We’re so lucky in Cardiff, we have a massive new Lush Cosmetics store. It’s huge and it’s the only place in Britain where you can get the whole Lush Makeup range- called Emotional Briliance. I got the lovely Lush lady to literally paint it all on my arms so that I bring you all the swatches and my top picks.

I was really surprised by the selection, so many beautiful bright colours and unusual textures. All Lush makeup is vegan, cruelty free,  and the ingredients lists are heavy on natural nourishing oils and waxes. Lush try and use natural pigments where possible and steer clear of potentially toxic additives. If you want to read more on Lush’s ethics check the Lush website While this is good to know, I don’t really want to be buying makeup that isn’t going look good or last because the manufacturer has avoided all synthetic chemicals. I gave Lush’s Emotional Brilliance a good examine in the shop and bought a few items for a thorough road test. Here is what I found-

Lush Cosmetics Emotional Brilliance Makeup Range Review and Top Picks

I had a lovely time at the Lush shop. That’s one thing I do enjoy, it’s friendly customer service. I will spend a good deal more money if people are nice to me. At the end of my visit to Lush I spent way more money than I’d intended to and I wanted to take the shop girl out for a pint. (Take note MAC, the mega bitch vibe I get in your stores is a deal breaker). I was really impressed with Lush’s makeup, they aren’t playing safe with their colours and there were so many different interesting formulations.

• Lush Makeup Top Pick- Eye Jewels £10–

  

  These are only available exclusively in store at Cardiff and Oxford street, you can’t even get them online. . They are solid blocks of creamy and bold eye shadow. The colours are stunning and they’re really blendable.

  

• Lush Makeup Top Pick- Liquid Eyeliner £14.50- Yet again I’m impressed with the colours. There’s indigo, violet, silver, gold, blue and an interesting grass green colour (called Healthy).

  

  The packaging is dead sweet, little dropper bottles and a stubby brush.

  

  I came away from Lush with a liquid eyeliner in shade Control. It’s short brush is little tricky to manoeuvre, but you can always use a separate eyeliner brush. The colour is vivid and bright. I’ve found it lasts well despite my oily lids, giving a whole day of wear.

• Lush Makeup Top Pick- Noir Brow Pomade £10–

  

  Noir is a silky dark dark brown pomade which has a little gloss to it. Noir brow pomade in action-

  

  I like it because it is subtle, it’s a bit sheer which means it’s easy to keep my brows natural but I can build it up where I need it. It lasts well into the evening. It’s just a shame that Lush only does this one shade in the pomade (they do some other shades in crayon form, but I didn’t like the look of them.

• Lush Makeup Top Pick- Eye Powders £10-

  

  Another dazzling array of sparkly loveliness. Lush’s eye powders come in cute glass vials and are a good buy because of their versatility. You can use them as you normally would an eyeshadow by picking up with a brush and blending dry. Or you could add some moisture to intensify the colour. You could also use some of the shades as a highlighter.

  

• Lush Makeup Top Pick- Magical Moringa Primer £24.95-

  

  This isn’t exactly makeup I know but it’s definitely worth a mention. Magical Moringa is corn starch in a base of nourishing shea butter, argan oil, rosehip oil and moringa oil. It has the most unique texture and is somehow deeply moisturising and mattifying at the same time. You need just the tiniest amount to create a long lasting matte base for foundation, it starts as an oil but blends to a powder . This is surprisingly totally suitable for oily skin. It’s a little expensive, so you might want to try a sample before you buy to check it suits your skin.

• Lush Makeup Top Pick- Shades of… Lip Block £20- 

  

    I liked the look of so many of Lush’s lip products. I could have spent a fortune. Particularly interesting were the Lip Blocks. They come in Shades of Pink, Red and Nude and are a blend of waxes and pigment. I love that you can use the blocks to blend your own lip colour, these would be great for creating an ombré effect.

Unexpectedly, Lush’s Emotional Intelligence makeup range has really impressed me. There were so many things I could have bought- the loose powder- Emotional Brilliance looked really lovely, there was also a lip tint- Bamboozled housed in a piece of bamboo, I could have spent a fortune. The Cardiff and Oxford St Lush stores are well worth a visit, if you’re in the vicinity, to see the full range. What are your Lush makeup top picks?