A Cleanser Deserving Complete Worship! (Lush Angels On Bare Skin)

Member Name: Rose Pink

Product:	Lush Angels On Bare Skin
Date:	09/12/07 (289 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful smell and results

Disadvantages: A little pricy, looks quite gross

First Impression

Angels on Bare Skin was one of the first Lush products I ever used. When you shop at Lush it is easy to get seduced by the naturalness of everything. For the first time I stopped and thought about all of the chemicals and preservatives that I had been slathering on my skin and realised how disgusting they actually were. Buying Angels on Bare Skin seemed like a natural step from this revelation, smoothing a medieval recipe on my skin seemed a highly romantic idea and the damsel in distress in me was very keen to try it . I have rather dry skin that can sometimes look a little dull and so I am always keen to exfoliate it and let it glow a bit. However I was sick of using supposedly gentle products which were so harsh that they basically demolished my outer three layers of skin.

Appearance

As a result I was immediately drawn to this cleanser. The name itself is the epitome of gentleness and along with its boasts of being preservative free it did seem to be highly caring to the skin. The product is usually found in the cleanser section which tends to be in a corner and clearly separated from the bath products. It is easy to find but even if it were not the staff are incredibly friendly and keen to help. I was a little discouraged by the packaging of the product. It was in a little plastic pot and whilst this is practicable for its mainly solid state, it did seem to go against Lush's eco-theme. On looking inside the container was not immediately won over. I'm so used to seeing processed and coloured white gloop that something as unaffected as Angels was a little shocking. It's a semi-solid brown/grey plasticine-like-clump and is hardly very tempting and the bits of lavender dotted inside did little to beautify it.

Scent

However just as with books, you should never judge a product by its cover and angels really did redeem itself with its scent. Again I was so used to using synthetic products that I was pleasantly surprised by angels. They thoughtfully have a tray with a whole slab of the cleanser on ,so that you can see and smell it properly. The scent is of a garden in summer and is a beautiful medley of lavender and rose. It smells wonderful when cleansing and leaves a sweet, delicate scent on the skin afterwards. I was disappointed to learn that the cleanser contains perfume and I am unsure about how much this contributes to the scent. However the perfume is listed last on the ingredients list and so the actual quantity is quite small and most of the scent seems to be from the lavender and rose essential oils so it is still incredibly natural.

Service

On buying the cleanser I was asked by the shop assistant whether I had used it before. On saying no I was instructed that I should take a small blob of it and mix it with a little water on my hand to make a paste, which I should then apply to wet skin. The instructions are also on the top of the container but being told them is reassuring and it does make you feel valued as a customer and I would rate the service received at Lush as excellent.

Use

The first time I used the cleaner I was actually quite excited. I used it in the morning to wake up my skin and I think this is the optimum time to use it. I followed the instructions and made a paste on my hand which I then spread over my face with my palms and then worked into the skin with my fingertips. The ground almonds exfoliated so gently that my sensitive skin felt quite cherished. As I said the smell was gorgeous and the whole feeling of it on my skin was gentle and enjoyable. It was easy to wash off the skin and this was a huge plus for the cleasnser as in the past I have used many which stick to the skin like glue and refuse to shift. I then lpatted my skin dry, applied my usual moisturiser and regarded the results.

Results

My skin looked fresh and bright and felt vastly smoother with no sign of irritation from over-harsh exfoliation. My skin also felt soft and subtle and I think that this is due to the ground almonds and essential oils which infuse skin with natural oils and the glycerine which locks water into the skin. The kaolin also mops-up any excess oil so there is no greasy after feel whilst also tightening the skin, leaving it uplifted.

Value for Money

I couldn't stop stroking my face all day and I still marvel over how soft my skin has become and the cleanser works progressively yielding softer skin after each use. I have found Angels to be well worth its money and can understand how it was worth so much in Medieval times. The pot is £4.50 for 100g and each pot lasts about three months. I was a little discouraged by the fact that it has a sell by date which always seems to be uncomfortably close to the present however I have used the product beyond this date and there were no adverse effects. Furthermore more cleansers than you would think go out of date and at least with this one you are told so that you don't smear a whole culture of bacteria over your skin. Also the cleanser has many other uses and I have found that leaving on the skin as a face mask for ten minutes further softens the face and using to exfoliate dry hands from the winter weather greatly helps them.

Ingredients

Ground Almonds (Prunus dulcis) , Glycerine , Kaolin , Water (Aqua) , Lavender Oil (Lavandula hybrida) , Rose Absolute (Rosa centifolia) , Lavender Flowers (Lavandula hybrida) , *Limonene , *Linalool , Perfume

* Occurs naturally in essential oils.

Overall...

I would recommend Angels to anyone with normal to dry skin and especially for those with sensitive skin. The whole experience from buying it, to using it, to observing the results is fabulous and well worth the money.

Summary: A spectacular cleanser