Drummers Drumming Shower Jelly

Thanks to the inclusion of this brand new shower jelly in the Christmas range this year, I haven't gone a day without hearing 'FIIIIVE GOLDEN RINGS' within my mental chatter. In fact, the mere thought of the famous seasonal tune had me thinking that Lush would benefit from actually creating a collection of 12 products to match each of the days, one year.

While a brand new product for the 2019 range, Drummers Drumming Shower Jelly is not in itself completely unique. It both shares its name with a reusable bubble bar that made a fleeting appearance many Christmases ago, and offers the same fragrance as the Peachy Bath Bath Bomb that came out earlier this year.

In fact, it is this latter point that makes this shower jelly rather unique and special within the Christmas range this year. I say this because normally we are inundated with either sweet candy or spicy smells to support the seasonal trend of most cosmetics, and this latest release is neither.

Containing grapefruit, davana, elemi and tagetes oils, this golden shower jelly has a wonderfully sweet yet slightly green fruity smell. There is something almost astringent about it, which reminds me of the pith of the grapefruit, which grounds the aroma and gives it more depth than some of the less charismatic citrusy smells that feature in the range.

While described as a peachy smell, I would say that it reminds me more of the dry fruity smell of an apricot, with a slightly green note underneath. Yet, what I have also found is that if you really engage with the aroma as well, there is something about the aroma underneath all of this that reminds me slightly of cocoa as well. This latter statement may confuse many consumers who have read that it's strictly a fruity smell. However, my nose detects a note of something that reminds me of the rich, sultry note that cocoa can often bring to the table. Perhaps my nose is broken but that's just my experience. 

What I will say is that it does smell slightly stronger than the original bath bomb, and it's not as powdery either. However, it does possess the key notes that will make it recognisable for fans of the bath bomb.

Strangely, when I opened the tub I found that there seemed to be quite a lot of space between Drummers Drumming Shower Jelly and the edge of the tub. Usually the shower jellies slot perfectly into the tubs and I actually sometimes struggle to put them back in, once I've finished using them. However, this one seemed to be a little smaller than usual, although I think this is more about the consistency of the jelly as opposed to a factory issue.

What I did find was that it took a little practice to lather this one up, and I still didn't think it was as generous as other shower jellies. Yet, this is probably due to the amount of oil present in the ingredients list, which is why I would describe this one as being a little more on the oily side than the 'foamy' side. 

Having said that, once the shower jelly did begin to produce a lather, it was easy to stimulate a little more by massaging it across my skin. Furthermore, I will say that I was really impressed by how instantaneous the shower jelly made my skin feel moisturised, and I didn't need very much for my body to feel clean and nourished. It might also be worth noting that the scent was very prominent throughout my experience, and lingered on my skin and hair for a good while after I had exited the shower.

After using this daily for almost two weeks, the size of the jelly hasn't shrunk very much, which means that this is definitely good value for money. However, it's one of those jellies that can 'crack' very easily, especially if you're a 'squeezer' in the shower, so you may wish to be a little less overzealous on how you massage this across your skin. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this shower jelly and felt that Drummers Drumming replicated the Peachy fragrance really well. The shower jelly cleans and nourishes your skin nicely, and leaves a lasting impression in terms of both smell and condition. It's almost a great alternative for those who bore easily of the typical Christmassy fragrances, as this scent could be used at any time throughout the year.

Quantitative Ingredients: Glycerine, Organic Agave Syrup, Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Propylene Glycol, Carrageenan Extract, Perfume, Grapefruit Oil, Davana Oil, Elemi Oil, Tagetes Oil, Fresh Peach Juice, Water (Aqua), Titanium Dioxide, Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Colour 47005:1, Colour 19140.

Vegan?: Yes.

2019 Price: £6 for 100g.

Year Of Original Release: 2019.

Gospels Mouthwash Tabs

Over the last couple of years, Lush have branched out their ideas for new products, with a key focus being to create more naked cosmetics that will not only to reduce the carbon footprint of their customers, but do the same for themselves as a company as well. Their introduction of the solid mouthwash tabs was easily one of their most innovative concepts, and these little beauties have definitely made other companies think about the future of their brand as well. 

