Lush Cocktail: Spring Clean

Janine's 'Spring Clean' Cocktail 

Contains:

1/3rd Mother Superior Bubble Bar

1 Secret Garden Bath Bomb

Lashings Of So White Shower Gel

Video:

Verdict:

As the weather gets warmer and the allure to be outside heightens, Lush fans across the globe will often find themselves packing the bath bombs away and choosing to take showers instead. After a long day at the beach or a sticky, sweaty day at work/school, the last thing you want to do is jump into a tub of hot water - especially when a short shower will suffice. 

While the hardcore fans will still find time for the odd bathe here and there, these occurrences are few and far between. And when we do cave in and run that rare bath, the last thing we want is a bath bomb or bubble bar that's too strong or too heavy on our senses. It is in these times that Spring Clean seems like the perfect cocktail. 

Consisting of only three ingredients, this cocktail is one the cheaper ones I have tried out over the last few months. Unfortunately, it is made up of three seasonal products that are not available for most of the year. For this reason, I highly recommend that you grab and store these when you can; when kept correctly, these will last you for the entire summer and beyond.

To create this cocktail, you must first cut the bubble bar into three pieces and crumble a third under the running tap. Mother Superior gives off a very strong smell of mimosa, jasmine and orange blossom absolute - three ingredients that create a wonderfully light but equally refreshing and uplifting floral smell. 

Not only this, but the product offers an impressive amount of thick, creamy, fragrant bubbles that coat the surface of the water and build a blanket of silk over the bath. Underneath this, the water turns a beautiful, light shade of blue that works well when the skies are clear and the sun is shining outside of the window. 

Next I added in a few generous quirts of So White Shower Gel. This seasonal release has a very naturally-sweet apple scent - it smells exactly like a freshly peeled Granny Smith, and works on adding a light but refreshing fruit aroma on top of the floral smell. A word of advice when using this shower gel, I found that three squirts meant that this overpowered the bubble bar somewhat so I suggest two squeezes of thesis more than enough if you're looking for a balance of fragrance.

Finally, I used the Secret Garden Bath Bomb, which not only offered the best display of colour in the tub - turning the water a very pretty shade of green, but gave the whole bath a deeper, richer floral aroma to enjoy. 

Together, these three ingredients produced a very delicate but equally good-quality bath that was perfect for the warmer weather. The water was incredibly nourishing on the skin and left me with a light floral scent to enjoy for hours afterwards. Yet at the same time, the aroma wasn't at all overpowering and I didn't feel uncomfortable once, despite the sun beating down outside my window. 

I really loved this Lush Cocktail. All three ingredients complimented each other well and for such a cheap collaboration, it sure leaves a great impression on your body and mind. As I have multiples of every one of these three products, I will definitely be using this as my go-to cocktail when I need a little light pampering. 

Vegan?: Yes.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Lush Cocktail: Ultra Spectrum

Tonya's 'Ultra Spectrum' Cocktail 

Contains:

1 Luxury Lush Pud Bath Bomb

1 Supernova Bath Bomb

1/5 Ultraviolet Bubble Bar

1/3 Happy Bubble Bar

1/2 Unicorn Horn Bubble Bar

Video:

Verdict:

When I first saw the ingredients for this cocktail laid out in front of me, my excitement grew tenfold - this was going to be an experience and a half! This is a cocktail for those who want something bright and colourful - something that ticks every box and leaves you feeling like a million pounds. 

While I'll admit that there are quite a lot of ingredients used for a single bath, I would urge that you halve both of the bath bombs and give it a go yourself - you could even leave out the Unicorn Horn if you wanted to be even more conservative as I don't feel it particularly adds all that much to the experience, and wouldn't be missed. 

However, this cocktail was just what I needed last week and it proved to be the perfect companion after a more than stressful week at work. It comforted, relaxed and pampered me to the high-heaven, and left me feeling rather optimistic towards the warmer weather trying to poke its head around the spring clouds.

Firstly, I crumbled the Unicorn Horn under the running water. This is a product that has grown on me quite a bit since I first used it and I now appreciate the gentle lavender scent that it offers. This bubble bar turned the water a pale pastel pink colour and filled the tub with soft, fluffy bubbles.

Up next was the chunk of Ultraviolet Bubble Bar, which crumbed nicely and turned the water into a shade of purple. This is definitely the strongest element of this cocktail - with it's sweet grassy, violet scent. However, its aroma is dampened a little by the inclusion of the other ingredients and it works well with the other conflicting fragrances. 

