Twilight Bath Bomb

I'm not normally a very judgemental person, but I've held out on trying this bath bomb for so long, solely due to it's name being associated with one watered down teen vampire series that took over the world for a few years.  

I know it is one of Lush's most popular bath bombs, and I know it has nothing to do with the flat-faced vampire and stuttering human. However, when I hear the word 'Twilight', I immediately think of the millions of teens around the world sporting 'Team Edward' t-shirts and sporting terrible apple tattoos. 

In fairness, this bath bomb was also near the bottom of my list of ones I wanted to try, due to it's main scent being lavender; a smell I have never really being overtly keen on. However, I was pleasantly surprised and rather pleased by how much I enjoyed this product.

First things first, this bath bomb is huge. If you're someone who likes to get the most out of a product, you could easily break this in half and spread it across two baths instead of one. However, if like me, you're glutinous with your Lush products, you can enjoy this as one big, epic bathing experience.

The bath bomb dissolves rather slowly in the water - throwing out an abundance of pink and blue swirls that froth and bubble on the surface. You could easily climb into the bath and watch this show taking place, enjoying the strong and relaxing scent drift around you while you're cocooned beneath the layer of white foam that decorates the surface of the water. Once fully disintegrated, Twilight boasts a gorgeous violet water that is decorated with tiny flecks of silver glitter - a perfect companion during those cold winter evenings. 

Lush say that this process was intended to 'help your mind let go and embrace the night time. Twilight dissolves to create a growing sunset that gradually gets darker until you are finally left with the glimmer of stars.' It really is a beauty to behold.

Made from a combination of lavender and ylang ylang oils, this bath bomb has a strong, heady scent that engulfs your senses the second you remove the ballistic from it's packaging. The fragrance is dominated by the lavender, although it's not the same watered-down scent that you would expect from a shop-bought cosmetic. This lavender scent is a creamy, powdery offering unlike anything else I have tried before. 

I'm not normally one for lavender smells but this one blew me away. Sharing it's scent with both the Twilight Shower Gel and Luxury Lush Pud, this is a ballistic that begs to be tried. If you are struggling to sleep, then this is perfect for using in the evenings. The lavender oil helps you to wind down and loosen tension in your body, and the vanilla essence stops the lavender scent from being so overpowering and adds a wonderful sweetness.

I absolutely adored this bath bomb, more than I was expecting to and it is definitely on my shopping list to buy again. And again. And again. This is the perfect companion for those wanting a luxurious and sleep-enticing bathing experience and it leaves your skin wonderfully nourished and velvety-soft. 

I can always smell this on my skin for hours after I have left the bath and it's a really comforting scent that lingers on your pillow as you fall asleep. Perfect. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Cream of Tartar, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lavender Oil, Benzoin Resinoid, Tonka Absolute, Ylang Ylang Oil, Cocamide DEA, Lauryl Betaine, Coumarin, Linalool, Perfume, Colour 42090, Colour 14700, Colour 17200, Colour 45410, Iridescent Glitter.

Vegan?: Yes

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My Valentine's Day Lush Haul

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Lil' Pud Bath Bomb

First things first. To me these smell nothing like Christmas Pudding. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. When I think of the traditional dessert, I think of a sticky-sweet concoction of raisins and brandy mixed in with the slight hint of nutmeg or mixed spice. It conjures up memories of every Christmas as far back as I can remember, forcing myself to eat a generous helping of the stuff, having just eaten a rather large roast. The feeling of heaviness and gluttony weigh heavy on my mind.

This miniature bath bomb doesn't immediately give off a strong scent, which I know might put off some people from buying this product. However, the second it hits the water, the poignant smell of cloves and cinnamon begin to 'do their thing'.

The bomb disintegrates quickly and fills your bathroom with a wonderful spicy, sultry aroma. It's reminiscent of Lush's very popular Snowcake Soap, although the smell also reminds me of gingerbread.

Despite the lovely smell, once this bath bomb is in use, it leaves your water a murky brown colour, which is far from attractive. The bomb also produces very little bubbles, meaning that you're left to bathe in a tub full of, what looks like, sewage-tinted liquid. 

