When the Lush Oxford Street store first opened some five years ago, the company brought out so many new dusting powders: one of which was called Get Closer. While not strictly advertised as a deodorant, most of Lush's dusting powders are versatile enough that they can be used in this way, and this is perhaps the reason why this solid rendition appeared at the Showcase event last year.
What I will say about this solid deodorant is that it does a good job at replicating the scent of the original dusting powder, which features neroli oil, jasmine absolute and lemon oil. Alongside an extra dosage of jojoba oil, this naked block of deodorant is very close in scent to the wonderful Happy Happy Joy Joy Hair Conditioner and Frozen Bath Bomb, albeit slightly lighter and not as floral-dominated. Instead, imagine HHJJ with a heap of calamine and kaolin powders thrown on top, and you may begin to understand what this exclusive smells like.
On the skin, you can definitely detect the neroli - a light and slightly bitter citrusy aroma that intertwines with the lemon oil and intensifies the fruity element. To compliment this, the jasmine adds its own soulful floral aroma that gives the deodorant a slight sweetness, making it delectable and utterly refreshing on the senses.
Alongside these elements, Get Closer then offers a strong herbal note of calamine, coupled with a dry and slightly earthy note of the kaolin, which I happen to think is perhaps a little more prominent in this format: more so than it is in the dusting powder. Either way, the smell you get is definitely not as clinical as many of Lush's other deodorants but there is still something very clean-smelling about this fragrance that I think works well.
At risk of repeating myself, I was initially worried about the strength of this solid deodorant, as I imagined it would just crumble when I applied even the slightest amount of pressure: it is definitely not as resilient as the likes of Aromaco Solid Deodorant by any means. However, it is fairly straight forward to use and the product comes away really easily on the skin, so you don't need to apply much in the way of pressure at all.
What was great about this deodorant was the fact that it was far easier to apply as a block as opposed to bottled powder. Trying to apply a powder without spilling it all over the place is a rather tricky task. However, when it came to The Get Closer Solid Deodorant, I found that simply massaging it gently under my armpits was enough to get what I wanted out of the product. While my armpit was left slightly dusty afterwards, it certainly didn't cause me any problems and I certainly didn't develop any stains on my clothes from it being this way.
Like most of Lush's dusting powders and deodorants, this one has a great level of absorbency - thanks to the inclusion of the kaolin - so any sweat that develops on your skin across the day will be absorbed fairly quickly and your armpits will be left fairly dry.
As I have stated in other reviews, this deodorant is not an antiperspirant, so it will not prevent you from sweating at all. Instead, it just helps to absorb the sweat so it doesn't have time to go stale and develop an odour, and if you sweat quite profusely at times, reduce the amount of 'damp' that remains on your skin.
After using it for near on a month, I found that Get Closer definitely worked at eradicating smells that may have accumulated throughout the day, and it was very easy to reapply the product whenever I felt like I needed to. In a typical day, I felt I needed to reapply about 5-6 times, although this may just have been my desire to be super clean: you may be able to reduce this number by half and preserve the life of the deodorant for longer.
However, what I should point out is that this solid deodorant wasn't very effective both before and after the gym. As I work out most days, I really noticed that I would start to smell my sweat a little more prominently if I used this deodorant over my usual Nivea variation. As I have found with some of Lush's deodorants, this solid product is not as effective when you're someone who sweats a great deal or when used during a time when you're perspiring a lot because of physical activity. In these moments, I had to reply on my regular shop-bought variation to see me through my workouts.
Ultimately, this solid deodorant is actually quite effective at what is does and offers a rather lovely floral aroma to boot. I honestly think that I just need to continue using this for a few more months and I should hopefully notice even more changes in the way that my body responds to this.
Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar, Cornflour, Magnesium Carbonate, Water (Aqua), Calamine Powder, Kaolin, Organic Jojoba Oil, Perfume, Neroli Oil, Jasmine Absolute, Sicilian Lemon Oil, Lycopodium Powder, Amyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Benzoate, *Cinnamyl Alcohol, *Citral, *Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, *Limonene, *Linalool, *Benzyl Cinnamate, *Cinnamal. *Farnesol
Vegan?: Yes.
