Seanik Solid Shampoo

In all honesty, this review has taken me almost three months to write; partly because I like to use my shampoo over a few weeks to see whether my hair condition changes, and partly because, with Seanik in particular, I've had a love/hate relationship with it from the word go. 

Back when I made my first Lush order, I had no knowledge or guidance to help me choose which shampoo bar to choose. For this reason, I ended up picking three of them at random. Seanik just happened to be one of those three. 

For starters, this shampoo bar is like every other solid shampoo that I've tried so far; it's very easy to use. You can either massage it through wet hair, or rub it between your hands and create a lather, which can then be applied to your locks. Either way, you can really tell how much shampoo is compacted into a single bar as it lathers up really easily.

Next up, this bar has plenty of ingredients to soften and revitalise your hair. First up, there's a ton of nori seaweed packed into each bar, which is rich in protein and helps to strengthen hair and make it silky soft in both look and feel; lemon has been added to add to that natural shine, without making it look greasy or oily. Finally, mimosa, jasmine and orange flower are added to supposedly give the shampoo bar a little tropical lift in scent.

Unfortunately, I didn't think this shampoo had much scent at all; at most I could just catch the edge of the lemon when the bar was in use. On the positive side, this shampoo bar would be great for those of you who don't want an overpowering fragrance and would rather leave that job to the conditioner. 

Furthermore, fine sea salt is a key ingredient here, added to uplift and add volume to your hair. However, I found that this shampoo bar did the exact opposite for me. My hair is normally very frizzy and slightly untameable - prone to developing split ends rather quickly and drying out. Seanik actually helped to give my hair shape whilst making it look and feel calmer and healthier. 

This shampoo is actually amazing, although it took me a good few months to reach that conclusion. At first, it took my hair a few washes to get used to Seanik, but once it had, it made my hair look and feel beautiful - I was actually amazed at how quickly my hair went from dry and lifeless, to soft and shiny (without ever stepping into the 'greasy' bracket).

Although other reviewers have expressed their love of the smell, I can't say that I was able to pick up enough to comment on it. My bar was probably about six months old when I began using it, so perhaps the scent had faded before I had a chance to appreciate it. However, I don't think the lack of fragrance takes away from the bar at all - it just meant I was able to use different conditioners alongside this, and not worry that the different scents would clash.

Seanik solid shampoo is great value for money - one £5.50 bar lasts me between 4-6 months, and this is with me washing my hair on average five times a week. This probably works out a mere few pence per wash, which just makes me love it even more. A definite favourite Lush product for me!

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Irish Moss Gel, Perfume, Nori Seaweed, Fine Sea Salt, Lemon Oil, Mimosa Absolute, Orange Flower Absolute, Jasmine Absolute, Cocamide DEA, *Limonene, Colour 42090.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Competition Winner Announcement!

Thank you to everyone who has been patient with me. I did promise to announce the winner on Saturday night, but a few things stopped me from doing so.

The main reason is that I was rather annoyed that someone reported me to Tumblr, who then told me I was breaking the rules by promoting a site that isn't affiliated with Tumblr.

For this reason, I'll be unable to post any more competitions on there for a while, until I figure out a way to do so that isn't against their policies. 

I will still be holding regular competitions, but it'll only be through here, so please keep checking back regularly so you can be a part of the next awesome giveaway. I've already selected my products and have been organising them for this week, so I should have a new and exciting competition up in the next few days.

As per usual, to make it fair, I've picked a winner from a random number generator;

Congratulations to the anonymous entry with the email address - Dig66@yahoo.com. You are the winner of all of these wonderful goodies! An email will be coming your way very soon.

Thank you to everyone who entered, and check back here over the next few days for my next Lush giveaway!

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Keep It Fluffy Bath Bomb

Over the years, I have amassed close to 400 different bath products from Lush, which is an insane amount for one person to own. In the beginning, I would trawl through eBay on a daily basis and snap up anything rare or old that was no longer available to buy in store or online. Nowadays, there's hardly anything I don't own or haven't done in the past, so my spending has thankfully gone down drastically. However, the problem now is that I have so many bath bombs and bubble bars that I forget which ones I have, and often the older ones get pushed to the back in favour of the fresher, stronger-smelling products. This year I am making a conscious effort to use up the older ones first before they become unusable. 

