Alkmaar Soap

Much like the Whoosh Temple Balm, this is a product that I had to do a little research on before buying myself a slice online. The reason for this was because when this soap made an appearance in one of the retro rounds in 2013, it was not advertised as being vegan, yet there was nothing obvious in the ingredients list that warranted it not to be. Although I am still unsure about whether or not it is suitable, I have seen it advertised as so on many other websites I have visited so until I find out otherwise, I will just assume that it is. 

Alkmaar Soap is one of those Lush products that gets overlooked a lot - even I wasn't initially enamoured with it when it first appeared online. The reason for this is obvious - much like 17 Cherry Tree Lane, it's as boring as a piece of soap can get. 

However, some of the least attractive cosmetics have become some of my all-time favourite products; just like some of the most beautiful items have given me some of the most disappointing experiences. I wasn't going to judge the soap's merits by it's appearance.

Sharing it's scent with the Silky Underwear family, you'll find this fragrance in Lush's popular but now discontinued Fairy Jasmine Ballistic and Turbo Bubble Bar. If you enjoy this smell, you can still purchase the Silky Underwear Dusting Powder, which is a regular member of the range.

Described by Lush as a 'sensually scented' soap, Alkmaar gives off a subtle but complex combination of jasmine, vetivert and honeysuckle - a wonderful feminine aroma that offers floral fans a beautifully unique fragrance. Fans of jasmine will appreciate the heady aroma that this ingredient gives to the soap - it's definitely the most dominating smell here. 

In the shower, the soap is fairly easy to foam up - producing a thick and creamy lather that spreads easily over the skin. Unlike other Lush soaps, the scent of this one doesn't intensify under running water - yet at the same time, it doesn't disperse at all, so you can enjoy the fragrance throughout the entire experience.                                                                         As it's such a subtle smell, this one may linger on your skin but it's too weak to notice. Despite this, I could still detect a gentle presence of Alkmaar in the bathroom for a few hours after use, which was lovely. 

Unfortunately, I did find that this soap left my skin very slightly dry - nothing that would be a major problem but I definitely had to moisturise after use otherwise I would have developed dry patches across my body. 

Alkmaar is a rather sturdy soap which means that it will last a very long time. A 100g block lasted me a little over two months, which I consider to be great value for money for a piece of that size. I wouldn't use this again in place of a shower gel, but I think this would make a good hand soap and I would be tempted to buy myself a couple of pieces next time it makes an appearance. 

Overall, this is a lovely soap. It has a beautiful classy and rather elegant fragrance that adds a special touch to your shower. However, it didn't work with my skin as well as other Lush soaps have done in the past. I would love to see this made into a shower gel or jelly as these formats are much more appealing to me and would allow me to appreciate the scent.

Quantitative Ingredients: Honeysuckle Infusion (Lonicera caprifolium), Amaranth Infusion (Amaranthus hypochondriacus), Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Stearate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Titanium Dioxide, Perfume, Glycerine, Jasmine Absolute (Jasminum officinale), Vetivert Oil (Vetiveria zizanoides), Styrax Resinoid (Storax), Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Editronate.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Strawberry Boat Fresh Smoothie

If I'm going to be honest, I don't think Lush have yet to perfect the strawberry fragrance. While their use of the fruit in the American Cream, Yummy Yummy Yummy and Strawberry Twin Tub scents have yielded incredibly sexy variations, nothing has yet to come close to the fresh, non-synthetic beauty that is the natural strawberry aroma. 

Strawberry Boat Smoothie was supposed to be the product that blew my theory out of the water. While it didn't achieve this, it did offer me another strawberry-scented product that I could enjoy - one extracted from the Lush vaults of the late 1990s. 

This smoothie was originally designed to scrub, exfoliate and smoothen out lines, creases and the wobbly bits on your body - which is why the product doesn't specifically detail where you should apply this. For this reason, I have used this on both my body and my face, and have yielded great results from both experiments. 