2019 Price: £8 each.
Year Of Original Release: 2018.
I think it's only fair to start this review by putting many fans of Snowcake out of their misery and state that this brand new limited edition body lotion does not share the same scent as any of the popular products in this scent family. While there are lots of almond qualities about this seasonal release that may remind consumers of the aforementioned seasonal favourite, I happen to think that it is very different from the classic Snowcake fragrance.
Having said that, when I first gave Snowflake a sniff from the tub, and rubbed a little into my skin, there was definitely something present in this body lotion that reminded me of Snowcake. However, after using it for the past couple of weeks, I can safely say that I have noticed many differences about the smell that makes it unique from anything else that has come out before.
From the tub, the body lotion offers many subtle layers that work in unison with each other. First of all, there is definitely something very creamy and almond-like about the product. Coupled with the cocoa butter, the base layer of this smells very smooth and silky.
Alongside this, both the cedarwood and sandalwood help to intensify this base layer with their own grounded, woody notes. Although you aren't really able to detect either particularly strongly, you can definitely tell that there is 'something' there to thicken out the overall aroma, and add depth to the fragrance overall.
Yet, alongside this there is also quite a pronounced layer of both apricot and rose. While the latter brings about something quite warm and sweet and delicately floral (as you would expect from most of Lush's rose-dominated products) the apricot gives the body lotion almost a sharp fruity element as well.
In all honesty, there is something about the latter component that spoils this body lotion for me, although luckily the apricot scent disperses after settling on the skin for a while. In a way, I don't think the apricot really suits being here as it's not really able to flourish by itself and offer something super sweet and juicy. Instead, both this and the rose seem to clash a little to my nose, and the combination offers something a little strange and alluring.
Perhaps this was intentional, who knows. But what I appreciate is that it is certainly something very new to the range this year, and definitely doesn't offer an experience that would be limited to a particular season. Unfortunately, I cannot really see this scent working in most other formats so it's a little limited in this way.
What I did appreciate about Snowflake was that both the rose and the creamy notes of almond intensified from the warmth of my skin after I had applied it, and the apricot seemed to disperse quite a fair bit as well. These former two components then remained on my skin for a good couple of hours after application.
While this lotion is slightly on the thinner side, you really don't need an awful lot to cover a large area of your body. However, once the product has been massaged into the skin, it does tend to take a little longer than usual to fully absorb into the body. While you're not left with greasy skin, there is 'something' present on the surface for a good twenty minutes after you've applied the lotion.
After using this for a couple of weeks, I found that my skin began to look and feel healthier - particularly my legs that had began to show signs of being dry following the sudden change in weather. Despite how thin the body lotion was, I really felt as if it covered a thick coverage across the body, which will be vital during the colder months of the year.
As to whether I would buy this again, that would all depend on my mood at the time. It doesn't offer a scent that I particularly relish in, although I'm not by any means saying that the fragrance is at all bad. However, it did improve the condition of my skin, and leave it with a gentle radiance - all in matter of days/weeks - so Snowflake would be a good body lotion to use when the frosty weather begins to take hold. This is a product that does a good job but probably won't be one remembered in future months/years time.
Quantitative Ingredients: Almond Milk, Apricot Kernel Oil, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Rose Water, Glycerine, Organic Illipe Butter, Stearic Acid, Perfume, Fair Trade Almond Oil, Triethanolamine, Cedarwood Oil, Coriander Seed Oil, Sandalwood Oil, Almond essential oil, Tincture of Benzoin, Cetearyl Alcohol, *Citral, *Citronellol, *Farnesol, Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool.
Vegan?: Yes.
2019 Price: £10 for 100g, £18 for 225g.
Year Of Original Release: 2019.
Usually I could sit on my high horse and proclaim that it's very seldom that I ever truly indulge in something as decadent as a jar of cookie dough. I could honestly count the number of times I've eaten dessert over the last months, and that's all down to my training diet and focus on building muscle. However, my mental health hasn't been the best over this past week and I've eaten what equates to a whole jar of cookie dough EVERY SINGLE DAY by way of comfort.
