Lush Dark Angels Review

I love Angels on Bare Skin so decided to try this. I was going through a really bad breakout and found out charcoal is amazing for your skin. When the paste was easy to make but the first thing that hit me when I put it on my face was the smell. Maybe they were going for a liquorice sort of scent but to me the first thing that came to mind is, "Oh my gosh it smells like gasoline!" as I scrubbed the black paste on my face I did detect a hint of mint but it the gasoline scent was still strongly there. The granules in the paste are definitely more coarse than Angels on Bare Skin. When my face was black and I rinsed it off only to find my skin was black marks on it and the charcoal was in every pore on my face. I took a gel cleanser and double cleansed my face and that cleaned the charcoal out of my pores. Looking at the ingredients it has Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate so unlike it's angelic counter part it isn't completely natural. The granules are also coarser so not something I would use daily, probably twice a week. It also leaves a mess over the sink. I'm a bit on the fence about whether I'm going to purchase this as I don't like the scent, it leaves my pores black unless I double cleanse, not completely natural compared to it's counterparts and it's not a daily cleanser. On the flip side it does get into your pores and so you know it does clean them out and while it wasn't something I recommend for every day it didn't leave my skin feeling dry either.

Previously I was using African black soap and it worked wonders for my oily acne proned skin; however, my kids always got into the soap and I didn't like the residue build up. Now that I have come across this amazing cleanser in a container that is made up of natural ingredients I can reap similar, yet better results than the black soap. At first I was skeptical of the gritty texture but a little goes a long way. I grab about a pea size and mix it with water and then apply and scrub gently to my skin every morning as I always wake up with oily skin. I then rinse and apply my Lush tea tree spray and an oil free moisturiser. The combination of using the tea tree spray and oil free moisturiser definitely compliments the benefits of dark angels cleanser. My skin feels clean and prepped for a smoother and cleaner application of makeup ;)

I love this stuff in Summer, as it is perfect to clean up my oily skin & remove the gross stuff!

One of it's downfalls is that it is very messy/ can leave stains on your skin. I use a Micellar Water after cleansing & it takes the stains away

I also found that this isn't something that I can massage into my skin for too long because it does get a wee bit rough

This product was great, and fun to use! Worked really well, however did get stuck up my nostrils for some reason (must have been hard at work scrubbing that area).

I popped into my nearest Lush, seeking out assistance from one of the most helpful sales assistants I have ever met, fully prepared to purchase something/anything if I thought my skin would benefit from it. So I asked for some help and was offered a free skin consultation, sampled a couple of scrubs and she offered free samples to try out to make sure my skin would benefit fully from them. I am so impressed by the service I received. I was given instructions to use this daily unless my skin started to feel too dry, and twice daily if I could manage it. It comes in a damp powdered form that you pinch and mix with water in the palm of your hand then apply to your face in a gentle massage. The first few times I used it I was a bit cautious as it it is very gritty/chunky but you should be gentle with this anyway as you do not want to be too abrasive. It smells smokey... like a chimney (I am putting that down to the charcoal), then when it is rinsed away there is a hint of lemon remaining. Make sure you wash it all away otherwise your pores and skin will be black/grey. So after using this super easy to use product for over a week my skin is majorly improved... hardly any blemishes and a lot less oily (and so soft). I still have some left in my generous sample tub and plan to purchase a full size next week when I go back into town. Even if I don't need to use it as often as daily it will still be put to good use as a weekly mask but I foresee this being a part of my daily routine for a while yet.

*there is enough product for 3+ weeks in a sample tub

This is a product that I only use at certain times of year; that is to say, the summer months. I get super oily in summer and find I need a bit more help keeping my skin clear. The Dark Angels cleanser, whilst initially terrifying (to me, anyway) really does help give the skin a thorough cleaning. I find you have to be very gentle when using it, as it can be a bit rough on the skin. Also, this is advertised as being for oily skin, but I would NOT go near this if your skin is dry or even if it is combination dry. It would feel really rough against the skin and overall might not be an enjoyable experience.

I love Lush products but this one is not at all one of my favourites. I found the charcoal to be too harsh on my skin and very very drying. I think it overpowered the other ingredients which are meant to moisturise and nourish the skin. I did find that it cleared up my skin and my skin was far from oily after using it. However, I would only recommend this product for very very oily skin and wouldn't recommend using it more than 3 times per week at the most because it seems to be so drying.

I just got a sample on advice from one of staff at Lush. With my Combo skin and oily T zone, i find it hard to look for products that suit me enough. Tried it three times in a week, but it broke me out. I thought may be its starting to purge and will clear in few more days or regular use..tried for another week. Oops bad luck..Not suitable for me. I think its for more of Normal to dry skin. I won't recommend to peeps with my kind of skin. Will think before i use it again. It did show clean skin in first two uses. But then i was disappointed..

My skin is oily/combo but I found this to be too rough for me. I like the idea that it's made of good ingredients and it also smells great - quite earthy. this may be suitable for a lot of people, just not for me. I had discussed with friends and the girl at Lush but I did end up finding it to be too harsh and it left my skin red, raw and sore. Definitely get a sample of it first.