Lush Cocktail: Fairy Tale Story

_bath.beauty's 'Fairy Tale Story' Cocktail

Contains:

1 Think Pink Bath Bomb
1/2 Heart Throb Bubbleroon

Lashings Of Prince Charming Shower Gel

Video:

Verdict:

While it's been a little while since I organised and executed this cocktail, I can still vividly remember its vibrancy, it's warmth, and how incredibly soft my skin felt afterwards. And although I was a little unsure whether the bubbleroon would work well with the other products, given its strong aroma, I was pleasantly surprised just how well they gelled.

Fairy Tale Story is the perfect name for such a cocktail - a beautiful collaboration of sweet, fruity and floral - one that leaves you feeling both comforted and refreshed. While the bubbleroon works on softening the water and turning it a vivid shade of red, the other ingredients add layers of fragrance that'll leave you smelling delicious. 

To being with I crumbled the Heart Throb Bubbleroon under the running tap. This exclusive Valentine's Day product first made an appearance earlier this year, and shares it scent with the wonderful African Paradise Body Conditioner. 

Made from an impressive combination of oils and butters, this bubbleroon not only smells delicious but is incredibly good for your skin. Firstly, Heart Throb has a generous helping of shea butter - a gentle and very effective moisturiser. This butter works really well with the skin's natural oils and is said to help the absorption of other active ingredients in a product.

This bubbleroon also sports a number of oils that not only help to nourish and improve the condition of your skin, but work together to give off the wonderfully unique and potent aroma that this product offers. The ylang ylang oil gives off a sweet but mildly floral aroma which compliments the geranium oil wonderfully: the frangipani absolute offers the most fragrant element of the bubbleroon - a strong, heady floral aroma that creates the spicy element that sets this apart from most other flowery scents that Lush offer. 

Up next was the Prince Charming Shower Gel - a component that surprisingly overrode the bubbleroon, despite having a weaker scent. This Valentine's product has a strange aroma - one that sits in the middle of being fruity and creamy. The smell reminds me a little of Rose Jam with a fruity helping of Happy Hippy and an underlying vanilla note.

This didn't really do much in the way of colour, but did add a few extra bubbles to the mix as well as another layer of fragrance that ended up being the main thread of fragrance in this cocktail.

Finally, I added in a Think Pink Bath Bomb - a small but very potent bath product that is somewhat undervalued in my opinion. To me, this ballistic epitomises everything that I love about Lush; it's a sweet, fruity cocktail of vanilla, lavender and tonka bean, combined together to form a full-on feminine blast in the bath.   

When dropping it into the bath, it immediately begins to fizz; turning the water a beautiful deep pink colour and releasing little hearts of confetti that decorate the bottom of the tub. These hearts are very slightly glittery, which makes the bath look beautiful without staining the sides with silver or gold lustre. These hearts then wash away when you pull the plug, making it a mess-free experience.

Overall, this bath cocktail was a great alternative  to the usual 'sweet' collaborations that are recommended from Lushies. Although the bubbles dispersed fairly quickly, the water remained a vivid red throughout, and the sweet and fruity aroma was potent enough to latch itself to my skin for an impressive duration after I had exited the bath.  

Rating: 8.9 out of 10.

Vegan?: Yes.

The Kiss Lip Scrub

When I first began collecting, using and reviewing Lush products, I always viewed releases like this as a bit of a novelty. While I never speculated that they weren't effective, I always saw them as something you'd buy to try out a few times and then lose somewhere in a cupboard, never to be seen again. However, once I got into the habit of slipping one of these scrubs into my bag, I have never looked back.

When Lush announced the Valentine's range this year, I went to refer to my blog only to find that there was no trace of the The Kiss Lip Scrub around. After initial confusion, I came to realise that last year's release was not vegan - the very reason why I never bought it or reviewed it in the first place. This year however it was, so I couldn't wait to give it a go and see what it would offer me.

My immediate thoughts is that this is perhaps the most beautiful lip scrub that Lush have ever offered - the bright, fluorescent pink competes with the original Bubblegum Lip Scrub, but the edible sequin hearts that decorate the surface make it a clear winner - one that looks good enough to eat.

Sharing its scent with the lip gloss of the same name, I find the fragrance of this much more appealing than the aforementioned product. The reason being is that this is far stronger and fizzier in the container - a release that is sure to attract anyone who enjoys their candy. While the gloss offers a gentle, creamy mandarin aroma, the scrub is more sherbety, and reminds me of the swizzels sweets you can get in various children's selection packs in the UK.

While you would expect all of their lip scrubs to be identical in texture, I found this one to be slightly smoother than any of the previous ones I have used. Although all of Lush's lips scrubs are made from a base of castor sugar, compared to the other variations, this one does seem less 'scratchy' on the lips. Some of the other scrubs almost felt as if they were made of granulated sugar, which is great for those who need a vigorous removal of dried skin, but not for those lips that are dry, cracked and sensitive during the really cold months.

