The Sun Solid Perfume

They say that cosmetics can't change a person, but I know differently. Ever since I began collecting Lush, I find that I get more pleasure out of deciding what to take on holiday with me than the actual holiday itself. On Sunday, I jetted off to beautiful, sunny Spain and I found far more excitement in choosing the products I was going to share my trip with, than that I was going away for the first time in years.

Knowing that it was going to be scorching, I opted to take a perfume that would accentuate the wonderful heat - The Sun. Originally released as a liquid perfume for the Volume 2 range, Lush have recently brought it out in solid form as well.

There are many reasons why solid perfumes are a good investment. Firstly, they are very easily to transport from place to place. They take up very little space and have no way of leaking, so can be stored in pockets, purses and bags and taken near enough anywhere. Secondly, they are great value for money. This one in particular comes in at £5 for a 12g tub, and while the weight in conjunction with the price may seem rather expensive for perfume, it's far more compact than your typical liquid fragrances so you get a lot more bang for your buck.

Finally, and this is more of personal preference, there's just something really wonderful about the packaging and designs of these solid editions. They're a great little collector's item and when bought in conjunction with others, look rather fantastic on your shelf. 

What I like about The Sun Solid Perfume is that it isn't as acidic-smelling as it's liquid counterpart. When I first tested the liquid perfume, I was a little put-off by how strong it was in the bottle. Luckily it mellows out quite a lot and I grew to love it, but the solid addition doesn't have any of those potent acidic smells to begin with.

Made from a combination of orange, sandalwood and jojoba oil, this perfume is a bright, refreshing and very uplifting fragrance. Straight from the tin it reminds me of freshly peeled oranges - it captures the tartness you experience when peeling back the layer of skin and pith from an actual orange. There's nothing synthetic about this citrus smell as all - it's as natural as you can get.

Underneath this, there is a very subtle but equally warming hint of sandalwood. This gives the orange a base on which to stand so it's not as thin and two-dimensional as you can imagine it being. The sandalwood makes more of an appearance on the skin, where it pads out the zesty scent and grounds the overall aroma. It makes the perfume just slightly more sultry and sophisticated, which I love.

To use solid perfumes, all you have to do is massage your finger over the surface of the perfume and then rub it into key areas of the body. It's much more conservative than liquid perfumes as you don't lose any of the product when you're applying it to your skin - a 12g tub would easily outlive a 100ml bottle in that sense. 

Unfortunately, the one downfall with this solid edition is that the scent is very short-lived. I applied quite a lot to both of my wrists and found that within 10-15 minutes, the smell had all but disappeared. My friends did say that they could detect the perfume on me, but they too said it was a very weak one and not something they could pick up without standing almost on top of me.

While solid perfumes are definitely a unique way to enjoy the wonderful smells of Lush, I don't think that this one will prove as enjoyable as it's liquid cousin. While the fragrance itself is flawless, I will be sticking to the liquid edition in future to get my Sun fix. While I have given it a high rating, this is because of the design, the fragrance and the usability - it's the longevity that lets it down. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Organic Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia chinensis), Castor Oil (Ricinus communis), Candelillia Wax (Euphorbia cerifera), Brazilian Orange Oil (Citrus sinensis), Perfume, Sandalwood Oil (Santalum austro-caledonicum vieill), Mimosa Absolute (Acacia decurrens), Limonene,  Linalool, Titanium Dioxide, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Tin Oxide.

Vegan?: Yes.  

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Smuggler's Soul Solid Perfume

I love the fact that Lush are re-releasing all of their perfumes in solid form and reverting the rather boring looking black tubes into these wonderfully quirky silver tins. There's something very alluring about the new designs and you cannot deny that they make a far more beautiful display on the shelf.

Smuggler's Soul was the product to start it all off. Chosen as one of three new Gorilla perfumes to get released through the Lush Kitchen, this exclusive beauty is a unique and very beautiful aromatic addition to the collection. You only have to bare witness to the wonderful green colour of the product to know that you've stumbled onto a winner. 

