Strawberry Boat Fresh Smoothie

If I'm going to be honest, I don't think Lush have yet to perfect the strawberry fragrance. While their use of the fruit in the American Cream, Yummy Yummy Yummy and Strawberry Twin Tub scents have yielded incredibly sexy variations, nothing has yet to come close to the fresh, non-synthetic beauty that is the natural strawberry aroma. 

Strawberry Boat Smoothie was supposed to be the product that blew my theory out of the water. While it didn't achieve this, it did offer me another strawberry-scented product that I could enjoy - one extracted from the Lush vaults of the late 1990s. 

This smoothie was originally designed to scrub, exfoliate and smoothen out lines, creases and the wobbly bits on your body - which is why the product doesn't specifically detail where you should apply this. For this reason, I have used this on both my body and my face, and have yielded great results from both experiments. 

Packed full of strawberries, this magical fruit is rich in antioxidants and minerals which add vibrancy to your skin and leaves it feeling clean, clear and refreshed. This is combined with both fresh ginger root and ginger oil which not only add to the overall smell of the product and gives it a slightly spicy fragrance, but also supports circulation around the body and makes you feel warmer and more relaxed.

Strawberry Boat Fresh Smoothie smells a little like strawberry greek yoghurt - it has a slight sourness to it that I pick up even more when it is on my skin. It also has a gentle powdery fruitiness to it much like Yummy Yummy Yummy has, yet it doesn't share the same strawberry scent. To round it off, there's a sprinkling of ginger, which sort of lingers underneath the strawberry and gives the smoothie a very subtle spiciness. 

Ground rice gives this smoothie a very odd consistency unlike anything else I've yet to try from Lush. The product is rather thick and gritty in consistency - a little like smooth peanut butter mixed with semolina powder. I supposed it compares a little to Cupcake Fresh Face Mask but it's not exactly like this. On top of each smoothie is a decoration of sago - a starch derived from the pith of the sago palm that has been turned into small grains that are similar in look and feel as tapioca. These help to give you a good all-rounded exfoliation without being too aggressive on the skin.   

In the shower, this product does really well at lathering over your skin. It doesn't produce any foam - working like a body butter in this way. However, you only need very little as it coats your body with ease. After it has been washed off, it leaves its gentle fragrance on you for a while. In the shower this scent is a little floury - it smells of strawberries and baked oats. Unfortunately, I found that the scent it leaves on your skin after you've left the sower is reminiscent of soured milk so I didn't enjoy this aspect of the product. In fact, the smell I could pick up off my skin reminded me a little of when I used Coco Lotion, with disastrous effects!

Strawberry Boat leaves you skin feeling really clean and soft. It doesn't feel incredible moisturised like I would expect from buttercreams and body butters,  but the effect it has is not unlike the feeling you get when using a good-quality shower gel. 

This is a lovely product that makes a great addition to your shower experiences. It only needs to be used 2-3 times a week so a 75g pot should last you a while. It does need to be kept in the fridge between uses and it only has a four week shelf life which is a shame as you won't be able to store these before they leave the kitchen. I'm really glad that Lush brought this back for fans to try and I hope to see more of these wonderful products making an appearance soon. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Ground Rice, Almond Oil, Fresh Strawberries, Glycerine, Sago, Fine Sea Salt, Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Fresh Ginger Root, Ginger Oil, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Citronellol, Linalool, Perfume.

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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Gold, Frankincense & Beer Shower Jelly

Gold, Frankincense & Beer Shower Jelly is a product very popular with the majority of Lush fanatics. It's a product that gains a lot of attention and excitement, often by consumers who are keen to try this out for the first time. Making it's last appearance during the 2011 December retro range, it's a shower jelly that has built it's notoriety through the praise and adoration from those of us lucky enough to have tried it. 

Initially, I was a little skeptical that this product would be anything special. Presented as a rather ugly, and slightly 'gloopy' brown coloured-jelly, it's not the most attractive product in the world. At first, I was even tempted to scorn the fact that Lush had decorated the jelly with sprinklings of golden lustre, on the basis that it's near impossible to 'dress up' anything that resembles the colour of mud. However, I was quick to forgive this jelly on the basis that two of it's key ingredients are, in fact, brown in nature; Stout and Frankincense feature heavily here so there's no wonder the jelly is coloured as it is. 

