Yellow Fun

The Lush FUN line consists of five different coloured bars, each with a different unique scent. You have Pink FUN, which is a fruity candy smell, Yellow FUN, which has a vanilla scent, Red FUN, which is mandarin and orange, Green FUN, which possesses a lemon and lime scent, and Blue FUN, which offers a lavender scent.

Yellow FUN was the first of the five that I bought and I instantly fell in love with the scent, which is reminiscent of the Vanillary perfume. Unlike most cosmetics, Lush use natural ingredients to create a fresh, non-synthetic smelling vanilla scent, so this is a real treat to behold. Unlike most vanilla scents, Fun brings a nice, warm vanilla smell that makes an incredibly relaxing and indulgent treat.

At first I was a little hesitant to fork out £5 for a bar, as it was more expensive than all of their bubble bars and bath ballistics. Plus I couldn't possibly imagine how a lump of glorified plasticine could possibly yield any positive results in the bathroom. How wrong was I? 

Just like my previous experience with Blue FUN, this product creates an abundance of creamy bubbles in the bath and gives off a beautiful, sweet smelling vanilla. However, it doesn't change the colour of the water like Blue.

I like how the yummy vanilla smell lingered on my skin even after I washed it off. And this product really goes well with Vanilla Dee-Lite lotion. I can imagine it would have also complimented the Vanilla Fountain, had that still been in production.  

It's basically like play dough when you first touch it and they do say to wrap it back up after every use. I found that mine started 'melting' a couple of day's after opening it, and found it more practical to cut a small piece off and keep the rest somewhere cool to maintain it's shape. I'm not sure if it's advised but I did pop mine in the fridge for half hour to firm it up and this seemed help.

All in all this is a fantastic invention from Lush as it is affordable, great value for your money and allows everyday indulgence with it's many uses. It's also great to see so few ingredients went into making a great product. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Talc, Cornflour, Glycerine, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Vanilla Absolute, Perfume, Gardenia Extract.

Vegan?: Yes

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June 2013 Lush Inventory - Shower Jellies

I'm getting there!

Up next is my rather small collection of Lush jellies. I'm not a big fan of using these in the shower, I much prefer adding some to a bath and watching the water foam up. However, jellies such as Sweetie Pie and Jingle Spells have such amazing scents, I only wish Lush would release them in shower gel form. 

My Lush jellies...

Current Stash:

Calacas

Deep Sleep

Ghost

Happy Blooming

Jingle Jelly

Karma

Snowshowers

Spank Me with Saplings

Strawberry Santa

Sweetie Pie 

The Joy of Jelly.

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Summer Lush Competition!

Yes, it's that time again folks! 

I apologise for leaving such a large gap between this competition and the last: I've been super busy at work. But now that it's the holidays (yay for being a teacher!), I've managed to dig out some awesome goodies for one lucky person to win. 

Up for grabs is some super rare Lush products that you won't find anywhere else. So whether you're a Lush newbie wanting to trial some of their things before purchasing some yourself, or whether you're a Lushie in need of some super-cool items to add to your collection, this is the opportunity for you. 

Up for grabs is the following:

-A rare 100g bottle of Taai Taai Shower gel 

-A rare 100g bottle of Fruity Beauty Shower gel

-A rare slice of Mandarin Tea Party soap

-A rare slice of Angels Delight Soap

-A rare slice of Mr Punch Soap

-A Valentine's Day Special cut piece of Rock Star Soap

-A rare pot of Dream Time Temple Balm

-Two very rare 'Sex In The Shower' Emotibombs.

Although you cannot see the latter items, you can find out more about them here.

Excited yet?

To win all of these amazing products, all you have to do is the following:

1. Leave a comment under my blog post. (http://allthingslushuk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/summer-lush-competition.html)

2. Reblog this on Tumblr (up to a maximum 5 times)

3. Like this post on Tumblr.

4. Follow me on Tumblr (http://www.tumblr.com/blog/tofuveganzombie)

You can do any or all of the above.

