New for 2015 – Lush Upon A Time

Pink Flamingo Reusable Bubble Bar from Lush

To look at, the Pink Flamingo Reusable Bubble Bar is pretty much my dream product as I LOVE flamingos. My house is decorated heavily with them. Why? because they make me happy, what could be cooler than a big pink bird?!

The Pink Flamingo reusable bubble bar was first introduced to the public on Lush Oxford Street’s opening day back on the 24th of April 2015. When I very first see it splashed all over Instagram I couldn’t help but be beside myself with excitement about getting hold of one.

Most of Lush’s reusable bubble bars are on sticks. For me, this makes using them a lot easier as all I need to do is hold it by the stick while letting the bubble bar bit go under the running tap. (I’ve explained in almost every one of my bubble bar reviews previous to this, how the bubble bar works etc. I have also gone into detail on how I have to use a sieve for the ordinary bubble bars as I don’t have a dual-temperature tap). This reason alone gives the stick based reusable bubble bars an advantage (in my house anyway!)

I however often find that Lush’s reusable bubble bars when compared to Lush’s standard bubble bars such as Pop in the Bath aren’t as good when used. I find that the reusable bubble bars don’t produce as many bubbles and I also find that the water colour they create is never as bright or bold in comparison unless you use almost most of the product which means it isn’t a reusable product at all. In spite of this, I was still very eager to try the Pink Flamingo reusable bubble bar as Lush have proved me wrong on so many previous occasions.

Pink Flamingo is scented just how I had imagined. It has a very gentle citrus scent, one that reminds me of a fruity cocktail, what makes this bubble bars scent so unique from every other Lush product is its use of the bergamot and ylang ylang oils. Together they both give off a subtle fruity fragrance and appear to counteract each other somewhat. The scent although softened down by this clever mix of ingredients, is still very noticeable yet, not too in your face. It is the perfect summer scent that leaves you feeling uplifted and stress free.

At the start of this bubble bar review I predicted how the Pink Flamingo would perform in the bath. Unfortunately I was actually right for once, well.. Half right any way. The ordinary bubble bars run rings around the reusable ones performance wise. With Pink Flamingo I did however manage to get 2 more-than-adequately bubbled bubble baths out of just the one bar, it just took a little longer than I am used to.

Naturally with a reusable bubble bar I’d expect copious amounts of uses (so more than 2) but when you compare Pink Flamingo to the likes of the smaller bubble bars such as Yuzu and Cocoa or Granny Takes A Dip, it’s actually not that much different and is probably one of the better reusable bubble bars that Lush have released.

It takes a lot longer for the bubbles to emerge with this reusable bubble bar, though this is probably more of a reflection of my poor levels of patience than a reflection of the bubble bar itself. Even though the bubbles are slow to materialise the scent instantaneously fills my bathroom with a delicate citrus fragrance while at the same time it slowly turns the water underneath the thin-bubble-blanket a very bright, shade of pink.

Although I am a little disappointed that I could only get 2 baths out of the one Pink Flamingo it was a lot better than I had expected when comparing it to other reusable Lush products such as the Santasaurus. The only other thing that I feel is worth a mention is that the Pink Flamingo didn’t create particularly moisturising bath water for my skin to enjoy. Again I find this with all of the reusable bubble bars that I have tried so far so it wasn’t a very unexpected surprise.

With all of this in mind I have stored the Flamingo reusable bubble bar in the novelty-product-collection section of my brain. It was a lot better than I had expected off of a reusable product but hasn’t quite made it to my list of top 10 bubble bars. It is however a very beautifully designed product that never fails to catch people’s attention!

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Guardian of the Forest Bath Bomb from Lush

Guardian of the Forest Bath Bomb WM

Back when the Guardian of the Forest Bath Bomb first came out it was an Oxford Street exclusive, this meant that it was only available in one store in the whole world. I’m incredibly lucky as I have been able to visit Lush Oxford Street several times since it opened its doors in April 2015.

Lush have however recently made all of the exclusive to Oxford Street products available to buy via the Lush Kitchen on their UK website, getting a hold of the exclusive products is now much easier for everyone, no matter where you are in the world.

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The Guardian of the Forest bath bomb is 2 shades of green. It has an intricate raised leaf pattern that makes it unique to any other Lush bath bomb. If I was describing it in a book I would compare it to an enchanted and somewhat handsome looking cabbage… Yes, you did read that right! 😂

The Guardian of the Forest bath bomb contains cypress and rosewood oils which is what gives this bath bomb that woody, fresh-forest-scent. It also contains lime oil although I couldn’t personally detect any scent wise. I think the cypress and rosewood oils softens the kick of the lime somewhat. What I thought was going to be a zesty and refreshing bath bomb was actually very earthy and peppery.