Described as being 'deep, dangerous and intoxicating', this solid perfume contains an abundance of both sandalwood and jojoba oil. The latter ingredient is an excellent natural moisturiser and this gives the perfume a silky smooth consistency - one that transfers from the tin onto your skin with ease. Despite claiming it contains lustre, I couldn't detect any in the pot or on my skin so don't be put off trying the product because of this reason.  

The sandalwood is what gives this product it's main note of fragrance. It's a very natural, light woody smell - one that thickens when it mixes with the warmth of your skin. Alongside this, the tagetes oil adds a sweet and very comforting aroma - it's almost a sugary smell and reminds me a little of old-fashioned cola. Imagine Karma without the potency and spiciness of the patchouli and you'll begin to understand how integral this ingredient is to the perfume. 

Finally, the lemongrass oil adds a fresh, grassy and rather gentle citrus element to the overall scent - it's not at all dominating in the mix but it compliments the other ingredients and helps to make this an uplifting and very warm fragrance. 

Unfortunately, despite it's beautiful aroma, Smuggler's Soul isn't very long-lasting. After massaging it into my wrists and neck, I found that I couldn't detect the perfume a mere fifteen minutes after it has been applied. I thought that perhaps it was one of those perfumes that's subtle on the wearer but leaves an impression on bystanders. However, neither of my flatmates were able to pick up the scent on me, even when I applied multiple helpings to my skin. 

In the tin, it's a wonderfully complex unisex perfume and one that could easily become a firm favourite in my household. However, it's staying power was shockingly short and I found it to be a bit of a wasted purchase. I only hope that the liquid equivalent of this can offer me more as it's a beautifully complex yet delightfully light aroma - one that could become a best seller for Lush.

Quantitative Ingredients: Organic Jojoba Oil, Castor Oil, Candelilla Wax, Perfume, Indian Sandalwood Oil, Sandalwood Oil, Madagascan Vetivert Oil, Tagetes Oil, Lemongrass Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Salicylate, Citral, Coumarin, Eugenol, Farnesol, Geraniol, Isoeugenol, Limonene, Linalool, Methyl Ionone, Spring Green Lustre.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Five O'Clock Whistle Shaving Smoothie

When my flatmates saw the products that were being released from the Kitchen last week, their responses were along the lines of - 'well at least you'll save your money, what use do you have with a beard wash, shaving cream and moustache wax?'. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work that way in my world. As a wise woman once said, 'I'll damn well grow a beard if it means I am able to use these products'...

While that last quote might have actually come from my own mouth, the ideal still remains. With Lush products being so multifaceted, there is always more ways than one to use a single item; the fun comes in discovering the versatility of each and every product.

Five O'Clock Whistle is a shaving smoothie - the first of it's kind to be released from Lush. While it is predominantly designed to aid men in trimming and removing their facial hair, I didn't see any harm in using it to banish my leg hair either. 

This smoothie is packed with multiple ingredients - all especially included to give you the smoothest, most enjoyable shave of your life. With jojoba, rapeseed and coconut oil to help moisturise and nourish, extra virgin olive oil to condition and strengthen the skin and kaolin clay to cleanse and absorb excess oils, this sounds like the perfect product. 

As well as the above ingredients, this shaving companion also contains a coffee and lavender infusion, which despite being the predominant ingredient, doesn't offer much in the way of scent. It is the inclusion of both fresh lime juice and lime oil that gives this product it's dominating smell. To me, this shaving smoothie smells like a good quality chocolate lime - a strong, zesty citrus aroma that awakens your senses and makes your skin tingle. The coffee and lavender do add a very subtle note in the overall scent, but it's not enough to write home about. 

To use, simply scoop out a handful and massage it across the area you want to shave. I found that I needed a little more than a teaspoon worth for each leg and my male 'testee' needed about the same for his face. Much like most of Lush's other smoothies, this one doesn't produce a very soapy lather but it does create an oily substance that coats your legs nicely.

