other product tried on your other hand, so they'll get equal love. In fact, by the time I'd finished, I'd had something done to each hand, and each forearm (since there weren't enough hands to go around).

Oh my, it's quite late now--- I blogging always takes longer than I intend. I was planning on posting simple haul pictures, but that never happens =P.  I hope you enjoyed my LUSH haul! The gift with purchase was more generous than I expected, so it's worth a peek if you have an event near you. I don't think the stores heavily advertise in-store; I found out through email subscription. and be sure to tell me your LUSH favorites, so I can check them out =)

Love, Dovey