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.

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

Read More

Dad's Garden Lemon Tree Body Spray

One of the benefits of not reading up on a product is that you can sometimes get the surprise of your life. While this doesn't always mean for the better, most of the time it does, and it is exciting and rewarding when it happens. This is what I experienced when trying out this body spray for the first time. 

Coinciding with another perfume in the Death, Decay and Renewal collection, Dad's Garden: Lemon Tree Body Spray is one of two scents created to play homage to Mark Constantine's father. While Dad's Garden: Chamomile and Honeysuckle Perfume bottles his ideas of loss and how to move on from tragedy, this body spray is about rediscovery and remembrance of past relationships, and how you can learn from the past to better your future. 

After his father's death, Mark was walking through his father’s garden and realised that it was possible to miss someone that you never really knew. From this revelation, Lush created a fragrance that would play tribute to the memories, thoughts and feelings of the Lush co-founder. And while most Lush fans may not have been there to witness the relationship between father and son, or indeed the trip to the infamous garden, we can all appreciate the beautiful perfume that came from the experience. 

Lemon Tree is a rather simple aroma made from a combination of lemon, lime, bergamot and lavender oil. If we were to compare this body spray to the elegant, fresh, floral aroma of Chamomile and Honeysuckle, it would pale in comparison. Yet it is it's simplicity that made me fall in love with it as much as I have done.                                                                                                                                   You only have to spray this on your skin to recognise the strong, zesty notes of both the lemon and lime - a smell that is almost identical to that of the popular Avobath Ballistic. The inclusion of bergamot compliments both of these citrus fruits and helps to cement this body spray as a fresh, sweet and wonderfully uplifting scent - it's like sunshine in a bottle. While you cannot detect the lavender that strongly at first, you do get a very subtle whiff of it when it's on the skin, and this just gives Lemon Tree a delicate herbal finish. 

In it's favour, Lemon Tree is a gorgeously uplifting zesty aroma - one that would work wonders as a 'go to' when you're coming off the beach or getting back from a long and tiring day - when you need a little something to pick you up until you hit the shower. It's bright fragrance instantly improves your mood and leaves you feeling refreshed and clean. 

While I do love the smell that this product showcases, I recognise that it's quite a one-dimensional scent so fans of the more complex fragrances may want to give this one a miss. For this reason, I can see why Lush have chosen to release this as a body spray and not a perfume - it doesn't have enough character to work as a fragrance. 

Disappointingly, this body spray has a really short lifespan and it is this reason, and this reason alone, as to why I have rated it as lowly as I have. I found that I couldn't smell this a mere five minutes after I had sprayed myself and this is rather shocking given its £18 price tag. For this reason, I will continue to enjoy my bottle of Dad's Garden Lemon Tree Body Spray but will not be investing in it again. 

Quantitative Ingredients: DRF Alcohol, Perfume, Lemon Oil (Citrus limonum), Lime Oil (Citrus aurantifolia), Bergamot Oil (Citrus Aurantium bergamia), Lavender Oil (Lavandula angustifolia), Citral, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool.

Vegan?: Yes.

Read More

Vanilla In The Mist Soap

It is thanks to Lush that I am so heavily into vanilla-scented bath and shower products. Before I discovered the company, I was bored of the synthetic vanilla smells that encompass the majority of high street brands. So you can imagine how I reacted when sniffing Vanillary for the first time - I was hooked. 

Fast forward a year and it is then that I have my first experience with Gentle Lentil Shampoo - a product that completely changed my opinion on solid haircare and one which has cemented itself as one of my all-time favourite Lush products. So when I heard about Vanilla In The Mist Soap, I thought I was about to stumble on another pot of gold. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

Vanilla In The Mist is in fact a vanilla and coffee scented soap, and although I dislike drinking the popular beverage, I do normally enjoy the inclusion of coffee in other products. This particular soap contains real vanilla pods which have been dried and crushed to coax out as strong an aroma as possible. Unfortunately, I found that my chunk wasn't anywhere near as strong as I was expecting and didn't possess the beautiful natural musk of fresh vanilla. 

Described as a 'quadruple espresso and a top quality Italian ice cream', I was expecting an exquisitely sweet and highly sensual soap, not far off the warm, rich aroma of Honey I Washed The Kids. However, what I discovered was a soap that was rather unremarkable. It smelt a little like cold coffee with the slightest hint of vanilla and orange, although all three of these scents weren't strong enough to make it worth my while.

