More Than Mortal Body Scrub

With every new seasonal release as with every new retro range, you can guarantee that Lush will shower you with limited edition soaps, bath bombs, jellies and gels. However, it is very rare that they'll offer you anything aside from the typical shower products. So when I saw that Lush were bringing out a body scrub, I was very excited to get my hands on some and test it out. 

Although marketed as a new product, More Than Mortal is actually an old favourite, first released way back in 2006, designed to 'smooth' and 'polish' every skin type with it's grain-like consistency and exfoliating properties. With an updated and improved recipe, this body scrub is a perfect product to use in the upcoming summer months. 

In the tub, this product smells very much like orange squash - it's a sweet, fresh citrus smell that has elements of the lime, grapefruit, pineapple and apricot in it. However, once this body scrub comes into contact with hot water, it's fragrance expands out a bit and you begin to pick out different elements that weren't at the forefront before. 

It was during use that I was able to appreciate both the lavender and anise elements of the product. Although very subtle, I was able to detect both whilst I was applying this scrub to my body, which just gave More Than Mortal that extra aromatic layer. 

More importantly, the ground walnut and almonds really help to give this body scrub a gritty consistency, which alongside the kaolin, makes it an excellent exfoliator without it being at all oily or heavy on the skin. When I say gritty, I don't mean it's similar to Sandstone Soap, which uses actual sand to give it that rough texture. Nor does this scrub compare to Rub Rub Rub, which uses salt to harness that gritty consistency. I'd say More Than Mortal is not that far off Ocean Salt, albeit slightly drier and better smelling. 

Unlike the soap and the salt scrub, More Than Mortal is really easy to apply. Simply scoop small amounts from the tub and lather across the areas of skin you wish to, massaging in a circular motion to help exfoliate and moisturise the skin. The paste-like scrub is wonderfully light on the skin and despite it's non-greasy consistency, creates a slightly oily barrier on the skin. 

When you rinse it away, you skin is left beautifully soft, almost glowing with vibrancy. There is also a very subtle hint of almond and pineapple left on the surface, which is lovely. My skin remained really smooth and moisturised all day and into the next, which means it has a longevity far greater than some of Lush's other scrubs. 

For just under £9, this is a rather expensive buy. Having used it across my entire body, I would estimate that you'd get 3-4 uses out of a single tub this way, so it's not something you could use daily. Furthermore, More Than Mortal has a short shelf life, similar to that of Lush's fresh face masks, so it's not something you'd want to stock up with either. 

I was really impressed with this - it's feels, smells and looks really fresh and works perfectly with my skin type. Additionally, it possesses a lovely natural fruity fragrance that is strong enough to leave it's mark, but not too potent to overpower the user. My skin felt really beautiful after initial use; silky soft without feeling or looking greasy. 

Ultimately, I hope that this remains a regular product in Lush's range as I'd definitely invest in another pot in the near future. The only reason that I didn't award this scrub a full six marks, is due to it's price; for a short-life product, and one that only has a few uses, it is a little overpriced.     

Quantitative Ingredients: Kaolin, Star Anise and Lime Tree Flower Infusion (lllicium verum, Tilea europea), Fresh Pineapple (Ananas comosus), Ground Walnut Shell (Juglans Regia), Apricot Kernel Oil (Prunus armeniaca), Glycerine, Ground Almonds (Prunus dulcis), Grapefruit Oil (Citrus paradisi), Lavender Oil (Lavandula angustifolia), Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Perfume.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Competition Winner Announced!

Thank you to everyone who entered my competition - your support is very much appreciated. As per usual, to make it fair, I've picked my winner using the random number generator. 

This time the number 24 was picked;

Congratulations to Tuba M for being the 24th entry, therefore being the sole winner of all of these amazing goodies. I will email you all of the details and hope to get these wonderful products out to you asap.

For those who weren't lucky this time around, keep checking my blog as I have another fantastic competition that I'll be unleashing very shortly...  

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Supertramp Shower Gel and Bubble Bath

It wasn't until the Lush Kitchen first opened at the beginning of the week, that I realised, without a doubt, that I have a problem when it comes to Lush. (You've only just noticed?!) As soon as Supertramp was announced as the first limited edition product in the range, I ordered myself a bottle, knowing full well that I wouldn't enjoy it at all. Despite already recognising how I would react to the shower gel, my fingers itched to own a bottle; thus I ended up spending almost £15 just for the privilege of holding the product in my hand.

Lush has advertised Supertramp as both a shower gel and a bubble bath, which initially might attract sales because of it's versatility. However, for most regular consumers, we recognise that almost all of Lush's shower gels double up as a bubble bath, and some even claim to be rather effective alternatives to shampoo. 

Described as an 'earthy, mystical shower gel', Supertramp is packed with many ingredients, a lot of which at first seem contradictory, but that actually compliment each other well. There's peppermint in here, coupled with rose, sandalwood, ginger, horehound, lavender and salt. Individually, they bring key elements that help to give this product it's consistency; together, they create a very unique fragrance which is rather an acquired taste.  

