Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, otherwise known as Lush, is a cosmetic company that specializes in bath products. They are best known for their bath bombs, but they have many more products that are for more than just baths. All of Lush’s products are environmentally friendly and good for the body. Lush is also an extremely philanthropic company. They give back to the environment, with containers that are 100 percent recycled, and they also are a large part in the fight against cosmetic testing on animals. Because of this, I use Lush for all of my bath products.

Over the last few years, I have been trying out many of the products Lush has to offer. I’ve come across some that I haven’t liked at all, some that are just okay, and some that I absolutely love. Whoosh Shower Jelly is one of my favorites. It’s shower gel, but in the form of a jelly. To use, pinch off a piece and lather into a loufa. Whoosh’s smell is the main thing that draws me to it. Its citrusy scent is made up of fresh lemon, lime, and grapefruit juice, along with rosemary oil and geranium oil. It is sure to wake your senses and get you ready for your day.

Another favorite is Outback Mate soap. This was one of the first products I ordered from Lush and probably was the one that hooked me. Its scent consists of lemongrass, peppermint, and eucalyptus. This soap also looks like the ocean, with shades of blue swirling together. My other go-to’s are Lush’s shampoo bars. Like the shower jelly, it’s just what it sounds like, solid shampoo. To use these, I lather them up and just scrub my hair, then shampoo and rinse like normal. The bars can last up to 80 washes, depending on the length of your hair. My favorite of the shampoo bars are the scents Jason and the Argan Oil and Honey I Washed My Hair, with Argan Oil and Fair Trade Honey making up the scents respectively. My last essential is the Pearl Massage Bar. This bar, and other massage bars, are made up of shea and cocoa butters that melt into the skin and leave it soft and shining. My favorite of these bars is Pearl, and it has exfoliating beads along with lots of argan oil. I’ve tried many other Lush products, and love most of them, but these are the ones I simply can’t live without.

Another factor that draws me to Lush is their philanthropy. For years they have spearheaded the campaign against cosmetic testing on animals, and they sell products where the proceeds go back to that cause. They also have a product called Charity Pot, which is a lotion where 100 percent of the profits go to the grassroot organization listed on the top of the container. During the Lush Summit earlier this year, Lush launched a campaign for transgender rights. They also use fair trade ingredients.

Lush also is very environmentally conscious. All of their pots, bottles, and plastics are 100 percent recycled and can be recycled more than one. They also wrap some products in compostable plastic. When they ship items, they use packing peanuts that dissolve in water and provide ideas on how to reuse the containers and instructions on recycling them. One of my favorites about their recycling is their program that lets customers bring in five of their clean, used pots to a store in exchange for a free Fresh Face Mask.

The only downside to Lush is their price. The products can tend to be pretty expensive compared to typical bath products. I usually will save some money in order to buy my products, or wait for Christmas or my birthday to ask for a gift card and stock up for a few months. But I do understand why the price is higher; they are a company that uses fresh, real, and sustainable products, along with environmentally sound production.