Review: Lush Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter

If I had a dime for every rave I've heard about Lush Lemony Flutter, I'd certainly have at least 20 bucks in my pocket by now. It seems to be a product that many Lush fanatics say is a must-have, so when Mr. G was in Hawaii a while back, I ask him to pick this up for me (he also picked up It's Raining Men shower gel which I adore, and a lip scrub which I will review soon). 

It's sad that whenever Mr. G is in Hawaii the first thing I think of is, "Oooh, what would I like from Lush?" I wish there was a Lush in San Diego because I've never actually been inside a physical Lush store! I know there's one in Santa Monica, but whenever we're in LA I've always got a 1,000 things to do and I never remember to pop in. Anyway, on to the review:

 Lush Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter

(retail: $14.95, 1.5 oz)

Let's get the obvious out the way: $14.95 for a 1.5 oz jar of cuticle butter is insanely expensive (well, to me it is, and I'm guessing you'd agree). But the good thing is that you only need a TINY bit for all ten cuticles. And when I say a tiny amount, I really mean it.

I took this photo after using Lemony Flutter over a dozen times:

 

 You truly only need a very small amount for all ten fingers. Here is an enlarged photo of the amount I need to get the job done on all of my cuticles (this is my index finger) :

 

 The consistency of this butter is, well, like butter. The best way I can describe it is like this: imagine taking a stick of butter that's been at room temperature for about 10 minutes and swiping it with your finger. That's roughly the equivalent of how firm and thick this butter is to me. And it spreads like butter as well--very easy to work into your cuticles once it mixes with the warmth of your skin. It's decadent to use, and at first you think it's going to be extremely greasy, but as you work it in, it becomes less and less greasy until your hands just feels very smooth. It does leave a nice, protective coating behind, but it's not greasy if you spend some time working it into your skin.

 I always love seeing who made my product. Thanks, Nic!

 Looking at the ingredients, you can see that this butter is packed with all sorts of great natural oils and butters. 

So what about the fragrance, right? Well, I guess I had been hearing for so long how this stuff smells amazing, so I was really expecting to love it. I'm a HUGE lemon fan (perfumes, lotions, body washes, candy, car fresheners, candles, you name it, I own it) but this one? Not so much.

Upon first whiff, it does smell amazing. It's got a tart, but very creamy, lemon scent to it. But once I start working it into my skin and I smell my hands, the citronella REALLY comes through and then the whole thing starts to take on a medicinal quality to me. Eventually, the dry-down kind of reminds me of  old school Desitin diaper cream, if you know what that smells like. It's a scent-memory that hasn't been triggered in me for a LONG time, so in that respect it's wonderful to be reminded of when my baby brother, who's now in his 30s, was a baby. So for nostalgic purposes, I guess I kind of enjoy it. But do I want to be reminded of diaper cream every time I'm moisturizing my cuticles? Maybe not.

(FYI, I just looked at the reviews on the Lush site, and some people say this smells like motor oil. I'm glad I get diaper cream and not motor oil from this fragrance, but it is good to know I'm not alone in thinking this butter smells a bit off.)

As for the performance of Lemony Flutter, I very much enjoy how this butter seems to instantly make my dry, icky cuticles look soft and supple. But after using it for several weeks now, I can't say that my cuticles have been transformed. For me, this product is more of a quick fix that I need to use pretty consistently in order to maintain soft, supple cuticles. I've found that if I skip using this for a few days, my cuticles are pretty much back to their original state. I was truly hoping to see a marked improvement in my cuticles after using this consistently for several weeks, but I recently went three days without using it and I found that my cuticles looked exactly the way they were before I owned this product.

I know that so many of you love this product, and I really, really wanted to adore it too. But sadly, it's just not a love-match for me. I'll keep it in my hand cream rotation for sure, but it's just not something I get excited to use on a nightly basis. And that really bums me out because, like I said before, I LOVE lemon and I love butters. On paper, this should be a match made in heaven for me.

Are you one of the thousands who swear by Lush Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter? Please let me know why you love it and how you use it. Maybe I'm doing something wrong here.