Five O'Clock Whistle wasn't as effective as Shave The Planet in the fact that I didn't feel as if my legs were taut enough to avoid cutting myself. While it was more effective than regular shower gel or soap, I didn't feel as protected as I normally would with this sort of product. Having said that, my male counterpart commented on how it tightened his facial skin much like a normal shaving gel would do. He was able to shave as per usual and didn't inflict any injuries on himself. 

The shaving smoothie did leave my legs and my flatmate's face feeling squeaky clean, and I was impressed at how the gorgeous lime smell permeated our skin and remained with us for a long time afterwards. However, Five O'Clock Whistle was a little drying on the skin and I felt that my legs weren't as smooth or as soft as other shaving creams have made them. My flatmate experienced the same after shaving his beard and had to moisturise afterwards as his face felt a little on the dry side. 

Overall, I am really happy that there is going to be a permanent shaving smoothie for vegans, as there is next to nothing on the Lush site that can offer the same soft of protection. Furthermore, this smoothie smells delicious and is the perfect accompaniment in those early mornings when you need something vibrant and uplifting to wake you up. However, it isn't the most moisturising product and you'll probably need to use a body lotion afterwards to replace some of the skin's oils that may have been removed. It's definitely a step in the right direction but it's not quite good enough to join my regular 'must haves'. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Coffee and Lavender Infusion, Organic Jojoba Oil, Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Water (Aqua), Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Almond Oil, Glycerine, Perfume, Fresh Lime Juice, Kaolin, Lime Oil, Aloe Vera Extract, Carrageenan Extract, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Citral, Limonene.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Kalamazoo Beard And Facial Wash

Kalamazoo was one of the first Lush Kitchen products that I heard about, back when the company's new initiative was first forming. At the time, it wasn't something that immediately appealed to me - partly because it's aimed more towards a male audience and partly because I've already perfected my facial routine. However, I couldn't let it pass without trying it out.

Packed full of skin-enriching ingredients, this beard and facial wash claims to cleanse and soften both skin and hair - leaving you ready to start your day. Almond oil acts as the base here, helping to moisturise and repair broken skin whilst apricot oil helps to nourish and provide a protective layer over the skin - keeping in moisture and giving you a natural glow. 

Pineapple Juice is an excellent anti-inflammatory and boosts your skin's natural radiance - giving your complexion a healthy glow; orange oil is also known for it's skin-healing properties and works with all of the ingredients to support and improve the condition of your skin.

Together these ingredients help to create a beautiful smelling facial wash. You can really detect the orange, pineapple and apricot here, and combined they create an uplifting and highly fruity fragrance. Kalamazoo gives off a wonderfully rich and wholesome citrus smell and is now easily one of my favourite zesty smells from Lush. It's like Sunny Citrus Soap meets The Sun perfume meets Celebrate Body Lotion. In the simplest terms, it's gorgeous.

As strange as it is to say, this product does have a slight masculine smell about it. That's not to say it cannot be enjoyed by all, as I will certainly be buying more of this when it becomes a regular product. However, there is something about it that reminds me a little of men's aftershave. Having said that, I think this would be incredible as a perfume so it's more of a unisex fragrance than anything else. 

In the tub, Kalamazoo's consistency is far thicker than a body lotion - somewhere in between Dirty Hair Cream and Sympathy For The Skin Body Lotion. It's quite condensed in this way so you don't need to use a lot with each use, extending the life of the 110g pot that little bit further.

In the shower, simply scoop about a level teaspoon amount into the palm of your hands and lather across your face or massage into your beard. Leave it for the desired amount of time before rinsing away under the running water. If you're using it on your beard, don't expect any foam - this is more of a moisturiser than a soap in that sense.

Initially, this facial wash made my skin a little rigid - much like when a soap removes some of the natural oils in your skin and leaves your complexion a little parched. My face felt very clean but a little too tight for my liking. However, once I had patted my face down and it was dry, my skin began to feel really soft and I could feel a slight radiance omitting from my cheeks and forehead. I could detect a little of the scent afterwards, but it didn't stay around for long. 