To add to this experience, I decided to take Lush's brand new Cookie Dough Body Scrub into the shower with me as well and I found it very challenging not to scoff a large spoonful of that whilst I was washing myself. This is definitely one of Lush's most foodiest products ever, and I can imagine that many consumers have at least dabbled in giving this a little taste: even if they'd never admit it in public.
Containing a whole array of yummy ingredients, it's no wonder that this smells good enough to eat for many people. Vanilla absolute offers a strong, sweet note at the very top of these components, whilst the large helping of sugar to give the 'scrub' its consistency also adds an even stronger sweetness to the overall smell.
Underneath this, the almond oil, alongside the hazelnut and pistachio oils add a rich, nutty aroma that actually competes against the vanilla and almost overpowers the other notes trying to push through. Both the carob resinoid and the cocoa powder add their own gentle blend of chocolately goodness, whilst the gardenia extract finishes everything off with a subtle floral undertone.
What I should start by saying, as I did in my review of the Cookie Dough Lip Scrub, is that the smell of this doesn't remind me of cookie dough very much at all. Whilst delicious and very pudding-like, there is something a little too heavy about the smell of the toasted hazelnuts that gives this scrub a slightly unpleasant note every time I smell it. While it's not a big deal, there is just something present that doesn't sit well with me at all.
While it supposedly shares its scent with the aforementioned Lip Scrub, I will say that there are minor differences between the two. To my nose, the lip scrub is far lighter and sweeter overall, whereas the body scrub is much heavier in fragrance, and has quite a harsh scent. This body scrub has more of a thick, dark treacle-like, nutty aroma, whereas the sugar is far more prevalent in the lip scrub.
What I will say is that despite being called a body scrub, I wouldn't actually call his product a scrub at all. Instead, the consistency of the sugar and other key ingredients actually make something that resembles dough, or in the Lush world, we would see this more as being like the consistency of a facial cleanser.
Cookie Dough is quite sticky and paste-like to touch, and when you scoop a piece out to use across your skin, you'll find that when you massage it across your body, you'll really have to apply pressure in order for it to leave your fingers and transfer onto the body part you're 'scrubbing.'
Finally, I use the word scrubbing fairly lightly as you don't really get much of an exfoliation at all when using this limited edition product. Even when you work this onto your skin quite rigidly, it doesn't really scrub at all and instead you'll find that you'll gravitate towards kneading it into the skin as opposed to scrubbing to across the body.
Ultimately, once you've applied the product, it may also take a little lathering to remove it under the running water. However, this sticky consistency does mean that the fragrance of Cookie Dough sticks to you quite heavily. You'll be able to smell this product on you for hours, which is very pleasant indeed. Having said that, I cannot really comment on whether the product actually works all that well as a scrub as I don't really notice much of a difference before and after use.
As it lathers up a little when being applied, I have actually began using this more as a replacement for a shower gel, and my skin definitely feels rather clean afterwards. In all fairness, I have found that my bod feels smooth and moisturised after I've done this, so there are definitely merits to using this little treat in the shower or bath.
Overall, I can see why many consumers have fallen in love with this product, as the smell is very pleasant; the texture really does make you think you're enjoying a pudding; and your skin does feel really wonderful afterwards. However, there is still something off-putting to my nose when it comes to Cookie Dough, and it is definitely NOT a scrub by any means.
Quantitative Ingredients: Fine Sea Salt, Cornflour, Talc, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glycerine, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Granulated Sugar, Vanilla Absolute, Almond essential oil, Balsam Fir Resin, Carob Resinoid, Cocoa Powder, Aloe Vera Extract, Hazelnut Oil, Pistachio Oil, Gardenia Extract, Titanium Dioxide, Lauryl Betaine, *Limonene, Perfume.
Vegan?: Yes.
2019 Price: £13 for 270g.
Year Of Original Release: 2019.
First of all I should probably state that I have absolutely no reason at all to feel disgruntled by Lush as a whole. Their commitment to veganism, and the amass of items that they've released over the last few years, have surpassed that of any other company that I know of. However, I nearly always feel slightly miffed when a new product comes out containing honey or beeswax.
