Product Review: Lush Dream Cream

High street natural skincare giant Lush is renowned for its huge stock of smelly, fizzy, gooey products, many of which are touted as excellent for those of us with sensitive skin. I think some of their products are shameless gimmicks - the fizzing shower 'EmotiBOMBS' are the most ludicrous at up to £2.55 a pop - but some are timeless, classic skincare prods. One of Lush's best-selling products is Dream Cream, a tub of yellow goo that claims to "contain everything nature makes for soothing your skin", including lavender, camomile and cocoa butter.

Packaging
I know Lush are all about minimal packaging that can be recycled - they do a scheme where you can get a free face mask if you take back five empties - but moisturiser in a pot is one of my pet hates. Unless you keep your pot in the bog and use it only after you've washed your hands, it's going to get germs in it, especially if other people borrow it.

It does come in two handy sizes though: 240g and 100g. I keep a small one at work and a big one on my dressing table.

Lush Dream Cream, £10.75 from Lush

Application
I'm not going to lie, this ain't no Herbal Essences in a jar. It doesn't smell unpleasant, but it doesn't have the delicious scent we've come to expect with all our beauty products. This doesn't matter though, because Dream Cream goes on smoothly, absorbs easily and doesn't leave an after-smell. As with most beauty prods, a little goes a long way, and you can expect 2-4 months out of a small pot with regular applications.


Performance
I actually first tried this years ago when I did a four-week stint at Lush as a Christmas temp, and I was delighted with the results. If you are unlucky enough to suffer from eczema or dermatitis, this is one of the only moisturisers I've ever found that does not further irritate broken, inflamed skin. Before I found Dream Cream, I used a bog-standard Norwegian formula hand cream and just grimly tolerated the burning sensation as it softened my dry hands. Since then, though, it's been my go-to product in winter-time when my hands need a bit of extra care to stop them cracking.

It is good to always have a pot knocking around somewhere regardless of season though, because it is excellent not only for dry skin conditions, but for sunburn, blotchiness, razor burn and tattoo after-care. If you were truly standing behind the door when the skin was handed out and have to be super-careful with your hands, then slathering them in Dream Cream and wearing some cotton gloves is a great quick-fix. You do tend to look like a bit of a lemon though, so I'd recommend doing this before you go to sleep. 

The Bottom Line

Dream Cream is a fantastic hand and body moisturiser that does exactly what it says on the tin unhygienic but environmentally friendly plastic pot. Lush also sources its ingredients from fair-trade producers and doesn't test on animals. Hurrah!

Recommended for anyone with soreness or dry bits on their hands or body, but if you don't have problem skin you can get nicer smelling products that'll work just as well for you. 

Rating: 9.0/10 

Product Review: No7 Protect & Perfect Lipcare

It's been warm in London recently and the air conditioning in our office has been on full whack all day. As I have the circulatory system of a fully-grown ox, I am totally down with having it set at 19 degrees all day, but it does play absolute havoc with sensitive skin. The important thing is to moisturise CONSTANTLY. Keep it on your desk or leave it in the bogs so you get into the habit of using it after washing your hands. A few years ago when I was a student, I got a job over Christmas at the local cinema. Because it was indoors and windowless, it was climate-controlled like a bitch. Every 45 minutes I ran to the loos to slather myself in Lush's Dream Cream and, unbeknownst to me, got a reputation as the most lubricious cinema minion in the building (!) But at least my skin was soft and not cracked and sore, which it would have been had I not been so obsessive over it.

I digress. What I am really getting it as that we often moisturise our hands but we often don't start moisturising our lips until they start to feel sore. If this is you, no NO NO - you are doing it wrong. If you protect your lips before they start to chap then you won't have to put up with unsightly smackers and the indignity of having to use a straw to keep your lips dry.Unfortunately, I didn't listen to my own advice and waited until my lips were really sore to reach for the No7 Protect & Perfect Lipcare.

Packaging
There really is no truly germ-proof way to practically package lip products, but the broad squeeze-action applicator can at least be wiped down with a wet wipe if it gets a bit grim.

No7 Protect & Perfect Lipcare, £7.99 from Boots

Application

This lip balm went on thick and greasy and wouldn't absorb into the skin. I suspect this is because it contains petroleum jelly, which is the devil in the form of pore-clogging slime. I can't be 100% sure because No7 has done a very good job of hiding the ingredients from me online and I no longer have the box, but it had the same sort of effect on me as Vaseline except it tasted a little bit like cocoa butter, i.e. something you shouldn't be putting near your mouth. 

Performance

Half an hour later my lips weren't chapped but felt incredibly sore and still greasy. I would have mugged an old lady for her Lush Honey Trap if there had been one available, but clearly these octogenarians are sly wenches when it comes to hiding their lip balm from me. 

