Fairy Tail Sugar Scrub

I am breaking all of the rules this week. Not only did I accidentally buy a gift box that was highly non-vegan, but I have then proceeded to review not one but two of the products from this set - items that don't really have a place on this vegan blog.

Firstly, I discovered that the Gingerbread Bubble Bar contained milk derivative in the sprinkles that are used as decoration. While I have donated my fresh bars to my very keen flatmates, I have allowed my review of said product to remain on my blog - partly because I always put a lot of effort into my reviews and would feel it was a waste just deleting it, and partly because I'm sure there are many people who read this blog who would interested in reading about a couple of non-vegan products. 

Secondly, Fairy Tail Sugar Scrub is also labelled as being vegetarian, so I shouldn't really feature this on my blog either. However, the only non-vegan element to this scrub is the white chocolate buttons that decorate the surface of the dome; something that can be removed before using the product. While I have enjoyed using this scrub, I should point out that I would not go out of my way to buy it on its own in the future - I am only using it because it came as part of a set, and so you guys can benefit from an in-depth review of course!

Shaped like a mouse with a tail and two little white chocolates for ears, this scrub is one of the cutest ones to come from the Lush factory. Add in the fact that it shares it's scent with the rather wonderful Strawberry Feels Forever Massage Bar, Strawberry Boat Smoothie and Mrs Whippy Ballistic, and you can begin to understand why I was so keen to try it out for myself.  

Fairy Tail possesses a very beautiful smell - a sugary-sweet and rather fruity combination of coconut milk powder, frankincense oil and bergamot oil. When combined, these ingredients produce a rich, musky vanilla fragrance with a dominant thread of strawberry laced throughout. It's a powdery strawberry scent - one that has an air of maturity about it and sets itself apart from the usual hum drum of cheap berry scents you'd expect to find in your local chemists.

The frankincense oil is what gives this scrub it's main aroma and adds an almost woody element to the fragrance; the bergamot oil compliments this with it's own uplifting and rather bright scent; the coconut milk powder adds a smooth creamy element that stays with you for a long time after use. 

It is the former ingredient that really helps to improve the condition of your skin. When used on the body, frankincense oil covers the skin with a thin protective film, which softens, soothes, and minimises the appearance of fine lines. A combination of the other oils then helps to soften and moisturise - leaving your skin feeling and looking super smooth with a natural glow. 

You can use this sugar scrub in many ways, and how you use this particular scrub may differ from how you'd use others. While Lush's popular Sugar Scrub is rather rigid and can be used as one piece, Fairy Tail is much softer, and I found that when I used this near water, it was very quick to crumble and disappear down the plughole. 

Some Lushies break it down to form a sort of crumble and then store it in a pot, scooping what they need each time and massaging this over their body; others use the whole bar, stepping outside of the running water to massage it in circular ways across their skin. For both of these methods, I find that water tends to soil the rest of the product, which causes it to shrink between uses. 

For this particular scrub, I found that it most effective to cut it into 6-8 pieces and store them somewhere dry. All you then have to do is get a piece ready before your shower, crumbling it between your palms before applying it to your body - exerting as much force as you feel your skin needs. This stops you wasting the product down the drain and keeps the rest of the scrub dry so that it lasts a lot longer. 

Fairy Tale Sugar Scrub left my skin feeling really soft, well-pampered and with a beautiful scent that lasted for hours on my body. It's a great product to pop in someone's Christmas stocking as it's sweet and richly decadent - offering a far healthier alternative for those who don't wish to overindulge themselves in candy this season.  

Quantitative Ingredients: Fair Trade Sugar, Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar (Tartaric Acid), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Frankincense Oil (Boswellia carterii), Bergamot Oil (Citrus Aurantium bergamia), Geranium Oil (Pelargonium graveolens), Coconut Milk Powder (Cocos nucifera), Strawberry Powder (Fragaria vesca), Cocamide DEA, Lauryl Betaine, Benzyl Alcohol, Perfume, Colour 18050, White Chocolate Button, Candle Wick.

Vegan?: Yes, if the chocolate buttons are removed.

2014 Price: Not sold individually. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Carbonate, Cream of Tartar, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glycerine, Lauryl Betaine, Perfume, Olibanum Oil, Bergamot Oil, Geranium Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool, Colour 45350, Colour 45410.

Vegan?: Yes.

2014 Price: £5.25.

Scent Family:

D'Fluff Shaving Soap
The Drummers Drumming Reusable Bubble Bar
Fairy Tail Sugar Scrub
Flutterby Bubble Bar
Magic Mushroom Bubble Bar
Mrs Whippy Ballistic
Peeping Santa Bubbleroon
Roller Bath Bomb
Strawberry Bombshell Lip Tint
Strawberry Feels Forever Massage Bar
Yummy Mummy Body Conditioner
Yummy Mummy Body Lotion
Yummy Mummy Shower Gel
Yummy Yummy Yummy Shower Gel

Yummy Mummy Shower Cream