Packed full of strawberries, this magical fruit is rich in antioxidants and minerals which add vibrancy to your skin and leaves it feeling clean, clear and refreshed. This is combined with both fresh ginger root and ginger oil which not only add to the overall smell of the product and gives it a slightly spicy fragrance, but also supports circulation around the body and makes you feel warmer and more relaxed.

Strawberry Boat Fresh Smoothie smells a little like strawberry greek yoghurt - it has a slight sourness to it that I pick up even more when it is on my skin. It also has a gentle powdery fruitiness to it much like Yummy Yummy Yummy has, yet it doesn't share the same strawberry scent. To round it off, there's a sprinkling of ginger, which sort of lingers underneath the strawberry and gives the smoothie a very subtle spiciness. 

Ground rice gives this smoothie a very odd consistency unlike anything else I've yet to try from Lush. The product is rather thick and gritty in consistency - a little like smooth peanut butter mixed with semolina powder. I supposed it compares a little to Cupcake Fresh Face Mask but it's not exactly like this. On top of each smoothie is a decoration of sago - a starch derived from the pith of the sago palm that has been turned into small grains that are similar in look and feel as tapioca. These help to give you a good all-rounded exfoliation without being too aggressive on the skin.   

In the shower, this product does really well at lathering over your skin. It doesn't produce any foam - working like a body butter in this way. However, you only need very little as it coats your body with ease. After it has been washed off, it leaves its gentle fragrance on you for a while. In the shower this scent is a little floury - it smells of strawberries and baked oats. Unfortunately, I found that the scent it leaves on your skin after you've left the sower is reminiscent of soured milk so I didn't enjoy this aspect of the product. In fact, the smell I could pick up off my skin reminded me a little of when I used Coco Lotion, with disastrous effects!

Strawberry Boat leaves you skin feeling really clean and soft. It doesn't feel incredible moisturised like I would expect from buttercreams and body butters,  but the effect it has is not unlike the feeling you get when using a good-quality shower gel. 

This is a lovely product that makes a great addition to your shower experiences. It only needs to be used 2-3 times a week so a 75g pot should last you a while. It does need to be kept in the fridge between uses and it only has a four week shelf life which is a shame as you won't be able to store these before they leave the kitchen. I'm really glad that Lush brought this back for fans to try and I hope to see more of these wonderful products making an appearance soon. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Ground Rice, Almond Oil, Fresh Strawberries, Glycerine, Sago, Fine Sea Salt, Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Fresh Ginger Root, Ginger Oil, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Citronellol, Linalool, Perfume.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Almond Buttercream

If it hadn't been for the release of Heavenly Bodies a few months back, I probably wouldn't have been as excited as I was for the release of this. Ever since I experienced the wonders of smearing myself in what smells and looks like cake batter, and feeling how amazingly soft my skin was afterwards, I've never wanted to share a shower with a product more than this one.

Unfortunately for Heavenly Bodies, Almond Buttercream has surpassed my expectations and cemented itself as my favourite buttercream to date. It's the perfect product to become acquainted with during those difficult morning showers - it's gentle on the skin and leaves you wanting to scoop out handfuls and spoon them into your mouth. 

For those unfamiliar with what a buttercream is, it's a combination of soap and shower gel; a softer-style soap that can be used like a shower gel, but contains key ingredients to help soften and repair dry skin. It doesn’t contain as many surfactants as traditional soap, so it won’t lather up like you’re used to, but this does mean it’s especially good for those people who find normal soap can sometimes dry their skin out.

This particular butter cream is jam-packed with essential oils and butters to give you a nourishing and highly moisturising experience. The inclusion of rapeseed and coconut condition the skin - helping to keep moisture from escaping from the skin, which aids in retaining softness and suppleness. The moisturizing properties of almond butter is great for people with delicate or sensitive skin, making it a good choice for dry skin on your face or to relieve itching and soreness from rashes and other skin irritations. The ground almond shells means that this product doesn't waste any of the nut and gives the buttercream a very subtle grittiness, which turns this product into a gentle exfoliator. 

