Allelujah! This is wonderful! (Lush Allelujah! Dusting Powder)

Member Name: sweetpea01

Product:	Lush Allelujah! Dusting Powder
Date:	03/06/09 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Soothes the muscles

Disadvantages: Its no longer available

Due to horse riding a lot my muscles really tend to ache especially if the horse has done something silly and I've pulled a muscle in my arm. There was nothing worse than using Deep Heat. That smell was so intoxicating it made me feel sick and it didn't help that the same pungent smell would continue for the rest of the day. I'm sure it has probably changed nowadays but due to horrible past experiences I gladly stay away!

As most of you probably know I'm quite a fan of Lush's dusting powders just because I think they are pure brilliance! I happened to be in the Poole store quite a few years ago now and was going to buy a dusting powder among other items and happened to notice a bright yellow tub which had a write up about it. I'd never saw this product before and was intrigued to find a new dusting powder at Lush!

Allelujah is not your typical Lush Dusting Powder, it is meant to provide you with a dry massage, always a sound option for combating sore muscles and rheumatic conditions. This powder is particularly useful for performing friction and muscle stripping, namely deep tissue massage techniques where typical massage oil provides far too much glide over the skin, rendering the effects too superficial and mild. Well how about that! In search of a Deep Heat replacement and after a few weeks trying to find a suitable alternative I came upon this. Now I did have my reservations as it's a powder not a cream and really I probably could of used a massage bar but this seemed to be a great option and definitely revolutionary in the soothing of muscles.

Due to the purpose of this powder being different from the others, its texture and consistency are also different. Allelujah's already dense china clay base contains copious quantities of olive oil, naturally giving it a thick, moist, clumpy texture. But please don't be alarmed by this! Without olive oil, it would no longer contain an effective, nourishing massage emollient, not to mention that this thickness helps Allelujah to overcome the single biggest problem facing Lush's powder pots, and it's too thick to leak out! Hurrah! I have moaned and moaned about this in my reviews and even though the tub hasn't changed it seems to work in favour for this powder!

To apply this citrus and olive scented massage powder (think The Olive Branch Shower Gel, which makes an excellent pre-massage shower in Allelujah's case), simply sprinkle a bit into your hand and vigorously massage your entire body (or perhaps just the sore muscles). Note that a little goes a really long way (as with all dusting powders), to minimise Allelujah's downside of leaving a grainy finish on your skin, try not to overdo application (this requiring a bit of effort on your part as generously sized nuggets of powder can rush forth from the pot in the blink of an eye), or else it will turn pasty and unruly as opposed to going on smooth and being easily absorbed. So try to have a dry towel handy to wipe away any excess residue from your body.

Additionally, you might also wish to place a towel beneath your massager, as an Allelujah massage can get a bit messy, unless, of course, you're working on a dressed massage table, in which case, you can sprinkle this powder directly onto the person's body with the minimal task of rolling up a sheet and placing it into your laundry basket, involving no more or less post-

massage tidying than usual! But let's face it who does happen to have a massage table in their house?! Well actually my best friend does purely because she is a masseuse as well as being a beauty therapist and who is very good at giving a sports massage!

Allelujah was unfortunately taken off the shelves in 2001 which was a complete travesty! I couldn't believe they could take away such a great product! Apparently Lush intends to make all discontinued products available as Retro items but unfortunately as there are so many discontinued products it will take Lush such a long time to bring these items back so I may be waiting a long time for Allejulah to be reinstated. I can only guess that due to this product being specifically for muscles and not your usual dusting powder that it just wasn't popular enough. It is a real shame and Lush never brought out a replacement.

What Lush say:-

"Allelujah! smells of the citrus and olive groves of the Greek gods who'll wish they could get down from Mount Olympus and have some of this stuff rubbed into their heavenly bodies. It's the softest of powders with cornstarch and gram flour for a dry, light friction massage with oils to relieve muscular and rheumatic pain. One from Dionysus - born to give pleasure to mankind"

Unfortunately I cannot remember how much this was but probably in the region of all the other dusting powders. Hopefully one day Lush will bring it back as it is certainly not one to be missed!

Summary: If you find one buy it!