Keep It Fluffy is one of Lush's smaller bath bombs; a pretty lilac coloured ballistic with a neat white line drawn around the middle. This bomb is one of the few ballistics that Lush chose to release in multiple colours, so you can also get a peach-coloured variation as well. 

Containing both vanilla and jasmine, this ballistic has a sweet, floral scent, that shares similar characteristics to Pop In The Bath Bubble Bar. It's a light, feminine fragrance and would be best suited to someone who doesn't like strong-scented products.  

Immediately upon dropping Keep it Fluffy into the bath, the bath bomb sunk to the bottom of the tub and instantaneously dissolved in the water. As I watched with disappointment, a murky, purply-gray swirl of colour dissipated across the water and left my with a rather uninviting-looking bath. At first I assumed that this reaction was caused by the old age of the bath bomb, and I think this may have had a small part to play. However, after reading other reviews and watching videos on this bath bomb, it seems that the reaction of my ballistic was not that far off what a fresh one would do.

I also noticed that my bath lacked any scent once it had fully dissolved, which is the consensus of other users as well. As I owned a second Keep It Fluffy, I tried rectifying the situation by adding another one to the mix in the hope that I'd get some sort of reward in return. However, the second one did exactly the same and didn't add any extra scent to the mix.

Ultimately, I was thoroughly disappointed with this bath bomb; it didn't have any redeeming qualities at all. It doesn't contribute any smell, colour or softness to a bath so I wouldn't even recommend using it as part of a bath cocktail. Easily one of the worst bath bombs I have used to date.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Perfume, Cocamide DEA, Vanilla Absolute, Jasmine Absolute, Ylang Ylang Oil, Lemongrass Oil, Titanium Dioxide, *Citral, *Coumarin, Methyl Ionone, *Hydroxycitronellal, Colour 17200, Colour 42090.

Vegan?: Yes. 

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Prince Shower Gel

I was first introduced to this shower gel when I won a small 100g bottle on eBay back at the start of 2013. At the time, it was the oldest product I had ever managed to get my hands on, and with a use by date of March 2005, it almost felt like I had stumbled across an ancient relic. I was so happy that I had found the bottle as I didn't think Lush were very likely to bring this back into circulation. 

Fast forward a little over a year and I was surprised to find that Prince Shower Gel was making a comeback in the Lush Kitchen. Intrigued to see how this product differed from my bottle eight years out of date, I purchased a couple and anxiously waited for their arrival. 

2006 version

Like most of Lush's shower gels, it's incredibly versatile in what it can do; it can be used to wash your body and hair with it, as well as using it to create a sultry bubble bath to get lost in. Although I've never actually used a shower gel on my hair, I would be intrigued to see whether or not it would be as effective as a shampoo. 

According to their 2004 product description, Prince is supposed to make you smell like, er...Prince. Not that I would have any idea what the man smells like, or have any inclination to smell this way in the first place. With a mixture of fresh lemon juice, neroli oil and orange absolute, this shower gel has a supposed fresh, citric fragrance intertwined with an earthy, woody scent.

The first thing I noticed upon receiving my new bottles was the difference in both colour and smell. It was obviously that my old bottle was way past its best and was far-removed from the fresh, gorgeously scented liquid that greeted my senses. 

Prince is a gorgeous shade of deep blue and is thinner in consistency than it's older self. In the shower, it's strong colour means that the foam it creates has a slight blue tinge to it, which worried me at first as I didn't want to exit the bathroom looking like a smurf. However, as to be expected, the foam washed off easily and didn't alter the colour of my skin. 

2014 Colour

As opposed to the weak smell that I detected in the older version, a fresh sample gives off a far nicer aroma. In the bottle, it has quite a gentle scent - a natural mandarin smell and not much else. However, when you begin to use it in the shower, the different smells become more apparent. 

Firstly, the zesty orange fragrance intensifies somewhat and it reminded me very much of the smell you get when peeling a fresh satsuma - that sweet citrus aroma with a slight bitterness from the peel. Next up, you get a faint but wonderful hint of vetivert - an earthy sort of scent that holds the fragrance together and stops this just being another uninspiring citrus gel. Finally, the neroli comes through but again it lingers in the background and just adds depth to the overall smell. 

Much like Happy 4 SAD, this shower gel is one of the gentler smelling ones, so would appeal to those of you who want something light in the shower. Having said this, I wouldn't describe this shower gel as being weak. Although it doesn't immediately jump out at you, it is really uplifting in the shower and I felt invigorated and clean after using it. 