When Hunny Bear Massage Bar first made itself known last Mother's Day, I was slightly miffed that I wouldn't be able to try it out for myself. Smothering my body in something that would make me smell like a human dessert is my idea of heaven, and the fact that I'd only be able to observe this one from a distance, much like Scrubee, was a little disappointing.
Finding out that Lush had removed the honey from the ingredients list this year, and veganised the seasonal massage bar, made me super excited to try it out. In fact, no sooner had it arrived through my door, my skin was already being treated to a full body massage.
Sharing its scent with the Sea Salted Caramel Soap, Hunny Bear smells like a rich caramel pudding, laced with a generous sprinkling of brown sugar and a fresh drizzle of vanilla custard to finish. It is a delicious, sticky sweet smell: one where you can envisage the brown sugar gently bubbling under the heat on the stove, while a warm caramel sauce wraps itself around the fresh vanilla ice cream and melts it into a sickly sweet mess.
What is interesting is that when you first apply this massage bar to your skin, the vetivert is quite heavy in the mix. Therefore, you will find that there is an overpowering smoky smell that lingers around for a matter of minutes. However, once the oils begin to settle into the skin, this note disperses somewhat and the other key ingredients begin to make the fragrance more rounded and more delicious.
What I loved about Hunny Bear was that the bar was super easy to massage across the skin, and while very easy to melt, it wasn't too much of a problem to apply as much (or as little) as I wanted to use. Once the butters and oils had melted across a surface, I then used my hand to really massage the oils into the skin properly so that they were absorbed as quickly as possible.
As the name suggests, the sole intention of these bars is to replace the liquid oils that someone may use when giving a massage. The consistency of nearly all of Lush's massage bars means that you get the same results, just without having to rely on a product that comes with packaging.
However, if like me, you don't always have someone to give you a massage, you can also use these bars in replacement of your regular body lotion. Although there is a difference: these solid bars are definitely more oily than a lotion or cream, they offer your skin a chance to absorb some good quality butters and oils, without anything else featured that may clog up your pores.
When using Hunny Bear, I did find that the oils and butters took a short while to absorb into the skin, so you'll need to allow the product at least ten minutes to settle before putting any clothes over the top. However, I found that my skin looked and felt instantly more nourished and soft, and this lasted for the most part of the day.
Scent-wise, the wonderfully sweet aroma also remained present on my skin for a good while, and I did receive a few comments during my day at work about my 'perfume', so it does hold longevity. Pairing this with perhaps Yog Nog or Butterball Liquid Perfume would only serve to intensify this wonderful foodie experience for longer, although there may be people compelled to lick you as you will smell simply divine.
Overall, I am really happy that Lush have veganised this, without seemingly losing any of the skin-softening properties that the original massage bar held. This is definitely one I will be buying a few more of, before the Mother's Day range disappears for another year.
Quantitative Ingredients: Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Fair Trade Shea Butter, Almond Oil, Perfume, Clove Leaf Oil, Tonka Absolute, Brazilian Vetivert Oil, Vanilla Absolute, Organic Agave Syrup, Vegan Dark Chocolate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, *Anise Alcohol, *Benzyl Alcohol, *Coumarin, *Eugenol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Colour 77499.
Vegan?: Yes.
2019 Price: £5.95 each.
Year Of Original Release: 2019.
As I've said in other product reviews that share the same scent, Butterball may have a lovely scent but there is nothing special about it in any way, shape or form. Yes of course it stands out above other cocoa butter smelling cosmetics; yes of course most products perform really well as you'd expect Lush items to do. However, there's just nothing that makes it stand out above all of the company's other wonderful smells, and so it tends to get ignored most of the time by myself.
Please don't for one second think that I am in any way saying that Butterball Body Lotion doesn't smell amazing: it does. However, this is definitely a lotion for people who appreciate the simpler smells from Lush. The scent of this body lotion is definitely not going to be one that sends consumers into a frenzy: it just is what it is.
