The Self Preservation Society

 

Lush Cosmetics are a company that famously pride themselves on their natural, ethical

 and handmade products.Where possible Lush try to use only the finest natural and

 organic ingredients in their cosmetics, but do allow for the occasional safe synthetic.

 The safe synthetics (such as methylparaben and propylparaben) are used in cosmetics 

as preservatives to give products that contain water a longer shelf life.

Lush recognised that, although they are deemed to be safe, lots of people don't like to

 use parabens for many different reasons. They are now working on taking their

 range from 70% self preserving to 100%, and have started by adapting some of the most

 loved Lush products.

Dream Cream is up hailed as the best Lush product for many, many people. The incredibly

 soothing ingredients of this hand and body lotion make it great for those who suffer with

 dry skin, eczema or psoriasis. The new self-preserved version of Dream Cream has been

 cleverly re-formulated to provide the same effects as the original for even the most sensitive

 skins. The product inventors at Lush have reduced the amount of water in this product and

 replaced it with a higher olive oil and glycerine content. This has given the formula a richer

 consistency but, as it took 98 attempts to get it right, rest assured this is still the Dream Cream

 you know and love.

 

Good news! Ocean Salt  has not only become self-preserving but also vegan too. To make

 this well loved face and body scrub self-preserving the inventors removed the two

 parabens and three synthetic emulsifiers that were in the original formula. These safe synthetics

 have been replaced with more fine sea salt and glycerine, as both are natural preservatives and

 mango butter and lanolin were added to the mixture to soften and soothe. The product is thickened 

with the added japan wax and avocado butter, which in turn prevents the onset of bacteria.

If I'm really honest I do prefer the original version of Ocean Salt to the self-preserving as ironically

 this one smells a little fake. I also prefer the coarse sea salt used in the original formula , but despite

 this both versions work just as well as each other at brightening the complexion.

 

Mask of Magnaminty is probably my favourite of all these four products. This face and back mask

 is great at unclogging pores and giving the skin a really deep cleanse. To make this a winning 

self-preserving formula Lush have replaced the synthetic preservatives with a higher honey,

 kaolin and glycerine content. When I tried this mask I really noticed a difference in the way 

my skin felt compared to the original formula. Whilst on the face my skin didn't tingle as much

 as usual, which may be due to less peppermint oil, but when I rinsed it off my skin felt smooth

 and supple. To me this self-preserving formula is much better than the original and has quickly

 become one of my favourite Lush products.

 Sympathy for the Skin is the final product released in the recent self-preserving range at Lush. 

This hand and body lotion, which I think smells of cake batter, is a firm favourite due to its

 beautifully light banana and vanilla fragrance. Again, there is less water in this body lotion and

 it has been replaced with a higher almond oil and glycerine content. The self-preserving version

 of this body lotion is much thicker and richer, so if you are looking for a really emollient cream 

this is the one for you.

All in all it is great that Lush are offering their customers the option of using products free

 of safe-synthetics. It is important to note that both the originals and the new self-preserving

 formulas will be available in stores and online.

Do you try to stay paraben free?

Ingredient Focus: Avocado

After my previous ingredient focus post on honey (which you can find here) I had a few people

 tell me that they found it really interesting, and asked whether I would be doing any similar posts.

 I hope to do a whole series of these posts, and so I decided to focus on the benefits of avocado 

for the second ingredient focus post.

Avocado, delicious in its own right, has many benefits for both the skin and the hair. The good fats

 contained in avocados provide many nutrients including vitamins A, B, C and E as well as 

minerals such as iron and potassium. With many health benefits they really are a super food, but I'm

 going to tell you how avocados can help us look great on the outside as well as feeling good on 

the inside. 

Skin: When used as a butter (produced from the flesh of the avocado) the fruit is very hydrating

 as it softens and soothes the skin. If your skin is a little thirsty it will drink up the moisturising

 properties of avocado and will certainly thank you for it later. Avocado also contains

 antioxidants which help protect against free radicals and in turn eliminates wrinkles and prevents

 premature signs of ageing. Avocado oil is also thought to be great for reducing the visibility 

of age spots, fine lines and scarring. All in all avocado is pretty much your skins best friend.

Hair: Avocado oil has been used for centuries in products such as hair conditioners and masks

 as it is nutrient rich and restores health. Dry, brittle hair will benefit from avocado oil as it is

 rich, nourishing and softening. The oil increases the tensile strength of the hair (that is how far you 

can pull it before it snaps) as well as adding a gorgeous shine. 

This healthy, natural ingredient is basically a health and beauty marvel, particularly for those 

with dry or ageing skin. Will you be incorporating avocado based products into your beauty routine? 

My Everyday Make Up Routine

I love doing my make up but as I work 9-6 five days a week I soon found that I needed to
 discover a lasting but quick and simple daily make up routine. I like to keep my day to day
 make up routine simple and my face looking natural, so I keep the amount of products I
 use to a minimum. I decided to show you my everyday make up routine, as I am quite
 boring and stick to the same thing every day.

Face: After prepping my skin with a morning cleanse and moisturise routine I apply the Revlon Photoready
 Skinlights Face Illuminator in Pink Light. I use this to brighten up my skin as it leaves a dewy finish.
Then I use my Real Techniques Expert Face brush to buff the Nars Tinted Moisturiser, in Finland,
 into my skin. The Expert Face brush is a bit of a cult classic in the beauty world, and personally
I have never used anything that has left such an even finish with my foundation. As the weather is
 getting warmer I recently switched from foundation to the Nars Tinted Moisturiser as it is lighter
 and has a high SPF. I finish off my my face makeup by lightly dusting on the Illamasqua 
Translucent Loose Powder using the Mac Duo Fibre Face Brush. Then, using the same
brush, I lightly sweep the Illamasqua  Powder Blusher in Naked Rose over the apples of my
cheeks and up along my cheekbones.

Eyes: After finishing my face I then move on to my eyes and usually start with my brows. I use
 the Illamasqua Eyebrow Cake in Thunder and the Benefit Hard Angle Brush to lightly fill in my
eyebrows and give them definition. I find a powder gives more of a natural finish than a pencil
when it comes to perfect brows. Then I apply a very light dusting of Mac Vanilla Pigment
 (this is such a wonder product!) over the top of the eyelid using the Real Techniques Base 
Shadow Brush . I don't like to wear eye shadow every day but I find that the vanilla pigment
opens up the eye and leaves it looking brighter, which I am all for. I finish off my eyes with a
few coats of Loreal Miss Manga Mascara in Black on both my top and bottom lashes.

Lips: On a day to day basis my make up look is very natural, and so I like to choose a lip
 colour to reflect this. I usually opt for the Mac Matte Lipstick in Kinda Sexy as the shade
 is a neutral pinky-rose and blends well with the rest of my daytime make up look. I love
 the matte look of this lipstick but it can sometimes be a little drying so I finish the whole thing
 off with a dab of the Lush Cosmetics Honey Trap lip balm as is is nourishing and hydrating.

What is your daily make up routine like? Do you use any of these products?