When I hazarded a first sniff, I was pleasantly surprised by it's wonderful fragrance and was rather excited to see how it performed in the shower. This shower jelly is definitely a lot sweeter than you would imagine; concocted from a mixture of mandarin and star anise, mandarin juice and sweet orange oil, it possesses somewhat of a fruity edge to it, which was unexpected but very much loved by myself. 

However, it is the ingredients in it's name that dominate this product's fragrance. The smell is rather hard to describe; a sort of pungent stout scent with elements of sugary sweetness coming from the inclusion of frankincense. It is this latter ingredient, alongside the citrus elements, that give this shower jelly it's unique scent, whilst removing the sourness that you would expect from the beer. 

It's quite a sophisticated and rather sexy smell, although it definitely sides more with Lush's more masculine fragrances than it does the likes of Snow Fairy and Rose Jam. It's got a slight earthy musk to it, alongside a subtle spicy kick from the addition of black pepper and cinnamon, making it a very warm and comforting scent; it reminds me very slightly of the chewy ale bottle sweets that I used to eat as a child. 

The jelly is made from carrageenan extract which is a natural and nutritious seaweed gel full of vitamins and minerals to help soften and condition your skin. Gold, Frankincense & Beer Shower Jelly also features four different types of oils, which is perhaps why this jelly is a little softer and less elasticated than the likes of Calacas or The Joy Of Jelly. However, this shower jelly lathered up wonderfully and produced quite a thick and creamy lather, which worked wonders at softening your skin and leaving it feeling radiant.

There are several ways that you can use the shower jelly. Firstly, you can rub the whole block, or a broken-off piece, directly onto your skin. However, 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. What I find works for me, is breaking off a grape-sized piece and then rubbing it into a sponge or shower-puff, before lathering all over my body. This tends to help the jelly foam up, wherein the puff them holds the lather whilst you clean yourself.  

As Gold, Frankincense & Beer is a rather soft jelly, I found that this method of application was pretty effective. The jelly tended to smoosh into the shower puff nicely and create a velvety lather that I could then use all over my body.

What is promising is that I was left with a wonderful sweet and woody smell on my skin, which clung to my hair and clothes for most of the day. I received a number of compliments, which only served to demonstrate that this is a product with a long-lasting and poignant scent.   

I thoroughly enjoyed Gold, Frankincense & Beer Shower Jelly, despite convincing myself beforehand that I would hate it. It's a unique and very sultry-smelling jelly, and one that I would be very interested in buying again. I only hope that Lush bring it back again sometime soon.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glycerine, Stout (Beer), Mandarin and Star Anise Infusion (Citrus nobilis, Illicium verum), Propylene Glycol, Mandarin Juice (Citrus reticulata), Carrageenan Extract, Perfume, Sweet Orange Oil (Citrus sinensis), Clove Bud Oil (Eugenia caryophyllus), Black Pepper Oil (Piper nigrum), Cinnamon Leaf Oil (Cinnamomum cassia), Fine Sea Salt (Sodium Chloride), *Citral, *Eugenol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Methylparaben, Golden Sparkles (Polyethylene terephthalate).

Vegan?: Yes.

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Ice Blue Shampoo

I cannot claim that I feigned a lot of interest when Lush decided to bring this out in the Lush Kitchen. No matter how fantastic a product may be, mint-scented cosmetics just don't 'float my boat' as much as other items do. However, I am always looking for new shampoos to spoil my hair with, and I was keen to see if this would become one of my new favourites. 

Ice Blue Shampoo has been a regular staple in the US retro selection for quite a while, but has not shown it's face in the UK for a number of years. First created during Mark Constantine's dabbling with The Body Shop, this is one of the oldest Lush products ever. 

Packed full of mint - both peppermint and spearmint, this is a refreshing and highly fragrant hair care product, intent on ridding the hair of excess oil whilst giving your locks a new lease of life. 

Original descriptions state that this shampoo actually has two different types of peppermint present in the ingredients - a combination of oils that not only has a strong, refreshing, mint aroma, but supposedly stimulate blood circulation and helps to boost the look and feel of your hair.

In the bottle, this shampoo has a distinct mint scent - very similar to the likes of Dirty Springwash but perhaps a little more subtle and less 'sharp'. It shares it's smell with the popular Ice Blue Soap and Freeze Shower Gel, and whereas I was expecting the mint to shoot up my nose upon first sniff, it's actually quite a gentle mint fragrance. However, that's not to say that it's in any way weak - this shampoo still packs a punch and offers users a cool, crisp and highly refreshing bathroom companion. The addition of peppermint also brings a gentle underlying herbal aroma, although this does not make itself known until the product is being used. 