It is rather thin in consistency but you don't need very much - a single drop will lather up very easily between your palms so this 250g bottle will probably last longer than your average shower gel. The foam it does produce is wonderfully light and fluffy and coats your skin very easily, rinsing away to leave you feeling silky-smooth with a light zesty coat that stays with you for a few hours after you've left the bathroom.  

2005 Colour

In the bath, the shower gel dissolved rather quickly and did produce some nice bubbles. However, I found that the smell dispersed very quickly in this way and I had to keep topping it up throughout; meaning I used a lot more shower gel than I was hoping to. Furthermore, the shower gel tends to parch the skin a little as I found that my hands felt very dry after use. For this reason, I wouldn't be happy using this as an alternative to one of my bath bombs.

Overall, Prince was rather pleasant and I'm really glad I chose to purchase a fresh bottle to use. When it was originally released, it was marketed more for men, with the label being designed to attract the male consumer. However, I see no reason why this couldn't be a favourite for women as well. There's nothing particular masculine or feminine about the scent of Prince so it would appeal to anyone who likes a good old fashioned citrus shower gel. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Vetivert Root Infusion (Vetiveria zizanoides), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Fresh Lemon Juice (Citrus limonum), Perfume, Neroli Oil (Citrus amara), Orange Flower Absolute, (Citrus dulcis), Vetivert Oil (Vetiveria zizanoides), Orange Oil (Citrus dulcis), Mandarin Oil (Citrus nobilis), White Wine Vinegar, Colour 42090, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.

Vegan?: Yes.

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Midnight Massage Bar

When I first set my eyes on these massage bars back in 2012, I immediately fell in love with the design. What more can you ask for than a sensual, exotic-scented massage bar, shaped to look like one of Salvador Dali's 'Melted Clocks'. There's something extremely appealing about this product; it's almost a celebration of the romanticism of the 1920's/30's, and gives me that same nostalgia that I got when reading Brian Selznick's 'The Invention of Hugo Cabret'. 

Depending on when you purchased your Midnight Massage Bar, you might have one of two different shades. Earlier releases boasted a beautiful, rich peachy coloured bar with gold lustre decorating the face of the clock. However, when the bars were re-released for the Christmas 2013 retro range, the bar seemed to have lost it's glow, and is now a much more paler in colour. 

As the name suggests, this product can be used to aide a full body massage for one or more lucky people. However, it can also be used as a luxury alternative to a body lotion, which is what I tend to use it for. To melt the bar you rub it between your hands; your body temperature heats the oils up and causes the bar to melt slightly. Then simply use your fingers to glide over your skin and massage the oils across your body.

What I found with Midnight Massage, is that it's rather stubborn at giving away it's oils. Whereas Close To You or From Dusk Til' Dawn tend to begin melting immediately when in your hands, this bar took a little while to get to work. I tend to smear the massage bar across the areas of skin that I want, and then use my hands to spread the oils out across my whole body. However, with Midnight Massage, I had to rub it between my hands and then apply the oils this way, which took a little longer than usual. 

Much like all of Lush's other massage bars, this one has a ton of wonderful ingredients to give your skin a feast; cocoa butter, shea butter and olive oil are all present to help moisturise and remove dry, scaly skin; exotic fruits like figs, carob pods and quince fruit have been added as they are rich in antioxidants and good for the skin. Lush have then chosen a refined, sexy jasmine scent that will linger on the body long after your massage, ensuring the persistence of memory.

This bar is also one of the longer lasting ones. I got a good 15+ uses out of it, whereas some bars I only get 3-4. Furthermore, it holds it's shape really well so you won't have it crumbling or turning into a gloopy mess. 

Despite all of these attributes, I wasn't overly keen on the fragrance that Midnight Massage bar had to offer. The scent reminded me a little of when old Lush bath bombs begin to age and their scents somehow merge into one, unremarkable smell. Additionally, the bar was rather difficult to manoeuvre across the skin and I had to reapply the bar a few times just to get enough oil to moisturise my skin.  

Quantitative Ingredients: Cocoa Butter, Fair Trade Shea Butter, Fair Trade Olive Oil, Perfume, Fig, Carob pods and Quince Extract, Fair Trade Vanilla Absolute, Jasmine Absolute, Olive Leaf Absolute, Petitgrain Oil, *Benzyl Salicylate, *Cinnamyl Alcohol, *Geraniol, *Benzyl Benzoate, *Benzyl Cinnamate, *Farnesol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Benzyl Alcohol, Lustre Radiant Gold, Edible Lustre Radiant Gold.

