LUSH Dark Angels Facial Cleanser Review

 

Hey everyone! Today I'm going to talk about the LUSH facial cleanser called Dark Angels. Can we first start off by appreciating how cool and mysterious the name Dark Angels sounds? Okay maybe it's not that cool but I still like the name! Anyways, I'm going to start off by saying this is the first LUSH facial product I've ever gotten for myself besides their Coalface which I only used a little bit because I had actually gotten it for my boyfriend. I've seen people on Youtube talk about this before so I was intrigued and wanted to try it out as part of my daily routine. If you don't know, my skin type is more on the dry-combination side. It's not so dry that it gets flaky or anything, but it's definitely not oily. However, I do get a little oily in my T-zone occasionally which is why I would classify myself on the combination side. My face tends to feel more tight and smooth rather than the sort of sticky, soft supple feeling that some other people have and I think that's just because my skin isn't as moisturized as that, but I prefer it like this so yea! Sorry if that's wasn't the greatest explanation but I just wanted to give a description of my skin type first because everyone has different skin types so one type of facial product may work differently with your skin - this is just my opinion and how it worked for me. Take it with a grain of salt and enjoy~!

 

On the website, the description claims:

"Black sugar and charcoal gently exfoliate and absorb excess oils to leave dull, oily or acne-prone skin feeling fresh and matte. Even oily skin can be sensitive, so we've made this one soft and soothing to calm redness and irritation, too. Its rhassoul mud base deep-cleanses to help prevent breakouts while vitamin rich cold-pressed organic avocado oil nourishes skin to leave it soft and lightly hydrated. Use all over for perfectly smooth, bright skin. An angel indeed!"

So what does that all mean? Basically it's good for oily skin and exfoliates, smooths, and brightens skin.

On their site, it's rated a 4.4 (but all of their products are like a 4+) and there's a lot of great reviews about it. Some of the pros mentioned in the reviews include it smelling good, controlling oil, exfoliating, and being good for acne-prone and oily skin. Some cons are that it can be messy and leave a dark-ish residue on those with fairer skin. As you can see below, it's a bit pricey, but all LUSH stuff is pricey so you gotta keep that in mind if you're considering shopping at LUSH in general.

Price: $31.95 for 8.4 oz.

Where to buy: LUSH website

Okay so enough of the boring information, let's get on with my personal experience. I don't mind that it comes in a tub and that you have to scoop out the product. I can see this being a little unsanitary and especially since there's no preservatives, I feel like dipping your hands in it multiple times might speed up the "going bad" process. I really don't know how you even know if you're cleanser goes bad but mine actually passed the "best used by" date last week or so, so I'm furiously trying to use it up. I did read that you can use it on your body as a body scrub and lots of the reviews mentioned people using it on their body as well as their face. If you're doing it like that, I can totally understand how you would use up the whole product, but for me, well I'm barely halfway done and I've had it for over 3 months. That being said, I don't use this product every day. I did initially use it both day and night to cleanse my skin but one day I noticed my skin had a ton of little scratches and I realized it was from the cleanser so I decided to cut down and only use it maybe once every one or two days. 

In my opinion, Dark Angels is more of an exfoliant to be used a few times a week, not daily as a cleanser. My skin is definitely not sensitive and it's pretty good at taking harsh products. For example, the St. Ives apricot scrub, my skin can take that daily nbd. I actually think that's less rough than Dark Angels. I know there's a lot of controversy about the St. Ives apricot scrub with people saying it's really bad for your skin and causes micro-scratches and tears your skin, but honestly, I don't get that. I like the way St. Ives makes my skin feel really clean and I don't feel like it's harsh at all. Dark Angels is made with black sugar to give it that exfoliating property and Rhassoul mud (charcoal I think) to absorb excess oil. Since my skin was never super oily to start with, I can't really say if Dark Angels controls my oil production or not. I guess it does but who knows. *shrugs* Many reviews talk about how it controls their oil so if you have oily skin, this could work for you. But back on the topic of sensitive skin - if you have sensitive skin, I don't think I would recommend this for you. Especially if you can't stand St. Ives apricot scrub. The black sugar component of Dark Angels makes it pretty rough in texture and after seeing those tiny scratches/red lines on my face, I don't think it's a good idea to press too hard when using that. But my problem is that if you don't press the cleanser into your face, it won't stick on your skin and will just drop off into the sink/shower/wherever you wash your face and dude, that's like 10 cents right there! (Lol oh the stingy side in me comes out). 

