Fireside Soap

To say that this soap is anything but a sensory experience would be a lie, and if it serves as any sort of a lesson, it would be to remember that preconceptions can detour immensely from reality. When it comes to Fireside Soap, everything I imagined and every judgement I made was soon washed away when I held my very first piece and gave it my debut sniff.

When Mark Constantine developed the concept of this seasonal soap, he went through every measure to ensure that the name and the fragrance matched, and while I have never been fortunate enough to share a house with an open fireplace, this product epitomises the very smell that I imagine those who do are able to indulge in during the colder months.

Despite its bright demeanour - one that I originally assumed would be accompanied by a citrusy smell, the aroma is anything but heated. Containing both dried chestnuts and chestnut flour, Fireside is a nutty and naturally sweet soap. It smells very much like a handful of gently roasted, slightly burnt chestnuts encased in a bed of pimento berries and a dusting of vanilla for sweetness. I should point out that when I say burnt, I don't mean that this soap is in any way smoky, just that it has a subtle smell that reminds me of when something 'catches' in the pan and you get an almost caramelised aroma. 

The pimento berry oil is a very unique and rather interesting inclusion as it offers a richly-fragrant scent that smells a little like cinnamon, nutmeg and clove all rolled into one. These components don't really show themselves individually, but they do band together to form a bed of warmth that compliments the chestnuts so well. Not only included for its aroma, pimento berries are also known for their therapeutic properties, and are used to combat stress and depression - making it the perfect ingredient to include in this winter-inspired soap.

Fireside is one of those products where every ingredient gels together really well, so while I have dissected each component to give you a better idea of what this soap smells like, the actual fragrance is very much one single, beautiful, well-rounded burst of warmth. With the above ingredients being most dominant, I should mention that the smell is slightly 'foody' so it may not be to everyone's tastes.

If I'm going to be honest, this was definitely not a soap that bowled me over when I smelt it for the first time in the store. Nor was it one that impressed me when I unwrapped it at home and gave it another sniff. For this reason, I strongly suggest that if you're unsure about the smell, you should still grab a small sample and let it work its magic in the shower.

It was during one of my early morning showers that I fell in love with Fireside - something that I really wasn't expecting to do at all. As the heat traveled around the bathroom, the scent formed a comforting blanket that incased me inside and gave me what can only be described as a warm cuddle of smells - the nuttiness, the sweetness.

The soap went on to impress me by creating a wonderfully thick and fragrant lather, that glided over my body with ease and left my skin feeling really clean and smelling like a jar of chestnut puree or a winter cheesecake. While it didn't help my skin to feel as moisturised as a shower gel would normally do, my body did leave the shower well-cleansed, feeling slightly plumped up and looking rather radiant. 

Overall, this is a soap that may disappoint to begin with, if you associate the brightly-coloured design with the scent you envisage when you see it. However, once you've give Fireside a chance, it turns out to be a very unique and beautifully crafted soap. While it wont replace the Old Father Time Soap that made an appearance last year (and should definitely be made into a perfume), it's still a wonderful product and a fantastic new addition to this year's seasonal selection.       

Quantitative Ingredients: Water, Glycerine, Rapeseed Oil and Coconut Oil, Sorbitol, Perfume, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Dried Chestnuts, Clove Bud Oil, Pimento Berry Oil, Vanilla Absolute, Chestnut Flour, Sodium Chloride, Titanium Dioxide, Citric Acid, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Bicarbonate, *Benzyl Benzoate, *Benzyl Salicylate, *Citral Coumarin, *Eugenol, *Farnesol, *Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Colour 47005, Colour 45350, Colour 14700, Colour 15510, Colour 17200.

Vegan?: Yes.

2016 Price: £4.25 for 100g.

Year Of Original Release: 2016.

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