I have new finds to show you, and old finds from earlier this summer, that I got for the
Oregon Country Fair, to which I went with my dear friend
Nakedjen for the second year. Not everything I purchased as fair-wear (fairware?) was worn, it was so hot. But I definitely can wear some those items in "the real world." And I have other finds I made throughout the summer. Oh, you will be inundated with thrift shop purchases. But that requires some organization. Organization and I kinda don't get along. To be fair, I think it is Her fault: She has all these imaginary categories and locations where things are "supposed to go," whereas all I see are flat surfaces where I can stack and pile stuff, and closets where I can shove things in and close doors.
We aren't talking about my failure to organize right now. That would require some history going back a few years, if by a few years, you mean my entire life. Relevant history, but not history that is important to the story yet.
So. Before I examine my dressing and undressing any further, I decided to talk about what we do when we take all of our clothes off. Stop that, "[y]ou'll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking." I am talking about bathing. It is more girl-y fun then talking about my appearance, not to mention much easier to talk about. So I am going to tell you all about my new-found appreciation for, and somewhat profligate purchases of
LUSH products.
For one thing, their stores smell wonderful but CLEAN, and not overpowering. The way your bathroom does after you have taken a long soak, or a shower with a lot of scented items, NOT like those perfumed pits of purification purgatory. I can't get near a Bath & Body Works, or Crabtree & Evelyn without a headache from the scents wafting and attaching directly onto my quivering neuro-transmitters. Not the case at Lush. I could pick something up, and smell its individual smell, and not be overwhelmed with a miasma of competing scents.
My sister, S2, who believes it is always important to spend *some* money totally uselessly and frivolously (she works for
Neiman-Marcus, after all) gave me $100 to blow on whatever for my 47th birthday. And since in addition to soapy needs, I have *just* begun to worry about my skin aging, I decided to try "dabbling in Lush," to paraphrase a
Senatorial candidate, I was curious to hear if all the raves true.
I bought a great deal: In the picture above, I placed it in a marble polished bowls embedded with fossils my mom's college roommate gave us for our wedding. We don't get to use it enough, it is so pretty, and it was an "artistic" way to give you an idea of the sheer quantity of what I bought (admittedly, there was a smaller second trip). Soap, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, facial cleanser, face serum, shower sugar scrubs, and more. This is particularly interesting when one considers I don't take baths, period, and I don't really shower as much as I should.
Mentally ill people tend to let themselves go when it comes to personal hygiene. Of course, there are illnesses where obsessive cleaning is part of the disorder, but that is less common. I usually barely shower twice a week. If there is an event, I will shower a third time. But if the third shower accidentally results in two consecutive days of showers, it is not only noteworthy, it is celebrated. Hurray, a short period of bathing like the average American!
I do think Americans shower too much, but I should really be showering every other day, not every 3-7 days. It seems so obvious, and so easy, that it is crazy that I don't do so. But I am just not interested enough to take action. No surprise, since it is common "crazy."
But oddly enough, I love soaps. My friend J, whom I have known for some time, and really love, began to make cold process soap as a hobby a few years ago. To be honest, I bought some of her soap to be polite to support her in her new venture, initially. But it was amazing. It lathered like crazy, it left my skin noticeably softer and without residue. And the yummy smells! I never have thought of myself as loving perfumed anything, but I adore the smell of bathing accouterments. I bought copious amounts of soap from J, and in fact, still have three full bars, and a half bar, that I am loath to use. That is because J has moved on to other hobbies, and once these bars are gone, it is the end of
Daisy Roo Creations, at least those pertaining to soap.
In the interim, because I now REFUSE TO GO BACK to regular commercial soap, I have been going through a small stockpile of olive oil-based soaps we bought in Provence in 2004, with the idea of distributing them to family. Of course (of course) that never came to fruition. But I was running low on those as well. All that is left is a diminishing bar of lavender. A crisis point was being reached.
In the past, I have often given Lush
gifts to my
sisters and
friends. I knew there was something of a cult of Lush. One thing you will find out about me: If something is a "fad," I dig in my heels, and make a pointed and vocal refusal to follow along with the crowd.... Then a few months or years later, I quietly adopt the item or behavior that I proudly resisted previously. So for years, in spite of sprinkling gifts from Lush on my family and friends, I owned nary an item. Nonetheless, I noted when a store opened in the big mall near me.
