Snow Fairy Cold-Pressed Soap

Sometimes Lush make decisions that confuse me a little - make me think that perhaps I have little understanding of how they work and what goes into creating a seasonal range. When it came to Snow Fairy Cold Pressed Soap, I was initially perplexed about the purpose of its release - only because Lush Mechanic shares the same scent and is available to purchase freely online across the year. However, the more I delved into my thoughts, the more I began to engage with multiple reasons for why the company have done such a thing. 

Firstly, Lush Mechanic is not readily available across the globe, so this seasonal soap is a great opportunity for Snow Fairy Fans to try out something new in the fragrance. Secondly, the soap will be available in stores - not just online, so consumers have better access to it without feeling like they have to invest in a large order. Finally, as there are so many products with the same smell already, this offers an even bigger expanse for consumers who have a sweet tooth.

Being someone who is very much into healthy eating, I was already aware of what cold-pressed meant in terms of the food industry and how this idea might transpire into a soap. Although most companies tend to heat up their oils, melt them down and mix them together before leaving them to set, cold-pressed is when ingredients are pressed, ground down and mixed together while keeping the temperature low at all times (below 49°C to be precise). The lack of heat used throughout this process means that the oils retain all of their flavour, aroma and nutritional value - making them better for consumption as well as for the skin.

While soaps that have been produced in this fashion tend to be harder because the ingredients are quite heavily compressed together, they tend to have a  longer life span than regular soaps because they contain less liquid - liquid that would normally evaporate over time and dry the soap out. To prove this point, I have had all three of Lush's new cold-pressed soaps for near enough three months now and they have not changed in consistency at all during this time.

Snow Fairy Soap contains a base of coconut, almond and castor oil, along with a generous helping of cocoa butter to soften things up. While I don't find Cold Pressed soaps to be as moisturising as gourmet soaps, there is still something appealing about the thick lather that most seem to create in the shower. This one was no exception - creating creamy, florescent pink suds to massage across the skin. What I really liked about this Soap, was that it even lathered up when I ran it across my body, which some soaps don't do. This meant that I was able prevent my hands from becoming too dry after usage, and the consistency gave me a gentle exfoliation at the same time. 

The inclusion of the synthetic musk is what gives this product its famous Snow Fairy fragrance, although it isn't a direct replica of the shower gel. While sweet and musky, I felt as if the smell of this was more like perfume - in that it wasn't so sickly or as fruity. There is something slightly more grounded about this scent that allows it to be a little more warming than your average Snow Fairy product. 

What was impressive about this limited edition was that, even though I used this directly under the running water, it didn't shrink particularly fast as some of Lush's other seasonal specimens. Furthermore, it was relatively fast at drying afterwards, so I would imagine it would last a good six weeks before needing to be replaced.

Unfortunately, I didn't find that this left my skin as desirable as it needs to be in the winter months. I still needed to moisturise daily, which I don't have to do with other Shower gels and jellies. Having said that, regular readers know my skin type by now, and I know that others I have spoken to have said that it's been moisturising for them. What I will say though is that Snow Fairy Cold Pressed Soap did leave my skin feeling clean and smooth, and maybe a generous helping of the Body Conditioner might have worked well in unison to creating velvet-soft skin.

While the scent did linger on my body afterwards, it was very faint on my skin and didn't stay around for particularly long. Had I paired this with the recently released Body Spray, I might have been able to extend this sweet, delicate experience.

Overall, this cold-Pressed Soap will be a favourite with consumers this year, if only because of the fragrance it pertains, and the cute design - which will definitely appeal to those who like bright, playful colours. This is not one I would buy again, although this is more because it doesn't suit my skin type as opposed to the product being at all bad.

Quantitative Ingredients: Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Water (Aqua), Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Hydroxide, Cream of Tartar, Perfume, Almond Oil, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Castor Oil, Glycerine, Tapioca Starch, Citric Acid, Titanium Dioxide, Synthetic Musk, Propylene Glycol, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Tin Oxide, *Limonene, Alpha-Isomethyl ionone, Colour 45410, Colour 73360, Colour 45350, Natural Ingredients, Safe Synthetics.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £5.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2017.