Gospels is one of a handful of Lush Showcase exclusive mouthwash tabs that have yet to hit the stores: still under the guise of prototype until the company decide what to do with them. Thanks to a wonderful member of the Lush community, I have managed to get my hands on a few of each to try, and I'm excited to say that these are just as delicious and effective as the releases we have seen so far.

While I'm yet to learn everything about this pastel pink gem, what I do know is that Gospels is made from a combination of rose, myrrh and geranium, which would automatically make you assume that the scent and taste of this one is going to be highly floral. What makes this limited edition so wonderful is that this is not the case at all. 

Smell wise, this mouthwash tab is actually fairly reserved and warming: the inclusion of the myrrh definitely adds a sweet, rounded base with a gentle resinous twinge. Both the geranium and the rose feature as well in fragrance, giving the tabs a slightly powdery floral aroma. From the bottle, I can see why these tabs might come across as quite intimidating as the fragrance is rather potent, and you'd be correct if you assumed this would also mean the taste was quite overwhelming.

As soon as I bit into one of these tabs, my mouth immediately flooded with a taste that somewhere between being really sweet and heavily floral. Both the davana and rose oils work in perfect unison here because had either ingredient been unbalanced, I can only imagine how disgusting these mouthwash tabs would have been.

Imagine the powdery, sweet rose taste of freshly made Turkish delight, with a sultry resinous flavour from the myrrh and yo may begin to understand what Gospels taste like. These are definitely a very acquired taste and one that many consumers may have to 'get used to' before they actually really enjoy these. I know that it took me multiple uses before I truly understood and appreciated the complexity and taste of these mouthwash tabs, and I can imagine that many other people will be the same.

To use a solid mouth wash tab, you simply crunch the tab between your teeth, take a slurp of water and begin swishing. Once you've finished, you then spit the water into the sink and your whole mouth should feel super clean and refreshed: ready to brace the rest of the day without worrying about smelly breath or food from your lunch remaining stuck between your teeth. It's recommended that you keep the mouthwash in your mouth for a good minute. This allows the ingredients to get to work at cleaning the mouth and deodorising the tongue so you get the maximum results possible.  

As you would expect from Lush, the ingredients that have gone into making all three of the mouthwash varieties have also been carefully crafted and serve a purpose. Firstly, they all contain sodium bicarbonate, which is a natural softening ingredient that is also known for its ability to clean and deodorise at the same time. This is a key component that will help to clean your tongue, gums and teeth when you're swishing, and will help to rid your mouth of any strong odours that might be present at the time, freshening your breath in the process.

Each of the mouthwashes also contains xylitol - a natural substance that is found in certain fruits and vegetables and is used in foods and cosmetics as a refined sweetener. This ingredient has been proven to cause none of the harmful effects that sugar can have on the teeth, is perfect for diabetics as it doesn't effect blood sugar levels at all, yet offers the sweetness to help give these tabs their interesting but enjoyable flavours.

Gospels Mouthwash Tabs immediately foamed up in my mouth and the results I experienced was a mouth that felt wonderfully clean and a tongue left without a single bad smell. No matter what you've eaten before using one, these limited editions will remove any unwanted smells and tastes immediately from your palette. However, you will need to be someone who'll appreciate the odd but rather sweet floral fragrance that remains in your mouth for a good couple of hours afterwards, otherwise the outcome of these tabs is pointless.

Ultimately, these mouthwash tabs do exactly what you'd expect them to and are the perfect accompaniment for short excursions and long trips away. They'll slip into a pocket or just about any space you have and can offer a quick solution for those moments when you feel like refreshing your oral health.  