In the shower, the scent did intensify a little and the coffee aroma came through more clearly. However, there was also an element of 'soap' in the fragrance. What I mean by this is that you could almost detect the plastic, glycerine smell alongside the other scents, which prevented this soap from being as luxurious as I was expecting it to be. 

One of the most misleading attributes of this soap is it's appearance - a rich shade of saffron that makes me envisage the wonderful Caramac Bar I used to eat as a child. It's a beautiful golden colour, etched with the black specks of the vanilla pod. When I first saw this, I thought the fragrance of VITM would be as equally exquisite - I was wrong.

On the positive side, this soap lathers up really well and a 100g bar does tend to last you as long as most of Lush's other soaps (1-2 months, depending on how often you use it). It does make you feel clean after use and to begin with, the little pieces of vanilla pod do act as an interesting exfoliator for your skin. However, the soap also dried my skin out quite a bit and I had to apply shower gel on top to moisturise. Furthermore, I found that next to none of the scent stayed on my body, which was disappointing.

While Vanilla in the Mist does do the basic job that you would expect from a soap, it is definitely not up to the quality that you would normally expect from Lush. The write up of this sounds beautiful so I am a little disappointed that the soap doesn't pertain the smell or productivity that I would expect from a Lush product. This is not a product I would buy again.

Quantitative Ingredients: Vanilla Pod Infusion (Vanilla planifolia), Propylene Glycol, Rapeseed oil; Sunflower oil; Coconut oil (Brassica napus; Helianthus annuus; Cocos nucifera), Water (Aqua), Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Hydroxide, Perfume, Bergamot Oil (Citrus Aurantium bergamia), Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla planifolia), Cocoa Roasted Extract (Theobroma Cacao), Sodium Chloride, Coumarin, Limonene, Linalool, Titanium Dioxide.

Vegan?: Yes. 

Read More

Sunny Citrus Soap

Citrus-scented cosmetics are easily the greatest products on the planet. If you were to consider my all-time favourite Lush fragrance families (Calacas, Ponche and Karma), you'll see that I love everything that features some sort of zesty, fruity goodness. So when I read the ingredients list for this soap, I almost hyperventilated at the sheer thought of what it would be like.

Sunny Citrus is one of those soaps that doesn't get mentioned often on the Lush forum or indeed anywhere online where Lush is discussed. Neither does this soap get many opportunities to share itself with new and devoted fans - it's made very few appearances in the retro range over the last few years. 

Yet I believe it's perhaps one of Lush's best-smelling citrus soaps - sitting above the likes of Orange Jelly, Mandarin's Tea Party and Sexy Peel. Sharing it's scent with the Sicilian Bath Bomb, this gorgeous soap is made from a combination of mandarin, tangerine and orange oils with neroli and bergamot oil thrown in there to add an uplifting and refreshingly complex aroma. 

To me, this soap smells a little like the orange Starburst chew or a tropical Solero ice-cream. It's a beautiful, creamy orange smell with a lime twist to top it off. Whereas a few of the soaps mentioned above are equally as zesty, this one just seems that little bit richer and more decadent. 

Lush describe it as the perfect soap to wake up to and I have to agree with this sentiment. When I used this first thing in the morning, it did perk me up and leave me feeling revitalised and ready for the day ahead. The yummy fragrance really helps to improve your disposition and this alone is enough of a reason to invest in a chunk next time it makes an appearance. 

In the shower, this soap lathers up wonderfully and produces a slightly oily foam, which nourishes the skin and leaves it feeling and smelling wonderful. Although I was slightly disappointed that the fragrance didn't seem to strengthen under the water, I was happy to find that I could smell the citrus elements of this for many hours on my skin, albeit fairly faintly. 

As far as Sunny Citrus Soap goes, it's definitely one of my favourites and I will buy a few chunks when it next makes it's appearance. However, as I've mentioned a few times before, I'm not really a soap person and would much rather have a shower gel to sink my teeth into (not literally, of course!). For this reason, I hope that Lush expand upon what products they offer in this scent. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Propylene Glycol, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Water (Aqua), Fresh Lime Juice (Citrus limetta), Sodium Stearate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Titanium Dioxide, Orange Oil (Citrus dulcis), Tangerine Oil (Citrus reticulata), Mandarin Oil (Citrus nobilis), Neroli Oil (Citrus amara), Bergamot Oil (Citrus bergamia), Perfume, Glycerine, Sodium Chloride, Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), Colour 42045.

