Review: Grease Lightning Spot Treatment, Lush Products.

Since graduating from High School in June and leaving my job in July, I have had far too much time on my hands. Being able to do what I want when I want – for the most part – has left me slacking in the beauty department. A lack of routine, I have realised, can make it far too easy to become lazy in your beauty regime – even if it makes absolutely no sense, when you have all the time in the world!

When I stumble into my house at one in the morning after a night out with friends, the last thing that I want to do is take off my heavy load of makeup, let alone get through the vast effort of cleansing, toning, using serum and trying to work out whether I’m using day cream or night cream after too many cocktails. The sheer amount of fast food, takeaways and chocolate I’ve been consuming with my boyfriend lately probably hasn't helped. Every time that I swear to stay inside and have a self-love day, complete with an hour long bath, scented candles, face masks and a manicure, someone always wants to do something – and I find myself in town eating Chinese food and resisting the urge to spend money I haven't got. Not that I’m complaining. I love my friends, and I love getting out of the house; but a combination of University-based stress and bad habits has resulted in heavy repercussions for my face.

I've always had problem skin. Unusually sensitive and dry, it also has the perhaps more common habit of breaking out during certain weeks of the month - or when my skin fancies protesting what I'm putting into my body. The result? Red spots popping up on my cheeks. It’s hard to feel glamorous when you’re constantly conscious of whether people are noticing the red sores on your face when you’re going out. Of course, my solution was always to pile concealer over the problem areas and then layer foundation over my face until I felt more confident. However, that in itself was not the best of ideas for my skin and the unhealthy habits became cyclical. After a while in this rut, I decided it was time to try for a change.

I've never really been the type to turn to spot treatments before. Instead, I’ve been known to make ill-advised attempts to rid myself of spots by popping them, leaving them more noticeable than ever as they scab over and risking infection or leaving scars. Upon deciding to make a change, I went to my local Lush shop and told them some of the problems I was having with my skin. Staff offered me a free tester of their new product, a Spot Treatment called Grease Lightning. Described in the Lush catalogue as 'a herbal super-gel with tea tree and fresh grape juice to clear and calm the skin', some of the treatment's notable ingredients include Fair Trade Organic Aloe Vera Gel, Lavender Oil and Witch Hazel Extract - all renowned for their soothing qualities. I was advised to dab the treatment on to the spot with a clean finger, ideally before it got too large. I didn’t have to wait too long for an opportunity to test the treatment, unfortunately.

My first immediate reaction to Grease Lightning was the fresh smell of the treatment; that was definitely encouraging. Upon my first application of the product, it honestly didn’t feel like anything was happening to my skin. I was expecting at least a slight tingling effect, but that did not come. I kept applying and reapplying, worrying that I hadn’t put enough on. I’m not ashamed to admit that I wrote it off for a few hours, but by the end of the first day – having applied the product twice – the spot had undeniably started to feel better. At the end of the second day of using the treatment, my spot size has definitely reduced. Whilst the spot hasn’t disappeared, it’s not uncomfortable anymore on my skin as the ingredients have successfully managed to soothe the skin, make the spot smaller and decreasing redness. My spots are now easy to cover up with makeup, making me feeling more confident and at ease. The skin on my face feels so soothed that I am not tempted to touch it – which of course creates even better results for skin, as everyone knows that it is the ultimate beauty sin to touch your face.

The only issue that I really had with the product was that I was told to apply it with my fingers. Even though I made sure that my hands were thoroughly clean, washing them with soap and then using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, I still feel slightly uncomfortable with the idea of using my fingers to apply a Spot Treatment when touching your face, as I said before, is one of the worst things you can do for your skin. I followed staff instructions – and yes, the treatment worked – but next time I would rather apply Grease Lightning with a cotton swab for hygiene reasons.

Unfortunately, as one spot went down due to the treatment, another started to emerge. I used Grease Lightning again, but at £6.25 a pop for 45g maybe I should focus on changing bad habits and sticking to a skin regime, rather than forking out all that money at a time. If you have the money, however, and the problem skin, then I would definitely consider Grease Lightning as a solution. Why not pop into your local Lush and ask for a free sample to test if it works with your skin type? I’m sure that the friendly staff would be more than happy to help, as they were with me.
 

Overall I’d rate Grease Lightening as 4/5. It was costly and also took time to work – but when it did start to work, the natural ingredients were highly effective.

Tried Grease Lightning yourself? Let me know how it went for you. Prefer some other spot treatments, or have any home remedies? I'd love to hear about them. Share your comments below.

Have a great day, and remember to think positively.

Lots of love, Georgie Rose :) xx