The main ingredient here is horehound and peppermint infusion; a combination I had to research before using this product to begin with. What I discovered is that horehound is a bitter-scented herb, which when couple with the peppermint leaf, creates a combination that is super-effective on the skin. Both natural ingredients contain antiseptic properties, which help to soothe broken and damaged skin, and aid the healing process. Furthermore, their scents awaken the skin and you're left with a slight tingling sensation that helps to make you feel refreshed and clean. Although you can smell the peppermint, is does sit quite far down in the overall smell and really just helps to make the whole shower gel smell and feel really crisp and refreshing. 

The key scents that you can pick up on here is herbs, rose and lavender; a concoction that creates an earthy, floral pine-based scent. Those of you who love the smell of Tramp, will not doubt love this fragrance as it is very similar. In fact, Supertramp's name plays homage to the infamous shower gel favourite. 

If you're to compare both products, I'd say that Supertramp possesses a slightly more rounder scent than Tramp - that is, the smell comes across as thicker and has more pronounced layers in it's fragrance. To me, I can smell a slightly more smoky, earthy element to this shower gel, which is thanks to the addition of sandalwood and patchouli in the ingredients. 

Supertramp is the same consistency as most of Lush's other shower gels and lathers up very nicely on the skin. It's a very moisturising product and leaves your skin feeling velvety soft and well pampered. The addition of peppermint means that your skin does feel rather invigorated after use - a featured that I enjoyed quite a bit. 

As with most Lush shower gels, the scent had some staying power, although I was unable to smell it a few hours after I had exited the shower. I have yet to use it as a bubble bath, so I am unsure whether bathing in it's fragrance for longer, might permeate the skin a little more effectively.

As I said at the beginning, Supertramp is not a scent that I'm particularly keen on. However, that's not to say that it's not a worthy product. For anyone that's a fan of earthy, woody smells, or those that love Tramp, I have no doubt in my mind that you'll love this product. And as far as productivity goes, this shower gel does everything you'd expect it to do. 

For a little under £12, this 250g bottle of shower gel does seem like quite an expensive investment to make. However, if used as a bubble bath, this one bottle could probably last upwards of 20 baths, meaning that it's a lot better value than the bath bombs and bubble bars. 

Unfortunately, this is not a fragrance that I enjoy all that much and so not a product I would be interested in using again.

Quantitative Ingredients; White Horehound and Peppermint Leaf, Herb, Rose Petal and Lavender Flower Infusion, Water (Aqua), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Lauryl Betaine, Propylene Glycol, Fine Sea Salt, Organic Orange Peel Decoction, Patchouli Oil, Petitgrain Oil,  Pimento Berry Oil, Sandalwood Oil, Ginger Oil, Plantain Vinegar Gel, Perfume, Methyl Ionone, Eugenol, Limonene, Linalool, Chlorophyllin, Methylparaben.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Lemon Melt Shower Gel

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vegan?: Yes.

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Violet Nights Bath Oil

When Lush announced that this would be one of the first products to come out of their new 'Lush Kitchen' initiative, I was not at all surprised. I have had countless conversations, both off and online, with Lushies who salivate over the very mention of it's name. As it hasn't been released for a very long time, I've never been able to get my hands on any...until now.

Violet Nights Bath Oil is quite a unique product within the Lush range as it's not very often that you find them creating and selling bath oils, especially not in recent years. Normally, I rely on my bath melts to condition and moisturise my skin, so I was rather excited to see how this compared to that of my favourite melt, You've Been Mangoed. 

Firstly, this product works out at being exceptional value for money. I was initially unsure whether I could justify spending £13.95 on a 250g bottle of, in it's simplest terms, oil. However, after using it in the bath this evening, I realised just how many uses you could get out of a single bottle. 

As I was unsure how much to use, I experimented a little and ended up adding in the equivalent of one and a half dessertspoon's worth. Obviously, how much you decide to use will be dependant on how strong you'd want the fragrance to be. The instructions stated that it works best when added into the bath under the running water, so this is what I did, pouring it carefully onto a spoon and letting it run off into the tub. Immediately, bubbles began to form and the beautiful smell of violets filled the bathroom. This was the perfect amount for me, and looking at the bottle, I barely even scratched the surface. I'd say that this bottle will last me upwards of twenty baths, making it far better value than the solid bath melts.

Secondly, being able to control how much you add to your bath is a great way of ensuring that you get exactly what you want out of the product. There might be days when I feel the need to double up the dosage, and I have the option of being able to do this without having to buy any other products to top up my bath. 

Violet Nights' best trait is it's smell; a beautiful rich and creamy violet aroma - one that smells exactly like Parma Violets. Although I love the smell of Daddy-O and can definitely smell the popular candy in it's fragrance, this bath oil is far sweeter and more sugary smelling. The addition of vanilla absolute adds that rich, comforting note and the ylang ylang oil helps to combine the scents together, adding a very subtle floral scent that nestles into the overall fragrance. 