Most noticeably is it's colour - a gorgeous navy that makes you envisage clear blue skies and vast oceans - a perfect accompaniment for the summer months. A second aspect that I noticed upon using this for the first time, is that it's the runniest shampoo I have ever tried from Lush. In fact, Ice Blue is almost identical in consistency to the The Olive Branch. For this reason, you have to be really careful when dispensing it from the bottle as it would be very easy to lose a lot of this down the plughole. 

Despite it's thinness, it still lathers up wonderfully and you don't have to work at it to produce a thick, creamy foam that coats your entire head. It washes out easily and leaves a very gentle minty fragrance on your hair - not enough to overpower any perfume you're wearing, but enough that you still get occasional whiffs of the spearmint throughout the day. 

Menthol has an amazing effect on your scalp (it even helps to combat hair loss apparently!). And although I'm lucky enough to have a healthy head of hair, it's great to know that my shampoo is stimulating that extra hair growth whilst cleaning my locks at the same time.

Ice Blue is a great shampoo for when you want to improve the condition of your locks, whilst also looking for something to perk you up in the mornings. It was one of Lush's first ever best selling, brilliant smelling products, and I can see why. Even though mint is one of my least favourite scents, I enjoy using this on my hair whilst mixing it up a citrus shower gel. I would definitely buy this again.

Quantitative Ingredient: Water (Aqua), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lauryl Betaine, Perfume, Lactic Acid, Spearmint Oil, Peppermint Oil, Fine Sea Salt, Limonene, Linalool, Colour 14700.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Geo-Phyzz Bath Bomb

Geo-Phyzz is supposed to represent a luxury spa treatment wrapped up in a ballistic, which sounds promising from the get-go. Lush describe this product as their 'little salt-of-the-earth' bath bomb, and 'salty' it definitely is. Containing both coarse and Hawaiian sea salt, this is a ballistic intent on purifying your pores!

Alongside this mineral-rich condiment, Lush have included a list of exquisite ingredients to make this bath bomb magical; Siberian pine oil, sandalwood and cypress oils have all been combined to moisturise your skin and detoxify the body and mind. Furthermore, seaweed has been thrown in for its anti-inflammatory and soothing properties. It is rich in vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, C and E, which is great for those with sensitive skin.

This is definitely one of Lush's more natural, earthy scented ballistics. I didn't even have to unwrap this product before I could detect a strong note of pine - it smells exactly like the aroma you get from a Christmas tree - that dry, earthy and very comforting smell that follows you around the room. Alongside this, you can pick out a very distinctive thread of menthol which is due to the addition of cypress oil. This oil is an antiseptic and has a very clean scent - it smells very much like the Vicks Vapour rub you use to clear blocked noses. Both fragrances give Geo-Phyzz that really refreshing quality which, when dissolved in the bath, helps to relax your mind whilst refreshing your senses at the same time. 

When I first experienced this ballistic, I had only managed to acquire a couple of old ones and the bath bombs immediately sunk to the bottom of the tub and turned the water a murky grey colour. I was hoping that a new one might offer me a better experience - fizzing on the surface like you would expect from a fresh product. However, my Geo-Phyzz plummeted to the bottom of the tub and pretty much collapsed into a green mess.

In reflection, this bath bomb is the heaviest one I have ever purchased from Lush, and this is no doubt due to the high percentage of sea salt that is present here. When I supported the product above the water, it fizzed like a normal ballistic and turned the water a relaxing green colour. However, on it's own, it tends to sink immediately and accumulates as a pile of salt at the bottom of the tub. 

As there is so much salt present, some will dissolve on it's own whereas most of it will collect at the bottom of your bath. I only had to run my fingers along the bottom to realise how much salt this ballistic heeds, and it is important to note that you should swish the water around and help the salt to dissolve before climbing in the bath. Getting into the tub before doing so will probably end in you getting an uncomfortable and perhaps rather painful experience of sitting on coarse pieces of salt. 

As Geo-Phyzz is probably made up of 80% salt, it does take a while to fully dissolve in the water. I would suggest waiting until most of it has dispersed into the water before climbing in as again, I'm sure you don't want to accidentally sit on a ball of solid salt. What is impressive about this product is that the strong scent remains with you throughout your entire bathing experience, which really helps to clear your sinuses if like me, you're suffering from a cold.

