Sultana Shower Gel

As I stated in my recent 'first reactions' video, Sultana Of Soap was a product I used during the beginning of my journey into the world of Lush. However, with so many products to try and review, it was quickly forgotten in favour of the many new items that were coming out on a weekly basis in the Lush Kitchen. A couple of years ago, when I had finally caught up and was able to go back to products I hadn't used in years, I rediscovered the Sultana scent all over again and fell in love.

Sharing its scent with last year's discontinued Blackberry Bath Bomb, Sultana Shower Gel is as exquisite as it is beautiful. There is something about this smell that tantalises my taste buds every time, and the soap will always make me salivate a little when I go into stores. There is something so rich and sultry about this aroma that makes this fragrance stand out from all of the other fruity scents that Lush have showcased over the years.

Much like the soap, this limited edition shower gel features a combination of apricots, cranberries and sultanas, with a big helping of olibanum to give the smell a depth like no other shower gel on the planet. While it is called Sultana, it is the latter ingredient that makes the biggest presence. The olibanum is what gives this scent its almost sickly-sweet properties - offering sticky, almost honey-like notes that give this shower gel both depth and warmth. While olibanum is known for having woody notes as well, these sit more underneath everything else featured here - so while you can detect them, they're not as present as the other ingredients. 

The apricot, cranberry and currant infusions work alongside the olibanum and give Sultana an even stronger burst of sweetness. Much like many dried fruits I have tried, these three each bring their own burst of matured richness that you just don't get from fresh fruit. I would describe the scent of these three as being almost dry and slightly syrup-like, and there's an air of sophistication about the combination that makes this smell almost slightly old-fashioned.

Much like Avocado Wash, Sultana is very thin in consistency, which has its merits as explained below. It is also prone to separation a little: you'll notice that the top of the bottle will harvest a layer of oil that needs to be shaken before the gel can be used.

In the shower, you don't need to use much of this gel at all to create a light, fluffy and very fragrant lather. Because the consistency is rather watery, you need to be careful when squirting this from the bottle because you'll probably end up with a lot more than you actually need to use. A tiny, pea-sized amount will easily wash half of your body and more, which means that this shower gel would could last far longer than other gels of the same size.

As soon as Sultana met with the heat of the running water, the fragrance multiplied tenfold and the whole bathroom was engulfed with its beautiful scent. This lingered around for a short while after I had towelled myself down, and I found that I could still detect this on my skin for a good couple of hours as well. It is now when this could have been the perfect opportunity to indulge myself i the Sultana Body Lotion to top up and prolong the smell even longer. Just saying.

While I didn't find this shower gel to be as moisturising as Avocado Wash, it did leave my skin feeling really smooth and radiant. The lather was easy to massage across my skin, including my face, and I felt almost as if I was glowing afterwards - which was a lovely feeling.

For those who are still upset by the discontinuation of Blackberry Bath Bomb, this is the perfect way to rekindle your love for the scent in a different format. Although I still wish that this shower gel was the pastel purple colour that the bath bomb came as, I cannot fault how well Lush have replicated the scent in this format, and I hope many more products come out with the same fragrance at some point in the near future.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glycerine, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Apricot Infusion, Currant infusion, Cranberry Infusion, Lauryl Betaine, Perfume, Olibanum Oil, Bergamot Oil, Carrageenan Extract, Titanium Dioxide, Lactic Acid, Propylene Glycol, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Hexyl Cinnamal, *Limonene, *Linalool.

Vegan?: Yes.

2018 Price: £11.95 for 275g.

Year Of Original Release: 2018.

Scent Family:
Bewitched Bubble Bar

Blackberry Bath Bomb
Sultana Body Lotion
Sultana Shower Gel

Sultana Of Skin Body Conditioner
Sultana Of Soap Soap