One lucky shopping day in Vancouver, BC, Canada, I entered a great-looking store called LUSH. I never wanted to leave! (No, they don't serve cocktails!) LUSH makes the most wonderful soaps, lotions, potions, bath "bombs" and fresh facial masks, which they display in such tempting ways you'll want them all!

In the quest for the perfect moisturizer for my oily, aging skin, I recently tried LUSH's Enzymion cream/gel ($23.95 US, 45g). Enzymion's ingredients read more like a meal than a skincare product; it's packed with lemon, aloe vera, cocoa butter, and vitamin E, as well as papaya, primrose, wheatgerm, olive and avocado oils. The aroma is fresh and light – fantastic! I absolutely love patting Enzymion on my face. More importantly, Enzymion is a great moisturizer because it doesn't make my face an oil slick like most others do. LUSH claims Enzymion has a tightening, brightening effect on the skin and moisturizes while matte-ifying - quite a list. I'm not sure about the brightening, but I've used Enzymion for about 3 weeks and I plan to keep using it. In addition to balancing my skin, this product provides a nice, smooth base for under foundation. These days we're all looking for anti-oxidants in our food and cosmetics, and LUSH gives us lots of them in combination with aloe vera and evening primrose's soothing/healing properties that balance any irritation caused by the fruit ingredients. Enzymion isn't recommended for sensitive skin because of the fruit ingredients, but my skin isn't sensitive so I had no problems.

If your skin (like mine) resembles an Oklahoma oilfield, give Enzymion a try. LUSH is based in the UK and finding a LUSH store is easy if you are in any part of the world EXCEPT the USA. For some reason LUSH hasn't found its way into the US, although by now their San Francisco store may be open. So if you can't get to the stores, most LUSH products are available online with the notable and understandable exception of their fresh facial masks (Try these!! Wonderful!) The UK site is Lush.co.uk and the Canadian site – which can be hard to load – is LushCanada.com.

review: 12/02