The competition is open to anyone around the world, so don't be put off if you're outside of the UK.

The competition will run until the 2nd August 2013, 9pm (UK time).

I will use a random number generator to pick the winner and will announce it soon after.

If you post a comment on my blog, please remember to include an email address so I can contact you if you win.

Good Luck!

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Blue Fun

The Lush FUN line consists of five different coloured bars, each with a different unique scent. You have Pink FUN, which is a fruity candy smell, Yellow FUN, which has a vanilla scent, Red FUN, which is mandarin and orange, Green FUN, which possesses a lemon and lime scent, and Blue FUN, which offers a lavender scent.

If there's one Lush product that encompasses it's title, it's FUN. It seems that Lush have taken all of their product knowledge, their unique outlook and their quirkiness and combined it all together to produce something that is unlike any other cosmetic product on the market to date.

Wrapped in a biodegradable wrapper, FUN encompasses everything I love about Lush;

1. It's completely ecologically friendly.

2. It's incredibly versatile and can be used as a shampoo, shower gel or bubble bar.

3. It's incredibly good value for money.

4. It comes in five beautiful and completely unique scents.

5. It encourages your inner child to indulge itself as you can actually play with FUN, much like you would plasticine.

Blue Fun contains a mixture of lavender, Moroccan chamomile and chamomile blue essential oils, which works wonders as a bath time treat before bed. Simply break off a generous piece (I tend to quarter the bar so I can have 4 separate baths) and pop it under the running tap. Immediately the bubbles begin to foam and the water starts to turn a gorgeous shade of blue, which maintains it's colour throughout the whole experience. The lavender scent really helps you to relax and I love going to bed with the faint smell of it lingering on my pillow.

As I said above, this product is super versatile. So if you don't fancy using it in the bath, you can use it as a shower gel. Simply break off a small amount and lather it up between your hands, like you would a piece of soap or Lush's shower jelly. It leaves your skin super soft and doesn't stain the bath tub or your skin.

What you may notice is that the label is written in Japanese. This is because the product is one of many chosen by Lush to raise money for their initiative, FUNd. The initiative supports children's charities all over the world, and in particular, those in Japan, to raise money and awareness for serious plights happening to children across the globe; The 2011 Japanese tsunami that killed thousands of people, is just one such cause. 2.5% of the profit made on each and every bar of FUN goes towards supporting and furthering these charities. How amazing is that?

This is perfect of those who need to travel light or are worried that bottles or tubs may leak in their bag. Simply wrap this in cling film or pop a small chunk in a sealable tub and you're all set to go!

I think this is definitely one of Lush's better-value products and I hope they remain a permanent fixture in their regular range.

Quantitative Ingredients: Talc, Cornflour, Glycerine, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Moroccan Chamomile Oil, Chamomile Blue Oil, Lavender Oil, *Linalool, Perfume, Colour 42090.

Vegan?: Yes

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Northern Lights Soap

On paper, Northern Lights sounds like my dream cosmetic. It's the most stunning looking soap on this planet and definitely the prettiest product that Lush have ever produced. So when I received a block of Northern Lights as part of a gift set last Christmas, I was so excited to try it out. 

The soap was inspired by the Norwegian sky light phenomenon - the colours chosen and created to match perfectly with the colours of the auroras recognised by millions of people world wide. The bright, neon swirls of yellows, greens and oranges help to give it a magical glowing effect. To compliment the fluorescent look, the soap supposedly possesses an electric, fresh pine and lime scent that plays homage to the crisp climes of the Arctic circle. 

However, despite the promising descriptions, my excitement was short lived when I sniffed it for the first time. There was no crisp citrus scent from the lime oil, and no woodiness from the pine and cypress oil. Instead what my nose registered was a soap that smelt exactly like the cheap blocks you buy from the local supermarket. I could smell an overwhelming soapy scent that rid my senses of any of the zesty fragrance that the soap might possess. 