Scent Family:

Best Washes Wash Card
Bubblegum Lip Scrub
Candy Fluff Ballistic
Candy Fluff Perfume
Candy Fluff Dusting Powder
Fairy Dust Dusting Powder
Father Christmas Bath Bomb
Fluffy Egg Bath Bomb
Godmother Soap
Lush Mechanic Cold-Pressed Soap
Magic Wand Bubble Bar
Melting Marshmallow Moment Bath Oil
Mmmelting Marshmallow Bath Melt
Pink Easter Egg Ballistic
Snow Fairy Body Conditioner
Snow Fairy Body Spray
Snow Fairy Cold-Pressed Soap
Snow Fairy Jelly Bath Bomb
Snow Fairy Lip Tint
Snow Fairy Liquid Perfume
Snow Fairy Naked Body Conditioner
Snow Fairy Naked Shower Gel
Snow Fairy Shower Gel
Snow Fairy Solid Perfume
Snow Fairy Sparkle Jar
Snow Fairy Sparkle Massage Bar

Lush Hippy Cold-Pressed Soap

Aside from the beautiful products they produce and the amazing fanbase that I am proud to be a part of, one of my favourite parts about being a Lushie is all of the knowledge that I pick up through the research that I do for this blog. When I first started writing, I knew next to nothing about the different ingredients, scents, health benefits etc. of the products. 

Driven by my attention to detail mixed in with a little curiosity, I have learnt so much more about many of the countries that Lush import from, discovered some truly amazing projects that I now avidly follow, and know the health benefits of nearly every single one of the ingredients that the company use in their cosmetics. 

One of three cold-pressed soaps from the Oxford Street store, Lush Hippy interested me not only because it was a completely new product to try out, but because of both the science that went into crafting it and the history that allowed it be what it is. After a little research, I discovered the following:

Cold-pressed means when there is no external heat used to melt the ingredients or bind them together. Instead, specific ingredients are used - some of which react with other chemicals, which in turn helps to create the soap. In Lush's cold-pressed soaps they use sodium hydroxide - a chemical that dissolves in water, allowing for the mixture to be combined without having to use heat or extreme force.

Furthermore, Lush's soaps include a base of coconut and rapeseed oil - both of which can be combined easily with other components but are able to withstand high temperatures without melting. This allows the soap to remain solid at room temperature but melt a little when in contact with the heat of the shower water. A perfect pairing to create a well-balanced and extremely useful block of soap.

As I stated in both of my other reviews, the lack of heat used throughout this process means that the oils retain all of their flavour, aroma and nutritional value - making them better for consumption as well as for the skin. It is no wonder then that these three soaps have proven to be a lot gentler and more nourishing on my skin.  

Sporting a sunflower-yellow design with a bronze decoration on top, Lush Hippy is probably the prettiest out of the three. Inspired by the scent of Market Street, this soap has a strange smell - an earthy, mossy, grassy aroma that reminds me very much of Tramp Shower Gel. 

A combination of sunflower and wheatgerm oil gives this soap a very delicate dried hay note, while the patchouli adds a sweet, exotic and slightly spicy element to the table. While the vetivert oil offers an underlying resinous and slightly smoky element, it's subtle enough that it doesn't thwart the other components and instead creates a perfect balance.

Although all of the ingredients give it a very distinctive smell, they also help to make this soap really effective in the shower. While the sunflower seeds act as a gentle exfoliator - scrubbing the skin and clearing the pores, the inclusion of cocoa butter moisturises the skin, leaving it feeling clean and soft.

This soap is probably the most generous in the shower - immediately creating an impressive amount of yellow foam that coats the skin and leaves it smelling wonderful. While this lather doesn't stain, it does tend to leave splodges of yellow everywhere so I'd carefully consider where you plan on storing it in between uses. 

While my skin felt taut after use, it felt really clean and not the sort of 'dry' sensation you find when a soap has removed too much moisture - more of the squeaky clean feeling you get after washing the dishes and exposing your hands to the soap suds for a prolonged amount of time. 

Although it hasn't completely won me over and convinced me that soaps can be as enjoyable as shower gels, it was a really lovely experience, and one that I would invest in again in the future. The fact that the soap doesn't shrink much with each use means that I enjoyed cutting my bar into slices and taking pieces with me when I went away - a compact shower companion that doesn't post the risk of a leakage and leaves you smelling rather lovely afterwards. Wonderful.

Quantitative Ingredients: Rapeseed Oil; Coconut Oil (Brassica napus; Cocos nucifera), Sunflower Infusion (Helianthus annuus), Water (Aqua), Sunflower Seed Oil (Helianthus annuus), Wheatgerm Oil (Triticum vulgare), Cornstarch (Zea mays), Sodium Hydroxide, Patchouli Oil (Pogostemon cablin), Glycerine, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), Sunflower Seeds (Helianthus annuus), Labdanum Resinoid (Cistus ladaniferus), Brazilian Orange Oil (Citrus sinensis), Vetivert Oil (Vetiveria zizanoides), Sodium Chloride, Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, *Limonene, Colour 47005.

