Category: Winter

Ectoplasm Jelly Bomb from Lush

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The Ectoplasm Jelly Bomb was the last of the Summit 2017 products that I really wanted but have only just now got hold of. Since the Summit it has had a slight update, it now has a ghost shape on it much like all of the other brand new jelly bombs’ unique mascots, for example Snow Fairy has a star and Dark Arts has an eye.

As far as I am aware the Ectoplasm was the first of the jelly bombs to be finalised and released (albeit at the Summit). With it only being available for one day out of the 2 Lush-Summit-days, it meant that only a small handful of people had the privilege of trying it. Therefore when the aforementioned Dark Arts alongside the Marmalade, Green Coconut and The Big Sleep jelly bombs were released earlier this year the Lush world wondered where Ectoplasm had gone.

The second time Ectoplasm became available was via the Lush Kitchen a few weeks back, although nothing has been confirmed I suspect it will become available everywhere for Halloween 2017.

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The Ectoplasm jelly bomb is jam packed with uplifting citrus ingredients, fortunately its scent is nothing like that of the Marmalade jelly bomb, this pleased me immensely as sadly the Marmalade jelly bomb isn’t a product I enjoy purely on the grounds of its scent.

Ectoplasm contains tangerine, grapefruit and litsea cubeba oil (an ingredient that was unfamiliar to me), at first I was a little puzzled as when sniffing Ectoplasm I could only really make out a lemon scent, after having a quick look at its ingredients I worked out that this is because of the litsea cubeba oil.

Ectoplasm’s scent is a very gentle zest and packs a subtle sharpness, just the right amount of lemony-freshness to help lift and refresh your spirits.


Upon hitting the water the Ectoplasm jelly bomb begins to bob around hissing out a burst of fluorescent green colour, the bubbles fizzing out of it are at first purple tinted but slowly turn the same green. Its green and purple colouring reminds me of the old version of the Northern Lights bath bomb. The bubbles merge together on the surface of the water and slowly froth into a thin layer of jelly. I use the word ‘jelly’ loseley as it’s not gooey at all, it’s more of a silky luminous froth.

Upon first use I was a little disappointed that the Ectoplasm didn’t produce more ‘jelly’, after all it is a jelly bomb. I have since tried it again though and on the other occasions it did have more jelly, therefore I advise that it’s worth giving Ectoplasm a few goes before you decide if you like it or not.

I suspect the ghost motif was inspired by the colour of the jelly, if you’ve ever seen the 80’s movie Ghostbusters then you’d know exactly what I mean!

It much like the Snow Fairy jelly bomb took a while to dissolve. Some of it was in fact still floating around when I needed to get out. I recommend trying the jelly bombs with as hot as you can stand it water, just like the Butterball bath bomb it performs better the hotter the water.

Pushing the leftover lumps aide, everything else about this jelly bomb ticks my boxes for a good Lush product. Once you’re out of an Ectoplasm bath your skin feels fabulous, I’ve said it before and I will say it again, the effect the seaweed based sodium alginate ingredient has on your skin (the ingredient that creates the jelly like substance) is like nothing I have experienced in a cosmetic product before. The Lush jelly bombs are a game changer in regards to skincare, even after a day has passed, your skin still feels soft, smooth and fabulous after sharing a bath with a jelly bomb.

Ectoplasm’s scent stays with you throughout your bath. Once you get out it remains on your skin for a few hours too. Before I forget, I want to point out that the jelly it creates dissolves into just bath water after a short time, I have mentioned it as this is a question everyone keeps asking me. Overall I am very impressed with this jelly bomb, I have my fingers crossed that it is a part of the Halloween range this year and that hopefully by then they may have improved the recipe in some way so that we don’t get as many lumps hanging around at the end.


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Calacas Shower Gel from Lush

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I believe that the Calacas Shower Gel was my very first shower gel purchased via the Lush Kitchen, why I have left it so long to review it is beyond me, as I LOVE the stuff, maybe even more than I do my husband.

I know I throw the love word around a lot but Calacas is hands down one of my favourite Lush scents ever. If I hadn’t have ordered this shower gel back in the day I don’t think I’d have even got so into Lush. It’s divine. The Calacas scent is refreshing, uplifting and zingy. Lush have carefully combined oil of lime, neroli, cooling aloe vera and olibanum to make the most gorgeous and energising bath time treat in shower gel form.