Smelling of marzipan and full of lovely goodies like lemon peel powder, clove powder, aloe vera extract and rose absolute, this ballistic leaves your skin soft. However, I've yet to use a Lush Bomb that doesn't leave my skin feeling soft, so I'd say this effect is owed more to my entire bathing experience than the bath bomb alone.

Overall, I wasn't overly keen on Lil' Pud Bath Bomb. At first I put this down to the fact that when I acquired these Lil' Puds, they were over a year old, so I assumed that perhaps they had lost their 'magic' due to ageing. However, reading old reviews, it seems that the lack of bubbles and 'flare' was a normal trait for these Christmas specials. 

If you're looking to enjoy a Christmas-spiced bath bomb, I would definitely recommend Cinders over this any day. These aren't terrible, but I can see why they didn't make it back into the Christmas range last year. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Aloe Vera Extract,Clove Powder, Lemon Peel Powder, Cassie Absolute, Benzoin Resinoid, Rose Absolute,Propylene Glycol, Benzyl Benzoate, Perfume,Candy Holly Leaf.

Vegan?: Yes

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Reincarnate Solid Shampoo

I am the first one to get excited when I see my favourite company trying to be more economically friendly, whether it be less packaging, natural ingredients or products free from preservatives. However, I have always been wary of Lush's solid shampoos and conditioners. 

A big part of me wondered how a seemingly dull looking piece of 'shampoo' could possibly be a good thing for my hair. My initial reaction was to assume that these products would leave my hair matted and dry. As I mentioned in my review of Veganese, I have spent many years trying to resurrect my hair from years of over-dying it. So I was a little concerned that using Reincarnate might set my efforts backwards a few months.    

Reincarnate is made with the best Persian red henna. While the amount present in this shampoo isn’t enough to colour your hair in itself, it will help maintain hair that’s already been coloured. I have yet to use their Caca hair dyes, so I cannot comment on how the shampoo supports these products. However, I use a shop-brought dark brown to colour my hair, and after using the shampoo once, my hair definitely looked richer and brighter than it did before.

The smell of Reincarnate is rather interesting; a sweet, earthy scent that reminds me a little of liquorice mixed with rosemary. This smell is very faint until mixed with water, and even then it's not overpowering, which is great news for those of us who dislike the strong smell of henna. 

Unlike a lot of reviews I have seen, this bar lathered up really easily for me. However, when I washed it out, my hair felt really dry and damaged. I chose to go 'full out' with the solid hair products, so I used this alongside Lush's Big Solid conditioner. I'm not sure whether or not this is the best combination, and I might have had better results If I'd tested out different conditioners alongside Reincarnate. However, my initial reaction is that my hair didn't feel anywhere near as soft or instantly hydrated as it does whenever I use Rehab or Cynthia Sylvia Stout.

This product is great for those travelling as it's portability to perfect for those who wish to travel light. As each usage requires very little product, a small 100g bar will last for a long time, and probably even works out better value than the bottle varieties. That said, I would not recommend this shampoo bar for those with very dry hair, as it is not very moisturising, and it left my hair limp and damaged. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Stearic Acid, Red Henna, Glyceryl Stearate & PEG-100 Stearate, Rosemary, Fleeceflower Root & Nettle Leaf Infusion, Cocamide DEA, Soya Lecithin, Rhassoul Mud, Labdanum Resinoid, Sedra Powder, Sweet Orange Oil, Irish Moss Powder, *Limonene, Perfume

Vegan?: Yes

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Sympathy For The Skin Body Lotion

Sympathy for the Skin is by far one of Lush's cheapest body lotions, but that by no means makes it one of their least effective. In fact, since I blindly invested in one of their large pots, going by smell alone, it has become one of the staples of my daily routine. 

Made with fresh bananas, almond oil, vanilla, fair trade cocoa oil and lemon oil, amongst other beneficial ingredients, Sympathy for the Skin body cream is a real treat for your skin. At first I was a little worried, as the texture is rather thick, something which I expected, given that the main ingredient is banana. However, this body lotion does wonders for my skin and doesn't feel at all heavy.

When I initially applied this lotion to my legs, I used rather a lot and found that it can make your skin feel quite oily. However, used in small doses, it sinks into the skin nicely and makes your skin feel radiant and refreshed, with a gorgeous sheen to boot. You can see the dark vanilla flecks in this lotion, which no doubt help to retain that gorgeous vanilla scent.

