Kerbside Violet Liquid Perfume

When I initially heard that Lush were releasing a third volume of perfumes, I had a mixture of strong and rather contradicting emotions. On the one hand, I was really excited about the new smells that they would introduce and was hoping that I'd discover a few favourites amongst the collection. I was also hopeful that the new releases would appeal to me more than Volume 2 - I found many of those to be not to my liking and this was rather disappointing.

However, I was rather worried about how much it would cost me to invest in these perfumes. I have to try each and every perfume over a couple of days to really experience the fragrance - I cannot spray a little on myself in the shop and hope it wins me over. I was also worried about how much time it would take me to review the lot - I still have almost fifty perfumes in line to be reviewed and I was hoping my 'to do' list would shrink over time, not expand.

Kerbside Violets is the first perfume to be released from the new collection - a fragrance influenced by the 'chance encounters on the street that spark a fleeting interest that just as quickly disappears around the corner.' Whatever that means I'm unsure, but it sounds poetic at least.

Lush have described this perfume as 'fresh, sweet and uplifting' and claim that it's their second attempt to get the violet scent 'right'. I'm a little confused by this claim because their Tuca Tuca Perfume, which is also predominantly violet, is a stunning example of a fragrance well mixed. Each to their own, I guess.

This perfume contains a combination of violet leaf and jasmine absolute and it is the former that comes through the strongest. In the bottle the violet is very fresh smelling - it doesn't have that heavy, cloying fragrance that Tuca Tuca gives off. Instead, it has a very light, grassy aroma which intertwines with the jasmine and gives off a naturally sweet smell. The ylang ylang oil adds to the floral element nicely and helps to pad out the floral element without making it too heavy on the senses.

In the bottle, Kerbside Violet smells very much likes Tuca Tuca, just without the sugary, syrupy element that some fans dislike. However, on the skin it becomes a gentle, refreshing scent that releases different smells over the two-three hours it remains on your skin. At first you get the natural violet leaf, jasmine and ylang ylang coming through. However, as the scent matures, the rosewood oil makes an appearance and adds a very comforting and sweet impression.                                                                                                                                   It's definitely more of a feminine smell - something that would appeal to those who like complex but not overly dominating smells. Although I prefer Tuca Tuca a little more, I know this is because I am a sucker for sugary-sweet fragrances, whereas Kerbside Violet is more of an uplifting, floral aroma. 

Despite this, I really enjoyed the perfume and it's a great first release for Volume 3. Priced at £18 for a 10ml bottle, it's definitely something you have to commit to. However, I am really glad I bought myself a bottle and I will definitely buy this again. Whereas Lush's last perfume collection seemed more experimental and strange, this would sell well in a normal high street shop so I can see it being one of the most popular ones in this collection.  

Quantitative Ingredients: DRF Alcohol, Perfume, Violet Leaf Absolute, Jasmine Absolute, Ylang Ylang Oil, Rosewood Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Salicylate, Citral, Eugenol, Farnesol, Isoeugenol, Limonene, Linalool, Methyl Ionone, Citronellol, Geraniol.

Vegan?: Yes.

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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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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.

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Error 404 Ballistic

When Lush first released pictures of products that were to feature in their kitchen initiative, one of the first ones that grabbed my attention was a rather splendid looking golden egg. To begin with, I thought that it was the rather lovely Golden Egg Ballistic that featured in this year's Easter range. However, on closer inspection, I realised that this was a different product completely and I was rather excited to try it out.

A few weeks ago, somebody within the Lush community notified me of an unknown page on Lush's website that seemed to suggest that you could 'purchase' this egg ballistic for free. It's not featured in any of their product lists, hasn't been showcased as a new product and can only be found when searching for it by name. 

Known as the Error 404 Ballistic, this egg-shaped bath product is currently available to buy on their website, but only for those with prior knowledge that it's even there. After a little research from myself, it transpired that aside from the chocolate variation that everyone knows and loves, the term 'Easter egg' also means 'an intentional inside joke or hidden message'. Often, these Easter eggs are featured within computer games and software, where bonus levels or characters can be obtained through secret coding and gameplay. However, Lush have taken this idea on board and created a secret product that can only be purchased if you're in the 'know-how'. Very clever!

There were a lot of rumours circulating that this bath bomb shares it's scent with the Snowcake family, which is part of the reason why I became so excited to try it out. Unfortunately, when my first two arrived yesterday morning, it was obvious that this wasn't the case. However, that's not to say that this isn't a wonderful ballistic in it's own right.

