insomnia – Lush Upon A Time

Sultana Body Lotion from Lush

Anything that shares its scent with my beloved and very much discontinued Blackberry bath bomb is a must have product for me. I’m actually getting bored of hearing myself explain this in every Blackberry/Sultana scented product review that I do so I will be as brief as possible.

Before the Blackberry bath bomb was discontinued it was my go-to-product if my insomnia decided to pay me a visit. To this day products with the Blackberry/Sultana scent are the only non medicinal things in the world that actually help me fall and stay asleep, I therefore hold anything with its scent with very high regards, grabbing anything and everything Lush create, if and when I can.

Sultana Body Lotion was recently in the Lush Kitchen alongside several other body lotions made in the most popular Lush scents. At first I wasn’t going to order any Sultana body lotion as I have a huge bottle of the body conditioner equivalent in my bathroom. Of course I changed my mind, (stating the obvious) they are both completely different products… In hindsight I am so pleased that I did get the lotion as I actually really like the Blackberry scent in this format. Its scent is exactly like the Blackberry bath bomb.

Consistency wise I think the Sultana body lotion is perfect, it’s not too thick and it’s not too runny. It has a beautifully smooth texture that is a similar consistency to a petit filous yogurt. As with most Lush products, a little amount of it goes a very long way. With it not being too thick a formula the Sultana body lotion rubs in easily, something I love in a body lotion. There’s nothing worse than a body lotion that takes ages to rub in!

Once put on, Sultana body lotion leaves my skin feeling perfectly hydrated and appearance wise much brighter, even the dry patches of my skin such as my elbows look and feel smooth. Its scent is also still detectable on my skin hours after using it, this is of course a huge bonus for me. There’s just something so relaxing about Lush’s ‘Blackberry’ signature-blend-of bergamot and frankincense oils.

One thing I have noticed is that Sultana body lotion doesn’t soak in to your skin very quickly, as I said above a little does go a long way so this isn’t a huge issue. Less is more and all that! Overall I am really impressed with the Sultana body lotion, I hope that Lush decide to bring it out again as it’s the perfect product format for the Blackberry scent.

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Sleepy Shower Bomb from Lush

Sleepy Shower Bomb

I am so in love with Lush’s brand new invention, the Lush Moods shower bomb. They are the exact type of product that first got me into Lush. They make the practice of aromatherapy at home so quick and easy. Each of them showcase essential oils at their best.

Essential oils have so many positive benefits on your body and I’m excited to see Lush getting back to its roots by reintroducing us to long-loved essential oils, stripping them back in an attempt to enjoy the powers they hold, in ways people before us thousands of years ago used to use them too. Great examples of essential oils and some of their benefits are lavender oil to soothe and lime oil to uplift and refresh.

The new shower bombs redefine aromatherapy with their ingredients by engaging your senses, transforming your mood and altering your state of mind, all from just simply taking one of the 4 new shower bombs in to the shower with you.

The first one I tried was the Sleepy Shower Bomb. Shaped like a cloud with the word ‘Sleepy’ engraved onto its bottom (see below photo) it got my attention straight away.

I am no stranger to sleepless nights so I always gravitate towards the Lush products that are going to help me relax and wind down of a night time. The desired result is that I hopefully drift off into a deep and restful sleep, long before I’ve had a chance to check my clock, stressing over how many hours of sleep I have missed and how many I could get if I could fall asleep at that precise moment.

If this sounds familiar to you I’m sure you feel the same way as me and are open to trying anything that you think could help. I felt exactly like this, lost, stressed and tired when I first got into Lush a good few years ago. After researching essential oils I went into my very first Lush store and asked if they could point me towards anything with lavender oil in it. I left with a Twilight and Ickle Baby Bot bath bomb.

My first trip to a Lush store was obviously a success otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this now! Although Lush haven’t cured my insomnia I find that several of their products do make the process of falling asleep a lot easier. One of those products is the aforementioned Twilight bath bomb. I was therefore delighted to learn that the Sleepy shower bomb actually shares its scent with the Twilight bath bomb.