With regards to people commenting on the scrub being messy, I don't think it's that messy. Sure some bits drop off, but if you're careful, like me, you shouldn't have too much fall out and all you have to do is use water to wash it off the sides of the sink/wherever it dropped and it's gone. Not that big of a deal right? The instructions say to only grab a pea size amount and then rub it in your palms with some water. What I do is grab about a pea size amount using my knuckles. This is a trick I learned when I had gotten gel nails and lotion kept getting stuck underneath my nails (#thestrugglewasreal ;D). Using your knuckles to get out lotion or the cleanser is a great trick if you have longer nails or just want to be a little bit more sanitary (somehow I think it's better than using your fingers). Then I rub it in my damp/wettened palms and rub together onto my face. I don't always do this though. Sometimes, I take it off my knuckles and just directly place it on my "freshly-water-splashed" face and rub it in. I wash my face by holding my face above the sink (looking downward) and catching water with my two palms and splashing it up against my face. No not like those commercials where the water splashes against the models face and goes everywhere but yes I do cup the water in my palms and bring it up to my face. I then use my hands to rub off and of the excess product still clinging to my face (kind of necessary for any cleanser really). I repeat this until all the product is washed off. I'm telling you this because not everyone does this (which surprised me when I first found out) but I think it's one of the best ways to efficiently wash your face. 

Okay so all in all, I don't think I would repurchase this cleanser. I like it and I don't mind the smell but it's definitely on the pricier side and since it has an expiration/best-use-by date and I can't use it that often (or choose not to), I don't think it's the best product for me personally. I do think it'd make a great body scrub but it's also one that I feel like I could make on my own (oh the multitude of DIY sugar scrubs you can find online) for much cheaper. My body skin isn't oily either (who's is anyways?) so I don't know how good of a use it would be to use Dark Angels as a body scrub (seems like a waste of money but at the same time, if my cleanser is past the use-by date.. I might have to resort to using it up on my body). I think this is a great exfoliating product that should be used occasionally, especially if you have sensitive skin. Maybe you can try pressing with less force, but even then, I feel wary about recommending this to anyone who's skin is generally pretty sensitive. I would follow up with a good moisturizer (I use my aloe gel because that's just what I use everyday and I would HIGHLY recommend everyone and anyone to use aloe gel if you aren't already. Seriously the bomb for any type of skin). The cleanser can be a bit crumbly and strange if you're not used to using products out of a tub (plus unsanitary) which are a few cons I might bring up if you're considering purchasing Dark Angels. So I suppose that's it for my review on Dark Angels. It's not bad and if you want to try out a new cleanser or exfoliating product and have the money to spend, you can definitely try it out. Just make sure you have a friend who you can share it with or give it to if you don't like it or don't want to use it that often but need to finish it before the best-by date! 

What other LUSH products have you guys tried and what would you recommend? I love their Bath Bombs but can never get myself to buy one but let me know what you think is worth the splurge!

My Experience with Printerpix

If you have parents like mine who never seem to want anything other than "you getting good grades", you'll know that finding them gifts is always a struggle. However, two years ago, I saw a deal on Living Social (a site that offers deals or coupons which often allow you to buy a gift card for less than its value - ie. buy a $50 dollar gift card for a restaurant for only $10) for VistaPrint, a company that specializes in personalized printed items such as calendars, cups, mugs, shirts, etc. I ended up getting a calendar filled with family pictures for my parents and they absolutely loved it. Last year, I made a family book with pictures from our family trips all the way back in the 1990's when I was a kid and they loved that too. So this year, sticking with the whole family memories tradition, I decided to get another calendar for which I had seen a deal on Living Social from the company, Printerpix. Now I've always trusted that the sites Living Social offers deals to are legit and what not (trusted meaning I never even stopped to consider that the sites wouldn't be reputable because I always assumed like if Living Social is legit, their deals should be fine right?), but after some of the problems I had with Printerpix, I went online and on Yelp the company have an absolutely awful rating. However, I'm not going to completely bash Printerpix and I just want to give you my whole experience and honest opinion about them so hear me out if you will.