Nevermind, I thought. Perhaps it'll perform better in the shower and release more of it's citrusy scent. 

I was wrong. 

In all fairness, this is definitely one of Lush's sturdiest soaps. Having used it over the space of a few weeks, I found that the 100g bar that I was using barely shrunk in size, despite me using it to lather over my entire body. I don't know if it's the different consistency or if the ingredients are more long-lasting, but I was pleased that it lasted so well and this makes it great value for money.

It also lathers up quickly and you get a fair amount of foam to play with so you get a lot of uses for such a small piece.

Unfortunately, this soap dried my skin out very quickly and the overwhelming soapy smell only served to increase ten-fold when the soap was in contact with the hot water. My face dried out after using it for a number of days and I began to see small patches of dry skin from where the soap had taken some of the moisture out of it. 

This soap is definitely a let down and not one I'll purchase again. I will use the remaining block to wash my hands as I feel this is really the only thing it's good for. The bright colours make it fun to use, but the scent is definitely an acquired taste.

Quantitative Ingredients: Water, Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Glycerine, Perfume, Sodium Stearate, Propylene Glycol, Pine Needle Oil, Cypress Oil, Lime Oil, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, *Citral, *Linalool, Citronellol, Limonene, Colour 59040, Colour 45410, Colour 17200, Colour 42090.

Vegan?: Yes

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June 2013 Lush Inventory - Perfumes

When I originally began collecting Lush products, I told myself that I was going to exclude the perfumes from my collection. I don't believe they are any more expensive than other perfumes on the market, however, I knew that if I started buying them, it would easily mount up to £500+ to get the whole set.

About a month ago, I won two perfumes on eBay for a fraction of the price that I would have had to pay online. Ever since then, I have been scouting the internet for any bargains that present themselves to me, and this has meant that my perfume collection has mounted up quickly.

I have now set myself the goal of having the entire Gorilla Perfume set by the end of the year!

This is my current stash (minus Karma as I recently used it up and need to order another bottle!);

Current Stash:

25:43 (30ml)

Big (30ml) (x2)

Bug, The (46ml)

Comforter, The  (30ml)

Creamy Candy (30ml)

Euphoria (92g)

Flowers Barrow (92g)

Hairdressers Husband (2 x 30ml)

Lust (30ml)

Sikkim Girls (46ml)

Smell of Freedom, The (30ml)

Snowcake (30ml)

Superunknown (12g)

Tuca Tuca (30ml)

Vanillary (30ml)

The Voice of Reason (25ml)

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Mumkin Bubble Bar

What Lush have to say about this product: 'If you’re wondering just what sort of creature a Mumkin is then it’s no use asking us, because we don’t know either! All you need to know is that she’s cute, very friendly and loves to be crumbled under the tap to bring you mountains of fruity bubbles.'

The Mumkin is a limited edition bubble bar that was released as part of their Mother's Day range 2013. With chocolate drops for eyes and a candy stalk stick as a head piece, this bubble bar might well be considered one of their most endearing bubble bars to date. 

Lush have once again constructed a product that contains a variety of different ingredients, each included because of the properties they boast. Sicilian lemon oil smells clean and refreshing and helps to lift your mood; Bergamot Oil adds a fruity floral scent that helps to calm and reduce stress; Violet Leaf encourages your body to relax and helps to soothe those achey muscles.

The host of ingredients all come together to offer a well-rounded bubble bar that smells of sweet raspberries with a mild but gorgeous floral undertone. These scents permeate your bath tub when crumbled under running water and linger on your skin for a while after use.

These bars were priced up under the £3 mark, making this one of the cheapest bubble bars on offer. What makes it even more better value is that you could probably use this for up to three separate baths, making it incredible value for money. Me being the greedy bugger that I am, I tend to throw the whole bar in and indulge in a mountain of bubbles.

What I loved about this product was the fact that it produced so many bubbles and turned the bath water into a haven of oily water to soften, hydrate and moisturise skin. And If you're not keen on super-strong smelling cosmetics, this bar has a much gentler smell.

