Emzymion Skin Cream

Lush is a weird phenomenon: it's this line of fresh, handmade skin products that have a cult following. It started in either Canada or England (I know, I know, they are two very different places, but I know it began in one of them) and spread to all the English speaking countries, and then some. Apparently they are the originators of the round fizzy bath bomb and everyone else who makes one copied Lush.

I avoided Lush for a long time because the shops are so fragrant you can smell them down the street. But taken individually, the stuff smells amazing, works amazingly well, and is so fresh it expires. The combination of these two products, "Enzymion" skin lotion, which has papaya enzymes, and is designed for oily skin, and "Enchanted Eye Cream", which I dab around my eyes and onto my eyelids, has turned out to work really well for me. I rarely even apply foundation any more, because my skin look so freaking good. I used to get a little oily by midday and now I don't. Also, my makeup lasts longer and I reapply blush and powder less often. I'm like some preserved wax museum creature now. My skin is all even and smooth, I don't have dark circles under my eyes, and my makeup doesn't disappear.

My favorite Lush stuff (other than the aforementioned):
Honey Bee bath ballistic, Honey I Washed the Kids soap, Snowcake soap (smells like almond extract), Sonic Death Monkey shower gel (smells like chocolate, coffee and tobacco. Weird, but great), Butterball bath ballistic, Twinkle bath ballistic, and Skin Sin body lotion.

As bad as my retail shopping experiences are at places like Macy's and the MAC cosmetics pro store, they are inversely great at the LUSH store on Union Street in San Francisco. The store is staffed by zany women who talk really slowly (I think they get high from all the stuff they're smelling all day) and who are very sensual. "Feeeelllll this...." they purr, offering a wooden posicle stick that's been coated in some kind of lush goo. "Smellllll this.... mmmm..." they moan, proffering some open bottle or a bath bomb. It's like walking into some kind of soft core porn movie. It's really fun!

PS The background is the Wonders of America commemortive postage stamp sheet, available at your local US Post Office.
They're one of the few stamps I really like right now.