As far as tastes go, I did eventually enjoy the flavour of these mouthwash tabs, although they were never one of my favourite tastes overall. While they worked wonders at cleansing my palette and leaving my teeth feeling super clean and shiny, there are far better tasting alternatives that I think I'd rather choose over Gospels, and for that reason I cannot imagine buying these again when there are so many other flavours on offer. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Dicalcium Phosphate Anhydrous, Sodium Bicarbonate, Silica, Citric Acid, Sorbitol, Malic Acid, Glycerine, Organic Cold-pressed Grapeseed Oil, Stevia, Xylitol, Anthocyanin, Menthol Crystals, Rose Oil, Davana Oil, Labdanum Resinoid, Citronellal, Eugenol, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Flavour, Colour 77491.

Vegan?: Yes.

2019 Price: £6.50 for 45g.

Year Of Original Release: 2019.

Formula 239 Toothy Tabs

After the amount of attention I've given my teeth this month - reviewing nearly thirty brand new oral care products in the process - it's probably for the best that I saved the tabs designed for sensitive teeth until near the end. I have honestly lost count of the number of times I have brushed my teeth each and every single day over the last thirty days: sometimes up to four times which seems completely excessive.

Therefore, Formula 239 Toothy Tabs came at a pinnacle moment: when my teeth just wanted something simple so that they could take a break for a few days. No strange tastes; no foul aftertastes; and definitely not something that was going to heighten their sensitivity in any way.

In fact, what is interesting about these Liverpool exclusive toothy tabs is that feature the ingredient, neem, which is actually known for its natural teeth-protecting and oral caring properties. Scientists believe that it may help to maintain the alkaline level of your saliva, which prevents acidity from wearing away the enamel of your teeth. In addition, it is also effective against plaque formation and gum infections, which is an amazing way to keep your mouth healthy.

From the bottle, my nose first picked up the aniseed element to it, which was very fresh and slightly clinical-smelling. You could tell that this would also be the key component in the taste of these tabs as well, so if you're not a fan of aniseed or liquorice flavoured/scented products, I wouldn't venture into trying these at all. 

Alongside the aniseed, there is also the faint note of both tea tree and thyme. The former ingredient gives Formula 239 a very fresh, cooling smell about them,  whereas the latter ingredient adds a little herbal twist at the end. Both the lemon and the juniperberry oils add their own fruity notes, but they're both very light and almost slightly sour as opposed to citrusy. Ultimately, I would describe these tabs as being very light and crisp in scent and their fragrance definitely gives a good indication of how these are going to taste.

What I will say about the taste is that it is very refreshing and cooling, without there being any sign of a mint taste at all. All of the components come out and offer a very clean and clinical flavour, with the aniseed definitely being the strongest dynamic. However, the aniseed is not at all as 'spicy' as I was expecting it to be, and offers something a little more like fennel than liquorice.

To use them you simply pop a tab into your mouth, crunch down using your front teeth, wet your toothbrush and begin to brush your teeth as normal. The powdery mixture reacts with the water and the cream of tartar creates a foam that freshens your mouth and cleans away any stubborn pieces of food that may be lingering around. Unlike some of Lush's other tabs I have tried, this one melts almost immediately upon contact with moisture and you won't need to crunch these at all.

Once you've brushed your teeth with one of these tabs, your mouth feels super clean and really refreshed, and your teeth will feel amazingly smooth and shiny. In fact, out of all of the toothy tabs I have tried so far, these by far made one of the greatest impressions in my mouth afterwards. Furthermore, these beauties eradicated any bad smells or tastes that I had in my mouth after eating and my breath remained fresh and clean for hours afterwards.  

As with all of Lush's new toothy tabs, these particular tabs feature a number of ingredients that I was unsure about and had to research before trying them out for myself - not only to understand how and why Frostbite work but also to educate others about the benefits they possess. Firstly, these tabs feature  dicalcium phosphate anhydrous - the main component used to help supplement the body's calcium intake, not to mention preventing the build up of tartar in the mouth. Sorbitol is also used - a natural alternative to sugar which allows Lush to add flavour to this product without adding anything that'll rot your teeth; Lauroyl Sarcosine not only helps the product to foam up in the mouth, but is also used to remove unwanted bacteria that may cause problems in the future.