My final bubble bar was the small piece of Happy. This possesses a sweet, grassy citrus aroma so works well with the Ultraviolet but also compliments the zesty elements of the two bath bombs. While this beauty didn't alter the shade of the water, it did add a strong aroma that stayed throughout most of the experience. 

Up next I added in the Supernova - one of my favourite bath bombs from Lush. This product possesses a sweet grape aroma that is supposed to mimic sparkling champagne, and it definitely succeeds in making this bath something to be celebrated. As it spews thick, frothy waves of pink across the surface of the water, the smell of the orange and lime oils comes to the forefront and gives the bath a wholesome fruity smell. 

Finally, I added in the Luxury Lush Pud Bath Bomb - a personal favourite of mine and the ballistic I think is perhaps the most beautiful in the bath tub. As multicoloured waves found themselves intertwined amongst the bubbles and patterned across the bath, a wonderfully strong and creamy lavender scent drifted up and encased me in it's allure. Perfect.

As I said at the beginning of this review, this bath cocktail might seem a little excessive but it's definitely worth the multiple products used here. What you end up with is a highly moisturising, strong-scented experience that's appealing on both the nose and eyes. 

This is definitely a very unique-smelling bath - one that is mostly dominated by the violet scent but one where the distinctive lavender and citrus elements are also very prominent throughout the whole experience. As I have multiples of each of these products, I will definitely be trying this again. 

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Vegan?: Yes. 

Love You Mum Soap

When I first found out about what was being featured in Lush's Mother's Day range, I wasn't initially bowled over by the idea of this product. Firstly, the fact that it was a soap was enough for me to order it's level of importance as being underneath the other shower and bath products. Secondly, the mere mention of the floral elements didn't sell it to me on fragrance either. However, it's beautiful design was what convinced me to purchase a couple of slices and what I found surprised me. 

Love You Mum Soap is a new addition to Lush's impressive array of seasonal goodies - a beautiful royal blue soap with a yellow, green and red cherry tree design crafted on the surface. It's one of those soaps that looks more like a piece of artwork than a cosmetic, and if I had the money, I would have happily invested in a complete piece to marvel over. 

Lush describe it as being an elegant soap - one made from a combination of mimosa and jasmine absolutes, and featuring a generous helping of bergamot oil to give it a sweet and uplifting note underneath. To me, it is definitely the jasmine that dominates the smell - a strong, rich and very sweet floral aroma that has elements of the Lust smell without being as overbearing or as pungent. 

While there's nothing in the ingredients list to suggest where the scent comes from, there is also an element of sweet almond and benzoin, which makes this soap smell a little of Snowcake Shower Gel. In the shower, this element takes a back seat and the mimosa comes forward - giving off a sweet, floral and slightly woody aroma.

The bergamot oil brings all of these elements together with its fresh, fruity scent - offering a very cheerful and uplifting fragrance that lingers on your skin after use. Although the soap does possess a flowery smell, there is something rather rounded about Love You Mum that helps it to stand out above other Lush soaps.

In the shower, I found this soap to be very easy to use - lathering up without having to massage it for very long between the hands. It produces a slightly bluish and rather oily foam, which immediately gets to work at cleaning your skin and leaving it looking and feeling really cleansed.

Although the foam felt lovely and smooth whilst it was being lathered onto my legs and arms, once the water had washed it away, my skin didn't feel very hydrated at all, and I would recommend that you moisturise after using this soap to ensure that you don't develop dry patches. 

Despite this, I have found that my piece has shrunk very little since I have started using it. After nearly 10-12 showers, the 100g block has barely changed at all and I can see this piece lasting me for a good couple of months. For this reason, it is probably one of the better value soaps from Lush and definitely worth stocking up on if it works for you. 

Overall, while I love the scent and design of Love You Mum, it's just not a match for my skin, but that's not to say that I don't at least recognise the merits of this product. I would still recommend that you try it for yourself and I just hope that Lush choose to release other products with this wonderful aroma for me to enjoy.

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Glycerine, Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Sorbitol, Perfume, Bergamot Oil, Mimosa Absolute, Jasmine Absolute, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Benzyl Benzoate, Limonene, Linalool, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Colour 42053, Colour 14700, Colour 45350, Colour 17200, Colour 42090.

Vegan?: Yes. 

2015 Price: £4.25 for 100g, £10.63 for 250g, £21.25 for 500g.
2016 Price: £4.50 for 100g.

Year Of Original Release: 2015.