When I exited the bath, I found that my skin felt cleansed, although there was nothing spectacular about this. I didn't feel anything more than what I would expect from any other Lush bathing product. Furthermore, there was no scent left on my body and I still had to moisturise as usual. In all honesty, I found this bath bomb to be pretty unspectacular, and it would have probably had more of an impact on my skin (and mood), if there had been more of 'it' in the tub.

Geo-Phyzz was created to aid relaxation for those who need relief from achy and overworked muscles. While it did revitalise my senses and make me feel calmer after the experience, it didn't do anything amazing. For this reason, it's not one I have an interest in buying again; I'd much rather have a Big Blue which I feel would do the job better.

Quantitative Ingredients: Coarse Sea Salt, Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Hawaiian Sea Salt, Perfume, Cypress Oil, Pine Absolute, Sandalwood Oil, Seaweed Absolute, *Limonene, *Linalool, Gardenia Extract, Colour 42053.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Black Pearl Shower Gel

I'm a busy busy person - sometimes I'm surprised that I've managed to keep this blog going for as long as I have. Often I'll watch, bid and order Lush items without checking more than if they're certified vegan or not. Therefore, it's only when I begin using a product that I'll discover that they share their scent with 'X' or feature particular characteristics. This is definitely not the best way to go about things, as I often fall in love with items, only to realise that they've since been discontinued. 

When I first won my bottle of Black Pearl Shower Gel, the only aspect that I knew about this product was that it was rare, and that it was obviously popular (given the insane amount I spent on making it mine!). According to the scraps of information I can find online, this shower gel was released as a limited edition a few years back for the Australian forumites only. Since poking it's head out briefly in 2010, it has never been seen since...That is until I managed to find a rare beauty floating around on eBay.

With it's gloopy consistency and ashen-grey colour, it's definitely not the most appealing of shower gels. When out of the bottle, it's colour reminds me a little of water mixed with oil; a shiny, slick-looking liquid. It's quite a thin gel, very similar to the likes of Avowash and Snowshowers. However, what it lacks in thickness, it more than makes up for in other ways. 

In the shower, Black Pearl lathers up beautifully; it's one of the most effective shower gels I've come across so far. You only need a small amount to produce a large mass of soft, creamy bubbles, helping to make this product last a lot longer than most other Lush shower gels. In fact, this 250g bottle lasted me just as long as a 500g bottle did, making it great value for money. 

This lather spreads wonderfully over your skin and leaves it feeling beautifully soft. So noticeably silky in fact, that when I first began using the product, I spent a good 30 seconds stroking one of my arms because I was so shocked about how instantly smooth it had become. 

Having recently purchased a couple of new bottles of this shower gel through the Lush Kitchen, I did notice a few differences between the old and new versions. From my old bottle, this shower gel has a gorgeous fresh berry scent to it, that stays with you long after you've finished your shower. It's fragrance reminds me of blackberries and cream; a beautiful sweet and nutty scent that smells a little bit like a smoothie.

However, my new bottles had a slightly different scent - one that was still sweet and fruity but which has a strong thread of lavender thrown in for good measure and a sprinkling of herbs as an afterthought. The overall smell is what I imagine it would be like to take Twilight Shower Gel and add a little of The Comforter.  

I know that other Lush fans have commented that they cannot detect the blackberry that I describe it as having, and it does seem odd, given that there is nothing in the ingredients list to suggest the shower gel should have a scent like what I've described. But there's just something about the aroma that reminds me of fresh blackberries, or more particular, blackberry yoghurt.

For those who love sweet-smelling products, but perhaps don't appreciate the synthetic scent of Snow Fairy, or the overly-sugary fragrance of The Comforter, this is probably a shower gel that you'll love. 

Despite it's less than appealing appearance, it's a product that I have happily stocked up on as it so unique in it's fragrance, leaves your skin looking, feeling and smelling incredible and has a pretty cool name to boot. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Sodium Alkyl Sulfate, Chamomile Infusion (Matricarja recutita), Lavender Infusion (Lavandula angustifolia), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Fine Sea Salt, Glyceryl Stearate & PEG 100 Stearate, Cocamide MEA, Glycol Cetearate, Perfume, Propylene Glycol, Lauryl Betaine, Silver Edible Lustre, Lavender Absolute (Lavandula angustfolia), Chamomile Blue Oil (Matricaria chamomilla), Olibanum Oil (Boswellia carterii), Myrrh Resinoid (Commiphora myrrha), Almond Oil (Prunus dulcis), Limonene, Linalool, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.

Vegan?: Yes.  