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I have however read reviews of this bath bomb online and quite a few people are describing Guardian of the Forest as having a REALLY citrusy scent.

The citrus products are normally my favourite, we just seem to gravitate towards each other, I just can’t smell any lime in this bath bomb at all. With people describing Guardian of the Forest’s scent as incredibly citrusy, I feel like I have missed out on something?

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Regardless of the mystery of this bath bombs ‘hidden’ citrus scent, I really do enjoy using the Guardian of the Forest bath bomb.

Once the bath bomb has completely dissolved you are left with gorgeously-green, lustre filled bath water. When I very first used it I couldn’t help but think of the, The Wizard of Oz. Soaking myself in a Guardian of the Forest bath leaves me feeling relaxed and carefree.

My skin really enjoys itself too, most bath bombs soften my skin somewhat, this bath bomb is however a little more luxurious, it makes my skin feel incredible. It looks brighter and is super smooth for the rest of the day after using it.

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Overall I am really impressed with the Guardian of the Forest bath bomb and I am surprised that I did like it so much and so soon. The earthy Lush products normally take me a while to warm to, maybe I liked this one so much because of the lime oil, (even if I can’t detect it myself…)

I am really happy that Lush have made Guardian of the Forest more readily available for all as it really is a fantastic edition to Lush’s bath bomb family! 😊

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This post was originally posted on this website on the 15th of September 2015. I have been slowly updating each post on this blog as with time my photos have improved(ish) as has my product knowledge – Lulu @ Lush Upon A Time ♥

Yog Nog Bath Bomb from Lush

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Slowly but surely I have been working my way through all of the winter 2015 Lush products.

Today I’d like to introduce you to the Yog Nog Bath Bomb. As you can see from the above picture, Yog Nog is a very unique looking bath bomb. It really is like no other. It has the most beautiful exterior, instead of it just being the standard smooth bath bomb it has lots of little Christmas shapes all around it.

Lush have stated that Yog Nog is ‘sweeter than dipping into your biscuit tin,’ which I know has left a lot of people intrigued. If you’re a frequent reader of my blog you’ll know that the ‘sweet products’ although very popular, are not always my favourite. Curiosity however took over and as soon as the 2015 Winter line became available online I ordered myself one to try.

Upon first sniff I was surprised at how much I actually did like the scent of the Yog Nog bath bomb. Sweet things and I do not always have the best relationship. For this reason I was a little worried that I wouldn’t like it. Being honest, I can’t even eat sweet things, I struggle after just two bites of a Kit Kat Chunky.

Although the Yog Nog bath bomb is sweet, there is definitely a note of spiciness within it. I think that this is the Yog Nog bath bombs saving grace with me, without that small splash of spice I don’t think I’d have been as keen of it as I was.

The Yog Nog bath bomb’s scent is compared to cinder toffee which makes it a great choice for a Christmas present for anyone with a super, sweet tooth.

Upon coming in contact with the water, the Yog Nog bath bomb fizzes yellow and white.

As Yog Nog’s solid shell dissolves away you start to notice that it has several lumps of soft, buttery, bath melt hidden inside.

A Yog Nog bath left my skin beautifully smooth, soft and moisturised. It hydrated my winter battered, dry skin perfectly. What made it really special was that the scent of it stayed with me on my skin, throughout the rest of the day.

I found this bath bomb very relaxing, the only thing I disliked about it was how much oil it left around my bath tub. Although it was amazing for hydrating my skin it made the tub very slippery which is a little dangerous for me in particular as I am not at all stable on my feet due to EDS. When getting in and out of the bath I had to be very careful but in all honesty I always do so in hindsight it wasn’t a bad trait.

Most Lush bath bomb products wash off of your bathtub with a quick splash of hot water from the shower head, Yog Nog however needed a little bit of help, a dab of fairy liquid followed by the shower head removed it just fine. When you use a Lush product that is a little more hydrating than others, fairy liquid is actually the perfect thing to remove the excess oil left behind as it cuts through grease etc. It doesn’t only just work on dishes and cutlery but is also a very handy bathroom cleaner too!

I thoroughly enjoyed the Yog Nog bath bomb and I put it in amongst my other favourites Stardust, So White and Luxury Lush Pud.

The good news is they actually have a Yog Nog Soap and after Lush sent me a sample I ordered a great big bar of it, it smells so, so good!

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Skydancer Far From the Madding Guns Bath Bomb from Lush

The Skydancer Far From the Madding Guns Bath Bomb is a limited edition Lush product created to raise money for England’s endangered hen harriers.

