Peeping Santa Bubbleroon

At a first glance, I was a little disappointed at the lack of 'new' products that make up the Christmas and Halloween ranges this year. While they have removed quite a few 'staples' that have been reappearing for years (Christmas Eve Bubble Bar, Melting Snowman Bath Melt etc.), I didn't feel as if the collection was as vast or as interesting as it has been in the past. 

Whether the opening of the flagship store has made me spoilt and inflated my expectations a little, or whether the fact that some of the products in these ranges have been available to me for a good many months so it seems like less, I'm not sure. Either way, my scrutiny weighs heavy on the brand new seasonal goodies that make up my own personal Lush Christmas, and luckily they've been faring well so far.

Peeping Santa is perhaps the most festive looking new addition - a large bubble bar sandwiched together with surplus amounts of cocoa and shea butter to make this one of the most moisturising bath products currently available. Decorated with a rich red demeanour, a flourish of glittery hearts and two chocolate chips eyes, you'd be forgiven for finding this product 'cute'. 

Sharing its scent with the Yummy Yummy Yummy range, this seasonal beauty replicates everything that I love about Magic Mushroom Bubble Bar - one of my all time favourite products. Packed full of bergamot and geranium oils, this bubble bar offers a rich and very decadent strawberry aroma - one that showcases a gorgeously fresh and very fruity note, making it my favourite strawberry-scented product ever. 

To give depth to the berry fragrance, there is also a gentle green, floral element that sits behind the main notes and makes this aroma incredibly refreshing. It's very much like walking through a strawberry farm and getting whiffs of both the ripe fruit and its leaves at the same time. To finish off, the cocoa and shea butter adds a delicate dose of vanillary goodness that gives the bubble bar almost a musky overtone.   

Peeping Santa is easy to use - albeit a little stiff to crumble at first, and is one of the better value ones as you can easily get three baths out of a single bar. Despite the size of each piece, this product is very generous when it comes to the amount of bubbles it produces and the depth of colour that the water becomes.

Not only do you get to enjoy a rich and very beautiful looking bath water, not to mention a sea of light, fluffy and very fragrance bubbles, but the water itself is incredibly soft on the skin, and you only have to be in the water for a few minutes to notice how smooth and soft your skin feels. Furthermore, the strength of the fragrance is impressive - lasting for the duration of the bath and lingering on the skin for a good few hours after the experience. 

While I wouldn't say that this is your typical Christmas-smelling product, it's definitely very comforting and makes a change from the usual humdrum of spice-infused cosmetics. To put it simply, I will be buying an army of these before they're discontinued - this is easily my favourite seasonal product this year.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream Of Tartar (Potassium bitartrate), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Lauryl Betaine, Cornflour (Zea mays), Perfume, Bergamot Oil (Citrus Aurantium bergamia), Olibanum Oil (Boswellia carterii), Geranium Oil (Pelargonium graveolens), Fair Trade Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii), Titanium Dioxide, Laureth 4, Benzyl Alcohol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Colour 14700, Colour 45380:3, Dairy Free Chocolate Drops.  

Vegan?: Yes. 

2015 Price: £3.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2015. 

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
Peeping Santa Liquid Perfume
Roller Bath Bomb
Strawberry Bombshell Lip Tint
Strawberry Feels Forever Massage Bar
Strawberry Santa Soap
Yummy Mummy Body Conditioner
Yummy Mummy Body Lotion
Yummy Mummy Shower Gel
Yummy Yummy Yummy Shower Gel

Yummy Mummy Shower Cream

The Icing On The Cake Shower Smoothie Roulade

When it comes to the different scents that Lush offer, it is normally fairly easy to pinpoint the most popular and perhaps what you would call the slightly overused ones in their range - The Comforter, Karma, Celebrate, Calacas, Snow Fairy. However, there are times when the fragrance of a product doesn't reveal itself straight away, only to make you feel like a fool when you finally realise why you've recognised the smell all along. Such is the case with this product. 

The Icing On The Cake Roulade is another one of Lush's new inventions - one that follows the trend of the company's recent move to offer a more solid-orientated shower collection. This shower smoothie doesn't immediately stand out as being exclusively 'Christmas', which is why I was slightly perplexed when it appeared alongside the likes of Golden Wonder and Buche De Noel. However, I only had to give it a few sniffs to realise why it had been featured in the seasonal range, and I couldn't have been more pleased that it was available to buy. 