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If you are in need of a boost, a quick shower with the Calacas shower gel will reinvigorate both your mind and body. It’s fruity but not like anything else you’ve tried before, some people describe it as smelling like fruit pastille sweets, I can see where they are coming from but it is so much better than that. I am hoping that they decide to release the Calacas shower gel as a store product this Halloween, it has only been available in the Lush Kitchen on occasion for the last few years and I just don’t understand why something so beautiful isn’t readily available in stores. I’d love to see it as full time stock but even if they release it just for the Halloween period, that would make me a very happy Lushie.

Another wonderful thing about the Calacas shower gel is how it looks, it has actually been available in the past as several different shades, red, green and a yellowish orange. For the purpose of this blog post I have included pictures of the orange version.

I have never seen a shower gel like it, depending on how the sun catches it, it can look so many shades of orange, sometimes I even get a glimpse of it and think it is glowing. Consistency wise the Calacas shower gel is quite thick, I’d compare it to the likes of the Plum Rain shower gel which happens to be another fruity shower gel that I cannot get enough of.

Calacas lathers up well, a little of it also goes a very long way which is great considering its consistency and even better when you take into account how rare it is. I was glad to see that for Halloween 2016 Lush decided to bring out a bath bomb with the Calacas scent called the Monsters’ Ball. I have my fingers crossed that this bath bomb returns again as the Calacas scent needs to be enjoyed by everyone! it is one of those scents that work brilliantly in any format.


My favourite thing about the Calacas shower gel is how long its scent stays with you after use. Much like the Yuzu and Cocoa shower cream I can still smell it on my skin hours and hours after using it in the shower. I also have very fine hair and can get away with using Calacas shower gel as a shampoo every now and again.

I am currently almost out of my latest batch of Calacas shower gel so if Lush aren’t bringing it out as a staple product for Halloween 2017 then I hope they bring it out in the Lush Kitchen again very, very soon. It’s a shower gel a Lushie should never be without!


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Snowshowers Shower Jelly from Lush

Snowshowers Shower Jelly

As soon as you take the lid off of the Snowshowers Shower Jelly you are greeted with the comforting and refreshing scent of warming cognac, sweet orange and zesty lime. As its name indicates, Snowshowers is of course a Winter product. I however always have a pot around whatever the season as its scent (named by Lush as the ‘Celebrate’ scent) is one of my favourites.

Lush Cosmetics master scents. Once a scent is mastered, over a very long period of time (sometimes years) they create an abundance of products that share that mastered scent. This is where the Lush term ‘scent family’ comes from, if a product shares the same scent as another new or old one, it’s a part of that scents family.

The Celebrate scent that Snowshowers has, can also be found in a wide range of other Lush products. There’s the Golden Wonder bath bomb which happens to be the product that first introduced me to the Celebrate scent, the Celebrate shower gel and the Celebrate body lotion to name just a few.

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Snowshowers shower jelly is a fairly robust product, some of the Lush shower jellies such as the Bouncy Bunny tend to break up really easily but not Snowshowers. I like to use my shower jellies in the same way as you would a bar of soap. Some people however prefer to chop their jellies up, using one piece at a time. It’s all about personal preference, I just prefer to use mine as a whole as I feel it gives me a much better, much creamier lather, plus I love how it feels being worked along my skin, it’s so, so relaxing. Especially on the soles of your feet.

*This is the point of the review where my husband regrets secretly using my Lush shower jellies. ha, ha, I use them on my feet!*

I have found that even with frequent use, Snowshowers takes a very long time to start showing any signs of wear and tear, it takes a good few weeks before it starts to get noticeably smaller which is quite rare for a shower jelly, the only one that I have used that has been as robust as this was the Santa’s Belly shower jelly. Unfortunately nothing lasts forever, I do however find that the Snowshowers shower jelly still lathers up just as well as it did from day one after every use, its quality doesn’t depreciate with age, its scent also remains just as strong right up until the very last slither is left.

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Unfortunately I find that the Snowshowers shower jelly leaves my skin quite dry and in need of a little extra hydration after use. I’m not quite sure why it does make my skin feel so dry as I normally always find that the shower products that lather up as well as Snowshowers does the most moisturising.

This problem is however easily solved as a quick dab of Celebrate body lotion once I am out of the shower bounces my skin back into a tip top, perfectly hydrated condition. As the Celebrate body lotion and Snowshowers shower jelly share a scent, using the both together intensifies its gorgeous fragrance further, leaving its scent to stay on your skin for the best part of the rest of the day, which is more than perfect for me as I’m a huge fan of the Celebrate scent.

Overall I am very impressed with the Snowshowers shower jelly, it’s a great product that lasts well beyond 10 uses. I know some people shiver at the thought of a Lush bath bomb only being used in one bath, instead maybe a shower jelly is the product for them? If you’re looking to convert someone like this to the Lush side, this shower jelly could just be the product that wins them over!


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