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Happy 4 SAD Shower Gel

Happy 4 SAD is one of those old Lush products that I was desperate to try out, if only I could get my hands on some! As luck would have it, I managed to find a small bottle being sold on eBay late last year, and snapped it up with excitement. However, what I received left little to the imagination, so I was really excitable when Lush brought this out last week in their Kitchen. 

It was first released back in 2004, and was sold to raise awareness of SAD - Seasonal Affective disorder, which is a condition that affects some people’s mood in winter when there are fewer hours of daylight. To reflect the sentiments behind this shower gel, Happy 4 SAD uses the uplifting fragrance of oranges, grapefruit and mandarin oils to uplift your spirits and improve your mood. 

Firstly, I was rather impressed and slightly confused by the colour of this shower gel. The product's original look is a vivid purple colour, which definitely doesn't match up with the scent it gives off. Furthermore, this shower gel actually changes colour to a pale turquoise when left out in the sun, which is rather impressive, but still doesn't really represent the fragrance it possesses. 

When describing this shower gel, Lush say that they have included 'rose to restore happy feelings, uplifting, refreshing mandarin and a drop or two of the wonderful neroli, said to relieve tension and stress and give a feeling of euphoria to all who smell it. Whenever you feel the dull, dark days and long nights getting you down, get up with Happy for SAD.'

On first sniff, this shower gel reminded me of orange squash with a touch of rose; a floral, bitter citrus scent with not much else going on behind it. It was very plain and one-dimensional, and paled in comparison to the likes of Happy Hippy and Prince Charming Shower Gel. However, when using it in the shower, I found that the smell came out of it's shell a little. I was able to detect a stronger herbal element to the smell and the orange aroma intensified a little. 

Happy 4 SAD is one of the thinnest shower gels I've experienced so far, which worried me that I'd end up wasting a lot of it down the drain. However, a little goes a long way, and I found even the smallest drop lathered up wonderfully. The foam it produced was neither oily like Twilight or fluffy like The Olive Branch - instead sitting somewhere nicely in-between. 

Not surprisingly, the gentle scent didn't last long at all and by the time I had towel-dried myself down, it had completely dispersed. This was probably the most disappointing aspect of this shower gel as I can imagine enjoying it much more if the fragrance was stronger. However, I recognise the fact that this product has been designed to be a gentle companion in the shower - not something that should overpower or dominate your senses. 

Overall, I felt that Happy for SAD had a lot of potential, but there were just too many things that needed bettering in order for it to reach it's potential. Those who love gentle scents will not doubt love this, but it's not something I can get that excited over and will not be buying again. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Fresh Dove Orchid Infusion, Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Fair Trade Aloe Vera Gel, Lauryl Betaine, Propylene Glycol, Fine Sea Salt, Neroli Oil, Grapefruit Oil, Mandarin Oil, Rose Oxymel, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, Colour 42090, Colour 17200, Methylparaben.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Breeze On A Sea Air Toner Spray

I'm not going to lie to you when I say that I recognise that Lush have a great deal when it comes to their toner waters. Given that the prominent ingredient in these products is water, it's no surprise that I was a little hesitant to fork out almost £9 for a 250g bottle. Although I love the company and most of what they stand for, I appreciate the fact that these products are slightly overpriced. However, through a mixture of loyalty, curiosity and no doubt stupidity, I reached into my pocket and paid the price for a bottle. 

Breeze On A Sea Air Toner Spray is a weird choice for Lush to bring back - you would assume that they would opt for their more popular bath bombs and shower gels; appealing to the masses. However, I for one am really excited that they're resurrecting lesser known items, as it means that Lush fans, new and old, get to sample products that we all assumed would never see the light of day again. 

This toner water works very much like their other ones - firstly acting as a refreshing aide for when your skin needs that 'pick me up' throughout the day. Simply spray directly onto the face and then wipe away with a cotton pad - Breeze revitalises and rejuvenates skin, leaving it feeling instantly uplifted and dirt-free. 

Featuring a blend of mineral-rich sea water and rejuvenating rosemary, this toner water also works at conditioning your skin without clogging the pores or upsetting the natural balance of your complexion. The inclusion of aloe vera gel means this toner water also has a cooling effect on your skin, making it a perfect companion for the summer months when you're looking for a little something to help keep your temperature down.

As well as toning and refreshing your skin, Breeze On A Sea Air features violet leaf, which gives the product most of it's scent and works as an antiseptic to keep your skin calm and under control. I'm lucky enough not to suffer from sensitive skin, but I did notice how gentle it felt against my face, especially when I wiped it away. 