Firstly, this golden egg is beautiful to behold. Roughly the same size as the Golden Egg Ballistic, this bath bomb is decorated with a thick layer of golden lustre - a feature that may immediately warrant some Lush fans to panic over the mess it'll cause. Despite the fact that this glitter does tend to make your hands dirty when you pick it up, and I did find a collection of the power in the bottom of my packet, once it's been fully dissolved in the water there is very little evidence that the lustre was even there to begin with, and it definitely doesn't leave your bath tub covered in the stuff. Protruding from the surface of the egg are the numbers '404' and the back features a strange design that could possibly be homage to the first known Easter Egg which featured in an early Atari game. 

Concocted from a mixture of geranium oil, rosewood oil and orange flower absolute, this ballistic is a potent combination that grabs your senses before you've even peeled back the wrapper. It's the former ingredient that takes the lead here, offering you a strong, dry floral fragrance, with the rosewood adding a slightly woody element that you'd normally expect the inclusion of sandalwood to do. There is a slight hint of the orange here, but it's not until the bath bomb has been dissolved, that this comes to the forefront more and balances out the overall scent. 

When placed in the water, Error 404 immediately begins to froth and fizz, dispelling a thick, creamy layer of golden foam before unleashing streams of green and blue colour across the surface of the water. It's a slow and fairly quiet bath bomb, so takes almost five minutes to fully dissolve. Once it's finished, you're left with a lovely turquoise-coloured bath with the subtle shimmer of the gold, bronze and blue lustre.


Something, which could be seen as a positive or negative aspect with this ballistic, is that once it's dissolved, it's scent is somewhat dampened. I found that this product lost it's dry floral scent quite a bit, and this was replaced with more of a sweet orange fragrance with elements of the geranium displaced ever so slightly. It was rather pleasant.

I cannot place the scent of Error 404, but my memory does allude me to the fact that I have smelt this fragrance before. It reminds me very loosely of the recent African Paradise Body Conditioner, in the fact that they both have strong floral combinations. However, their scents are not the same. I'm hoping that somebody else may be able to direct me to where I recognise this smell from. 

I'm unsure how long Lush plan on making this product available for, but it's definitely worth picking up, if only to make your postage costs seem slightly more justified. It doesn't have any moisturising properties, working much like every other Lush ballistic, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the experience it gave me.

I shall definitely be picking up a few more of these while I still can and I'm interested to see whether Lush will continue with this Easter Egg initiative, albeit releasing different products over time. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Rosewood Oil, Geranium Oil, Orange Flower Absolute, Cream of Tartar, Gardenia Extract, Water (Aqua), Lilial, Citronellol, Coumarin, Geraniol, Linalool, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lauryl Betaine, Perfume, Antique Gold Lustre, Bronze Splendour Lustre, Glacier Blue Lustre, Colour 42053.

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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Happy Happy Joy Joy Conditioning Hair Perfume

Unfortunately, Lush don't offer very many vegan conditioners, so when a new product comes out, I'm all over it like a rash. Although I swear by my Veganese, I'm always worried that my hair will one day become immune to it's powerful ways and the health of my hair will diverse somewhat. 

So when I noticed a bottle of conditioning hair perfume called Happy Happy Joy Joy, which stated that it was vegan friendly, I was super-excited to try it out. 

If there was ever a feast for the hair, Happy Happy Joy Joy is that. Neroli, rose, grapefruit, rosewood, orange flower absolute and benzoin mean this is the only thing you’ll need to wear after using it on your locks. Thinking of smothering your body in your favourite lotion? Considering a squirt of your favourite perfume? Forget it. Once you've indulged in HHJJ, you'll smell like a million dollars. 

I've been using this for the past couple of weeks, and although it's marketed as a conditioner, I do feel it excels more as a hair perfume. It makes your hair smell like fresh flowers; a mixture of roses and blossoms. It's so gorgeous. 

However, Lush claim it conditions your hair with almond milk, jojoba oil, rose and orange flower, when it did very little to improve my hair, and in fact, I felt it made it worse. Having used it only a handful of times, I found that after each time, my hair was very unmanageable, dry and damaged. It also felt very thin and dry, which is not a good thing from someone who has naturally thin hair anyway. 

Once dry, my hair did feel a little better, although it was very susceptible to getting tangled, and I found myself brushing it more than usual. I also had to wash my hair almost every day, because by the end of each day (having washed it at 6am in the morning), my hair would begin to feel greasy.

I don't think I'll buy it again anytime soon just because of the price, and I hope that Lush rework their recipe as it is one of their best smelling products. If they were to release this as a perfume, I would definitely be all over that.

Quantitative Ingredients: Rose Water, Orange Blossom Water, Almond Milk, Propylene Glycol, Cetearyl Alcohol & Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Organic Jojoba Oil, Perfume, Cetrimonium Bromide, Cetearyl Alcohol, Neroli Oil, Grapefruit Oil, Orange Flower Absolute, Rosewood Oil, Rose Oil, Glycerine, Tincture of Benzoin, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, *Limonene, *Linalool, *Citronellol.