Despite these tabs appearing rather boring-looking when compared to the array of colourful, sparkly alternatives, Formula 239 were actually one of the better variations for me. They offered a pleasant taste that didn't burn my tongue or leave a horrible taste afterwards. Yet, equally they did clean my teeth and mouth very well and I did enjoy how refreshed my mouth was afterwards. 

These would definitely be ones that I would want to buy again and I can imagine that they'll probably become a favourite amongst the Lush community. Although I don't have sensitive teeth, so I cannot really comment on how these tabs help to support sensitive teeth when in use, both the ingredients list and the way they performed for me suggests that they'll work wonders in this area as well.

Quantitative Ingredients: Dicalcium Phosphate Anhydrous, Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream Of Tartar (Potassium bitartrate), Sorbitol, Lauroyl Sarcosine, Xylitol, Sicilian Lemon Oil, Aniseed Oil, Chamomile Blue Oil, Tea Tree Oil, Davana Oil, Juniperberry Oil, Thyme Oil, Stevia, Neem Powder, Limonene.

Vegan?: Yes. 

2019 Price: £6.50 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2019.

Conga Shower Jelly

Many a time over the last couple of months I have found myself being swept into a conga around the room, wondering how my life has reached a point where I consider this to be a form of entertainment. Despite the masses of personal growth I have achieved over the last two years, it’s obvious that I haven’t lost my party pooper streak it seems.

One of a handful of exclusive shower jellies that Lush have brought out for the Liverpool store, Conga is perhaps the prettiest of the lost. Sporting a fluorescent pink colour, not to mention a brand new fragrance from the company, this jelly is like Pink Custard’s more vibrant younger sister. 

Before I describe the merits of this particular jelly, I should start by saying that I’ve come to appreciate these wobbly inventions far more over the last few years. As a shower gel connoisseur, I have always considered these solid jellies as more of a hindrance than their bottled counterparts. However, with experience and experimenting, I have now found so many ways that these products can be utilised, so I am far more open to receive these solid renditions than I once was.

The most obvious way is to use the whole jelly at once: massaging it either directly across your body or between your hands, before using the lather to clean you’re skin with. While smaller 100g jellies seem to work fairly well when stimulated with your palms, I find that the larger ones are quite difficult to hold for very long, and I usually find the product ends up on the floor more times than it does across my body. 

If this doesn’t work for you, cutting your jelly up into smaller pieces means that you have better control of creating a lather between your palms. Having said that, there is now the issue of the shower jelly being too small to handle, and the same frustrating game of handling it becomes an issue once again. There is also the factor that smaller pieces find it easier to slip down the drain before they’ve been used very much at all.

If you are choosing to use the jelly in either of these ways, please be mindful of the fact that you should avoid exposing them to the water too much. While Conga isn’t at all ‘crumbly’, I have had jellies fall apart on me in the past, not to mention the fact that the product will shrink a lot quicker with constant direct exposure to the running water.

If you find that shower jellies, in their wobbly format, don’t work for you at all, there is always the option of blending the jelly into more of a thick paste, or indeed that of a gel. Simply take half of your jelly (store the rest somewhere else) and throw it into the blender for a minute or so. If you want more of a gel-like consistency, you’ll need to add a little water as well. As a warning though, adding water reduces the shelf life of this shower jelly somewhat, as the product is now a breeding ground for bacteria. Without water, the blended jelly can last a good few years - as you would expect a jelly to do so; with water, a couple of months is probably the maximum amount of time I would continue using the mixture before I’d need to consider whether it’s healthy to be putting it onto my skin.

Finally, despite its name, if you don’t wish to use Conga in the shower, you could always cut a small chunk off and hold it under the running tap - along with the rest of your bath cocktail - to create a mound of wonderful bubbles and a beautiful smell to accompany you in the bath. A small piece, about the size of an acorn would be suffice for a generous bath, which makes a big tub of this shower jelly better value for money than buying multiple individual bubble bars.

