Review: American Cream Conditioner by LUSH Cosmetics

A few months ago I purchased a small bottle of American Cream unsniffed on a whim (as you do!) as it was recommended to me. It contains Vanilla Absolute, my favourite scent!

This is what LUSH says about American Cream:-

"Double-strength conditioning cocktail. American Cream was inspired by a vision of 1950s US milk bars, bright red-leather-and-chrome, neon-lit cafes, where teenagers would meet and drink frothy, fruity milkshakes. Our creamy conditioner is what the girls would have used to make their hair soft before going out on a date, dressed up in their bobby socks and circular skirts. The scent of honey, vanilla, strawberries and oranges is so sexy and sweet that dates can’t stay away."

What does it smell like?

It's gorgeous! :-)

I found the scent a little strange at first, probably as I was expecting it to be mostly vanilla with a bit of strawberry mixed in. I hadn't really taken much notice of the advertising copy. All I heard was "VANILLA", which I am obsessed with. I woke up from my vanilla dream & read the description, the scent made more sense. Yes, you smell vanilla, but you also get a hint of strawberry, honey & a lot of orange. There's also another twist in the scent, which I'm guessing is the Lavender.

American Cream is very aromatic & one of the best smelling conditioners I've ever used. My favourite thing about it, is that the scent remains in the hair when it dries, & lasts until I wash my hair again! I love the whiffs of fragrance I smell during the day.

How does it perform?

To be honest, I was expecting a lot more from this conditioner considering that it's meant to be double strength. Don't get me wrong, it works well, but I find that I have to use a big blob of it to get the softness I want in my hair.

Considering the price (see below) I don't want to use too much each time. The bottle would be finished in no time! So what I do is, make sure I use a gentle shampoo - I usually pair it with LUSH's Curly Wurly which is quite conditioning on its own - & smooth on a small blob of American Cream just for the scent.

The bottle is similar to LUSH's other bottles, and one good thing is that it's clear so you can actually see how much you have left. I find that some of their bottles are black plastic which makes it hard to guess how much is left.

Cost

American Cream is quite pricey & costs more than drugstore conditioners. The best value size is the bigger bottle (500g). The prices are as follows:

100g $13.95
250g $23.50
500g $33.95

SLS in a Conditioner????

One thing that confused me is the addition of SLS. I know that this ingredient is in some shampoos (and others advertise the fact that they are SLS free) however I didn't realise that it was used in Conditioners too! I immediately looked at all my other conditioners - none of them had SLS. From my limited knowledge about chemicals, what I understand about this ingredient, it allows a shampoo to to sud/foam up. But why is it in a conditioner? If anyone can shed light on that, please let me know!

Verdict:

I do enjoy using American Cream but don't class it as a necessary product. As a conditioner, it doesn't perform better than any basic conditioners. The one thing I really love about American Cream is the scent, especially as it lasts until you wash your hair again. So I guess I'm using it as hair perfume. If the scent disappeared after washing, I wouldn't have even considered a re-purchase.

If you fall in love with the scent, it's more economical to purchase the big bottle. The small bottle is tiny & almost half the price of the biggest one.

I have to say, I'm not sure if I will repurchase American Cream when I run out of my 500g bottle, but I expect it to last a long time due to the fact that I just smooth a small amount on simply for the scent.

Pros & Cons Summary:

Pros: Scent, Clear bottle & simple packaging
Cons: Cost, Only a "double" conditioner if you use a lot, contains SLS?

My Rating: 7 out of 10 (all points for the scent)

Ingredients:

Honey Water (Aqua), Vanilla Pod Infusion (Vanilla planifolia), Propylene Glycol (Propylene Glycol), Fresh Organic Oranges (Citrus aurantium dulcis), Cetearyl Alcohol & Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (Cetearyl Alcohol & Sodium Lauryl Sulfate), Fresh Strawberries (Fragaria vesca), Perfume (Perfume), Lanolin (Lanolin), Cetrimonium Bromide (Cetrimonium Bromide), Cetearyl Alcohol (Cetearyl Alcohol), Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla planifolia), Clary Sage Oil (Salvia sclarea), Lavender Oil (Lavandula angustifolia), Benzoin Resinoid (Styrax tonkinensis pierre), Linalool (Linalool), Coumarin (Coumarin)

Review: LUSH Snow Fairy Shower Gel (& First Online Order)

After hearing so much about Snow Fairy Shower Gel, I decided to try a small bottle.

When the Lush Xmas In July Sale was originally on, Snow Fairy sold out the very same day, so I missed out. :(

A few days later however, Lush Australasia tweeted that they had more stock in. I had a free shipping code given to me when my local Lush closed down so I decided to take advantage of it & created an online order.