This technically makes the Sleepy shower bomb the Twilight bath bombs shower equivalent. Which is a huge deal for all Twilight bath bomb fans who don’t always have the time to take a bath. Rich with essential oils such as soothing lavender and comforting tonka absolute, I knew that I’d like Sleepy just from reading its ingredients list.

To use a shower bomb all you do is take it into the shower with you and hold it under the water, it will instantly expand and foam up. Lush then advise that you take a deep breath, allow the essential oils to surround you and then begin to cleanse yourself with the foam, just as you would use a shower gel.

The Sleepy shower bomb begins to foam within seconds, as soon as you put it in the stream of water the hot steam begins to spread its relaxing scent. Although the shower bombs aren’t as smooth as shower gels they pretty much work the same way. With the shower bombs being half foam half almost foam (solid) they are surprisingly good exfoliants too.

For the Sleepy shower bomb in particular I recommend breaking it in half and using it over 2 showers. By all means enjoy all of it in one shower if that’s what you want, I just found that there was way more product than what I actually needed in just the one shower.

I always use new Lush products with an open mind and if I am going to be honest I wasn’t very excited when I first see ‘shower bomb’s’ in the Lush Lab. I have however been swept away by the Sleepy shower bomb and I am pleased to announce that all 4 shower bombs are now available in all stores too!

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Sultana Shower Gel from Lush

Sultana Shower Gel

I have wanted to try Sultana Shower Gel ever since I heard the rumour that a prototype of it existed back in February 2017. I feel like I have waited an eternity to get hold of some and words cannot describe how happy I am to finally own a bottle of it!

The Sultana shower gel shares its scent with the discontinued Blackberry bath bomb which happens to be one of my favourite Lush products. Although visually the Blackberry bath bomb isn’t spectacular, it happens to be the only not-over-the-counter product on planet earth that helps me combat my worst enemy, insomnia.

Any Lush product that shares the Blackberry bath bombs scent/ingredients is therefore understandably a must have for me, even more so since the bath bomb was discontinued.

Sultana shower gels scent isn’t your typical Lush-fruity-fragrance. Its magic ingredients are frankincense (olibanum) and bergamot, this superb blend of essential oils are perfect for helping you wind down of an evening. The frankincense offers a sweet and gentle woody aroma while the bergamot gives it a delicate citrus-fruit edge. I know Lush make a lot of citrus based products but Sultana is so different that the word ‘citrus’ doesn’t spring to mind upon first sniff.

The shower gel itself is quite runny, a small amount of it does however go a very long way. A ten-pence-piece-sized amount is more than enough to wash your whole body. I love Sultana so much that I always over indulge and use a lot more than necessary, whoopsy! Unfortunately with it being quite a runny consistency over indulging and using too much is very easy to do.

Although the consistency of the Sultana shower gel is quite runny it’s not on par with how the old Olive Branch shower gel used to be, it’s also quite creamy so I don’t see its runny consistency as a huge issue, I actually think some shower gels work better when they’re not super thick. I have even used Sultana shower gel in my hair, I always find that the thinner shower gels work great as shampoo too.

As you rub Sultana shower gel into your body it’s gentle and super relaxing scent fills the shower space, breathing it in with the hot steam helps to draw out any stress that you’ve held onto from your day. After using it my muscles always seem less tense and I always feel ready for bed as soon as I’ve stepped out of the shower.

In the Summer I grew quite fond of pairing the Sultana shower gel up with the Sultana of Skin body conditioner. Although I find that the Sultana shower gel is more than capable in keeping my skin perfectly hydrated ( which not many other shower gels do), with the super hot weather we’ve had here in England I just felt my skin needed a little bit more tender loving care. I am really sad that Sultana shower gel was only available for a short while as a Lush Kitchen exclusive, I think Lush should rethink and make it a store wide shower gel as it really is beautiful!

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