Spotlight: Lush Cosmetics & Strawberry Hedgehog
Written By Shreya Wadkar
Let’s talk organic. Let’s talk natural. Let’s talk handmade. Now let’s talk about all of these qualities and more in skin care and cosmetics. Every beauty pageant contestant wants glowing and healthy skin, especially when she’s up close with the judges answering interview questions, of course. And we can all agree that our skin needs and deserves the best kind of nourishment, and sometimes natural and organic is the best way to go. With these brands, you’ll know exactly what goes into the products you use on your face and body.
LUSH COSMETICS:
Lush has been a personal favorite of mine for quite a while. Lush has a philosophy of buying ingredients ethically, involvement in charity work, environmentally friendly production and packaging, fighting animal testing, and making handmade, fresh beauty products that are great for your hair, skin, and conscience. From their colorful and fragrant bath bombs and bubble bars to their solid shampoos and fresh face masks, it’s hard not to be enticed. But the quality is what’s really amazing.
Personally, I love their bath bombs, which fizz and create a colorful, aromatic, and moisturizing bath experience to really pamper yourself. My favorites are Phoenix Rising, a warm apple cinnamon-scented one, and Honey Bee, a light honey-scented one, which can be seen in the photo below, along with a few of the other bath bombs offered at Lush.
They also have a great selection of face masks that work for all different skin types. I love their Mask of Magnanimity, which is great for all skin types, and Cupcake, which looks and smells like chocolate and is for oily skin. Both are hydrating and make your face feel nice and loved. You can see the “Cupcake” mask along with all of the other fresh masks that Lush offers in the beautiful display below.
Next, I have to mention their Charity Pot body lotion, which feels amazing as a daily moisturizer for your body. A great bonus to that product is that all proceeds go to charity!
Last but not least, let’s talk about their soaps, which are all super colorful and smell incredible. A lot of them contain pieces of fruit, oatmeal, herbs, or seaweed to exfoliate your skin as you use them. One of their most popular soaps is a honey-scented one Honey I Washed the Kids. Another one that I love is the exfoliating Sea Vegetable, which can be seen below along with several more Lush soaps.
Now, the variety of products that they offer goes way beyond the few that I highlighted above, so I definitely recommend checking out their website to see more!
STRAWBERRY HEDGEHOG:
Another great brand to look out for is this local Arizona company (don’t worry, they ship!). Not only are all of their products handmade, but they are also vegan, free of preservatives, and full of high-quality ingredients so you know your skin will be in good hands with these products.
All of their soaps are plant-based and organic and gentle on your skin. A few soaps to note are the Patchouli Orange, Blueberry Lavender, and the Tea Tree Rosemary, which is a facial cleanser. They also have a “soap club” where you can subscribe to receive either one or three luxurious soaps every month if you’re interested in trying out a few different ones.
They also offer great skincare products like Organic Shea Butter to deeply moisturize dry skin and a Raw Sugar Scrub to exfoliate and smooth skin, both of which are packaged in adorable vintage jars.
Their facial care line includes Balancing Facial Toner for your pores, Blemish Treatment to combat acne, and Hydrating Mist to keep your face feeling refreshed throughout the day.
This is definitely a brand to look into. It’s unique, all-natural, and high quality! Check out their website: http://strawberryhedgehog.com.
The fact that both of these companies go beyond beauty and support charities, the environment, fair trade, vegan and vegetarian ingredients might dovetail nicely with some pageant girls’ belief systems or platforms that pertain to helping the environment or healthy living.
If you’ve shopped at Lush or Strawberry Hedgehog before, let us know which products are your favorites!