Vegan?: Yes.

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I Love Juicy Shampoo

I was always warned to stay away from this product, merely because it's a shampoo aimed at removing grease and oil from your locks, neither of which I have an abundance of. However, in my quest to try and review everything vegan in their range, I knew I had to give it a go at one stage. 

Lush describe this shampoo as one which contains 'juicy fruits to give you the freshest smoothie hair imaginable'. You can see from the ingredients list that they have gone all out on packing this product with a range of beautiful smelling fruits: Lemon, mango, papaya, pineapple, kiwi and orange give this product a fresh tropical-scent.

Aside from the fragrance, these fruits also contain key enzymes which supposedly help to clean away dirt and remove grease and product build up. Furthermore, softening seaweed has been included to leave your locks extra-clean and super-shiny.

I Love Juicy is a very rich shampoo, so you should only use only a small amount each time. However, I found that it doesn't lather up as easily as other Lush shampoos, and I often found myself using more than I was perhaps supposed to. When massaged into your hair, this product feels more like a conditioner and despite reading other reviews that claim otherwise, I didn't find that this shampoo felt as if it was genuinely washing my hair. Then when I washed the product out, my hair immediately felt like it had lost it's volume. After leaving it to dry naturally, it felt slightly greasy and thin, and the colour of my hair seemed rather dull and lifeless. 

I coupled I Love Juicy with Veganese conditioner, as this is my favourite hair product ever. However, this is clearly not a good combination as my hair was left feeling really thin and limp. Maybe there is another combination I could try that might have better results with this shampoo. However, as there are so many great shampoos in Lush's range, I'd rather stick with one that works with the products I use regularly. 

Overall, I was rather disappointed with this shampoo but not overly surprised with the results. My main concern is that my hair felt rather oily after use, which is not a look I want to continue sporting. Secondly, the shampoo seemed to make my dyed hair look dull and stripped of colour. All I can think about, is if I can see the physical effects of what I Love Juicy is doing to my hair, I can only imagine the damage it may be doing 'behind the scenes'. 

For this reason, I would not buy this product again. Lush have so many other brilliant shampoos that I use regularly, so I'll stick to the ones I know work for my hair type.

Quantitative Ingredients: Water, Sodium Alkyl Sulfate, Ammonium Laureth Sulphate, Cocamide MEA, Propylene Glycol, Perfume, Lemon Oil, Freshly Juiced Papaya, Fine Sea Salt, Carrageenan Extract, Sweet Orange Oil, Fresh Pineapple Juice, Fresh Kiwi Juice, Fresh Mango Juice, *Citral, *Limonene, Benzyl Alcohol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.

Vegan?: Yes

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Lush Competition: Sumptuous Springtime

Today I had a wonderful walk in the sun shine and ended my day with a beautiful bath. It made me appreciate how much Lush makes me happy and I'd like to reciprocate that feeling for one of you lucky people. 

I want you guys to experience the same happiness and warmth that I do, so I've hand-picked a selection of amazing ballistics for one of you to get your hands on! Some of these bath bombs are part of Lush's current Mother's Day and Easter range, and all of them are brand new, fresh and fully-working. There's over £50 worth of stuff here!!!

Up for grabs is:

-A Secret Garden Ballistic
-A Wonder Woohoo Bubble Bar
-A Rose Bubble Bar
-An Abominable Snowman Ballistic
-A Lord of Misrule Bath Bomb
-A Cinders Bath Bomb
-A Candy Fluff Ballistic
-A Bunch of Carrots Reusable Bubble Bars
-A Star Light Star Bright Bath Melt
-A Witches' Ball Bubble Bar


To be in with this amazing chance, you have to do one or more of the following;

1. Leave a comment underneath this blog post. (Please remember to leave an email address if you're an anonymous poster as I'll have no way of contacting you if you win!)
2. Repost my competition blog entry on Tumblr.
3. Like my competition blog on Tumblr.

This is a worldwide competition so anyone can enter. You can do any or all of the above, and as many times as you like, so get re-blogging!

The competition will run until Saturday March 15th, 9pm (English time). I will pick a winner using a random number selector so it is completely fair. Good luck!

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