Welcome to the About Face beauty blog!

Lush Flying Fox and Dirty Springwash shower gels are a little smelly—but a lot of great.

by Roxana Hadadi

Welcome to About Face, Chesapeake Family’s new beauty blog! Here we’ll be reviewing hair, body and cosmetics products for moms and families alike, and we start our first post with two products from LUSH, a company offering “fresh handmade cosmetics” that prides itself on being “dynamic, original and progressive.”

Wh

en the box of LUSH products arrived at my door, my dad wasn’t having any of it — the box was too fragrant for his liking. But that’s what makes Flying Fox shower gel and Dirty Springwash shower gel so good: Both have powerful scents while you’re lathering up but the smells fade away after you’re dry, so you’re not oozing jasmine and spearmint all day (not that there’s anything wrong with that). 

LUSH claims Flying Fox has the “stunningly sensual scent of jasmine, ylang, cypress and palmarosa,” and that’s pretty accurate: It’s a musky, fruity scent that definitely soothes, and it certainly de-stressed me on a rough Monday morning. Dirty Springwash is more of a fragrant slap in the face: LUSH says it’s like “a dip in a mountain spring.” Imagine rubbing a pine cone tree freshener all over your body, and then sprinkling peppermint candies on top. Again, the scent is strong in the shower — it made me want the holidays to get here NOW — but faded afterward.

VERDICT: A- Both scents are certainly strong, so it’s doubtful they would be the best thing to give to younger children; for other grownups, though, I’d say LUSH shower gels are definitely share-able. It would be nice if the scents stuck around a little longer, but while bathing they’re certainly luscious. And though the price is a little high, it’s nice to know the product is handmade (each bottle even comes with a sticker with the name and picture of who prepared your item). PRICE: $9.95 for 3.3 fl oz bottle; also available in larger sizes.

AVAILABILITY: Online at lushusa.com or in stores; check website for locations.

EDITORIAL NOTE: The product/s reviewed in this post were provided to Chesapeake Family’s About Face blog by the manufacturer or their public relations company for review. Chesapeake Family’s reviews are inspired by personal experience and opinion, and are not paid for or influenced by the manufacturer, PR company or any other organization unless mentioned.

In middle school, Roxana Hadadi was a cosmetics-scorning tomboy; in high school, a glitter eye shadow- and black nail polish-loving trend kid; in college, obsessively committed to dying her hair unruly colors that upset her mom. Now a bit older and a bit more mature, she’s trying to figure out what hair, body and cosmetics products will work for her, you and your family in About Face, Chesapeake Family’s new beauty blog – and she’ll leave the sparkle makeup and neon highlights in the past. Roxana also writes movie reviews for Chesapeake Family’s Popcorn Parents blog.

Photo by Adam Fried