Knowing that Christmas time always gets busy, I decided to make the calendar ahead of time and placed my order on November 15th. I would have placed my order earlier but I had difficulties working with the calendar creating page and of course school got in the way. If I were to compare the online program/site to the one VistaPrint has for their calendars, I would definitely say VistaPrint is way better. The zoom function from Printerpix's program is super annoying and it often lags (no, this is not a problem with my computer!). Some of the positive things though are that it does have background designs for you to choose from, you can add in your own personal holidays (ie. birthdays) onto the calendar, there are stickers that you can add to decorate the calendar (though they can be a little tacky), and it lets you know if you picture quality isn't high enough to guarantee a clear image when printed. You can also upload pictures from multiple sources like Facebook, your computer, and other media sites. Once I completed my order, I received a confirmation email stating that my order had been received and that I would be sent another email with the tracking ID once it was shipped.

Now all that was done by November 15th. Fast forward to around the first week of December when I realize.. hm I still haven't gotten my calendar. I check my email - no email from them regarding shipment. I check the website - my order status says 0% .. what?! I call them and it takes a while to get through but finally I get connected with a customer service representative who informs me that my calendar has been shipped but the "website isn't updating for some reason" and gives me the tracking information. Now first off, if they know that the website isn't working, I think it would be nice if they sent out an email or at least informed their customers of this because it's quite concerning seeing that my order is at 0% when it's been almost over a month. Furthermore, I never received an email with the tracking information which I'm not sure if that's linked to the website issue or not but they DEFINITELY should let customers know then because then how are we supposed to know to expect our order and when to, right? Luckily for me, the customer representative that I was speaking to was very nice and helped me look up my tracking ID which they had sent via USPS and low and behold, for some reason it had arrived at location near/very close to my address but then somehow went off to the city next to it and then "departed the USPS facility" and just never was scanned again. So the Printerpix lady told me to contact the USPS to see if they could find out where it was and if they couldn't help me, to call back again and she would send me a new copy.

Getting a hold of the USPS was another long wait but I managed to talk to a customer service representative and he (supposedly) opened up a case for me to track my package and said someone would contact me within 48 hours but no one did so I contacted Printerpix again (by then it was the second week of December) and the person who I explained my situation too was great and helped send out a new order request for my calendar in no time. However, I forgot to ask them to change the shipping address because by the time it arrived, I would be back home for the holiday break and obviously wouldn't be able to give it to my parents then. Within a week (not sure why it took so long), I received an email with the tracking ID for my reprinted calendar and was able to track that over my winter holiday break at home. It arrived in about 5 business days (right on Christmas eve actually) but I wasn't able to retrieve it until January 4th when I came back to my college apartment. I was a bit displeased because I found my calendar shoved into our tiny apartment mailboxes when I expected it to be left outside our doorstep like most larger packages or in the office. The reason why it was even able to fit into the tiny 4" by 8" box was because the cardboard packaging was thin and flimsy and barely sturdier than the card-stock the calendar was made out of. I was super disappointed about this because after about 2 weeks of being shoved up in that tiny mailbox, my calendar was curled up almost permanently. Since then (so for about a week now), I have put my heavier textbooks/flat objects on top of it in hopes that it will flatten out with no permanent wrinkles or folds. I sent an email complaint to Printerpix and have yet to receive a response but am definitely upset and annoyed at the poor packaging. Although I may have paid for my calendar using a Living Social deal, the calendar normally costs $20 if I remember correctly (if not more) which completely does not justify such poor effort put into the packaging.