However, I was a little disappointed with the scent. I was hoping for a sweet, sugary raspberry smell, reminiscent of raspberry jam or raspberry ripple ice-cream. What I found however, is that the raspberry scent from very subtle and it was the violet and bergamot that shone through. That's not to say that Mumkin smells bad - but I was expecting a much sweeter 'Comforter-Snow Fairyesque' type scent.

Another problem I found with this bubble bar is that the smell fades quite quickly, so it's not really a product you can store for a long period of time.

Overall I quite liked this bar as it was quirky and cute and was very gentle on the skin. The bath water feels lovely and soft and creamy and there are ample bubbles to enjoy. If Lush bring them out during their Mother's Day range next year I will most likely buy another one to sample. However, it's not a product I am in any rush to buy again.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lauryl Betaine, Perfume, Bergamot Oil, Sicilian Lemon Oil, Violet Leaf Absolute, Gardenia Extract, Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Colour 14700, Colour 45410, Colour 17200, Dairy Free Chocolate Drops, Candy leaf, Candy stalk.

Vegan?: Yes

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Volcano Foot Mask

If there's one part of my body that gives me grieve more than any other, it's my feet. Born with, what my dad used to refer to as, 'Big plates of meat', I have always struggled with what I would term 'Big Foot Syndrome'. Always struggling to find shoes in my size at regular shops, I would often by a size smaller and squeeze my feet into them, avoiding the hefty price tag of buying shoes from a specialist shop. This would cause me to develop multiple blisters, sores, cuts and aching feet, all of which would take months to heal. 

Running, going to the gym and being on my feet all day at work, all helped to further punish my hard working limps; I just knew I had to do something before my feet suffered even more. 

Along came Volcano; a product that didn't lend itself to an instantaneous applause. But one that instead, worked its magic and left me very impressed with how much it improved the appearance and feel of my feet. 

A zingy, ice cool, mint mask, Volcano is a Godsend for all those with feet in need of a good pamper. With Pumice to help you rub away dead skin, Kaolin to clean and repair skin and Papaya to digest dead skin and loosen it for removal, this is a spa day for your feet, all rolled into one small little pot. 

This foot mask also contains tomatoes that are deodorising and cooling and menthol, lemon and cinnamon that stimulate circulation and give a very cool feel to the skin's surface. All these ingredients are cleverly blended together to create a mask you can use regularly to keep on top of dry feet that tend to split, tired hot feet that have been standing all day and feet that have been shut up in shoes and need to breathe and cool.

Directions: Smother all over your feet generously and then tie a carrier bag around each foot to lock in moisture and help your feet to sweat. Leave on for 15-20 minutes, allowing the heat to permeate your skin and help to soften the skin. Then rinse off in the shower or in a basin of water. 

My feet themselves were incredibly soft and smooth after first use and there was no trace of the dry skin at all on my feet. The tingle of hot and cold as your feet bask in Volcano, soothes your feet and also helps combat roughness and odour. I find that this is a perfect remedy after being on your feet all day - it gives clarity to your skin whilst ridding them of odours, soreness and clamminess.  

I tend to use this once a week to give my feet that well deserved treat and it's made them so much smoother, softer and more presentable than they have been in years. This has become one of my regularly used products, and I only hope Lush release a variety of different foot masks for me to try, in the future.

Quantitative Ingredients: Kaolin, Pumice, Limeflower and Cleaver Decoction, Fresh Tomatoes, Fresh Papaya, Potatoes, Glycerine, Bentonite Gel, Menthol Crystals, Lemon Oil, Cinnamon Leaf Oil, *Eugenol, *Benzyl Benzoate, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.

Vegan?: Yes

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June 2013 Lush Inventory - Massage Bars

Okay, so my inventory is taking a little longer than I anticipated. And the worrying aspect, is that I haven't even photographed or documented the biggest aspect of my collection - the bath bomb and bubble bar! *gulp*

Here are my massage bars...