My male test subject commented that his beard did feel clean after he had tried it out, but that it didn't provide an experience any better than when he uses a regular shower gel to clean himself. However, he did notice that the smell stayed in his beard a lot longer than it did on my skin, and he could still smell the wash for many hours after use. 

Having used this across the last few days, I have found that I haven't had to moisturise my face afterwards and the condition of my skin has improved slightly with daily use. It's a lovely product to use first thing in the morning as the smell is highly refreshing and invigorating, and it leaves your skin feeling dirt-free and healthy for the whole day. Now is the perfect time to bring this out as it does a great job at making you feel clean and refreshed, even when you're sweating from the excess heat outside.

For £6.50, I think this is great value for money and works out a lot cheaper than investing in a facial moisturiser. It gets rid of debris build up and gives your skin a healthy glow that stays with you through even the hottest of days. I will be investing in this wash in the future and I only hope that more products with this scent are brought out for Lush fans to enjoy. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Stearic Acid, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Glyceryl Stearate & PEG-100 Stearate, Triethanolamine, Cetearyl Alcohol, Almond Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil, Fresh Pineapple Juice, Perfume, Organic Jojoba Oil, Cupuacu Butter, Methylparaben.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Cosmic Dreamcatcher Massage Bar

I've been wanting to get my hands on this massage bar for a very long time - it's one of those items that always seems to find its way into conversations, and going by the description alone, it makes for a very unique and interesting sounding product.

Cosmic Dreamcatcher is an age old favourite for many Lushies; first appearing over ten years ago and making fleeting visits throughout the years. Possessing a mystical herbal scent with elements of fruit, spice and incense, this fragrance is rather difficult to explain. But I shall try my best.

Upon opening the wrapper, it was apparent that the combination of thyme and sage present in the ingredients list, act as the main note of the massage bar. It reminded me a little of dried grass - that savoury element that would appeal to fans of products such as Tramp Shower Gel.

Behind this, the vetivert and olibanum oils give the aroma a smokey backdrop, which compliments the savoury aspect of the smell and helps to pad out the overall fragrance. The addition of fresh mango helps to give a subtle but pleasant sweetness that intertwines throughout the scent and brings it all together nicely.  

Together, these ingredients give Cosmic Dreamcatcher a very interesting scent that will appeal to those who like earthy, woody scents. Fans of the Breath of God line will no doubt be all over this like a rash. I would warn you however,  that it's one of those products that would be an acquired taste. I cannot say that I fell in love with the smell immediately, but I did grow to appreciate it more with every use.

What I did noticed immediately upon taking this bar out of it's wrapper, is that it's extremely delicate and begins to melt the second it touches your skin. In fact, it's easily the greasiest massage bar I have ever tried from Lush. For this reason, I would recommend that you try to handle it as little as possible. Whereas normally I would recommend that you apply this directly onto the body and then use your hands to lather it across the skin, Cosmic Dreamcatcher works better when the oil is collected in the palm of your hand and then smoothed across the area of your choice. 

It does leave your skin rather greasy and shiny for a good twenty minutes after application, so I would recommend that you use this when you have time to let your body absorb the oils. I found that once the various butters and oils had dispersed, I was left with wonderfully soft and lightly fragranced skin. This effect lasted for the most part of the day and I could still smell elements of the frankincense (olibanum) some eight hours after I had initially applied the bar. 

Combined to aide relaxation and balance your spiritual energies, this bar definitely calms the skin and works in harmony with your body to de-stress and de-clutter your mind. Although I wouldn't claim it's one of my favourites, it definitely offers the consumer something a little different, and does work wonderfully as a 'before bed' treat. 

