Damp Squid Bath Ballistic

For about three months, back towards the beginning of 2013, I went through a phase of scouting eBay every single day, desperately seeking out rare and discontinued bath bombs to add to my collection. While I'm far too embarrassed to admit the amount of money I spent on this venture, I was definitely rather successful in my quest. By the end, I had amassed close to 400 different ballistics, bubble bars and melts; a sizeable lot that I had to try and fit into my tiny room.

One of the items I was most excited to find/try was the Damp Squid Ballistic, of which I managed to pick up three of. This ballistic was one of Lush's original products, released back in the day when they called themselves Cosmetics To Go. Although I don't know the story behind why this bath bomb was made to look like a squid, I find it endearing and rather cute nevertheless. 

For ballistics as old as these, I was expecting them to be rather weak in scent. However, I was surprised to find that all three of them were still very strong smelling and in tact; I wonder whether the canvas incasing had anything to do with the retention of smell. These bath bombs are much smaller than the average size ballistic, similar in size to Cinders and Keep It Fluffy, although they're not as attractive in design. Underneath the canvas, they're a simple white in colour. 

Damp Squid is very similar to another one of Lush's old bath bombs, Silent White, of which I also managed to amass a few. However, this one smells a little more potent and slightly more herby, which I appreciate. Made using a combination of ylang ylang, patchouli and rosewood oil, it has an earthy and floral scent, which somewhat heightens once the bath bomb has fully dissolved. Whether this is due to it's age or not, but I also noticed a slightly powdery sugary edge to the bath bomb; a sherberty element not unlike the after scent of the Dragon's Egg Bath Ballistic. 

Together, this sweet but earthy scent created a wonderfully calm and relaxing bath, one that went incredibly well with my Karma Shower Gel. 

As this is an old ballistic, it did sink to the bottom of the tub, and it didn't produce any colour once it had fully dispersed. Furthermore, the canvas outer shell proved a little annoying when it became caught up in the chain of my plug, and I had to spend a good five minutes fiddling with it to sort it out. 

However, it left my skin feeling really soft and smelling beautiful. For a product nearly six years old, I was extremely impressed with how well it performed; even outdoing some of the Lush products that are mere 2-3 months old.

I've only given this ballistic a rating of three, due mostly to it's performance when it hit the water, and my overall reaction to it's fragrance. However, I can imagine if Lush ever brought back a fresh batch for me to try, I would no doubt re-evaluate this review and award it higher. I can imagine this being more beautiful back in the day - I wish I was there to enjoy it then. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Citric acid, Fine sea Salt, Perfume, Irish Moss powder, Rosewood oil, Patchouli Oil, Petigrain oil, Ylang Ylang, Coumarin, Hydroxycitronellas.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Lemon Melt Shower Gel

For years, Lushies have been battling with the temptation of wanting to lick, nibble and full-on eat some of the products that Lush bring out. It didn't help when they began to sell the lip scrubs, which actually encouraged you to digest the products. So when my tubs of Lemon Melt Shower Gel arrived in the post earlier this week, I was nothing short of lifting the pot to my mouth and drinking the whole thing.

The Lush Kitchen initiative was set up to promote and produce the freshest cosmetics on the planet, and although it only started a few days ago, this shower gel is the epitome of what that stands for. Presented in what is normally used as a shower jelly tub, this product looks and smells like a cake mixture. It's a little messy in it's pot; slightly dishevelled to look at, but this just adds to that natural vibe. I love it!

There was a little confusion at first, on my part, as although it states that it's vegan on the site, the tub claimed it was only vegetarian, despite there not being any featured ingredients that suggested it contained any animal derivatives. This must be an error on Lush's part and they need to make sure they don't do this again in the future. 

Firstly, I love the fact that this gel has an actual slice of fresh lemon included in the tub. This not only gives off a wonderfully strong natural citrus smell upon opening the lid, but is also rather useful if you want something to smother this shower gel onto your body with. And I can guarantee that once you've had a sniff of this product, you'll definitely be wanting to smother yourself with it as quickly as you can.

Made from a combination of Irish moss, fresh lemon juice, myrrh resinoid and lemongrass oil, Lemon Melt is an uplifting, fresh and very strong zesty product. With it's moisturising properties, the addition of moss helps to make this one of the softest shower products I have ever brought from Lush; the myrrh possesses antiseptic and astringent elements, which has a calming effect on the body - perfect for those with sensitive skin. The combination of lemon juice and lemongrass oil dominates most of the scent as well as brightening the skin and leaving it visibly renewed. 

The most interesting aspect of this product's make up is that Lush have included gratings of cocoa butter across the surface of the shower gel. When you scoop Lemon Melt out to use it in the shower, these shards will help to moisturise and soften your skin even more, leaving it feeling and looking beautiful.

To me, this shower gel smells like the gooey filling of a lemon meringue pie or a fresh pot of lemon curd; a rich, citrusy fragrance that needs to be smelled to be appreciated. When comparing it to other shower gels, it definitely stands out as being the least 'synthetic' smelling one of the lot. In no way am I saying that Lush shower gels are synthetic is anyway, just that they smell more manufactured than this one does. 