Current Stash:

Bewitched

Black Magic

Ego

Friends With Benefits

From Dusk Til Dawn

Hottie

Love Potion

Merry Xmas

Midnight Massage

Nutts

Once a Year

Peace

Sexy Boy

Shimmy Shimmy

Strawberry Feels Forever

Tender Is The Night

Therapy

Under The Covers 

Wiccy Magic Muscles.

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B-Electro Shower Gel

I was lucky enough to be given an opportunity to make a rather large Lush order from their Australian site. The second I was given the thumbs up, I just knew I had to stock up on their limited edition B-Electro Shower Gel. I have heard so much about this product, and to say I was excited when it arrived in the post, was an understatement. 

Lush B Electro Shower Gel is a zingy grapefruit shower gel injected with subtle floral notes and fennel for an invigorating shower experience. It is also the coolest looking Lush shower gel to date; an electric, fluorescent green colour that doesn't disappear when using it in the shower. You are literally smearing your body with a gel that resembles liquid cryptonite!

Luckily, this shower gel didn't zap me of my powers as it would superman, although at first I wasn't too keen on the scent as I found it a little too 'soapy' smelling for my liking; it reminded me a little of cheap cleaning products. However, after using it daily for a little over a month, I became accustomed to its unique scent and grew to appreciate it a lot more.

The grapefruit oil is definitely the most prominent scent here, however, the rose water and fennel oil give the shower gel mild spicy undertones that make it unlike anything else that Lush have ever released. It really is one of those products that need to be experienced to understand how unique it is - there's no other Lush product quite like it.  

This is definitely one of Lush's more masculine scents, although this by no means makes it unwelcoming for females. I would say that it wouldn't be very suited for those who like really sweet or strong floral scents as it's not a typical floral cosmetic. However, that's not to say that fans of Rose Jam could not really enjoy this shower gel.

B-Electro lathers up really nicely so you only need use minimal amounts each time and you can used it on both your body or your hair. It leaves your skin wonderfully soft and nourished and permeates your skin with it's wonderful scent. I would definitely consider buying a few more bottles if Lush was to bring this back. 

Quantitive Ingredients: Water, Rose Water, Sodium Alkyl Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glycerl Stearate & Peg - 100 Stearate, Cocamide MEA, Fine Sea Salt, Perfume, Glycol Cetearate, Propylene Glycol, Lauryl Betaine, Fennel Oil, Grapefruit Oil, Jasmine Absolute, Rose Absolute, Tincture of Benzoin, Cold Pressed Jojoba Oil, Sodium Chloride, *Benzyl Salicylate, *Geranoil, *Farnesol, *Benzyl Benzoate, *Citronellol, *Limonene, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Colour 59040, Colour 42090.

Vegan?: Yes

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Sparkle Toothy Tabs

I remember going into a Lush shop a few years ago, completely oblivious to every single one of their products, and being as dazed and confused as I can imagine newbies doing nowadays. Whilst I was staring wild-eyed and disorientated because of the numerous smells and products, I was approached by one of the keen employees. Seeing me standing next to the collection of toothy tabs, she assumed I was looking to purchase some and offered me the chance to try one. 

After this stranger convinced me to put this small, circular tablet into my mouth (my drugs education lessons mockingly circulating in my mind), I was disgusted to find my mouth suddenly full of a powdery substance that tasted far from edible. I feigned a dignified smile and exited the shop as soon as possible, spitting out the gritty substance as I walked down the street, confused as to how they managed to sell such a strange and revolting product. 

So almost five years later, when I found a packet of 'Sparkle' in my Lush legends gift box, I was far from keen to give it a go. However, I loved the idea of a product that promoted less packaging and wastage, so I was hoping that I might be luckier this time around.

Sparkle, like all of Lush's toothy tabs, works in the same way. You place one tab between your front teeth and gently nibble until it becomes a powder. Then you wet your toothbrush and proceed to brush your teeth as normal. The addition of water from the brush helps the power to foam up and it works in exactly the same way as normal toothpaste.

