I absolutely adore the Cinders bath bomb from Lush; it was one of the first ballistics I ended up falling in love with, back when I would only have on average, about 3-4 baths a year. To me, it smells of the shortcrust pastry used to make homemade mince pies; of Starbucks Christmas Spice hot chocolate; of winter scented candles. It's a sweet, sugary cinnamon scent that is both comforting and uplifting - a perfect accompaniment for those long winter days.
When I discovered that Lush had brought out a limited edition perfume with the same fragrance, I knew I wouldn't be able to rest easy until I had a bottle in my hands. After months of trawling through eBay pages and keeping an ear out for anyone selling unwanted bottles, I finally managed to pick one up for a very reasonable price.
I couldn't help but spray it all over myself the second it arrived, and that was when the disappointment set in...
Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful smelling perfume. The cinnamon is definitely at the forefront; it's dominance making the perfume very bold and spicy. Coupled with a strong orange burst that gives it that refreshing but poignant fragrance, Cinders is a sweet but peppery combination unlike anything else I've ever smelt before. To round this fragrance off, there is a slight nutty element which comes from the addition of almond oil in the ingredients list.
However, what I didn't appreciate was that this perfume seems to have lost some of the warmth and comforting elements that I loved so much about the bath bomb. There is a slight sweetness that is missing here, which in the ballistic gives it an all-round more pleasant smell. This sugary element helped to soften the cinnamon scent slightly, which stopped it from being so overwhelming.
Furthermore, I found that the longevity of this perfume's scent was very limited. Upon spraying myself just before leaving for work in the morning, I found that this fragrance had all but vanished by the time that I had reached work a mere hour later. Whereas with most Lush perfumes I can pick them up throughout the day, this one had completely dispersed and I had to keep refreshing myself with squirts every hour or so. This in turn, worked out to be a rather expensive habit.
As a disclaimer, I would like to say that this perfume is a few years old and perhaps it has deteriorated just slightly,which is why I'm not as enamoured as I should be. However, I still use perfumes that were released at the same time as this one, and not one of them has lost their fragrance in the slightest, leaving me to believe that the smell I'm picking up really is the original bottled smell.
If Lush were to bring out another round of forum perfumes, and Cinders was one such product, I would definitely be tempted to pick up a fresh bottle and see whether it is age that has altered this scent a little. However, for what I thought would be one of my favourite Lush perfumes, it's nowhere near as impressive as I was expecting.
Quantitative Ingredients: DRF Alcohol, Perfume, Almond Oil (Prunus dulcis), Sweet Orange Oil (Citrus sinensis), Cinnamon Leaf Oil (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), Cinnamal, Eugenol, Limonene, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Coumrin, Benzyl Benzoate, Linalool.
Vegan?: Yes.
Scent Family:
Cinders Bath BombCinders Liquid Perfume
Cinders Naked Shower Gel
Cinders Shower Gel
I have tried two separate bottles of Cinders, and both have poor staying power. Shame, as it's a pretty scent, but it fades in a 1/2 hour or so on me.
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