Bongo Shower Jelly

While I was doing some research into the Liverpool exclusive products earlier this year, I found myself coming back to this particular jelly time and time again.  Not only were there many extremities when it came to the reviews I read, but there was also quite a big debate about similar it was to my favourite jelly, Big Calm.

When Bongo Shower Jelly finally arrived in my lap then, I couldn't wait to see what all of the fuss was about, and decide for myself where it stood compared to Big Calm. What I will say is that while I can recognise how these two products have been used to compare each other, I happen to think that they are very different. 

The first time I removed the lid of this jelly and gave it a sniff, I didn't like it at all. There was something about the intensity of the mango that gave off a scent that reminded me of heavily-laced alcoholic cocktails. As someone who doesn't drink, this really didn't sit well with me and so the shower jelly took a back seat until I was ready to embrace it again.

From the tub, Bongo Shower Jelly offers a very strong combination of mango, vanilla and coconut milk. You can smell the strong, fruity note of the mango, and this is intertwined with the sweet but slightly burnt note of vanilla. Underneath both of these elements, the coconut milk acts as a creamy base from which the fruity components snuggle into when the jelly is being used under hot water.

In all fairness, there is something about this combination that does make the mango smell almost slightly pineapple-like, which is where I can then see where the comparisons have come from. However, this shower jelly is much more intoxicating and heavy on the senses, and perhaps a little too alluring for some Big Calm fans.

Strangely, Bongo works in the same manner as Big Calm. Firstly, the addition of the seaweed in the ingredients moisturises and conditions your skin wonderfully, whilst the mango juice infuses your skin with some much-needed vitamins to improve the condition of your skin. The coconut milk not only adds a creaminess to the overall smell of the shower jelly, but also helps hydrate and and replenish your skin with important electrolytes.

I only had to massage it over my skin for a few seconds to notice how smooth and velvety it made my skin look and feel. It instantly conditions your skin and leaves it feeling beautifully soft for the entirety of the day. You definitely don't need to use a body lotion after showering with this bad boy, which makes it fantastic value for money. As I said above, this scent is one of the strongest I've come across in a shower jelly and this wonderful aroma permeates your skin and leaves you smelling amazing for many hours after you have showered.

Bongo Shower Jelly has a rubbery and slightly rough texture in places but this doesn't effect the productivity of the product at all. In fact, its consistency means that you can use a lot less each time, making it better value for money than some of the other Lush jellies I have used in recent months.

Ultimately, this shower jelly is a beautiful addition to Lush's extensive range and I'm really grateful that Lush have created a completely different fragrance for us to enjoy. If you're looking for a summery scent; one that will clean and refresh your body and senses all at once, Bongo Shower Jelly is definitely the one you should opt for. What a wonderful addition to the Lush family!

Quantitative Ingredients: Glycerine, Coconut milk, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Propylene Glycol, Carrageenan Extract, Perfume, Fresh Mango Juice, Oakwood Absolute, Vanilla Absolute, Water (Aqua), Titanium Dioxide, Gardenia Extract, Coumarin, Colour 15510.

Vegan?: Yes.

2019 Price: £5.50 for 100g, £10.95 for 240g.

Year Of Original Release: 2019.

Oil On Troubled Waters Bath Oil

It can be quite daunting when you first experience Lush's rather wonderful looking bath oil instalment in the Oxford Street store. I would go as far as to say that it is probably one of the best sections in the whole shop - definitely the most stunning to look at by far. However, for someone visiting for the first time, it can be rather confusing when deciding which product to go for and whether these little balls of oils actually have standing in the bathing world. 

Oil On Troubled Waters was a bath oil that made an appearance a few weeks after the initial opening of the store - one that quietly snuck itself in one day and found a home nestled between it's older siblings. Presented as a pearly blue ball about the size of a small plum, this product is one of the stranger-smelling oils available to purchase.

Sharing its scent with The Smell Of Weather Turning, I was really excited to be trying this out - mostly because the fragrance is not vegan friendly, and up until this point I have only been able to sniff the scent when I was visiting a shop. Unfortunately, after being what I thought was thorough with the ingredients list, I discovered that this product was not vegan - a fact that really annoyed me and made me feel pretty bad for enjoying it so much in the bath. Despite my mistake, I thought I would turn the situation into a positive one by at least using my misfortune to inform others about the product. 

Containing an impressive array of ingredients, I was expecting this bath oil to give off a heavy, cloying smell. Instead, I was surprised to discover that it actually offered a light but very distinctive aroma that made for a wonderful bath. 

My initial impression of OOTW was that it gives off a very strong woody aroma - one that reminded me of burnt oak bark combined with dry hay. It reminded me a little of lazing around in a field on a hot summer's day, with the remnants of a bonfire sweeping across the air from a nearby garden. It's not overly smokey but there are definitely elements there. 

The inclusion of chamomile oil and mint also gives this bath oil a strange but rather lovely sweet component. While the two scents are very different, the Smell Of Weather Turning reminds me a little of Furze, in that it has an unexpected sweet and sugary element that you wouldn't assume to be there from the description of the fragrance. 

The mint doesn't have a particularly strong part to play in this, but it does give a gentle, almost powdery note that adds a subtle uplifting twist to the smell. It's a little like the after scent of peppermint creams. The inclusion of chamomile offers a very faint, almost tea-like note that rests at the bottom and helps to give this aroma a rounded, multi-layered scent. 

As with all of Lush's bath oils and melts, this one is packed full of shea butter and cocoa butter to add that extra moisture to the tub. When dropped into water, this ball of essential oils immediately begins to bleed out across the surface - releasing little puddles of blue and pink colour etched with silver glitter. Once the bath oil has completely dispersed, the whole water turns a gentle blue colour and the oils dissolve into the water without staining the bath. 

While it isn't the most nourishing of bath melts, I was impressed to find that it did leave my skin feeling really smooth. Unlike some of Lush's older versions, this one doesn't leave any droplets of oils in the water and won't leave you greasy - yet it works in a similar way to nourish and repair your skin, and leave you feeling and smelling beautiful. 

What did impress me was that the fragrance of this remained prominent throughout the whole bath, although it wasn't so strong as to make the experience unbearable. I was expecting the oakmoss to come through a lot more when it came into contact with the heat of the water. However, I found that the scent stayed pretty much the same strength as it was before it was used. 

Although it's definitely not my favourite bath oil from the new collection, it is one that I would buy again, and one that I would probably couple with something like Twilight or Think Pink as I think it would work really well with the sweeter offerings from Lush.  

Quantitative Ingredients: Organic Shea Butter (Butyrospermum park butter)  Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), PEG-6 Caprylic / Capric Glycerides & PEG-60 Almond Glycerides, Laureth 4, Perfume, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera), Organic Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia chinensis), Oakwood Absolute (Quercus robur), Bay Oil (Pimenta racemosa), Beeswax Absolute (Apis melifera), English Peppermint Oil (Mentha piperita), Mint Absolute (Mentha piperita), Roman Chamomile Oil (Anthemis nobilis), Titanium Dioxide, DRF Alcohol, Frosty Holly Lustre (Potassium Aluminium Silicate, Colour 19140, Colour 42090), Blue Lustre, Alpha-Isomethyl ionone, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Cinnamate, Citronellol, Coumarin, Eugenol, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Colour 42053, Blue Lustre.

Vegan?: No.

2015 Price: £2 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2015.