I use this mainly as a face moisturiser when I first step out of the shower for my 6am starts, and using it every morning has really helped to clear my skin of blemishes and stop my face from developing nasty dry areas during the winter months. The body cream leaves your skin super soft and moisturised, and the Sandalwood helps to tone and strengthen your skin. 

I use very little of this, as you can see from the picture below, so a 240g tub easily lasts me 6 months to a year. However, this body lotion is definitely worth the money, and will remain one of my staple Lush products for the near future. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Vanilla Pod Infusion, Almond Oil, Cocoa Butter, Fresh Organic Bananas, Stearic Acid, Glycerine, Triethanolamine, Sandalwood Oil, Lemon Oil, Labdanum Resinoid, Cetearyl Alcohol, *Limonene, Perfume, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.

Vegan?: Yes

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Creamy Candy Body Lotion

           

I have to admit that nothing excites me more than finding a rare Lush product online, and I won't deny that I find it near on impossible to walk away from such an opportunity. So when I saw an unused pot of Creamy Candy Body Lotion on eBay, I just had to have it.

First impressions weren't all that great as the smell that greeted me on opening the lid, was rather unpleasant. The expiry date on the side stated that it should have been used back in mid-2011. However, I was assured by the seller that it was still the same consistency and smell as it had been when they first purchased it from a store.

The scent in the pot is just like the Lush Creamy Candy Bubble Bar that it is based on, although there is a slight acidic after-scent that I'm convinced might be due to it's age. However, once the lotion has been massaged into your skin, the gorgeous sugary-sweet candy fragrance shines through.

Application is easy and although the product has a pink hue to it, it does not make your skin pink in the process. The scent is quite strong and lasted for a good few hours on my skin, releasing bursts of fragrance throughout the day, which was great.

The moisturiser itself is very light and once it's on your skin, it doesn't feel heavy or sticky at all. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised by how great my skin felt instantly after I had used it.

This is probably one of my favourite body lotions that Lush have released so far; It's just a shame that it's not a regular part of their line. I hope they re-release it in the near future so I can stock up before this lowly tub runs out on me.

Quantitative Ingredients: Vanilla Pod infusion (vanilla planifolia), Water (aqua), Almond Oil (prunus dulcis), Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Glycerine, Stearic Acid, Triethanolamine, Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla planifolia), Cetearyl Alcohol, Colour 17200, Perfume, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.  

Vegan?: Yes.

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Rose Jam Bubbleroon

I never thought I'd say this, but the Rose Jam Bubble Bar is probably one of my all time favourite Lush products. It's not one of the better looking bars and it doesn't proclaim to be anything more than a simple bath product. However, sometimes it's the quiet ones, that sit at the back unnoticed, that have the most to offer. And this is definitely the case with the Rose Jam bubbleroon.

Admittedly, before I was able to write this review, I had to do a little research and find out what a 'Bubbleroon' actually was.

After trawling through many blogs and websites, I discovered it is named as such due to it's similarity to the much loved macaroon. The bubbleroon looks like the cosmetic version of the famous cookie, with two halves of the bubble bar stuck together with a creamy filling of coconut oil. Sounds good enough to eat, right?

However, the bubbleroon is not just a pretty face. With lemon to bring clarity and alertness and rose to lift the spirits, this bubble bar is an all-round fantastic product. The geranium oil in here balances the skin, whilst the coconut oil and shea butter leaves you feeling smooth and soft.

I will admit that I'm fairly greedy when it comes to my Lush products so I tend to use a whole 'roon at a time. However, for those with a more conservative bank balance, this bubble bar is great value for money as you can break it in half and use it at two separate occasions. 

After using this my skin felt super soft and moisturised, and the smell lingered on my skin for the rest of the day. 

My only problem with it is that I found it doesn't bubble quite as well as other bubble bars, although I am unsure whether or not this is because my bar was a little old when I finally tried it. Fortunately the scent and lovely pink color lingers in the bathwater and this is all I needed to relax me before bed.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Lauryl Betaine, Fair Trade Shea Butter, Perfume, Rose Absolute, Geranium Oil, Rose Oil, Lemon Oil, Cocamide DEA, PEG-6 Caprylic / Capric Glycerides, Titanium Dioxide, Colour 17200

Vegan?: Yes

 

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