As the name suggests, you only have to read the ingredients list to feel as if you're reading a recipe for a cake, not something you'd use to clean your body with. With chestnut puree, soya cream, almond milk and various fruit peels, this really does sound like something you'd want to eat, and it isn't for lack of trying that I have to reveal the sad truth of its inedibility. Believe me. 

While it doesn't read the same on paper, this seasonal beauty actually shares its scent with Ponche, which is perhaps my all-time favourite shower gel. Designed to smell like the famous Mexican punch drink, this roulade smells of sweet tangerines intertwined with a splash of buchu and a lick of lime to pad out the aroma. Imagine removing the bitterness of blackcurrants and mixing this with a perfectly ripe tangerine and you might begin to recognise how beautiful the 

fragrance of this product is. 

What sets this apart from the original shower gel is the fact that the 'foody' ingredients remove a little of the citrus smell and incorporate a creamy base note that gives this roulade a slightly sugary element to it. While it doesn't quite top the shower gel variation, this seasonal product is still an amazing offering - one that should be made a permanent member of Lush's range.

Unlike most of the roulades I have tried from Lush, this one was fairly crumbly and I found that I had to break it off into pieces because I wasn't able to use a whole slice under the running water. Having said that, once the roulade was in use, it produced a very thick and silky-smooth lather that was easy to massage across the skin. 

What blew me away was just how strong the fragrance of Ponche came through once the water had come into contact with it. While it's fairly strong in the packet, the scent of the shower smoothie was elevated as soon as it hit the hot water. Even more impressive was the fact that the smell lingered on my skin for hours after I had exited the shower, and I only had to top up with my Ponche Liquid Perfume to relive the experience all over again. 

As with most of the other solid smoothies I have tried, I did find this one slightly drying on my skin. While it left me feeling clean and smelling wonderful, I didn't feel the full benefits that I would have had, had it been a shower gel. This latter point is perhaps the only reason why I haven't given this product full marks, because aside from this, it's near on perfect. 

I will definitely be buying this again before the season is out, and I only hope that Lush choose to extend its shelf life into next year so I can enjoy it for as long as possible. This is by far my favourite shower roulade so far, and this makes a lovely addition to one of my all-time favourite scent families. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Glycerine  Rapeseed Oil; Coconut Oil (Brassica napus; Cocoa nucifera), Almond Milk, Fresh Orange Peel, Lime Peel and Lemon Peel Decoction (Citrus Aurantium dulcis; Citrus aurantifolia; Citrus limonum), Soya Cream, Chestnut Puree (Castanea sativa), Water (Aqua), Perfume, Almond Oil (Prunus dulcis), Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Davana Oil (Artemisia Pallens), Buchu Oil (Barosma Betulina), Petitgrain Oil (Citrus Aurantium amara), Titanium Dioxide, Sorbitol, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Cinnamal, Coumarin, Eugenol, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Tin Oxide, Colour 17200, Colour 45410, Colour 14700. 

Vegan?: Yes.

2015 Price: £5 for 100g.

Year Of Original Release: 2015. 

Scent Family:

Icing On The Cake Shower Smoothie
Ponche Perfume
Ponche Shower Gel

Cranberry Festive Face Mask

Over the years, my taste in Lush has changed dramatically - whether it be the maturity of the fragrances I like, or the types of products I veer towards when they're made available online or in stores. While originally I would have thrown myself at the new bath bombs like a starving dog to a bone, nowadays I'm much more intrigued by the unique and sometimes very odd selection of hair and skin care. 

When Lush announced that they'd be bringing out Cranberry Festive Face Mask, I was genuinely more excited to try it out than I was with some of the new bubble bars. Although a part of me was rather disappointed that Rudolph hadn't resurfaced from a previous Christmas, I certainly wasn't going to pass up the chance to give my face some much-needed pampering - especially as the new ones that were brought out with the opening of the flagship store earlier in the year, surpassed my expectations on nearly every count.  

This brand new mask is the perfect product for those wind-chapped faces - a mask created to not only clean and rejuvenate the complexion, but help to clear out the pores and improve the overall condition of the skin. While many of Lush's masks work wonders on the skin, this one is like the miracle child - a seasonal beauty that heeds results in a matter of minutes. 

