Lush Product Review – ‘Charity Pot’ Hand & Body Lotion

Last week I wrote an overview of some new ‘Lush’ products I had purchased. You can read my overview, and more about the company and its ‘cruelty free’ and natural ethos, here.

I mentioned that I would follow up with reviews of the individual products. I have now sampled all of them, so I will begin with a review of the ‘Charity Pot’, as pictured below, on the right (the tub of cream with the hedgehog lid).

I chose this product after speaking with a shop assistant. After searching their website, I had initially thought of buying the Lush ‘Lemony Flutter’ cuticle butter. I had thought that it may be able to double up as a hand / body lotion, and was keen to try it especially because of the lemony, citrusy scent which I personally like. However, when I asked about this in the shop, the lady told me that because of the texture and consistency (it was quite thick and a bit coarser than a body cream or lotion would be), it probably wouldn’t be suitable to be used in that way. She did allow me to try it and showed me how to rub it into the cuticles, but thankfully I had asked about it before just buying it as it wasn’t really suitable for what I was looking for.

I asked about hand and body lotions or creams and in particular something that would be helpful for eczema. She said that the most suitable product was the ‘Dream Cream’, particular beneficial in treating eczema due to the oatmeal content. Another cream was the ‘Charity Pot’. I tried both of the creams, and chose the Charity Pot over the Dream Cream for a couple of reasons. Firstly it really appealed to me because of its scent, which is quite light, bright, sweet and soothing, and it felt a bit softer when applied. The Dream Cream, although lovely on the skin, did not have much of a scent or at least not one that particularly appealed to my personal tastes. The other motivating factor was the price. The Dream Cream was sold in a medium and large size at the price of £6.95 (100g) and £13.50 (240g) respectively. This seemed a little on the pricey side for me, so I opted for the Charity Pot.

Here’s what Lush says on its website about its rather appealing charity pot:

“Charity Pot is a hand and body lotion with a difference. 100% of the proceeds (minus sales tax, which goes to the government) are donated to independent, grassroots charities that support human rights, animal welfare and environmental protection. At the same time, you enjoy softer, hydrated skin (it’s a win win!)”.

Being a Charity Pot there is the additional option of buying a smaller sized tub of 45g, selling at £3.50, so this is what I decided to go for. There is also an even smaller 10g trial size tub which sells at just £1.00.

So, what did I think?

I must say, I’m a big fan of this little Charity Pot for the reasons explored above. However, I did find a couple of downsides. I’ll start first by sharing what I liked about the Charity Pot, and then explain what I didn’t like so much.

First of all, for a Lush product, I think the price is great and I like the additional option of a smaller tub size, especially if you are trying something out for the first time and want to test whether you like it or your whether it agrees with your skin or not (however, Lush also offers smaller free samples if you ask), or if you are buying it for a friend to try.

The cream is lovely, light, gentle with a nice fragrance and is easily absorbed by the skin. It smells lovely, and is soothing and I felt that it was helping my skin to settle, heal and repair itself as well as relieving itchiness and dryness.

In terms of ingredients, the Charity Pot contains 22 ingredients, including Fairtrade shea butter to nourish and hydrate the skin, rosewood oil which has antiseptic properties, moringa oil and ylang ylang oil. I will include a full list of ingredients at the end of this post.

Overall it felt lovely to apply this cream to my skin, and I did notice a significant improvement in the skin on my hands which had been quite aggravated previously. However, the skin on one of my fingers later became a bit ‘flared’ up but I can’t necessarily conclude that this was because of the product. I did use it on my face as well, and it has been gentle and soothing and hasn’t caused me any problems there.

Another positive thing is the little tubs that this cream comes in are very sturdy, in a nice mat black with a screw top lid. I can already see a use for mine for storing jewellery in.

Which leads me to the main downside….I don’t have to wait long to be able to use it for another purpose. Although I need to hydrate my skin very regularly due to having eczema, this is not the main reason that it hasn’t lasted long – the cream tends to evaporate quite quickly even in a tub with a screw top lid. I don’t think there’s any real way of getting around this, and I would say for me this was the biggest downside. I bought the Charity Pot last Friday, and it is Thursday now. I have literally the tiniest drop left which won’t last me beyond tonight or tomorrow morning, which is a real shame. However, I am glad that I bought a smaller size tub, and for £3.50 I can’t really complain as these days this is the average price for a sandwich or a coffee in some places, so all in all I am quite pleased.

Would I buy the Charity Pot again?

Yes! Definitely. I love it, it smells lovely and is soft and kind on the skin and feels great when applied. I would probably still go for the small size and remind myself that although it doesn’t last that long, it is a happy experience for my skin, I have a cute little recyclable tub at the end of it that I can use for storing small craft items or jewellery, and most of all, the money from the sale of Charity Pots goes to a good cause.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this review. If you have any thoughts you’d like to share on Lush or other cruelty free products, please comment below. And as promised, here’s a list of the ingredients, and a link to the website

https://uk.lush.com/products/charity-pot-0:

List of ingredients