Vegan?: Yes.

Read More

Comforter Shower Gel

Those familiar with my blog, will probably understand just how ecstatically happy I was on discovering that Lush have released a shower gel version of my all-time favourite scent. You may then also recognise how devastated I felt when I realised that they have only ever released this product as a one-off forum special. To frustrate me even further, in the early weeks of 2013, Lush Australia announced that they'd be holding a forum party, with The Comforter Shower Gel being one of the five limited edition items that they'd be selling.

   

However, as I mentioned in the Karma Shower Gel review, a wonderful member of Tumblr agreed to buy me one each of the products available and ship them over, thus making me a very, very happy Lushie.

When this bottle of pure gold arrived, I was instantly bowled over with how beautiful and powerful it's scent is. Created using a mixture of bergamot oil, cassis absolute and cypress oil, The Comforter is a rich, indulgent blackcurrant scent to die for. In shower gel form, the fragrance is a slightly sickly sweet mixture, reminiscent of blackcurrant jelly, Ribena and blackcurrant jolly ranchers. Simply delicious. 

Despite sharing the same scent as the bubble bar and Sweetie Pie Jelly amongst other items, I'd say that this product is more acidic than the bubble bar, which has a slightly more sherberty smell. Comforter Shower Gel has a deeper, more sensual smell than it's younger brother and may not appeal to those who dislike overpowering scents. All of the ingredients in this product create an uplifting, refreshing and highly sexy fragrance; a great product to use when you need that 'pick me up'.   

In the bottle, this shower gel boasts a stunning deep pinky-red colour, which is somewhat distorted when in it's bottle. However, as soon as you start using this in the shower, you'll be able to bask in it's beautiful shade - that's if you can avert your thoughts from it's stunning smell. 

As shower gels go, this is one of the thickest ones to be released by Lush, sharing it's consistency with the likes of Snowcake and Snow Fairy. What is great about it, is that in the shower a small amount really goes a long way, foaming up really easily and creating a lather that is both abundant and highly moisturising. It's one of those shower gels, much like Black Pearl, that leaves your skin feeling noticeably silky soft instantaneously. 

Furthermore, because the shower gel is so easy to use, you don't need to use very much at all. So if, like me, you have a rare £25 bottle that you don't particularly want to squander away, you can use it safe in the knowledge that it will last you a long time.

Once you exit the shower, this is one of those gels that will stay with you for a while, which is great news for me because The Comforter Body Lotion doesn't do this very well. I've found that the scent of the shower gel permeates my skin for hours after the lotion's scent has all but disappeared. 

Ultimately, this may by the greatest shower gel that Lush have released so far, and they'll be hard pressed to outdo themselves anytime soon. On the one hand, The Comforter Shower Gel would be a great permanent addition to Lush's range, and it would probably be one of their biggest sellers. However, I'm slightly glad that I cannot readily get my hands on this product as I'd probably buy so much I'd have to rent out a second room just to store it all.

An all-round perfect product, and one that I'd be willing to spend quite a lot of money on if I ever got the chance to purchase a few more bottles. It's fantastic that Lush have brought this out in their kitchen and I can imagine it being a fast seller. However, I only wish that they would release them in 500g bottles as I find these last a lot longer.

Quantitative Ingredients: Cassis Absolute (Ribes nigrum), Bergamot Oil (Citrus bergamia), Cassis Absolute (Ribes nigrum), Cypress Oil (Cupressus sempervirens), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Perfume, Cocoamphoacetate Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Limonene, Linalool, Colour 45410, Colour 17200.

Vegan?: Yes.

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

Read More

Dragon's Egg Bath Bomb

...And God said 'let there be light' and there was light... In all honesty, I felt the same mixture of elation, wonderment and amazement the first time I used a Dragon's Egg Ballistic, as I can imagine somebody new to religion feeling, having read Genesis for the first time. Not that I'm comparing Christianity to a bath bomb; I'm merely trying to convey the sheer happiness I felt when trying out one of my, now, all time favourite bathing products.     