As England’s current most endangered bird, I’m so happy that Lush are providing them with a life line as well as a voice. All profits made from the sales of the Skydancer bath bomb will help fund the satellite tagging of future hen harrier chicks. This will allow research to be carried out in the hope of saving the hen harrier from extinction.

The Skydancer bath bomb’s design is unique when compared to any other bath bomb from Lush, it resembles a harrier hen flying with the sun on its wings.

Skydancer has bergamot, Sicilian lemon and cinnamon leaf oil in, all of which are firm favourites of mine. With all of those ingredients Skydancer has quite a complex scent. It is sweet, spicy and fruity too. The cinnamon leaf oil in it gives Skydancer a warmer and much spicier tone than I am used to for a product with bergamot and Sicilian lemon oil in. Despite the long list of ingredients, the final product however has a very subtle fragrance, all of the ingredients compliment each other beautifully. It appears that Lush have managed to add each ingredient in the perfect quantity.

Upon hitting the water Skydancer starts to fizz, the yellow foam is really thick and silky smooth, I couldn’t quite believe how slowly this bath bomb fizzed away. As soon as it hit the water the scent of Skydancer really hit me, I could also pick up hints of aniseed, I’m not a huge fan of it but luckily it wasn’t too strong. I remember people saying that the May Day bath bomb had hints of aniseed too but I couldn’t really detect it in that bath bomb either.

After about 10 minutes I got inpatient and dunked the blue bird under the water to see how it looked… Sorry! I’d say this bath bomb took a little over 15 minutes to fully dissolve, I imagine it would have taken a little longer if I hadn’t dunked it.

My skin felt fabulous after a long soak in its water.

I’m really angry with myself as with this being a charity bath bomb I should have done this review sooner. The Skydancer bath bomb is still available in most stores and is currently still available online. If you haven’t tried it, please give it a go as it’s for a good cause and it is quite an impressive bath bomb if I say so myself.

Be quick though as they won’t be available for very much longer!

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Don’t Look At Me Fresh Face Mask from Lush

Lush’s Don’t Look At Me Fresh Face Mask was one of my Oxford Street buys, luckily for the rest of the world, it’s now available in most Lush stores as well as online.

Don’t Look At Me has a rich, fine, exfoliating texture and is packed with murumuru butter and zingy lemon juice. The murumuru butter nourishes the skin while the lemon juice helps tone the complexion.

The substance is a lot lighter than other Lush face masks I have used before.

Comparing it to the face mask Cupcake, it has a completely different consistency. I’d describe Don’t Look At Me as being runny and icing-like where as the face mask Cupcake is more of a thick, porridge-like mix.

I really liked Don’t Look At Me, the fact it has lemon juice, grapefruit and neroli oil in gives it more of a zing than the other masks I have tried.

In my personal opinion I’m not overly keen on the scent, there’s something in there that makes the sharpness of the lemon juice have less of a kick. It masks what should be a pleasant smell making it a little too earthy for my liking.

I however didn’t let my dislike of its scent deter me, upon application I found my skin instantly soothed, it helped me slip into a well needed state of relaxation.

The application of Don’t Look At Me is really easy. When I am ready to put it on, I take it out of the fridge and apply a generous layer around my face with a tea spoon. (As shown below)

I use the back of a teaspoon to apply it as I don’t like to use my fingers. With fresh products I like to be as sterile as possible, no matter how clean your hands may be, I wouldn’t want to risk speeding up the process of mold growing.

You can get 2 to 3 face masks out of one pot so the less contact you have with the left over product the better. Obviously, fresh products don’t last forever. I find using a spoon prolongs their shelf-life.

After 15 minutes of wearing the face mask, I rinsed it off with warm water, followed by a splashing of cold.

My skin felt great and I will most certainly be using this product again.

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Sacred Lotus Bath Bomb from Lush

I have been waiting to try out this bath bomb ever since it was released as a Lush, Oxford Street exclusive, it has a design like no other bath bomb. It resembles the shape and appearance of a lotus flower, its uniqueness makes it one of the more attractive, exciting and greatly anticipated products that were created exclusively for the Oxford Street, grand opening collection.

In colour it is white and yellow with purple upright petals; Often described as ‘star-shaped’ the Sacred Lotus is a very pretty product. Unfortunately the shape of the bath bomb leaves it vulnerable. I still haven’t managed to transport one from Oxford Street to my home in North Yorkshire safely. I’m hoping that should Lush decide the bath bombs vulnerable shape is a fault, that the idea of a redesign outshines the choice to discontinuing it as they did the easily breakable Granny Takes A Dip bath bomb earlier this year (2015).