What I will say is great about Conga Shower Jelly is that the fragrance is completely brand new, making its debut in a format that I think compliments the smell really well. In fact, I would go as far as to say that I don’t think this particular scent would work all that well as a shower gel or soap, which is a rarity. 

To my nose, the fragrance this shower jelly offers is a strong, fruity berry aroma: one that reminds me of raspberry yoghurt with a dash of lemon zest to make it brighter and slightly less yoghurt-like. The inclusion of the bergamot adds almost a green, delicate floral element that pads the smell of this out a little,  and almost takes away the sharpness that you normally associate with the taste of raspberries.

This is a very playful, youthful smell and consumers who enjoy Lush’s more complex and intriguing aromas will probably not enjoy this all that much. However, for the warmer months that I hope to see during our British summer this year, Conga is a great shower jelly to have in your bathroom to complement the sunshine, and maybe perhaps even pre-frozen so you get a really refreshing boost when you next use it.

While this jelly works really well at lathering up; produces a beautiful foam to clean your skin with; and lingers on the skin and hair for a long time afterwards, the one thing I noticed about Conga was that it didn’t appear to be as moisturising as many of Lush’s previous jellies have been. Although there still appears to be the inclusion of carrageenan extract to make it nourishing for the body, my skin didn’t feel as smooth afterwards as I would normally expect. That’s not to say that it wasn’t softening at all; just that some of Lush’s recent jellies seem far more moisturising than this one.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed Conga as I really appreciated a brand new scent to sink my teeth into. While not the best fragrance that Lush have ever done, this is a wonderful summery jelly that’ll keep you uplifted and motivated during the warmer months of the year. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Glycerine, Almond Milk, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Propylene Glycol, Carrageenan Extract, Perfume, Fresh Raspberry Juice, Bergamot Oil, Davana Oil, Almond essential oil, Vanilla Absolute, Water (Aqua), Titanium Dioxide, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Benzyl Alcohol, *Coumarin, *Limonene, Colour 45410.

Vegan?: Yes.

2019 Price: £11 for 240g.

Year Of Original Release: 2019. 

Raspberry Milkshake Soap (2019 Edition)

As I've said before in the past, sometimes the aesthetics of a product can influence how you feel about it just as much as it's fragrance and productivity. When it comes to this updated soap, I definitely gained much more of a rapport with the product this time around, and I'm glad that Lush chose to bring it back for a second season.

Lush have said in the past that raspberry-scented products are actually rather difficult to make, as the the current components available to create such a smell are not very vegan friendly on the most part. Therefore, consumers haven't seen too many products with the raspberry fragrance brought out over the years.

This makes Raspberry Milkshake Soap an amazing feat in itself then, as the scent of this limited edition is simply divine. However, much like I stated in my review of the original soap, this product doesn’t exactly smell like a raspberry milkshake: more like a wonderful fruity cocktail or a rich and rather expensive smelling juice made from nothing but raspberries and lemon juice. This is not at all creamy or ‘milky’ - instead offering a bright and very juicy aroma that will have you fighting yourself not to take a big bite of the soap.

This is not like anything that Lush have released before. With very little to compare it to, I can safely say that it is nothing like the Mumkin scent at all, although there is a berry-esque element to the soap that comes out in the shower and reminds me of the same note that Mumkin offers: Raspberry Milkshake is far richer and much more sultry on the senses.

What makes this soap so effective is the impressive list of ingredients that have gone into making it. As well as adding to the overall scent, the lemon oil brings clarity to the skin, cleans the pores and helps to add a little radiance; the inclusion of the almond milk calms the skin and reduces the appearance of rashes or irritated skin. The davana oil is a natural relaxant, to calm any tensions in the shower, whilst also acting like a antiseptic to clean the skin thoroughly.

What is also great about this soap is that the design naturally works well when using it in the shower. Too often I find that blocks of soap slide around in my hands, and I'm constantly playing a game of 'how many seconds can I clean my skin before I drop it again' - which isn't fun at all. However, this limited edition fit perfectly in the palm of my hand and was super easy to lather up. Even when the soap began to shrink a little, I didn't find it at all fiddly to use, which is definitely a step up from last year's pink slab.