As I hadn't read up on the flavour I was trying, I had no idea what to expect, and was very taken back by the overwhelming taste that filled my mouth once I started brushing. I was expecting a gentle mint taste to match my usual toothpaste but was horrified to find that what I got instead was a mixture of vanilla, lemon and black pepper. 

Normally I would embrace all of these flavours as I love them all individually. But together they formed a flavour that, to me, was reminiscent of vomit.  I found myself trying to wash out my mouth as quickly as possible for fear I might actually throw up. It was revolting.

Having said that, and the only reason why I'm giving this product a rating of three, is because there is a noticable difference in the way my teeth feel after using one of these tabs. They leave my teeth feeling squeaky clean, so much so that I usually can't stop touching my teeth with my tongue! I also notice that they banish any lingering smells that may usually fester on the breath for a while. After using one of these, my teeth felt cleaner than they had done in a long while and I noticed that this clean feeling stayed with me throughout the entire day.

Sparkle is definitely an acquired taste, and one that doesn't fein well with my particular palette. But although I wouldn't recommend this particular flavour as I find it pretty nasty, I am definitely going to try other flavours if they have the same positive effect on my teeth. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Dicalcium Phosphate Anhydrous, Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar, Sorbitol, Lauroyl Sarcosine, Kaolin, Lemon Peel Powder, Sicilian Lemon Oil, *Limonene, Black Pepper Oil, Grapefruit Oil, Fair Trade Organic Black Pepper Powder, Fine Sea Salt, Sodium Saccharin, *Citral, *Linalool, Flavour.

Vegan?: Yes

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Ickle Baby Bot Bath Bomb

A bath bomb shaped to look like a Robot?  The general theory of relativity? Hah, Einstein! The person who invented this is more of a genius than yourself. I have a strange obsession with all things 'Robot' and it goes without saying that I'm a massive Lushie, so this should go hand in hand as being the best cosmetic invention of the last few hundred years.

Okay, so I may be being a little 'over-the-top' but you get the gist. I love Robots. I love Lush. Robots + Lush = potential favourite product ever. However, all is not well. Perhaps it was my high hopes, or maybe I was just having a bad day, but this product did not live up to my expectations. 

First off, I have to make it clear that this product has been designed for babies. The baby bot claims to exterminate tiredness and send babies off to the land of nod. Not only does it contain sleep-inducing oils, but everything has been selected to be mild, gentle and soothing for skin and any itchy bits.

However, Lush never create a product that has a single purpose so I was keen to try this out on myself. Possessing a natural lavender scent and containing essential chamomile and sandalwood oils, it's ingredients have been selected to be mild, gentle and soothing on the skin and the senses. Why wouldn't it work for an adult as well as a child?

Needless to say, this ballistic turns your bath water a dazzling shade of blue, and fizzes instantly as it hits the water. The scent is a very mild one, which given that it's designed for children, I was expecting. Unfortunately, as it's designed for the little un's, it also doesn't stretch very far in the bath, so you may need to use two to get a stronger scent or more 'fizz' for your buck.

It does seem to help you to relax and unwind, so that's definitely a positive, and it would probably benefit those with sensitive skin, who may find other Lush bath bombs too 'overpowering'. At a low price of £1.90, it's also Lush's cheapest bath bomb. However, it doesn't fair well in an average adult-sized bath and the scent all but disappeared very quickly upon it dissolving in the tub.

Overall, it didn't really do much for me and the colour and scent faded within 5-10 minutes of being in the bath, so not one I would choose to use again. I was hoping that this ballistic would have multiple uses but this is probably the first cosmetics I have purchased from Lush that really only works for it's intended purpose. I'm sure babies and toddlers will appreciate this, but as a fully grown insomniac, it's not going to get me far. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Lavender Oil, Sandalwood Oil, Chamomile Blue Oil, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, Colour 42053, Colour 42090.

Vegan?: Yes

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