Saturday, April 22, 2017

Earth Day Skincare Saturday - Lush Cup O' Coffee Mask Review and A Look At Lush's Environmental Practices!

I decided to move my regular Skincare Sunday post to a Skincare Saturday this week - today is a special day because it is Earth Day! I think today of all days, it's not only important to feature a review of a product from an environmentally friendly brand, but also to talk about how the brand is contributing to a better environment overall!

When I think of a brand that makes amazing products and is environmentally friendly - I immediately think of Lush! I am total Lushie and have been for quite a while - my husband just goes to Lush on any occasion and scoops me up a gift basket, because he knows I love pretty much everything! 


Earth Day Skincare Saturday - Lush Cup O' Coffee Mask Review and A Look At Lush's Environmental Practices!

Lush is not only an environmentally friendly brand, but they also focus on fighting animal testing and buying ethically sourced ingredients for their products. They do not test their products on animals and only source ingredients from suppliers that do not test on animals as well. In addition to fighting animal testing in the industry, they have created a Charity Pot program - where 100% of the price goes to charitable organizations. Through their initiatives, since 2007 Lush has donated $17 million to 1400 grassroots charitable organizations in the areas of environmental conservation, animal welfare and human rights. 

I always appreciate a company that takes a strong environmental stance and encourages their customers to do the same! One of the benefits of shopping at Lush is their recycling program! All of the black pots you see in Lush are made from 100% recycled plastic, and hopefully by now you have heard of their recycling program; because if you haven't, it is awesome! When you bring back 5 clean, empty black pots to any Lush store, you get a free face mask!!! Amazing right?! 

Then, Lush recycles, remolds and reuses them again! (Last year alone, they gave out 176,163 free face masks with 880,815 pots being returned!) Also, all plastic bottles and gift wraps are made out of 100% recycled plastic too! Anything that is bought online is sent in biodegradable bags, with biodegradable packing peanuts, in a recycled box! 


Earth Day Skincare Saturday - Lush Cup O' Coffee Mask Review and A Look At Lush's Environmental Practices!

Not only does Lush focus heavily on recycling, they also try and go naked - with their packaging of course! 38% of Lush products are packaging free - this reduces the amount of packaging that ends up in landfills. Also, by "going naked" there is an increased likelihood that a product is self-preserving, meaning that no synthetic preservatives are needed to keep them fresh! 

Lush has been inventing products for decades that don't require synthetic preservatives. While synthetic preservatives are effective, when they are washed down our drains, they enter our water and may turn toxic over time. Lush really focuses on keeping their products fresh by using the perfect balance of ingredients to avoid using synthetic preservatives - over 65% of their products are self-preserving.

Here is a look at one of Lush's self-preserving products:
Earth Day Skincare Saturday - Lush Cup O' Coffee Mask Review and A Look At Lush's Environmental Practices!

Lush Cup O' Coffee Face And Body Mask ~ $22.95 for 325g (also, $11.95 for 150g). If you're a sucker for the strong, scrubby, stimulating type, this coffee-filled mask is just the thing to kick-start your day. Wake up and invigorate your skin and mind with the rich, intoxicating aroma of freshly brewed coffee and sweet roasted cocoa extract. Kaolin deeply cleanses impurities from the pores and ground coffee acts as a gentle scrub to buff away dryness and reveal glowing skin beneath. Smooth this one all over your body to feel soft, clean and wonderfully fragrant.

One of the best things about going to the grand opening of the new Lush store in Calgary was watching how the Cup 'O Coffee mask is made and hearing where the ingredients are sourced from. Another environmental initiative from Lush is that they source their coffee beans from Alternative Grounds (which roasts only fair trade and organic coffee from small scale farmers) and they purchase the 2nds - meaning coffee that doesn't fit the score to be sold for consumption purposes! 



This is fun because this isn't just a face mask, it is also a body mask. Coffee is a great addition to this mask - caffeine in scrubs helps to leave the skin feeling supple and firm and smooth the appearance of cellulite! 

So this is how I was suggested to from the staff to use the mask - get ready for a shower and apply the mask to your face and body. Leave on for 10-15 minutes, then hop in the shower and scrub the mask in as you rinse it off. 

This is probably the easiest way to use this mask - your whole body gets exfoliated and then the clean up is super easy! This smells like a cup of strong coffee (obviously...) so if you aren't a huge coffee person, you may not love this! I happen to enjoy my morning cup of coffee, so this is great for me. It does require a fair bit of product to cover your whole body, but I liked the full exfoliation I got from this! I liked that this was gentle enough to be used on my face, but also strong enough to exfoliate my whole body. You pick how strong of an exfoliant you want as you rinse it off! This is so refreshing in the morning - I really enjoyed this mask! 

Hope you guys use Earth Day to think about the products you are using too!

*PR samples provided - all opinions are my own! 

7 comments :

  1. I absolutely love Lush in general, but their masks are some of their best products! Love Lettuce is my personal fave.
    I haven't tried Cup O' Coffee yet, but I think you just convinced me!!

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    1. oooh I really liked Love Lettuce - i think the blueberry one is my fav!

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  2. I've fallen in love with coffee & this sounds SO perfect! I love coffee scrubs!

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