Sharing its scent with the original Butterball Bath Bomb, this limited edition is one of ten body lotions to make an appearance in the Lush Kitchen this month. In all fairness, this was probably the one I was least excited about: not because I expected to dislike it, just because I assumed I would react very little to what it had to offer me. And I was right.
With a strong thread of cocoa butter and synthetic musk, this body lotion is both chocolately and vanillary at the same time. It's a creamy, slightly decadent fragrance that wraps around your skin like a warm blanket. It's as if someone has melted chocolate ice cream into a bowl and then added a generous helping of vanilla absolute on top. If you're into foody smells, this is definitely one you should try.
However, the smell you get in the tub is a terrible representation of how it smells once it's been applied to the skin. Before use, the lotion gave off more of a musky, vanilla smell, with just a hint of the cocoa butter underneath. Yet, when the lotion was applied to my skin, the smell exploded and multiplied tenfold, and I couldn't stop sniffing my skin for a good ten minutes afterwards.
On the skin, Butterball Body Lotion is much stronger; more rounded; and far more delicious. There is something rather dusty about the fragrance in motion, and I really felt as if this would be a product I would gravitate towards when the weather begins to drop in temperature. This could easily replicate a comfort blanket for those looking for solace in something sweet.
The amount of cocoa butter means that this body lotion also happens to be super moisturising, and I could feel the difference it made to my skin after a couple of days of use. My skin felt plump and more rounded, and I found that the dry patches between my fingers disappeared very quickly with continuous application.
Funnily enough, I was expecting Butterball to be one of the thickest lotions from the latest release, given how much cocoa butter has gone into making it so creamy and chocolately. However, I found it to be a little thinner than the other lotions, which meant that it absorbed into the skin slightly quicker than many of the other variations.
Furthermore, the fragrance lingered on my body for a good 2-3 hours after application, and my skin still looked and felt plumper afterwards as well. This is definitely more suited to the colder months of the year - for its smell is perhaps a bit too cloying to use during the summer, and the condition it leaves your skin is more suited when you're trying to rehydrate and condition your parched body.
Overall, Butterball fans will love this rendition of their favourite scents, and I definitely cannot fault how effective it is on the body. However, the fragrance itself is nothing special in my eyes, and I'll be continuing my love affair with Yog Nog while I find this lotion a new home.
Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Almond Oil, Glycerine, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Jojoba Oil, Stearic Acid, Organic Illipe Butter, Triethanolamine, Ylang Ylang Oil, Synthetic Musk, Cetearyl Alcohol, Perfume.
Vegan?: Yes.
2018 Price: £14.95 for 225g.
Year Of Original Release: 2018.
Scent Family:
Angel Hair Solid Shampoo Bar
Butterball Bath Bomb
Butterball Body Conditioner
Butterball Body Lotion
Butterball Liquid Perfume
Butterball Perfume Oil
Butterball Shower Gel
Butterbear Bath Ballistic
Butterbear Shower Jelly
The Ex Factor Bath Bomb
Gentle Lentil Solid Shampoo
The Snowman Ballistic
It has always been a dream of mine to create products for Lush Cosmetics. As someone who loves the arts; has a passion for building and making a variety of crafts; and is in love with every aspect of cooking, the idea of being able to combine different fragrances and manipulate a variety of compound ingredients to create a brand new idea just seems like the ultimate dream. The only downfall would be in not being able to eat it afterwards.
Looking at what has gone into making Scrub Scrub Scrub, it almost reads like a recipe for a high end dessert: blackberry and lime purees, blackcurrant powders and rosemary oil. Yet at the same time, I found it very difficult to decipher what this alluring looking black scrub would actually smell like when it arrived. While rumours circulated about a possible Comforter-scented release, I held out for something a little different, and I was not disappointed.
In the tub, this dark mess of charcoal and oils does have a strong blackcurrant note that continues to shine during usage in the shower. While I can see why people have made the Comforter link, I find this note of blackcurrant stronger and a little more bitter as well: almost like the blackcurrants you find on the top of a cheesecake. The inclusion of the blackberry puree combines with the blackcurrant here and you can recognise that berry-eque note present alongside. Together, they offer a strong fruity note, that by itself would be rather boring. However, there's so much more to this scrub - which is why it's so interesting.