Packed full of cranberries, fresh fennel and argan oil, this face mask is a pleasure to use. The former ingredients are known for their antioxidant properties which means that this face mask is fantastic at cleaning out the pores and adding some much needed vibrancy back into the skin. I was amazed to find that upon rinsing Cranberry away, my skin felt vibrant and beautiful, and it was clear that my face pertained more colour than it did beforehand. 

Aside from the cranberries, the argan oil is there to not only add a beautiful thread of rose to the overall aroma, but it's healing properties means that it supports the skin in rebuilding those dry and damaged pores - leaving your complexion smooth, well-nourished and radiant. 

In the tub, Cranberry Festive Face Mask gives off a refreshing and very elegant scent. You can smell the fruity but rather sour element of the berries; the potent but equally zesty note of lemongrass; the grassy and slightly liquorice thread of fennel; and the warm, floral notes of the rose that sit underneath all of the other elements and round the fragrance of the product together.

Although this isn't a scent that you'd want to wear as a perfume or bathe in in the tub, it is such a wonderful, crisp and highly fruity smell - one that is perfect to use when you're looking for something to soothe and regenerate your skin after a long week at work/school. 

With a consistency in between Love Lettuce Face Mask and D'Fluff Shaving Soap, this face mask is very easy to apply. You can risk putting on too much with this product so I would recommend that you really massage it into your skin as you'll find that you need a lot less as it can be spread fairly thinly.

Once on the face, it dries very quickly but will not crumble or remove any of the moisture in your skin. Simply rinse away after 20-30 minutes and you'll find that your skin will feel plump, radiant and full of life - a miracle mask if there ever was one.     

A surprising favourite of mine, it's such a shame that Cranberry Festive Face Mask will only be around for a few months of the year. This does exactly what it says on the tin and produces instant and very noticeable results - the very reason why I am going to relish in its beauty over the coming weeks before it is gone from my life for a very long time.   

Quantitative Ingredients: Kaolin, Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon), Glycerine, Organic Silken Tofu, Fennel Seed Infusion (Foeniculum vulgare), Argan Oil (Argania spinosa), Talc, Fresh Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), Fresh Chicory (Cichorium intybus), Rose Clay (Kaolinite), Bentone (Hectorite), Patchouli Oil (Pogostermon cablin), Lemongrass Oil (Cymbopogon citratus), Sandalwood Oil (Santalum austro-caledonicum vieill), Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Citral, Citronellol, Coumarin, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Perfume.

Vegan?: Yes.

2015 Price: £6.75 for 75g.

Year Of Original Release: 2015.   

Nightwing Shower Jelly

While it can be a little disappointing at times when Lush bring out a seemingly 'new' product and it turns out to contain the scent of an older product, I recognise that this is a great opportunity for those who love that particular fragrance, and I'm always happy to stock up on my favourites so I cannot really complain. 

However, when pictures and descriptions of this shower jelly first appeared online, the Lush world were convinced that it pertained the Calacas scent. I for one was a little disappointed by this news as I already had a stash of jellies and shower gels to feed that particular addiction of mine. To my delight, the moment that I opened the lid and gave the product it's very first sniff, I realised that the gossip and rumours had been wrong all along... 

Initial thoughts about Nightwing suggested that this was everything a Halloween product should be. Shaped like a bat and presented as a deep, inky shade of black, this brand new offering epitomises the very essence of the horror-riddled season. While most people would normally associate Halloween with the beginnings of colder weather; of cinnamon-dusted hot chocolate and thick socks tucked into winter boots, I've come to associate this time with fruity, booze-furled punches and generous helpings of zest - an expectation brought about by my love and dedication to Lush.

Containing a generous helping of lime oil and a little aloe vera for comfort, this product has a unique and very beautiful aroma - one that'll guarantee to wake you up during those traumatising early morning showers. While the aforementioned Calacas is lime-oriented as well, this jelly has a much more straight forward, zesty aroma. 

Imagine taking a freshly squeezed lime and combining it with the subtle essence of garden shrubbery in the wintertime, and you might begin to understand how this shower jelly smells. While Calacas smells like a fruit pastille - a fizzy lime scent with a slight sugary element to it, Nightwing is like it's serious, older brother - it has a 'tang' to it that reminds me of the green wine gums or American hard gums. In fact, the scent of this is very similar to Five O' Clock Whistle. 

In the shower this jelly lathers up pretty easily - producing a foamy lather laced with charcoal-coloured suds. While it initially makes a mess on your skin, and can be pretty daunting for those who have either white walls or a white tub, I can assure you that this product does not stain at all, and your skin and surroundings will not be decorated in the process of using this. 

