LUSH R&B - Revive & Balance Hair Moisturizer

In honor of this past Sunday’s monthly trip to LUSH, I’ve decided to do a little run of LUSH products, starting with R&B.  R&B is short for Revive & Balance Hair Moisturizer.  It is a creamy product, applied to towel-dried hair before blow drying.  Honestly I’m pretty lazy about blow drying these days and love to use this product even when I don’t blow dry.  It still provides a measure of control without stiffness or heaviness.   

The scent of R&B is absolutely lovely.  I guess I would describe it as a lightly flowery citrusy orange blossom.  (I could be wrong about this, but at any rate it’s seriously compelling.)  I don’t usually like to wear citrus or floral scents but for some reason this combination is just the right balance and just the right amount of subtleness and permeation to be addictive.  And it also seems to compliment whatever scents I already had in my hair from my shampoo, conditioner or any other products.  It just adds a little bit of an overtone of delicious citrus to the whole salad of scents already going on.    

No matter how delicious a hair product may smell, the most important thing is how well it works!  I’ve definitely found R&B to improve my how my hair behaves on a daily basis.  I can definitely tell if I’ve forgotten to use it.  It provides moisture and smoothes strands to help combat frizz and dryness.  And you only need a little tiny bit to make a difference.  I usually swipe a fingertip in and grab less than half of a dime-sized amount.  And I’ve had this tub for like 3 months now, and it’s still over a third full.  And if you’re not aware my hair is down to my bar line on my back.  I smooth the little dollop into my palms, flip my head over, and concentrate the application to my ends and then smooth my hands through the rest of my hair.

Overall, I love this product.  Like I do most things I pick up from LUSH.  It’s got a great scent, and works to help tame hair that would go a little wild if left to its own devices.  I think everyone could use a little R&B. 

Scent: 4.75 (The only thing I like better is a sweet but not too sweet vanilla.)
Health: 4.75 (I don’t believe it contains any parabens and some of the ingredients are organic.)
Ethics: 4.75 (Lush is a pretty great company, as I’ve mentioned before, but they still do use parabens in some products.)
Price/Value: 4.25 (It is a big chunk to drop on one product ($20.95 on http://www.lushusa.com/shop) but it’s totally worth it because it is fabulous and that little container will last you a long while.)
Does what it says: 4.5 (Pretty great moisturizer and smoother.)

Overall: 4.75 (Lovely product, totally worth the money!) 

LAVANILA Laboratories Vanilla Coconut The Healthy Body Wash 2-In-1 Shower & Shave

I feel like I'm always talking about LAVANILA but I'm just more and more impressed with their products.  I found myself with some time on my hands at the mall so I wandered into Sephora to see if my friend was working, and when I didn't find him I basically wandered around inviting products to lure me into buying them.  For once I almost walked out without anything.  But then I walked past the LAVANILA section, and of course I had to look, even though I was pretty sure I already had all the products that they made in my favorite scent, the Vanilla Coconut.  

But alas, I was wrong!  A new pretty white tube sat on the shelf, screaming that it was something new and different.  (Most of their other packing is dark colored, so I immediately knew this was something different.)  I picked it up to see what it was, and my relationship with LAVANILA's Vanilla Coconut The Healthy Body Wash 2-In-1 Shower & Shave was born. 

Now generally I don't use shave gel.  Mostly I am too lazy.  I also don't have time.  The reason I don't have time is because I take too long doing everything else in the shower.  (I have like a 7 product daily routine, without even adding in shave gel!)  Everyone is always saying I take these long-ass showers but it's not like I'm just puttering away in there; I work to make them as "short" as they are! 

Anyway, I decided to give the 2-In-1 Shower & Shave a chance because it was LAVANILA and it was in that lovely Vanilla Coconut scent, and it wasn't very expensive.

I was not disappointed.  It was absolutely lovely!  The smell is great just like all their other products, the lather created on a loofah is lavish and creamy, and it also make your shave smooth and easy. 

Now I don’t know about you, but when I actually do use shave cream or gel, I tend to pile it on and create a solid layer so that I can see that I’ve covered everywhere and my skin will all be protected.  This product simplifies the whole shave process.  Essentially you just squeeze some on a loofah, add some water, lather it up and scrub all over as you would with a normal shower gel.  After your wash, you grab your razor, and have a silky ideal shave!  It’s awesome!  And way less work then actual shave cream or gel! 

When I first started using it, my reaction was to lather up as much foam on my skin as possible, like I would with a normal shave cream or gel, and try to stay out of the spray so that it stayed on until I was actually shaving.  It worked nicely, but after a few showers I would end up in the spray with most of it washed off, and to my surprise, my shave was just as silky and smooth as it was when I was covered in foam!  So you don’t have to be particularly careful about that. 

The only downside is that you can’t use your foam to follow your shave line and make sure you cover everywhere.  But let’s be honest ladies, by my age you pretty much figure out how to not blatantly miss large patches, and don’t really need a guide anymore.  So I say this product is fabulous!  Love it!

Scent: 4.75 (So lovely! But may be a little too sweet for some.)
Health: 4.95 (LAVANILA is a naturals company, and knows their stuff, but it’s not completely organic.)
Ethics: 4 (Their product making ethics are great, but I didn’t easily find any philanthropy or charity work.)
Price/Value: 4.25 (It goes for the same price as a high-end shower gel.  But it does the work of two products!)
Does what it says: 4.75 (Gives a great wash & shave but people may feel weird without the whole dense foam aspect.)

Overall: 4.5 (Definitely a great daily use product!)