First Impressions of Lush Mail Order

Ordering was a little frustrating as I accidently typed in the wrong expiry date for my credit card. Instead of letting me go back & correct it, I had to start a new order all over again.

My products were delivered in 4 days, which is longer than what I'm used to, considering Lush are in Sydney too.

Snow Fairy Shower Gel

This is what Lush say about Snow Fairy:

Sparkly, candy floss pink, sweet-as-sugar shower gel for fruity, fluffy fairies. Only visiting for Christmas ! Lather all over your body (and your hair when you're in a hurry)

Snow Fairy is known as a seasonal/limited edition product, only sold during the Christmas period (November/December) & it seems, Xmas In July. This is fantastic marketing as it's very much in demand. I often see people mention online that they always "stock up" on many bottles to last until it's sold again.

If people are clambering over each other to get their hands on the "Fairy" it has to be good right??????

How Does It Smell?

I was already familiar with the Snow Fairy scent as I have the Snow Fairy Lip Tint. The Lip Tint has a lovely strong scent which appeals to my sweet tooth as it's very similar to Red Frog lollies.

The Snow Fairy Shower Gel is similar, especially when you "sniff" it from the bottle, however when you actually use it, it also has a strange chemical note which reminds me of paint. This surprised me as I haven't noticed any strange scents in their other products. I tried shaking it up to mix the product in case it had settled, to no avail.

Looking at the ingredients, it doesn't have any of the essential oils that some Lush products have, not even vanilla - it's just perfume & chemicals. No wonder it smells artificial. Considering the lack of expensive ingredients, Snow Fairy should be cheap to make, but Lush charges a lot for it anyway.

How Does It Clean?

It seems to clean & lather fine - just like drug store shower gels containing perfume & glycerine, nothing special. My skin doesn't seem to be any softer than drug store shower gels.

How Does It Look?

Snow Fairy is a nice shade of pink, but the only thing I really like about this gel is the pretty purple glitter. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to stay on your skin. This could be a good thing for some people, but being the one redeeming feature of Snow Fairy, I hoped that the glitter would stick around. It doesn't. :( It also settles at bottom of the bottle. To send the glitter back through the bottle, you have to store Snow Fairy upside down.

Verdict

The strange chemical note is a huge disappointment to me, as without that I would probably really enjoy using this gel, chemicals or not.

I will probably use the bottle up, as it wasn't cheap, but I won't be purchasing Snow Fairy Shower Gel again. Not even for the purple glitter. I will stick to my I Love... Raspberry & Blackberry or Strawberries & Milkshake Bubble Bath & Shower Gel which actually have virtually the same ingredients however are much cheaper, & smell so much better.

If you're reading about the Snow Fairy hype & want to try it, I would suggest going to a store at Christmas time to get a sample just in case you don't end up liking it.

My rating: 2 out of 10

David Jones Beauty Heritage Tote Deluxe Sampler

I was browsing David Jones yesterday & saw a new I Love... Cosmetics bubble bath in Lemons & Lime. I immediately took it over to the register as I love this brand (can't wait to use it!).

At the register the SA told me about their Deluxe Sampler for $19.95. I looked at what was in it & grabbed it right away. It has some really good things in it, a few which I had looked at in the past & thought about trying, but haven't gotten around to. It's a great opportunity to try new products PLUS the tote bag is very cute, big & zips up too - it will come in handy.

Hopefully you might be wanting to try some of these products, or wanting to stock up. If so, this is a great haul at a good price.

There seemed to be different coloured OPI nail polish (I got a beautiful, dark sparkly plum colour - but there were also other colours), as well as a choice between 4 products (see the blue writing below) so have a look at a few bags if you have a selection.

Here's some info:

DAVID JONES BEAUTY

HERITAGE TOTE DELUXE SAMPLER
$19.95 with any beauty purchase*

VALUED AT OVER $125
Contains 5 full size and 5 travel size beauty products.

Contents include:

David Jones Beauty Moisture Cream Lipstick SPF 15.4g
Aveda Dry Remidy Hair Care Trio 3 x 10ml
The Aromatherapy Co. Hand and Body Lotion 200ml
OPI Nail Lacquer 3.75ml
Nude By Nature Nude Oil 25ml
Burts Bees Honey Lip Balm 8.5g
Revlon Age Defying with DNA Advantage 10ml
Natio Mineral Pressed Powder 12g

Plus the following:

Gorgeous Cosmetics Lip Liner 1.15g & Crabtree & Evelyn Iris Hand Therapy 25ml

OR

Bloom Mini Lip Gloss & Al'chemy A'kin Leave In Conditioner 150ml

*Offer available on full-priced beauty including make-up, skincare, haircare, bath & body products and beauty accessories. While stocks last, one Haritage Tote per customer. Samples in Heritage Tote will vary.