The Bottom Line

The thing is, this product has had great reviews on Boots.com and independent make-up review sites, so clearly its poor performance must be something to do with my poor, over-reactive and angry skin. I'm not that bothered though, because at £7.99 a pop, No7 Protect & Perfect Lipcare is bloody expensive for a lip salve. 

Recommended for anyone who wants to spend nearly eight quid on what is effectively Vaseline. 

Rating: 0.5/10 

Product Review: Organic Surge Eye Gel

I got Organic Surge's Eye Gel in the post a couple of days ago, which was just in the nick of time as my teeny weeny Chanel sample had just finished having the life squeezed out of it. At just £7.99 it's a bit of a bargain, especially when you consider how long 15ml lasts when you're using the right amount of product.


Packaging
Organic Surge Eye Gel is packaged in a little pump-action pot, which is great as it won't get contaminated by whatever's sitting under your fingernails. Nobody likes a gammy eye gel.

Organic Surge Eye Gel, £7.99 from OrganicSurge.com

Application

I cracked this out expecting it to smell like Organic Surge's other skincare prods, but in fact the scent is disappointingly average. It's not unpleasant, but smells just like every other de-puffing eye gel I've ever tried. The product comes out a little quickly, so when using this you only need a quarter-pump to get the right amount on to the back of your hand. The gel is, it must be said, indistinguishable from ordinary hand sanitiser at first glance - the stuff you find in hospitals and farmyards and that I carry in my handbag to sterilise public toilets with. The difference only became apparent when I actually tapped it in under my eyes because wowzers trousers, that stuff tingles! It contains a double-whammy of menthol and witch hazel, which makes it deliciously cold (and explains the smell). 

Performance

I tried this at 5:30am in the morning when I was so sleepy I would have bitten off my own foot to be allowed to go back to bed and within ten minutes my eyes were feeling wide awake. The tingling sensation stays with you for quite awhile and the skin feels super-soft as well, which is a definite plus as witch hazel and menthol are both extremely drying on the skin. 

The Bottom Line

Overall, this is a pretty amazing eye gel, tingly and non-drying. The second time I tried this I popped it in the fridge overnight and it was like I'd been smacked in the face with a wet kipper. But in a good way. Man, I was awake. Organic Surge's products are made purely from organic ingredients and aren't tested on animals, which means you can enjoy your new-found wide-awakeness without the guilt. AND they contribute to efforts to support some of Africa's most impoverished and vulnerable children. How fab is that? 

Recommended for: early risers, especially those with dry skin. 

Rating: 8.0/10 

Product Review: Urban Decay Primer Potion

Urban Decay's Primer Potion is probably the most celebrated primer prod out there because it a) comes in nifty packaging, b) comes in different shades and c) works pretty bloody well.

Packaging
They've actually just redesigned the packaging, which is great news because the previous genie-bottle design was effectively a nail polish bottle with a lip gloss wand and it was impossible to ever get the last little bit out of the pot. Behold, the brand new squeezy tube!

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original, £14.50 from Debenhams

Application

The Original shade is a nude, almost clear shade, so is great for light, neutral shadows. The consistency is much more watery than other popular primers, which tend to be more paste-like, and you do have to use your finger to properly spread it around the eyelid area. Because it is quite greasy, this primer is best for non-oily lids and I wouldn't recommend using it as an under-eye concealer primer. You also need to leave it to set for a couple of minutes before you embark on the application of your blaze of colourful glory!

One thing Primer Potion does have over others is that in comes in three additional shades: Eden, Sin and Greed. Now, these swatches are VERY misleading: Sin is a beautiful bronze shade which is a great base for shimmery party make-up and Eden (my personal favourite) is a neutral matte shade - probably your best bet if your lids are slightly too oily for Original. Greed is touted as a golden version of Sin, but in fact it goes on a very pale-yellow colour. If you've got blotchy, red eyelids then a yellow base will even it out.

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden, £14.50 from Debenhams

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin, £14.50 from Debenhams

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original, £14.50 from Debenhams

Performance
Primer Potion's stamina is respectable if you don't have oily lids but it doesn't last quite as long as some of its competitors, such as Too Faced's Shadow Insurance, which is also more matte in finish. Sin, however, is a gorgeous shade, but it's a shame my greasy lids make it less effective. After you've had it on awhile, though, the effect is quite drying, so make sure you rehydrate your eye area properly with a good eye cream.

The Bottom Line 
Overall, Urban Decay Primer Potion is a solid make-up bag essential, but it's not the best primer out there.

Recommended for people with non-oily lids looking for a primer in a variety of shades (but not people with extremely sensitive eye areas).

Rating: 6.5/10