As I stated when I first started this blog, my biggest weakness with regards to Lush, is their shower gels. They could release a hundred different bath bombs in a single day, but my excitement wouldn't be anywhere near the level it would be if they were to release a new shower gel. So when I discovered that Lush were going to be selling an original, previously-unreleased gel as part of their Valentine's range, I was ecstatic.
On paper, Prince Charming sounds incredible. With marshmallow root, Fair Trade vanilla and fresh pomegranate juice, Lush state that 'Prince Charming will sweep you off your feet and carry you off into the sunset, leaving your skin silky soft and smelling lovely'. It sounds perfect.
Unfortunately, on first sniff, I couldn't detect either the marshmallow root or the vanilla fragrance, which was a shame as these were the two ingredients that excited me the most about this product. The description made me imagine a sweet yet sultry shower gel - a mixture of Rose Jam, Snow Fairy and Vanilla Dee-lite, three products it shares little resemblance with.
In spite of this, I actually still really love the scent of Prince Charming. To me, the overwhelming scent here is the pomegranate juice, which although this may sound strange, smells rather thick - like the pulp at the bottom of a carton of fruit smoothie. The fragrance is also crafted using the beautiful scent of grapefruit oil, which gives this shower gel a beautiful warming fruit scent and helps it share a resemblance to Happy Hippy Shower gel.
A few months after I initially tried this, I went back to find that the scent had matured quite a bit in the bottle. Despite its lack of presence in the beginning, both the Fair Trade vanilla pod infusion and the marshmallow root made much more of an impression on me when left to sit for a while. Now when I use this shower gel, the smell is much sweeter and slightly more sophisticated - reminding me a little of Rose Jam with more fruit and more vanilla.
A few months after I initially tried this, I went back to find that the scent had matured quite a bit in the bottle. Despite its lack of presence in the beginning, both the Fair Trade vanilla pod infusion and the marshmallow root made much more of an impression on me when left to sit for a while. Now when I use this shower gel, the smell is much sweeter and slightly more sophisticated - reminding me a little of Rose Jam with more fruit and more vanilla.
This shower gel is a thick, smooth and incredibly creamy product that softens and moisturises your skin whilst in use. The fresh pomegranate juice and grapefruit oil not only dominate the scent here, but work on cleansing your skin and making it glow. Their bright, energetic scents help to wake you up on early mornings and would be a perfect accompaniment to Happy Hippy. The only downside I found is that the scent is very short-lived, meaning that this isn't a scent that'll stay with you outside the shower.
Prince Charming is a thick shower gel, very similar in consistency to Ponche, although this one does feel slightly denser in consistency. It doesn't lather up as easily as the aforementioned, however that's not to say it doesn't work fantastically well in the shower. It lathers up nicely on a loofa, sponge or shower puff, so very little needs to be used each time. This means that I can imagine a small 100g bottle lasting me well over a month.
This shower gel smells absolutely gorgeous and it's definitely one I want to stock up on before the Valentine range is discontinued. I do think that Lush should alter their label a little as I think having the marshmallow root and vanilla as the key ingredients, is a little misleading. However, I was still pleasantly surprised with how lovely this scent is and I can imagine this working beautifully as a body lotion or massage bar in years to come.
Quantitative Ingredients: Marshmallow and Vanilla Pod Decoction, Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Propylene Glycol, Lactic Acid, Lauryl Betaine, Grapefruit Oil, Fresh Pomegranate Juice, Sandalwood Oil, Geranium Oil, Almond Oil, Titanium Dioxide, *Citronellol, *Geraniol, *Linalool, *Limonene, Perfume, Colour 17200, Colour 45410, Colour 14700, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.
Vegan?: Yes
Year Of Original Release: 2015.
Scent Family:
ahhh i love your blog!!! i work at lush and couldn't wait until the 27th to smell this, i had to see some reviews! i had the same hopes about the vanilla and marshmallow in this as you did, but i'm still excited to see/smell it in the shop :)
ReplyDeleteThank You! I hope you love it as it is really rich in smell!
DeleteThis blog is perfect. Absolutely perfect! I am a LUSHIE as well and its great to see what everyone else thinks of a product before I buy it. I am so excited for more posts!
ReplyDeleteHi Jen, do you know if Prince Charming is perhaps coming back for Valentines this year, or if there will be anything new to the shower gel range? I'm really hoping for something new, or for this to make a return because I didn't get to try it last year and it looks lovely. Kind of imagining it to be like Olive Branch and Rose Jam mixed together!
ReplyDeleteHi there - Prince Charming is indeed coming back and will be available to buy from the 9th of January :) It is truly wonderful - I wouldn't say there is much of The Olive Branch in there, but the great thing about this shower gel is that so many people have such different experiences with it - you might smell something different to me :) That's all the shower gels that are coming out with the Valentine's Day stuff but I hope they bring out other shower gels in the kitchen!
DeleteThat's brilliant, I'm glad it's coming back. I'll be sure to stock up on a big bottle of it!
Deletehi, what is the price of prince charming? xx
ReplyDeleteI hope they make a lotion or shampoo with this scent. Thinking I may like it more than twilight. So amazing.
ReplyDelete