Despite loving the fragrance, I was disappointed by Nightwing for two reasons: Firstly, the shape of the product means that you have to cut this into pieces if you wish to use it effectively. The animal-shaped design does not work well when combined with water and the motion of producing suds between your hands and against your skin. I cannot tell you the number of times I dropped this bad boy before I relented and cut it up into smaller pieces. 

Secondly, after applying this to the skin and rinsing the lather away, I found that the fragrance of this doesn't stay at all. In fact, this is probably the weakest shower jelly I have ever tried from Lush. Normally, the smell will at the very least stay on my skin until I towel myself down, but the smell of Nightwing dispersed in a matter of seconds, which was disappointing   

While my skin did feel clean after using this, I wouldn't say that it felt anywhere near as soft as it would have done had I used some of Lush's other jellies and gels. Although the inclusion of carrageenan extract would suggest that this product should be as softening on the skin as other variations, I didn't find this at all.

For this reason, I will continue to use the two tubs that I initially bought from Oxford Street, but this is not a product I would invest in again. As a self-proclaimed citrus obsessive, I was really looking forward to trying a new lime-oriented fragrance. Unfortunately, I've been left wishing that this jelly had been Calacas scented all along.   

Quantitative Ingredients: Glycerine, Water (Aqua), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Propylene Glycol, Fresh Lime Juice and Aloe Vera Gel Decoction (Aloe barbadensis; citrus aurantifolia), Carrageenan Extract (Chondrus crispus), Lime Oil (Citrus aurantifolia), Carob Syrup (Ceratonia Silliqua), Citral, Limonene, Colour 17200, Colour 42090, Colour 77266.

Vegan?: Yes.

2015 Price: £3.95 for 100g.

Year Of Original Release: 2015. 

    

Lush Cocktail: Last Day In Space

SumSum's 'Last Day In Space' Cocktail

Contains:

1 Intergalactic Bath Bomb
1 Razzle Dazzle Bath Oil
Lashings Of Freeze Shower Gel

Video:

Verdict:

For those who've seen the film Moon, you'll know what I mean when I say that it's a devastating and very haunting movie - one that leaves you feeling slightly empty by the end of it. There's something very vacant about the feel of the whole movie - a hollowness that's cold and uninviting. While I obviously didn't want a bath cocktail to mimic these feelings, the name did conjure up images of the last few scenes of the film. 

When I saw the simplicity of Last Day In Space, I knew that it was a cocktail I had to try out as soon as possible. Featuring what is easily one of my favourite bath bombs of all time, and perhaps my favourite bath oil to boot, this already showed promise before it had even hit the tub. 

For those who have not yet had the pleasure of trying this bath bomb, it's one I that cannot recommend more highly. It's an all-rounder - producing a strong and wonderful smell, offering a spellbinding display in the bath tub and creating a highly moisturising experience for anyone lucky enough to bathe with it. 

Upon contact with water, Intergalactic immediately begins to spew trails of vivid blue across the surface of the tub. As the bath bomb continues to fizz, elements of the pink, white and yellow make an appearance - painting swirls of colour that look like miniature galaxies in your bath. 

What I loved about Intergalactic is that once you're submerged under the water, you can hear the crackling of the popping candy and enjoy the swirls of golden glitter that sway and pulsate under the surface. Furthermore, this bath bomb turns the water into a deep and very rich shade of blue - definitely making you feel like the guardian of your own galaxy. 

To add to the excitement, I then added in a Razzle Dazzle Bath Oil. This product is very different to the bath bomb, and was rather surprised when it seemed to override the minty aroma and take precedence in the water. 

Razzle Dazzle has a sort of powdery berry scent - a mixture of dried blackberries and raspberries intertwined with a gentle fruity note of lime. It's definitely a very decadent aroma and one that's very comforting when you're in the bath tub. While it's not the sort of smell you would expect to work with the mint, it actually compliments it really well and creates a gorgeous vivid pinks swirls that look like little galaxies as well.  

Finishing off with a few squirts of Freeze Shower Gel to wash myself with, I left the tub with a slight tingling feeling on my skin. This is definitely a cocktail for anyone wanting something invigorating and refreshing - one that could be enjoyed first thing in the morning after you've unwillingly dragged yourself out of bed and cannot face the day ahead.