As if Almond Buttercream wasn't luxurious enough, Lush have also included sweet orange, sicilian mandarin, lime and cinnamon leaf oil. Aside from their moisturising and toning properties, these ingredients give this product a beautiful, uplifting and rather sexy aroma.                                                                                                   To me, this buttercream smells rather similar to the aforementioned Heavenly Bodies, but whereas that one is dominated by the lime oil, this one is much lighter, more buttery and slightly less potent with the citrus fragrance. It has a gentle smell of chocolate orange, a subtle nuttiness intertwined with a rich, fudgey-vanilla aroma that's simply irresistible. As I said in my other review, it really needs to be sampled to understand how beautiful the product is - don't blame me if you find yourself poised with a spoon over a tub of the stuff - it really is that good!

Aside from it's scent, Almond Buttercream softens, cleans and replenishes tired and dried-out skin. It's easy to massage over the skin but don't expect it to lather up like a shower gel - it's more like a body butter in this sense. It washes off easily under running water and leaves a beautiful fruity fragrance on your skin. 

It's easy to scoop out of the tub and a small amount goes a long way. Just be careful not to use too much at any one time as it's very easy to get carried away with a product as gorgeous as this. A 250g tub will last you a good 10-20 full body washes, depending on how generous you are with your portions. While it works out more expensive than a shower gel or soap, it's worth the extra price to feel as gorgeously pampered as you do with this buttercream.

This has very quickly established itself as one of my favourite all-time Lush products and I hope they choose to bring this back soon so I can buy a few more tubs. I would definitely recommend that you give this at least one try, and I dare to you to find fault in this incredible product!

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Glycerine, Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Almond Butter, Sesame Seeds, Perfume, Dried Orange Slices, Aloe Vera Extract, Ground Almond Shells, Fair Trade Organic Aloe Vera Gel, Sweet Orange Oil, Sicilian Mandarin Oil, Lime Oil, Cinnamon Leaf Oil, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Limonene, Eugenol.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Sweetie Pie Shower Jelly

I often forget that Sweetie Pie is a regular product in Lush's range; it often gets overlooked for the large bottles of shower gel that I love so much. However, every once in a while, something stirs my mind into remembering how much I love it's incredible scent, and I end up going on a mad dash to the nearest store to stock up on a few tubs. 

Sweetie Pie Shower Jelly is described as a 'shower jelly with cherries, coconut and sparkles for bathtime fun.' Much like most of Lush's other shower jellies, this one replicates the popular dessert perfectly - possessing a slightly elasticated and stringy consistency. Showcasing a deep purple complexion, with blue and silver lustre lightly decorated throughout, this shower jelly looks like a feast fit for a god. 

Furthermore, the fragrance it possesses is incredibly gorgeous, and quite easily one of the best scents that Lush have ever come up with. It shares its fragrance with other products from The Comforter range, which includes the likes of You Snap The Whip Body Butter and The Comforter Bubble Bar. However, unlike the latter product, I find the smell of this jelly to possess a much thicker and creamier aroma - closer to the shower gel equivalent than the bubble bar that it's originally based on.

It's a rich but equally fruity fragrance; a mixture of bergamot oil, cassis absolute and cypress oil. These ingredients are both uplifting and refreshing, helping to clear the mind as well as creating a scent that most Lushies would die for. Cypress oil also boasts toning properties that can calm the skin in times of emotional stress. 

To me, this fragrance doesn't smell of cherries at all, nor does it possess much of a coconut smell either. I think Sweetie Pie has a strong, deep and fresh blackcurrant scent that reminds me of the Blackcurrant Jolly Rancher sweets I used to get as a child. It's simply wonderful.

