His & Hers: Lush Breath of Fresh Air

This is an awesome toner and our favorite of the three. Hope you enjoy this His & Hers review of Lush Breath of Fresh Air! Do let me know what you think of this format, and if you like hearing what my boyfriend thinks about products too! :) Also feel free to check out our other Lush toner experiences: Lush Tea Tree Water Lush Eau RomaHIS:Aroma: This spray has a nice crisp aloe scent. I found this scent doesn’t linger after application like the two other sprays we've used.

Use: I decided to use this product for it’s aloe vera content. I use it to cool my skin and prevent irritation after shaving, exercise, and if I’ve spent a good amount of time out in the sun. This spray has proved great for all three of my intended uses for this product. The most effective use of the three has been with shaving. After I shave my face my skin typically develops signs of razor burn such as irritation bumps, warm skin sensation, and dryness. I have tried taking all sorts of precautions to prevent this side effect of shaving; higher end razors, different shaving creams/gels, pre-shave oils, you name it. Well, after my last shave I sprayed some of this stuff on my face, and voila! Visual indications on my skin and the sensation of razor burn were close to non-existent! This was a triumph for my face! I have put off shaving in the past because I rarely feel like my face has been dipped in itchy hot oil, if you could understand.

Conclusion: I’ll be definitely be using this product in the future simply for the aftershave benefits alone. If you’re a woman reading this, buy it for any man in your life, or try it for yourself the next time you shave your legs. Also, don’t forget I found this spray great for sun irritation relief as well as a nice cool down spray after exercise.

HERS:Aroma: I can’t recall specifically what aloe smells like, but to me this smells fresh, crisp, and almost minty, almost a bit herbal as well. I suppose it could be aloe, but I can’t think for the life of me what actual aloe smells like!

Use: Intended for use on skin that is weather-worn, this toner is a great way to refresh your face after a day out in the sun. (Or with all this summer heat, a few minutes outside? LOL!) In any event, I can feel a noticeable difference in how my skin feels when I do get overheated. Not only is my face cooler, but even more relaxed! Don’t know how to explain it - Breath of Fresh Air just hydrates and takes out all that tension you feel after spending time in more extreme weather conditions. (My skin does not seem to like the mountains or even the Pacific Ocean, and this makes it way more relaxed!) I keep intending to try this on my legs after shaving, but keep forgetting - I definitely hope I will have the same smooth, non-irritated post shave results that my boyfriend experienced above!

Conclusion: Love this one, and I think we would both use this most consistently out of all of the toners Lush offers. We are definitely going to finish this one first and repurchase it!

Week in Review, 8/10/12

I can't believe it is August already! CRAZY. Summer is almost over! I am also going home soon, unless I manage to get an extension out here in California for work. But who knows, I think anything is possible! A bit blurry from taking this in the car one day, but I love this shot of my YSL cream blush & Guerlain Rouge Automatique! :) Will have reviews up soon for these as well!

Favorite of the Week: Too sleepy to use things this week, sadly. I don't know how you guys do it! Just Applied: Tried Hourglass cream blush/bronzer duo a few hours ago. That's definitely on the to-buy list! Purchased This Week: Got the boy some stuff at Gap (30% everything through Sunday!) Got some books/picture frames at the Alameda Antiques Fair last weekend, as well as a dress & sweater/jacket from Therapy. So far no makeup purchases for August! Limited Buy Status: Doing good - so far no beauty purchases for August!My boyfriend says my limited buy doesn't have to start officially until we go home, since we are getting all of our living expenses paid for (food, gas, etc) while we've been in California all summer. In any event, I can get one item for being good, which I've decided will be the Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder. If I get an extension, he says I can get something else as a reward!

This weekend we plan to go to Yosemite and scope out the Perseid meteor shower (do check it out if you can! Supposed to be best viewing on Saturday night, at least in this area!) We also got a portable BBQ and plan to grill some stuff at the beach. SO excited, I love grilled things

What are you doing this weekend? Anything exciting happen in the last week or so? I'd love to hear your favorites, recent purchases, and what you may have just applied!