Lush describe the experience like this; 'As the white outer layer of Dragon’s Egg fizzes into a light, creamy foam, it releases a drift of dissolving dragon’s scales (rice paper confetti) and crackling popping candy. As its golden inner core is revealed, your bathwater is transformed into a shimmering amber. Its bergamot and citrus scents leave you feeling transformed and invigorated, so perfect for a morning bath.'

They say, never judge a book by it's cover, and this sentiment in definitely true when I'm talking about Dragon's Egg; It's plain white demeanour, with the odd colourful 'splodge' across it's shell, was not going to get my heart racing. However, this bath bomb immediately transformed my mind, and my bath tub, when it got to work in the tub.

This ballistic is one of the slower-working ones, so upon placing it in the water, it immediately begins to foam and froth; littering the surface with a creamy, white foam but without fizzing or immediately spewing out colour. As Dragon's Egg begins to dissolve, streaks of vibrant, golden-yellow begin to flow out of the bath bomb, creating a whirlpool of luxurious glittery patterns and swirls; very much like the yolk and 'white' of a real egg. 

This ballistic is a very tangy, zesty product, with heaps of ingredients to maintain the smell throughout the entire experience. The scent is very similar to that of Avobath, although I found this one to be a little more playful and slightly sweeter. It reminded me of the lemon sherbet I used to eat as a child - a memory that only served to strengthen my love of this ballistic. Furthermore, Dragon's Egg contains a mixture of citrus oils and bergamot oil, to not only give it an uplifting, refreshing fragrance, but help it to soften your skin while you're relaxing.

This product really is very invigorating, which is probably why Lush suggest you should use this first thing in the morning to wake you up. It's a great ballistic to use during the winter months; to perk up those over-worked senses, or simply to reenergise yourself after a stressful day. You really feel and smell like royalty after you've bathed in Dragon's Egg's wonderful waters. 

I absolutely adore this ballistic, and will always choose this over any other bath bomb in Lush's regular range. I cannot recommend this product enough, and only hope that all of my 'gushing' will convince you, that this is a product that needs to be experienced!

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Perfume, Popping Candy, Lemon Oil, Bergamot Oil, Jasmine Absolute, Cream of Tartar, Water, Gardenia Extract, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Propylene Glycol, Lauryl Betaine, *Citral, *Limonene, *Linalool, Gold Lustre, Radiant Gold Lustre, Colour 15510, Colour 17200, Colour 14700, Colour 45410, Rice Paper.

Vegan?: Yes.

ratingTextUndefined

Read More

FUN With A Twist

As part of Lush's usual range, the company have a selection of five different scented FUN Bars that are available all year round. They are 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.

Being one of the most versatile products they offer, as well as being good value for money, FUN is a wonderful concept that offers affordable cosmetics for those that aren't lucky enough to have their pockets lined with gold. Working as a shampoo, shower gel and bubble bar, a small 100g bar of FUN should be a steal at £5 a pop. But is it?

Recently, Lush extended it's family of FUN and released a limited edition Gold bar as part of their Christmas 2013 range, promising to release other uniquely scented variations in the near future. Two weeks ago, Lush kept their promise and released a brand new edition - FUN With A Twist. 

Initially, I was overwhelmed with excitement about this new product. Not only did it look beautiful - a decorative bright orange and deep purple dough, moulded and twisted together to make the most attractive FUN bar to date, but Lush described it as possessing both the Twilight and Dragon's Egg fragrances - two of my favourite smells to come from Lush. 

For those unfamiliar with these two smells (how is that possible?!), Twilight is a beautiful creamy, malty lavender aroma with elements of tonka to give it a sensual but vanillary note, while Dragon's egg offers a zesty, sherbet-y, playful burst of lemon and lime. Two completely different smells; two equally gorgeous aromas. 

When my FUN With A Twist arrived, I was immediately bowled over by it's scent - both of the different fragrances were clearly defined and they were equally potent in the wrapper. Up close, you could pick out the Twilight when sniffing the purple section, and the Dragon's Egg on the orange. Strangely, when smelling them together, it was the Twilight that shone through, yet it was the Dragon's Egg scent that came through more when being used in the bath. 