Regarding the calendar itself, I was also a little disappointed to find that it was double sided meaning that it goes to January to June I think and then you have to flip the calendar over and on the backside you go from July to December. I'm all for being eco friendly and all but something about that bothered me. I'm not sure if they list that in the calendar description on their webpage but I do feel just a little cheated/disappointed in the quality of the calendar. Nevertheless, one good aspect is that because it's a wall calendar (or at least the one I ordered), it comes with a hole at the top to pin it up and the wire that holds the pages together sort of bumps up in the middle so you could hang it on a pushpin/tack in the wall. I do wish they would give you the option of choosing a landscape or portrait calendar however because they only give you the portrait option for the wall calendar.

So overall my thoughts would be... no I do not recommend this company. I do appreciate the professional and friendly customer service because they did seem earnest in helping me out (as of late I've been having great experiences with customer service like with AT&T and the USPS, it's surprising but refreshing). The downsides are that I feel like this company has a lot of problems (on there webpage they have a specific link to direct you if you have complaints! Like if they actually have that.. I feel like they must get quite a lot of complaints) as my experience showed with their webpage, email miscommunication, shipping issues (though I suppose that might not be their fault, I don't feel like USPS is that reliable and would prefer another carrier), and also delay in email response. They say they'll get back to you within 24 hours but the multiple times I've emailed them, it has always taken more than 24 hours if not no response at all. At least I've gotten my calendar in the end, albeit after Christmas so I'll have to give it to my parents the next time I see them, but do be wary if you plan on purchasing any merchandise from this company. Let me know in the comments if you've had any experience with this company and if so, was it good or bad?!


Edit (2/26/15): I sent my complaint email about the condition I received my calendar in on January 5th. On January 27th, I received an apology from their customer service and an arrangement for another calendar to be sent to me. Now if this had been something more urgent or a present for someone other than my parents I definitely would have been a bit more upset at the super late response (3 weeks?! Really?!). But because I had managed to flatten out my calendar to a somewhat presentable state and given it to my parents, I wasn't too bothered. I would like to mention that even my mom thought the quality of the calendar was pretty bad in both the picture quality and just overall look/design/material. On February 16th, I received an email confirming the shipment of my order and received it on February 20th so at least I got the package in a decently timely manner. The packaging was still this pretty thin cardboard material but at least this time the mailman (or woman) left it on my doorstep and not crumpled up in the tiny PO boxes that apartment complexes have for normal mail (as it was for my first order).  I do appreciate PrinterPix shipping me another calendar and trying to make up for the poor condition I received my calendar in so points for that and I do think their customer service tries hard to make up for their companies faults, but I do not think that excuses the company for poor quality products.

A peek at my Frosty VoxBox from Influenster

 

 This winter season I was lucky enough to be chosen to be sent the Frosty VoxBox from Influenster! If you don't know what Influenster is, it's a review site/company that sends out boxes to members to try out different product brands. Each box contains different items and they all have special themes that you, as a member, can earn badges for which will allow you to be considered to be sent those items related to your interest. For example, for a makeup obsessed person like me, I have the Beauty Badge which qualifies me for consideration for makeup Influenster boxes. There's also fitness themed boxes, food themed, travel themed, and more! I would definitely check out Influenster if you're interested or post in the comments below and I can invite you (I think you need an invitation to join).

With that being said, let me share with you the products I received in my Frosty VoxBox!

One of the first things I noticed was the McCornick Gourmet bottle of thyme. I'm no professional chef but I do know that thyme is a super useful dried herb when it comes to cooking. I've used it to season lamb, mashed potatoes, and various other dishes so I was actually pretty excited to see this in my VoxBox. I recently used it for our family Christmas dinner to season our roasted vegetables and it was so good! McCormick is a brand I've grown up with and I think it's one of those "family brands" that have just been around for a while. The glass bottle packaging definitely makes this bottle look more classy and professional than their usual plastic ones. I definitely think I might pick up a few more herbs or dried seasonings from this "gourmet" line by McCormick.