So the time had come. Imaginary drums rolled. I walked into my first Lush store at the end of August. Oh Happy Day.
Purchases on the first day:
Joy of Jelly shower jelly;
Happy Hippy shower gel (I had tried this one while visiting nakedjen); a chunk of
Alkmoor soap; two sugar
scrubs, ginger & fennel and sugar babe; a
solid shampoo, I think it is called trichomania, but it isn't on the site at the moment; a facial scrub,
Angels on Bare Skin; and a solid serum, that you warm between your hands, and massage onto your face, I got the
Saving Face formula. Gotta love social commentary wrapped into a serum bar.
Wow. I am hooked. I am shocked, but hooked. Yes, I like pretty smelling soap. But this runs a gamut of skin and bathing products. I am going to sound like an advertisement, but I am so pleased with my skin. I am so happy with my hair. My skin is soft and lightly scented. More! I must have MORE!
So back I went this past week. Love the solid shampoo? How about some solid
conditioner? But the true lure was the skin products. I love the Angels on Bare Skin so much, I prematurely bought some more. The serum will last forever, so no need to replace that. But my skin is soft, and extremely clear, and looks younger with just those two items. So I thought I would get a spot treatment for acne (so much more noticeable when your skin is nice overall),
Grease Lightening, and a mask for aging skin. It is not on the site, but is called "The Sacred Truth." I am guessing the "Sacred Truth" is that time is passing.
In spite of all this harping on aging, I actually don't usually worry about it that much. I have very young looking skin, and am always finding
Drs. actually
noting in my
medical records that I look at least
10 years younger than I am.
But in the last few months, I have just begun to notice a slight change in the quality of my facial skin: Kind of cloudy, and patchy texturally. And the crease in my forehead from migraines, is really is unavoidable in my case. But even this inevitable fold was beginning to radiate tiny lines. I figured if I was going to care about my skin at all, now was the time to start.
I was thinking about it because I saw a picture of a woman I knew in college who was considered ethereal, and whose face is now just very creased. My guess is that she only looks about 5 years young than she is. But she was such a dewy young thing, and it has really altered her appearance. She is still very attractive, but in a much more "her face has nice bones and a lot of character" way.
Anyway, the cleanser is kick ass. My skin is clear, and I swear it is tighter, and brighter. The serum is definitely working on my crows feet (which were not very deep, so they are almost gone). The mask had an immediate effect, my skin was glowing. I usually do not use language like this about cosmetics.
The soaps and gels are lovely, and as I said, I will never go back to, well, let's say soaps without natural ingredients, since Lush is commercial soap. But it is the skin care that has totally sucked me in. If I had to choose between sudsing things, and facial products, well, I think my choice is pretty clear. So my new skin regimen: AM/PM using the Angel scrub in luke warm water: take a pinch, about blueberry sized, and smush it into the palm of your hand. Dribble a little water into it, and smush it into a paste, using circular motions (don't get too wild the stuff is CRUMBLY). Once you get the consistently of the paste right, it should spread thinly, with only a bit of clumps falling off. Apply it with your fingers, and let it sit about a moment. The rinse of with lukewarm water, it rinses off very easily. And in the AM, But in the morning, it is time to get on top up of any emerging acne issues with Greased Lightening. In the evening, I add the solid serum, which I warm between my hands. I really like it to get quite slippery, so when I treat the fragile skin right around my eyes, it smooths on, and don't pull on it. Before bed time, I do the "long cleaning" of my teeth, with electric tooth brush, floss, and rinse, another concession to my age. Then I scrub my face again with Angels, pat it dry, and spread a thin layer of serum over it. I should be able to get 4 more scrubs masks out of that tub, which is about a dollar a mask. I am just going to use it twice a a week.
The serum was also suggested as a base to boost the Sacred Truth mask, but I forgot. I was very happy with it as it was. And the sugar scrubs were messy, but fun. I figured out how to get 4 or 5 showers out of each one, instead of 2.
This post has gone on so long, I have decided to break it down into more than one. TBC.
