Love 'Atmosphere' Naked Shower Gel

When my four Atmospheres first arrived, I discovered that one of them had burst and leaked over the other three: not only causing a sticky mess that I then had to clean up, but also thwarting the scents of the other three shower gels, which prevented me from being able to sample each of the other fragrances before using them in shower. Having said that, I knew exactly what Love was going to smell like before I'd even began lathering it across my body.

Sharing its scent with the Love family, this alluringly sweet and floral collaboration is a smell that I both relish at times, and resist at others. With siblings including the Fizzbanger Bath Bomb and Whole Lotta Love Bubbleroon from this year's Valentine's range, Love Atmosphere Shower Gel is a strange combination of smells that shouldn't work, but does. 

Containing a combination of lemongrass and bergamot oil, with lashings of rose absolute, this shower gel is an interesting mix of fruity and floral. On first sniff, you can detect a layer of lemongrass, which offers a fruity but also something slightly green-like about the aroma. Coupled with the bergamot, this shower gel gives off a slightly bitter citrusy scent and you can definitely smell a subtle grassiness underneath. Alongside this, the rose absolute brings a floral component to the table, and the ylang ylang offers its own sweet, grassy flavour to the mix.

All of these elements create an interesting fragrance unlike any other. Having said this, it should be said that I found the scent of this to be weaker than any of the other products in this scent family. Furthermore, I was disappointed to discover that many of these notes disappear under the running water, and Love Shower Gel loses a lot of its character when in use.     

For those out of the loop, Love Naked ‘Atmosphere’ is one of four limited edition shower gels that are supposed to heighten your experience in the shower and create more of an experience than a simple wash tool. Each of the Atmopheres have been crafted 

Encased in a thin ‘plastic coating’ made out of seaweed, these limited editions are Lush's new idea at creating naked products. The idea is that the outer layer will dissolve away in the shower, or can be thrown onto a compost heap afterwards, where it will decompose very quickly and leave nothing behind. While I found that the cases weren't so easy to dissolve in the space of a shower, I was able to add these to my ever-growing compost heap, and I did notice that it had become to break down the last time I checked.

As I mentioned in my review of Joy Shower Gel, these releases are rather expensive at £3 a piece, especially as they're rather difficult to lather, and seem to hold a scent far weaker than that of a regular Lush Shower Gel. Having said that, Love Shower Gel was rather moisturising on the skin, and I found that I didn't have to use a body lotion to moisturise with afterwards. 

To use, simply pinch the atmosphere between your fingers and the pod will tear open. Whether you're choosing to use the whole capsule in one go, or you're being a little more reserved, I would highly suggest that you have a container or some sort to rest to pour the shower gel into. Simply breaking it into your hands will leave you to lose it very quickly, and it'll be difficult for you to both wash your entire body and engage with the scent at the same time.

While Mark Constantine suggests that these are one-use shower gels, I could easily get 3-4 showers out of a single pod. Having said that, I feel as if I could have gotten far more uses if the shower gel had lathered up a little more. Unfortunately, the gel was rather difficult to use, and I ended up using more than usual because I didn't feel as clean as I would with a regular gel. In addition, the lack of strength in the smell meant that I couldn't detect the wonderful fragrance on my skin afterwards.  

Lush state that this one is supposed to guide you to 'indulge your nostalgia and shower yourself in love with this tangy concoction of sugar and spice, cutting right to the core of your desire.' While I enjoyed using this one in the shower, I cannot say that it ultimately inspired that much of a reaction from me. 

While I can see fans of the Love scent wanting to stock up on these, or hoping for a bigger version to appear in the near future, I only hope that Lush are able to tweak the recipe for this one a little more. It would definitely be nice to detect the different layers of smells a little more prominently, and I'd Love it to be rather more generous with its lather, so I don't feel the need to use so much.

Quantitative Ingredients: Glycerine, Water (Aqua), Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Lauryl Betaine, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Calcium Lactate, Fine Sea Salt, Perfume, Lemongrass Oil, Orange Flower Absolute, Rose Absolute, Ylang Ylang Absolute, Ylang Ylang Oil, Xanthan Gum, Titanium Dioxide, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Tin Oxide, *Benzyl Benzoate, *Benzyl Salicylate, *Citral, Coumarin, Oakmoss Extract, *Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Colour 77491, Colour 15850:1.

Vegan?: Yes.

2018 Price: £3 each (although not currently sold separately)

Year Of Original Release: 2018.

Scent Family:
Fizzbanger Bath Bomb
Lonely Hearts Bubble Bar
Love Apple Bubble Bar
Love 'Atmosphere' Shower Gel
Love Island Body Scrub
Love Perfume
Love Potion Massage Bar
Love Soap
Whole Lotta Love Bubbleroon