Alongside the fruity notes, you get a strong layer of both pine and rosemary. The latter ingredient offers a strong, herbal note, both inside the pot and when the scrub is being used in the shower. In fact, it is the rosemary that lasts the longest on the skin - staying past when the blackcurrant aroma as long gone. The pine oil also adds a very exquisite green note in the tub, and I think it is this particular ingredient that creates the juxtaposition of smells - and the reason why so many people have found the fragrance a little distasteful once they've brought it home from the shop.
There is a slight part of me that feels that these three elements are almost contradicting each other, and to be begin with the scent sat a little uneasy with me as well. However, very quickly I realised the beauty in such a unique pairing of ingredients, and now I cannot get enough of the scrub.
To me, the scrub reminds me very much of Halls Blackcurrant Soothers: there is something slightly medicinal about the smell that may be a little off-putting to some. I also feel as if you can smell the charcoal a little in the mix, so you get a very eclectic array of notes.
Although the scrub itself appears rather thick in the tub, I found it to be quite light when scooping it out, and it definitely wasn't as coarse as I was expecting it to be. In fact, it wasn't far off being as gentle on the skin as Rub Rub Rub, although there was certainly more of a scrubbier side to the product that set it apart from the aforementioned classic.
In the shower, the scrub massages over your body with ease and you don't need an awful lot to coat every area of your skin. Once applied, exfoliating in a circular motion will gently remove dry skin and dirt, and leave you with super soft skin. Once out of the shower however, only the rosemary lingers on the skin, and this is short-lived as well because I couldn't detect anything without five minutes of drying myself down.
It would have been lovely to still be able to smell the amalgamation of different ingredients after I had exited the shower, but at least I was able to notice that my skin looked and felt really clear and clean. Scrub Scrub Scrub definitely works at clearing out pores without irritating the skin, and it's great for those with oilier complexions because the charcoal will absorb unwanted grease.
The only downfall about this product is that it can make a bit of a mess around your bathroom. So while it won't stain, it would definitely make your life easier if you were a little careful when using this in the shower, and I'd recommend that you rinse the sides/walls afterwards, to ensure no clumps of black are found later on.
While this doesn't reach the same level as Cup 'O Coffee, this is definitely a scrub I would buy again. Although it's not as coarse as the products I'd usually go for, there's enough character in the smell, and enough evidence after use, to tell me that this is one that does the job it's set out to do.
Quantitative Ingredients: Fine Sea Salt, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Blackberry Puree, Lime Puree, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Powdered Charcoal, Propylene, Glycol, Organic Blackcurrant Powder, Blackcurrant Absolute, Buchu Oil, Rosemary Oil, Pine Oil, Lactic Acid, Lauryl Betaine, *Citral, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume.
Vegan?: Yes.
2018 Price: £12.95 for 300g, £23.95 for 625g.
Year Of Original Release: 2018.
Last year, the Lush Kitchen brought out a handful of limited edition body lotions, and Calacas was one of them. At the time, I thought it was one of the most exciting releases of the decade - for anyone who's a long time Lush fan will know just how popular the Calacas/Day Of The Dead range is to the community, and indeed myself. Some people had been waiting near on a century for the opportunity to lather themselves up with their favourite fragrance, and now it was finally happening.
Unfortunately, I found out very quickly that all of these body lotions had clearly been made with the same base ingredients, and a little perfume had been added to give the product its signature scent. This meant that the lotions weren't exactly of the greatest quality and the smell didn't stick around all that much to make it worth the hype that the company had been building up.
This time around, the body lotions have clearly had some time invested in them, because the colours they offer; the consistencies that differ; and the way my skin has responded to them all, is a clear testament that actually it was THIS release fans had actually been waiting for, and the previous must have been a warm up.
Yet despite this, Calacas is still one of the weakest ones out of the whole collection. That's not to say that it isn't a great body lotion, nor that Lush have done anything wrong. Just that I've come to realise that I don't ever think Calacas will ever truly make an amazing body lotion, and here's why...