Vegan?: Yes

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Avobath Bomb

Aside from the Ickle Baby Bot Bath Bomb, Avobath was the other Lush product that I have been desperate to try for a while. Avocados have been my favourite food since as far back as I can remember, and green has been my favourite colour for even longer than that. 

This bath bomb has a very strong lemongrass-bergamot scent (with rosewood oil and gardenia extract, too) which gives it a sophisticated citrusy scent. It also contains real mashed up avocado and olive oil, meaning it's a feast for those with dry skin, and even for those that just want a little bit more moisture without smearing their bodies with synthetic creams. 

The scent is uplifting and delicious, and perfect on a crisp summer evening when your skin needs that wake-up call. I loved how the fragrance remained with me throughout the entire bathing experience, and even lingered on my skin for the entirety of the evening.

On the positive side, it turns the bath water a beautiful shade of green which stays vibrant throughout the whole experience, and you also get minute flecks of gold glitter on the surface, which adds sparkle without covering you or the tub in 'annoying residue'. When you drain the bath afterwards, you won't find any of the lustre left behind.

It did make my skin feel refreshed and hydrated, and the crisp citrus fragrance was very uplifting; I found that I my senses perked up somewhat after using this ballistic. At first, I thought that it's scent was very similar to my other favourite, the Dragon's Egg. However, once this bath bomb was fizzing away in the tub, I realised that this is a lot more citrusy and fresh smelling; there's a slight sourness here that sets it apart from most other bath products. 

Overall, it was a unique experience, and one that I'll use regularly to cleanse my mind after a stressful day. I would recommend that you buy this bath bomb fresh, as when compared to one that's a few months old, the difference in scent is astonishing - the older ballistic had next to no smell left and produced a mediocre bathing experience. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Fresh Organic Avocado, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Lemongrass Oil, Bergamot Oil, Rosewood Oil, *Citral, *Geraniol, *Farnesol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, Gardenia Extract, Lustre Holly Sparkle.

Vegan?: Yes

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Sandy Santa Sugar Scrub

Sandy Santa is a limited edition solid sugar scrub that was available during the cold months of Christmas to help soothe those winter blues. Bursting with the smell of juicy Brazilian orange oil, sandalwood and rosewood, this is a fruity scrub for all skin types. The sugar, sand and bicarbonate exfoliate and soften your skin, whilst the scent helps you to envisage those long over-due summer months.

This was the first time I had tried one of Lush's sugar scrubs, so I didn't really know how to go about using one in the shower. I knew that the main ingredient in Sandy Santa was sugar, so I figured it wouldn't have been wise to hold it under the running water whilst in the shower.

Doing a little research beforehand helped me to determine three possible ways that you can approach the use of this scrub. It seems the most popular way is to break off pieces before you hit the shower, so that when the water does dissolve it, you haven't sacrificed your entire product in a single standing. 

The second option, and the one I decided on trying, was to use the whole thing as a sort of pumice stone. When you glide it up and down your body whilst just out of range of the pressurised water, it works wonders on removing dried and unwanted skin.

Finally, some people choose to leave Sandy Santa in a container where it is guaranteed to come into contact with some form of liquid. This liquid helps to break down the scrub and create a sort of paste, which can then be used in part as a soluble scrub. A sort of festive Rub Rub Rub if you will.   

As I mentioned before, Sandy Santa is scented with a combination of orange, rosewood, and sandalwood oils that not only give it, it's bright, sunny scent but also acts to hydrate skin as you scrub. The orange is the prominent smell here but there is definitely an underlying floral tone that gives this scrub a wonderful multi-textured smell.

In spite of all of this, I found myself disliking the product after the first try. Despite taking every precaution to keep it away from the running water, after one use it was near enough completely used up, and what was left was a small clump of sugar that had completely disintegrated by the next morning. 

Now whether people use this scrub for specific areas as opposed to a full body massage, or whether one of the other methods is more effective at prolonging it's shelf life, I am unsure. What I do know is that I could not afford to spend £3+ 2-3 times a week to use this product on a regular basis. I'm guessing this is why Lush have released this as a limited edition product, as it's only supposed to be used on special occasions. 

Overall, Sandy Santa is in essence, a good product. It scrubs away dry skin and exfoliates to leave your skin silky-smooth and smelling gorgeous. However, the practicality of Sandy Santa is what lets it down, and I only hope Lush rectify this problem by Christmas 2013.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sugar, Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Orange Oil, Rosewood Oil, Sandalwood Oil, Lauryl Betaine, Cocamide DEA, *Limonene, *Linalool, Methyl Lonone, Perfume, Colour 14700.

Vegan?: Yes

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