It's not one that I would rush out to buy again, but I have enjoyed using this over the last few days, and I'm glad I've had the opportunity to try it. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Cocoa Butter, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Fresh Mango, Perfume, Vetivert Oil, Olibanum Oil, White Thyme Oil, Sage Oil, Paprika Extract, Citral, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Krysztal Solid Deodorant

As I've stated in all of my Lush deodorant reviews, this is one aspect of the cosmetic industry that Lush haven't managed to 'perfect' as of yet. In Lush's defence, I can imagine it being quite difficult to design a product that eradicates and masks a natural bodily function. As it stands, I've yet to find a readily available product in any high street shop - at least one that doesn't cost almost £10 for the privilege.

Krysztal Solid deodorant looks a little like it's brother, T'eo; an oval-shaped block of hardened powder with a thin layer of wax on the base. Named after one of Cosmetics To Go founders, Stan Krysztal, this product claims to contain a mixture of oils to refresh your armpits whilst also calming hard-working skin. 

To begin with, first impressions reveal that this deodorant is one of the nicest smelling ones to be released from Lush. With a combination of lemon oil and lemon and lime juice, Krysztal smells very much like Stepping Stone Foot Scrub - a bright, zesty citrus aroma. There is a very slight after-scent of jojoba here, but it works at rounding off the scent and isn't too prominent in the overall smell. 

Lush suggest that you apply this onto dried skin - gently rubbing in a circular motion across your armpits. Having found that T'eo works better with slightly damp skin, I was expecting this to be the same. However, after carefully applying this to my dry skin, I found that it worked at leaving it's scent on my body whilst painting my armpits with a very thin layer of white powder. It doesn't leave enough on your body to stain clothing and it disappears very quickly afterwards so you're not left with pasty-looking underarms. Furthermore, I didn't have to scrub hard to get this product to work, which meant that my armpits didn't feel sore or turn pink from irritation. 

Unfortunately, I found that it doesn't stop you from sweating but the powder does contain bicarbonate of soda to soak up some of your access sweat, so I was drier with this on than without. It also has essential oils to neutralise smells, including cypress oil to tone, so I wasn't plagued with any unwanted smells throughout the day. I do wonder why anyone would be that interested in toning their armpits though. 

Despite leaving my skin smelling wonderful, I found that it didn't protect me for very long. As someone who works long, hard days, I had to re-apply this almost hourly, which isn't very practical for those of us who live busy lives. If I wasn't able to re-apply this, my skin felt damp under my arms again, even though I had done very little manual labour to warrant a lot of sweating. Sometimes I think that these natural deodorants almost make me sweat more than I usually would - although, I wonder whether this is because I'm just more aware of my bodily functions when wearing these products. 

Overall, I am going to continue using this as it makes me feel clean and refreshed, and it does neutralise smells and prevent the smell of sweat from seeping through. Having used this about eight times a day over the weekend, and not seeing any reduction in it's size, Krysztal is a long-lasting deodorant and will definitely surpass the shelf-life of your average deodorant. However, if like me you're more prone to sweating, this is not a product that will keep you dry so I will have to continue using my Nivea stick alongside this to top up during the day. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar, Organic Jojoba Oil, Lemon Oil, Black Wax (Specerit Black Z), Magnesium Carbonate, Cypress Oil, Lime Oil, Fresh Organic Lemon Juice, Fresh Organic Lime Juice, Citral, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Perfume.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Sweet Lips Lip Scrub

They say an ignorant person never learns, and until today, I didn't consider myself to possess such a trait. However, having amassed a good handful of lip scrubs, all of which haven't been used once, I realise that I'm a little guilty of harvesting such judgements. I say this, because after my very positive experience with Bubblegum Lip Scrub, I assured myself that I would definitely begin using these lip scrubs regularly. However, almost a year later, they've remained in the same place on my shelf, untouched.

I only had to use Sweet Lips Lip Scrub once to know that I've been a fool to leave it unused for so long.  As a person who suffers from extremely dried, cracked and sore lips, these products are perfect to slip into your bag and top up that wonderful soft feeling throughout the day. Until I tried Bubblegum for the first time, I always assumed that these products were a bit of a gimmick, but I can confidently say that they actually work, and damn well at that. 