Firstly, I should stay that I was both disappointed and excited by the colour upon opening the lid for the first time. On the one hand, the wonderfuly sultry shade of yellow is definitely a lot more interesting than the plain white lotion we received with the first attempt. However, the zestiness of the fragrance tells me that this lotion should definitely be a bright spring green to match the beautiful smell.
The lotion itself is fairly thick - a little thicker than the original Lush Kitchen release but not by much - and spreads across the skin with ease. Those with hairs on their arms may notice that it takes a little extra massaging to help it absorb into the skin in these areas. However, I didn't have any problems moisturising myself with this at all, and found that I could re-apply my clothes a matter of minutes after application. You don't have to worry about Calacas rubbing off onto anything else as your skin doesn't stay sticky after you've moisturised.
From the tub, the scent is definitely a step in the right direction. Whereas I felt as if the first Calacas release had a strong note from the base ingredients, which seemed to thwart the fruitiness of the lime getting though as much as it could, this one doesn't seem to have this at all. A quick comparison of the two ingredients list shows me that Lush have altered the base of this one now, so there's probably more featured in this lotion to hold and project the fragrance even further.
Having said that, there is still something slightly reserved about the smell of this lotion, and this is what leads me to believe that perhaps this particular fragrance is never going to hold up well enough in certain formats. While I love the Calacas family as one of my favourites, I really don't think that the lotion is a good representative of what this scent can do.
On the skin, the lotion leaves your skin wonderfully soft and smooth, and just like the other lotions in this release, I could notice a difference after only my first use. When using a little on my face, I could see a gentle shine that stayed with me for most of the day, and my face appeared slightly more radiant in the mirror.
Despite this, the scent didn't last particularly well on the skin. Within about forty minutes after application, I could no longer smell the gorgeous fruity lime aroma, while the perfume I had sprayed at the same time as applying the lotion was still going strong. As I had lathered up two arms with two lotions that day, it was disappointing to find that I could still smell the other lotion for almost two hours more, while Calacas had already crept away.
Ultimately, fans of Calacas will want to pick this up. While not as spritzy as the liquid perfume, the lotion does replicate the scent family well. The lotion is also great at improving the condition of your skin in short succession, and adds a little radiance to your body.
Yet, the scent doesn't last on the skin very long and isn't as vibrant or as zesty as it is in other formats. Having said that, I honestly don't think that Lush are to blame for this at all; I truly believe that this fragrance just isn't suited for some formats, and a body lotion just doesn't have the strength to hold and project that wonderful note of lime that we all love. While it's a step in the right direction, it's not quite enough to score a higher rating from me.
Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Almond Oil, Glycerine, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Cold Pressed Grapeseed Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Stearic Acid, Fresh Aloe Gel, Organic Illipe Butter, Triethanolamine, Lime Oil, Olibanum Oil, Neroli Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Benzyl Salicylate, *Citral, *Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, Colour 45350, Colour 42090, Colour 59040.
Vegan?: Yes.
2018 Price: £16.95 for 225g.
Year Of Original Release: 2018.
Scent Family:
Calacas Shower Gel
Calacas Shower Jelly
Calacas/Day of The Dead Perfume
Lady Catrina Soap
Man In The Moon Bubble Bar
Monsters' Ball Bath Bomb
Skullduggery Ballistic
Over the years the Honey I Washed The Kids range has slowly diversified, and my love for the fragrance has don nothing but grow and grow. While I would describe it as quite a foody smell, and I'm normally one to those people that have to be in the right frame of mind to want to use products like this, HIWTK is one of those rare exceptions.
Although Lush have described this limited edition as a 'honey-scented' lotion, there is something far more beautiful and delicious about this Kitchen exclusive, that makes this description seem far too simplistic for my liking. In fact, I would go as far as to say that, alongside Honey I Washed The Kids Body Spray, this might very well be my favourite format in this scent.