Vegan?: Yes.

2015 Price: £4.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2015. 

Lush Mechanic Cold-Pressed Soap

After the success of my first experience with Lush's new cold-pressed soaps, I was eager to try out the other two that had been sitting for quite a while in their paper bags. While it was the one I was least excited about trying, I was in the mood for something sweet and felt that this one was rather appropriate to satisfy my cravings.

Lush Mechanic Cold-Pressed Soap is one of three new additions to the Oxford Street soap extravaganza -  an oblong shaped lump of orchard-purple material with a silver spanner pressed into the top of the soap as a garnish. As far as soaps go, it's not the most attractive ones that Lush currently offer, but it's definitely one of the best. 

Sharing it's scent with Snow Fairy, this strange looking product is not like your average piece of soap. As with all three members of Lush's new cold-pressed range, this product has been manufactured in a slightly different way to how the company normally create their soaps. 

When making soaps, most companies tend to heat up their oils, melt them down and mix them together before leaving them to set before cutting them to size. Cold-pressed is when ingredients are pressed, ground down, infused and mixed together while keeping the temperature low at all times (below 49°C to be precise). The lack of heat used throughout this process means that the oils retain all of their flavour, aroma and nutritional value - making them better for consumption as well as for the skin.

My rapport with Lush Mechanic was an almost instantaneous one. Not only did it lather up with ease - creating a thick, fluffy and very fragrant foam to wash myself with, I was also impressed that the soap wasn't very drying on the skin - a factor I expect from pretty much all of the soaps I try. While I find some soaps can leave my skin feeling parched and a little too 'squeaky-clean' after use, I really appreciated the fact that this one left my body feeling soft and smooth, and didn't appear to remove any of the moisture from my skin. 

Featuring rosemary oil to help heal cuts and abrasions, this soap is very gentle on the skin and will leave you feeling clean. Yet the inclusion of ground pumice powder means that the lather is speckled with tiny beads of powder that allow for the foam to be a gentle exfoliator at the same time. It's definitely a strange consistency for a soap, but it works.  

Containing ylang ylang, bergamot and vanilla absolute, this soap is more on par with the limited edition Snow Fairy Liquid Perfume than it is with the shower gel format. The inclusion of clove bud oil helps to give the soap a rich base note onto which all of the other components merge together wonderfully, and the fragrance remains strong enough to leave an impression on your skin and bathroom for a long time after use. 

Furthermore, because it was quite a solid chunk, I didn't see much of a change in size between uses - meaning that a block would last you a good couple of months if kept in the dry. 

While I wouldn't say that this is my favourite soap, it is definitely one I would invest in again. The cold-pressed element of this product clearly allows the various oils to be much more effective than ones that have been heated up. This is evident in how wonderful my skin felt after using the soap. Although it doesn't look like much, Lush Mechanic is a successful new invention from Lush and one that will hopefully inspire many more cold-pressed products to be released in the future. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Rapeseed Oil; Coconut Oil (Brassica napus; Cocos nucifera), Rosemary Infusion (Rosmarinus officinalis), Fair Trade Olive Oil (Olea europaea), Water (Aqua), Pumice Powder, Perfume, Cornstarch (Zea mays), Sodium Hydroxide, Glycerine, Orris Root Powder (Iris florentina), Bergamot Oil (Citrus Aurantium bergamia), Ylang Ylang Oil (Cananga odorata), Fair Trade Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla planifolia), Benzoin Gum Powder (Styrax Benzoin), Sodium Chloride, Citric Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Alpha- Isomethyl ionone, Eugenol, Limonene, Linalool, Colour 17200, Colour 45410!

Vegan?: Yes.

2015 Price: £4.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2015.

Scent Family:

Best Washes Wash Card
Bubblegum Lip Scrub
Candy Fluff Ballistic
Candy Fluff Perfume
Candy Fluff Dusting Powder
Fairy Dust Dusting Powder
Father Christmas Bath Bomb
Fluffy Egg Bath Bomb
Godmother Soap
Lush Mechanic Cold-Pressed Soap
Magic Wand Bubble Bar
Melting Marshmallow Moment Bath Oil
Mmmelting Marshmallow Bath Melt
Pink Easter Egg Ballistic
Snow Fairy Body Conditioner
Snow Fairy Body Spray
Snow Fairy Cold-Pressed Soap
Snow Fairy Jelly Bath Bomb
Snow Fairy Lip Tint
Snow Fairy Liquid Perfume
Snow Fairy Naked Body Conditioner
Snow Fairy Naked Shower Gel
Snow Fairy Shower Gel
Snow Fairy Solid Perfume
Snow Fairy Sparkle Jar
Snow Fairy Sparkle Massage Bar

Lush Gardener Cold-Pressed Soap

Like a kid in a candy shop, I raced through the Oxford Street store - grabbing anything and everything until my basket was piled high with at least half a month's wages worth of cosmetics. If it was new to me, in it went - regardless of price, scent or format. It was only once I had gotten home that I was able to inspect exactly what I had picked up, and this is when the surprises made themselves known. 