All of Lush's lips scrubs are made mostly from castor sugar, which acts as the 'scrub' and jojoba oil, which helps to moisturise the skin. As you can see from the ingredients list, there is not a whole lot more that goes into this product, which is a good thing. 

This particular product also contains vanilla extract and cocoa absolute, which not only gives the scrub it's wonderful fragrance, but helps to make this lip scrub taste scrummy to boot. Described by Lush as a 'sugary sweet chocolate' scrub, Sweets Lips smells to me of fresh cocoa butter intertwined with a burnt vanilla fragrance - simply gorgeous. Unlike other lip scrubs, this one's slightly unappetising to look at - a pale, sludgy brown not far off the colour of Demerara sugar. However, as soon as you smell it's gorgeous scent, all his forgiven.

To use I simply scoop out a tiny amount with my finger and then rub the scrub all over my lips in a circular motion. Then the best part; I use my tongue to lick off the excess sugar from my lips before applying my favourite lip gloss or balm. 

It makes my lips feel beautifully soft and moisturised and removes dead and dried skin, instantly improving the look and feel of my lips. I found that, after using this for a couple of days in a row, only once or twice a day, the consistency of my lips improved dramatically, and I found that I didn't develop any of the dry patches I've been suffering from for a great number of years. 

To make the most of Sweet Lips, I would recommend that you apply your favourite lip balm afterwards as this will continue to work that moisture into the skin and give you kissably-soft lips. In all honesty, I was rather surprised at how quickly the condition of my lips improved from a product so simple and natural, and I've vowed to continue using this for the foreseeable future.

This small pot, although priced at a hefty £5.75 is fantastic value for money because it can easily last for 6+ months, depending on how often your apply it. I recommend you try it out for yourself, just try not to eat too much of it!

Quantitative Ingredients: Caster Sugar, Organic Jojoba Oil, Vanilla Extract, Cocoa Absolute, Tagetes Oil, Flavour.

Vegan?: Yes.

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New Charity Pot Self-Preserving Body Lotion

A Little Bit About Lush's New Preservative Free Venture:

If there's one thing about Lush that has attracted most of it's loyal customers, it's the company's dedication to their moral and ethical standpoint. Not only do they support and encourage campaigns that educate society and promote improvement within the cosmetics industry, but they never settle for anything - they're always looking for ways to improve their practice and their products. 

Not happy that all of their products only contain a tiny percentage of harmless preservatives, Lush want to raise the bar within the industry and produce not only preservative free products, but ones that actually preserve themselves using processes that occur naturally in certain fresh ingredients.

Lush explain that it's rather simple to opt out of using preservatives in solid products as 'bacteria require water to grow and multiply', which is why most of their ballistics, bubble bars, solid shampoos etc.. have been able to make that transition quickly and effectively. However, lotions, smoothies and the few liquid hair-care products, have not been so easy to change. 

After years of testing out their ideas, the company claim to have come up with 'an innovative way to rebalance formulations', enabling other products in their range to be sold preservative free whilst still retaining most of their previous features, not to mention their long shelf lives.

Although I have tried and tested all three of the body lotions that Lush have released as part of the first wave of preservative-free goodies, I was still intrigued to sample and compare all three items next to their original counterparts.  

Review of Dream Cream:

New Charity Pot Self-Preserving Body Lotion is one of three lotions that are part of the first preservative-free overhaul. Given that I only recently used up a large pot of the original Charity Pot, it's scent and utility was fresh in my mind, so I was confident I'd be able to pick up on any differences, no matter how small. 

Renamed as 'New', I was at first a little worried that Lush had gone ahead and changed the fragrance of this product completely. Despite initial concerns, I was relieved to discover that the 'new' part is only reference to the altered ingredients list featured in the new lotion. However, that's not to say that I didn't notice a slight difference to it's scent.

