Review: LUSH Banana Skin Naked Facial Oil

Every year like clockwork, as soon as October starts to creep around the corner, something horrible happens to my skin. As the days get colder, my usual slightly-oily, peachy and (dare I say) supple skin becomes tight, dry and rubbery, flaking on my chin and the tops of my cheeks. It’s an absolute nightmare, and one that has only got worse since I started working in air-conditioned environments.

However, miracle of miracles, I don’t think I’ll be having that problem this year. All thanks to a tiny product I bought on a whim at the LUSH Showcase – the Banana Skin solid facial oil.

Being one of four naked facial oils available at the Showcase, Banana Skin was the only one I bought. So why did I pick it over the others?

To put it simply, the delicious scent that this product gave off drew me to it straight away over all the others. Banana Skin contains a gorgeous blend of fresh bananas, apricot oil, mango butter, cupuaçu butter and murumuru butter, which all work in harmony to create the most scrumptious banana and coconut scented product. (Despite not actually containing any coconut, it’s 100% there in the scent for me!)

I knew as soon as I put it in my basket that I couldn’t wait to get it on my face, and it was the first product from my haul that I tried the night after getting home. Usually when I buy products on a whim without any research I tend to feel a little guilty and unsure, but somehow I felt like I’d made a good blind buy right from the start.

Thankfully, I wasn’t wrong. Waiting outside in cold for an hour to get into the Showcase (more on that balls-up soon) had left my skin chapped and a little sore. Sliding that buttery bar of banana goodness all over my face felt like absolute heaven, it was so cooling and I instantly felt reviving my dried skin.

You can apply the naked facial oils in two ways, either melting a little onto your fingers and massaging it in with your fingertips, or by sliding the bar directly onto the skin like I did. I initially tried to melt a little between my hands, but it felt too messy and made my palms itch, so I opted for the direct-to-skin approach instead.

I have used the Banana Skin solid facial oil twice now, with slightly different results each time. The first time I used Banana Skin it was at night, after cleansing and scrubbing my face. The oil sunk beautifully into my skin overnight, feeling soft, hydrated and without any hint of oil left in the morning. I think this was as I’d prepped my skin first, then left it overnight to work its magic.

The second time I used Banana Skin was in the morning. I didn’t have time to properly cleanse and apply any foundation or other makeup, so I slid a little bit of the naked oil over my skin and the results were amazing. It gave me a fresh, dewy glow that lasted all day, and the oil sat like a barrier on the top of my skin, protecting it from the air conditioning in my office. As I mentioned previously, I usually have quite oily skin, and yet even with the layer of serum on top I didn’t feel greasy or uncomfortable at all. Only hydrated and plumped, which was such a lovely feeling.

Storing the bar is proving a little bit of a problem. It’s too long to fit in a round shampoo tin or my new cork pot, so I’m currently keeping it in the paper bag it was wrapped in at the till. I feel like they should have placed it in greaseproof paper first, as there is a danger of melting when stored this way, so I’m going to wrap it properly as soon as I can.

Overall, I love this product so much that I wished I had purchased a second bar from the Showcase to keep in reserve, until I found out the absolute best part – all of the naked skincare goodies will be launching in #LushLabs on Saturday! The naked facial oils are all solid, vegan and self preserving, and I’m 100% going to purchase another one.

Did you buy any of the exclusive skincare products from the Showcase?

What did you think to them?