As with all of the FUN bars, I like to use mine as a replacement for more expensive bath ballistics, when I'm after a short bath as opposed to a longer soak. So I pulled off a generous sized chunk and crumbled it under the running tap. Immediately my bath tub began to fill with fluffy, zesty bubbles and the water merged into a lovely shade of orange. Unfortunately, both the colour of the water and the overall scent was lost quite a bit once my bath had been run, and I found that I could barely detect much of the fragrance at all within a matter of minutes. 

Secondly, whereas other Fun bars work almost as well as a bubble bar and leave my skin smooth to the touch, I found this one was very drying and the water felt rather rigid, almost as if I'd dissolved a piece of soap in the tub. Most of the bubbles stayed until the end of the experience, but the colour of the water turned a murky orange colour and my skin didn't seem to benefit from these aspects at all. 

On my second attempt at using this, I opted to use FUN With A Twist as a shower gel/soap and found that it lathered up quite well. I had to experiment with how much water to add to get a good lather going but it did seem to work very much like all of the other FUN bars I've tried. The lather is much thicker in consistency, and may need a little coaxing to spread across your skin, but the compressed format of the product means that a tiny piece will go a lot further than your usual splodge of shower gel and this makes it worthwhile. 

Using it in this way meant that I was able to see the specks of glitter that are distributed throughout the bar, and these tended to stay on my skin, although there was very little in the way of lustre and I couldn't find any on my skin once I'd rinsed myself off. 

Lavender, lemon and bergamot oils are just some of the ingredients used to try and help make FUN a moisturising, uplifting and refreshing product. While the scents are true to the original aromas, these smells were somewhat lost during use and I wouldn't say that this was the best product to use if you wanted to improve the condition of your skin.  

Overall, fans of these scents will no doubt be rather interested in trying out a new product, and if I was judging on smell and design alone, it would win many awards. However, I was a little disappointed with it's productivity and I feel the gimmick of FUN doesn't deter from the fact that I'd get a lot more out of a bubble bar, even if it works out more expensive.

Quantitative Ingredients: Talc, Cornflour, Glycerine, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lemon Oil, Bergamot Oil, Jasmine Absolute, Benzoin Resinoid, Tonka Absolute, Ylang Ylang Oil, Perfume, Citral, Geraniol, Coumarin, Linalool, Gold Glimmer Lustre, Snowflake Lustre.

Vegan?: Yes.

Read More

The Olive Branch Body Lotion

When Lush first announced that they were going to be revamping the retro range and offering consumers a chance to purchase old and exclusive products in another format, I was overly excited. I began to conjure up ideas for new products - Ponche Body Lotion, Calacas-scented everything, Angel's Delight perfume etc... Never once did I stop to consider the possibility of some of the older, harder to find products making an appearance and stealing the show. That was until this product appeared online...

The Olive Branch family is one that I initially overlooked in the beginning - too busy searching out all of the sweet and citrus products to satisfy my cravings. However, during a family holiday, my decision to bring a small 100g bottle of the shower gel, was enough to cement my obsession with the unique and equally beautiful smell. 

When Lush announced that they would be bringing out Olive Branch Body Lotion, I was immensely happy and even more elated when four tubs of the stuff were delivered to my door a few days ago....

Originally made with cocoa butter and olive oil, I was initially skeptical and a little worried that Lush had opted to remove the latter ingredient and replace it with almond oil. However, true to Lush's form, this body lotion smells identical to the much-loved shower gel and possesses all of the many wonderful layers of fragrance that you would expect. 

This body lotion gives off a beautiful aroma of fresh mandarins, bergamot oil and vine leaves - a warm, peppery and citrus-infused fragrance unlike anything else. It is the vine leaves that dominate the smell here, giving the lotion a unique savoury element that brings the different scents together. The mandarin adds a subtle fruitiness that compliments the other ingredients and gives it an uplifting, Mediterranean scent; the bergamot oil adds a nutty, woody layer.   

Altogether, these ingredients create a body lotion to get excited about, and one that compliments not only your skin, but the warming weather as well. The addition of almond oil has somewhat altered the appearance of the body lotion, giving it a somewhat runny consistency that doesn't look far off finely blended semolina. However, the thinness of the cream means that it's really light and gentle on your skin, permeating the skin very quickly and leaving your body feeling smooth, hydrated and refreshed without any stickiness or oily residue.

To me, The Olive Branch Body Lotion is very much like Karma Kream in that it feels more like a cleanser than a lotion. Although it's not the most moisturising body lotion that Lush have offered, it does soften the skin wonderfully and leaves it's gorgeous smell on your skin for hours. 