You only have to look at the pictures to envisage how amazing this cocktail was. It gave me everything I could have asked for, and more. For such a simple recipe, it produces outstanding results and one that I will be using a lot in the winter months to shake off those icy chills. You have to give this one a go!

Rating: 9.2 out of 10.

Vegan?: Yes.

Yog Nog Bath Bomb

 

While there is always a mass of excitement when it comes to the release of Lush's Christmas season, no one was more excited than I was when I heard that they were bringing out a Yog Nog-scented bath bomb. Although I'm not normally a fan of using soap in the shower, last year's 'star product' was an instant winner in my house, and I couldn't wait to try out the fragrance in a different format. 

Yog Nog is everything you could wish for - a beautiful bath bomb that not only smells deliciously decadent and banishes those winter blues, but leaves your skin feeling and smelling like a million pounds. If there was ever a ballistic that Lush should make edible, this would be the one. 

Described as possessing the smell of cinder toffee, this luxurious ballistic smells like a rich, winter pudding - one that you'll never have to worry about overindulging in. While the clove buds and ylang ylang oil in the ingredients list give you an indication of some of the notes you'll find in this aroma, nothing will truly prepare you for the reality of how wonderful this smells. 

Much like the soap of the same name, Yog Nog smells like melted butter; of brown sugar simmering in a pot with a sprinkle of nutmeg; of cocoa butter and lashing of melted vanilla ice cream; of freshly made toffee heated above an open stove. If there's one product you'll want to sink your teeth into this year,  I can guarantee that it will be this. 

Made from a combination of shea and cocoa butter, with coconut oil to round it off, this seasonal bath bomb is incredibly moisturising on the skin. In fact, I was only in the water for a couple of minutes before I began to feel how soft and 

replenished my skin had become. Very similar to Butterball, this ballistic boasts a generous helping of oils and butters in the form of two bath melts hidden in the centre of the bath bomb, and much like Lush's body butters and conditioners, this product leaves a light coating on the surface of your skin to protect it and keep it moisturised well after you've exited the bath.  

In the water, Yog Nog froths on the surface - sending out streams of glittery white and yellow foam that decorates the water and turns it a shade of yellow. After a few minutes, the bath bomb begins to give off thicker, far more creamy-looking foam, and this is when you're able to see the thick wedges of butters that are nestled in the middle of the product. In total, the bomb takes a good fifteen minutes to fully dissolve so it's definitely worth climbing in beforehand and enjoying the show from the front seat. 

What is great about Yog Nog is that the bath bomb is very strong, and once you've exited the bath, you'll be able to pick up faint whiffs of the fragrance on your skin for many hours afterwards. However, I was a little disappointed that after being in the tub for a matter of minutes, I wasn't really able to detect that much of a scent around me. The fragrance of this definitely disperses quite a bit when it comes into contact with the water, and you may have to use Yog Nog soap alongside it to enjoy the smell of this throughout your whole bath.   

Overall, this is definitely a great new addition to the Christmas range and I will be purchasing many more of these before they are discontinued at the end of the season. If you love the soap, the FUN Bar or the perfume of the same fragrance, I can guarantee that this will be another great addition to your collection.
  

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Organic Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii), Fair Trade Organic Butter (Theobroma cacao), Snowflake Lustre (Potassium Aluminium Silicate, Titanium Dioxide), Clove Bud Oil (Eugenia caryophyllus), Ylang Ylang Oil (Cananga odorata), Cream Of Tartar (Potassium bitartrate), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, PEG-6 Caprylic / Capric Glycerides & PEG-60 Almond Glycerides, Laureth 4, Soya Milk Powder (Glycine soja), Water (Aqua), Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera), Organic Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia chinenesis), Lauryl Betaine, Eugenol, Perfume, Yellow Lustre (Corn Starch, Maltodextrin, Synthetic Mica, Colour 19140), Colour 45350, Colour 19140:1, Colour 47005. 

Vegan?: Yes. 

2015 Price: £3.95 each.

2016 Price: £3.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2015. 

Scent Family:

Six Reusable Bubble Bar

Yog Nog Bath Bomb
Yog Nog Body Lotion
Yog Nog FUN Bar
Yog Nog Liquid Perfume (2014)
Yog Nog Liquid Perfume (2018)
Yog Nog Perfume Oil
Yog Nog Shower Smoothie
Yog Nog Soap
Yog Nog Solid Perfume

Yog Nog Yule Log Bubble Bar Slice