The Sacred Lotus Bath Bomb has neroli oil, jasmine and tonka absolute in. When I finally made it to Oxford Street and I had a big pile of them in front of me all I could really smell was the jasmine. I was completely oblivious to the neroli oil within it. I had expected the Sacred Lotus to have a very strong scent it was however quite the opposite, very gentle.

When I very first used the Sacred Lotus bath bomb it wasn’t until it was half way through its show, fizzing away in my bath water that I realised its scent had so much more depth to it. All of a sudden I was hit with a wave of fruityness and I realised that it also had neroli oil in.

Neroli is one of my favourite essential oils as it not only smells beautiful but it has been scientifically proven to increase the production of serotonin levels in the brain, a.k.a the happy hormone.

Apart from its delicacy, Sacred Lotus is a very enjoyable bath bomb. A real sacred lotus is an aquatic plant, similar to a lily pad and it is found in India. I like how the bath bomb resembles this in use.

Jasmine absolute is a very popular ingredient throughout India too. It therefore made perfect sense for Lush to pair the jasmine ingredient in with the Sacred Lotus bath bomb.

Upon hitting the water Sacred Lotus begins to fizz, leaving a trail of white, purple and yellow foam. During the bath bombs reaction with the water near the end, the purple petals break off going off on their own little journey of purple fizz.

Sacred Lotus is a truly unique Lush bath bomb that every Lushie has to experience in the flesh at least once, it isn’t until you see a bath bomb like this in action that you appreciate how much work goes into each and every Lush product.

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Love Soap from Lush #GayIsOk

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I was so pleased to get my hands on Lush’s Love Soap, its creation was to support equal rights for all.

It isn’t hard to see what it’s all about, the hashtag #GayIsOk cannot be ignored while looking and using this product as it is literally written all over it. I couldn’t think of a better more prominent and eye-catching way of designing it.

Did you know that at the point of writing this post it is still a crime to be gay in 76 countries? I thought everyone in the world was protected by the human rights act so I am really confused that people in this day and age are still being told who they can and can’t love? Really?! sadly this is a lot of peoples reality.

Although this soap is primarily supporting equal rights for same sex couples across the globe, it also sends out a message of hope to anyone who has ever been told who they can and can’t be in love with.

It isn’t just same sex couples that are in the firing line. You could be criticised because the person you love is older than you, younger than you, a different race from you, a different religion from you or even because the person you love has a disability or mental health issue. It’s not fair on anyone.

People in life will always express their disapproval of things that have nothing to do with them. Being gay does not make you a bad person, no one should be made to feel ashamed of who they are.

I’ve never publicly spoke about it but I went through hell as a teenager all because of someone that was too scared to come out. I would have had a much better childhood if being gay wasn’t ‘frowned upon’. Even in the countries that it is perfectly legal in, people don’t come out as they’re too scared of people’s reactions.

The person who put me through hell as a kid is gay. I’m sad that they couldn’t be comfortable being themselves back then. They instead told everyone that would listen that I was a lesbian, not her, me. It was almost like they were testing the waters to find out what their peers thought of gay girls. Rumours were started and just like that I became ‘Lesbo Lu’. The stories were constant, they never stopped, never took a break. It felt like everything she said was about me being a lesbian. No other topic was ever brought up. My ‘friends’ would sit in a corner sniggering to everything she said, never once standing up for me because they were too scared of associating with a ‘lesbian’.

It got to the point where I thought maybe I was a lesbian and I hadn’t realised it yet? everyone thought I was gay, everyone said I was gay, why did I not feel gay? – simple answer is because I’m not.

It’s very easy to fall into a trap of doubting yourself because of other people’s opinions, this isn’t fair. If only we lived in a world that allowed us to be comfortable in our own skin no matter what.

The way I was treated by most people (because of these rumours) was disgusting and I haven’t forgiven the person who caused it neither have I forgiven the people that thought it was a thing to dislike/laugh at me for.

In adulthood I actually found out on my way to work that the person who had started and fueled the rumours had come out as gay. I finally understood why she had done it.

I can’t forgive what went on but I do now understand.

At the time I didn’t have any reason to think she was, I would never have suspected it and I guess that was all a part of the plan to protect herself. I know now that she was also going through her own hell because she was to frightened to be her true self. The softie in me wishes that I had known, maybe I could have helped her and saved us both a whole lot of heartache.

Not being able to have the courage to be yourself is a lonely position to be in.

This is why we all need to stand together to spread the message that who we fall in love with should be our choice, no one else’s. It should not be against the law and people should not have to fear for their life just because of who they are.

Let’s take the fear out of being ourselves,

#GayIsOk let’s tell the world!

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