There are several ways that you can use any of Lush's shower jellies, and I find that everyone has their own preference, which is completely understandable. Firstly, you can break a small piece of (or select a piece that's been segmented prior to your shower) and rub the block directly onto your skin. The amount of lather this creates differentiates vastly depending on the type of jelly, how old the product is and the size of the piece you're using. While some users find this way works for them, I find that this is fairly ineffective as it does not create much of a lather and the jelly becomes too wet, making it slippery and difficult to hold on to. 

Secondly, you can use a shower sponge, puff or exfoliating glove to create a lather before rubbing it all over your body. For me, I found this method far more successful as it helped to break down the jelly properly and create a nice foamy effect to wash your body with. Finally, you can break off slabs of the jelly and use them as you would a bubble bar, placing them underneath a running tap to stimulate bubbles. I tend to use mine for this reason, as I can get 4-5 baths out of one 100g tub, which I consider to be great value for money.

Sweetie Pie, as with other Lush jellies, is rather versatile. You can keep the tub of jelly in your bathroom so it stays at room temperature, or you can put it in the freezer to enjoy a much cooler experience during those summer months. Lush also state that you can use this product to clean your hair in place of an ordinary shampoo, but I'm happy using this as nothing more than a luxurious shower soap. However, I would be interested to hear from anyone who has tried this in place of their regular shampoo.

Ultimately, this jelly has cemented itself as one of my firm favourites in Lush's range; it smells wonderful, leaves your skin feeling smooth and gently scented, and perks you up immensely. Although I'd find it easier to use The Comforter Shower Gel, as long as I have Sweetie Pie to top up my Comforter obsession, I'll be a very happy girl.

Quantitative Ingredients: Glycerine, Cherry Infusion, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Coconut Infusion, Propylene Glycol, Carrageenan Extract, Perfume, Bergamot Oil, Cassis Absolute, Cypress Oil, *Limonene, *Linalool, Snowflake Lustre, Colour 17200, Colour 42090, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Dear John Cologne Body Spray

As far as the Dear John fragrance goes, I'm a little behind with the appreciation. My first experience with it was only a matter of weeks ago when Lush re-released a soap with the same scent. Since then I have come to regret not investing in the perfume a lot sooner and have since bought myself a vial of the stuff to enjoy.

Recently Lush have brought this fragrance out in the form of a body spray, and I'm so glad that they've done so. As far as I'm aware, the company have only released a handful of sprays in total; Dear John being one of three new ones to make an appearance in the Gorilla perfume shop earlier last month. 

Described as a unisex fragrance, this one features vetivert, cedar, clove, coriander, lime, coffee and pine. It's a unique and highly pleasing smell - something I initially thought I wouldn't like but have grown to love more than I thought was possible.

In the bottle you can immediately detect three layers of scent. The first is a layer of citrus - which is not as sour or as dominating as the likes of Avobath or Calacas. It's a subtle scent that reminds me a little of lime cheesecake - a gentle but equally fruity smell. Alongside this is an element of coffee. Again, I dislike most coffee-scented products and I have no interest in drinking the stuff either. Yet in Dear John, this layer of scent adds a warm and slightly spicy aroma. Finally, I can also detect hints of the vetivert which give this perfume an earthy and smoky note.

When sprayed on the skin, I love how much the body spray expands and offers up each and every layer of this smell to the wearer. Once on the skin, the perfume almost fragments and allows you to experience each and every beautiful note. The citrus elements tend to rest on the skin whilst the pine, vetivert, coffee, tobacco, cedar and clove linger slightly above this and offer the wearer an all-rounded experience. 

Despite being comprised of some quite dominating smells, this fragrance manages to be light, uplifting and very sensual. It's a comforting and very soothing smell - something that fits in well with what the creators at Lush wanted to make. They wanted a fragrance that reminded you of your dad, your grandfather or your oldest brother - something that represents the security you feel around male acquaintances. While I cannot express how it does such a thing, I can vouch that it does create this beautiful feeling.      

