29 High Street Solid Perfume

After a rather heated discussion with a few fellow Lushies the other day, I realised that the likelihood of Lush bringing out a new round of perfumes this year was a possibility. As I was only just starting to dip my toes into Lush when the second collection made an appearance, I have only really experienced the hype and excitement surrounding the release of the third volume. 

The mere thought of another handful of brand new fragrances was enough to have me salivating post conversation and was probably the reason behind my lack of sleep that night. When all is said and done, I have developed a real enthusiasm for weird and wonderful scents, and will always welcome a new addition to my perfume collection.

It is for this very reason that the release of 29 High Street Solid Perfume had me even more excited that I normally would be for a Kitchen release. Named after the very store that housed Lush's conception, this brand new release shares its scent with the liquid variation, as well as the soap of the same name.

Designed to mimic the wonderful aroma of a Lush shop, the perfume is a collaboration of all of the key notes that you would expect to find in most, if not all of the Lush products available in the shops. The company wanted to recreate the experience of both walking into and browsing in a shop - a scent that is different to each and every single person, but one that should come through in the release of this solid interpretation.

Lush have acquired the heady components of ylang ylang; the zesty aspects of both lemon and lime; the soft vanillary characteristics of tonka absolute; the aromatic sensibilities of jasmine; the warming offering of sandalwood and the smokiness of castor oil, to create a complex yet easily accessible perfume for everyone to enjoy.

From the tub, I could immediately smell the lime oil - the lemon oil sitting slightly behind it and removing the sourness that the lime would have given off by itself. Alongside this you get a equally strong dose of the tonka. This latter ingredient smoothens the whole aroma out and gives the perfume a wonderfully sweet and creamy component. Yet it doesn't make it overly sickly.

As you press on, you can detect both the jasmine and ylang ylang. Neither are particularly dominating I feel - certainly not as strong as you would expect for being the key ingredients. Both give 29 High Street floral sensibilities without making them wholly flowery. I find it strange how, despite smelling the same to me, I thought the jasmine made a much bigger impression on me in the liquid version. 

Massaging my finger across the surface, I applied the perfume to my pulse points (on both wrists and neck), and found that the perfume smelled very much like the aforementioned liquid version does, once the bottled variation has been given time to settle. Furthermore, the dynamics remained on par with how they presented themselves in the tub to begin with, so there wasn't a particular note that dominated once on the skin.

In its favour, the solid perfume gave off lots of different smells whilst it was on the skin. I would get whiffs of lime one minute, only to make out the dry, woody element of the sandalwood the next. For this reason, 29 High Street took me on a wonderful journey while I was wearing it, and I appreciated the compliments I got when it was on. 

Unfortunately, much like a lot of Lush's solid perfumes, this one only had a life of 1-2 hours, which is far less than the expanse that most liquid perfumes survive on the body for. I found that I had to top up an awful lot each day just to maintain the scent, and this was both disappointing and slightly tedious at times.

Overall, I am glad that I have one of these to enjoy and use alongside the liquid version. And if we were to judge by scent alone, this is definitely one of Lush's more beautiful offerings. However, its longevity is questionable, and I would much rather use the bottled fragrance if push came to shove.   

Quantitative Ingredients: Organic Jojoba Oil, Castor Oil, Perfume, Ylang Ylang Oil, Sandalwood Oil, Jasmine Absolute, Lime Oil, Sicilian Lemon Oil, Tonka Absolute, *Anise Alcohol, Benzyl Alcohol, *Benzyl Salicylate, Lilial, *Citral, Coumarin, *Eugenol, *Farnesol, *Geraniol, Hexyl Cinnamon, Hydroxycitronellal, Lyral, *Isoeugenol, *Limonene, *Linalool.

Vegan?: Yes. 

2016 Price: £9 for 12g.
2017 Price: £9 for 12g.

Year Of Original Release: 2016. 

Scent Family:
29 and a Half Soap
29 High Street Liquid Perfume
29 High Street Solid Perfume
29 High Street Shower Gel
Aubergine Bath Bomb
HQ Perfume
Kiss Me Quick Business Wash Card

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