Overtime the scent does fade and it is the nuttiness that comes through on your skin, which works wonderfully well if you're wearing a citrusy perfume at the time. It definitely doesn't have the same longevity as say Vanilla Dee-Lite or Tropical Jungle, but it does leave it's mark and makes you feel beautiful all day. 

I've gotten many compliments this weekend, something I normally only expect to get from the perfume I'm wearing. I really wish this was a regular body lotion for it would definitely be one of my must-have purchases. As it is, I am very glad I picked up multiple tubs for myself and I shall be indulging both my senses and my skin with this body lotion all throughout the summer months. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Almond Oil (Prunus dulcis), Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Glycerine, Stearic Acid, Triethanolamine, Bergamot Oil (Citrus Aurantium bergamia), Lemon Oil (Citrus limonum), Orange Flower Absolute (Citrus Aurantium amara), Mandarin Oil (Citrus reticulata), Cetearyl Alcohol, Methyl Ionone, Lilial, Citral, Coumarin, Oakmoss Extract (Evernia prunastri) Hexylcinnamal, Citronellol, Hydroxycitronellal, Limonene, Linalool, Perfume, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.

Vegan?: Yes.

Read More

May Day Bath Bomb

Since the Lush Kitchen opened just over five weeks ago, the attempt to reduce my Lush stash has somewhat diminished. Having gained over 40 new items, all of which will take me a long time to get through, I'm accepting the fact that I may never own a normal amount of Lush produce. It was while I was surveying my latest additions, that I realised how little new bath products have come out recently, which makes this next ballistic a little special.

May Day is the epitome of a Lush bath bomb - it's gorgeous to look at, possesses a unique and rather wonderful scent, and has been manufactured to coincide with an important cause that has been making the headlines recently. The message is clear - keep our badgers alive. Much like the Charity Pot Body Lotion, all of the profit made from the sales of this ballistic will go towards multiple anti-badger cull projects that exist around the UK, helping to crack down and eradicate inhumane slaughter of such a beautiful creature. 

Although this product possesses a brand new scent, to begin with it reminded me a little of Granny Takes A Dip; a powdery, sherbety-sweet ballistic with a dash of fennel oil and a sprinkling of rosewood. What I found strange about May Day is that there seems to be two separate scents at play here. On the one hand, there's a slightly sour citrus aroma going on, which has been sweetened with a touch of the sodium bicarbonate. As well as this, there's a strong and natural aniseed fragrance that sits apart from everything else and is again made gentler and more enjoyable because of the overall nectarous smell that the bath bomb gives off. It's not a scent that blew me away, but it's definitely one I was very intrigued by and enjoyed immensely. 

This ballistic is rather quick at dissolving and instantly begins to fizz and bubble as it hits the water. It's beautiful scent intensifies quite a bit when combined with the heat of the water, and unlike a lot of Lush's bath bombs, I found that my bathroom was engulfed in a wave of it's fragrance that lingered for a long time. 

Unfortunately, in regards to the display it showcases in the water, the results were a little disappointing. May Day is a predominantly white bath bomb, aside from the black streaks that make up the badger's fur on the surface. For this reason, once the ballistic has fully dissolved, the bath water is left a cloudy white colour, which isn't very exciting. 

However, what it lacks in frills, it more than makes up for in different ways. Firstly, this product is extremely moisturising - on par with Lush's infamous Butterball Bath Bomb. When you climb in, you can see a thin layer of oil that gets to work immediately on your skin and leaves it feeling beautifully soft, hydrated and silky-smooth. Secondly, the fragrance stays with you throughout your entire experience and lingers on your skin for hours afterwards. Finally, the aroma it gives off is really soothing and uplifting, and I felt revived and refreshed afterwards. 

May Day is a really lovely addition to Lush's bath bomb range, and it's definitely one I would buy regularly if it wasn't limited edition. It possesses both a citrusy side for lovers of Avobath or Dragon's Egg, and a gentle but refreshing edge like Sakura - characteristics that will attract Lush fans with multiple preferences. Thoroughly enjoyable!

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Fennel Oil, Rosewood Oil, Bergamot Oil, Titanium Dioxide, Citral, Limonene, Linalool, Perfume, Colour 77499.

Vegan?: Yes.

Read More