To me, the self-preserving lotion has a fresher, lighter and rather more floral smell to it. Whereas before, this body lotion had a distinct chocolately smell that interlaced with the rose and geranium,now, the removal of both the almond and tagetes oils seems to have made the sweet cocoa scent somewhat disappear.

Instead, what you find with the New Charity Pot Lotion, is that it's very dominated by the floral element, and although it still carries a rich, indulgent scent to it, it's far lighter, crisper and more natural smelling than it used to be. As fragrances go, it makes a lovely smell for a lotion and I enjoyed using it very much. However, I am really glad that, as it stands right now, Lush are still producing their older Charity Pot Lotion as I definitely prefer the older scent. 

Other differences I've noticed with this lotion is that the consistency is slightly thicker, and in the pot it appears to be a pale maize yellow in colour. Despite this, the lotion works in the same way when applied to the skin. After rubbing it across my body, I was surprised to find that my skin actually absorbed it very quickly and I wasn't left with any oily smears or stickiness.  

Much like it's counterpart, the new lotion's scent lingered for hours on my skin, and whereas before it was a comforting, warm winter smell, now it's more of an uplifting, summery scent.

If Lush continue to sell the lotion in this format, I only hope that they don't try and phase out the regular Charity Pot. I say this because, although I really enjoyed the experience of this product, it's definitely not an exact replica, and for this reason, I would still want to be able to buy both lotions. 

As with all three of the self-preserving lotions, and the face and body scrub, it is early days at the moment and it's hard to say how well these products will sit with other Lush consumers. I for one, am happy that Lush have released these products because it not only shows that they're still working towards improving the cosmetics industry, but also because my experience so far has been mostly very positive. 

As with my other body lotions, I am currently unable to comment on whether the shelf life of New Charity Pot Self-Preserving Lotion has the same longevity as it's older brother. However, if my experiences so far have taught me anything, it's that Lush very seldomly offer consumers products that don't live up to expectations.

Original Charity Pot Body Lotion Review

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Fair Trade Olive Oil, Glycerine, Organic Jojoba Oil, Moringa Oil, Fair Trade Organic Colombian Cocoa Butter, Stearic Acid, Fresh Aloe Gel, Fair Trade Shea Butter, Triethanolamine, Geranium Oil, Rosewood Oil, Ylang Ylang Oil, Fair Trade Vanilla Absolute, Cetearyl Alcohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Citronellol, Coumarin, Geraniol, Linalool, Limonene, Perfume.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Imogen Rose Liquid Perfume

Before I began buying and using Lush products religiously, I would never have considered myself a fan of rose-scented products. It's one of those smells, as is lavender, that I used to associate with, what I can only describe as 'Old lady scents'. Those highly floral, over-powering smells that linger in and around your Grandma's home, may not seem like the first choice for someone my age, as they are not always very youthful. This is where Imogen Rose is different. 

First released in 2010, Imogen Rose is a damask rose fragrance with bergamot, vetiver, ambrette seed, tonka bean and iris root. Priced at £40 for a 30ml bottle, it is one of Lush's dearest perfumes to date. But don't let the price tag put you off...

An initial sniff gives a good indication of what to expect with this perfume: a strong floral scent reminiscent of dried rose petals intertwined with the powdery sweetness of talcum powder and the aromatic elements of tonka. Surprisingly, this is a rather youthful-smelling perfume, something I was not expecting at all.   

Imogen Rose is definitely one of the strongest-smelling Lush perfumes I have yet to come across, some may even find this perfume rather over-bearing as it is far from subtle. It is a beautiful, musky scent that has the staying power of over six hours, making it one of the most effective perfumes I have used to date. If you're wearing this, expect to get noticed, as I had so many enquiries and compliments about the scent. 

Yet again, Lush have harvested a handful of ingredients to not only produce a gorgeous perfume, but one that has other redeeming qualities as well; Rose Oil comes from the flower petals of the damask rose and, on the skin, has an amazing ability to moisturise and improve the skins appearance; Vetivert Oil gives the perfume that earthy fragrance and helps to soothe worried minds; Orris Butter adds a woody aroma and helps the perfume to linger on the skin; ambrette seed oozes erotic musks that gives the perfume it's unique smell. 