Looking at the ingredients list, I think it is the removal of the jojoba oil and the inclusion of the cocoa butter that really gives it the perfect texture. You can feel the dry skin being stimulated by the scrub element of the product, but can also immediately feel the softening properties of the cocoa butter afterwards. Both ingredients work in unison with each other, and will guarantee to leave you with the softness lips going. 

To use, I simply scooped out a tiny amount with my finger - rubbing the scrub all over my lips in a circular motion. The best part is that you then get to use your tongue to lick off the excess sugar and this leaves your lips looking less parched and weathered, and feeling a whole lot better than they did a few seconds beforehand. To finish my routine, I would opt to use either a lip balm if my lips really needed it, or a gloss/tint/stick if I was heading out for the evening.

Although an occasional heart will find itself being massaged across your lips, they're very easy to remove, and they certainly didn't cause me any serious problems during application. Yes, all of Lush's lip scrubs can be a little messy to begin with, and you do occasionally end up with stray pieces of sugar smeared around your mouth, it really isn't that hard to contain to product to the lips, and by the third attempt I had a good system going for keeping the product contained.

For £5.95, this might seem like a big investment for such a small tub, but it will last you a very long time, even with daily application.The only issue you may face is you lack of willpower to not eat the entire pot in a single sitting - it is rather tasty and can be quite tempting at times.

These have quite a long shelf life on them (a little over a year to be exact), so I would highly suggest you grab yourself one before they're discontinued. This and Bubblegum Lip Scrub are probably my favourite versions of this particular line of products, and I can guarantee that once you introduce one of these to your routine, it'll be very hard to ween yourself off. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Caster Sugar, Safflower Oil, Fine Sea Salt, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Red Edible Hearts and Soft Pink Glimmer Lustre, Sicilian Mandarin Oil, Almond essential oil, Cornflour, Limonene, Flavour, Colour 15850:1.

Vegan?: Yes.

2016 Price: £5.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2015.

Scent Family:

The Kiss Lip Gloss

The Kiss Lip Scrub

Under The Covers Massage Bar

Lush Cocktail: Lovin' Life

Katrina's 'Lovin' Life' Cocktail

Contains: 

1 Unicorn Horn Bubble Bar

1/2 Love Locket Ballistic
1 Mmmmelting Marshmallow Moment Bath Melt

Video:

Verdict:

There is something about a pink bath that is equally both warming and inviting. While you would never see me wearing attire in this shade, there is something about this colour that comes alive in the tub and makes for a comforting and rather exciting experience. 

I chose to try out Lovin' Life for two reasons. Firstly, since my initial use of the bubble bar, my love for Unicorn Horn has grown dramatically. At first I found the seasonal item to be rather weak in scent and rather boring. However, after a couple of uses, I have since fallen in love with the delicate balance of lavender and natural sweetness that accompanies the stunning design.

Secondly, I loved the idea of both the floral and sweet coming together in what promised to be a vivid and very delicious sounding concoction. For this reason, I couldn't wait to try this collaboration out in the bath tub. 

Lovin' Life is a cocktail that would work at any time of the year. It's sweet, it's fruity, it's relaxing - warming enough to comfort those cold feet and weathered hands, light enough to not be too overbearing in the warmer months. 

First up, crumble the entire Unicorn Horn Bubble Bar under the running tap. You can use half if you're trying to conserve your Lush products, especially one as rare as this bubble bar. However, I felt this cocktail needed the full thing to get a good strong, underlying lavender scent going. 

As I've stated in previous reviews of this bar, despite it's gorgeous colour, it doesn't do much in the way of turning the water an interesting colour so you're left with a light, pastel-purple tint. However, it does produce loads of bubbles and this creates a mountain of light, fluffy goodness to bury yourself under.

Next up I added in half of a Love Locket Ballistic. These are limited to the Valentine's Day range and are rather large in size so you definitely don't have to use the full thing at once. This not only darkens the colour of the water to a lovely shade of pink, but gives off a sweet, decadent aroma that intertwines with the floral lavender and creates a very tranquil fragrance that fills the bathroom. 

Furthermore, the Love Locket Bath Bomb also features small confetti hearts inside, and these float around under the surface of the water, giving a lovely display as you're relaxing in the tub. They wash away easily and don't interfere with your bathing experience so they're not a nuisance. 

Finally, I threw in an entire Mmmelting Marshmallow Bath Melt (although you can use half if you desire). This compliments the candy element of the ballistic but also boosts the sweet smell of the bubble bar - bringing all three elements together wonderfully. 

The luxury bath melt softens the water and leaves lots of essential butters and oils to give you a highly moisturising experience. While it's not as greasy as the likes of You've Been Mangoed and Dream Time, you're still left feeling silky-soft and regenerated. 

This is a great cocktail for many reasons; it can boost your spirits before a night out; nourish and repair dry and damaged skin; soothe and improve tired minds and weathered bodies; replenish sun-kissed skin. This is definitely one I'll try out again and I recommend that you give it a whirl yourself. 

Vegan?: Yes.

Rating: 8.6 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.