This is one of Lush's limited edition Christmas cleansers, and admittedly one of the first cleanser of theirs that I tried, back when I only associated the company with their bath bombs and bubble bars. Bursting with seasonal ingredients such as cranberries, brandy, fresh satsumas, and ground almonds, this product is a feast for your face, and one that you can indulge in without worrying about the notorious Christmas weight-gain.
Buche De Noel is made by taking fresh satsumas and blending them with dried cranberries, vegetable glycerine, brandy, almond essential oil, vetivert oil and cedarwood oil. When that’s all whizzed up, Lush mix it with grated cocoa butter, ground almonds and kaolin until it becomes a thick paste.
Simply scoop out a small piece ( I use an amount that equates to the size of a medium grape), place it in the palm of your hand, trickle a little warm water onto it, and work into a paste. Then massage it all over your face, leave it on for a few seconds and then wash it off in the shower.
I love the way this feels on my skin, as it gives a very gentle scrub that exfoliates my pores and leaves my face feeling super clean and radiant. The cleaner has a slight grainy, chunky texture that helps to scrub away dirt and unblocks pores, without being too harsh on my sensitive skin.
One piece of advice I would give when using this product, and it's the same with all of Lush's fresh cleansers, is that you use dry hands when removing a piece from the container as I find this helps to extend the life of the cleanser. Cleansers such as this and Angels On Bare Skin, tend to get a little gunky if too much water sits in the pot, so try and keep this as dry as you possibly can.
It's preservative free, so while it doesn't need to be refrigerated as the fresh face masks do, it only lasts around 3 months before it needs to be discarded. This is probably the only downside to this product, as it's a Christmas special so not something you'd be able to use regularly throughout the whole year. However, I tend to freeze a couple of pots of this stuff and defrost throughout the year so I can enjoy my cleanser for a little longer either side of Christmas.
Overall, Buche De Noel is one of my favourite Lush products and it really sucks that I can only use it fresh for a few months of the year. It's sweet almond scent with the spicy tartness of cranberries and satsumas makes it a unique cleanser, and one that I only wish would become a regular lush item. Quantitative Ingredients: Ground Almonds, Kaolin, Glycerine, Fresh Satsumas, Dried Cranberries, Cocoa Butter, Brandy, Almond Essential Oil, Vetivert Oil, Cedarwood Oil, Linalool, Cinnamal, Perfume, Nori Seaweed, Candy Pine Tree.
Vegan?: Yes
Price: £6.50 for 100g, £16.25 for 250g
Price: £6.50 for 100g, £16.25 for 250g
This sounds awesome!! Such a shame that I missed the Lush Christmas products :(
ReplyDeleteIt really is an amazing product! Let's hope this comes back next year!
ReplyDeleteHi, how does angels on bare skin compare to this? Im just about to run out and dont know how I will cope waiting till next christmas to get some more!!
ReplyDeleteHi Jen! This might sound like a weird question but do you think Buche de Noel would survive in the freezer? I got a sample of this and it was amazing on my sensitive skin, but of course the sample didn't last me long. Bought the AOBS instead, hoping it would have a similar effect on my skin, but was a bit disappointed.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking that when christmas comes around, perhaps it could be a good idea to invest in a couple of big pots of Buche de Noel, put them in smaller pots and freeze them. That way, when you finish a pot you can just get another one from the freezer and thaw it - and have access to Buche de Noel all year long!
Now, this would be a very neat solution for me, but I still have no idea whether these cleansers will even survive in the freezer for a few months. I wouldn't want to spend that much money on something if this wouldn't work. What do you think?
Love, Lucy
Hey Lucy - I'm glad you love this cleanser as much as me! As we speak, I have a tub of this freezing away and it's perfect - it still works and leaves my skin feeling amazing.
DeleteI would suggest that you cut it into small pieces (about the amount you would need for 1-2 uses) and lay them out on a piece of cling film. Once you've laid out a line, fold the cling film over this line and then make a second line before doing the same. What you want to do is make sure the pieces aren't all stuck together because then you'd have to defrost the whole thing to use it and it won't last that long once you've done this.
All I do is take out a piece or two a day before I need to use it, leave it to defrost in my soap dish and then it's ready to use. :)
Oh, thank you so much! Unfortunately I'll have to wait until Christmas to try this, obviously, but now that I know it works I will definitely stock up on it as soon as they come out :D I'll definitely try your way of storing it in the freezer as well. This was extremely helpful, thank you so, so much!! xx
DeleteThere's a 7 oz tub of this is on ebay for $35 in kansas usa. Thought you'd like to know!
ReplyDeleteI have a tub of this from Christmas this year, and one thing I can't figure out is what the seaweed is for. Is it just to keep it all contained? Or am I supposed to use it somehow?
ReplyDeleteWhile its main purpose is to keep it fresh and contained, I use it alongside the rest of the product when I scoop it up! With its moisturising and softening properties, it definitely doesn't hinder the use of the cleanser and washes away with ease down the drain :)
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeletehow often do you use this product in a week without overusing it? Thank you for your answer!
Hi Jen,
ReplyDeleteIt is my first Christmas season at Lush and I am loving this product. I saw your video on freezing it, but was wondering how much you buy to last you the year?
Thank you so much~
I know exactly what this smells like. By that I mean I'm not sure but I've definitely smelled this before. I think it might be a Cliff bar.
ReplyDelete