Lemon Melt is thicker than most of Lush's shower gels, and is not that far off in consistency from being a shower jelly. As well as being thick, it's also an incredibly velvety product and when you rub it between your palms, it's not that easy to lather up. Much like Black Pearl Shower Gel, this is a gel intent on conditioning and softening your skin, which is why it has a slightly more oily texture. After this has been washed away, you can really feel how smooth it makes your body feel, and this feeling persists for a long time after you've exited the shower.

Overall, this product is an incredible addition to Lush's range, and I only hope it makes another reappearance so I can buy a few more to enjoy. I've been using this first thing in the morning, and it's a perfect remedy to counteract what I call my '6am rage'. It wakes me up, stimulates my senses into life and leaves me feeling and smelling wonderful. I still get little bursts of Lemon Melt throughout the day, and this only serves to keep me in a great mood at work.

Although only the second product I have tried and tested from Lush's current 'Live Kitchen', I'm starting to feel very envious of all of those Lushies who were around when Cosmetics To Go were still in business. The quality of these products are exquisite - they look and feel natural and smell as fresh as they could possibly be. Keep these beauties coming this way Lush!  

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocoa Butter, Irish Moss Decoction, Fresh Lemon Juice, Hydroxyethycellulose, Perfume, Myrrh Resinoid, Lemongrass Oil, Bergamot Oil, Fine Sea Salt, Gardenia Extract, Limonene, Linalool, Citral, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Lemon slice.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Caca Marron

Caca Marron Henna, or as Lush refer to it as, ' the 'no shit hair colour',  is definitely not something for the faint hearted. I don't mind smothering lotions and potions and gels all over my body, or clambering into baths of every colour and smell - after all, the worst I'd most likely get is a rash were my body to reject a product. 

However, I have always harvested fears over losing my hair should one of my hair-dying sessions go wrong. So when I was presented with a heavy block, of what looked like dried mud, and told that I was to put it on my hair, I began to get nervous. 

Being a vegan, it is very difficult to find hair colour that it certified vegan, so I am very limited to the colours I can use. And as I said in one of my first blog entries, I am all for choosing a natural alternative to that of a manufactured product. So I had no choice but to try Lush's natural hair dyes. 

A typical block is priced at £7.50, and the lady in the shop told me that for my hair length (just past my shoulders), I would only need to use half. So if this product were to work, it would actually work out cheaper than the big branded ones in Boots or Superdrug.

The first step is to dissolve the henna in hot water, and unlike chocolate, henna isn't as keen to dissolve quickly, so it took me a good 10 minutes to reduce the block down to a stodgy goo.

Next I was told to smear on some Ultrabalm to stop the henna staining my forehead or ears. As it happened, I didn't have to worry about staining, as the henna takes quite a while to 'work it's magic' so I had plenty of time to remove any stray gunk before it tainted my skin. 

Then for the messy bit! My sister donned the thick gloves that the sales assistant gave me, and began to smear my head with, what looked like, the product of a heavy drinking session and a bad curry (if you get my gist!). 

It took her about 20 minutes to make sure my entire scalp of hair was ladened with the stuff, and a further few minutes to 'lock' my hair inside a carrier bag so the henna could do it's magic. 

Unlike other hair dyes, you have somewhat control over the colour your hair ends up as. I was told that if I left my hair down and uncovered, the henna would go a rich, dark brown; If I covered my hair and kept it warm, my hair would come out with a red streak. I chose the latter.

Then for the not-so-fun bit. 

On Lush's site, they claim that the henna needs to be left on for between 1-4 hours, which is a long time to sit with a head full of dirt. What makes it worse is that the henna starts to dry, which means it gets heavier, the longer you leave it on. In the end, I managed to withstand just under 3 hours, before I sought solace under a shower nozzle. 

It took quite a while to remove the henna from my head, and I had to use a lot of shampoo and conditioner to make my hair feel somewhat normal again. 

Once my hair had dried, I could definitely see a much deeper brown throughout, and the redness looked beautiful in the light. Three weeks on, and my hair has retained it's colour and still looks as vibrant as it did straight after I dyed it.

The downside to using henna is that I suspect it's rather difficult to dye your own hair without making a mess. I also found that my hair was really rough for about a week after, and I had to use a large surplus of conditioner to bring it back to it's normal state.

Overall, it was definitely a fun experiment, and one that has clear advantages to shop-brought alternatives. I will definitely use the other half of my block in a couple of weeks time and see if it's any easier to use. However, I don't know if it's something that I'll use regularly to dye my hair. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Red Henna, Cocoa Butter, Indigo Herb, Ground Coffee, Fresh Organic Lemon Juice, Irish Moss Powder, Clove Bud Oil, Citral, Eugenol, Geraniol, Citronellol, Limonene, Linalool, Perfume.

Vegan?: Yes.

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