I tend to find myself with very dry lips from time to time with no rhyme or reason to explain why. This has left me puzzled in the past, especially as nothing I used in an attempt to get rid of it seemed to help. When someone suggested a lip scrub as an exfoliator, I gave them a frown and an extremely confused expression. What on earth is a lip scrub, I thought? However, after doing some research, it seemed that this may just be the answer to all my prayers...

** LUSH **
Lush is a handmade cosmetics company, of which you will find stores in most cities around for U.K. For me, it is usually the smell that invites me in when I walk past! Their products come from companies that have not tested them on animals, but humans. Their packaging is minimal as they are conscious of the environment and all the ingredients they use are fresh and vegetarian.

The products they sell come in all different shapes and sizes. They do bath products such as your standard bath bombs, bath melts and soaps (although these come in very interesting forms that look like they should be edible!). Similarly, they sell body products from massage bars to deodrants and facial related products from masks to solid toothpastes! On the whole they are quite a quirky brand and for me, they offer something a bit different to their competition in this sense. Its really nice that a company who like Lush, carry out mass production of products, yet they still feel authentic.

** HOW IT LOOKS **
I made a special trip to purchase this lip scrub and I went to my nearest store as I thought it would be a good opportunity to see what other products they have on offer as I'm not actually that familiar with Lush.

It is very nicely packaged, albeit rather simple, in a clear 25g pot with a black lid that screws on and off. A sticker on the lid has the Lush logo on it, with the lip scrub description and 'Bubblegum' in a larger font. Admittedly, the bit that stood out to me the most was their description that it tastes of candy floss! As the pot is see through, you can see the lip scrub inside which is a deep pink colour and literally looks as girly as you can get! There is another sticker about the pot that states the ingredients, and instructions for use. Finally, the sticker underneath is a really nice touch - it tells you who it was made by and the date it was produced. This is something I have never seen before, but I feel it is a very personal touch (the same person probably made thousands of others that day, but shhh).

** USING THE PRODUCT **
At the time of buying this product, my lips were what I could consider 'normal'. They were not too dry although I decided I would go ahead and try the scrub anyway as I had never exfoliated my lips before so surely it wasn't going to do me any harm!

The lid is easily twisted off to reveal the product inside. As you twist the lid off, it feels a little crunchy as some of the particles in mine were around the edges of the lid. The next thing I noticed was the smell as it is incredibly strong. The scent of candy floss is really evident and sweet smelling although not overpowering. The 'particles' I referred to are actually grains of castor sugar which have been mixed in with jojoba oil to strike a perfect balance between moisturising but yet not feeling like you have greasy lips. This mix of ingredients is fairly evident when you see the product, as although you can clearly see the individual grains, they are compact together, making the application less messy than I had originally imagined.

I followed the instructions for use which are to 'scrub and buff your lips to softness' and 'lick of the excess'. I did exactly that! One thing I wasn't sure of though, was how long to buff my lips for. Shall I do it for a 3 seconds, 5 seconds, 30 minutes, 5 minutes?! This could do with being made clearer as initially I rubbed them for around 15 seconds and they actually felt quite sore afterwards! Although that could just be me being stupid..

When the product first came into contact with my lips, I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't feel too harsh and the individual grains were not sharp. They were easy to rub in although I only used a small amount of product as I scooped out around a pea size onto my finger and this was plenty for both lips.

As I began to rub it in, but smell was still very much present. Although the grains rubbed across my lips with ease, they seemed to disappear. I applied it over the sink to avoid making a mess but there didn't seem to be a trace of them there, so I assume they stick together as you rub in it as I can't imagine they are absorbed. This remains a mystery!

After around 15 seconds, I had ended up with quite as lot of scrub around my lips as well as on them (perhaps I got into it a bit too much?). I did as I was told on the directions for use and licked off the excess. I pulled a little face as I did this as it was quite strong but very sweet and actually quite nice, albeit a little artificial tasting. Even after about 30 minutes of licking the scrub off, I was left with a pleasant lingering smell of bubblegum.

** THE RESULTS **
After enjoying tasting the product I got back to the matter in hand. As mentioned above, the first time I applied the scrub I think I went a little over the top as I was left with tingling lips although that has not occurred since as I seem to have the hang of it now!

My first impressions were that my lips actually looked smoother than usual and they looked very even. This is useful for me, as in the past dry lips have prevented me from wearing lip stick as it simply looks awful. I rubbed my lips together and they felt a little tacky so I applied some lip balm over the top. This was much better then as I could really begin to tell whether it had worked or not. Surprisingly, my lips rubbed together and felt really smooth. I touched them with my finger to try and get a true feeling and they were really soft and as I thought, really even.

This smooth effect continued for around 3-5 days and that seems to be the standard amount of time although I don't play huge amounts of attention to the effects anymore as I once did as dry lips are no longer an issue for me. I usually use it in the mornings twice a week before applying my make up as it gives a fantastic base for lip stick or gloss.

** PRICING AND AVAILABILITY **
As far as I am aware, Lush are the only place that stock their products, so you will find the lib scrub in one of their stores or online. It comes in one size which is the 25g pot and this will cost you £4.95. The scrub comes in two other flavours; 'mint julips' and 'sweet lips', but if you are unsure about which flavour you would prefer they will probably let you test them in store! Lush also sell lip balms which are supposed to compliment the scrub really well, so no doubt one of those will be my next purchase!

** INGREDIENTS **
The lip scrub contains:
Castor Sugar
Organic Jojoba Oil
Methyl Ionone

There are also a few colours and flavourings in the product too which Lush class as 'synthetic' although the rest of the ingredients in the scrub should be natural.

** SUMMARY **
On the whole, I am really pleased with this product and I am definitely surprised by the results as I didn't think it would have such a significant impact. Dry lips used to dent my confidence although I learnt it cover them up quite well but nevertheless I knew the problem was there.

I can't believe I had never come across this before and I recommend it as a vital element of your beauty regime even if you only use it every so often. It really makes your lips feel healthy and revitalised but doesn't make you feel greasy or heavy which product, which is what I had originally thought may happen.

I will give this lib scrub 5/5 Dooyoo stars as it has become an important part of my beauty product collection! If you feel it is slightly overpriced, to put it into context, I had used this probably 10 times or more and you can barely tell I have even opened it so no doubt it will last me a lot longer yet. For more information, visit www.lush.co.uk/product/67/Bubblegum-Lip-Scrub.