With some toner waters, you can almost feel them stripping your face of it's natural oils, and they can leave skin parched and lifeless. However, this toner water left my face feeling wonderfully soft and radiant. Even after the initial application, my complexion was noticeably softer and smoother to touch, and it felt really hydrated, toned and with a natural glow. In fact, I would say that this product gave me better results than that of my facial moisturiser, which is why I have stopped using Enzymion for a while and plan on using this instead. If I wasn't convinced that a glorified bottle of water could make a lot of difference to my skin, I was after I had used this. 

What I found with this toner water, is that it's probably the weakest smelling one I have tried yet - I could only smell elements of the aloe vera and violet for a brief second before I couldn't detect any fragrance at all. However, in hindsight, I don't think this really matters. This product is aimed at a quick fix that relieves you and your skin during the stuffier moments of your day, whilst supporting the natural state of your skin. Having a strong, long-lasting fragrance would only clash with any perfume you may be wearing at the time, so I actually prefer the fact that it barely smells at all.

Breeze On A Sea Air Toner Spray is a perfect companion to carry with you at all times. Whether you work in a stuffy office, travel frequently or just need a pick me up during a night out, this is a product that will instantly refresh and uplift your skin, whilst rejuvenating your mindset and leaving you feeling beautiful. 

Although this is expensive for what it is, a bottle of this size will last you for at least two months, making it worth the initial cost. In hindsight, I wish I had bought a second bottle as I'm keen to take this with me when I go holidaying during the summer break. I hope that Lush choose to release this through their kitchen again as I will definitely invest in another couple of bottles to last me throughout the year. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Spring Water, Fresh Sea Water, Fair Trade Organic Aloe Vera Gel, Violet Leaf Absolute, Boronia absolute, Perfume, Methylparaben.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Big Blue Bath Ballistic

I've been meaning to try the Big Blue Ballistic for quite some time now; partly because I really enjoyed my experience with the Mermaid bath bomb, which shared the same scent, and partly because most hardcore Lush fans rave about how amazing it is, and they tend to know what they're talking about!

Using essential oils and other natural ingredients, Lush have created a ballistic that'll help you to unwind and relax. Not only that, but the experience you'll get serves as a great reminder of what it's actually like to bathe in the ocean. For someone who used to live mere minutes away from the enticing sea, I do still get occasional yearnings to smell the fresh sea breeze and taste the salt of the air on the my tongue. Big Blue is a great way for me to satisfy these cravings. 

One of the key ingredients used here is seaweed. The type of kelp Lush use is called Arame seaweed, which softens in your hot bath water and helps you to relax. Arame is rich in vitamins and minerals including iodine, which helps to regulate the metabolism and help you to feel calm and collected. This seaweed is packed inside the bath bomb; swirling around the water and sinking to the bottom of the tub when the ballistic is dissolving.

Big Blue also offers a tang of lemon, a hint of lavender and a dash of sea salt, which all help to produce a fresh scented bathing experience. The salt helps to remove dead skin cells, while the lemon oil clears the mind and gives the ballistic a sweet, citrusy scent. In addition, the lavender oil, which works as an cleanser, smoothens out your skin and leaves a slight floral element to the bath.

To top the experience off, Big Blue turns the bath water a vivid blue, which stays this beautiful shade throughout your entire bathing experience. The added minerals help to cleanse and soften your skin leaving you feeling invigorated and renewed.

My skin felt super smooth and soft after using this; it didn't feel tight or in any way dry. The fragrance lingered on my body and lasted until the following day, which was a nice surprise. My only issue is that the fragrance of the bath bomb, whilst dissolving, was definitely weaker than I was expecting. Furthermore, I was unable to pick up it's scent all that much throughout my bathing experience, which was a shame. However, I'm wondering whether this has anything to do with the ballistic's age, as I'd had this one tucked away for almost a year before I decided to use it.

In my opinion, this bath bomb is one of the best ones available at the moment; I will definitely be buying this again in the near future. Despite, having to clean the seaweed out of the bath after you've finished, this doesn't take away from how great this bath bomb is. I highly recommend that you give this one a go, even if you're on to prefer sweeter-smelling cosmetics.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Coarse Sea Salt, Fine Sea Salt, Perfume, Arame Seaweed, Lemon Oil, Lavender Oil, Seaweed Absolute, *Eugenol, *Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Colour 42090, Colour 19140.

Vegan?: Yes. 

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