What is great about Dear John Body Spray is that it's only £17 for a 200ml bottle. When compared to cheaper, shop-bought sprays, it does seem rather overpriced. However, when you consider the fact that a 10ml bottle of Dear John Perfume will set you back £14, it's easy to see why this works out a lot better value than it's fragrance counterpart. 

I will warn you that the spray comes in a glass bottle so it's not something you want to carry around with you - for fear of smashing it as well as the weight it adds to your bag. As far as the design goes, it does have quite a generous squirt to it so you'll need to be careful not to spray too much with each use.

Despite all of this, it is a well-lasting spray - I could still detect it on my skin some 3-4 hours after initial application. It also lasts a really long time - I've easily sprayed it 10-12 times so far and it's not even below the neck of the bottle yet.

If you love Dear John, you will love this new addition to the family. While it's not as condensed as the perfume, it does offer a strong fragrance and it might even appeal to those who love the scent but find the perfume too compact on the skin. I will definitely buy this again and I only hope that Lush choose to release other body sprays that match their favourite scents - they're a great addition to Lush's scent collection.

Quantitative Ingredients: DRF Alcohol, Perfume, Cedarwood Oil (Juniperus virginiana), Vetivert Oil (Vetiveria zizanoides), Coriander Oil (Coriandrum sativum), Clove Bud Oil (Eugenia caryophyllus), Benzyl, Benzoate, Benzyl Salicylate, Coumarin, Eugenol, Farnesol, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Glorious Mud Body Mask

As I've said time and time again, most of my favourite products from Lush are not ones that I just assumed I'd love and did. Often, it is the products that I have no prior expectations of, only for them to blow my socks off, that remain firm favourites. This product is one such item.

Glorious Mud Body Mask is the first of it's kind that I've tried from Lush and one of only two body masks that have Lush have ever released - the other being Mask Of Magnaminty, which isn't vegan, so not one I'll be placing on my shopping list any time soon. 

Not the most prettiest of products, this solid block of mud surprised me when it exuded a gorgeous creamy vanilla fragrance - the same one that can be found in Lush's discontinued Creme Anglais Body Lotion. It's a lovely wholesome vanilla with a sprinkling of orange and a slight nuttiness from the sesame - nothing you would expect from a slab of what looks like glorified mud!

When new, this product is presented as a block that's a little softer than a soap but sturdy enough that it shouldn't break apart like mine has done. I need to explain that the pictures accompanying this review were taken of a body mask that is considerably old, which is why it's not in the best of conditions. A fresher one would be far more robust and I shall update my review and it's pictures when my fresh ones arrive. 

The product is really easy to use. Just like a body scrub, you can either massage it up and down the desired areas and then work it into your skin with your hands. You may also choose to divide this into more manageable chunks or even crumble it down into what is essentially dirt, and then lather it all over your body in this way. Unfortunately, I didn't have any choice but to do the latter as mine was so old that it couldn't retain it's shape. 

The gritty consistency really helps to scrub away excess skin, level out lumps and bumps and leave your skin smooth and soft. Lush recommend that you leave it on for a few seconds before rinsing away - leaving your body exfoliated, super-silky and highly moisturised. It's amazing what a bit of mud and a few oils can achieve! 

As this body mask contains sodium bicarbonate, I would recommend that you try and keep this away from the direct flow of water. I found that Glorious Mud tends to fizz and foam up when it comes into contact with water and I can imagine it dissolving away very quickly this way.  

The wonderful vanilla aroma is quite pronounced in the body mask and the warmth from the shower accentuates this even more. Your skin is left feeling really radiated and refreshed and smelling royally gorgeous - not to mention the fact that the fragrance lingers for hours in the bathroom and on your skin! The vanilla and sesame combination not only leaves you smelling wonderful, but helps to soften your skin while leaving the aloe vera to soothe and calm your skin as well.

I absolutely love this product - more so than I could have ever imagined. It does exactly what it claims to do and leaves you feeling spoilt but beautiful. When it was first released, this mask set you back almost £7, which isn't far off the cost of a body butter. Depending on how you choose to use this mask, Glorious Mud can last you up to ten showers, which I think makes it great value for money. 