Upon opening the tub, I was greeted with a lotion coloured a gorgeous, summery shade of yellow, which not only brought an immediate smile to my face, but also made the product seem far too much like pudding for my liking. The temptation to grab a spoon and sample a mouthful was all too real: I had to remind myself of what went down last time I tried to eat a Lush product...
Noni I Washed The Kids was definitely one of the strongest lotions from the Lush Kitchen's latest batch. To my nose, I could smell a beautiful layer of sugary, sticky toffee laced with a sweet, fruity orange top note. Underneath this, there was a mild, buttery element from the cocoa butter base, although I wouldn't describe the smell of offers as being chocolately: simply creamy.
While there isn't any honey present in the ingredients list, and I couldn't detect any notes that reminded me of what honey actually smelled like, there was definitely a wholesome element to the lotion that reminded me of the thickness you get from the consistency and smell of honey itself. This warming hint of honey was what tied all of the components together and gave Noni I Washed The Kids such a strong and pronounced aroma.
After a little research into why the body lotion was called Noni I Washed The Kids, I discovered quite a lot about the noni fruit - an ingredient I really hadn't heard of before this purchase, but soon realised had been on sale everywhere when I was travelling around Asia. Doh! Looking like the cross between a mulberry and an alien invasion, this ingredient doesn't really offer much in the way of scent. Instead, the inclusion in cosmetics helps to add vibrancy to your skin, and soften but tighten the skin at the same time.
On the skin, the body lotion spread with ease, although it was a little thicker than some of the other lotions I had used the day before. As the product was so generous, I needed very little to lather across my whole body, and therefore a tub of this will last a lot longer than something far thinner such as Karma Cream Body Lotion.
Within seconds of massaging it across my skin, I found that the lotion had absorbed fully and left behind a gentle sheen on the surface. My skin felt instantly plumper and replenished, and I could notice from the first use that my body was really benefitting from the oils and butters present in the ingredients. Although I had to wait roughly around fifteen minutes before I was able to put my clothes back on, as the lotion was slightly sticky at first, I didn't mind so much because I usually moisturise myself before I go to bed.
What impressed me so much with NIWTK, as with Yog Nog, was that the fragrance lasted for a good few hours before I was unable to smell it. After applying it one morning before work, I would that I was still able to detect notes of the orange oil and toffee smell nearly four hours later, which makes it one of Lush's longest-lasting body lotions to date.
What is great about this particular lotion is that despite being a heavy foody smell, I can still see myself using this across all seasons: in the summer to elevate my moods with the uplifting orange element; in the winter as a fragrant blanket to warm up my body. This is definitely one that I would buy again, and I hope this release is not the last time we see this wonderful body lotion.
Quantitative Ingredients: Noni Fruit Decoction, Almond Oil, Water (Aqua), Glycerine, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Jojoba Oil, Stearic Acid, Organic Illipe Butter, Triethanolamine, Brazilian Orange Oil, Bergamot Oil, Titanium Dioxide, Cetearyl Alcohol, Amyl Cinnamal, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, *Citral, Citronellol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, Colour 19140:1.
Vegan?: Yes.
2018 Price: £15.95 for 225g.
Year Of Original Release: 2018.
Scent Family:
Golden Egg Bath Bomb
Gold FUN
Honey I Washed The Kids Bath Bomb
Honey I Washed The Kids Body Spray
Honey I Washed The Kids Liquid Perfume
Honey I Washed The Kids Solid Perfume
Honey I Washed The Kids Soap
Humpy Dumpty Bath Bomb
Ma Bar Bubble Bar
Noni I Washed The Kids Body Lotion
Santasaurus Reusable Bubble Bar
Shoot For The Stars Bath Bomb (2013)
Shoot For The Stars Bath Bomb (2016)
Sugar Mama Sugar Scrub
The Mum Reusable Bubble Bar
UP
Alongside these elements, Get Closer then offers a strong herbal note of calamine, coupled with a dry and slightly earthy note of the kaolin, which I happen to think is perhaps a little more prominent in this format: more so than it is in the dusting powder. Either way, the smell you get is definitely not as clinical as many of Lush's other deodorants but there is still something very clean-smelling about this fragrance that I think works well.