Overall, I feel really bad giving this perfume only a five rating as it is definitely one of my favourite Lush products, as well as one of my top 10 Lush perfumes of all time. Not only has it altered my opinion on rose-scented cosmetics, it has also encouraged me to try other products that I would not have previously considered.   

However, I feel that it's a strong scent and not necessarily a universal fragrance, meaning I have to choose carefully if and when to wear it. For example, I don't think this scent goes well with hot weather as it can become overpowering and musky.  It is for this reason that I have rated it slightly less.

Quantative Ingredients: Organic Jojoba Oil, Castor Oil, Candelilla Wax, Perfume, Ambrette Seed Oil, Vetivert Oil, Tonka Absolute, Orris Butter, Bergamot Oil, Rose Oil, Rose Absolute, Titanium Dioxide, *Citral, Coumarin, *Eugenol, *Geraniol, Benzyl Benzoate, *Citronellol, Farnesol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Colour 15850, Colour 73360.

Vegan?: Yes

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Jasmine and Henna Fluff-Eaze

I was shopping for Lush products a few months back, and decided to pick myself up a tub of Jasmine and Henna Fluff-Eaze. I didn't read about the product in detail, and didn't base my purchase on any reviews, so when it was delivered, I assumed it was just another shampoo to try. It wasn't until I took it out to use that I realised it was in fact a hair 'treatment'. 

This product comes in a single sized, 220g tub and costs just under £12, which is definitely on the steep side for hair care products. 

What excited me was the host of ingredients that sound like a feast for the hair. The main ingredient is Persian red henna, which is known to help add shine to hair, as well as protect and maintain coloured hair. I have been dyeing my hair since I was 16, so I am always on the look-about for products that can strengthen my hair and protect my colour.

Next Lush have added a concoction of ingredients; jasmine absolute, soya, extra virgin olive oils, wheatgerm and coconut oils, ylang ylang and almond oils, hemp, brazil nut oil and castor. Jasmine has been added for it's beautiful fragrance, whereas the mixture of different oils are used to calm and moisturise sensitive hair. 

Designed to reduce frizz and add shine to hair, if this product was to do what it claimed, it would be my saving grace. My coloured, processed hair is often very dry and frizzy and isn’t in the greatest condition, so I was really hoping the treatment wouldn't let me down. 

The instructions state that you should pile it generously onto dry hair, work it in and leave for 20 minutes before shampooing and conditioning your hair as per normal.

I have to say that I was really impressed with this product. My hair felt noticeably softer after use, and my hair was definitely tamer than it had been before. My hair also had more of a shine after a single use and the scent of jasmine stayed with me throughout the whole day.  

It is for this reason that I feel I must warn potential buyers. The scent of the treatment is very Jasmine-heavy, and I would warn anyone who dislikes this scent, to avoid this product. In fact, this scent remains on your hair even after you've shampooed and conditioned, and I could smell it on my pillow the following day.

My pot of Jasmine and Henna Fluff-Eaze has lasted around four months, using it on average once every other week. It has definitely had a positive effect on hair, and I feel my hair is much more manageable and with less split ends, that it was before I started using it. 

Although the price tag might initially put people off, I think it is very reasonable given that you'll get a minimum of six uses out of it. This has definitely become a staple product in my beauty regime and one that I'll buy again and again. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Red Henna Infusion, Water, Cetearyl Alcohol & Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Perfume, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Ylang Ylang Oil, Jasmine Absolute, Wheatgerm oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Almond Oil, Brazil Nut Oil, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Organic Hemp Oil, Soya Oil, Castor Oil, *Benzyl Salicylate, *Benzyl Benzoate, *Farnesol, Geraniol, Linalool, Hydroxycitronellal, Methyl Lonone, Benzyl Alcohol, Isoeugenol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.

Vegan?: Yes

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