Aesthetically pleasing, this soap also worked well at leaving my skin really clean and crisp, without it feeling parched or dry. While I still had to apply a body lotion afterwards, this is more a reflection of my skin's needs as opposed to the product itself. 

Finally, I was impressed to find that I could still smell a gentle raspberry aroma on my body afterwards - an experience I wish I could extend in the form of a lotion or perfume. This is definitely a lovely addition to the wonderful Mother's Day range this year, and I'm sure it's only a matter of time before other products with this fragrance make an appearance, which gets my backing completely.

Quantitative Ingredients: Almond Milk, Water (Aqua), Propylene Glycol, Glycerine, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Organic Castor Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Perfume, Fresh Raspberry Juice, Davana Oil, Tagetes Oil, Benzoin Resinoid, Titanium Dioxide, Eugenol, *Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Colour 45410, Colour 17200, Colour 19140, Colour 42090.

Vegan?: Yes.

2019 Price: £7.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2019.

Peachy Bath Bomb

The sun had barely welcomed in the beginning of 2019 before I was already throwing myself a bath with an array of Valentine's Day items: wondering if they'll ever be a month when Lush don't release anything new for me to ramble on about on my blog. As far as the last five years have demonstrated, this is very unlikely.

Peachy Bath Bomb is a brand new product for the 2019 seasonal range, and also one of the first products to showcase the beauty of peach as a main scent. Shaped like a rather lovely-looking derriere, this gorgeous limited edition looks like its been painted with watercolours, as a gentle shade of pastel pink merges with a darker pink at the bottom of the bomb. As if that wasn't beautiful enough, Peachy has then been finished with a gentle touch of silver lustre to give it a gleam and make it look like a piece of artwork.

To my nose, the davana oil and peach juice dance the most beautiful of dances: offering a warm, fruity aroma that is both slightly syrupy from the peach juice, but also gently woody from the davana oil. There is something delicate and  sherbet-like about the fragrance, which coupled with a delicate note of grapefruit oil, gives the product a bright, uplifting and very slightly citrusy smell.

The fragrance is strong enough to make an impression before, during and after your bath, but it's not what I would call a particularly strong aroma. In its favour, it's one, if not the best rendition of peach I have ever experienced in a cosmetic, and is very far-removed from the synthetic, sticky-sweet versions I have seen from other companies.

Like a warming ray of sunshine, Peachy begins to work immediately in the bath tub. While quite a quiet fizzer, this seasonal special very quickly begins to send out waves of green, white, pink and orange colour across the surface in a frothy, bubbly mess of colour. As the bath bomb settles a little, it creates a few patterns that slowly disperse into the water, while the silver lustre adds a delicate sparkle throughout.

What is left is a beautiful peach-coloured water to bathe in, which although not the best outcome, is definitely suited to the premise of the bath bomb. The water was soft and smooth and left my skin feeing both radiant and very well moisturised. To couple this experience with a body lotion or massage bar of the scent afterwards, would have been exquisite.

On the negative side, I didn't find the fragrance of Peachy to be as prominent in the water as I was hoping. While its presence was there throughout, it was slightly dampened once it had fully dissolved, and the sherbet element was replaced with more of a sultry, fruity experience. Although not in any way a bad product, I would have liked this to have been a little stronger in my tub.

Afterwards, the gentle lashing of peach juice and davana oil lingered on my skin for a short while, and prompted me to realise how much I would appreciate Lush releasing other products in the fragrance, hopefully in the near future. A shower gel would definitely not go amiss amongst the fans in the community.

Ultimately, this is a wonderful release from Lush, and one that has inspired me to believe that the company have lots of original and exciting ideas left in them. Peachy Bath Bomb near enough offers exactly what you'd expect a bath bomb of that name and design to offer, and I am very grateful that I have had something very different to enjoy in my baths as of late.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Grapefruit Oil, Davana Oil, Elemi Oil, Tagetes Oil, Fresh Peach Juice, Cream of Tartar, Water (Aqua), Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Coco Sulfate, Propylene Glycol, Dipropylene Glycol, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Tin Oxide, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, DRF Alcohol, Geraniol, *Limonene, Perfume, Colour 77491, Colour 15850:1, Colour 45410:1, Colour 15985:1, Colour 19140:1, Colour 45410, Colour 19140, Colour 42090:2.