His & Hers: Lush Eau Roma Water

Here's another look at a product my boyfriend and I share. Hope you like this review! Do you share products with your significant other?

HIS: 

Aroma: This toner has a delicate floral scent, a mixture of Rose and Lavender are apparent. Of the three toner sprays from Lush I have tried so far, this scent is the softest and least aromatic. Use: I’ve been using this spray as a moisture rejuvenator. My face tends to get dry fairly often, especially in the winter - just the thought of a Chicago winter makes my face feel dry! As for now, I’ve been trying to use this toner after days at the beach or near the coast.  I also have used this toner after a shower. I tend to not like putting on lotion right after a shower, don't ask me why because I don't know myself, so this is a good compromise to moisturize my skin after a shower. Conclusion: What I have found great about Lush’s line of toner spray is their diverisity. Diversity in aroma as well as benefits, making it easy for anyone to find a toner spray to their liking! All of the scents have only grown on me after using them, including this Eau Roma which is probably the most “girly” of the toners I’ve tried. I really do look forward to using this in the winter! Also I can imagine this being a good companion at a dry and stuffy office, airplane, or long automobile trip.

HERS:

Aroma: This spray has a nice light scent. I’m not normally a fan of lavender, but I found this one to be surprisingly light and pleasant! Use: I’ve only used this toner by spraying it into my hand and patting it into my skin. I find that applying the toners this way offers the best coverage if you are looking to maximize skincare benefits. It really does feel like the product is just seeping in! According to Lush, Eau Roma is formulated with rose and lavender and meant to soothe dry or sensitive skin. For some reason, my face has been feeling dry lately, and this definitely has helped to rehydrate my skin. If only I remembered to use it consistently!

Conclusion: While I wouldn’t have picked a toner with lavender myself, I really found that this had a neutral, light scent and offered a bit of moisture to my skin. I would agree that out of all the toners, this has the lightest scent, so if you are sensitive to scents in Lush products this may work fine for you. Overall, I really love pulling these out of the fridge for a light refresher. I have not had any adverse effects on my skin with any of these toners, and I’m really excited to see if this will improve my skintone with long-term routine use.

Sampling Jo Malone

I hadn't tried much Jo Malone until this year, and now I really want to test out every single scent! I own English Pear & Freesia, and have collected a number of samples over the last few months. (In case you're not familiar, the idea with Jo Malone fragrances is to create your own unique combination. Visit Jo Malone's website for a stellar fragrance combining menu.) Here are my thoughts on what I've sampled!

Wild Bluebell I love this scent - it is so light and fresh on its own. For some reason, the strongest note that I can smell is watermelon, which I love. Have not tried layering this but can imagine that it'd be great! This wore all day, though it was very light by day's end.

Red Roses This scent is a Jo Malone staple. I think it really does smell like roses, and is not too sweet or too floral - a good mix of both! I think it is great for mixing, though I've only tried it with Nectarine Blossom & Honey. Also, I like that the wear on this one is quite long. When I apply it, I still tend to have a faint whiff of it when I wake up the next morning.

Lime Basil & Mandarin This was quite a spicy scent for me, and it was too much for me on its own. Layered with Nectarine Blossom & Honey, I thought it was quite nice, though this was the dominant scent. I would not purchase this one, since it is the least "me" out of everything I've sampled.

Nectarine Blossom & Honey  I liked this scent as well - fresh and light and easy to wear. It only wore about 3-4 hours on me, which I think is ok if you are layering. This is one of the most popular Jo Malone options, and I can see why. I imagine it would combine with just about anything!

At the counter, I've also sampled Verbenas of Provence, 154 and Vetyver. I think all of these are great options for giving a sweet scent like English Pear & Freesia more depth and balance. Aside from that, I can't really remember enough to describe them! Another favorite I've been spritzing at the counter is Orange Blossom, which I love with English Pear & Freesia - it is sweet, but also has that "green" depth to it that I like. I also keep forgetting to try Grapefruit, French Lime Blossom, and Vintage Gardenia. There are definitely too many options! I hope that the during the holidays there will be a great sampler I can pick up!

Have you tried any of these or do you have a Jo Malone staple? I'd love to hear!