I hope that Lush choose to bring this one back in the kitchen as well as offer other variations for the fans to try. It's a hard-working, gloriously original product that will leave a hole in my life until I am able to use it again. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Rhassoul Mud, Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Cold-Pressed Sesame Oil (Sesamum indicum), Aloe Vera Extract (Aloe barbadensis), Perfume, Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla planifolia), Myrrh Resinoid (Commiphora myrrha), Sweet Orange Oil (Citrus sinensis),Benzyl Salicylate, Coumarin, Limonene.

Vegan?: Yes.

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I Should Coco Soap

On paper, I Should Coco sounds like a dream product - a soap made up mostly of creamed coconut infusion and desiccated coconut. It took a lot of will power not to sink my teeth into it and treat it like a block of coconut ice. I cannot deny that I didn't at least give this soap a little lick to test the water, but I did refrain myself from taking a nibble.

As most Lush fans will know and recognise, the company are big on using coconut in their products. Known for it's super softening properties, not to mention it's incredible natural smell, this is an ingredient that is both versatile and highly effective at what it does. Unfortunately, it's also a fragrance that incites a rather strong reaction from most people, and if you're one of those who don't like its smell, I can guarantee that you'll hate this soap.     

I Should Coco, as I touched upon above, visually resembles a piece of coconut ice - with it's white body and pink desiccated coconut shavings on top. Much like the old-fashioned sweet, this soap also has shavings of coconut threaded throughout the entire block, which gives it quite a rough consistency. This texture makes it a rather effective exfoliator - something I'll touch upon later on in the review. 

The soap has a gentle but long-lasting fragrance - a sweet, warming scent that intensifies in the shower and makes for a very comforting experience. The addition of orange oil adds a slightly uplifting, citrus element to the scent, but it definitely doesn't upstage the coconut. There's also a hint of the coriander oil present as well, which I feel almost takes away from the creaminess of the coconut very slightly. 

In the shower, the soap lathers up fairly easily but I was disappointed to find that I Should Coco didn't perform as well as I was expecting. For a soap that is so crammed full of coconut, I was expecting the bar to produce a thick, silky foam that instantly softened my skin - something similar to the consistency of Big Shampoo or Gentle Lentil Shampoo. However, much like Porridge, this soap has so many excess pieces of 'stuff' threaded throughout it's body that it prevents it from lathering up as much as it could do. 

The hundreds of flakes of shredded coconut do make this soap a really effective exfoliator - giving it a rough consistency to scrub and soften without being too harsh on the skin. However, I found that there isn't a good balance between the amount of coconut and the amount of actual soap present. For this reason, I was only able to use this as a body scrub and not for it's intended purpose of cleaning the body. 

While it doesn't perform well as a soap, it does leave you smelling beautiful - showcasing smooth, radiant skin afterwards. It doesn't dry you out and is perfect for those with delicate skin. This is great to use on the face as well as the body as it's quite a gentil scrub so won't irritate or scratch the skin. However, I had to use a shower gel alongside this to clean myself properly with so it's not the most effective soap to use if you're using it by itself.

Overall, I really enjoyed the scent of this and in it's favour, a 100g lasts a lot longer as a scrub than most of Lush's regular body butters. However, I was hoping for a product that could cleanse as well as exfoliate and I didn't feel that this soap did this successfully.     

Quantitative Ingredients: Creamed Coconut Infusion (Cocos nucifera), Sodium Palm Kernelate, Propylene Glycol, Desiccated Coconut (Cocos nucifera), Perfume, Sodium Stearate, Titanium Dioxide, Orange Oil (Citrus dulcis), Coriander Oil (Coriandrum sativum), Vetivert Oil (Vetiveria zizanoides), Glycerine, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Editronate,  Limonene,  Linalool, Colour 18050.

Vegan?: Yes.

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