Vegan?: Yes.

2019 Price: £3.95 each. 

Year Of Original Release: 2019.

Raspberry Milkshake Soap

I’ve always said that my three favourite fragrances are blackcurrant, lime and raspberry, yet Lush have a very limited number of products featuring the latter scent. In fact, raspberry is one of the most difficult smells to replicate in cosmetic format, which is why I get so excited over anything that claims to possess this aroma in any way, shape or form.

When I heard that Lush were bringing out a soap called Raspberry Milkshake, my mouth immediately began to salivate at the very thought of the juiciness that could unfold in my shower, if the company nailed the fragrance. I’m happy to report that this soap was even more exquisite than I could have ever imagined it to be, and the prospect of other products in this scent is so exciting.

What you should know about this soap is that it doesn’t exactly smell like a raspberry milkshake, more like a wonderful fruity cocktail or a rich and rather expensive smelling juice made from nothing but raspberries and lemon juice. This is not at all creamy or ‘milky’ - instead offering a bright and very juicy aroma that will have you fighting yourself not to take a big bite of the soap.

This is not like anything that Lush have released before. With very little to compare it to, I can safely say that it is nothing like the Mumkin scent at all, although there is a berry-esque element to the soap that comes out in the shower and reminds me of the same note that Mumkin offers: Raspberry Milkshake is far richer and much more sultry on the senses.

What makes this soap so effective is the impressive list of ingredients that have gone into making it. As well as adding to the overall scent, the lemon oil brings clarity to the skin, cleans the pores and helps to add a little radiance; the inclusion of the almond oils calms the skin and reduces the appearance of rashes or irritated skin. The davana oil is a natural relaxant, to calm any tensions in the shower, whilst acting like a antiseptic to clean the skin thoroughly. 

While the inclusion of the raspberry seeds are supposed to offer a light buffer for the skin, I wasn’t really able to detect much of a difference between the texture of this soap and a regular one. In fact, I found that this soap was slightly soft to the touch, and became almost gooey under the running water. 

Compared with the other four Mother’s Day soaps, this one was definitely a little trickier to use, and you’re more likely to drop this one on the shower. Furthermore, I found that this one doesn’t work well at all being left near anything damp between uses. This soap will shrink so quickly if you don’t dry it off when it’s not being used and will leave a sticky puddle of pink goo to clean up afterwards as well. 

Between my palms, Raspberry Milkshake produced a thick, oil-like lather, that transferred onto the skin with ease and immediately got to work at cleaning my body. As with most soaps, this one wasn’t the most moisturising and tended to leave my skin needing a body lotion afterwards. Having said that, my skin did appear brighter and softer after using this, and the smell lingered for a good while afterwards as well. In fact, I really appreciated the fact that the fragrance intensified quite a bit in the shower, which made my experience even more enjoyable.

While the format is not one that I would choose for myself, the scent of this is truly beautiful, and I would definitely urge Lush to consider bringing out more goodies in this fragrance. Raspberry Milkshake didn’t bring all of the boys to the yard, but it made having a shower with my boy even more enjoyable.

Quantitative Ingredients: Almond Milk, Propylene Glycol, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Water (Aqua), Organic Castor Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Perfume, Fresh Raspberry Juice, Raspberry Seeds, Dried Larkspur Frosted Blue, Vanilla Absolute, Davana Oil, Sicilian Lemon Oil, Glycerine, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, *Citral, *Coumarin, *Limonene, Benzyl Alcohol, Colour 17200, Colour 45410.

Vegan?: Yes.

2018 Price: £6.95 for 100g.

Year Of Original Release: 2018.

Scent Family:
Pink Floral Milk Giant Bombshell
Raspberry Milkshake Soap