There were two makeup products that came in my Frosty VoxBox. The Rimmel Scandal Eyes waterproof khol kajal liner and the NYC lipstick. Both I've actually been fortunate to have tried as I bought the pencil liner in the nude shade a while back. Everyone on Youtube was raving about how good it was and how it was a dupe for the Stila nude pencil that everyone always used on their waterliner so I thought I'd give it a try and I'm so glad I did. The liner is just the perfect amount of softness without being too soft like the Stila ones which sort of "mush" when you apply too much pressure and tend to smudge. The Rimmel liner is much better and it lasts all day with little to no smudging on my semi-oily eyelids. I don't own the liner in the black shade though so I'm really glad I got it! I'm a bit of an eyeliner junkie and I own more than enough black eyeliners but I always love to try new ones. If you want, I might post a review and comparison of all my favorite (and not so favorite) black pencil liners.

The NYC lipstick came in the shade Sugar Plum and is a beautiful mauve-y color. I previously received the same Expert Last Lip Color by NYC from another Influenster box but it was in a hot pink shade which was definitely a bit intimidating. This color, however, is much more wearable and perfect for the winter season. It's almost like a Kylie Jenner lip color which is that nude-mauve sort of lip color that everyone's been going crazy about. I wore this lip color the other day and found it a little drying but definitely lasting.

Another makeup/beauty related product I received was the Rimmel London makeup remover. I'm definitely happy that I got this in my box because I'm running low on my supply of the "free gift with purchase" makeup removers that I get from Clinque (my mom is a sucker for those deals and they almost always come with a travel size of their makeup remover which is SUPER good by the way and I would highly recommend). I have yet to try the makeup remover from Rimmel though but it's a good large sized bottle that I'm sure will last me for a good long while. I'll update you on my thoughts about the remover and how well it removes fake eyelashes and waterproof makeup!

No7 is a UK brand I believe but I've never actually tried anything from their line so I was a little excited to see a sample of their product in my box. It's a anti-aging serum so I might actually give it to my mom to try but at the same time, I feel like it's a bit hard to review a skincare product based on a small sample since I'm almost positive there is no topical treatment that will instantly cure your aging skin problems in a tiny sample packet. Nevertheless, still excited to see a brand I haven't had much exposure to in my box :)

If I haven't mentioned before, my sister is an absolute tea fanatic. She loves all things tea and tea parties and tea cakes and well anything tea related. She's even started collecting fancy vintage tea cups and been to some nice tea shops. Celestial Seasonings tea is a brand that we've both tried and actually their main company is located in Colorado where one of my cousins works. My cousin actually brought us back limited edition tea flavors that you can only get at the company in Colorado and the one she gave me for Christmas is called "Fast Lane" that apparently has a ton of caffeine for those sleepless college studying nights (not that I actually do that though.. haha). Anyways, just the name "Candy Cane Lane" got me excited and the fact that it's green tea is even better since I loveee green tea. I steeped the tea bag for about 2-3 minutes in a cup of hot water and let me tell you, it was SO good. The candy cane flavor isn't too strong or weird and it adds a nice burst of mint-iness.

Another exciting item I received was the Ecotools hairbrush. I haven't bought a new hair brush in a while so all of mine are getting pretty..well let's just say worn out so this was a long overdue and needed hair brush. The cool thing is that it's sort of rounded which is great for blow-drying hair and it has the nice rounded bristles at the top so it doesn't stab your scalp. I've been using it since I got it and it's great! I don't know if it's any less damaging then a normal hair brush but it doesn't seem to yank out my hairs as much as some of my other ones so maybe that counts haha. It does also seem to make my hair smoother after I shower and brush my hair.

Last but not least... CANDY! This was probably the thing that first caught my eye when I opened my VoxBox because I love anything sweet. I've never actually tried fruit vines though it's by the same brand that makes Red Vines. I opened these up the other day to share with my boyfriend and he loves anything strawberry flavored so he fell in love with them right away. They're gummy type of candies and are the perfect bite size. Plus they aren't too overly sweet and are low in fat if you're on a diet (though I suppose you shouldn't be eating too much candy anyways because of the sugar..). I think I like these better than the regular red vines and would recommend you try these out if you're into the firmer type of fruity gummy candies.

Anyways that's it for my Frosty VoxBox. I hope you guys enjoyed the mini review of everything and have a wonderful new year's eve/new year if I don't post anything before 2015~!





Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. However, all opinions are my honest and true thoughts!