Once in the bath, the oils began to moisturise and condition my body, and it wasn't long before I could feel the difference that it was making to my skin. When I got out of the bath, my skin felt beautifully soft and silky, and there were elements of the fragrance lingering gently on my skin. Not only this, but both my feet seemed wonderfully nourished and velvety soft. I believe if I was to use this product regularly, I would notice a large reduction in the dry patches that I often get in these places. 

Ultimately, Violet Nights is a luxurious treat that'll moisturise your body, relax your mind and leave you looking, feeling and smelling beautiful. And if this isn't enough, you could combine this with a bath bomb or bubble bar so you get the luxury of conditioning your skin, whilst enjoying the scent and/or colour of a ballistic as well. I'm so glad that Lush have chosen to bring this out and I look forward to sharing my next bath with this gorgeous product. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Soya Oil, Laureth 4, Perfume, Cassie Absolute, Fair Trade Vanilla Absolute, Sandalwood Oil, Vetivert Oil, Violet Leaf Absolute, Ylang Ylang Oil, Methyl,  Ionone, Citronellol, Eugenol, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Farnesol, Limonene, Linalool, Colour 60725, Propylparaben.

Vegan?: Yes.

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My Initial Rection To Lush Kitchen And First Order

For those that have been keeping up with Lush, you'll know that the company launched their new website on Sunday evening, and more importantly, unleashed their 'Lush Kitchen' upon the world. Described as an original venture that no other cosmetics company have ever done, this is a big, bold statement from them; bound to attract a lot of attention in the media.

Although I was initially excited by this new project, my interest dwindled a little after the website displayed multiple glitches in the first day of launching. Furthermore, after Lush had released their first batch of 'kitchen' products, the website malfunctioned, preventing me from ordering anything which stressed me out more than a shower gel should. 

Thankfully, things seem to be running smoothly four days in, and I've since made three successive orders from their 'kitchen' range. 

When my first order arrived this evening, I was so excited and almost attacked the box like a lion on it's prey. However, I was nice enough to slow it down a notch take pictures while I was doing so, so you can experience the same excitement as I did upon seeing the initial products. 

One difference between the kitchen range and the normal range, is that the former comes in individually wrapped bags. To make it more personal, Lush have also included a picture of the Lush 'chef' that made your very product; a lovely touch from them, I thought. 

My first ordered contained Violet Nights Bath Oil, Lemon Melt Shower Gel and Super tramp Shower Gel. The bath oil smells absolutely gorgeous; very similar to Daddy-O but with a more creamy violet scent. The lemon shower gel reminded me of cake batter and there were even pithy looking strands on the top, which made me realise just how fresh it is. The Supertramp was my least favourite, but that too had a lovely rounded-herby scent.


My order came with the new Lush Times which features some very exciting up-and-coming products, including a self-preserved version of Ocean Salt which is vegan. I'm so excited.

Reviews for all of these items will be available on here from tomorrow so check back to see them then.

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Freeze Shower Gel

I'm going to be honest - mint scented cosmetics bore me to tears. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the smell of Dirty Springwash or Demon In The Dark shower gel. However, it's just not a scent that I'm ever going to get truly excited by. 

Freeze was Lush's first minty shower gel, 'packed with refreshing menthol to wake you up, cool you down and blow away the cobwebs.' The shower gel also features peppermint oil, although it is surprising low in the list of ingredients. To set it apart from other generic mint-smelling products, Lush have also included both sweet orange and bergamot oils, to give the minty scent a citrusy uplift and sweetness that you wouldn't necessarily expect. 

What is interesting about this shower gel is that the first two ingredients featured are fresh spring water and sea water - not what you would assume from a shower gel that is relatively thick in the bottle. You can definitely pick out a slight salty undertone in Freeze, but it is mostly masked by the abundance of menthol present in the mix. It is this latter ingredient that dominates the fragrance here, and is what gives it it's 'cool' factor. 

It contains aloe vera to soothe your skin, peppermint which contains menthol to refresh and cool you down, sweet orange oil to revive and bergamot to uplift. I managed to pick up a slight hint of citrus when the shower gel was in the bottle but this is somewhat lost when being used. 

When trying Freeze out in the shower, I found that the gel was super easy to lather up and created a soft, foamy lather in my shower puff. Furthermore, the menthol makes your skin tingle and gives it a coolness which wakes you up and cools you down in hotter weather. I felt that this latter aspect makes it a key candidate to use during the hotter months of the year. However, I found it was too effective to use in the early mornings as the menthol just made me feel really cold. 

The shower gel is a lovely, almost psychedelic blue - very similar in colour to that of Dirty Springwash, which makes it look more like a masculine product. It's poignant smell also suits those who would prefer a stronger, harsher smelling shower gel. Unfortunately, it's not a smell that I particularly enjoyed so would not buy it again.

Quantitative Ingredients: Fresh Spring Water, Fresh Sea Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Fair Trade Organic Aloe Vera Gel, Propylene Glycol, Perfume, Fine Sea Salt, Peppermint Oil, Bergamot Oil, Sweet Orange Oil, *Limonene, *Linalool, Hydroxycitronellal, Colour 42090, Methylparaben.

Vegan?: Yes.

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