Fancy Foot Work (Lush After Tango Foot Mask)

Member Name: sweetpea01

Product:	Lush After Tango Foot Mask
Date:	10/06/09 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Calming and soothing

Disadvantages: No longer available

Now I'm a big fan of foot masks and having just returned from a trip to Venice, it has inspired me to suggest a wonderful (but no longer made) product which works wonders for the feet! My experience of Venice was truly wonderful but being left with sore feet every single day was not appealing to the point where I didn't want to walk anymore! Oh to the days of After Tango Foot Mask it really was a miraculous product. So why did Lush every take it off their shelves?!

After Tango was originally discontinued way way back in 2001 but was still available as a potted bio fresh product until it was discontinued completely back in 2005. Lush has always claimed that their kaolin and bentonite clay based After Tango Foot Mask is the perfect cure for pained, tired feet after a night of dancing (hence, name). Well, I decided to put it to the test, the toughest foot care challenge it could ever possibly face if this so called wonder mask couldn't work here then nothing could and we'd forever suffer!

I went to Paris a few years ago with family and it is such a laid back, leisurely walk able city, that every time I visit, I can't help but avoid all forms of public transport, strolling from one end of the city to the other each day, especially in the summer when its warm and there is a general buzz about the place. In one day, I can easily walk up to five or ten miles (and for those familiar with the city, I've been known to walk from the Eiffel Tower to Montmartre's hilltop and back again without blinking an eye).

Problem is, those cobblestone sidewalks combined with my stubborn refusal to pack sensible shoes (because it's better to look good than to feel good in the name of trying to blend in with forever fashionable Parisians, even though it can't be done, it's still worth a try) can leave me with the biggest, deepest, most debilitating blisters. Without fail, by day three, I'm forced to go against every stylish sensibility (or lack thereof, depending on how you define "sensible") and head to a sporting goods shop to buy a pair of trainers. And yes I now have several pairs of trainers that are hardly worn all because of my stubbornness and yes I am reminded either by a family member or my partner that I'm being quite silly!

But on one trip, having come straight from London, I decided to bring After Tango Ultra Fresh Foot Mask with me to see if that could make a much needed difference. Sure enough, after day two of my Parisian stay, my feet were red, hot, swollen, and early stage blisters were beginning to form (certainly not pretty!). So, shortly before bed, I generously slathered this deliciously spicy fruit and vegetable mask onto my feet, covered them with plastic wrap, pulled up a footstool, and kicked back with a glass of wine (you have to indulge yourself!).

But that night, though wonderfully gritty pumice instantly softened skin when I rinsed it away, I honestly didn't notice much of a difference where my more major issues were concerned, partly because, unlike Lush's Volcano Foot Mask, you don't necessarily feel this mask working by way of an intensely cooling tingle (and you're not supposed to). But the next morning? Ooh là là! My feet were soft, refreshed, and not a single birthing blister remained! Calamine had calmed surface skin, asparagus broke down irritable acids and toxins within the skin, and witch hazel had cast a submissive spell over every possible eruption that had been rumbling just below.

Lemon toned my tootsies, returning circulation to normal, while cocoa butter, almond oil and avocado then moisturised and nourished my soles with antioxidant vitamin E, a natural healer in its own right. And so, with veritable magic having been worked, my feet were still able to squeeze into my fitted designer boots, and I was fit to walk to my heart's content for yet another day. Ever since that Paris trip After Tango had been my lifesaver to the point where, if you asked me "if you were stranded on a desert island made of Parisian cobblestone, what's the one thing you'd bring with you," I'd tell you After Tango Foot Mask.

But though After Tango Ultra Fresh is adorably packaged as a pair of felty orange feet with a single-serving scoop of product for a body and a fresh orchid flower for a head, because this mask can be used as often as desired, I would personally opt for the multiple treatment pot, particularly when your feet are forced to endure long periods of crippling distress. And this mask is particularly thick, meaning a so called "four treatment pot" can often be just enough for one or two heavily applied treatments at most. Soon though this wonderful way of serving the product was abolished and the foot mask was then just dispensed in clear tubs which didn't look quite so good!

Besides, owed to the decorative flower being quick to wilt, After Tango Ultra Fresh must be used within 48 hours, whereas the undecorated pots can be refrigerated for up to three weeks (which were ideal for the mini fridges in your hotel room!). The standard pot then becomes handy for possible emergencies, whereas After Tango Ultra Fresh generally winds up needing to be purchased when you're already in the throes of dire straits. And there's no point in waiting so long to care for your feet, especially since there's always the risk that they'll be too wounded to carry you to the store! That's like asking a heart patient to take himself to the hospital, isn't it? Well, okay. Maybe being After Tango-less is not quite as life threatening. But let's be honest, it often feels like it is.

What Lush say:-

Foot mask to make aching, exhausted feet feel like dancing again. Now to be fair, you don't have to wear high heels and dance the tango for your poor aching feet to qualify for an After Tango. It works for everyone who has been on their feet for hours, high heels or not. This incredibly soothing, moisturising mixture of fresh vegetables, herbs and essential oils calms soreness and reduces aches.

Unfortunately as I said Lush decided to take this product away from us in 2005 due to make room for other products. Myself and other Lushettes battled to save this wonderful product but unfortunately our protest went on deaf ears. I have never found such a great product since and I have now suffered a long extended weekend in Venice, wearing unsuitable shoes and pretty much in a lot of pain! I think for all our sakes Lush need to bring this back!

Summary: Miraculous!!