Lush Gardener Soap was one of the items that initially intrigued me once I had laid everything out on the table for inspection. One of three new cold-pressed soaps, I was excited by both the scent of the product as well as the science that went behind making it. As a self-confessed 'vegan hippy', the idea behind this product was right up my alley. 

Being someone who is very much into healthy eating, I was already aware of what cold-pressed meant in terms of the food industry and how this idea might transpire into a soap. Although most companies tend to heat up their oils, melt them down and mix them together before leaving them to set, cold-pressed is when ingredients are pressed, ground down and mixed together while keeping the temperature low at all times (below 49°C to be precise). The lack of heat used throughout this process means that the oils retain all of their flavour, aroma and nutritional value - making them better for consumption as well as for the skin.

While soaps that have been produced in this fashion tend to be harder because the ingredients are quite heavily compressed together, they tend to have a  longer life span than regular soaps because they contain less liquid - liquid that would normally evaporate over time and dry the soap out. To prove this point, I have had all three of Lush's new cold-pressed soaps for near enough three months now and they have not changed in consistency at all during this time.

This particular soap features rosemary and a nettle and tea tree infusion - three ingredients that give this product it's main fragrance. Out of the packet, this soap smells like you're walking through a herb garden - offering a strong thread of rosemary and sage that nestle underneath the nettle and tea tree - supporting the aroma without being too overpowering. The sage aroma also helps to deter bugs during the warmer weather so you'll less likely to get bitten after using this; the lemon oil adds an uplifting quality to the soap without making it smell strongly of citrus, and the moringa powder does the same but adding a sweet element to the mix instead.

Although all of the ingredients give it a very distinctive smell, they also help to make this soap really effective in the shower. While the moringa powder acts as a antioxidant - clearing the pores and revamping the skin, the tea tree and eucalyptus calm and soften sensitive skin while reducing the appearance of spots and rashes across the body. 

In the shower, this soap takes quite a bit of work to lather up at first, and this is due to the lack of water in the ingredients list. Once the soap has had enough chance to soften under the running shower nozzle, it becomes a little easier to use and creates an oily, green-tinted lather to smooth across your body. 

What I loved about this soap was that it wasn't as drying as most of Lush's regular soaps can be with my skin, and I did really appreciate the gentle fragrance that stayed on my body once I had exited the shower. Furthermore, because it was quite a solid chunk, I didn't see much of a change in size between uses - meaning that a block would last you a good couple of months and prove good value for money. 

While my skin felt taut after use, it felt really clean and not the sort of 'dry' sensation you find when a soap has removed too much moisture - more of the squeaky clean feeling you get after washing the dishes and exposing your hands to the soap suds for a prolonged amount of time. 

However, it is important to keep Lush Gardener dry in-between uses as it does shrink if left wet and it ends up bleeding out and creating a horrible looking splodge of green on the side of your bath. Unfortunately, while it wasn't as drying as a regular soap, it still didn't prove as moisturising as a regular shower gel.

For these reasons, I will continue to use this chunk and might very well invest in another one at some point in the future. It would be a great product to use in the warmer months so I might very well take this with me when I visit my family during the summer holidays. However, it's not a soap that I would buy on a regular basis. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Rapeseed Oil; Coconut Oil (Brassica napus; Cocos nucifera), Rosemary, Nettle And Tea Tree Infusion (Rosmarinus officinalis; urtica dioica; Melaleuca alternifolia), Almond Oil (Prunus dulcis), Water (Aqua), Moringa Powder (Moringa pterygosperma), Cornstarch (Zea Mays), Sodium Hydroxide, Glycerine, Perfume, Clary Sage Oil (Salvia sclarea), Eucalyptus oil (Ecalyptus globulus), Organic Lemon Myrtle Oil (Backhousia Citriodora), Geranium Oil (Pelargonium graveolens), Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), Sodium Chloride, Citric Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Citral, Citronellol, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Chlorophyllin (CI 75810).

Vegan?: Yes. 

2015 Price: £4.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2015.